SabreSpace

'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

'Left wing Taylor Pyatt also went down and could be lost for the rest of the regular season. He left the game in the first period with a left collarbone separation suffered while finishing a check. Coach Lindy Ruff said the winger could miss the next three weeks.' … [Read more...] about Sabres rise up to meet rocky road challenge

'The last time these teams met in Buffalo on Feb. 16 they combined for 118 penalty minutes in a 7-2 Sabres win. The start of the game signaled that neither would back down this time.' … [Read more...] about Costly penalties lead to OT loss

'The game was marred by numerous fights, the last coming when Atlanta enforcer Francis Lessard jumped on Buffalo strongman Andrew Peters with 14:22 left in regulation. Lessard was ejected from the game and the Sabres, trailing 3-1, wound up with a seven-minute power play. They capitalized with just 15 seconds left in the advantage, getting a goal from Andrew Mair.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo 4, Atlanta 3, OT

'"That might have been one of the gutsiest games I've been around," Ruff said. "The number of guys we had missing, losing Pyatt and Briere, I just can't say enough about the way the guys dug in."' … [Read more...] about Buffalo 4, Atlanta 3, OT

'"This is going to be hard, but it's three games we gotta win. No excuses. Whether we have lots of injuries or not, we gotta do it."' … [Read more...] about Sabres head south without Drury, Zhitnik