Archives for December 14, 2002

The Buffalo Sabres on the ice and off the ice are two different worlds. On the ice, the Sabres went 1-1-1 last week. Off the ice, the world seemed to implode on the Sabres.

'The Sabres are 5-0-2 this season when Satan scores a goal.'

'"I didn't know what I was going to do," Zhamnov said. "But when I crossed the blue line, I saw the goalie move too far from the net. So I made the move not to go straight to the net and try a little bit to pull him out. You have to read what (the) goalie is doing. If he stays in the net, you have to shoot. But he moved too far from the net, so that's why I decided to make this move."'

'"We're looking at where we can achieve savings, where we can lower the costs, and it's going to be extraordinarily difficult to move forward with new initiatives and new investments as we go forward. We're ruling nothing out, but it's going to be extraordinarily difficult," the governor said.'

'The Hawks are unbeaten in their last four games, but it was a disappointing end to their three-game road trip.'

'Coach Brian Sutter thought Eastwood was "excellent'' in the Hawks' 1-1 tie against the Buffalo Sabres. Eastwood played 16 minutes, 40 seconds, helped kill penalties and finished with a minus-1 rating. Smith acquired him in part because of his ability to win faceoffs, and he won 55 percent Friday.'

'"They made a nice play," Thibault said. "We got burned. The last minute of a game we have to bear down better than that."'

'At the United Center, the Hawks are plus-38 in faceoffs. After Friday, the Hawks are minus-148 on the road.'

'The Hawks hit two goal posts and a crossbar, and they had an apparent goal by Alex Zhamnov taken away when referee Paul Stewart ruled the net had come off its moorings. And moments before Satan scored, Theo Fleury had a shot at the empty Sabres net go wide.'

'Sabres coach Lindy Ruff thought the Hawks got somewhat conservative after taking a 1-0 lead on Alex Zhamnov's penalty-shot goal at 3:48 of the first period. "They got the early goal and seemed pretty satisfied with that," Ruff said.'