Archives for May 2006

'But don't lay too much blame at the hands of Sabres' fill-in defencemen, this was a team loss.' … [Read more...] about Hurricanes blow by lacklustre Sabres

'Back in early March, as the trade deadline closed in, the Sabres were urged by every observer in western New York to grab a serviceable NHL defenceman for insurance, or maybe even to usurp some of the workload of one of their less highly-regarded rearguards. Buffalo management was allegedly of the same mind. But by the dinner hour on March 9, when all the transactions had been … [Read more...] about Sabres done in by defence

'"My dad pretty much went out of his way not to push me into football," Grier said yesterday. "I think if it was something I wanted to play, he would have let me, but he never pushed it. I love football though. Sundays in the fall, I sit home and watch football all day. I'm not really a Pats fan anymore. With my dad in Texas and my brother in Miami, that's pretty much who I … [Read more...] about Notebook

'Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said anyone who would blame the defense for the loss would be "looking in the wrong place." "Our power play wasn't very good," Ruff said. "Our special teams and our forwards have to be better. I'm not looking at defense as an excuse for losing."' … [Read more...] about Sabres don’t blame ‘D’

'In my experience, the best high-temperature wings in the world come from Buffalo Joe's in my hometown of Evanston, Ill., and the now-closed Chicken Hutch in Nashua, N.H.' … [Read more...] about A search to find Buffalo’s top wing

Canes make their move (Raleigh News and Observer) Laviolette makes a statement (Raleigh News and Observer) Sabres don't blame 'D' (Raleigh News and Observer) Canes improve power-play performance (Raleigh News and Observer) A search to find Buffalo's top wing (Raleigh News and Observer) Turning Point (Raleigh News and Observer) Return not in Cole's cards (Raleigh News and … [Read more...] about Saturday’s Carolina Coverage

'"It's not like we brought in a guy from the minor leagues or a backup per se," Coach Peter Laviolette said of his decision to start Gerber.' … [Read more...] about With Gerber Back in Goal, Carolina Is Back in the Series

'Getting an early lead didn't hurt either against a team that has thrived by getting the jump on opponents throughout the playoffs. The Sabres have won nine of 11 postseason games in which they've gotten on the board first, but their inability to solve Gerber turned out to be their downfall.' … [Read more...] about ‘Canes get home ice back behind Gerber’s top-notch effort

'But brave words don't make plays. Players do.' … [Read more...] about In need of healthy defensemen

'In Game 5 on Sunday night in Carolina, the Sabres will be looking to make life a little more difficult for Gerber. "He played very well, but I didn't think we got to the net enough," Sabres co-captain Daniel Briere said. "We're going to have to get more traffic around him in the next game. We have to make it tougher for him. I didn't think we did that tonight."' … [Read more...] about Gerber gives Carolina much-needed lift

'The Sabres are asking a lot of guys like Jillson and Janik to play significant minutes in a situation like this. The entire Buffalo defence is getting stressed by the absence of Henrik Tallinder, Teppo Numminen and Dmitri Kalinin. This is a huge storyline and I'm not sure how Buffalo recovers from it.' … [Read more...] about Sabres defence a huge concern

'Not the best night for Buffalo defenseman Jeff Jillson. Pressed into more than 14 minutes of ice time by injuries that have thinned the Sabres' defense corps, Jillson was on the ice for three of Carolina's four goals. He was responsible for a giveaway that led to a scoring chance in the first period, and Andrew Ladd's first-career playoff goal was the result of Jillson's … [Read more...] about Backup and back in

'Gerber, who stopped all seven shots -- including three on breakaways -- he faced on Wednesday, has not allowed a goal in 87 minutes against Buffalo. That's a big turnaround after Ward replaced Gerber, who was pulled in Game 2 of Carolina's first-round series against Montreal after giving up nine goals on 34 shots.' … [Read more...] about Carolina 4, Buffalo 0

'"We had some decent opportunities in the first period but didn't capitalize," said Ruff, who was equally impressed with Gerber. "He played great. He made key saves at key times."' … [Read more...] about Surprise starter Gerber dominant as Hurricanes even Eastern Conference final

'The Sabres know they have what it takes to win on the road, having captured five of their last six games away from home. "We had a great road record all year long," Buffalo defenseman Jay McKee said. "We have to go in there and show why. ... We won Game One (in Carolina), we won the last game of the season there. We know we can beat them there. We just need an effort."' … [Read more...] about Hurricanes blank Sabres, knot Eastern Conference finals