SabreSpace

'Maxim Afinogenov had a goal and two assists, and Thomas Vanek added a goal and an assist to help the Buffalo Sabres remain unbeaten and set a franchise record with their 12th consecutive victory, 5-4 over the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.' … [Read more...] about Sabres still unbeaten; set franchise record with 12th straight win

'It's not easy for three dynamic players to come together. Afinogenov can be difficult to decipher when he has the puck. Vanek's creativity makes him hard to predict. "You just never know what to expect with those guys," Roy said. "You've just got to go to the net and put your stick on the ice. Sometimes you'll get an easy goal." Or … [Read more...] about Sabres' third line soars into elite ranks

'"It means other teams are coming in ready and trying to beat you," Buffalo center Derek Roy said. "They see that 0 in the standings, and they want to knock it off, make it a 1. There's only two teams right now with a perfect record, and those two teams are getting gunned for."' … [Read more...] about Surging Hurricanes have zero to shoot for

'Carolina is winless at home, but 3-2 on the road.' … [Read more...] about Sabres vs. Hurricanes

'If you like hockey as a complete team game -- roll the lines, play with speed, outwork your opponents and make them pay for every mistake -- you have to love these Sabres. No huge names, no outsized egos, no outrageous contracts, this is a team ready-made and letter-perfect for a gritty, decaying, rust-belt, chicken-wing wasteland such as Buffalo.' … [Read more...] about Sabres get it, Flyers do not

Sprukts to display his ability in NHL (Rochester D&C) Amerks host Peoria Friday night in search of Win No. 5 (Amerks.com) … [Read more...] about Friday’s Rochester Coverage

'The Hurricanes are currently carrying a three-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opposition 14-6.' … [Read more...] about Hurricane watch

Eye on the Hurricanes (Raleigh News and Observer) Carolina (3-3-1) at Buffalo (6-0-0) (AP) Hurricanes, Sabres renew rivalry (Sportsticker) Carolina Hurricanes (3-3-1) at Buffalo Sabres (6-0-0) (The Sports Network) Back-to-Back Games: Hurricanes vs. Sabres/Islanders (CarolinaHurricanes.com) Game # 7: Carolina @ Buffalo (SabresFans.com) … [Read more...] about Friday’s Carolina Coverage (Updated 12:00 p.m.)

'Teppo Numminen was kept out of practice with a sore groin, but Lindy Ruff says he'll play tomorrow night. Numminen tweaked his groin during Tuesday night's game against Philadelphia.' … [Read more...] about Teppo Sore Groin; Will Play Friday

'"His determination to come into camp in tremendous shape and be good with the puck as well as away from the puck," said Ruff concerning Vanek's greatest area of improvement this season. "His skating is better, in a sense where he maintains a pretty high level of energy throughout a 45 second shift."' … [Read more...] about Consistently working

'So when you cut through all the hat tricks and end-to-end rushes, it still gets back to the guy standing between the pipes - or guys, because as long as Martin Biron is here, the Sabres have as solid a tandem as anyone in the NHL. That's why the Sabres are not likely to stumble, why they should continue to perform at a very high level and contend for No. 1 overall in … [Read more...] about Miller feeds Sabres' sense of destiny

'Miller tried as hard as possible to play down anything special about this win, but clearly this one was one to remember. “It’s no big deal beating Hasek. A win’s a win,” said Miller, trying as hard as possible to contain his glee but doing a pretty lousy job. For Miller, this had to be special, having played college hockey just 80 miles to the west … [Read more...] about Miller Steals One for the Sabres

'If I had to pay to watch one team on television, Buffalo is the team I'd watch. In Tuesday's 9-1 win over Philadelphia, the Sabres had the slow-footed Flyers defencemen so befuddled they didn't know whether to bail water or jump ship. Lively Buffalo play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret must be hoarse, yet, from screaming "Hee Scccoooooooooress!!!!" … [Read more...] about Sabres continue to carry the play

'Mair believes the team's major loss in the off-season -- the free-agent defection of veteran defender Jay McKee -- has been covered. "Jaroslav Spacek is a great puck mover, great skater and a lot more physical player than we thought. There's not a step backwards there."' … [Read more...] about The 'Lunchbox Sabres'

'Watching the Sabres slice the Flyers into progressively smaller pieces was entertaining at first but then ... well, it got embarrassing. By the time Derek Roy, Jiri Novotny and Thomas Vanek scored Buffalo’s seventh, eighth and ninth goals, respectively, I wanted to look away. Are these really the Philadelphia Flyers -- slow, toothless, confused? Where is the fire? … [Read more...] about Where have you gone, Dave Schultz?