Archives for February 2013

'Sabres forward Thomas Vanek scored his second goal of the night with 1.9 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game, 4-4. With teammates Marcus Foligno, Tyler Ennis and Steve Ott crashing the net, Vanek broke free from Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec to put the puck in past a swarm of bodies and Montreal goaltender Peter Budaj.' … [Read more...] about After late goal, Sabres defeat Canadiens in shootout

'"It’s definitely not lost on us that we need to play better hockey. But I don’t think now is the time to start panicking. It’s time to keep building. We have to climb out of a hole. We can’t dig ourselves deeper by talking about [Ruff] or us as players and how effective we’re being. We all can be effective."' … [Read more...] about Ruff in tough as Sabres slump

'But how is this team different than the one we’ve witnessed for the better part of the past five seasons? There’s no energy, no leadership, no motivation, no pride.' … [Read more...] about These Sabres aren’t one bit different team

'We asked that question to an Eastern Conference team executive: "When you’re depending on Miller to always save games, you take that for granted, I think," he said. "The defense group, on paper, should be better than it is playing right now. They haven’t played well back there. The other thing is with this short season, teams play so many games in a short period, when you get … [Read more...] about Hot in Buffalo, and we ain’t talking wings

'Such longevity seems surprising considering that the Sabres are not quite a model of consistency.' … [Read more...] about Whether reinvent

'Also pleased to be in a real hockey market, Ott has a style of play that has a chance to win the favor of her supporters. Because he used to be a rock in the shoe of his opponents. This is one of the most hated players in the league. But because of the shortened season, he knows that the discipline could be costly.' … [Read more...] about At least the Sabres are no longer intimidated

'With only three wins in ten games, the Sabres know that it is imperative to stop the slide, especially in a schedule of 48 games where the season starts are also important. Maybe they will learn from two years ago when they had started the season with only two wins in their first 12 games? The Sabres were able to get out of deadlock and to carve out a playoff spot thereafter.' … [Read more...] about Training to face the Sabres unchanged?

'“I think you’re always concerned,” he said. “My job is to keep the morale up. The hope for the team has been real good. The guys have been positive. They’ve been upbeat. They dug in, tried to come back” in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss in Ottawa, “tried to fight through the adversity."' … [Read more...] about Any Sabres’ moves won’t include Ruff

'The Sabres got destroyed in the circle in Tuesday night’s loss at Ottawa, 37-15, and are winning just 41.3 percent of their draws for the season, a stat compounded by their troubles on assignments. No other team entered Wednesday at less than 45.3 and 20 teams had won at least 49 percent.' … [Read more...] about Faceoffs get extra attention in practice

'Don’t forget, the Sabres won their first two contests. Two weeks later, they’re a mess, unable to defend or even win draws consistently.' … [Read more...] about Last-place Sabres trying to dig out of early-season hole

'“I’m available whenever the coaches may need me, no matter what the case may be,” a smiling Kaleta said Wednesday. “I have a high pain tolerance. I can battle through whatever.”' … [Read more...] about Sabres’ Kaleta nearing return following scary neck injury

'Regier is a firm believer in the theory that if you hire the right person, there’s no need to make a change. That’s not to say he is opposed to change. He believes it’s important for individuals to change.' … [Read more...] about Sabres GM Regier has seen it all

'"At first glance, we lost one of our best offensive players, but in return we got a player type difficult to find," he said.' … [Read more...] about New philosophy

Sabres GM Regier has seen it all (Montreal Gazette) New philosophy (Le Journal de Montreal) Canadiens-Sabres Preview (AP) Montreal Canadiens (6-3-0) at Buffalo Sabres (3-6-1) (The Sports Network) Canadiens-Sabres Preview (NHL.com) Canadiens-Sabres Preview (Canadiens.com) … [Read more...] about Thursday’s Montreal Coverage

'"I went to the leadership on the team and said 'We need to work on some things. I think it would be a good idea if we could flip a day here or there,'" head coach Lindy Ruff said. "It is a situation where we know we're digging out of a hole. We've got a lot of guys out, we've got new guys in different positions. There was lots of stuff to go over. We did some video, we did … [Read more...] about Sabres skip day off; Ehrhoff doubtful for Thursday