Archives for April 2006

'After the amazingly one-sided blowout in front of 18,690 delirious fans at HSBC Arena, Ruff said the Flyers "played like idiots" when they resorted to old-time hooliganism. "That's Lindy's opinion," Hitchcock said. "I've seen his team play that way. Tell Lindy to ..." "Have a nice day" is not how that sentence ended.' … [Read more...] about Fast start makes for furious ending as Sabres rout Flyers

'"It was a big game for everybody," Dumont said. "The puck was trying to find me tonight and I had some great plays to help me and I just finished them."' … [Read more...] about Dumont and Pominville deliver a double dose of hat tricks in blowout

'“You can tell Lindy to go @$#% off,” he said.' … [Read more...] about Sabres leave unscathed, until Hitchcock&#8217s hit

'“It was five times louder than a normal game the other night,” Kopec said. “Everyone was amped up for the first playoff game in five years. The fans that come to playoff games know it’s do or die. You could see the difference when you walked in the arena. The people were chanting already. It’s not like that during the regular season.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ playoff passion

'Speed backs off an opponent, intimidates and frustrates, and the Flyers were nothing if not frustrated by the Sabres. With the game virtually decided after the first period, the Flyers spent most of the next two periods looking for a few pounds of flesh, which is why Ruff was in a foul mood despite the win. "The more they act like a bunch of idiots, the more we want to play," … [Read more...] about Sabres’ edge

'The Sabres' quickness in every zone, combined with pinpoint passing, left the Flyers looking like Wile E. Coyote chasing the ever-elusive Roadrunner. Buffalo's explosive outlet attack caught the Flyers in odd-man rushes for easy goals, and then the Flyers lost their composure.' … [Read more...] about Sabres rattle Flyers with five-goal first

'They had talked about not making the kinds of mistakes that would play to the Sabres' speed. They had talked about not taking penalties, about staying focused, overcoming the emotion of the double-overtime loss and about coming back to Philadelphia with the series tied. But it was all talk.' … [Read more...] about Sabres rattle and roll

'This is all about speed now. The Sabres have it and the Flyers don't. This is all about trying to find a way to counteract what is a decided Buffalo advantage in both swiftness and composure. The autopsy after two games, if it were to be performed on the Flyers, would end with a finding by the coroner of death by windburn. Everybody knows it.' … [Read more...] about Ruffly speaking,Hitchcock offers fighting words

Sabres rattle Flyers with five-goal first (Philadelphia Inquirer) Sabres' edge (Philadelphia Inquirer) Umberger fails test for concussion (Philadelphia Inquirer) Sabres rattle and roll (Philadelphia Daily News) Ruffly speaking,Hitchcock offers fighting words (Philadelphia Daily News) Umberger a scratch after failing exam (Philadelphia Daily News) Esche lets emotions get … [Read more...] about Tuesday’s Philadelphia Coverage (Update 9:30 a.m.)

'"Our team, we were embarrassed tonight, we were embarrassed for our fans, we were embarrassed for the city of Philadelphia for the way we played," Hitchcock said. "We've got to get this series back even for when we come back here. We've got a lot of work to do."' … [Read more...] about Philadelphia gets its bell rung

'When the Sabres scored three more times in the first period resulting in, among other things, the removal of Esche the Flyers distilled things to a couple of nasty goals: trying to intimidate a team which won't be intimidated; and trying to get back at Campbell for his clean, devastating, check on R.J. Umberger in game one.' … [Read more...] about Sabres embarrass Flyers 8-2

'Ruff took issue with the notion Forsberg didn't play well Saturday, other than the first few minutes of the game. "I thought he played pretty damn good. He made a lot of good plays and we had our hands full with him."' … [Read more...] about Healthy or not, Forsberg is always a threat

'Umberger, meantime, wasn't separated from his sense of humour or some outrage at the aftermath of the monster hit he took Saturday from Buffalo defenceman Brian Campbell. "I didn't get to see that," he laughed when asked about the suspect timing of the replay of the thundering body check on the HSBC Arena video screen. He was being assisted off the ice when the … [Read more...] about Flyers’ Umberger laughs off thundering hit from Sabres’ Campbell in Game 1

'Power play time in the game was extremely lopsided in favor of Buffalo, as the Flyers attempted to use a physical style to get back into the game but were whistled at virtually every turn. Buffalo was 3-for-12 with a man advantage while Philadelphia was 0-for-3. The Flyers had 61 penalty minutes compared with 12 for the Sabres.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo Takes Game Two, 8-2

'It marked the first time in Sabres history that two players notched hat tricks in the same playoff game.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo 8, Philadelphia 2