Archives for November 8, 2007

'You can see a lot of teams that you think should be scoring, aren’t scoring. There are teams that I wouldn’t think would score a lot that are scoring some goals, but there are a lot of good teams having a tough time putting consistent numbers up. The numbers are down. That speaks for itself. Goal scoring is around five right now, which is down again from last year. … [Read more...] about Lindy Ruff discusses trends in NHL

'You don't know it yet, but Happy Days are here again. And this time, they might just be for real. Happy Days? Last place in the Northeast Division, out of a playoff spot and already 13 points back of Ottawa? Yeah! And I love it!' … [Read more...] about Look closely: Sabres are rebuilding their game on the fly

'The message was clear after the Buffalo Sabres' boring 2-1 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday: low-scoring hockey is back in the NHL, so get used to it. It might've been the first time this season the Sabres gutted out a tight-checking contest, but it won't be the last. "There's going to be a lot of it this year," Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said. "That's the … [Read more...] about Sabres ‘gut out’ win over Bruins

'“It helps us but I don’t think we’re going to let the pressure off ourselves. We have to climb here, start putting together a string of wins together. It’s not going to be easy now that we won one. It’s going to keep being harder and harder.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres find release valve

'Go ahead and chalk it up to better coaching and looser officiating. But from what I’ve seen, this team lacks leadership, passion and competitive character. What they could use is someone like Drury to shut the locker room door, throw out the coaches, and tell some of the softer Sabres they’re not nearly as good as they think they are.' … [Read more...] about Win can&#8217t mask soft underbelly

'“It was nice to see,” said Ruff. “Sometimes you get a hunch and I thought giving Clarke and ‘Staff’ a shot there in overtime was great. He’s been going real well in Rochester and it was nice to see him get rewarded for how hard he’s worked down there."' … [Read more...] about MacArthur makes most of chance

'Maybe Jochen Hecht is the man. Or Henrik Tallinder. Or Toni Lydman. Whoever they are, those players need to emerge soon. But on this night, MacArthur was in charge of the Sabres' fate. "These are games we need to win," he said.' … [Read more...] about Sabres need leaders to emerge

'After scoring 24 goals in their first five games, the Sabres, who led the NHL in goals in 2006-07 with 308, have only 19 goals in the last nine games.' … [Read more...] about Sabres snap slump with OT win

'Although he didn’t register a point, Gaustad finished with a team-high seven hits. It’s the only stat that quantifies the value Gaustad, a one-time mucker who’s quickly becoming the team’s emotional leader, brings to a group in need of a true captain.' … [Read more...] about Efforts like Gaustad's will get Sabres winning again

'“It’s night and day. Usually when I scored last year, it was such a dominant team that it would be the eighth goal of the game. To get one in overtime like that is a dream come true.”' … [Read more...] about MacArthur's goal like 'dream come true'

Lucic back in the lineup (Boston Globe) Lucic back after educational hiatus (Boston Herald) Photo gallery (Sabres.com) … [Read more...] about Thursday’s Boston Coverage

'Cruising in the high slot, MacArthur one-timed Drew Stafford's pass from the left boards past goalie Tim Thomas for the win.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo 2, Boston 1, OT

'The Sabres have now gotten points in 17 of their last 18 games against Boston, going 14-1-3.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo 2, Boston 1 (OT)

'The game remained 1-0 until Buffalo tied it on the power play as Ales Kotalik ripped home the one timer with just over four minutes left in the second.' … [Read more...] about MacArthur Nets Game Winner In Overtime

'"I was nervous all day today," MacArthur said. "Even throughout the game, it's always like that your first couple of games. You're just nervous every time you get out there. So to get one of those, it's just a relief."' … [Read more...] about The General Strikes