Archives for May 25, 2006

'Drury might be the competitive face of this team, but Briere has come to exemplify the Sabres' resilience. He looks like the kid next door, but with him comes an inner toughness that makes him play much bigger than his 5-foot-10, 175-pound frame - wink, wink - suggests. He's spent his entire career proving he belongs in this league, a little man pleading for respect in what … [Read more...] about Wearing the ‘C,’ Briere brings A-game

'So in the midst of a rare crisis, the Sabres needed someone to extinguish the doubt and remind Buffalo fans that this is no ordinary hockey team. It is a resilient outfit that has responded all year long when confronted with a challenge. What they needed was Drury, who later said that he had "definitely" taken Ruff's challenge to Briere's line as a call to all the forwards. He … [Read more...] about Drury takes charge when needed, as usual

'Henrik Tallinder left in the waning minutes of Game Three against Carolina, succumbing to an "upper-body injury." He walked to the dressing room with about five minutes to go, team doctors hopping from the stands to trail him. "We'll evaluate where he is [today]," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said simply.' … [Read more...] about Tallinder suffers injury

'The disease has reached an advanced state when cities like Buffalo conflate their civic image with that of a for-profit private business. How else would you explain a bankrupt city and county more willing to close libraries and lay off teachers than risk alienating the sports teams by asking them to pay their fair share of taxes?' … [Read more...] about Love of money has taken all the fun out of sports

'During the team's bankruptcy period, the Sabres became a ward of the NHL. "Tom is doing a much better job of running this franchise than we ever did," Bettman said.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo a composite of Bettman’s NHL

'"They had us pinned back in the second period," Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said. "We've got to do a better job."' … [Read more...] about Small market, big goals

'For years, Buffalo has been shackled with the label of being a negative sports town. The perception is of a town filled with fair-weather fans that panic at the slightest glimpse of tough times. But not an ounce of negativity seemed to permeate the electric atmosphere before and during the game.' … [Read more...] about Sabres make fans believers

'"I don't think Lindy needed to talk to us," Briere said. "We knew we didn't do the job. We knew we had to improve our play."' … [Read more...] about House rocks as Buffalo holds tight

'"I just think it's probably coincidence that a team has come out and dominated three games in a row in the second," said Buffalo defenseman Jay McKee. "I don't think there's any X's or O's reasoning to it, but we're glad we played a great period."' … [Read more...] about Sabres take their turn dominating second period

'As bad as the Sabres played in the second period on Monday, they played that well in the middle period Wednesday, using a 13-minute burst of dominating play to skate away with a 4-3 victory and two-games-to-one series lead.' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ ‘white-out’ helps regain momentum, quiet Hurricanes

'“Certainly, we didn’t play very well in the second period,” Carolina coach Peter Laviolette said.' … [Read more...] about Sabres shine in second period, regain series lead

'In a game the Sabres had to have, a game that followed the team’s worst playoff outing, Briere was one of the many who stood tall in the corners, buried the shots he needed to, and put the Sabres back in the series lead. But he wasn’t alone.' … [Read more...] about Briere, Jillson measure up for Buffalo

'“This is about how entertaining the product is on the ice,” Bettman said. “We couldn’t really ask for anything more, We don’t really care what markets are involved.”' … [Read more...] about Bettman has no problem with the &#8217Canes and Sabres

'He was by no means spectacular, finishing with a plus-minus rating of -1 in 10:31 of ice time. Jillson, however, balanced a Buffalo blue line reeling from injuries to Dmitri Kalinin and Teppo Numminen.' … [Read more...] about Jillson passes first test

'Two days after the Carolina Hurricanes reclaimed their turf in Game 2, the Sabres -- specifically the line of Daniel Briere, Jochen Hecht and J.P. Dumont -- responded to coach Lindy Ruff's challenge.' … [Read more...] about Briere throws 1-2 punch