SabreSpace

'The Hurricanes presented Francis with a cherry cabinet for all the commemorative crystals he has received -- four of them and a silver plate came with it. He also received a golden hockey stick for joining the 500-goal, 1,000-assist club.' … [Read more...] about Ron Francis Night

'It was the last of four regular-season meetings between the clubs this season, and Buffalo won the season series 2-1-1.' … [Read more...] about Captain's choice

'What undoubtedly troubled Carolina coach Paul Maurice was the fact the Sabres didn't come out before the game to watch the presentations to Francis. "It's not like this was some guy's 1,000th game or a truck giveaway," Maurice said. "I was very disappointed they didn't come out."' … [Read more...] about Everything but a victory

'Francis has 108 career points against Buffalo -- second-most of any opposing player.' … [Read more...] about Hurricanes 2, Sabres 2

'The Hurricanes are winless in their last seven games but have five ties during that span.' … [Read more...] about Buffalo 2, Carolina 2 (ot)

'The Sabres earned playoff berths in five straight seasons and a trip to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999, with an average team that had exceptional goaltending. This season they're just plain average, beginning with their 15th-ranked offense (2.67 goals per game).' … [Read more...] about Sabres Rattled

'After playing with Dumont and Barnes for most of the season, Satan has a team-high 40 points and is tied with Dumont for the lead in goals (18). The three players have accounted for more than 30 percent of Buffalo's goals, and own 112 points among them.' … [Read more...] about Sabres' top line hot again

'The Buffalo Sabres' two-game winning streak likely will afford forward Erik Rasmussen's shoulder and defenseman Richard Smehlik's psyche more time to mend.' … [Read more...] about Ruff won't alter his lineup

'Hurricanes' last win against an Eastern Conference opponent came on New Year's Eve against Sabres, 5-4.' … [Read more...] about Sabres vs. Hurricanes

The Buffalo Sabres stormed back in dynamic fashion Sunday afternoon, scoring with only 52.4 ticks remaining in regulation and then scoring in overtime to beat the Washington Capitals 3-2. … [Read more...] about Sabres explode Caps with late fireworks

'The 31-year-old Smehlik is currently ranked 273 out of the 286 NHL defenseman that have played this year.' … [Read more...] about Smehlik struggling

'The Sabres appeared sunk until Satan buried his final shot of the game. Now they trail the eighth-place Montreal Canadiens - who beat the San Jose Sharks in Sunday's only other game - by five points.' … [Read more...] about Captain's choice: Barnes foils Capitals in overtime

'"He's a great kid and he's a really great person. Combine that with his unbelievable talent and his work ethic, and you're looking at somebody who's going to be a great player in this league for a long, long time. I can't say enough about how good Timmy is going to be."' … [Read more...] about Connolly faces up to hard NHL knocks

'"Buffalo is a highly leveraged, small-market team. It's a very difficult situation the Sabres are in," said Badenhausen. "With hockey, it comes down to the arena deal. That's critical and the Sabres have a pretty mediocre arena situation."' … [Read more...] about Forbes ranks Sabres near bottom of NHL

'"We always find a way to lose," winger Jaromir Jagr said. "Bad breaks . . . in overtime. Bad bounces. When you're losing, you've got to get a streak together, a winning streak, and I think after that it's going to turn things the other way. But even when we get the lead it's like we start thinking they will score."' … [Read more...] about In OT, Deflating Caps Take Another Lancing