Archives for March 31, 2012

Buffalo Sabres at Toronto Maple Leafs: Saturday game preview (Toronto Star)
Buffalo (38-30-10) at Toronto (33-36-9) (AP)
Buffalo Sabres (38-30-10) at Toronto Maple Leafs (33-36-9) (The Sports Network)
Sabres need bounce-back win at Toronto (NHL.com)

‘”The biggest difference was we didn’t get the job done penalty killing, which hurt us,” coach Lindy Ruff said.’

‘”It wasn’t like they blew us out of the water,” Stafford said. “It’s why it hurts a little bit more. They have two of the best players in the world on their team, but we could have played even better. We didn’t play our best, but we were in the game with them. I had a chance in the end to tie it up, and I just missed it. It’s frustrating.”‘

‘”We need to make sure we have good habits and the last two games weren’t a good display of that so we had to bounce back,” Crosby said. “We did a great job of that all the way through.”‘

‘“We dug ourselves a hole a few months ago, but through solid play and sticking with it we’re right where we need to be and we have another chance tomorrow to keep pushing toward that goal,” said Drew Stafford, who had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds but saw the puck jump over his stick. “It was frustrating tonight, but we have to get ready for tomorrow.”’

‘In his first appearance here in 15 months, Crosby torched the Sabres for four points – one goal and three assists – helping the Penguins down the Sabres 5-3 in a wildly entertaining affair before a loud capacity crowd of 18,690 fans inside the First Niagara Center.’

‘“It’s great,” Hodgson said about the area. “I like the fans, too. They’re passionate. They know the game. They want the Sabres to do well.”’

Penguins snap slump with help from No. 2 goalie, No. 1 player (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Niskanen, Vitale return to lineup (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Crosby, Pens bounce back (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Niskanen returns to Penguins’ lineup (Pittsburgh Tribune Review)
Endgame: Penguins 5, Sabres 3 (PittsburghPenguins.com)
Johnson Has Strong Showing in Return (PittsburghPenguins.com)
Photo gallery (PittsburghPenguins.com)
Photo gallery (Sabres.com)
Photo gallery (AP)
Photo gallery (Buffalo News)
Photo gallery (WGRZ-TV)

‘“We won’t beat this thing to death,” Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold said. “There’s a simple formula, we just move forward. We know we can play better.”’

‘”It’s been a playoff mentality for us for a while now,” said Miller. “If this was a playoff game we’d be talking about how we have to put this behind us and look to the next game. That’s exactly what we have to do.”‘