Archives for February 7, 2008

'The good news is plenty of home games in a short span, and an opportunity to pile up points in a hurry. The three-week road trip was make-or-break time; the four-week homestand is the new make-or-break time!'

‘”I’ve seen him in practice,” Sabres forward Jason Pominville said. “He’s actually really good in the shootouts. He’s got that long reach where he can go further than most players. He’s got good hands. He definitely showed it.”‘

‘“Brodeur has been really successful against us in the shootout [winning three this season alone], so I think [Ruff] wanted to let him see a few new faces,” Tallinder said.’

‘“If a guy is lining up like Pominville to set his foot to knock the puck down, that’s just a deflection,” Miller said. “The guy in front of the net hacking, whacking and kicking it toward the net is a safety issue. If the puck is toward the guy and he just raises his foot, [the goal is counted]. That’s how it’s been explained to me by a lot of refs.”’

'“Some players are good on breakaways and there are some players who are awfully skilled who aren’t very good on breakaways,” said Ruff. “We’ve tried to keep some stats in practice on breakaway drills and maybe notice some guys who wouldn’t normally get the nod because the odds have been failing us with some of the guys we’ve been using. Hank has been pretty much a 1-for-2 guy in practice and those are pretty good odds. He did a great job for us.”'

Sluggish point (New York Post)

Sabres mix it up, finally beat Devils in shootout (Newark Star Ledger)

Brian Gionta out of moves vs. Ryan Miller (Newark Star Ledger)

Sabres beat Devils in shootout (Bergen Record)

Devils Notes (Bergen Record)

Sabres 3, Devils 2 (F/SO) (NewJerseyDevils.com)

Photo gallery (Sabres.com)

‘Stafford beat New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur with a wrist shot in the first round of the shootout, and Tallinder followed with a nifty deke. Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller denied Brian Gionta’s wrist shot in the second round to give the Sabres their second straight win.’

‘Miller stopped 24 shots in regulation and overtime for Buffalo, which has won two in a row. Jason Pominville and Michael Ryan had a goal apiece for the Sabres, who beat the Devils for the first time in four meetings this season.’

‘The two teams headed to overtime and shootout for the fourth time in four games.’

‘Head coach Lindy Ruff dialed up something different, sending out forward Drew Stafford and defenseman Henrik Tallinder in Buffalo’s fourth shootout against the Devils this season. The gamble paid off when each scored to give the Sabres a 3-2 shootout victory over New Jersey.’