Archives for May 18, 2006

'The Hurricanes went into the playoffs with Martin Gerber as their No. 1 goalie, but Ward took over when the Swiss 'keeper was bombed in two straight losses to Montreal. Ward hasn't looked back. Now he faces a new challenge in the Sabres, a team some say is a mirror image of the Hurricanes with their fast puck movement and strong special teams.'

'We close our eyes and say: Buffalo in seven with Game 7 going to triple overtime.'

‘”I don’t think it’s anything more than just relaxing a little bit,” Ruff said after practice Thursday. “I think sometimes he gets wound up a little too tight and tries to do a little too much.”‘

'“You got to give them a lot of credit,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “Pominville, Novotny, Dan Paille, all these different players that got to play this year in some extent, Chris Thorburn, you've got to give all them a lot of credit for being able to step in and not just fill holes but help make a difference in the games.”'

'Sabres in 6.'

'The only thing that's clear is that right now, either of these teams looks good enough to win. "You've got two teams that both deserve to be there," Ruff said. "One is going to get the job done now and one isn't."'

‘Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Mair will see a specialist in Pittsburgh and isn’t likely to be ready to play at the start of the series that begins Saturday in Raleigh, N.C. But Ruff didn’t rule out the possibility of using the gritty, defensive forward once he is cleared.’

'Following NBC's coverage of Game 1 on Saturday, Adelphia will carry OLN's coverage of games 2-7 on basic cable channel 71. OLN is only available to digital cable subscribers, but Adelphia reached an agreement to show these games on basic cable at no additional cost to subscribers.'

'Sabres center Adam Mair has been cleared by doctors for contact in practice. Mair has been out since April 7 after suffering his second concussion this season. He will have to be cleared by doctors again before playing in an actual game.'

'Sabres in seven.'