Archives for February 20, 2012

‘”It was fun because we worked hard and deserved to win,” captain Jason Pominville said. “It’s just disappointing that a lot of times we’ve been inconsistent.”‘

‘Sabres coach Lindy Ruff wondered where Roy’s game had been all season and wasn’t sure if it would return Tuesday against the Islanders. It’s not a good sign when a coach isn’t certain of what to expect from a player after watching him for 526 games. It’s impossible to determine if Sunday’s effort was merely a flash of brilliance or total recovery.’

‘”We had to take away speed and time from him,” Gaustad said. “Robyn and Reg [Sekera] did a great job out there too. We didn’t want to back off on him. If we backed off, it gives him time.”‘

‘“We bared down, didn’t give them any opportunities,” said Sabres captain Jason Pominville, who opened the scoring and had three points. “They had to work for what they got.”‘

‘“We didn’t want to back off on them. If we backed off, it gives them time,” Gaustad said following the Sabres’ 6-2 win at the First Niagara Center. “We wanted to make sure that we had two forwards going extremely hard, and Patty and Gerbs did that most of the night. They worked hard. That’s how we got our chances.”’

Poor play brings out the best in Buffalo’s struggling lineup (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Neal comfortable with team, contract (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Lackluster Sabres able to get the best of passionless Penguins (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Penguins’ answers within (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Penguins re-sign winger Neal to six-year extension (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Penguins still have faith in goaltender Johnson (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Endgame: Sabres 6, Penguins 2 (PittsburghPenguins.com)
Photo gallery (PittsburghPenguins.com)
Photo gallery (Sabres.com)
Photo gallery (AP)
Photo gallery (WGRZ-TV)

‘Jason Pominville had a goal and two assists, while Ryan Miller made 22 saves, including stopping Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin on breakaway attempts in the second period. Paul Gaustad, Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis also scored for Buffalo (25-27-7), which improved to 1-3-1 in its past five, and moved out of a tie with Carolina for last place in the Eastern Conference.’

‘Derek Roy tallied twice to go with an assist while Jason Pominville lit the lamp and dished out two assists as the Buffalo Sabres snapped a four-game losing skid with a 6-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.’

‘The win snaps a 4-game losing streak for Buffalo and also pulls them out of last place in the Eastern Conference.’

‘“I think the answer was getting the fourth one right away. That was the answer,” he explained. “Obviously, the thoughts started creeping in, ‘That’s going to give them some life and these next few shifts are important.’ I think the fact that we got it back in deep and were playing in their end; that was the difference. I thought we just kept coming. I know we made some mistakes. We got some great saves out of Ryan but from a skating and moving the puck standpoint, we did a good job against their top line.”’