Archives for April 10, 2007

'Sabres in 5.'

‘”I’m still not happy about it. I don’t think I ever will be,” Vanek said. “But it’s over with. There’s nothing I can do now. It’s in the past and hopefully it’ll go better this year.”‘

‘”They’re going to break me down and try and figure out what I do on a consistent basis in certain situations,” said Miller. “Hopefully, with the way I’ve been trying to build my game up in the last month or so, I’m playing positionally sound and it’s hard to work around that.”‘

‘”[Mair’s] been here a long time,” said Ruff of the six-year veteran. “He’s played every game this year and he’s played hard. He’s been there for teammates. Within our system, he’s played very hard and he deserves to play.”‘

‘”I don’t know anybody like him,” says Sabres general manager Darcy Regier. Mike Eruzione, the 1980 Olympic hockey star who as an assistant at BU coached Drury, says, “He’s not superskilled. He just wins.”‘

'At 5’5, he is one of the nation’s smallest players, but Nathan Gerbe is also one of the fastest and most talented. The Buffalo Sabres prospect has had an outstanding sophomore campaign, currently second on Boston College with 47 points.'

‘“It’s a great story for them,” Ruff said. “You look at it, somebody had said it would be a lot of shock if one playoff spot came down to a shootout, and it came down to a shootout. The rookie goaltender ends up stealing the show. It couldn’t get more exciting for him. You get a chance to play, and then you get to play in that situation for a playoff spot, and then it comes down to a shootout no less.”‘

‘“Obviously, I’m fortunate to get a chance to stick around up here,” Stafford said in the Amherst Pepsi Center. “I’m going to take advantage of that opportunity and try to play as well as I can and help the team out wherever they want me to play.”’

‘But checks with ticket sellers found a plentiful supply — and more than a few people disappointed that the Toronto Maple Leafs, whom the Islanders edged out Sunday for the chance to open the playoffs against the Sabres, are not the opponent. “We were banking on Toronto,” said Ray, a Buffalo resident who asked that his last name not be used.’

‘After all, the Sabres’ meaningless loss to the Philadelphia Flyers’ Sunday afternoon averaged a 16.4 rating and 36 share on Channel 2, the local NBC affiliate. To put that in perspective, the Easter Sunday game had higher local ratings than every network series in prime time Sunday night and almost every program all week.’