Archives for February 11, 2009

‘“It’s no fun,” the winger said. “I came here to play and give the fans a show.”’

‘“There were some games at the beginning of the year you just sat back and said, ‘Wow, man, is he playing hard,’” coach Lindy Ruff said Tuesday after the Sabres practiced. “And I haven’t seen that (return). It’s a discussion I’ve had with him. We’re at crunch time now, and crunch time means you got to go even harder and got to be noticed even more,” he said. “We’re desperate to move up and we’re desperate to have guys play above where they’ve been at, and we need it even more so now with the absence of some other key players.”’

”’The Amerks should have never left Buffalo,” said Todd Rutherford of Greece. “Florida promised to give us a winning team and they haven’t done anything.”’

‘Montreal Juniors centre Luke Adam remains in intensive car after rupturing his spleen during Sunday’s game against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Adam, a 19-year-old Buffalo Sabres draft choice, underwent two-hour emergency surgery earlier this week and is expected to remain in intensive care for at leas the next three days. A club spokesman said he will miss at least six to eight weeks due to the injury.’

‘Gerbe is tied for the AHL rookie scoring lead with 20 goals and 17 assists in 32 games this season. He also has one NHL assist during a six-game stint with the Sabres in December.’

‘Buffalo’s fifth-round draft pick in 2005, Gerbe is tied for second among AHL rookies with 37 points (20 goals, 17 assists) in 32 games.’

‘“He’s close,” Ruff said. “If this was playoffs you would probably throw him in there and say let’s go at it, but I don’t think we need to lose a player that’s not quite there yet.”’

‘Each Sabres player has signed a limited number of 8×10 photographs that can be purchased for a $20 donation to the Buffalo Sabres Foundation. The photos will be sold at a pair of tables in the HSBC Arena Pavilion by the Sabres’ Significant Others beginning at 5:30 p.m.’

‘This is Gerbe’s second recall of the season; he had one assist during a six-game stint in December. He made his NHL debut on December 6 in Tampa Bay.’

‘"It gets me in the lineup more, so it’s all the best," Paetsch said. "I like playing both positions. It doesn’t bother me, either or. They put me in the lineup to play hockey. It’s nice to be able to play both, and I’m comfortable going back and forth."’