WIVB

‘“I played with Jack a lot obviously the year prior and then it sort of became kind of a story and he’s obviously one of the best players in the league and he makes players around him better and that’s just what the best players do. I think if you get an opportunity to play with him he makes guys better and for me I think he’s an easy guy to read off and he controls a lot of the pace of the game and he takes up a lot of attention on other teams obviously so which opens up space for guys,” Skinner explained on a zoom call with reporters last week.’

‘“That there’s pain and anger and that Jack [Eichel] is at the lead of that, that’s a really good sign and it’s very healthy and it also shows that our core has a youth that they’re willing to reach for higher standards. They’re willing to reach and now we need to do the work,” Krueger said Friday on a zoom call with reporters.’

‘“Risto always comes with a little bit of bite but that’s what we love about him and I’m expecting to see him as a centerpiece and a core player in our group next year.”’

‘“I’d be lying if I said that I’m not getting frustrated with where things are going and I think we took a step this year. I will say it’s been a pleasure working with Ralph [Krueger]. He does so much for our group everyday and there are tough times and he does an amazing job of bringing up back in and narrowing our focus and getting us back to where we need to be,” Eichel explained.’

‘“Looking at how much of a leader Michael Jordan was, I couldn’t help but think about Jack and his competitive drive and trying to make his teammates better this year and how big of strides we took,” Jake McCabe said. “All he cared about this year was just trying to be the best captain of his he could be day in and day out, just trying to lead this group. He did that extraordinarily.”’

‘“I’ve been in Buffalo seven years and been losing every single year so yeah, it’s tough. I hope we’re done with losing,” Ristolainen said on a zoom call with reporters Thursday.’

‘“We have to do a better job at creating more offense throughout our four lines of having more depth scoring in our entire lineup,” Botterill said on a zoom call Wednesday morning with reporters.’

‘“We had too many poor streaks to combat the good streaks this last year. We started off really, really well and then every team is gonna hit a skid. It’s bound to happen and one of the keys to making the playoffs and playing well all season is to manage those skids. We need to find a way to do better at that,” Sabres forward Kyle Okposo said.’

‘After spending a decade with the Pittsburgh Penguins organization and having several management roles there, the Sabres hired Botterill as GM in May of 2017. So far under Botterill, the Sabres postseason drought has extended to nine straight years, the latest coming when Buffalo missed the cut of the NHL’s return to play 24-team playoff format.’

‘Organizers say a full refund will be issued for all tickets purchased and is automatic, requiring no action from the person who purchased the tickets.’