Archives for January 16, 2012

‘Miller switched from a titanium mask to a steel version last month once he returned to the Sabres lineup.’

‘”My mom sewed a jacket that’s half Red Wings and half Buffalo,” Drew said. “It has both our numbers on the corresponding sides and ‘Miller’ on the top.”‘

‘Brennan joins the Sabres for his fourth recall of the season. The first-year defenseman has recorded one point (1+0) and four penalty minutes in five NHL games this season, averaging 14:55 of ice time per game.’

‘”Every other team has to play on the road too,” winger Thomas Vanek said over the weekend. “I’ve always thought of us as a pretty good road team. Obviously we’ve slipped in the past two months. It hasn’t mattered where we’ve played at. Sometimes it’s OK to go away and maybe play a little simpler and just get our confidence and swagger back, which we haven’t had much since basically the start of the season.”‘

‘The Sabres’ problems go much deeper than injuries. Humpty Dumpty? Pegula needs different horses and men to put it back together again. For too long, the Sabres have been a reflection of their GM. Now, it starts to reflect the owner.’

‘The Wings are the talk of the town because they’ve won 14 straight games at home — and can break the franchise record set by the 1964-65 team with a win tonight.’

Buffalo (19-20-5) at Detroit (28-15-1) (AP)
Buffalo Sabres (19-20-5) at Detroit Red Wings (28-15-1) (The Sports Network)
Wings got for team-record 15 in a row at home (NHL.com)

‘Really, how could that be? It’s only January, the playoffs are slipping and we’re still watching a team that’s not desperate and skating hard enough? I really don’t understand.’

‘I believe we have a good hockey team. And when it gets healthy, we can make that push, I believe that. We did it last year… I like to tell people that, if they want to see frustration, be around our locker room. The guys aren’t happy either. They know that the last 25 games haven’t been good for us, and they’re working hard to improve that.’

‘“He is a consummate pro. From how hard he works, how hard he trains and has an unbelievable attitude. You could take some of his attributes, and if you could drop one or two on different players, it’d be a helluva player. That comes with the battle of trying to stay in this league too. It’s a determination that’s pretty impressive.”’