Archives for April 3, 2015

‘“I’ve played quite a bit of games now where hopefully someone notices that I can skate and shoot the puck,” Dalpe said. “It’s taken me awhile to kind of work my way into the NHL speed, but I think I caught it at the right time. Hopefully someone will notice, whether it’s Buffalo or whoever. I don’t look at the future that way. I just kind of play every game. I know it’s a cliché, but I play every game and bring my best and work hard and somebody at the end of the day will like it.’

‘“It was kind of inspiring when a fellow teammate has that much respect for another one and doing a gesture like that in front of his teammates,” Nolan said. “You look at these guys and think they’re big, burly individuals all the time, but they do have some emotion and you see some tears coming out of Patty’s eyes. He said good thing the room was dark or you would have seen them more. It was very emotional. It was a great gesture.”’

‘“His leadership alone has helped us get to where we are with the steps we’re making with the younger guys,” Sabres winger Patrick Kaleta said Thursday. “Numbers are numbers. I don’t believe it shows if you’re a good hockey player or not. It’s the way you approach the game, the way you play the game, and Brian does everything the right way.”’

‘“I was at a loss for words,” a proud Kaleta said Thursday inside the First Niagara Center. “I don’t really know how to describe it. You dream your whole life to play for the Buffalo Sabres. Now that you’re playing for them, getting an ‘A’ is like another dream come true that you work your life toward.’

Friday’s matchup: Blackhawks at Sabres (Chicago Tribune)
Blackhawks-Sabres Preview (AP)
Chicago Blackhawks (47-24-6) at Buffalo Sabres (22-47-8) (The Sports Network)
Blackhawks visit Sabres, aim for fourth straight win (NHL.com)
Blackhawks aim for fourth straight win in Buffalo (ChicagoBlackhawks.com)

‘Of note: The Sabres were not open to having Bailey join the parent club right away. Had he jumped right into the Buffalo lineup it would have eclipsed a year from his entry level contract, which the Sabres didn’t want to do. The Leafs did. And now, instead of being a member of Team Pegula, he’s become a foe.’

‘Good grief. Thus does a major professional sports league stumble into the twilight zone. And the fault lies with the lottery system, which is obviously inadequate as a disincentive to be lousy.’

‘He could sell Babcock on coaching Connor McDavid, who is being billed as the next Sidney Crosby — that’s if Buffalo scores McDavid in June’s entry draft.’

‘“It’s definitely a tough situation. If you have two games, I don’t know what it really will do, but just personally, it’ll be nice to get in and sort of get acquainted with everything and get my feet wet in the organization here,” he said. “It’s just exciting just to know I might be able to get in a couple games. But again, I don’t want to get my hopes up too much because if it’s not right then I’m not going to push it.”’

‘“That’s one thing we try to instill – a group that cares for one another because a group that cares for one another usually plays well together moving forward,” Nolan said. “It was great to see. When you see one guy who really cares about another guy who is actually from this city, it was great to see.”’