Archives for April 26, 2007

'"There is some recognition personally of the expectation for the line," said Mair. "When you go out with those players, you know you're expected to do more than just getting it deep and cycling the puck. You want to be a complete hockey player that is also contributing offensively when you can. We're looking to create scoring chances."'

'He says he can't risk coming back early, because his surgeon says the tendon could rupture again if not totally healed.'

'"There's pressure everywhere. I don't feel anymore pressure," Ruff said. "You get a team to where we're at & you want to stay there. You want to try and find ways just to be a consistent team in this league, knowing that when you get outside the playoffs, sometimes it's tough to get back inside them. We want players to come here. We want players to like playing here. We want this to be a great place to play and I think that's part of it, too."'

'"It's the same question over and over: 'Do we have to change something?'" Jagr said, raising his voice slightly. "Yes," he said. "And if we're going to have to change something, it's up to us."'

'“Sometimes against the Islanders we’re rushing those plays,” Briere said. “We’re chipping it in. … The whole play opened after that because he held on and made it happen. I think that’s part of our confidence coming back.”'

'What a difference a year makes for Thomas Vanek.'

'The festivities begin at 4:30 p.m. outside HSBC Arena in the Plaza area located near Perry and Illinois St. and there will now be a limit of three beers per person for the duration of the event each night.'

‘”We definitely don’t feel like a fourth line,” Kotalik said Thursday after practice. “Look at the guys on this line, Tim Connolly, when healthy, is one of the best players in the league. He’s one of the best skilled centreman, he’s just unbelievable when you watch him.”‘

‘With three goals in 4:05 late in the second period, including two by Vanek, the Sabres blew the game wide open, but remember that long before he tipped Dmitri Kalinin’s point shot between Henrik Lundqvist’s legs or put Paul Mara on the burning deck and wristed the puck over him inside the right post, Vanek made the smallest of defensive plays in his own zone. It was big enough to send the game 155 feet, and 180 degrees, in the other direction.’

‘“We have a team that can smell blood sometimes,” Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said. “We were doing a lot of things right and finally got rewarded.”’