SabreSpace

'Buffalo, coming off a 3-1 loss Thursday at Tampa Bay and ninth in the East, went to overtime in its previous four games, losing three and winning one. ... F Jochen Hecht has four goals and seven points in his past three games. ... C Chris Drury (concussion), D Alexei Zhitnik (shoulder), C Tim Connolly (concussion) and D Rory Fitzpatrick (knee) are out. RW Ales Kotalik … [Read more...] about Tonight's game: Sabres at Panthers

'With just 52 seconds ticked off of the clock in the third period, Dave Andreychuk took the face off deep in the Buffalo zone. Andreychuk won the draw by pushing the puck forward around Daniel Briere and then making a quick pass back into the slot to Tim Taylor. Taylor then ripped the puck past Noronen for his seventh goal of the season and the eventual game winner. After … [Read more...] about Andreychuk Does In Sabres Again

'"We need help, but all we can do is play as well as we can," Sabres defenseman James Patrick said. "We believe the playoffs are definitely still available."' … [Read more...] about Sabres let points go by the board

'``We've tried that play a couple of times this season,'' Taylor said. ``Dave has this play where he taps his head just before he goes into the faceoff, and Briere had been beaten a lot of times by Dave on that side so [Briere] was really bearing down trying to win the draw. ... All of a sudden after we yelled at [Sarich] all their players moved out because … [Read more...] about Bolts Right Ship

'St. Louis' empty-net goal with 10.3 seconds left not only capped the Lightning's 3-1 win over the Sabres, but it was his team-high 35th of the season and 86th point, tying Bradley's mark.' … [Read more...] about St. Louis Ties Lightning's Season Points Record

'The Sabres controlled most of the first period, but as the period came to a close, Lightning C Tim Taylor made sure the Sabres realized they were in for a tussle. Taylor and Buffalo's Jean-Pierre Dumont scrapped briefly, then Taylor and Maxim Afinogenov went at it behind the Sabres goal as the period expired.' … [Read more...] about Bolts Play Old-Fashioned Hockey

'But the game really was won against a team fighting for its playoff life with tough, physical encounters in the corners and along the boards, and with elbows and fists and great determination. "They were trying to play a physical game," said Stillman, whose 24th goal tied last season's total. "Maybe that's the way teams are going to play us. We … [Read more...] about Lightning fights through slump

'The one blip was Jochen Hecht's tip-in goal that tied the score at 1 with 3:58 left in the second period, 55 seconds after Tampa Bay took the lead. Rather than dwell on the play, Khabibulin stood tall and made 12 saves in the third period. The best came on Mike Grier's blast from the right-wing boards to preserve a 2-1 lead.' … [Read more...] about Khabibulin comes through

'With three wins (3-5-1-2) in their last 11, the Islanders have given the Sabres every opportunity to catch up in the playoff race, just as they did last year with the Rangers when they accumulated six wins in their final 22 games of the season.' … [Read more...] about Bungling Islanders cutting Sabres a path

'The Sabres are four points behind the New York Islanders for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth. Buffalo has played one more game than the Islanders. ``Obviously with eight games left, we've got to win six of them to make the playoffs,'' Buffalo defenseman James Patrick said. ``All we can do is control our effort.''' … [Read more...] about Tampa Bay 3, Buffalo 1

'"I think we are a confident group," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "We can win six of the next eight whatever we need to win. The team we are chasing isn't going to win every game, either. If we play like that, we have a chance to win every game we play."' … [Read more...] about Tampa Bay 3, Buffalo 1

'Buffalo’s Derek Roy used a little luck of the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, when he skated into the Atlanta zone and let go a slap shot. The shot was stopped by Nurminen but then bounced off and trickled behind the goaltender for the game winning goal. The Sabres players mobbed the rookie forward after the goal. After the game Roy called it the biggest goal of … [Read more...] about Reversal Of Fortunes For Buffalo

'LW Jochen Hecht has five goals and five assists in his last five games.' … [Read more...] about Sabres vs. Lightning

'Sabres spotlight on: D Dmitri Kalinin - Buffalo doesn't generate much offense from its defensemen, but Kalinin leads the bunch. A first-round pick in 1998, Kalinin has set career highs (entering Wednesday) with 21 assists and 28 points and is one goal short of his career best of eight set last year. Despite the career numbers and ranking sixth on the Sabres in … [Read more...] about Tonight's Lightning Game

'The Lightning has lost consecutive games in regulation for the first time since Dec. 16 but still is 26-5-2-4 since Jan. 3.' … [Read more...] about Tonight: Lightning vs. Sabres