Archives for November 23, 2011

‘“These guys drafted me a few years back and are dressing me for a reason,” said Brennan, a third-year pro who was the Sabres’ second-round draft pick in 2007. “I just try to remember that. Keep it simple early on until I get some confidence and see what happens.”’

‘”It’ll be a different atmosphere. We realize that,” Sabres forward Brad Boyes said. “But we need to win. They’re playing very well. They just jumped ahead of us in the standings, and we need to keep pace with them. It’s a game that’s very valuable to us in the sense that we need to play well at home, we need to keep pace, we need to win.”‘

‘Sabres fans view the winger as a son of a gun, but he’s actually a son of a longshoreman. He’s 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He grew up between two brothers. He’s had 40 NHL fights in four-plus seasons. He knows how to scrap. Looking back, the Sabres’ failure to engage might have been self-preservation, not a lack of team unity.’

‘Hecht was close to returning several times this fall but repeatedly got blindsided by the return of symptoms. He stayed away from the ice during the first week of November, a break he credits with helping the recovery process. He also changed medications and visited a chiropractor.’

‘“I don’t know what to expect,” Ruff said. “We got to try to win a game, obviously. They’re playing well. They’re Stanley Cup champions. They’re a good team. They’re playing as good as any team. They’re probably the best team in the league right now.”’

‘“When I took that week off again and just changed treatment a little bit, that really helped,” said Hecht, who began seeing a chiropractor and taking different medicine. “I’ve been fine since. Not really pushing it over the edge.”’

‘Rugged Bruins winger Milan Lucic figures he has a fight waiting for him here tonight, the residue of his infamous entanglement 11 days ago with Ryan Miller that left the Buffalo goalie hurting, coach Lindy Ruff fuming, and Sabres teammates apologizing for standing idly by in the aftermath of Lucic’s shot heard ’round the world.’

‘“Yeah, I mean, you can look back at the whole Matt Cooke thing,” said Lucic. “The next game, he stood up and fought Shawn Thornton, and it was over and done with. I expect sort of the same thing. If it ends up being a brawl, well, then it ends up being a brawl.”’

‘A big to-do, or much ado about nothing? Almost everyone who watches wants to find out.’

Lucic expects Ruff stuff (Boston Globe)
Sabres thumbnails (Boston Globe)
Bruins know Sabres have fight (Boston Herald)
Bruins shoot for 10th straight win against revenge-minded Buffalo Sabres (Quincy Patriot Ledger)
Bruins aim to brush off storm brewing in Buffalo (New Bedford Standard Times)
Bruins, Sabres preaching focus rather than revenge (Providence Journal)
Bruins say they’ll just be themselves (ESPN)
Don’t expect a slugfest between B’s, Sabres (CSN New England)
Boston (12-7-0) at Buffalo (12-8-0) (AP)
Boston Bruins (12-7-0) at Buffalo Sabres (12-8-0) (The Sports Network)
Sabres look to deny Bruins a 10th straight victory (NHL.com)