Archives for April 8, 2007

Following are the dates and times for the first round games between the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders:

Thurs. 4/12 — Buffalo vs. NYI 8:00pm

Sat. 4/14 — Buffalo vs. NYI 7:30pm

Mon. 4/16 — Buffalo at NYI 7:30pm

Wed. 4/18 — Buffalo at NYI 7:30pm

*Fri. 4/20 — Buffalo vs. NYI 7:00pm

*Sun. 4/22 — Buffalo at NYI 7:00pm

*Tue. 4/24 — Buffalo vs. NYI TBD

'Although the final buzzer ended the Sabres' 82-game tune-up with a defeat, Buffalo's collective health remains intact – a bonus that has smiles beaming throughout western New York as the real season begins next.'

'Buffalo entered the third period with a 3-2 lead, but the Flyers rallied with two goals in the final 20 minutes to end the Sabres' chance at sole possession of the team's all-time record for most points in a season.'

‘Collecting a loose puck in Buffalo’s zone, Knuble created a scoring opportunity for one of his younger teammates by cutting behind the net and attempting a backhanded wraparound with a Philadelphia man advantage. The shot was turned away by Conklin but the 22-year-old Richards converted on the rebound to record his 10th goal of the season at 8:45.’

'Philadelphia came back strong in the third scoring twice to take the lead. The first came right off a face off as Mike Knuble snapped it past Ty Conklin and then Mike Richards would score on the power play to make it 4-3 with just over twelve minutes remaining. That’s how it would end as Martin Biron stopped 27 shots in the win.'

'"You don't want a key injury in a game like this that means absolutely nothing to you," coach Lindy Ruff said. "It was two teams that didn't throw a lot of hits. As a players, you don't want to get hurt on your exit game. It was pretty mildly contested on both sides."'

'It was a matchup of polar opposites, as Buffalo captured the President's Trophy with the most points in the league, while the Flyers set a new franchise low for points and finished dead last in the NHL standings.'

Buffalo (53-21-7) at Philadelphia (21-48-12) (AP)

Sabres visit Flyers in regular-season finale (Sportsticker)

Buffalo Sabres (53-21-7) at Philadelphia Flyers (21-48-12) (The Sports Network)

'“We knew it was probably going to come down to the last day or the night before, so there’s not a lot of difference,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who went out to dinner rather than watch the crucial Leafs-Habs tilt. “I wasn’t that keen on watching. Originally, I was. Then I thought, it’s going to be who it’s going to be. As it turned out, now it’s out of both those teams’ hands.”'

'“The first goal’s always the hardest one to get. It’s a big relief,” Connolly said while riding a stationary bike. “I was just going out with the mentality of keeping it simple out there, not trying to do too much.”'