Archives for February 18, 2004

'"When he's happy like that he plays more physical, he makes more plays," Briere said. "His all-around game is a lot better. In that stretch where everything was going so bad, I didn't think he was using his physical presence as much as he is now. The last few goals he was around the net. Now he's starting to get on the inside and getting the rebounds."'

'"I hesitate to say I wanted to die," the 42-year-old Malarchuk said from his home an hour south of Reno, Nev. "I jump around with that one when I think back on it. It was more a conscious effort to say, "I need to end this. I need to sleep. I need to stop my head from spinning. I was pretty deranged."'

‘C Daniel Briere has nine points (four goals, five assists) in the last four games.’

'Buffalo has been particularly prolific offensively since the All-Star break, scoring six or more goals in its past three games. Miroslav Satan led the charge in Monday's 7-2 rout of Atlanta, becoming the first Sabre to score four goals in a game in more than 10 years. That gave him a team-high 22 goals for the season.'

'The Sabres have won four in a row and eight of nine. They haven't won five straight since 1992-93. They've scored 21 goals in their past three games, the team's best stretch since scoring 24 in three games in 1992-93.'

'But during the All-Star break he reviewed videos of the team's attack and decided more aggressiveness was needed, even with a lineup that is not particularly big. "As much back-checking pressure as there is in today's game, if we don't drive the lane to the net, there's not a lot that happens," he said. "We're not that big, but we've got good speed and when we do drive the lane, good things have happened."' (Submitted By: Eric)

'Since the Sabres came into the NHL, they have played 1,333 home games to date counting both the old Memorial Auditorium and the HSBC Arena. Smart has only missed eight games, most of them due to being hospitalized. On top of that, the Sabres have played 104 Stanley Cup playoff games at home and Smart has never missed one.'