Archives for March 2012

‘With the loss, Buffalo remains tied for 8th place in the Eastern Conference with Washington. Both teams have 86 points with four games remaining. The Sabres are at sliding Toronto on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff while the Capitals host Montreal.’

‘Five on five they’re doing a nice job on Malkin, but with four points in the first 35 minutes of the game, Crosby has been too much. Buffalo couldn’t stay out of the penalty box as both Malkin’s points and two of Crosby’s came on the power play.’

‘“We had our opportunities even late in this game. We had two point-blank opportunities. If Van get his rebound opportunity up, we’ve got a tie game. And Staff’s alone, where the puck goes off the end of his stick, we’ve been able to capitalize on a lot of those great opportunities. We didn’t capitalize on a lot of good ones and when you don’t, you keep yourself in a tight game.”’

‘“We’ve talked about it for almost two months now of not getting too excited after wins and enjoying the win and putting it away,” Ruff told The Buffalo News. “I think we’ve done a good job of that. We knew that [Capitals] game was like a four-pointer. That was a game we wanted to get, and we got it.”’

‘”The desperation, the shotblocking, guys giving up their bodies, some of the work coming back into our end, I think are the types of things you see in a playoff,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “There’s a physicality about some players that maybe you don’t see during the regular season.”‘

‘“I guess we’re better late than never,” Miller said. “It’s not ideal, but it’s what’s necessary. We were being questioned about our makeup and the kind of players we were for a long time, and I think we knew we had better hockey. You don’t want to be remembered for having a horrible start and basically wasting a season. You want to battle and compete.”’

Amerks squander late lead, lose to Toronto (Rochester D&C)
Zigomanis scores in OT in Marlies’ win (CP)
Amerks drop 5-4 overtime decision to Toronto (Amerks.com)
Marlies Earn Thrilling Overtime Victory in Rochester (Marlies.ca)

‘”It’s going to be an extremely fun game,” said Weber, who will return to the lineup in place of injured defenseman Christian Ehrhoff. “It’s really playoff hockey right now. Teams are ramped up and playing extremely solid. We’ve just got to keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”‘

‘The Sabres Store will have fan-appreciation prices in effect throughout the night. Ticket-holders can take advantage of family friendly food prices inside the arena from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.’

‘“It’s going to be an extremely fun game,” said Sabres defenseman Mike Weber, a Pittsburgh native who will replace Christian Ehrhoff tonight (knee) following a four-game absence. “There’s been a lot of them lately, so everything’s extremely important. It’s really playoff hockey right now. Teams are ramped up and playing extremely solid. We got to keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”’