Archives for March 24, 2003

You have to give them credit, Avalanche coach Tony Granato said. They are done, but they certainly did not play like it.

Every team, regardless of the playoffs or not, still have a reason to play, Colorado coach Tony Granato said. Obviously, they came out and played real hard, and we did not come out of the gate ready from the start.

'Sabres forward Paul Gaustad made his NHL debut Monday night against the Colorado Avalanche after Buffalo recalled him from Rochester of the AHL.'

'It's been difficult to find bright spots for the Buffalo Sabres this season. But the new line of Daniel Briere, Jochen Hecht and J.P. Dumont may be the brightest.'

'Janik hasn't exactly stood out since he was called up to replace injured Radoslav Hecl, a reinforcement from Rochester himself. But anonymity isn't necessarily bad for a young defenseman.'

'C Peter Forsberg has 17 goals and 47 assists in his past 40 games. He had five assists in Saturday's 8-1 victory over Chicago.'

'Golisano's bid is self-funded, although he did suggest they may tap into public sector sources such as Empire Zone credits and some minor perks from Erie County. The credits are available to any business located within a designated Empire Zone. HSBC Arena sits in a downtown Buffalo Empire Zone.'

'The Avalanche has won two in a row after losing two successive games on the road and has gone 20-4-3-2 since Jan. 20 . . . The Tanguay-Forsberg-Hejduk line has accounted for 46 goals and 74 assists during the past 29 games . . . The Avalanche and Sabres are meeting for the only time this season . . . The Sabres have gone 1-4-0-1 in their past six games . . . Satan has recorded five assists but no goals in the past eight games.'

'The issue in the next few months will be what direction Golisano wants the franchise to take, and who he wants to run it. Regier has four years left on his contract, and although Golisano could have asked the bankruptcy court to void that deal, he has said he will honor it. But that's no guarantee he will retain Regier.'

'What are the odds of this? The Avalanche will play consecutive games against teams with young forwards whose fathers played for the old Colorado Rockies. Pyatt's father, Nelson, was a swift-skating center for the Rockies whose hands couldn't always keep up with his feet. (Think Shean Donovan.) The Avs will encounter him after facing the Blackhawks, who had Tyler Arnason, son of one-time Rockie Chuck Arnason.'