EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Edmonton Oilers at Buffalo Sabres
November 3, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	First Game in 05/06
Last Meeting:	October 16, 2003 in Edmonton
	Edmonton wins 4-1, with Ales Hemsky scoring the winner past Martin Biron
	Edmonton	Buffalo
Overall Record:	7-6-1 15 pts	7-4-2 16 pts
Standings:	T-9th Western Conference	T-5th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	6-4-0	5-4-1
Powerplay:	15.9% (18th)	23.9% (3rd)
Penalty Killing:	77.8% (T-25th)	78.3% (24th)
Goal Leader:	R. Dvorak & R. Smyth - 6	D. Briere & J. Pominville - 6
Assist Leader:	J. Smith - 9	D. Briere - 9
Point Leader:	J. Smith - 11	D. Briere - 15
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Semenov - 36	A. Mair - 48
Goaltenders:	T. Conklin (4-3-0 2.52gaa .916)	M. Biron (5-3-0 2.67gaa .913)
	J. Markkanen (3-3-1 2.55gaa .903)	R. Miller (2-1-2 3.49gaa .881)
Who's Hot:	R. Smyth (4g 2a in last 5)	A. Kotalik (2g 5a +3 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Harvey (0pts -2 in last 5)	T. Pyatt (0 pts in last 5)
Injuries:	A. Hemsky (dislocated shoulder)	J. McKee (anterior knee pain)

[NoSkillz]

Hecht Continues Tear Against Former Club; Leads Sabres to Victory

Buffalo News
November 4 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
After the Edmonton Oilers scored on their first two shots of the game, Sabres fans might have thought that it would just be one of those nights.

However, Jochen Hecht and his Sabres teammates had other plans.

Hecht continued his recent hot streak in scoring once and adding two assists in a 5-3 Buffalo win over Edmonton last night at HSBC Arena. Maxim Afinogenov scored twice, with Tim Connolly and Adam Mair adding singles for the Sabres.

Todd Harvey, Fernando Pisani and Ryan Smyth scored for Edmonton.

Martin Biron settled down after the two quick goals and stopped 28 of 31 Edmonton shots for his sixth win of the season while Jussi Markkanen turned aside 35 of 40 from the Sabres.

"Jochen has really taken flight since being put on the powerplay and it's nice to have that carry over into five-on-five play", coach Lindy Ruff articulated after the game. "He's always been a responsible defensive player but he really blossomed for us offensively in '03 and it's finally coming together for him this year."

Hecht has nine points (4g 5a) in his last four games. He credits his linemates for his recent success.

"It's hard to go wrong when you're playing with creative and talented players like Tim (Connolly) and Max (Afinogenov)", he said. "They're both so fast and skilled with the puck. All you have to do is find a slight opening and they will find you."

Jeff Jillson got back into the lineup in place of the injured Jay McKee and was a -1 on the night but mostly played an efficient game. Andrew Peters and Taylor Pyatt were the only scratches for Buffalo on the night.

The Sabres continue a short home stand on Sunday night in a game against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Game time is 7:00pm.

Other Sabres Notes -
Sabres GM Matt Bosela announced that prospects Dylan Hunter and Adam Dennis were being reassigned to the ECHL.

Hunter will be suiting up for the Stockton Thunder while Dennis will man the cage for the Columbia Inferno.

"It's vitally important that these players get the opportunity to play in order to continue their development for the organization", Bosela remarked. "Dylan has been seeing fourth line minutes in Rochester but we really want to see what he can do in the pro ranks on a scoring line."

Hunter had one assist in seven games with Rochester before being reassigned.

"Dennis hasn't even suited up for a game and will now have every opportunity of earning playing time in Columbia."

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Edmonton	2	1	0	0	3
Buffalo	2	2	1	0	5
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Edmonton - T. Harvey 2 (J. Rita, S. Horcoff), 2:20
2. Edmonton - F. Pisani 2 (R. Torres, M. Reasoner), 3:26
3. Buffalo - T. Connolly 4 (A. Kotalik), 12:12
4. Buffalo - J. Hecht 5 (T. Numminen), 18:14 (SH)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
5. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 4 (C. Drury, J. Hecht), 1:27 (PP)
6. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 5 (J. Hecht, D. Kalinin), 15:29 (PP)
7. Edmonton - R. Smyth 7 (R. Dvorak, J. Smith), 18:50 (SH)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
8. Buffalo - A. Mair 3 (M. Grier), 3:25
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Edmonton	11	13	7	0	31
Buffalo	12	12	16	0	40
GOALTENDING
Edmonton	J. Markkanen (L: 3-4-1)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 6-3-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Edmonton	0 - 4	1. J. Hecht (BUF) 1g 2a +1
Buffalo	2 - 5	2. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 2g
ATTENDANCE	17979	3. T. Harvey (EDM) 1g +1

[NoSkillz]

Campbell and Kalinin Go Down With Injuries; Sabres Recall Janik

Buffalo News
November 5 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Two Buffalo Sabres defensemen suffered injuries in practice yesterday. Dmitri Kalinin suffered a lower leg contusion while Brian Campbell came down with olecrannon bursitis.

Kalinin's injury doesn't look to be serious and Lindy Ruff indicated after the practice that he expects him to play on Sunday night against Tampa Bay.

However, the news isn't so good with Campbell's injury, one that will likely keep him out of the lineup for a couple of weeks.

"Brian will need to rest for awhile with this one and we've decided to put him on the I.R.", Ruff said.

Kalinin is Buffalo's number one defenseman and leads Sabres blueliners with seven points (7a) on the year. He has a -3 rating.

Campbell has been a great offensive contributor thus far, especially on the powerplay, and will be missed. He's already set a career high in goals with four and has two assists as well and is a +1 on the year.

Sabres GM Matt Bosela has recalled defenseman Doug Janik from Rochester to take Campbell's roster spot while he's on the injured reserve list. Janik had three assists in twelve games with Rochester and has an even plus/minus rating.

In related news, Jay McKee continues to rehab his knee injury and is likely still a few days away from returning to full practice.

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Tampa Bay Lightning at Buffalo Sabres
November 6, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	First Game in 05/06
Last Meeting:	March 18, 2004 in Tampa Bay
	Tampa Bay wins 3-1, with Tim Taylor scoring the winner past Mika
	Noronen; Nikolai Khabibulin earns the win for the Lightning
	Tampa Bay	Buffalo
Overall Record:	10-4-0 20 pts	8-4-2 18 pts
Standings:	2nd Eastern Conference	T-5th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	7-3-0	6-3-1
Powerplay:	24.2% (3rd)	25.0% (2nd)
Penalty Killing:	81.7% (18th)	79.7% (22nd)
Goal Leader:	M. St. Louis - 10	D. Briere & J. Pominville - 6
Assist Leader:	P. Kubina - 11	D. Briere - 9
Point Leader:	V. Lecavalier & M. St. Louis - 17	D. Briere - 15
Penalty Minute Leader:	C. Dingman - 30	A. Mair - 48
Goaltenders:	S. Burke (5-2-0 2.47gaa .921)	M. Biron (6-3-0 2.71gaa .912)
	J. Grahame (5-2-0 3.28gaa .887)	R. Miller (2-1-2 3.49gaa .881)
Who's Hot:	P. Kubina (1g 6a +1 in last 5)	J. Hecht (4g 5a +3 in last 5)
Who's Not:	D. Afanasenkov (0pts -2 in last 5)	T. Pyatt (0 pts in last 5)
Injuries:	None	J. McKee (anterior knee pain)
		B. Campbell (olecrannon bursitis)

[NoSkillz]

Sabres Prove they're Among Elite; Destroy Lightning 7-3

Buffalo News
November 6 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Maxim Afinogenov scored two goals and added an assist in an emphatic 7-3 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning last night in front of a sellout HSBC Arena crowd.

The high scoring, free-wheeling affair saw the Sabres also get goals from Ales Kotalik, Daniel Briere, Thomas Vanek, Chris Drury and J.P. Dumont. Afinogenov (2g 1a), Dumont (1g 2a), Vanek (1g 2a), Drury (1g 1a), Briere (1g 1a), Tim Connolly (2a) and Jochen Hecht (2a) all had multipoint games for Buffalo.

Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Dan Boyle scored for Tampa Bay.

The game featured countless end-to-end rushes, many odd-man situations and even excellent goaltending at times.

The Sabres seemingly had the game well in hand midway through the second, leading 5-2 when Mike Grier was pulled down in front of the Tampa net and subsequently awarded a penalty shot.

Grier was stopped on the penalty by Lightning goaltender Sean Burke and it seemed to temporarily motivate his teammates, as Boyle scored to pull Tampa to within two.

However, Martin Biron was excellent in the third period, stopping many pinpoint shots by the opposition.

"Marty was great tonight", Lindy Ruff would say postgame. "We had some breakdowns out there but that's to be expected against a team as talented as Tampa. Lecavalier was everywhere tonight...I can't believe we were able to keep him off the scoresheet!"

Doug Janik saw his first action of the year and played over 12 minutes of solid hockey. Buffalo scratched Taylor Pyatt and Andrew Peters for the contest.

The Sabres will travel to Long Island for their next game, taking place on Wednesday night against the Islanders in the first of a home-and-home series. The puck will drop at 7:30pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Tampa Bay	1	2	0	0	3
Buffalo	2	3	2	0	7
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 6 (J. Hecht, T. Connolly), 3:43
2. Tampa Bay - B. Richards 7 (D. Sydor), 5:28 (PP)
3. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 4 (C. Drury), 19:27
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - D. Briere 7 (J. Dumont, T. Vanek), 1:29
5. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 7 (J. Hecht, D. Kalinin), 4:09 (PP)
6. Tampa Bay - M. St. Louis 11 (B. Richards, C. Sarich), 4:56 (PP)
7. Buffalo - T. Vanek 6 (J. Dumont, H. Tallinder), 11:49
8. Tampa Bay - D. Boyle 2 (R. Fedotenko), 15:57
Missed Penalty Shot: Mike Grier (BUF), 15:18
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
9. Buffalo - C. Drury 5 (M. Afinogenov, T. Connolly), 5:41 (PP)
10. Buffalo - J. Dumont 6 (T. Vanek, D. Briere), 16:49
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Tampa Bay	6	19	12	0	37
Buffalo	13	18	10	0	41
GOALTENDING
Tampa Bay	S. Burke (L: 5-3-0)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 7-3-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Tampa Bay	2 - 4	1. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 2g 1a +1
Buffalo	2 - 4	2. T. Vanek (BUF) 1g 2a +2
ATTENDANCE	18686	3. J. Dumont (BUF) 1g 2a +2

[NoSkillz]

Peters Traded to Avalanche; More Injury News

Buffalo News
November 9 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Sabres GM Matt Bosela announced last night that the club has traded winger Andrew Peters to the Colorado Avalanche for a 2007 third round pick.

Peters (pictured) only participated in one game for the Sabres this season, going without a point.

"Our club just didn't have room for Andrew and we felt it was only fair to move him to a club that was interested in playing him", Bosela said. "He was great in the dressing room and the guys will miss him."

Peters leaves the Sabres with two goals in 43 career games. He put up 151 penalty minutes for the club as well.

In other news, Jay McKee returned to practice yesterday morning, pain-free for the first time in a week after experiencing a knee injury. However, the club would lose another defenseman later in the practice, as Henrik Tallinder strained his neck. Tallinder is day-to-day.

Bosela also announced that Derek Roy has been sent back to Rochester.

"Derek needs first line minutes to continue his development and getting 8-10 minutes a night in Buffalo just isn't good enough. I'm quite certain he'll be recalled soon."

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders
November 9, 2005
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	February 27, 2004 in Buffalo
	The Islanders wins 4-2, with Mattias Weinhandl beat Martin Biron with the
	winning goal; Rick DiPietro took the win
	Buffalo	New York Islanders
Overall Record:	9-4-2 20 pts	7-5-0 14 pts
Standings:	T-5th Eastern Conference	13th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	6-3-1	6-4-0
Powerplay:	26.3% (2nd)	17.9% (T-10th)
Penalty Killing:	77.9% (25th)	76.2% (30th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov & D. Briere - 7	A. Yashin - 7
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 10	B. Lukowich - 6
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 17	A. Yashin - 12
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 48	E. Godard - 47
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (7-3-0 2.74gaa .913)	R. DiPietro (7-3-0 2.57gaa .906)
	R. Miller (2-1-2 3.49gaa .881)	G. Snow (0-2-0 7.06gaa .822)
Who's Hot:	J. Hecht (4g 7a +4 in last 5)	A. Yashin (2g 3a -1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (0 pts in last 5)	M. Weinhandl (1g -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	B. Campbell (olecranon bursitis)	J. Niinimaa (hip flexor strain)
	H. Tallinder (neck strain)

[NoSkillz]

Satan and Zhitnik Haunt Sabres in 5-1 Isles Win

Buffalo News
November 10 2005 (Uniondale, NY) -
Former Sabres standout Miroslav Satan scored once and assisted on another, while goaltender Rick DiPietro turned away every Sabres shot except one in a 5-1 victory over Buffalo last night at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Islanders thoroughly dominated the game through two periods, outshooting the Sabres 20-9 and eventually chased Martin Biron from Buffalo's cage after two quick goals at the start of the third period. Only Taylor Pyatt's fluke goal with less than a minute remaining beat DiPietro.

Mark Parrish scored twice for the Islanders, with Satan, Brent Sopel and Oleg Kvasha notching singles. Parrish, Satan, Sopel (1g 1a), Alexei Yashin (2a) and Jaroslav Modry (2a) had multipoint games for the Islanders. Former Sabre Alexei Zhitnik drew one assist in the contest.

"It was nice to play a good game against them", Satan said after the game. "I'm a little sore that they didn't offer me a deal during the free agency period but I guess they feel they have enough offense without me."

"I'm happy playing with the Islanders right now."

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was livid after the game with regard to the team's effort in the contest.

"We didn't skate at all out there tonight", he said. "They completely outclassed us in the first two periods and we really didn't see any hustle until after I pulled Marty. I felt bad for him out there. The team just did absolutely nothing for him."

Ruff would actually single out the lackluster play of new addition Teppo Numminen, saying his effort was "absolutely unacceptable".

Numminen would not comment on this statement from the head coach.

Henrik Tallinder (neck) and Brian Campbell (olecranon bursitis) were the only scratches for Buffalo.

The only positive is that the Sabres get another crack at the Islanders tonight in the second of a home-and-home series back in Buffalo. Ryan Miller will get the nod in goal for the Sabres, with the puck dropping at 7:00pm

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	0	0	1		1
New York Islanders	2	1	2		5
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. New York - M. Satan 5 (A. Yashin, J. Modry), 7:40 (PP)
2. New York - M. Parrish 5 (A. Yashin, M. Satan), 7:59
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. New York - M. Parrish 6 (B. Sopel, A. Zhitnik), 6:48 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
4. New York - B. Sopel 5 (T. Hunter, J. Modry), 4:34
5. New York - O. Kvasha 3 (M. York), 4:43
6. Buffalo - T. Pyatt 1 (A. Mair), 19:12
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	3	6	20		29
New York	6	14	7		27
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (L: 7-4-0; 21/26); R. Miller (1/1)
New York	R. DiPietro (W: 8-3-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	0 - 2	1. T. Pyatt (BUF) 1g
New York	2 - 5	2. A. Mair (BUF) 1a
ATTENDANCE	13670	3. R. DiPietro (NYI) 1ga 28 saves

[NoSkillz]

Drury Leads Sabres over Isles in 'Statement Game'

Buffalo News
November 11 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Chris Drury said that the veterans on the team would have to lead by example with their effort in order to bounce back after a humiliating defeat the night previous.

He certainly did his part.

Drury scored twice and added an assist in a Sabres 5-3 victory over the New York Islanders in the second of a home-and-home series. Thomas Vanek, Maxim Afinogenov and J.P. Dumont scored singles for Buffalo. Drury and Dumont (1g 1a) notched multipoint games for the Sabres.

Brad Lukowich, Arron Asham and Alexei Yashin scored for New York.

"Lindy wanted a high-pace forecheck tonight and I think we delivered", Drury said after the game. I thought all four lines played really well and Millsy (Ryan Miller) made the big saves when called upon."

Miller turned aside 26 of 29 Islander shots for his third victory of the year. Rick DiPietro started in goal for New York once again and was peppered with 43 shots on the night.

Henrik Tallinder and Brian Campbell were once again the only scratches on the night, as they both continue to recouperate from their respective injuries.

Notes - Doug Janik's assist on the first Drury goal was his first career NHL point. Dmitri Kalinin played in his 300th NHL game tonight and J.P. Dumont scored his 200th career point in a Sabres uniform. Jason Pominville is scoreless in five consecutive games but he's a +3 during that period.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
New York Islanders	0	2	1		3
Buffalo	1	3	1		5
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - C. Drury 6 (D. Janik, T. Lydman), 4:13
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
2. Buffalo - T. Vanek 7 (J. Dumont), 1:57
3. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 8 (J. Hecht, C. Drury), 3:46 (PP)
4. Buffalo - C. Drury 7 (A. Kotalik, D. Kalinin), 13:34
5. New York - B. Lukowich 1 (O. Kvasha), 16:49 (PP)
6. New York - A. Asham 1 (J. Blake, B. Sopel), 19:59
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
7. Buffalo - J. Dumont 7 (D. Briere, J. Jillson), 3:05
8. New York - A. Yashin 8 (A. Zhitnik), 7:52 (SH)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
New York	2	11	16		29
Buffalo	14	15	14		43
GOALTENDING
New York	R. DiPietro (L: 8-4-0)
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 3-1-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
New York	1 - 5	1. C. Drury (BUF) 2g 1a +2
Buffalo	1 - 5	2. J. Dumont (BUF) 1g 1a +1
ATTENDANCE	18112	3. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 1g

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Carolina Hurricanes
November 14, 2005
RBC Center, Raleigh, NC
Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	January 25, 2004 in Raleigh
	Buffalo wins 4-2, with Derek Roy beating Jamie Storr with the winner
	Buffalo	Carolina
Overall Record:	10-5-2 22 pts	5-7-5 15 pts
Standings:	T-6th Eastern Conference	14th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	7-2-1	3-5-2
Powerplay:	25.3% (2nd)	10.7% (30th)
Penalty Killing:	76.9% (25th)	75.7% (29th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov - 8	R. Vrbata - 8
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 11	O. Tverdovsky - 11
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 18	O. Tverdovsky - 15
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 55	E. Cole - 31
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (7-4-0 3.03gaa .905)	M. Gerber (5-8-2 2.68aa .911)
	R. Miller (3-1-2 3.29gaa .884)	Z. Bierk (0-2-0 3.56gaa .863)
Who's Hot:	J. Hecht (1g 5a in last 5)	R. Vrbata (3g 2a +4 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Numminen (1a +2 in last 5)	M. Cullen (1a -3 in last 5)
Injuries:	B. Campbell (olecranon bursitis)	None
	H. Tallinder (neck strain)

[NoSkillz]

Record-Setting Lydman 'Points' Sabres in Right Direction

Buffalo News
November 15 2005 (Raleigh, NC) -
Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman tied two long-time team records in notching his first goal of the season and adding four assists in a 6-3 triumph over the Carolina Hurricanes at the RBC Center last night.

Lydman's four assists are the most by a Sabres defenseman since 1989, when Phil Housley accomplished the feat in a game against the Quebec Nordiques. Bill Hajt is the only other Sabres defenseman with four assists in a game, with his performance coming in 1976 against the New York Rangers.

Lydman's five points also tie Housley, who scored a goal in that Nordiques game in addition to the four assists. John Van Boxmeer also notched five points in a 1981 game against the New York Islanders.

"Everything bounced my way tonight", Lydman understated after the game. "Playing with Jay (McKee), a great defensive player, gives me some opportunities to pinch in on rushes and finally some things went my way."

"It was just a magical night!"

Thomas Vanek scored two goals for Buffalo, with singles going to Lydman, J.P. Dumont, Jochen Hecht and Maxim Afinogenov. Lydman, Vanek, Hecht (1g 1a) and Daniel Briere (2a) had multipoint games.

Cory Stillman, Erik Cole and Radim Vrbata scored for Carolina. Rod Brind'Amour, a force all game, had three assists in the game, while Cole (1g 1a) and Vrbata (1g 1a) joined him with multipoint games.

Ryan Miller turned aside 25 of 28 Carolina shots for his fourth win of the year while Martin Gerber had a rough night in the Hurricanes cage, saving 34 of 40 Sabres shots.

The Sabres will be back in action tomorrow night in Sunrise, Florida to take on the Panthers. Game time is 7:30pm.

Notes - Both Lydman and Dmitri Kalinin scored their 100th career NHL points in the game. Lydman's +17 rating leads the entire NHL. Injured defenseman Henrik Tallinder resumed full practice yesterday. Coach Lindy Ruff indicated that Tallinder would likely be back in the lineup for the Panthers game. Brian Campbell remains sidelined with bursitis.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	4	1	1		6
Carolina	1	0	2		3
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Carolina - C. Stillman 4 (R. Brind'Amour), 2:05 (PP)
2. Buffalo - T. Vanek 8 (J. McKee, T. Lydman), 9:56
3. Buffalo - T. Vanek 9 (D. Briere, T. Lydman), 10:19
4. Buffalo - J. Dumont 8 (D. Kalinin, D. Briere), 14:49 (PP)
5. Buffalo - J. Hecht 6 (T. Lydman), 16:24
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - T. Lydman 1 (C. Drury, A. Kotalik), 7:04
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
7. Carolina - E. Cole 6 (R. Vrbata, R. Brind'Amour), 4:22
8. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 9 (J. Hecht, T. Lydman), 9:13
9. Carolina - R. Vrbata 9 (R. Brind'Amour, E. Cole), 15:01
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	15	13	12		40
Carolina	14	5	9		28
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 4-1-2)
Carolina	M. Gerber (L: 5-9-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 4	1. T. Lydman (BUF) 1g 4a +5
Carolina	1 - 5	2. T. Vanek (BUF) 2g +2
ATTENDANCE	12668	3. R. Brind'Amour (CAR) 3a

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers
November 15, 2005
BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL
Season Series:	Buffalo leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 30, 2005 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 5-4 in a shootout, with Daniel Briere being the only player
	to score out of six penalty takers
	Buffalo	Florida
Overall Record:	11-5-2 24 pts	2-8-6 10 pts
Standings:	T-5th Eastern Conference	15th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	8-1-1	1-5-4
Powerplay:	25.3% (2nd)	13.8% (23rd)
Penalty Killing:	77.1% (T-27th)	87.5% (3rd)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov & T. Vanek - 9	J. Stumpel - 5
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 13	O. Jokinen - 8
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 20	O. Jokinen - 12
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 55	P. Worrell - 33
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (7-4-0 3.03gaa .905)	R. Luongo (2-7-5 2.46aa .920)
	R. Miller (4-1-2 3.25gaa .885)	J. McLennan (0-1-0 3.00gaa .893)
Who's Hot:	J. Hecht (2g 6a +2 in last 5)	O. Jokinen (1g 3a -1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Numminen (1a +1 in last 5)	A. Stewart (0pts -3 in last 5)
Injuries:	B. Campbell (olecranon bursitis)	K. Huselius (UCL tear)

[NoSkillz]

Sabres Defeat Florida in Shootout Once Again

Buffalo News
November 16 2005 (Sunrise, FL) -
Jochen Hecht, the fourth Sabres shooter, scored the only shootout goal to earn Buffalo a 5-4 win against the Florida Panthers last night at BankAtlantic Center.

J.P. Dumont (pictured) contributed two goals and added an assist, while linemate Thomas Vanek scored once and notched two assists. Adam Mair scored the other Sabres goal.

Defenseman Jay Bouwmeester scored twice for Florida, with Olli Jokinen and Gary Roberts adding singles. Bouwmeester (2g 1a), Jokinen (1g 1a), Roberts (1g 1a) and Derek Morris (2a) had multipoint games for the Panthers.

The Panthers got off to a quick start, scoring twice in the first two minutes against the tired Sabres, who had played the night previous. However, Buffalo was able to turn the tide late in the first frame, getting a number of good chances that were thwarted by Jamie McLennan, making only his second start of the year for Florida.

The Sabres finally got on the board midway through the second period, utilizing their #2 ranked powerplay to full effect. They would eventually take the lead in the third but give up a late equalizer on the powerplay after a very undisciplined minor penalty from the usually reliable Mike Grier. Grier would also get a 10 minute misconduct on the play, frustrating coach Lindy Ruff.

"Mike knows better than that", Ruff stated. "We're out there protecting a lead late and his outburst cost us the lead and almost the game. Emotion got the best of him but he has to realize that emotions must be kept in check in that situation."

Martin Biron was shaky early but brilliant in overtime and the shootout to win his eighth game of the year. McLennan dropped his second decision in as many starts for Florida.

Teppo Numminen was a healthy scratch for the Sabres for the first time this season. Brian Campbell was the only other scratch, as he continues to recover from injury.

Ruff indicated that Campbell will likely be returning soon.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	0	2	2	1	5
Florida	2	1	1	0	4
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Florida - J. Bouwmeester 2 (O. Jokinen), 0:22
2. Florida - O. Jokinen 5 (G. Roberts, B. Mezei), 2:06
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - T. Vanek 10 (D. Kalinin, J. Dumont), 8:44 (PP)
4. Buffalo - J. Dumont 9 (T. Vanek, D. Briere), 16:57 (PP)
5. Florida - J. Bouwmeester 3 (D. Morris), 18:33 (SH)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - A. Mair 4 (J. Jillson), 3:28
7. Buffalo - J. Dumont 10 (T. Vanek), 3:52
8. Florida - G. Roberts 2 (D. Morris, J. Bouwmeester), 17:31 (PP)
OVERTIME
SCORING
None
SHOOTOUT
Buffalo - D. Briere (missed)
Florida - O. Jokinen (missed)
Buffalo - T. Vanek (missed)
Florida - J. Stumpel (missed)
Buffalo - M. Afinogenov (missed)
Florida - J. Nieuwendyk (missed)
Buffalo - J. Hecht (goal)
Florida - M. Gelinas (missed)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	12	12	11	0	35
Florida	11	5	12	5	33
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 8-4-0)
Florida	J. McLennan (L: 0-2-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	2 - 7	1. J. Bouwmeester (FLO) 2g 1a +2
Carolina	1 - 8	2. J. Dumont (BUF) 2g 1a
ATTENDANCE	16254	3. G. Roberts (FLO) 1g 1a +2

[NoSkillz]

Campbell Ready for Return; Janik Returned to Rochester

Buffalo News
November 16 2005 (Boston, MA) -
Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell returned to full practice for the first time in almost two weeks and will be ready to play tomorrow night against the Boston Bruins. With the return of Henrik Tallinder last night against Florida, Buffalo is now completely healthy.

With that being the case, Sabres GM Matt Bosela sent Doug Janik back to Rochester. Janik will have to clear waivers before suiting up with the Amerks.

"Doug played great hockey for us while Brian and Henrik were out nursing their injuries", Bosela said. "He's the consummate pro and we are lucky to have a man with his character in our organization.

Janik notched one assist in his five game stint with the Sabres and had a plus 1 rating.

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins
November 17, 2005
TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, MA
Season Series:	Boston leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 3, 2005 in Buffalo
	Boston wins 5-4 in a shootout, with Brad Boyes breaking a 3-3 tie in the
	penalty phase
	Buffalo	Boston
Overall Record:	12-5-2 26 pts	10-7-1 21 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	T-8th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	8-1-1	5-5-0
Powerplay:	25.5% (2nd)	14.9% (20th)
Penalty Killing:	78.0% (25th)	88.6% (2nd)
Goal Leader:	J. Dumont & T. Vanek - 10	G. Murray - 11
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 14	J. Thornton - 17
Point Leader:	D. Briere & J. Dumont - 21	J. Thornton - 21
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 59	N. Boynton - 36
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (8-4-0 3.09gaa .903)	A. Raycroft (9-6-1 2.77aa .903)
	R. Miller (4-1-2 3.25gaa .885)	H. Toivonen (1-1-0 1.54gaa .951)
Who's Hot:	T. Vanek (5g 4a +5 in last 5)	S. Samsonov (4g 2a +2 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Numminen (1a +1 in last 5)	B. Boyes (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	None	A. Zhamnov (separated shoulder)

[NoSkillz]

Connolly, Afinogenov Lead Sabres to Another Win

Buffalo News
November 17 2005 (Boston, MA) -
Tim Connolly's second goal of the night midway through the third period was enough to give the Buffalo Sabres a 5-4 win over the Boston Bruins last night at TD BankNorth Garden.

Maxim Afinogenov, J.P. Dumont and Ales Kotalik also scored for the Sabres. Afinogenov (1g 2a), Connolly (2g), Jay McKee (2a) and Chris Drury (2a) notched multipoint games for Buffalo.

Glen Murray scored twice for Boston, Andrew Alberts (with his first NHL goal) and Travis Green notching singles.

Ryan Miller made 30 saves to win his fifth game of the year while Andrew Raycroft took the loss for Boston, allowing five goals on 41 Buffalo shots.

Lindy Ruff was upset at some lackluster defensive play in the second period, which allowed the Bruins to tie the game heading into the intermission. "We stopped competing for about five minutes and it almost cost us the game. Guys weren't picking up their assignments and we won't tolerate that lack of effort."

"Thankfully, we were able to prevail in spite of the defensive lapses."

Teppo Numminen was scratched for the second consecutive game with the return of Brian Campbell to the lineup. Campbell was effective, picking up an assist and a +1 rating.

Ruff says that Numminen will play in the next game against Carolina back in Buffalo.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	3	1	1		5
Boston	2	2	0		4
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Boston - G. Murray 12 (S. Samsonov, J. Thornton), 1:23 (PP)
2. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 10 (J. Jillson, B. Campbell), 1:47
3. Boston - G. Murray 13 (S. Samsonov, D. Scatchard), 6:33
4. Buffalo - J. Dumont 11 (T. Vanek, J. McKee), 13:03
5. Buffalo - T. Connolly 5 (M. Afinogenov, J. Hecht), 14:46
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 5 (C. Drury, J. McKee), 5:59
7. Boston - A. Alberts 1 (P. Axelsson, T. Fitzgerald), 13:51
8. Boston - T. Green 3 (S. McEachern, A. Raycroft), 19:49
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
9. Buffalo - T. Connolly 6 (C. Drury, M. Afinogenov), 8:19 (PP)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	16	18	7		41
Boston	13	12	9		34
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 5-1-2)
Florida	A. Raycroft (L: 9-7-1)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 3	1. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 1g 2a -1
Boston	1 - 4	2. T. Connolly (BUF) 2g -1
ATTENDANCE	17564	3. G. Murray (BOS) 2g +1

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Carolina Hurricanes at Buffalo Sabres
November 19, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	Buffalo leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	November 14, 2005 in Raleigh
	Buffalo wins 6-3, with Toni Lydman tying team records for defensemen
	four assists and five points
	Carolina	Buffalo
Overall Record:	6-9-5 17 pts	13-5-2 28 pts
Standings:	14th Eastern Conference	4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	3-7-0	8-1-1
Powerplay:	13.0% (25th)	25.8% (2nd)
Penalty Killing:	78.2% (26th)	77.9% (27th)
Goal Leader:	R. Vrbata - 10	J. Dumont - 11
Assist Leader:	R. Brind'Amour & O. Tverdovsky - 11	D. Briere - 14
Point Leader:	R. Vrbata - 19	J. Dumont - 22
Penalty Minute Leader:	E. Cole - 42	A. Mair - 59
Goaltenders:	M. Gerber (6-6-5 2.83gaa .906)	M. Biron (8-4-0 3.09gaa .903)
	Z. Bierk (0-3-0 4.04gaa .871)	R. Miller (5-1-2 3.33gaa .885)
Who's Hot:	R. Brind'Amour (1g 6a -3 in last 5)	J. Dumont (5g 2a +4 in last 5)
Who's Not:	R. Whitney (0pts +1 in last 5)	T. Numminen (1 pt +1 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	None

[NoSkillz]

Sabres Continue Roll; Maul Hurricanes

Buffalo News
November 20 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Maxim Afinogenov continued his recent tear, scoring twice and adding an assist in a 6-3 Sabres victory over the Carolina Hurricanes last night at HSBC Arena.

This is the second 6-3 Sabres win over Carolina in less than a week.

Ales Kotalik, Daniel Briere, Tim Connolly and Chris Drury also scored for Buffalo. Afinogenov, Briere (1g 1a), Connolly (1g 1a), Brian Campbell (2a) and Jochen Hecht (2a) had multipoint games.

Struggling forward Matt Cullen scored his first two goals of the season for the Hurricanes, with Justin Williams scoring the other. Newly acquired defenseman Mike Komisarek notched two assists for Carolina.

Even with the three goal victory, coach Lindy Ruff was hardly in a celebratory mood after the game.

"Our defensive zone coverage is absolutely horrible at times", he said. "Cullen's first goal was due to a boneheaded giveaway by Kalinin and those plays can just demoralize a team."

"We've got to get those awful plays out of our system."

Martin Biron turned aside 27 of 30 Carolina shots while the Hurricanes Martin Gerber will likely be soaking in a hot tub all day today, after seeing Buffalo throw 49 shots his way.

Henrik Tallinder was scratched for the Sabres. Teppo Numminen finally got back in the lineup and played a little over 18 minutes, going +1.

Other Sabres Notes -
Daniel Briere notched his 100th point as a Sabre in the game; Toni Lydman, who picked up five points last week in a game against Carolina, was held off the scoresheet and was a horrific -3 in this contest; Sabres prospect Adam Dennis was reassigned to the ECHL Stockton Thunder last night - he still hasn't seen game action this season.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Carolina	1	2	0		3
Buffalo	3	1	2		6
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 6 (B. Campbell, D. Briere), 3:42 (PP)
2. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 11 (J. Hecht, D. Kalinin), 13:15
3. Carolina - J. Williams 2 (C. Stillman, M. Komisarek), 13:59
4. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 12 (J. Jillson, B. Campbell), 15:40
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
5. Carolina - M. Cullen 1 (unassisted), 11:43
6. Carolina - M. Cullen 2 (R. Whitney, M. Komisarek), 14:40
7. Buffalo - D. Briere 8 (unassisted), 19:42 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
8. Buffalo - T. Connolly 7 (J. Hecht), 12:17
9. Buffalo - C. Drury 8 (M. Afinogenov, T. Connolly), 14:08 (PP)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Carolina	7	14	9		30
Buffalo	21	9	19		49
GOALTENDING
Carolina	M. Gerber (L: 6-7-5)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 9-4-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Carolina	0 - 4	1. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 2g 1a +2
Buffalo	3 - 9	2. D. Briere (BUF) 1g 1a -1
ATTENDANCE	17618	3. M. Cullen (CAR) 2g +2

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins
November 21, 2005
Corel Centre, Kanata, ON
Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	March 3, 2004 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 4-3, with Miroslav Satan beating Patrick Lalime for the winner
	Buffalo	Ottawa
Overall Record:	14-5-2 30 pts	15-4-3 33 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	1st Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	8-1-1	7-1-2
Powerplay:	26.4% (2nd)	28.4% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	78.8% (25th)	85.0% (T10th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov - 12	M. Havlat - 15
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 15	J. Spezza - 19
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 23	D. Alfredsson & J. Spezza - 27
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 59	C. Neil - 49
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (9-4-0 3.09gaa .903)	D. Hasek (14-3-1 2.52gaa .916)
	R. Miller (5-1-2 3.33gaa .885)	R. Emery (1-1-2 3.25gaa .898)
Who's Hot:	M. Afinogenov (5g 3a +2 in last 5)	P. Schaefer (2g 4a +3 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Numminen (0pts +3 in last 5)	M. Fisher (0pts -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	A. Volchenkov (dislocated shoulder)

[NoSkillz]

Sabres Pass Huge Test; Defeat NHL-Leading Senators in Shootout Thriller

Buffalo News
November 22 2005 (Kanata, ON) -
Sabres center Tim Connolly's goal was the deciding factor in a wonderful contest last night at the Corel Centre outside of Ottawa, as Buffalo prevailed 3-2 over the Senators.

Martin Havlat was the first to score in the shootout after Buffalo's Daniel Briere was stopped by Dominik Hasek to open the event. After a Dany Heatley miss, rookie Thomas Vanek backhanded one past Hasek to even the shootout at one. Daniel Alfredsson would get stopped by Martin Biron to set up the winner by Connolly.

Jeff Jillson scored his first ever goal for Buffalo in regulation, with Briere also scoring. Defenseman Brian Campbell had two assists for the Sabres.

Brian Smolinski and Zdeno Chara scored for Ottawa. Wade Redden had two assists for the Sens.

The game was a matchup of the two top point-getters in the Eastern Conference and both teams delivered in that regard. Great skating, big hits, wonderful goaltending.

It was all there.

"This was a big test for our club, coming into Ottawa and facing the top team in the league", coach Lindy Ruff would offer.

"I thought we played a beautiful game. We came with pressure in the first period and I feel we dominated in the first twenty minutes. Smolinski's goal was one I'm sure Marty would like back. But he came out and basically held us in the game in the second, when Ottawa really turned it on."

"I thought we controlled the third period but what can you do about Chara?", Ruff pondered. "The guy just has an absolute howitzer back on the point and no goaltender could have stopped that shot."

Biron picked up his tenth win of the season, turning aside 25 of 27 Ottawa shots. Hasek lost for the fourth time this year, making 24 saves.

Ottawa native Derek Roy was called up by the Sabres before the game and centered Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik, as struggling rookie Jason Pominville was scratched by Ruff. Roy was sent back to Rochester after the game.

Pominville is pointless in November, a stretch of nine games.

Henrik Tallinder was also a healthy scratch for Buffalo for the third consecutive game.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	1	0	1	1	3
Ottawa	1	0	1	0	2
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - J. Jillson 1 (B. Campbell, J. Hecht), 1:25
2. Ottawa - B. Smolinski 5 (W. Redden, C. Phillips), 7:20
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
None
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - D. Briere 9 (B. Campbell, T. Vanek), 2:03
4. Ottawa - Z. Chara 4 (W. Redden, J. Spezza), 8:44 (PP)
OVERTIME
SCORING
None
SHOOTOUT
SCORING
Buffalo - D. Briere (missed)
Ottawa - M. Havlat (goal)
Buffalo - T. Vanek (goal)
Ottawa - D. Heatley (missed)
Buffalo - T. Connolly (goal)
Ottawa - D. Alfredsson (missed)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	10	5	8	4	27
Ottawa	7	10	7	3	27
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 10-4-0)
Ottawa	D. Hasek (L: 14-4-1)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	0 - 4	1. Z. Chara (OTT) 1g
Ottawa	1 - 7	2. W. Redden (OTT) 2a +1
ATTENDANCE	18500	3. B. Smolinski (OTT) 1g -1

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers
November 23, 2005
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	March 31, 2004 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 4-3, with Dmitri Kalinin beating Mike Dunham for the winner
	Buffalo	New York Rangers
Overall Record:	15-5-2 32 pts	10-10-1 21 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	11th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	8-1-1	4-5-1
Powerplay:	25.5% (2nd)	14.2% (T21st)
Penalty Killing:	79.2% (T24th)	81.2% (19th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov - 12	M. Straka - 10
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 15	J. Jagr & S. Rucchin - 9
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 24	J. Jagr & M. Straka - 17
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 59	J. McKenzie - 52
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (10-4-0 2.99gaa .905)	K. Weekes (6-8-1 3.09gaa .905)
	R. Miller (5-1-2 3.33gaa .885)	H. Lundqvist (4-1-0 1.38gaa .952)
Who's Hot:	T. Vanek (3g 4a +2 in last 5)	M. Nylander (4g 2a in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Numminen (0pts in last 5)	J. Immonen (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	None	None

[NoSkillz]

Captain Briere Leads Sabres to Seventh Consecutive Victory

Buffalo News
November 24 2005 (New York, NY) -
Center Daniel Briere scored two goals and goaltender Ryan Miller turned aside 28 shots in a 4-2 Buffalo Sabres win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden last night.

Tim Connolly and Brian Campbell also scored for the Sabres. Campbell also had an assist to join Briere with a multipoint game.

Jaromir Jagr, who scored 24 seconds into the game and Tom Poti replied for New York. Kevin Weekes allowed four goals on 34 Buffalo shots.

"With the exception of the early goal they put up, I thought we played a textbook road game", Lindy Ruff would say. "Millsy played great in net, our special teams were solid and our five-on-five play was excellent as well."

The momentum really turned with Connolly's goal. With the game knotted at one, Connolly stripped Darius Kasparaitis of the puck behind the Rangers net, wheeled in front and backhanded a shot past a stunned Weekes. There were only five seconds left in the period.

"That goal was absolutely huge for us", Ruff indicated.

The red-hot Sabres have now won seven games in a row and garnered points in 14 of their last 15 games, a remarkable achievement for a team predicted to finish near the bottom of the NHL standings.

"No one on this club put much stock into the naysayers and their predictions", Ruff said. "We know that the guys in this dressing room can play hockey. The problem with those rankings is that team chemistry isn't factored in."

Henrik Tallinder was a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game but Ruff confirmed that he will dress tonight, as the team is back in action at home against their division rival Montreal Canadiens. Martin Biron will get the call in goal for the Sabres. Game time at HSBC Arena is 7:00pm.

Other Sabres Notes -
The annual Canada-Russia challenge series in the Canadian Junior Leagues began last night with the QMJHL All-Stars taking on the Russian Selects. Sabres prospects Marek Zagrapan and Marc-Andre Gragnani both are participating for the Quebec League. Gragnani picked up an assist while Zagrapan was held off the scoresheet in the two-game series. The Russians won both games and move on to play the OHL All-Stars next.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	2	2	0		4
New York Rangers	1	1	0		2
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. New York - J. Jagr 9 (M. Straka, D. Kasparaitis), 0:24
2. Buffalo - D. Briere 10 (J. Dumont, B. Campbell), 5:09 (PP)
3. Buffalo - T. Connolly 8 (unassisted), 19:55
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. New York - T. Poti 4 (F. Kaberle, S. Rucchin), 0:35 (PP)
5. Buffalo - D. Briere 11 (T. Vanek, J. McKee), 5:43
6. Buffalo - B. Campbell 5 (A. Kotalik, C. Drury), 11:32 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
None
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	13	8	13		34
New York	12	10	8		30
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 6-1-2)
New York	K. Weekes (L: 6-9-1)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	2 - 4	1. D. Briere (BUF) 2g
New York	1 - 6	2. T. Connolly (BUF) 1g +1
ATTENDANCE	18200	3. T. Poti (NYR) 1g -1

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres
November 24, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	Buffalo leads 2-0
Last Meeting:	October 25, 2005 in Montreal
	Buffalo wins 4-2, with Montreal native J.P. Dumont scoring once and
	adding a pair of assists in the victory
	Montreal	Buffalo
Overall Record:	11-10-1 23 pts	16-5-2 28 pts
Standings:	T9th Eastern Conference	4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	6-4-0	9-1-0
Powerplay:	16.4% (15th)	26.3% (2nd)
Penalty Killing:	83.3% (14th)	79.5% (22nd)
Goal Leader:	R. Zednik - 13	M. Afinogenov - 12
Assist Leader:	S. Koivu - 16	D. Briere - 15
Point Leader:	A. Kovalev & R. Zednik - 24	D. Briere - 26
Penalty Minute Leader:	P. Stock - 64	A. Mair - 59
Goaltenders:	J. Theodore (9-10-1 2.58gaa .910)	M. Biron (10-4-0 2.99gaa .905)
	C. Huet (2-0-0 2.36gaa .915)	R. Miller (6-1-2 3.20gaa .890)
Who's Hot:	A. Kovalev (5g 2a +5 in last 5)	T. Vanek (1g 5a in last 5)
Who's Not:	P. Stock (0pts -1 in last 5)	A. Mair (1g in last 5)
Injuries:	None	None

[NoSkillz]

Campbell and the Sabres Continue to Impress

Buffalo News
November 24 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
For a guy who was pencilled in as the team's seventh defenseman before the year began, Brian Campbell is doing quite well for himself and his team, thank you very much.

Campbell, flourishing with additional ice time this year, scored his fifth goal of the young season and added two assists in a 6-3 Buffalo win over the Montreal Canadiens last night at HSBC Arena.

Rookie Thomas Vanek scored twice for Buffalo, while Campbell, Jeff Jillson, Jochen Hecht and Taylor Pyatt added singles. Campbell, J.P. Dumont (3a), Vanek (2g), Hecht (1g 1a) and Daniel Briere (2a) notched multipoint games.

Richard Zednik, Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev scored for Montreal. Zednik (1g 2a) and Koivu (1g 1a) had multipoint games for the sluggish Canadiens, who only showed life when the Sabres started giving their third and fourth liners more ice time in the third.

Coach Lindy Ruff continues to be impressed with Campbell's play.

"Brian has been a man possessed right from the start of camp", Ruff would say. "He was determined to prove to everyone here that he was capable on the backend, something that certainly was a weakness for him in prior years."

"He's not only cleaned up his game in the defensive zone but has really blossomed offensively as well. We always knew he had that dimension to his game but he's finally showing the rest of the league."

"It's great to see."

Campbell has an incredible 9 points in his last four games, most coming from the third defensive pairing. Ruff indicated that the strong play from Campbell and defense partner Jillson will be gaining them additional ice time in the games ahead.

The win was Buffalo's eighth in a row, as they continue to chase the Ottawa Senators for top spot in the Eastern Conference. Goaltender Martin Biron was sharp, stopping 31 of 34 Montreal shots while Cristobal Huet wasn't so fortunate in a rare start, allowing six goals on only 30 shots.

Teppo Numminen was Buffalo's only scratch on the night. The Sabres major free agent acquisition in the preseason has struggled with the speed in the 'new NHL' and Ruff says Numminen is working hard in practice to regain his place in the lineup.

The Sabres have three days off before facing the Atlanta Thrashers on Sunday down at HSBC Arena. Atlanta may be without star forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who's nursing an upper body ailment.

Other Game Notes -
There was a minor brawl midway through the game, with Jay McKee squaring off with the Canadiens Andy Zulyniak and Adam Mair facing Garth Murray. All four players received game misconducts while the other six skaters received minors for roughing. The rest of the game went without incident.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Montreal	1	2	0		3
Buffalo	3	1	2		6
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Montreal - R. Zednik 14 (R. Hainsey, C. Rivet), 3:47
2. Buffalo - B. Campbell 5 (J. Dumont, A. Kotalik), 6:47 (PP)
3. Buffalo - T. Vanek 11 (J. Dumont, D. Briere), 16:07
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - J. Jillson 2 (J. Hecht, B. Campbell), 2:47
5. Buffalo - J. Hecht 7 (H. Tallinder, M. Afinogenov), 10:57
6. Buffalo - T. Pyatt 2 (D. Briere), 11:38
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
7. Buffalo - T. Vanek 12 (B. Campbell, J. Dumont), 7:20 (PP)
8. Montreal - S. Koivu 5 (R. Zednik), 11:55
9. Montreal - A. Kovalev 13 (S. Koivu, R. Zednik), 15:24 (PP)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Montreal	13	13	8		34
Buffalo	10	9	11		30
GOALTENDING
Montreal	C. Huet (L: 2-1-0)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 11-4-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Montreal	1 - 5	1. B. Campbell (BUF) 1g 2a +1
Buffalo	2 - 4	2. J. Dumont (BUF) 3a +1
ATTENDANCE	18690	3. T. Vanek (BUF) 2g +1

[NoSkillz]

New GM Bosela Impressing Golisano; Buffalo Fans

Buffalo News
November 26 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Preseason predictions by so-called experts had the Buffalo Sabres finishing anwhere between ninth place and 14th in the Conference. The club is defying their critics with superb play through the first two months of the season, as they continue to challenge for first place in the competitive Eastern Conference.

There has been some intense media speculation recently regarding the Sabres chances of continuing their fine run of play.

When asked, new Sabres general manager Matthew Bosela, like a seasoned veteran, simply stated that he is "quietly confident of the team and the system we have installed. Everyone in the organization is buying into the team-first philosophy and I love the direction that we're taking."

His words were music to the ears of fans and management.

Bosela's confidence in his team's chances of success has pleased those at Sabrefans.com, who ran an opinion poll on Bosela's work to date.

"The overwhelming response from our members indicate that Bosela has their utmost respect for his work thus far and they hope he stays with the team as long as possible", a representative from the website said.

Even team owner Thomas Golisano got into the act, saying he's extremely pleased with his manager's attitude and performance and hope the winning trend continues.

Bosela, when asked to comment, would only say that he "appreciates the support from fans and management but the season is still young."

"We still have months of hockey left", he would add. "Our first goal is to get to the postseason and then go from there."

NOTE: I'm not pimping myself, these 'opinion polls' and comments from Golisano are actually in the game! Funny stuff!

[samifan24]

Those must've been some crowded penalty boxes! You got 3 guys serving minors in each box! Nothing like the refs throwing everyone on the ice in the box!

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Atlanta Thrashers at Buffalo Sabres
November 27, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	Atlanta leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 11, 2005 in Atlanta
	Atlanta wins 4-3, as Peter Bondra scored two goals, including the winner
	past Martin Biron
	Atlanta	Buffalo
Overall Record:	13-11-2 28 pts	17-5-2 36 pts
Standings:	T5th Eastern Conference	4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-5-1	9-1-0
Powerplay:	15.9% (18th)	27.1% (2nd)
Penalty Killing:	86.0% (5th)	79.5% (24th)
Goal Leader:	M. Hossa & I. Kovalchuk - 14	M. Afinogenov & T. Vanek - 12
Assist Leader:	M. Hossa & M. Savard - 15	D. Briere - 17
Point Leader:	M. Hossa - 29	D. Briere - 28
Penalty Minute Leader:	F. Lessard - 65	A. Mair - 76
Goaltenders:	M. Dunham (12-6-2 2.68gaa .910)	M. Biron (11-4-0 2.99gaa .905)
	K. Lehtonen (1-5-0 3.21gaa .896)	R. Miller (6-1-2 3.20gaa .890)
Who's Hot:	P. Bondra (1g 3a in last 5)	B. Campbell (2g 8a +4 in last 5)
Who's Not:	J. Vigier (0pts -3 in last 5)	A. Mair (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	I. Kovalchuk (chest injury)	None
	S. Mellanby (twisted knee)
	S. Hnidy (separated shoulder)

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by samifan24

Those must've been some crowded penalty boxes! You got 3 guys serving minors in each box! Nothing like the refs throwing everyone on the ice in the box!

Yup...very crowded! Here's the penalty summary from the game:

Penalty Summary:
Per	Time	Player	Team	PIM	Penalty
1	06:45	Michael Ryder	MTL	2	Interference
1	08:03	Adam Mair	BUF	2	Elbowing
1	14:06	Craig Rivet	MTL	2	Charging
1	14:06	Craig Rivet	MTL	10	Misconduct
1	16:26	Jay McKee	BUF	2	Cross-checking
2	23:05	Maxim Afinogenov	BUF	2	Interference
2	27:50	Mark Streit	MTL	2	Roughing
2	27:50	Dmitri Kalinin	BUF	2	Roughing
2	27:50	Mike Ribeiro	MTL	2	Roughing
2	27:50	Taylor Pyatt	BUF	2	Roughing
2	27:50	Michael Ryder	MTL	2	Roughing
2	27:50	Mike Grier	BUF	2	Roughing
2	27:50	Jay McKee	BUF	5	Fighting
2	27:50	Andy Zulyniak	MTL	5	Fighting
2	27:50	Jay McKee	BUF	10	Game Misconduct
2	27:50	Andy Zulyniak	MTL	10	Game Misconduct
2	27:50	Garth Murray	MTL	5	Fighting
2	27:50	Adam Mair	BUF	5	Fighting
2	27:50	Garth Murray	MTL	10	Game Misconduct
2	27:50	Adam Mair	BUF	10	Game Misconduct
2	38:31	Ales Kotalik	BUF	2	Charging
3	40:50	Mathieu Dandenault	MTL	2	Hooking
3	46:52	Mathieu Dandenault	MTL	2	Charging
3	54:32	Daniel Briere	BUF	2	Hooking

[NoSkillz]

Maligned Penalty Killing Unit Leads the Way in Another Sabres Win

Buffalo News
November 28 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
There hasn't been much to worry about during the Buffalo Sabres recent run of fine play but if you're picky, penalty killing would certainly qualify as something that could be improved on.

The unit, which came into the game ranked 24th in the 30 team league, killed off all five Atlanta powerplays and scored twice while shorthanded in a 5-2 victory last night at HSBC Arena.

The win is the ninth in a row for the Sabres and coupled with Ottawa's 3-0 loss to Philadelphia, propels Buffalo into first place in the Eastern Conference.

Chris Drury scored twice for Buffalo, with Mike Grier, Jason Pominville and Taylor Pyatt also adding markers. Pominville's goal was his first point in twelve games. Drury (2g 1a), Grier (1g 1a), Pyatt (1g 1a), and Jochen Hecht (2a) all had multipoint games.

Greg de Vries and Marian Hossa, with his team-leading 15th, scored for the Thrashers.

Ryan Miller got the call in goal for Buffalo and was solid when called upon, turning aside 25 of 27 Atlanta shots to earn his seventh victory of the year. Mike Dunham was pretty much left to fend for himself for the first two periods, as he got shelled with 35 shots through the first forty minutes. Fortunately for Dunham, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff reduced the ice time of his top players in the third period and Buffalo would only direct three more shots his way in the final frame.

"Our penalty killing has actually been coming along nicely over the past couple of weeks", Ruff would say after the game. "We've settled into a groove with our personnel and our tactics seem to be working. We've allocated extra practice time for this purpose and the hard work seems to be paying off quite nicely."

Atlanta played with seven defensemen due to the absence of star winger Ilya Kovalchuk, who has missed three games with a mysterious chest injury. Coach Bob Hartley wasn't impressed with his team's effort in the loss.

"We are giving up entirely too many odd man chances", he indicated. "The laziness of our powerplay personnel was evident as well. It's completely inexcusable to give up two shorthanded goals in one game."

Hartley was so incensed with his club that he had the whole team skate for over an hour after the game was completed.

Teppo Numminen was once again a healthy scratch for Buffalo. The Sabres will play again Wednesday night against another team suffering from injuries in the Columbus Blue Jackets, who will be without star forward Rick Nash, who's on the I.R. with a dislocated shoulder.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Atlanta	1	0	1		2
Buffalo	1	4	0		5
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - M. Grier 2 (T. Pyatt, J. McKee), 9:19
2. Atlanta - G. de Vries 3 (B. Coburn, M. Hossa), 15:45
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - J. Pominville 7 (C. Drury, B. Campbell), 3:52
4. Buffalo - C. Drury 9 (M. Grier), 4:29 (SH)
5. Buffalo - T. Pyatt 3 (J. Hecht, H. Tallinder), 13:50 (SH)
6. Buffalo - C. Drury 10 (J. Hecht, A. Kotalik), 16:09 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
7. Atlanta - M. Hossa 15 (F. Lessard, N. Havelid), 14:53
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Atlanta	7	15	5		27
Buffalo	17	18	3		38
GOALTENDING
Atlanta	M. Dunham (L: 12-7-2)
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 7-1-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Atlanta	0 - 5	1. C. Drury (BUF) 2g 1a +2
Buffalo	1 - 4	2. J. Pominville (BUF) 1g +1
ATTENDANCE	17098	3. M. Grier (BUF) 1g 1a +1

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets
November 30, 2005
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	March 29, 2004 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 6-0, with Dmitri Kalinin scoring the winner and Martin Biron
	picking up the shutout
	Buffalo	Columbus
Overall Record:	18-5-2 38 pts	10-14-2 22 pts
Standings:	1st Eastern Conference	14th Western Conference
Last 10 Games:	9-1-0	2-7-1
Powerplay:	27.0% (1st)	18.5% (12th)
Penalty Killing:	80.3% (23rd)	83.8% (11th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov & T. Vanek - 12	R. Nash - 10
Assist Leader:	D. Briere & J. Hecht - 17	T. Marchant - 19
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 28	T. Marchant - 25
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 76	C. Hulse - 41
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (11-4-0 2.99gaa .905)	M. Prusek (7-10-1 3.41gaa .886)
	R. Miller (7-1-2 3.09gaa .893)	M. Denis (3-4-1 2.88gaa .906)
Who's Hot:	B. Campbell (2g 8a +4 in last 5)	T. Marchant (1g 5a +1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	A. Mair (0pts in last 5)	G. Brule (0pts -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	R. Nash (dislocated shoulder)
		D. Westcott (olecrannon bursitis)
		A. Delmore (surgery)

[NoSkillz]

Late Fritsche Goal Leads Columbus to Unlikely Win

Buffalo News
December 1 2005 (Columbus, OH) -
Well, it had to end sometime.

The Columbus Blue Jackets outskated, outhit and outhustled their supposedly superior opponent last night but still found themselves behind after two periods. A Manny Malhotra goal early in the final frame drew them even and then with only eight seconds left in regulation time, Danny Fritsche wristed a shot past Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller to give Columbus a well-deserved 4-3 victory.

The loss ends the Sabres winning streak at nine games.

Columbus also got goals from Trevor Letowski and Jan Hrdina while the Sabres received goals from Daniel Briere, Thomas Vanek and Henrik Tallinder. Dmitri Kalinin had three assists for Buffalo in the game.

The Sabres played without intensity for most of the night and practically abandoned Miller for prolonged periods in the contest. He was forced to thwart five breakaways but ultimately would surrender a winning goal he'd like to have back, as Fritsche's shot was one of the weaker efforts on the night.

Coach Lindy Ruff was not pleased with the performance.

"There was no desire out there tonight. Columbus beat us to every puck and were able to take the puck away with alarming frequency. We were also undisciplined late in the game, taking two penalties in the last five minutes."

"That type of effort is just not acceptable. But I must commend Columbus for playing a really solid game. They are a team that our guys likely underestimated due to the standings and we ultimately paid the price for that overconfidence."

"It's good we get another crack at them tomorrow night."

Indeed, the Sabres will once again face the Blue Jackets tonight back in the comfy confines of HSBC Arena. Teppo Numminen, who once again was scratched, will play tonight, as will Derek Roy, who was called up by the club after last night's loss.

Ruff wouldn't say who would be sitting out in the return matchup but did say that Marty Biron would be manning the cage for the Sabres. Game time is 7:00pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	1	2	0		3
Columbus	2	0	2		4
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Columbus - T. Letowski 4 (J. Hrdina), 4:37
2. Buffalo - D. Briere 12 (D. Kalinin), 6:12
3. Columbus - J. Hrdina 3 (C. Hulse, T. Gleason), 10:44 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - T. Vanek 13 (D. Kalinin, D. Briere), 12:21 (PP)
5. Buffalo - H. Tallinder 1 (J. Dumont, D. Kalinin), 18:59
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Columbus - M. Malhotra 2 (T. Gleason), 3:31
7. Columbus - D. Fritsche 10 (T. Marchant, B. Berard), 19:52
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	8	11	14		33
Columbus	14	13	9		36
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 7-2-2)
Columbus	M. Denis (W: 4-4-1)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 6	1. D. Kalinin (BUF) 3a +2
Columbus	1 - 7	2. D. Fritsche (CBS) 1g
ATTENDANCE	16466	3. J. Hrdina (CBS) 1g 1a +1

[NoSkillz]

Vanek Gets Nod as Top Rookie in November

Buffalo News
December 1 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Buffalo Sabres winger Thomas Vanek was honored today as the NHL's Rookie of the Month for November.

Vanek played 14 games in the month, scoring 8 goals and adding 8 assists for 16 points. He had a +4 rating and 2 penalty minutes as well.

"It's a great honor to win this award but really, the only thing that matters to me is the team and its success", Vanek would politely say.

Vanek is the first Sabres rookie to win the monthly award since Ales Kotalik accomplished the feat back in January of 2003.

[NoSkillz]

November 2005 Summary

Eastern Conference

POS		TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PCT	GF	GA	PTS
1st		Buffalo	26	18	6	2	0.731	105	82	38
2nd		Tampa Bay	26	17	8	1	0.673	79	77	35
3rd		Philadelphia	27	14	9	4	0.593	76	66	32
4th		Ottawa	27	17	6	4	0.704	99	76	38
5th		Pittsburgh	23	15	6	2	0.696	68	58	32
6th		Atlanta	29	13	13	3	0.500	85	88	29
7th		NY Islanders	23	14	8	1	0.630	68	63	29
8th		Boston	23	13	8	2	0.609	66	59	28
9th		Toronto	24	13	9	2	0.583	68	68	28
10th		NY Rangers	25	12	12	1	0.500	64	68	25
11th		Montreal	25	11	12	2	0.480	67	70	24
12th		New Jersey	25	11	13	1	0.460	70	77	23
13th		Washington	24	8	9	7	0.479	61	75	23
14th		Carolina	25	7	11	7	0.420	59	79	21
15th		Florida	24	7	10	7	0.438	53	67	21

Western Conference

POS		TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PCT	GF	GA	PTS
1st		Vancouver	29	21	6	2	0.759	101	70	44
2nd		Detroit	27	16	6	5	0.685	80	60	37
3rd		Dallas	26	17	7	2	0.692	84	63	36
4th		Colorado	25	18	6	1	0.740	83	60	37
5th		Nashville	25	14	8	3	0.620	66	63	31
6th		Edmonton	26	13	10	3	0.558	61	67	29
7th		Calgary	26	12	10	4	0.538	50	57	28
8th		San Jose	24	13	10	1	0.563	60	61	27
9th		Minnesota	27	11	12	4	0.481	64	65	26
10th		Los Angeles	26	10	11	5	0.481	71	81	25
11th		Columbus	27	11	14	2	0.444	73	89	24
12th		Phoenix	25	11	12	2	0.480	69	81	24
13th		Chicago	26	10	12	4	0.462	58	71	24
14th		Anaheim	25	10	11	4	0.480	66	77	24
15th		St. Louis	24	5	16	3	0.271	46	82	13

2005-06 Goals

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	G
1st	Todd Bertuzzi	Vancouver	29	22
T2nd	Marian Hossa	Atlanta	29	17
	Markus Naslund	Vancouver	29	17
T4th	Vincent Lecavalier	Tampa Bay	26	16
	Martin St. Louis	Tampa Bay	26	16
	Bill Guerin	Dallas	26	16
	Martin Havlat	Ottawa	27	16
T8th	Simon Gagne	Philadelphia	27	15
	Glen Murray	Boston	23	15
	Alexei Kovalev	Montreal	25	15
	Zigmund Palffy	Pittsburgh	23	15
	Marek Svatos	Colorado	25	15
T13th	Dany Heatley	Ottawa	27	14
	Radim Vrbata	Carolina	25	14
	Ilya Kovalchuk	Atlanta	20	14
	Richard Zednik	Montreal	25	14
	Daniel Alfredsson	Ottawa	27	14
T18th	Thomas Vanek	Buffalo	26	13
	Valeri Bure	Los Angeles	23	13
	Peter Bondra	Atlanta	29	13

2005-06 Assists

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	A
1st	Markus Naslund	Vancouver	29	23
2nd	Joe Sakic	Colorado	25	22
T3rd	Brad Richards	Tampa Bay	26	21
	Jason Spezza	Ottawa	27	21
	Sergei Fedorov	Anaheim	25	21
T6th	Joe Thornton	Boston	23	20
	Todd Marchant	Columbus	27	20
	Pavel Kubina	Tampa Bay	26	20
T9th	Todd Bertuzzi	Vancouver	29	19
	Wade Redden	Ottawa	27	19
	Peter Forsberg	Philadelphia	27	19
	Henrik Sedin	Vancouver	29	19
T13th	Bryan McCabe	Toronto	24	18
	Saku Koivu	Montreal	25	18
	Daniel Briere	Buffalo	26	18
	Marc Savard	Atlanta	29	18
	Zdeno Chara	Ottawa	27	18
	Mattias ohlund	Vancouver	29	18
T19th	Patrick Marleau	San Jose	24	17
	Scott Niedermayer	Anaheim	25	17
	Alex Tanguay	Colorado	20	17
	Jochen Hecht	Buffalo	26	17
	Martin Skoula	Dallas	26	17
	Alexander Ovechkin	Washington	24	17
	Pavol Demitra	Los Angeles	26	17
	Marian Hossa	Atlanta	29	17
	Nicklas Lidstrom	Detroit	27	17

2005-06 Points

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	P
1st	Todd Bertuzzi	Vancouver	29	41
2nd	Markus Naslund	Vancouver	29	40
3rd	Marian Hossa	Atlanta	29	34
T4th	Brad Richards	Tampa Bay	26	33
	Sergei Fedorov	Anaheim	25	33
6th	Joe Sakic	Colorado	25	32
T7th	Martin St. Louis	Tampa Bay	26	31
	Vincent Lecavalier	Tampa Bay	26	31
T9th	Bill Guerin	Dallas	26	30
	Daniel Briere	Buffalo	26	30
T11th	Daniel Alfredsson	Ottawa	27	29
	Alex Tanguay	Colorado	20	29
	Pavol Demitra	Los Angeles	26	29
	Jason Spezza	Ottawa	27	29
T15th	Martin Havlat	Ottawa	27	28
	Richard Zednik	Montreal	25	28
	Alexei Yashin	NY Islanders	23	28
T18th	Simon Gagne	Philadelphia	27	27
	Marek Svatos	Colorado	25	27
	Alexei Kovalev	Montreal	25	27
	Ilya Kovalchuk	Atlanta	20	27
	Peter Schaefer	Ottawa	27	27
	Jean-Pierre Dumont	Buffalo	26	27
	Alexander Ovechkin	Washington	24	27

Players of the Month -
Offensive: Brad Richards (TB) 14GP 7g 14a 21pts +3
Defensive: Andrew Raycroft (BOS) 8GP 5-2-1 1.86gaa .931sp
Rookie: Thomas Vanek (BUF) 14GP 8g 8a 16pts +4

Players of the Week -
Week Ending 10/31/05: Offensive - Martin Havlat (OTT); Defensive - Ty Conklin (EDM)
Week Ending 11/07/05: Offensive - Alexander Ovechkin (WAS); Defensive - Jose Theodore (MON)
Week Ending 11/14/05: Offensive - Patrik Elias (NJ); Defensive - Jay Bouwmeester (FLO)
Week Ending 11/21/05: Offensive - Robert Lang (DET); Defensive - Andrew Raycroft (BOS)

Key Transactions -

• BOS trades Jonathan Girard and 3rd Rd pick to MIN for Miroslav Kopriva and 4th Rd pick
• STL trades Andy Roach and Mike Gauthier to LA for Konstantin Pushkarev, Ned Lukacevic and 2nd Rd pick
• MON trades Sheldon Souray and Juraj Mikus to CAR for Danny Richmond, 2nd and 3rd Rd picks
• BUF trades Andrew Peters to COL for 3rd Rd pick
• NYR trades Ryan Hollweg to EDM for Marc-Antoine Pouliot
• LA trades Dany Roussin to CLB for Jody Shelley
• DAL trades Fredrik Naslund to ATL for Eric Boulton
• TOR trades Todd Ford and 3rd Rd pick to PHI for John Slaney
• ATL trades Slava Kozlov to LA for Jeff Cowan, Brian Boyle and 3rd Rd pick
• DET trades Bryan Helmer and 3rd Rd pick to BOS for Martins Karsams
• WAS trades Brent Johnson to CGY for 3rd Rd pick
• STL trades Reed Low to MIN for 5th Rd pick

[NoSkillz]

2005-06 BUFFALO SABRES
AS OF NOVEMBER 30 2005
P	PLAYER	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
F	Daniel Briere	26	12	18	30	11	26
F	J.P. Dumont	26	11	16	27	7	22
F	* Thomas Vanek	26	13	13	26	9	8
F	Chris Drury	26	10	15	25	8	28
F	Jochen Hecht	26	7	17	24	3	24
F	Maxim Afinogenov	26	12	11	23	-2	22
F	Tim Connolly	26	8	10	18	-6	10
D	Brian Campbell	21	6	11	17	5	6
F	Ales Kotalik	21	6	11	17	4	6
D	Dmitri Kalinin	26	0	15	15	-3	38
F	* Jason Pominville	25	7	3	10	4	14
D	Toni Lydman	26	1	8	9	17	10
D	Jeff Jillson	19	2	5	7	-3	4
D	Jay McKee	24	0	7	7	11	33
F	Adam Mair	26	4	3	7	-4	78
F	Mike Grier	26	2	5	7	-1	22
D	Henrik Tallinder	16	1	5	6	6	0
F	Taylor Pyatt	23	3	2	5	-2	6
D	Teppo Numminen	19	0	3	3	-3	10
F	Derek Roy	8	0	2	2	3	6
D	Doug Janik	7	0	1	1	1	7
F	X Andrew Peters	1	0	0	0	0	0
G	* Ryan Miller	13	0	0	0	-	0
G	Martin Biron	15	0	0	0	-	0
GOALTENDING
P	PLAYER	GP	W	L	T	GAA	S%
G	Martin Biron	15	11	4	0	2.99	0.905
G	* Ryan Miller	13	7	2	2	3.17	0.893
	* - Denotes Rookie
	X - No Longer With Team

[NoSkillz]

Sabres Get Back on Winning Track

Buffalo News
December 2 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
The Buffalo Sabres bounced back from a poor effort the night previous to upend the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 at HSBC Arena.

J.P. Dumont, Ales Kotalik, Maxim Afinogenov and Dmitri Kalinin, with his first of the year, scored for Buffalo. Chris Drury and Daniel Briere each picked up two assists in the win.

Recent addition Steve Begin scored both goals for Columbus.

Martin Biron was solid in Buffalo's goal, making 25 saves on the night while Martin Prusek got the start for Columbus and turned aside 37 Sabres shots.

"Much better performance", Lindy Ruff said after the game. "It was a bit of a slow start for us but once we got that powerplay midway through the first, we settled down and started taking the play to them."

Ruff made a surprising move before the game, scratching regular Toni Lydman.

"Quite frankly, Toni just hasn't been sharp for awhile", he said. "There's been a falloff to his game after the five point effort from a couple weeks back. We don't expect him to score like that every game but he's been a bit lax in the defensive zone lately, maybe because of the big offensive outburst."

"We need to get the Lydman of old back in there."

Ruff also scratched the struggling Jason Pominville, who has only one point in his last 14 games. Derek Roy played in his place on the Drury line.

The Sabres have a couple days off before facing the New Jersey Devils here in Buffalo on Sunday night. Game time is 7:00pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Columbus	0	2	0		2
Buffalo	1	3	0		4
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - J. Dumont 12 (T. Vanek, D. Briere), 12:32 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
2. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 7 (C. Drury, D. Briere), 3:13
3. Columbus - S. Begin 2 (A. Foote, L. Richardson), 7:25
4. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 13 (C. Drury, J. Hecht), 11:16 (PP)
5. Buffalo - D. Kalinin 1 (A. Mair), 12:44
6. Columbus - S. Begin 3 (R. Klesla), 15:01
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
None
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Columbus	5	15	7		27
Buffalo	14	14	13		41
GOALTENDING
Columbus	M. Prusek (L: 7-11-1)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 12-4-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Columbus	0 - 5	1. J. Dumont (BUF) 1g
Buffalo	2 - 6	2. S. Begin (CLB) 2g +2
ATTENDANCE	16633	3. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 1g

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres
December 4, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	Tied 1-1
Last Meeting:	November 1, 2005 in East Rutherford
	New Jersey wins 5-4 in a shootout, with Brian Rafalski scoring the winner
	past Ryan Miller
	New Jersey	Buffalo
Overall Record:	12-13-1 25 pts	19-6-2 40 pts
Standings:	T10th Eastern Conference	1st Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-5-1	9-1-0
Powerplay:	13.6% (23rd)	26.9% (2nd)
Penalty Killing:	81.9% (17th)	81.3% (19th)
Goal Leader:	P. Elias - 12	M. Afinogenov & T. Vanek - 13
Assist Leader:	V. Kozlov - 16	D. Briere - 20
Point Leader:	V. Kozlov - 27	D. Briere - 32
Penalty Minute Leader:	K. Oliwa - 114	A. Mair - 78
Goaltenders:	M. Brodeur (11-12-1 2.96gaa .902)	M. Biron (12-4-0 2.96gaa .907)
	A. Ahonen (1-1-0 3.03gaa .891)	R. Miller (7-2-2 3.17gaa .893)
Who's Hot:	V. Kozlov (3g 5a +2 in last 5)	J. Dumont (1g 5a +2 in last 5)
Who's Not:	S. Maltais (0pts -4 in last 5)	J. Pominville (1g in last 5)
Injuries:	None	None

[NoSkillz]

Rafalski and Devils Burn Sabres Again

Buffalo News
December 5 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
New Jersey Devils defenseman Brian Rafalski continued to be a thorn in the side of the Buffalo Sabres last night, scoring once and adding an assist in a 3-2 victory at HSBC Arena.

Patrik Elias, with his team-leading 13th goal and Colin White also scored for the Devils. Rafalski, White (1g 1a) and John Madden (2a) struck for multipoint games. Ari Ahonen got the surprise start in goal for New Jersey and was sensational, turning aside 22 Buffalo shots for his second win of the year.

Maxim Afinogenov, with his team-leading 14th goal and Daniel Briere scored for Buffalo. Briere's goal came in the last minute with goaltender Martin Biron on the bench.

"Not a good night", summed up Lindy Ruff. "New Jersey really took the play to us in the second period especially and we had no answer."

"I tried to juggle the lines a bit and even contemplated putting Millsy (Ryan Miller) in net to jump start the team but it was unfair to do that to Marty. It certainly wasn't his fault the team played like garbage in front of him."

Ruff went on to say that the play of certain individuals was "unacceptable" and roster moves could be made in the next couple of days to bolster the squad, who have lost two out of the last three games.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
New Jersey	2	1	0		3
Buffalo	1	0	1		2
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. New Jersey - C. White 1 (V. Kozlov, J. Madden), 1:45 (PP)
2. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 14 (C. Drury, J. Hecht), 15:57 (PP)
3. New Jersey - P. Elias 13 (B. Rafalski, A. Mogilny), 19:27 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. New Jersey - B. Rafalski 5 (C. White, J. Madden), 13:32
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
5. Buffalo - D. Briere 13 (J. Dumont, T. Vanek), 19:10 (PP)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
New Jersey	11	8	7		26
Buffalo	12	4	8		24
GOALTENDING
New Jersey	A. Ahonen (W: 2-1-0)
Buffalo	M. Biron (L: 12-5-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
New Jersey	2 - 5	1. P. Elias (NJ) 1g
Buffalo	2 - 6	2. B. Rafalski (NJ) 1g 1a +1
ATTENDANCE	18690	3. C. White (NJ) 1g 1a +1

[NoSkillz]

Pominville Placed on Waivers; Roy Recalled

Buffalo News
December 5 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Sabres rookie Jason Pominville, who scorched the league in the preseason and in October, has been placed on waivers in order to be sent to Buffalo's affiliate in Rochester.

Pominville, who has 7 goals and 3 assists and a +4 rating in 26 games, will return to the Americans if he isn't claimed by the noon deadline on Wednesday.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff says it was a confidence issue with Pominville.

"He's really struggling with his decision making out there", Ruff said after practice. "He's holding the stick too tight and making a lot of mistakes. That's death for a young player who's having trouble contributing offensively."

Pominville had only 1 point in his last 14 games after starting the season on a tear.

Ruff hopes Pominville can slip through waivers. "We definitely don't want to lose this kid", he said "and I fully expect him to regain his scoring touch in the AHL and hopefully he'll return sometime this season."

Derek Roy was recalled from the Americans to take Pominville's roster spot. Roy, who's already played 9 games for the Sabres this year (0g 2a) has been one of Rochester's best players this year, scoring 11 goals and adding 9 assists in 17 games.

Ruff said that the club may make another move in the next few days.

[duff88]

Originally Posted by NoSkillz

Sabres rookie Jason Pominville, who scorched the league in the preseason and in October, has been placed on waivers in order to be sent to Buffalo's affiliate in Rochester.

Risky move... I think he's going to get picked. Was it really worth the risk?

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers
December 6, 2005
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA
Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	January 24, 2004 in Philadelphia
	Philadelphia wins 2-1, with Jeremy Roenick scoring the winner past Mika
	Noronen
	Buffalo	Philadelphia
Overall Record:	19-7-2 40 pts	16-10-4 36 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	3rd Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	8-2-0	6-3-1
Powerplay:	27.1% (2nd)	14.7% (21st)
Penalty Killing:	80.6% (21st)	90.2% (1st)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov - 14	S. Gagne - 16
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 20	P. Forsberg - 20
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 33	S. Gagne - 31
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 83	T. Stevenson - 84
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (12-5-0 2.93gaa .906)	R. Esche (12-9-3 2.51gaa .915)
	R. Miller (7-2-2 3.17gaa .893)	A. Niittymaki (4-1-1 1.81gaa .941)
Who's Hot:	C. Drury (2g 4a +1 in last 5)	S. Gagne (4g 5a +5 in last 5)
Who's Not:	A. Mair (1pts -1 in last 5)	E. Chouinard (0pts -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	S. Kapanen (separated shoulder)

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by duff88

Risky move... I think he's going to get picked. Was it really worth the risk?

Maybe not, since he wasn't making much money ($450,000) and I have the roster space.

However, I want him to play and get his confidence level back up. If he does get picked up, I'd likely try to trade to get him back.

Also, Antti Laaksonen got waived by Colorado at the same time. He's more polished right now from an attribute perspective (although Pominville likely has a higher potential rating) so I'm hoping teams overlook Pominville for Laaksonen.

We'll see I guess! So far, so good. I'm at Tuesday evening and no bites yet!!!!

[NoSkillz]

Sabres Outplayed but Pull Out Victory

Buffalo News
December 7 2005 (Philadelphia, PA) -
The Philadelphia Flyers controlled play for most of the game, peppering Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller with 36 shots but Buffalo made the most of their limited chances in a 5-2 win at Wachovia Center last night.

Jochen Hecht, Daniel Briere (pictured above), Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov scored for the Sabres. Hecht, Drury, Vanek and Briere all had a goal and an assist while Mike Grier had two assists in his first game playing on a line with Hecht and Drury this year.

Joni Pitkanen and Brian Savage scored for Philadelphia, who received subpar goaltending from Robert Esche in the contest

"It's certainly the first time we've been outshot two games in a row", Lindy Ruff said after the game. "Our puck pursuit was lacking tonight and we'll have to improve in that area for the return matchup on Thursday night."

Indeed, the Sabres will once again encounter the Flyers tomorrow night back in Buffalo. The puck drops at 7:00pm. Ryan Miller is expected to start once again for the Sabres.

"He was absolutely tremendous for us tonight", Ruff indicated.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	2	0	3		5
Philadelphia	1	1	0		2
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Philadelphia - J. Pitkanen 5 (S. Gagne, P. Forsberg), 1:31 (PP)
2. Buffalo - J. Hecht 8 (M. Grier, C. Drury), 5:32
3. Buffalo - C. Drury 11 (J. Hecht, M. Grier), 8:36
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Philadelphia - B. Savage 6 (B. Radivojevic, C. Therien), 3:57 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
5. Buffalo - D. Briere 14 (T. Vanek, B. Campbell), 0:26 (PP)
6. Buffalo - T. Vanek 14 (J. Dumont, D. Briere), 12:40 (PP)
7. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 15 (T. Connolly), 13:08
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	8	8	11		27
Philadelphia	11	12	13		36
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 8-2-2)
Philadelphia	R. Esche (L: 12-10-3)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	2 - 3	1. D. Briere (BUF) 1g 1a
Philadelphia	2 - 4	2. T. Vanek (BUF) 1g 1a
ATTENDANCE	19523	3. J. Hecht (BUF) 1g 1a +2

[NoSkillz]

Pominville Snapped up by Panthers; Bosela Incensed

Buffalo News
December 8 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
The Florida Panthers waited until the last second and swooped in on Sabres rookie Jason Pominville.

Pominville, who was waived by the Sabres on Monday evening, was picked up by Florida GM Mike Keenan. Since Pominville lasted almost the entire 48 hours before being scooped, he was able to be placed in the AHL.

To add insult to injury, Pominville will play with the Rochester Americans as Florida property due to the shared affilliation with Buffalo.

Buffalo general manger Matthew Bosela was infuriated at Keenan.

"This is the way he repays us for allowing him to send his prospects to our farm team? Absolutely despicable!"

Keenan laughed off Bosela's remarks.

"Jason is a very accomplished player already, scoring over 30 goals in the AHL and he already scored 7 times in the first two months of the NHL season. We feel he is a great prospect and look forward to having him contribute to the Panthers success in the future."

Keenan would add that "if Bosela thought so highly of him, he shouldn't have waived him. Or at the very least, he should have tested the trade market before allowing a player of Jason's skill to be placed on waivers."

"I'm very appreciative of Buffalo for allowing us to share Rochester this year but Matthew has to understand this is a business. Pominville was up for grabs and we would have been ill-advised to just let him go."

[Narkissos]

Mike Keenan is a boozhead!

Love this story, Matt.

[NoSkillz]

Pitkanen Leads Flyers Charge in Romp of Sabres

Buffalo News
December 9 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Philadelphia defenseman Joni Pitkanen scored once and added two assists in an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres last night in front of a sold out crowd at HSBC Arena.

Simon Gagne, Kim Johnsson and Keith Primeau also scored for the Flyers, with Gagne (1g 1a) and Mike Knuble (2a) joining Pitkanen with multipoint games.

Derek Roy, with his first of the season, scored the lone goal for Buffalo.
"That was pretty much the most disappointing effort of the season from our squad", coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "We weren't skating or hitting and our defensive zone coverage was lazy."

"Philadelphia is obviously one of the better teams in the league and we have to be a lot better than we have been the last couple games to compete against a team like that."

Buffalo's penalty killing unit, which had been steadily improving, has once again fallen back after the two games against Philadelphia, giving up 4 goals in only 7 opportunities.

Robert Esche was rarely tested in the game and stopped 20 Buffalo shots. The Sabres Ryan Miller saw a lot more action and took the loss, making 29 saves overall.

Teppo Numminen and Sean McMorrow were scratched for Buffalo on the night.

The Sabres have a couple days off before facing the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on Sunday night down at HSBC Arena. Game time is 7pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Philadelphia	2	1	1		4
Buffalo	0	0	1		1
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Philadelphia - J. Pitkanen 6 (M. Knuble, P. Forsberg), 1:27 (PP)
2. Philadelphia - S. Gagne 17 (J. Pitkanen, M. Knuble), 17:03
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Philadelphia - K. Johnsson 6 (J. Pitkanen, S. Gagne), 8:33 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - D. Roy 1 (C. Drury), 6:14
5. Philadelphia - K. Primeau 10 (D. Hatcher), 10:23 (SH)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Philadelphia	13	6	14		33
Buffalo	5	9	7		21
GOALTENDING
Philadelphia	R. Esche (W: 13-10-3)
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 8-3-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Philadelphia	2 - 3	1. J. Pitkanen (PHI) 1g 2a
Buffalo	0 - 4	2. S. Gagne (PHI) 1g 1a
ATTENDANCE	18690	3. M. Knuble (PHI) 2a +1

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim at Buffalo Sabres
December 11, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	January 2, 2004 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 5-2, with Dmitri Kalinin scoring the winner past Martin Gerber
	Anaheim	Buffalo
Overall Record:	11-13-5 27 pts	20-8-2 42 pts
Standings:	13th Western Conference	4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-3-3	7-3-0
Powerplay:	19.9% (T8th)	27.2% (2nd)
Penalty Killing:	80.1% (23rd)	78.8% (T26th)
Goal Leader:	S. Fedorov - 15	M. Afinogenov - 15
Assist Leader:	S. Fedorov - 25	D. Briere - 21
Point Leader:	S. Fedorov - 40	D. Briere - 35
Penalty Minute Leader:	K. Brennan - 71	A. Mair - 88
Goaltenders:	J. Giguere (11-11-3 2.94gaa .908)	M. Biron (12-5-0 2.93gaa .906)
	R. Divis (0-2-2 3.84gaa .861)	R. Miller (8-3-2 3.14gaa .896)
Who's Hot:	S. Fedorov (4g 4a +1 in last 5)	D. Briere (3g 4a -1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	K. Brennan (0pts -3 in last 5)	A. Mair (1a -1 in last 5)
Injuries:	J. Lupul (neck strain)	None

[NoSkillz]

Last Minute Explosion Leads to Unlikely Sabres Win

Buffalo News
December 12 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
Jean-Sebastien Giguere was almost unbeatable for fifty-nine minutes.

However, hockey is a sixty minute game, and the Sabres made him pay.

Buffalo won 4-3 in dramatic fashion over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim last night at HSBC Arena. Down 3-2 late in the game, with goaltender Ryan Miller on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, forward Ales Kotalik was somehow sprung on a breakaway by Tim Connolly and beat Giguere with a wrist shot to tie the game with only 40 seconds left on the clock. Then, seconds later on the same shift, Maxim Afinogenov sprinted down the right wing and found Connolly all alone in front of the net. With only 13 seconds left in regulation, he made no mistake in putting it past Giguere for the thrilling comeback victory.

"This was a huge win for us", Connolly pointed out after the game. "We've been a bit sluggish lately but I thought the last two periods tonight were among the best periods we've played all year. We were getting tons of shots through and it just took a little longer than we hoped to get some goals. But a win is a win."

Afinogenov and Dmitri Kalinin also scored for the Sabres, who received multipoint games from Connolly (1g 2a), Kotalik (1g 2a) and Afinogenov (1g 1a). Coach Lindy Ruff switched up the lines during the game, putting those three players together in a move that inarguably changed the outcome of the game in Buffalo's favor.

Newcomer Antti Laaksonen, Sergei Fedorov and Teemu Selanne scored for Anaheim. Selanne had three points for the Ducks in the contest.

Ryan Miller earned the victory and was tested often, saving 30 of 33 shots. The Sabres started out slow, only putting 7 shots on Giguere in the first period. However, they peppered the Ducks goal in the second to the tune of 21 shots and fired another 19 at him in the third period. Giguere was brilliant in defeat.

"He (Giguere) deserved a better fate", Ruff would say after the game "but I'm pretty excited about the victory!"

Henrik Tallinder and Sean McMorrow were scratched for Buffalo, as Teppo Numminen returned to the lineup for the first time in a number of games. The Sabres next face the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night at Savvis Center. Game time is 7:30pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Anaheim	1	1	1		3
Buffalo	0	1	3		4
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Anaheim - A. Laaksonen 4 (S. Fedorov, T. Selanne), 4:23
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
2. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 16 (T. Connolly, A. Kotalik), 2:13 (PP)
3. Anaheim - S. Fedorov 16 (A. Laaksonen, T. Selanne), 12:24
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - D. Kalinin 2 (T. Vanek, D. Briere), 8:06 (PP)
5. Anaheim - T. Selanne 14 (I. White, R. Whitney), 16:05 (PP)
6. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 8 (T. Connolly), 19:20
7. Buffalo - T. Connolly 9 (M. Afinogenov, A. Kotalik), 19:47
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Anaheim	10	11	12		33
Buffalo	7	21	19		47
GOALTENDING
Anaheim	J. Giguere (L: 11-12-3)
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 9-3-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Anaheim	1 - 4	1. T. Selanne (ANA) 1g 2a +1
Buffalo	2 - 5	2. T. Connolly (BUF) 1g 2a +1
ATTENDANCE	16096	3. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 1g 1a +1

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at St. Louis Blues
December 13, 2005
Savvis Center, St. Louis, MO
Season Series:	Buffalo leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 13, 2005 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 5-1, with Brian Campbell scoring once and adding an assist
	Buffalo	St. Louis
Overall Record:	21-8-2 40 pts	7-19-4 18 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	15th Western Conference
Last 10 Games:	7-3-0	3-4-3
Powerplay:	27.6% (2nd)	15.3% (T18th)
Penalty Killing:	78.7% (28th)	79.3% (T25th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov - 16	K. Tkachuk - 10
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 22	K. Tkachuk - 11
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 36	K. Tkachuk - 21
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 90	D. Drake - 55
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (12-5-0 2.93gaa .906)	P. Lalime (7-17-3 3.26gaa .897)
	R. Miller (9-3-2 3.14gaa .897)	R. Tugnutt (0-2-1 3.89gaa .881)
Who's Hot:	D. Briere (2g 4a -2 in last 5)	P. Brendl (3g 1a in last 4)
Who's Not:	D. Roy (1g in last 5)	P. Sejna (0pts -1 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	C. Backman (groin strain)
		E. Weinrich (UCL tear)

[NoSkillz]

Buffalo's Subpar Goaltending Leads to Embarrassing Loss

Buffalo News
December 14 2005 (St. Louis, MO) -
Doug Weight scored on the first shot of the game 17 seconds in and it was downhill from there for Buffalo in a disheartening 6-4 loss to St. Louis at Savvis Center last night.

Weight and Pavel Brendl scored twice for the Blues, with Trent Whitfield and Mark Rycroft scoring singles. Weight (2g 1a), Keith Tkachuk (3a), Brendl (2g) and Eric Brewer (2a) notched multipoint games.

Thomas Vanek, Maxim Afinogenov, Jochen Hecht and Chris Drury scored for the Sabres. All of Buffalo's goals came on special teams, as their five-on-five play continued to struggle.

"Well, when you're not getting good goaltending, the five-on-five stats will look bad", Lindy Ruff bluntly said after the game. "Miller let in a bad angle goal right off the bat and that has a deflating effect on the entire team. He ended up letting in another softy a couple minutes later but then settled down for the rest of the period."

"When he came out and let in another soft goal in the second, I had to pull him. Frankly, I expect a lot more out of him right now. He may be technically a rookie but he's been around for long enough. We need better results from our goaltending if we're to play the up-tempo style we've become accustomed to."

Miller was shockingly bad, allowing four goals on only sixteen shots. Marty Biron would allow two goals on 12 shots. Patrick Lalime wasn't much better but still picked up the win, his eighth of the year.

The last place Blues, who recently fired beleaguered coach Mike Kitchen, were ecstatic with the win.

"This hopefully is something we can build on", general manager and interim head coach Larry Pleau indicated. "We need guys like Weight and Tkachuk to step up and tonight they did in a big way."

Sean McMorrow and Henrik Tallinder were the scratches for Buffalo on this night. Buffalo will have to regroup for a big divisional game against rival Toronto back at HSBC Arena on Thursday. Game time is 7:00pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	2	1	1		4
St. Louis	2	2	2		6
FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. St. Louis - D. Weight 4 (K. Tkachuk), 0:17
2. Buffalo - T. Vanek 15 (D. Briere, J. Dumont), 2:00 (PP)
3. St. Louis - T. Whitfield 1 (M. Walker), 3:10
4. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 17 (C. Drury, T. Connolly), 10:58 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
5. St. Louis - P. Brendl 4 (K. Tkachuk, E. Brewer), 12:34 (PP)
6. St. Louis - D. Weight 5 (K. Tkachuk, D. Lynch), 12:50
7. Buffalo - J. Hecht 9 (A. Kotalik, B. Campbell), 18:32 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
8. St. Louis - P. Brendl 5 (S. Young, D. Weight), 4:30 (PP)
9. St. Louis - M. Rycroft 5 (S. Chistov, J. Corvo), 11:25
10. Buffalo - C. Drury 12 (M. Grier, T. Lydman), 18:22 (SH)
GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	7	15	3		25
St. Louis	10	9	9		28
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 9-4-2 12/16); M. Biron (10/12)
St. Louis	P. Lalime (W: 8-17-3)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	3 - 5	1. D. Weight (STL) 2g 1a +1
St. Louis	2 - 8	2. K. Tkachuk (STL) 3a +2
ATTENDANCE	18745	3. P. Brendl (STL) 2g -1

[NoSkillz]

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres
December 15, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY
Season Series:	Buffalo leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 6, 2005 in Toronto
	Buffalo wins 3-0, with Martin Biron picking up the shutout and Adam Mair
	scored two goals against his former club
	Toronto	Buffalo
Overall Record:	17-12-2 36 pts	21-9-2 44 pts
Standings:	6th Eastern Conference	4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-5-0	6-4-0
Powerplay:	20.6% (6th)	28.7% (T1st)
Penalty Killing:	82.3% (11th)	78.5% (28th)
Goal Leader:	M. Czerkawski - 16	M. Afinogenov - 17
Assist Leader:	B. McCabe - 23	D. Briere - 23
Point Leader:	B. McCabe - 32	D. Briere - 37
Penalty Minute Leader:	M. Johnson - 130	A. Mair - 92
Goaltenders:	E. Belfour (14-9-2 2.59gaa .913)	M. Biron (12-5-0 2.97gaa .904)
	M. Tellqvist (3-3-0 3.83gaa .874)	R. Miller (9-4-2 3.28gaa .892)
Who's Hot:	T. Kaberle (1g 6a in last 5)	C. Drury (2g 4a +2 in last 5)
Who's Not:	W. Belak (0pts -1 in last 5)	M. Biron (3.46gaa .846 in last 2)
Injuries:	J. Allison (UCL tear)	None
	A. Khavanov (partially torn ACL)