Archives for April 25, 2007

'"I felt a lot of pressure, especially after how far we went with Edmonton," Spacek said Wednesday, recalling his decision to sign with Buffalo on July 5. "But the decision was made and everything was great for the family. I liked Edmonton but being here, it's much easier in the Eastern Conference in terms of travelling. The trips are shorter. Everything has worked out great here."'

'Not that it has to be rehashed again, but the Rangers scored eight of their 12 goals in four regular-season games against the Sabres on the power play.'

'Guilty of frequently blowing two- and three-goal leads earlier in the season, New York's gradual mastery of winning one-goal affairs late in the regular season served notice of their playoff preparation.'

'"As the crowds grow, we want to make sure that people can watch the game and be involved in it, and families can bring down their kids," he said. "We don't want underage drinking. We don't want excessive drinking. We want to create a fun atmosphere."'

'“We feel like we’re a team that’s built to win, and we’re built to play good hockey. We just have to go out there and execute. We can’t worry about what they say. We can only worry about what they do on the ice. We especially can’t worry about what their coach says. We’re never going to see him on the ice. There’s no way to get back at the coach, so to speak, besides winning hockey games.”'

'Center Tim Connolly skipped Tuesday’s practice to rest his sore hamstring. Ruff said Connolly will play in Game One tonight in HSBC Arena.'

'The Rangers are too deep, too skilled, too good, for the Sabres to surrender 30 percent of their potential. This is certain to be a different series against a better, more mature team that offers a new set of problems. Guaranteed, Rangers crank Sean Avery will be instigating trouble throughout the series. And that’s where Ruff comes into play.'

'Don’t get too excited. The best-case scenario, Buffalo beating Ottawa and meeting Detroit for the Cup, is probably too much to ask.'

'A blowout victory over the Islanders would have settled some nerves.'

'“ It’s going to be a lot of work,” Lydman said. “ Those guys have a lot of skill. They can decide games. Jagr can do it by himself sometimes. They can move the puck. They all can score. You can’t just shut down one guy."'