Archives for January 24, 2008

'Now, when you watch a team walk off the ice after the other has won in OT or a shootout, the players usually have their heads down, their coach is dismayed and their goalie is kicking at snow piles en route to the bench. In other words, if the other team scores more goals than you do and walks off with two points, well, if it looks like a loss, smells like a loss, and the players in the locker room will talk like it was a loss. But to the NHL and Sabres management, that's a non-win.To everyone else, you got beat. Why else do you think everyone calls it the "loser" point?'

‘“You want to be there, you know?” Afinogenov said. “You want to help the guys. I know the guys are fighting, and some games we lose when we should have won. It’s kind of a tough situation. But everybody believes we can turn it around.”’

‘Ruff can’t admit it, but the heart has been sucked out of his team. In one season, they’ve gone from a team that won 10 games in a row to a team that went winless in 10 straight. It’s sad to say, but the Sabres have gone from Presidents’ Trophy winner to league laughingstock.’

‘“These two guys are excellent at playing the puck,” Ruff said Wednesday after practice in the suburb of Farmers Branch. “Not only playing it but shooting it. You’ve got to guard against the long plays on changes and the quick ups on power plays. They add a whole new dimension.”’

'We’ve interviewed some of your players and have asked them if the Drury/Briere fiasco and the Campbell negotiations are having an effect on the psyche of this team. To their credit, nobody is biting, and to a man they all say the politically correct things. But just spending media time with the team at morning skates, practices and after the games, it’s easy to see that things aren’t like they were in that clubhouse. There is a lethargy, a lack of enthusiasm, a going through the motions that was not evident in previous seasons.'

Dallas Stars vs. Buffalo Sabres preview (Dallas Morning News)

Tale of the tape (Dallas Morning News)

Buffalo (20-21-6) at Dallas (28-19-5) (AP)

Sabres aim to end road futility vs. Stars (Sportsticker)

Buffalo Sabres (20-21-6) at Dallas Stars (28-19-5) (The Sports Network)

Same old, same old leads Buffalo into Dallas (LetsGoSabres.com)

Amerks sink to new depths with loss (Rochester D&C)

Amerks’ recent woes leave area fans out in the cold (Rochester D&C)

At least the games are close (Rochester D&C)

Penalty shot aids Flames (Moline Dispatch)

Amerks torched by Flames, lose sixth straight (Amerks.com)

Amerks to visit the Original Charbroil House Thursday night (Amerks.com)