Archives for October 27, 2006

‘”Well, it’s not the goal,” Sabres co-captain Daniel Briere said after practice Friday. “I mean, it’s very exciting. I think we’re all proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. But at the end of the day, it’s not what we’re aiming for down the road.”‘

'The streak isn't the only similarity between these two teams; each team had heartbreaking finishes to their previous seasons before starting off the new campaign in record style.'

The bond between the fans and the team, almost unbreakable coming into the season, was cemented even stronger when the players responded to boisterous sellouts in the midst of the devastating October storm by giving the people three straight reasons to pack up all their troubles and smile, smile, smile.

'"Our depth, I think, has got to be a strength," Drury said. "In all scenarios goalie, D, forward, special teams. (As for our) weakness, I'm not sure. We're working a lot on our system. Still working on our forecheck every day and watching video on it. Hopefully we can get that nailed down soon."'

'Jochen Hecht, Henrik Tallinder and Derek Roy all missed Friday's practice with injuries sustained in Thursday night's 3-0 win over the New York Islanders on Long Island. Hecht took a puck to the mouth and didn't return to the line-up. Ruff said Hecht lost some skin, but didn't know specifics. Roy has what Ruff described as a lower body injury, while Tallinder has an upper body injury. Tallinder was hit high by Trent Hunter's stick, but it is not known when he sustained his injury.'

‘The Sabres, who go for a record-setting 11-0-0 start Saturday night at home against Atlanta, are actually bucking history as they try to turn their early success into a championship. They’re the ninth team in NHL history to start a season with seven or more victories (the Sabres were helped by three shootout wins, which would have been ties before last season). But only one of the previous eight — the 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers, who started 7-0-0 — won the Stanley Cup.’

‘”We just weren’t sharp to start the game,” Briere said. “In the second and third [periods], it was a little better. I don’t think we had the explosiveness that we usually have. Once we got the lead, we played a safe game. It was a boring road game, basically, but it’s going to happen some nights. It’s good we still find ways to win.”‘

‘”We just want to create some energy,” Peters said Thursday. “That’s all we want to do. Anything that we get on the scoreboard is a bonus for us. We just keep our game really simple. We don’t try anything fancy. You don’t see any tick-tack-toe passes on our line. We just get the puck deep and go get it.”‘

‘”I think they’ve done some really good things in this organization as far as the talent they have. They’re pretty solid right up and down their lineup and Lindy [Ruff] obviously has them all on the same page. . . . I’m looking for great things from them and I’ll be watching them.”‘

‘Jacobs was chairman of the NHL’s negotiating committee in the battle with the players union two years ago. He was a unifying force for the owners in their struggle to make the league financially viable in small markets like Buffalo – where Delaware North was involved in the financing and construction of HSBC Arena. So Sabres fans owe him a debt of gratitude.’