Archives for June 3, 2006

'"I don't want to walk away from this at all," McKee said Saturday as the players conducted exit interviews with head coach Lindy Ruff and general manager Darcy Regier. "There's nowhere else I want to be."'

'McKee still doesn't know what caused a cut on his shin to become so infected, but he said if the Sabres had advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, he likely would have been ready for Game 2. "It's still swollen, but I think I turned the corner," he said.'

‘The Buffalo Sabres were just 20 minutes away from defeating the huge odds stacked up against them. With just 3.3 seconds left in the second period, they had somehow forged ahead on a goal by Jochen Hecht and all they had to do now was to play their best defensive period of the season. Alas, it was not to be.’

‘If only they had one more healthy regular defenseman. If only so many key forwards hadn’t slumped. If only the power play didn’t evaporate. If only the penalty killers had managed one more critical stop.’

‘Let’s be honest. It’s been pretty dismal around here for the past few years. The Sabres gave this town a reason to get excited for the better part of six months, and nothing produces energy quite like an exhilarating playoff run. The only thing people have ever asked for is an honest effort. The Sabres provided that and plenty more.’

‘Throughout the conference finals, the Buffalo rating on OLN was three or four times higher than the Carolina rating on OLN even though Buffalo viewers had the alternative of watching three games on CBC. The disparity was even higher for the one game carried by NBC. Buffalo had a 31 rating, Raleigh a 4.4.’

‘With all due respect to the still-standing ‘Canes and Edmonton Oilers, no team in this postseason played with more heart than the Sabres.’

'"The AHL, they threw it out after a year because the fans hated it. I don't know how that makes its way to be a deciding factor in an NHL hockey game."'

'A disappointing loss by the Sabres on Thursday night may have caused a few people to act out after leaving the Historic Palace Theatre.'

'Among Mayor Charles Meeker's solemn duties Friday was to keep from gloating when he called Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown to offer condol — er, congratulations — on a well-fought, spirited hockey series. Now it's time to collect on the bet. Meeker bet 3 pounds of Carolina 'cue on Raleigh's Canes against 3 pound of Buffalo wings.'