Archives for May 22, 2006

' I grew up being a Sabres fan and it’s always been my dream to get drafted and play there so when I got the phone call from the Sabres that they had drafted me it was just a tremendous feeling. Like a dream come true pretty much, and now my goal is to try to sign and get there.'

‘Buffalo defenseman Teppo Numminen didn’t dress Monday night for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes, with Doug Janik taking his place in the lineup.’

'Naturally, the nature of his injury is a closely guarded secret, and speculation has ranged from a hip flexor to his back to a groin muscle. From the way Numminen reacted to the twinge, a groin injury seems to be the best bet. ”Yeah, there was a little tweak,” Numminen said, but he insisted a decision will not be made until after he skates in the pregame warm-up. ”I can still feel it every time I take a stride."'

'The feeling around the rink this morning was that there was little chance Numminen would play tonight, largely because he left the morning skate early after tweaking the injury he suffered in Game 1, which is believed to be a hip flexor. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Numminen stands a 50-50 chance of playing tonight, while the defenceman sounded even more upbeat. Part of the reason for this is that during the playoffs, for some reason, injuries are treated as state secrets.'

'Buffalo has a pretty good faceoff man in its own right in Chris Drury, who won 55 percent of the 1,641 faceoffs he attempted. So, it will be an intriguing one-on-one battle that will be one of the most interesting subplots in a showdown between two teams that are remarkably similar in almost every facet of the game.'

'I have yet to see any published reports about this, so I can only go on what people have told me. Trashed tailgating parties, 2-on-1 fights, a sucker punch in the bathroom, busting glass on someone’s head, near rumbles in the smoking area. The Raleigh Police apparently had to show up just outside the arena after a brawl. Blame goes to all drunk parties involved, regardless of team affiliation. This sounds like juicy stuff, but there is ZERO coverage on this. What gives?'

'Carolina has to find a way to crack Sabres rookie goaltender Ryan Miller, who is having a great postseason, and to get something from its power play, which went 1-for-22 in four games against Buffalo in the regular season and missed four chances in the first game. "We had chances to score and we didn't," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "It's not that we didn't execute. It bounced kind of funny on us."'

'Sabres defenseman Teppo Numminen wound up to take a shot at Buffalo's Game Two pre-game skate this morning, only to lower his stick, and skate off the ice before the end of practice, according to WGR's Paul Hamilton.'

Buffalo at Carolina (AP)

Sabres seek to continue road winning streak in playoffs (Sportsticker)

Hurricanes look to even Eastern Conference finals Monday (Sportsticker)

(4) Buffalo Sabres (1-0) at (2) Carolina Hurricanes (0-1) (The Sports Network)

Game notes (CarolinaHurricanes.com)

Tripp’s Tips (CarolinaHurricanes.com)

'"I think that Henrik is a lot calmer out there, a lot more relaxed," said the Sabres left winger/center. "He makes plays. He hangs onto the puck and protects it a lot more. He's a tough defenseman to beat one-on-one. He has such a good stick. He can skate and he can turn. He's a tough guy to get around, I know because I try and go around him in practice. It's not much fun. I'm glad he's playing with us and not against us."'