EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo - Page 4

NoSkillz · 01-02-2006, 02:55 PM

Sabres Furious Late-Game Comeback Enough to Defeat Rival Leafs

Buffalo News
December 16 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
The Sabres scored four goals in the last five and a half minutes of the game to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-4 in an entertaining, back-and-forth tilt that was much more competitive than the scoreline indicates.

J.P. Dumont (pictured) had a huge night, compiling a personal best five points (2g 3a) in the game. Linemates Daniel Briere (2g 2a) and Thomas Vanek (2g 1a) also had huge games and were on the ice for all seven Buffalo goals. Defenseman Dmitri Kalinin scored the other Sabres marker and contributed a pair of assists as well.

The Sabres big outburst at the end of the game took the spotlight away from Toronto's dazzling rookie pickup, Petr Sykora. This isn't the Sykora you think it is.

This Sykora was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings and was a member of the Washington organization until getting traded to Toronto last week for promising forward Matt Stajan. Sykora, who had an impressive 20 points in 27 games with the Capitals, scored his first NHL hattrick last night against the Sabres and was a force the entire night on a line with Nik Antropov and Alex Ponikarovsky. Eric Lindros scored the other Maple Leafs goal. Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle both picked up two assists for Toronto in the contest.

The Sabres completely dominated the first period, beating the Leafs to every puck and hitting everything in sight. They would outshoot Toronto 19-7 in the opening frame but goaltender Ed Belfour was terrific in turning aside 18 of those shots. The score was 1-1 at the intermission.

Toronto started taking the play to the Sabres in the second period on the strength of Sykora's play and held a 4-3 lead late in the third period before Buffalo began its spirited comeback. The Sabres sixth goal was into an empty net and their seventh on a last minute powerplay when the game was already decided.

"I'm really proud of the way the guys played tonight", Lindy Ruff said after the game. "We gave up the first goal again but I thought the opening 20 minutes was one of the best periods of the year for us."

"Thankfully, the Briere line came up big on the scoresheet for us."

Martin Biron was not sharp, as the Sabres goaltending woes continue. He let in four goals on 30 shots while Toronto's Ed Belfour ended up with 35 saves on the night.

The Sabres scratched defenseman Jeff Jillson and forward Taylor Pyatt for the contest. Sean McMorrow played his first game of the season for Buffalo and was involved in a brawl halfway through the third period that resulted in six ejections from the game. McMorrow, Adam Mair, Derek Roy, Donald Audette, Matt Johnson and Tie Domi all picked up fighting majors and game misconducts in the bruhaha.

Buffalo will return to action on Sunday night, as the San Jose Sharks come to town. Game time is 7:00pm at HSBC Arena.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Toronto	1	1	2		4
Buffalo	1	1	5		7

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Toronto - P. Sykora 11 (K. Carney, C. Colaiacovo), 8:53
2. Buffalo - T. Vanek 16 (J. Dumont, H. Tallinder), 18:01
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - D. Briere 15 (unassisted), 0:09
4. Toronto - P. Sykora 12 (A. Ponikarovsky), 19:07
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
5. Buffalo - T. Vanek 17 (D. Kalinin), 3:00
6. Toronto - P. Sykora 13 (T. Kaberle, B. McCabe), 11:21
7. Toronto - E. Lindros 15 (B. McCabe, T. Kaberle), 13:54
8. Buffalo - D. Briere 16 (J. Dumont, D. Kalinin), 14:22
9. Buffalo - D. Kalinin 3 (J. Dumont), 15:41 (PP)
10. Buffalo - J. Dumont 13 (B. Campbell, D. Briere), 18:54 (EN)
11. Buffalo - J. Dumont 14 (T. Vanek, D. Briere), 19:25 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Toronto	7	10	13		30
Buffalo	19	11	12		42
GOALTENDING
Toronto	E. Belfour (L: 14-10-2)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 13-5-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Toronto	0 - 4	1. J. Dumont (BUF) 2g 3a +3
Buffalo	2 - 4	2. D. Briere (BUF) 2g 2a +4
ATTENDANCE	18690	3. P. Sykora (TOR) 3g +3

NoSkillz · 01-02-2006, 03:26 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
San Jose Sharks at Buffalo Sabres

December 18, 2005
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY

Season Series:	First meeting of 2005/06
Last Meeting:	February 10, 2004 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 2-1, with Daniel Briere scoring the winner past Evgeni
	Nabokov and Martin Biron earning the win

	San Jose	Buffalo
Overall Record:	17-13-3 37 pts	22-9-2 46 pts
Standings:	T7th Western Conference	4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-3-2	6-4-0
Powerplay:	14.1% (23rd)	29.2% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	83.2% (10th)	79.0% (25th)
Goal Leader:	M. Sturm - 13	M. Afinogenov & T. Vanek - 17
Assist Leader:	P. Marleau - 19	D. Briere - 25
Point Leader:	M. Sturm - 31	D. Briere - 41
Penalty Minute Leader:	S. Parker - 119	A. Mair - 107
Goaltenders:	E. Nabokov (16-11-2 2.43gaa .914)	M. Biron (13-5-0 3.03gaa .902)
	V. Toskala (1-2-1 3.67gaa .873)	R. Miller (9-4-2 3.28gaa .892)
Who's Hot:	N. Dimitrakos (2g 2a +3 in last 5)	D. Briere (3g 5a +1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	J. Fahey (0pts -2 in last 5)	A. Mair (0pts -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	None

NoSkillz · 01-02-2006, 04:39 PM

Miller Strong in Sabres Win over Sharks

Buffalo News
December 19 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
The Buffalo Sabres finally got the goaltending performance they've been looking for.

Ryan Miller allowed a late goal but was otherwise brilliant in a fine 4-1 Sabres win over San Jose last night down at HSBC Arena. Buffalo received goals from Mike Grier, Chris Drury, Derek Roy and Daniel Briere. Drury (1g 1a) and Jochen Hecht (2a) had multipoint games. Sean McMorrow picked up his first NHL point in the contest as well, an assist on Roy's goal.

Marco Sturm scored the only goal for San Jose, capitalizing on a powerplay with less than two minutes remaining to ruin Miller's shutout hopes.

"A shutout would have been nice but I was really just looking to get back on track", Miller said. "My game has been pretty inconsistent so far this year and it's something I'm working on. You have to be on every night to last in this league."

Ruff was pleased.

"It was one of his better outings, that's for sure", he would say. "It's a positive step for him. Now he has to show he can do it again."

Buffalo scratched Teppo Numminen and Taylor Pyatt for the contest.

The Sabres head into a key home-and-home series with the Northeast Division leading Ottawa Senators before their Christmas break. Game one is in Kanata on Wednesday night. The teams will meet up again on Thursday back in Buffalo.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
San Jose	0	0	1		1
Buffalo	3	0	1		4

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - M. Grier 3 (C. Drury, J. Hecht), 1:22
2. Buffalo - C. Drury 13 (M. Afinogenov, J. Hecht), 6:12 (PP)
3. Buffalo - D. Roy 2 (S. McMorrow), 16:54
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
None
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
4. San Jose - M. Sturm 14 (P. Marleau, N. Ekman), 18:41 (PP)
5. Buffalo - D. Briere 16 (unassisted), 19:39

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
San Jose	13	3	9		25
Buffalo	13	5	16		34
GOALTENDING
San Jose	E. Nabokov (L: 16-12-2)
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 10-4-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
San Jose	1 - 6	1. D. Briere (BUF) 1g +1
Buffalo	1 - 5	2. M. Grier (BUF) 1g +1
ATTENDANCE	16100	3. C. Drury (BUF) 1g 1a +1

NoSkillz · 01-02-2006, 06:26 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators

December 21, 2005
Corel Centre, Kanata, ON

Season Series:	Buffalo leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	November 21, 2005 in Ottawa
	Buffalo wins 3-2 in a shootout, with Tim Connolly scoring the winner past
	former Sabre Dominik Hasek

	Buffalo	Ottawa
Overall Record:	23-9-2 48 pts	23-8-4 50 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	2nd Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	6-4-0	6-4-0
Powerplay:	28.9% (2nd)	29.4% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	79.2% (25th)	82.9% (11th)
Goal Leader:	Three tied with 17	D. Alfredsson - 25
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 25	J. Spezza - 31
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 42	D. Alfredsson - 49
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 109	C. Neil - 100
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (13-5-0 3.03gaa .902)	D. Hasek (20-6-3 2.53gaa .915)
	R. Miller (10-4-2 3.15gaa .896)	R. Emery (3-2-1 3.00gaa .905)
Who's Hot:	D. Briere (3g 4a +2 in last 5)	D. Alfredsson (7g 6a +6 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (0pts -1 in last 5)	B. Bochenski (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	None	D. Heatley (shoudler contusion)

NoSkillz · 01-07-2006, 10:18 PM

Powerful Senators Throttle Sabres

Buffalo News
December 22 2005 (Kanata, ON) -
Zdeno Chara and Jason Spezza each scored once and added two assists in an emphatic 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at the Corel Centre in Ottawa, a scoreline that flattered the visitors.

Ottawa stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the game, chasing starting goaltender Martin Biron after the fourth goal. Peter Schaeffer, Daniel Alfredsson, Denis Hamel and Mike Fisher also scored for the Senators. Alfredsson (1g 1a) and Martin Havlat (2a) joined Chara and Spezza with multipoint games.

Rookie Thomas Vanek scored twice for Buffalo, with Tim Connolly scoring the other Sabres goal.

Even without star forward Dany Heatley, the swift skating Sens proved to be too much for the Sabres on this night.

"Our goaltending was subpar and our defensive play was non-existent", Lindy Ruff said after the game. "Ottawa is too dangerous. You can't keep giving them opportunities in front of the net."

"They're just clinical finishers."

Teppo Numminen and Taylor Pyatt were the Buffalo scratches on the evening.

The teams both flew back to Buffalo after the game and will face each other once again, this time at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, later this evening.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	0	0	3		3
Ottawa	3	2	1		6

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Ottawa - P. Schaefer 14 (V. Varada, A. Volchenkov), 6:21
2. Ottawa - J. Spezza 13 (M. Havlat, Z. Chara), 10:26 (PP)
3. Ottawa - D. Alfredsson 26 (M. Havlat, J. Spezza), 11:23 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Ottawa - Z. Chara 10 (D. Alfredsson, J. Spezza), 7:00
5. Ottawa - D. Hamel 2 (B. Bochenski, Z. Chara), 12:09
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - T. Vanek 18 (D. Briere, D. Kalinin), 1:36
7. Buffalo - T. Connolly 10 (A. Kotalik), 6:48
8. Ottawa - M. Fisher 4 (C. Phillips, A. Vermette), 17:25
9. Buffalo - T. Vanek 19 (D. Briere), 19:25 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	7	8	11		26
Ottawa	8	10	11		29
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (L: 13-6-0)
Ottawa	D. Hasek (W: 21-6-3)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 4	1. Z. Chara (OTT) 1g 2a +1
Ottawa	2 - 5	2. J. Spezza (OTT) 1g 2a
ATTENDANCE	18500	3. P. Schaefer (OTT) 1g

NoSkillz · 01-07-2006, 10:51 PM

Better Effort but Same Result; Senators Again too Much For Sabres

Buffalo News
December 23 2005 (Buffalo, NY) -
It looked as if things would be different in Buffalo last night. The Sabres jumped out to a quick two goal lead and were dominating play.

It turns out that the powerful Ottawa Senators were just teasing their opponents.

Martin Havlat scored twice and Antoine Vermette's goal midway through the third period proved to be the difference in a 5-4 Ottawa win over Buffalo in front of a sold out crowd.

The Sabres jumped out to a quick lead on goals by Daniel Briere and Maxim Afinogenov but came undone as Ottawa stormed to four unanswered goals. Buffalo would come within one twice but could never gain the equalizer.

Zdeno Chara (1g 1a) and Peter Schaefer also scored for Ottawa. Dominik Hasek won his second game in as many nights for the Sens.

Afinogenov and Briere both scored twice for the Sabres. Ales Kotalik had two assists to join them with multipoint games while Ryan Miller took the loss in goal.

"We really came out and played hard tonight", an exhausted Lindy Ruff would say after the game. "We outshot them by a wide margin but just couldn't take advantage."

"What can you say. Ottawa has a great club. I really think we can keep up with them but they were the better team over the past couple of nights."

Jeff Jillson and Sean McMorrow were the scratches on the night for Buffalo, who will have a couple days off for Christmas and then head out on a season-long five game road trip.

Other Sabres Notes:
Two Sabres prospects were named Player of the Week in their respective leagues. In the QMJHL, defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani was named top defensive player after recording a goal and two assists for the PEI Rocket last week while in the OHL, defenseman Andrej Sekera won his POW honor for garnering four assists in three games for Owen Sound.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Ottawa	1	2	2		5
Buffalo	2	0	2		4

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - D. Briere 18 (T. Vanek, D. Kalinin), 0:12
2. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 18 (A. Kotalik, T. Lydman), 2:04
3. Ottawa - M. Havlat 18 (B. Pothier), 4:07
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Ottawa - M. Havlat 19 (W. Redden, Z. Chara), 11:14 (PP)
5. Ottawa - Z. Chara 11 (M. Fisher, A. Vermette), 12:16
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Ottawa - P. Schaefer 15 (B. Bochenski, D. Alfredsson), 7:14 (PP)
7. Buffalo - D. Briere 19 (T. Numminen), 7:24
8. Ottawa - A. Vermette 5 (C. Neil, A. Volchenkov), 7:38
9. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 19 (C. Drury, A. Kotalik), 16:16 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Ottawa	7	12	11		30
Buffalo	16	15	9		40
GOALTENDING
Ottawa	D. Hasek (W: 22-6-3)
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 10-5-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Ottawa	2 - 5	1. M. Afinogenov (BUF) 2g +1
Buffalo	1 - 7	2. Z. Chara (OTT) 1g 1a
ATTENDANCE	18690	3. M. Havlat (OTT) 2g

NoSkillz · 01-07-2006, 11:13 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Atlanta Thrashers

December 26, 2005
Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA

Season Series:	Series Tied 1-1
Last Meeting:	November 27, 2005 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 5-2, as Chris Drury scored twice and added an assist in the
	game.

	Buffalo	Atlanta
Overall Record:	23-11-2 48 pts	15-21-3 33 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	T11th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-5-0	2-8-0
Powerplay:	28.2% (2nd)	12.3% (28th)
Penalty Killing:	78.1% (28th)	84.0% (9th)
Goal Leader:	Three tied with 19	M. Hossa - 24
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 27	M. Savard - 23
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 46	M. Hossa - 42
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 111	R. Abid - 76
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (13-6-0 3.17gaa .898)	M. Dunham (12-13-2 3.13gaa .895)
	R. Miller (10-5-2 3.26gaa .891)	K. Lehtonen (3-8-1 3.47gaa .894)
Who's Hot:	D. Briere (5g 5a +5 in last 5)	M. Savard (2g 2a +2 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (0pts -2 in last 5)	S. Baby (0pts -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	P. Bondra (dislocated shoudler)

NoSkillz · 01-08-2006, 01:01 AM

Subpar Goaltending Hurts Sabres in Another Loss

Buffalo News
December 27 2005 (Atlanta, GA) -
Maybe Ryan Miller had a bit too much Christmas turkey the other day.

That could explain his sluggish performance yesterday in a 6-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers at Philips Arena. Marian Hossa scored two goals for the Thrashers, with Ilya Kovalchuk, Jim Slater, Ramzi Abid and J.P. Vigier scoring singles. Hossa (2g), Kovalchuk (1g 1a), Slater (1g 1a) and Vigier (1g 1a) all had multipoint games.

Tim Connolly, Daniel Briere and Maxim Afinogenov (1g 1a) scored for Buffalo, who have now lost a season-high three straight games and have given up 17 goals in those games.

"Ryan was not good in net tonight, to be quite frank", Lindy Ruff flatly stated after the game. "We need our goaltenders to come up with some saves when the going gets tough and that's just not happening right now."

"We will have to go back to basics and start playing more defensively sound. Tactically, we just aren't a strong team right now and it's up to me to figure things out."

Martin Biron was called upon after Miller let in his fourth goal and allowed two of his own.

Buffalo scratched Jeff Jillson and Sean McMorrow for the contest.

The Sabres utilized different line combinations for the game, moving Derek Roy to the third line center position between Jochen Hecht and Ales Kotalik, while moving Connolly to the left wing alongside Chris Drury and Afinogenov.

"I'm still not happy with the lines outside of the Briere/Dumont/Vanek combination", Ruff indicated. "We may have to make some roster changes sometime soon."

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	1	0	2		3
Atlanta	1	3	2		6

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - T. Connolly 11 (M. Afinogenov, C. Drury), 2:48
2. Atlanta - I. Kovalchuk 19 (K. Dallman, J. Vigier), 18:27
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Atlanta - M. Hossa 25 (N. Havelid), 5:42
4. Atlanta - M. Hossa 26 (I. Kovalchuk, S. Hnidy), 6:00
5. Atlanta - J. Slater 8 (unassisted), 14:49
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - D. Briere 20 (T. Vanek, J. Dumont), 8:13 (PP)
7. Atlanta - R. Abid 1 (R. Petrovicky, S. Aubin), 11:20
8. Buffalo - M. Afingenov 20 (J. Hecht, B. Campbell), 12:01 (PP)
9. Atlanta - J. Vigier 4 (J. Slater), 18:02

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	12	5	10		27
Atlanta	10	9	7		26
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 10-6-2)
Atlanta	K. Lehtonen (W: 4-8-1)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	2 - 4	1. M. Hossa (ATL) 2g +2
Atlanta	0 - 2	2. I. Kovalchuk (ATL) 1g 1a +3
ATTENDANCE	15186	3. J. Slater (ATL) 1g 1a +2

NoSkillz · 01-08-2006, 01:27 AM

World Junior Championship About to Begin; Sabres Prospects Take Center Stage

Buffalo News
December 27 2005 (Vancouver, BC) -
The 2006 World Junior Championships start tonight in Vancouver, British Columbia and the Sabres will be represented by four individuals, three of whom play for Slovakia.

2005 top pick Marek Zagrapan leads the way for Sabres prospects and will play a starring role for the Slovaks in this event. Zagrapan has 21 goals and 23 assists for Chicoutimi of the QMJHL through 28 games.

"Marek is improving his game on a nightly basis", Buffalo general manager Matt Bosela says. "He's tearing up the league offensively and his overall game is rounding into shape. We couldn't be more pleased."

Bosela has five of his scouts in Canada to watch this big event that includes all of the top under-20 players in the world.

"We're here to watch our own guys, obviously, but there are a number of draft-eligible players here as well."

The United States team has two top players that are eligible for the 2006 draft. Both Phil Kessel and Peter Mueller are expected to be top-five picks in the upcoming draft and will likely dazzle in Vancouver.

"They're both very exciting individuals and we'll certainly be keeping a close watch on them."

Sabres prospects Michal Valent, a goaltender, and defenseman Andrej Sekera will also be among the players on the Slovakian team. Valent has seen limited playing time with Czech National League club Beroun, going 1-2 with a 3.67 goals against average. Sekera, coming off player of the week honors in the OHL, has 6 goals and 15 assists in 31 games with the Owen Sound Attack.

Defenseman Michael Card will be representing Canada in the championships. Card, who plays for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets, is having a big season with 4 goals and 30 assists in 36 games. He also owns a +23 rating on the year.

The tournament gets underway later this evening, as defending champion Canada faces off against Sweden.

NoSkillz · 01-08-2006, 01:44 AM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals

December 28, 2005
MCI Center, Washington, DC

Season Series:	First meeting in 2005/06
Last Meeting:	March 10, 2004 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 6-0, with Dmitri Kalinin scoring the winner past beleaguered
	Olaf Kolzig.

	Buffalo	Washington
Overall Record:	23-12-2 48 pts	15-13-9 39 pts
Standings:	5th Eastern Conference	T8th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-6-0	6-2-2
Powerplay:	28.7% (2nd)	14.1% (26th)
Penalty Killing:	78.3% (30th)	78.6% (26th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov & D. Briere - 20	A. Ovechkin - 24
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 27	J. Halpern - 25
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 47	A. Ovechkin - 45
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 111	B. Witt - 60
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (13-6-0 3.21gaa .895)	O. Kolzig (14-10-9 2.87gaa .907)
	R. Miller (10-6-2 3.38gaa .887)	M. Ouellet (1-3-0 3.54gaa .889)
Who's Hot:	D. Briere (6g 4a +6 in last 5)	A. Ovechkin (3g 5a +3 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (0pts -3 in last 5)	C. Clark (0pts -3 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	J. Aulin (partially torn ACL)
		B. Sutherby (thigh strain)

NoSkillz · 01-11-2006, 09:43 PM

Gaustad Recalled from Rochester

Buffalo News
December 28 2005 (Washington, DC) -
The Buffalo Sabres have recalled center Paul Gaustad from the Rochester Americans. Gaustad will be in the lineup tonight in the game against the Capitals.

Gaustad was a late cut in training camp and after a slow start in Rochester, has recently been putting points on the board. He has 7 goals and 8 assists in 34 games with the Amerks thus far and carries a +5 rating.

"Paul brings some much needed size and grit to the team and we're hoping he can contribute the energy and timely scoring that's been his calling card with Rochester", general manager Matt Bosela said.

Gaustad has played one game in the NHL, that coming during the 2002/03 season with the Sabres.

NoSkillz · 01-11-2006, 10:29 PM

Ovechkin Too Much in Capitals Win Over Sabres

Buffalo News
December 29 2005 (Washington, DC) -
Dynamic rookie Alexander Ovechkin scored two goals last night to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 decision over the struggling Buffalo Sabres at MCI Center.

The Sabres have now lost a season-high four straight games.

Ben Clymer and recent addition Matt Stajan also replied for the Capitals. Ovechkin (2g), Maxim Kondratiev (2a) and Alexander Semin (2a) had multipoint games for Washington while goaltender Olaf Kolzig picked up his 15th victory on the year. Kolzig was very strong, turning aside 35 Buffalo shots.

The Sabres received goals from Chris Drury, Mike Grier and Daniel Briere. Drury (1g 1a) and Henrik Tallinder (2a) had multipoint games. Martin Biron took the loss for Buffalo despite making 35 saves of his own.

"We're just not doing a good enough job defensively", Lindy Ruff plainly stated after the game. "We've played a pretty aggressive forechecking style this entire year and maybe it's starting to take its toll on the players."

"We seem tired out there and when you're tired, you get lazy. We're giving up way too many shots lately and maybe we'll have to revert to a more defensive style in the next few games to get back on track."

Ruff would go on to add "the players love playing the up-tempo style because it delivers a lot of offensive chances. However, the key is to outscore the opposition and that hasn't happened, obviously, in four games."

Paul Gaustad made his season-debut with the Sabres and looked fine in his ten minutes of icetime. Buffalo scratched the struggling Derek Roy, Sean McMorrow and Teppo Numminen.

The team immediately flew to Raleigh, North Carolina for their game tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Ryan Miller is expected to get the start in goal for the Sabres. The puck drops at 7:30pm.

Sabres Notes -
Defenseman Brian Campbell played in his 200th career NHL contest; Taylor Pyatt is scoreless in his last ten games while defenseman Jeff Jillson and forward Adam Mair haven't notched a point in eleven games; prospects Andrej Sekera and Marek Zagrapan played in Slovakia's 4-1 win over Latvia last night; Sekera had an assist and was a +2 while Zagrapan was pointless but went +1; goaltender Michal Valent did not play for Slovakia; defenseman Mike Card has played both games for 2-0 Canada, going without a point in the two games and holding an even plus/minus record.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	0	2	1		3
Washington	2	1	1		4

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Washington - B. Clymer 7 (M. Kondratiev, A. Semin), 8:28
2. Washington - A. Ovechkin 22 (J. Friesen, M. Kondratiev), 12:06
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - C. Drury 14 (J. Hecht, M. Afinogenov), 0:13 (PP)
4. Buffalo - M. Grier 4 (C. Drury, H. Tallinder), 5:07
5. Washington - M. Stajan 1 (A. Semin, B. Witt), 12:34
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Washington - A. Ovechkin 23 (L. Nycholat), 1:52 (PP)
7. Buffalo - D. Briere 21 (H. Tallinder, T. Vanek), 7:51

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	9	10	19		38
Washington	13	12	14		39
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (L: 13-7-0)
Washington	O. Kolzig (W: 15-10-9)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 3	1. A. Ovechkin (WAS) 2g
Washington	1 - 4	2. M. Stajan (WAS) 1g +1
ATTENDANCE	18067	3. C. Drury (BUF) 1g 1a -1

NoSkillz · 01-11-2006, 10:41 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Carolina Hurricanes

December 29, 2005
RBC Center, Raleigh, NC

Season Series:	Buffalo leads 2-0
Last Meeting:	November 19, 2005 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 6-3, with Maxim Afinogenov scoring 2 goals and assisting on
	another in the victory.

	Buffalo	Carolina
Overall Record:	23-13-2 48 pts	11-15-10 32 pts
Standings:	5th Eastern Conference	14th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-6-0	4-3-3
Powerplay:	28.8% (2nd)	15.6% (19th)
Penalty Killing:	78.3% (T29th)	83.0% (10th)
Goal Leader:	D. Briere - 21	R. Vrbata - 18
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 27	R. Brind'Amour - 20
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 48	E. Cole - 35
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 111	E. Cole - 71
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (13-7-0 3.25gaa .896)	M. Gerber (11-10-10 2.78gaa .910)
	R. Miller (10-6-2 3.38gaa .887)	Z. Bierk (0-5-0 4.23gaa .870)
Who's Hot:	D. Briere (5g 2a +3 in last 5)	E. Cole (3g 1a -3 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (0pts -3 in last 5)	M. Zigomanis (0pts +1 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	None

NoSkillz · 01-11-2006, 11:56 PM

Connolly a Force in Huge Sabres Win

Buffalo News
December 30 2005 (Raleigh, NC) -
Buffalo's special teams were a major contributor last night, as the powerplay converted four times and the penalty killing unit killed off six of seven Hurricanes chances in a 7-3 win last night over Carolina at RBC Center in Raleigh.

J.P. Dumont and Thomas Vanek each scored two goals while Maxim Afinogenov, Adam Mair and Tim Connolly notched singles. Dumont (2g 2a), Connolly (1g 3a), Vanek (2g 1a) and Dmitri Kalinin (2a) all had multipoint games.

Erik Cole scored all three Carolina goals, with Rod Brind'Amour and Radim Vrbata contributing assists on all three as well, giving the line nine points on the night.

After a shaky start in which he allowed two goals on the first three shots, Ryan Miller settled down and was excellent when called upon for his 11th win of the year. Zac Bierk wasn't as fortunate, losing for the sixth time in six starts and getting pulled after two periods. Martin Gerber was solid in the third period for Carolina, stopping 13 of 14 Buffalo shots.

"Well that was a lot better", Lindy Ruff offered after the game. "I can't say enough about Connolly's performance tonight. He was all over the ice, hustling, making hits, getting shots off and making great passes."

"It's by far the best game I've ever seen him play."

Connolly deflected praise to his linemates and his coach.

"Coach reunited me with Jochen and Max and those guys are just so talented", Connolly would say. "I knew I had something to prove out there after a few bad games. I felt really light out there and my legs felt great."

"It's just great to finally get the win."

Miller was also happy to end the losing streak.

"We've really been struggling with our forecheck and I thought the last two periods were the among the best periods we've played all season. The guys made life easy on me, that's for sure."

Mair's goal snapped an eleven game pointless streak while linemate Taylor Pyatt's assist ended his own ten game drought.

Ruff scratched Sean McMorrow and Jeff Jillson. Earlier in the day, the Sabres demoted struggling forward Derek Roy back to Rochester.

"Derek hasn't played well here in Buffalo this year", Ruff would candidly remark. "We gave him some additional responsibilities over the last few games, moving him up to a scoring line and even giving him some powerplay time and he didn't respond favorably."

"He's a very valuable player to the organization but just needs to regain his confidence on the farm. I have no doubt that he'll be back with us soon."

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

Sabres Notes:
Taylor Pyatt played in his 300th career NHL game last night.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	3	3	1		7
Carolina	2	1	0		3

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - J. Dumont 15 (T. Connolly, D. Kalinin), 0:35 (PP)
2. Carolina - E. Cole 18 (R. Brind'Amour, R. Vrbata), 4:27 (PP)
3. Carolina - E. Cole 19 (R. Vrbata, R. Brind'Amour), 4:38
4. Buffalo - M. Afingenov 21 (J. Hecht, T. Lydman), 6:18
5. Buffalo - T. Vanek 20 (T. Connolly, J. Dumont), 17:51 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
6. Carolina - E. Cole 20 (R. Vrbata, R. Brind'Amour), 8:12
7. Buffalo - T. Vanek 21 (J. Dumont, T. Connolly), 11:56 (PP)
8. Buffalo - A. Mair 5 (T. Pyatt, B. Campbell), 18:42
9. Buffalo - J. Dumont 16 (J. McKee, T. Vanek), 19:55
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
10. Buffalo - T. Connolly 12 (D. Kalinin, D. Briere), 4:43 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	12	19	14		45
Carolina	13	8	5		26
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 11-6-2)
Carolina	Z. Bierk (L: 0-6-0) 25/31; M. Gerber 13/14
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	4 - 9	1. T. Connolly (BUF) 1g 3a +1
Carolina	1 - 7	2. J. Dumont (BUF) 2g 2a +1
ATTENDANCE	14288	3. E. Cole (CAR) 3g +2

NoSkillz · 01-12-2006, 12:14 AM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers

December 31, 2005
BankAtlantic Center, Sunrise, FL

Season Series:	Buffalo leads 2-0
Last Meeting:	November 15, 2005 in Sunrise
	Buffalo wins 5-4 in a shootout, with Jochen Hecht scoring the winning goal
	past Jamie McLennan; J.P. Dumont contributed 2 goals and an assist.

	Buffalo	Florida
Overall Record:	24-13-2 50 pts	15-13-9 39 pts
Standings:	5th Eastern Conference	T9th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-6-0	7-2-1
Powerplay:	29.5% (1st)	11.3% (30th)
Penalty Killing:	78.5% (T27th)	83.3% (9th)
Goal Leader:	Three tied with 21	O. Jokinen - 13
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 28	J. Bouwmeester - 22
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 49	O. Jokinen - 33
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 113	P. Worrell - 68
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (13-7-0 3.25gaa .896)	R. Luongo (15-11-7 2.33gaa .921)
	R. Miller (11-6-2 3.36gaa .887)	J. McLennan (0-2-2 3.61gaa .889)
Who's Hot:	T. Vanek (4g 4a +1 in last 5)	S. Weiss (2g 2a +2 in last 5)
Who's Not:	M. Biron (1-2-0 4.84 .848 in last 5)	J. Nieuwendyk (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	None	K. Huselius (UCL tear)
		J. Stumpel (ACL sprain)

NoSkillz · 01-12-2006, 08:41 PM

Sensational Miller Carries Sabres to Victory

Buffalo News
January 1 2006 (Sunrise, FL) -
Talk about bringing in the new year in style!

The Florida Panthers fired everything but the kitchen sink at Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller but the rookie was up to the task, turning aside 48 of 50 shots in a nailbiting 3-2 win for the Sabres last night at BankAtlantic Center.

After a relatively even first period, the Panthers controlled play for the remainder of the game, outshooting the Sabres by a 36-16 margin.

Miller saved each one of those 36 shots.

J.P. Dumont, Taylor Pyatt and Paul Gaustad, with his first NHL goal, scored for Buffalo. Joe Nieuwendyk and Rostislav Olesz were the Florida goalscorers.

Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff had nothing but praise for Miller.

"He was the only reason we won this game", he said. "The goaltending display he put on in the final two periods was absolutely incredible."

"I can't say enough great things about the way he performed."

A concern for Ruff has to be his team's lack of intensity in the game that led to getting outshot by such a wide margin.

"We instructed the team to lay back a bit more this game because of our recent struggles and to be honest, that lack of pressure almost cost us the game. The Gaustad, Mair and Grier line was the only threesome that had jump out there tonight and we need the other guys to play with that same energy. We'll have to keep working on our tactics because we can't expect our goaltenders to continuously bail us out."

Jeff Jillson and Sean McMorrow were the scratches for Buffalo. The Sabres are off until Tuesday night, when they face the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	1	2	0		3
Florida	2	0	0		2

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - J. Dumont 17 (D. Briere, D. Kalinin), 12:58 (PP)
2. Florida - J. Nieuwendyk 4 (J. Bouwmeester, N. Horton), 16:09
3. Florida - R. Olesz 9 (M. Gelinas), 17:24
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - T. Pyatt 4 (C. Drury, A. Kotalik), 10:06
5. Buffalo - P. Gaustad 1 (A. Mair, B. Campbell), 11:20
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
None

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	12	8	8		28
Florida	14	20	16		50
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 12-6-2)
Florida	R. Luongo (L: 15-12-7)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 4	1. P. Gaustad (BUF) 1g +1
Florida	1 - 5	2. T. Pyatt (BUF) 1g +1
ATTENDANCE	18272	3. J. Nieuwendyk (FLO) 1g

NoSkillz · 01-12-2006, 09:21 PM

December 2005 Summary

Eastern Conference

POS	TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PCT	GF	GA	PTS
1st	Tampa Bay	39	29	9	1	0.756	135	111	59
2nd	Ottawa	40	25	10	5	0.688	153	113	55
3rd	Philadelphia	42	23	13	6	0.619	118	105	52
4th	Buffalo	40	25	13	2	0.650	159	133	52
5th	Pittsburgh	38	25	11	2	0.684	109	94	52
6th	Toronto	39	22	15	2	0.590	118	115	46
7th	Washington	39	17	13	9	0.551	112	118	43
8th	NY Islanders	37	20	15	2	0.568	118	116	42
9th	Boston	39	19	17	3	0.526	108	108	41
10th	New Jersey	38	17	16	5	0.513	106	108	39
11th	Florida	38	15	14	9	0.513	88	97	39
12th	Montreal	39	17	18	4	0.487	103	110	38
13th	Atlanta	43	17	23	3	0.430	119	142	37
14th	Carolina	38	11	17	10	0.421	94	124	32
15th	NY Rangers	37	14	20	3	0.419	85	103	31

Western Conference

POS	TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PCT	GF	GA	PTS
1st	Vancouver	42	28	11	3	0.702	142	105	59
2nd	Detroit	41	25	10	6	0.683	124	99	56
3rd	Dallas	38	25	10	3	0.697	114	87	53
4th	Colorado	40	27	12	1	0.688	132	100	55
5th	Edmonton	41	24	14	3	0.622	107	108	51
6th	Nashville	37	21	10	6	0.649	104	88	48
7th	San Jose	39	20	15	4	0.564	103	105	44
8th	Columbus	43	20	21	2	0.488	119	136	42
9th	Calgary	39	17	14	8	0.538	83	92	42
10th	Los Angeles	42	18	18	6	0.500	114	125	42
11th	Minnesota	42	17	19	6	0.476	96	112	40
12th	Anaheim	40	17	18	5	0.487	113	124	39
13th	Chicago	39	14	20	5	0.423	86	108	33
14th	Phoenix	39	14	22	3	0.397	103	132	31
15th	St. Louis	38	10	24	4	0.316	80	127	24

2005-06 Goals

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	G
1st	Martin St. Louis	Tampa Bay	39	31
2nd	Todd Bertuzzi	Vancouver	41	30
3rd	Alexander Ovechkin	Washington	39	27
T4th	Marian Hossa	Atlanta	43	26
	Daniel Alfredsson	Ottawa	40	26
T6th	Vincent Lecavalier	Tampa Bay	39	24
	Alexei Yashin	NY Islanders	37	24
T8th	Glen Murray	Boston	39	23
	Bill Guerin	Dallas	38	23
	Richard Zednik	Montreal	39	23
T11th	Valeri Bure	Los Angeles	39	22
	Markus Naslund	Vancouver	42	22
T13th	Erik Cole	Carolina	38	21
	Thomas Vanek	Buffalo	40	21
	Teemu Selanne	Anaheim	40	21
	Daniel Briere	Buffalo	40	21
	Maxim Afinogenov	Buffalo	40	21
	Ilya Kovalchuk	Atlanta	34	21
	Marek Svatos	Colorado	40	21
T20th	Simon Gagne	Philadelphia	42	20
	Jeff O'Neill	Toronto	39	20
	Alexei Kovalev	Montreal	38	20

2005-06 Assists

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	A
1st	Henrik Sedin	Vancouver	42	35
2nd	Jason Spezza	Ottawa	40	33
T3rd	Brad Richards	Tampa Bay	39	32
	Pavel Kubina	Tampa Bay	39	32
	Saku Koivu	Montreal	39	32
	Sergei Fedorov	Anaheim	40	32
	Markus Naslund	Vancouver	42	32
T8th	Joe Sakic	Colorado	40	31
	Todd Marchant	Columbus	43	31
10th	Joe Thornton	Boston	39	30
T11th	Daniel Briere	Buffalo	40	29
	Mattias Ohlund	Vancouver	42	29
T13th	Bryan McCabe	Toronto	39	28
	Martin St. Louis	Tampa Bay	39	28
	Alex Tanguay	Colorado	35	28
	Jeff Halpern	Washington	39	28
	Zdeno Chara	Ottawa	40	28
T18th	Wade Redden	Ottawa	40	27
	Alexei Yashin	NY Islanders	37	27
	Pavol Demitra	Los Angeles	42	27
	Daniel Alfredsson	Ottawa	40	27
	Nicklas Lidstrom	Detroit	41	27

2005-06 Points

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	P
1st	Martin St. Louis	Tampa Bay	39	59
2nd	Markus Naslund	Vancouver	42	54
T3rd	Todd Bertuzzi	Vancouver	41	53
	Daniel Alfredsson	Ottawa	40	53
T5th	Alexander Ovechkin	Washington	39	51
	Alexei Yashin	NY Islanders	37	51
	Sergei Fedorov	Anaheim	40	51
8th	Daniel Briere	Buffalo	40	50
T9th	Joe Sakic	Colorado	40	48
	Brad Richards	Tampa Bay	39	48
11th	Vincent Lecavalier	Tampa Bay	39	47
T12th	Marian Hossa	Atlanta	43	46
	Alex Tanguay	Colorado	35	46
	Jason Spezza	Ottawa	40	46
T15th	Richard Zednik	Montreal	39	45
	Saku Koivu	Montreal	39	45
T17th	Thomas Vanek	Buffalo	40	43
	Simon Gagne	Philadelphia	42	43
T19th	Jean-Pierre Dumont	Buffalo	40	42
	Pavol Demitra	Los Angeles	42	42

Players of the Month -
Offensive: Martin St. Louis (TB) 13GP 15g 13a 28pts +13
Defensive: Zdeno Chara (OTT) 13GP 6g 10a 16pts +7
Rookie: Alexander Ovechkin (WAS) 15GP 17g 7a 24pts +14

Players of the Week -
Week Ending 11/28/05: Offensive - Milan Hejduk (COL); Defensive - Evgeni Nabokov (SJ)
Week Ending 12/05/05: Offensive - Jason Spezza (OTT); Defensive - Tomas Vokoun (NAS)
Week Ending 12/12/05: Offensive - Teemu Selanne (ANA); Defensive - Danil Markov (NAS)
Week Ending 12/19/05: Offensive - Martin St. Louis (TB); Defensive - Roberto Luongo (FLO)
Week Ending 12/26/05: Offensive - Mats Sundin (TOR): Defensive - Chris Osgood (DET)

Key Transactions -

TOR trades Clarke Wilm and 5th Rd pick to NYI for Chris Campoli and 3rd Rd pick
CAR trades 4th Rd pick to ATL for Francis Lessard
MIN trades Derek Boogaard to FLO for 6th Rd pick
WAS trades Petr Sykora to TOR for Matt Stajan
STL trades Eric Boguniecki and Brian Mitchell to LA for Joe Corvo
WAS trades Chris Bourque to EDM for Georges Laraque
CLB trades 3rd Rd pick and 5th Rd pick to CHI for Curtis Brown

NoSkillz · 01-12-2006, 09:43 PM

2005-06 BUFFALO SABRES
AS OF DECEMBER 31 2005
P	PLAYER	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM
F	Daniel Briere	40	21	29	50	16	46
F	* Thomas Vanek	40	21	22	43	10	12
F	J.P. Dumont	40	17	25	42	9	32
F	Chris Drury	40	14	26	40	4	42
F	Maxim Afinogenov	40	21	15	36	-3	30
F	Jochen Hecht	40	9	25	34	2	24
F	Tim Connolly	40	12	17	29	-10	18
F	Ales Kotalik	35	8	18	26	3	12
D	Dmitri Kalinin	40	3	22	25	-3	60
D	Brian Campbell	35	6	17	23	3	8
D	Toni Lydman	39	1	11	12	15	16
F	Mike Grier	40	4	8	12	-4	24
F	X Jason Pominville	26	7	3	10	4	14
F	Adam Mair	40	5	5	10	-6	113
D	Henrik Tallinder	28	1	8	9	9	6
D	Jay McKee	38	0	8	8	10	55
D	Jeff Jillson	28	2	5	7	-3	8
F	Taylor Pyatt	34	4	3	7	-2	6
F	Derek Roy	18	2	2	4	-2	25
D	Teppo Numminen	27	0	4	4	-8	12
F	* Paul Gaustad	3	1	0	1	2	4
F	* Sean McMorrow	3	0	1	1	-2	24
D	* Doug Janik	5	0	1	1	1	7
F	X Andrew Peters	1	0	0	0	0	0
G	Martin Biron	22	0	0	0	-	0
G	* Ryan Miller	23	0	0	0	-	0

GOALTENDING
P	PLAYER	GP	W	L	T	GAA	S%
G	Martin Biron	22	13	7	0	3.25	0.896
G	* Ryan Miller	23	12	6	2	3.29	0.893

	* - Denotes Rookie
	X - No Longer With Team

NoSkillz · 01-18-2006, 12:23 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens

January 3, 2006
Bell Centre, Montreal, PQ

Season Series:	Buffalo leads 3-0
Last Meeting:	November 24, 2005 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 6-3, with Brian Campbell scoring once and adding two assists
	in the win

	Buffalo	Montreal
Overall Record:	25-13-2 52 pts	17-18-5 39 pts
Standings:	T4th Eastern Conference	T11th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-5-0	5-2-3
Powerplay:	29.4% (1st)	17.9% (11th)
Penalty Killing:	78.6% (27th)	79.4% (T24th)
Goal Leader:	Three tied with 21	R. Zednik - 23
Assist Leader:	D. Briere - 29	S. Koivu - 33
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 50	S. Koivu & R. Zednik - 47
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 113	P. Stock - 121
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (13-7-0 3.25gaa .896)	J. Theodore (15-16-4 2.69gaa .910)
	R. Miller (12-6-2 3.29gaa .893)	C. Huet (2-2-1 3.31gaa .881)
Who's Hot:	M. Afinogenov (4g 2a -1 in last 5)	R. Zednik (4g 5a +7 in last 5)
Who's Not:	M. Biron (1-2-0 4.84 .848 in last 5)	T. Plekanec (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	None	None

NoSkillz · 01-22-2006, 01:08 PM

Captain Koivu's Late Goal Dooms Sabres

Buffalo News
January 4 2006 (Montreal, PQ) -
Montreal captain Saku Koivu scored with only 24 seconds left in regulation, giving the Canadiens a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres last night in front of over 21,000 fans last night at the Bell Centre.

Craig Rivet, Radek Bonk and Richard Zednik also scored for Montreal. Bonk and Zednik added assists to garner multipoint games. J.P. Dumont, Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt scored for the Sabres, with Connolly (1g 1a) and Dmitri Kalinin (2a) notching two points each.

Mike Grier failed on a penalty shot attempt in the first period after he was taken down on a breakaway while shorthanded.

Coach Lindy Ruff took the defeat in stride.

"I'm extremely disappointed in the loss but I can't fault the guys' effort out there", a despondent Lindy Ruff said after the game. "We came out pressing from the get-go and I thought we displayed a lot of jump the entire game. Even Marty (Biron) bounced back from the shaky start to make a lot of key saves for us."

Unfortunately, Biron wasn't up to the task on the last goal, a relatively weak one off the stick of Koivu.

"The team needs me to make that save but it somehow got through me", the disappointed Biron indicated. "I hate losing in Montreal."

The loss ends Buffalo's modest 2-game winning streak and their five-game road trip ended with a sub-.500 2-3 record.

Jeff Jillson and Sean McMorrow were the scratches for Buffalo on the night.

The Sabres return home for the start of a home-and-home series with division rival Boston on Thursday night. Game time is 7:00pm.

Sabres Notes -
After struggling most of the season in a fourth line role, winger Taylor Pyatt has scored in two consecutive games and has points in three straight since joining Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik's line. "Coach is giving me a chance to play a more important role and I've been lucky to capitalize", Pyatt would say.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	1	1	1		3
Montreal	2	1	1		4

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Montreal - C. Rivet 2 (F. Bouillon, B. Parker), 1:44
2. Montreal - R. Bonk 6 (P. Stock, M. Ryder), 8:01
3. Buffalo - J. Dumont 18 (T. Vanek, T. Connolly), 17:24 (PP)
Missed Penalty Shot - M. Grier (BUF), 8:45
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - T. Connolly 13 (D. Kalinin, D. Briere), 2:44 (PP)
5. Montreal - R. Zednik 24 (R. Bonk), 6:26 (SH)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - T. Pyatt 5 (D. Kalinin, C. Drury), 16:42
7. Montreal - S. Koivu 15 (R. Zednik, A. Kovalev), 19:36

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	15	9	14		38
Montreal	8	15	9		32
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (L: 13-8-0)
Montreal	J. Theodore (W: 16-16-4)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	2 - 6	1. S. Koivu (MON) 1g
Montreal	0 - 5	2. R. Zednik (MON) 1g 1a +1
ATTENDANCE	21198	3. R. Bonk (MON) 1g 1a +2

NoSkillz · 01-22-2006, 01:14 PM

Lydman Injured in Practice; Placed on I.R.

Buffalo News
January 5 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
The Buffalo Sabres have been fortunate to have very few injuries so far this year. However, steady defenseman Toni Lydman suffered a hip flexor strain in practice yesterday and will be out for about two weeks.

"We're just being careful with Toni", general manager Matt Bosela said. "We're only at the midpoint of the season so there's no reason to have him play through the injury. He feels pretty good but we'll just slot in Jeff (Jillson) for a few games while he heals up."

Lydman has one goal and eleven assists in 40 games for the Sabres this year and has a team-leading +15 rating.

Bosela indicated that he has no plans to bring up a player from Rochester to fill Lydman's spot on the roster.

NoSkillz · 01-22-2006, 01:29 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres

January 5, 2006
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY

Season Series:	Series Tied at 1
Last Meeting:	November 17, 2005 in Boston
	Buffalo wins 5-4, with Tim Connolly scoring twice, including the winner and
	Maxim Afinogenov adding a goal and two assists.

	Boston	Buffalo
Overall Record:	20-17-3 43 pts	25-14-2 52 pts
Standings:	T8th Eastern Conference	T4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	6-4-0	4-6-0
Powerplay:	19.0% (T9th)	29.6% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	84.9% (5th)	79.1% (25th)
Goal Leader:	G. Murray - 24	Three tied at 21
Assist Leader:	J. Thornton - 33	D. Briere - 30
Point Leader:	J. Thornton - 42	D. Briere - 51
Penalty Minute Leader:	N. Boynton - 66	A. Mair - 113
Goaltenders:	A. Raycroft (17-15-3 2.69gaa .907)	M. Biron (13-8-0 3.29gaa .895)
	H. Toivonen (3-2-0 2.22gaa .926)	R. Miller (12-6-2 3.29gaa .893)
Who's Hot:	G. Murray (5g 2a +4 in last 5)	T. Connolly (3g 4a -3 in last 5)
Who's Not:	I. Moran (0pts -2 in last 5)	A. Kotalik (1a -4 in last 5)
Injuries:	P. Bergeron (separated shoulder)	T. Lydman (hip flexor strain)

NoSkillz · 01-22-2006, 03:40 PM

Sabres Downward Spiral Continues

Buffalo News
January 6 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Boston Bruins defenseman Brian Leetch scored twice and added two assists in a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena last night.

The back-and-forth game was settled when Glen Murray scored Boston's third powerplay goal of the night midway through the third period Sergei Samsonov also scored for the Bruins. Joe Thornton had two assists for Boston.

Maxim Afinogenov, with his team-leading 22nd, Ales Kotalik and Chris Drury scored for Buffalo. Drury also added two assists for a three point night. Afinogenov (1g 1a) and Jochen Hecht (2a) had multipoint games for the Sabres.

"Our penalty killing has been much better recently but Boston was able to capitalize tonight", Lindy Ruff said. "I thought Ryan (Miller) was excellent in net again tonight but we're giving up entirely too many chances right now", pointing to Boston's 35-26 shot advantage.

"You're not going to win many games at home when you're dominated like that on the shot clock."

Adam Mair's undisciplined double minor penalty decided the game. He was flagged for hooking and his complaints to referee Rob Shick drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty as well.

"Adam has to know when to draw the line when barking at the officials", an upset Ruff said. "I understand he's caught up in the moment but you have to keep your emotions in check during a close game."

The Sabres were without injured defenseman Toni Lydman for the contest and Sean McMorrow was a healthy scratch.

The teams are right back at it on Saturday night back in Boston. The puck drops at 7:00pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Boston	1	2	1		4
Buffalo	1	1	1		3

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 22 (J. Hecht, C. Drury), 6:39 (PP)
2. Boston - B. Leetch 7 (unassisted), 12:29 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Boston - S. Samsonov 19 (H. Gill, B. Leetch), 9:19
4. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 9 (C. Drury, J. McKee), 13:33
5. Boston - B. Leetch 8 (J. Slegr, J. Thornton), 15:06 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - C. Drury 15 (M. Afinogenov, J. Hecht), 6:07 (PP)
7. Boston - G. Murray 25 (B. Leetch, J. Thornton), 8:37 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Boston	17	9	9		35
Buffalo	8	13	5		26
GOALTENDING
Boston	A. Raycroft (W: 18-16-3)
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 12-7-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Boston	3 - 7	1. B. Leetch (BOS) 2g 2a
Buffalo	2 - 8	2. C. Drury (BUF) 1g 2a +1
ATTENDANCE	18342	3. G. Murray (BOS) 1g

NoSkillz · 01-25-2006, 10:02 AM

Just wanted to write a quick thank you to everyone who nominated me for a Golden Scribe award.

It's nice to know that there are some out there that are enjoying this!

NoSkillz · 01-28-2006, 09:45 AM

Campbell Comes Through in Sabres Win

Buffalo News
January 8 2006 (Boston, MA) -
Defenseman Brian Campbell scored with less than two minutes remaining in regulation time to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a hard-fought 3-2 win at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston last night.

Campbell took a drop pass from Paul Gaustad and wristed a shot through the legs of Bruins defenseman Jiri Slegr and past the screened Andrew Raycroft. Teppo Numminen scored his first goal in a Buffalo uniform, a shorthanded marker, in the win. Tim Connolly notched the other Sabres goal.

Brad Isbister and Alexei Zhamnov scored for Boston.

Coach Lindy Ruff was happy with the overall effort in the game.

"Our goaltending was excellent, our defensemen were pinching in on the rush and our forwards were responsible in the defensive zone while also getting a lot of traffic in front of the opposing net. Plus, we were able to keep the (Joe) Thornton line off the scoreboard."

"Yeah, I'm definitely pleased with our spunk tonight."

Ryan Miller made 31 saves in the win, his 13th of the season. Forward Sean McMorrow was the only healthy scratch on the night for Buffalo.

Buffalo has no time to rest on the victory, playing back at HSBC Arena tonight against the Nashville Predators. Game time is 7:00pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	1	0	2		3
Boston	0	1	1		2

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - T. Numminen 1 (C. Drury, T. Vanek), 4:47 (SH)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
2. Boston - B. Isbister 4 (J. Slegr, B. Leetch), 13:33
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - T. Connolly 14 (J. Hecht, D. Kalinin), 1:57
4. Boston - A. Zhamnov 5 (M. Jurcina, A. Alberts), 6:13
5. Buffalo - B. Campbell 7 (P. Gaustad, A. Mair), 18:15

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	14	8	15		37
Boston	15	9	9		33
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 13-7-2)
Boston	A. Raycroft (L: 18-17-3)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	0 - 4	1. B. Campbell (BUF) 1g -1
Boston	0 - 3	2. T. Connolly (BUF) 1g -1
ATTENDANCE	17565	3. B. Isbister (BOS) 1g

NoSkillz · 01-28-2006, 10:05 AM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Nashville Predators at Buffalo Sabres

January 9, 2006
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY

Season Series:	First Meeting of 05/06
Last Meeting:	November 29, 2003 in Nashville
	Nashville wins 4-1, with Denis Arkhipov scoring the winner and Tomas
	Vokoun picking up the victory

	Nashville	Buffalo
Overall Record:	22-12-7 51 pts	26-15-2 54 pts
Standings:	6th Western Conference	T4th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-4-2	4-6-0
Powerplay:	15.5% (21st)	28.8% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	80.7% (22nd)	78.7% (T26th)
Goal Leader:	S. Walker - 21	M. Afinogenov - 22
Assist Leader:	P. Kariya - 25	D. Briere & C. Drury - 31
Point Leader:	S. Walker - 43	D. Briere - 51
Penalty Minute Leader:	D. Hordichuk - 84	A. Mair - 117
Goaltenders:	T. Vokoun (21-9-6 2.23gaa .929)	R. Miller (13-7-2 3.26gaa .895)
	C. Mason (1-3-1 3.56gaa .887)	M. Biron (13-8-0 3.29gaa .895)
Who's Hot:	D. Legwand (4g 4a +6 in last 5)	C. Drury (1g 5a -1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	J. Stevenson (0pts -1 in last 5)	J. Jillson (0pts -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	T. Lydman (hip flexor strain)

NoSkillz · 02-23-2006, 09:02 PM

Walker Leads Way Over Lethargic Sabres

Buffalo News
January 9 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Nashville winger Scott Walker scored twice and added an assist Tomas Vokoun notched his second shutout of the season as the Predators blanked a tired Buffalo squad 4-0 last night.

Ryan Suter and Paul Kariya also scored for Nashville. Kariya added an assist to join Walker with a multipoint game.

The Sabres had played a tough divisional game the night previous against Boston but coach Lindy Ruff wasn't about to use that as an excuse.

"These guys are paid to perform out there and they did a pretty lousy job tonight", Ruff flatly said after the game. "We're in the middle of a rough stretch right now and we have to find a way to get out of this funk."

Ruff went on to say that no one is safe right now from a benching and that "we're likely going to be making some big changes with our lines and tactics if we continue to struggle."

Captain Daniel Briere said the responsibility to improve lies with the players, not the coaching staff.

"We're not getting the job done...I'm not getting the job done. I've got to lead by example and my line is really having trouble producing right now."

"Tomorrow is another day though and we'll be ready to bounce back against Tampa on Wednesday."

Sean McMorrow was the only healthy scratch on the night. Defenseman Toni Lydman continues to be sidelined with his hip flexor strain.

Buffalo travels to Tampa to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning on Wednesday night. The Sabres will then have to fly back to Buffalo right away in order to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at home the next night.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Nashville	1	1	2		4
Buffalo	0	0	0		0

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Nashville - S. Walker 22 (D. Markov, P. Kariya), 17:59 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
2. Nashville - S. Walker 23 (unassisted), 12:43
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
3. Nashville - R. Suter 2 (D. Hamhuis, Y. Perreault), 7:08
4. Nashville - P. Kariya 14 (S. Walker, K. Timonen), 14:20 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Nashville	11	7	11		29
Buffalo	8	9	7		24
GOALTENDING
Nashville	T. Vokoun (W: 22-9-6)
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 13-8-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Nashville	2 - 5	1. S. Walker (NAS) 2g 1a +1
Buffalo	0 - 5	2. T. Vokoun (NAS) SHO 24 saves
ATTENDANCE	16127	3. P. Kariya (NAS) 1g 1a

NoSkillz · 02-23-2006, 09:38 PM

USA Defeats Canada to Win World Junior Championships

Buffalo News
January 10 2006 (Vancouver, BC) -
Ottawa Senators prospect Brian Lee capped a wonderful World Junior Championships by scoring once and adding two assists in a 3-2 United States victory over Canada last night in Vancouver.

London Knights forward and Edmonton Oilers prospect Robbie Schremp (pictured) was named tournament MVP for his 2 goal, 12 assist performance in the Championships.

Two of the more talked about prospects for the upcoming 2006 NHL Entry Draft had very different championships.

Peter Mueller of Spokane in the WHL was spectacular playing on a line with Schremp and Knights teammate David Bolland, notching a tournament-leading 8 goals and 4 assists.

However, it was a championship to forget for highly touted forward Phil Kessel, who only contributed two lonely assists in the seven US games while going -1.

Buffalo had four prospects take part in the championship, three of whom played for Slovakia.

The Sabres #1 pick in 2005, Marek Zagrapan, had no goals and two assists in five games, going +1. Defenseman Andrej Sekera had an excellent tournament, scoring twice, adding an assist and going +3. Goaltender Michal Valent only played one game but was spectacular in a losing effort, saving 21 of 23 shots in a 2-1 defeat to Finland.

Defenseman Michael Card picked up a silver medal for Canada in the tournament. He played six games, scored a goal and was a +1.

NoSkillz · 02-23-2006, 09:53 PM

Jillson & Hecht Injured in Practice; Roy to Play in AHL All-Star Game

Buffalo News
January 10 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Jeff Jillson and Jochen Hecht both were injured in practice yesterday, although neither is serious enough to warrant extended time on the injured reserve list.

Jillson took the biggest blow, suffering a broken jaw in a collision in front of the net in drills. Hecht just suffered a nasty cut to the forehead in an unrelated incident.

"Jeff will likely miss a few games with the broken jaw but we don't anticipate Jochen missing any time", coach Lindy Ruff said after the high-tempo practice. "We certainly need both guys back quickly, especially with all of the games we have coming up."

Ruff was working on some new tactics and line combinations in practice but says "nothing is set in stone...we're just working on some stuff right now."

General Manager Matt Bosela indicated that Nathan Paetsch would likely be called up from Rochester to play in Jillson's place for the Tampa Bay game. It would be Paetsch's first official NHL game if he suits up.

Paetsch has 3 goals and 7 assists in 41 games for Rochester this season and sports a +1 rating. He also has 90 penalty minutes for the Americans.

In other Rochester news, center Derek Roy has been named to Canada's roster for the AHL All-Star game. Roy, who's shuttled between Buffalo and Rochester all season, has 20 points in 22 games with the Amerks.

astrosfan64 · 02-23-2006, 10:08 PM

This is a great dynasty. I've enjoyed it a ton and everytime I read it, I fire up EHM soon afterwords.

NoSkillz · 02-23-2006, 10:12 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Tampa Bay Lightning

January 11, 2006
St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL

Season Series:	Buffalo leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	November 6, 2005 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 7-3, with Maxim Afinogenov scoring twice and adding an
	assist in the win

	Buffalo	Tampa Bay
Overall Record:	26-16-2 54 pts	33-10-1 67 pts
Standings:	T5th Eastern Conference	1st Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	3-7-0	8-2-0
Powerplay:	28.2% (1st)	23.4% (4th)
Penalty Killing:	78.2% (28th)	84.4% (7th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov - 22	M. St. Louis - 31
Assist Leader:	D. Briere & C. Drury - 30	P. Kubina - 37
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 51	M. St. Louis - 62
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 117	C. Dingman - 126
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (13-8-0 3.29gaa .895)	S. Burke (18-7-0 2.63gaa .912)
	R. Miller (13-8-2 3.30gaa .893)	J. Grahame (15-3-1 2.82gaa .905)
Who's Hot:	C. Drury (1g 5a in last 5)	B. Richards (5g 1a +5 in last 5)
Who's Not:	M. Afinogenov (1g 1a -2 in last 5)	D. Afanasenkov (0pts +2 in last 5)
Injuries:	T. Lydman (hip flexor strain)	None
	J. Jillson (fractured jaw)

NoSkillz · 02-23-2006, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrosfan64

This is a great dynasty. I've enjoyed it a ton and everytime I read it, I fire up EHM soon afterwords.

Thanks for reading!! Much appreciated!

NoSkillz · 02-23-2006, 11:38 PM

Tampa Fans Run Out of Hats; Modin and St. Louis Strike for Tricks in Destruction of Sabres

Buffalo News
January 12 2006 (Tampa, FL) -
Unbelievably, things are getting worse for the Buffalo Sabres.

Leading 3-1 after a period, the Sabres watched as their opponents scored seven unanswered goals over the next 40 minutes in an eventual 8-3 loss. Fredrik Modin had a career game, scoring three goals and adding four assists for seven points. Linemate Martin St. Louis had a hat trick of his own and two assists while center Vincent Lecavalier had a goal and three assists. Ruslan Fedotenko also scored for Tampa.

Both of the hat tricks were 'natural', likely the first time in history two players have scored natural tricks in the same game.

Dmitri Kalinin, Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov scored for the Sabres. Ryan Miller was chased after allowing the fifth Tampa goal but was left on his own most of the game. Martin Biron came in and allowed the last three goals.

Lindy Ruff was furious with Tampa coach John Tortorella for "rubbing it in" during the game.

"Absolute bush league tactics by John tonight", Lindy spewed. "They're leading by five late in the game and he's still double shifting the Lecavalier line. (expletive) ridiculous..."

Lecavalier, St. Louis and Modin all played over 25 minutes in the contest, almost half the game.

"A bit of sour grapes on Lindy's part", Tortorella would say after he heard Ruff's comments. "How soon he forgets about the game earlier this year where they beat us 7-3. I didn't see him putting Mair or Pyatt on the powerplay in that game!"

The Sabres continue thier freefall and got even worse news when leading goal scorer Afinogenov broke a finger in the second period. He'll likely miss at least two weeks.

After the game, general manager Matthew Bosela announced that Derek Roy and Doug Janik were being recalled from Rochester. Sean McMorrow was waived for the purpose of sending him down to Rochester.

The Sabres play again tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs here at HSBC Arena. Game time is 7:00pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	3	0	0		3
Tampa Bay	1	6	1		8

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Tampa Bay - R. Fedotenko 12 (V. Lecavalier, F. Modin), 11:37
2. Buffalo - T. Vanek 22 (C. Drury), 16:20 (PP)
3. Buffalo - D. Kalinin 4 (T. Connolly, J. Dumont), 18:36
4. Buffalo - M. Afinogenov 23 (A. Kotalik, T. Numminen), 19:59
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
5. Tampa Bay - V. Lecavalier 29 (M. St. Louis, F. Modin), 2:58 (PP)
6. Tampa Bay - M. St. Louis 32 (P. Kubina, V. Lecavalier), 4:18
7. Tampa Bay - M. St. Louis 33 (F. Modin), 6:59
8. Tampa Bay - M. St. Louis 34 (F. Modin), 13:22 (PP)
9. Tampa Bay - F. Modin 17 (M. St. Louis, V. Lecavalier), 18:09 (PP)
10. Tampa Bay - F. Modin 18 (D. Andreychuk), 19:59
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
11. Tampa Bay - F. Modin 19 (D. Andreychuk), 8:30

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	11	5	11		27
Tampa Bay	12	15	4		31
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 13-9-2 17/22); M. Biron (6/9)
Tampa Bay	S. Burke (W: 19-7-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 8	1. V. Lecavalier (TB) 1g 3a
Tampa Bay	3 - 6	2. F. Modin (TB) 3g 4a +3
ATTENDANCE	19102	3. M. St. Louis (TB) 3g 2a +2

NoSkillz · 02-23-2006, 11:59 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Toronto Maple Leafs at Buffalo Sabres

January 12, 2006
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY

Season Series:	Buffalo Leads 2-0
Last Meeting:	December 15, 2005 in Buffalo
	Buffalo wins 7-4, with J.P. Dumont scoring twice and adding three assists
	in the victory

	Toronto	Buffalo
Overall Record:	26-16-2 54 pts	26-17-2 54 pts
Standings:	T5th Eastern Conference	T5th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	8-2-0	3-7-0
Powerplay:	21.4% (6th)	27.6% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	83.0% (11th)	77.5% (30th)
Goal Leader:	J. O'Neill - 23	M. Afinogenov - 23
Assist Leader:	B. McCabe - 31	C. Drury - 31
Point Leader:	B. McCabe - 45	D. Briere - 51
Penalty Minute Leader:	M. Johnson - 178	A. Mair - 117
Goaltenders:	E. Belfour (22-13-2 2.63gaa .913)	R. Miller (13-9-2 3.43gaa .890)
	M. Tellqvist (4-3-0 3.55gaa .878)	M. Biron (13-8-0 3.36gaa .891)
Who's Hot:	T. Kaberle (4g 2a +1 in last 5)	C. Drury (1g 5a +1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	M. Johnson (0pts -1 in last 5)	M. Biron (0-1 4.88 .829 in last 5)
Injuries:	J. Allison (UCL tear)	T. Lydman (hip flexor strain)
		M. Afinogenov (broken finger)
		J. Jillson (fractured jaw)

NoSkillz · 02-25-2006, 11:10 AM

Buffalo Stops Slide Against Toronto

Buffalo News
January 13 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Derek Roy, who was just recalled from Rochester, scored once and had an assist to push the Sabres over the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 last night at HSBC Arena.

Ales Kotalik (pictured bottom right) contributed two goals of his own while Brian Campbell and Mike Grier scored singles. Kotalik (2g), Roy (1g 1a), Chris Drury (2a) and Jochen Hecht (2a) all had multipoint games in the breakout game for Buffalo.

Jeff O'Neill and Donald Audette, on a penalty shot, scored for the Maple Leafs, who are now 0-3 versus their rival in the Northeast Division this season.

Martin Biron was excellent in the Buffalo net in his 14th win of the season while Ed Belfour once again struggled against the Sabres, allowing 5 goals on 33 shots.

Lindy Ruff was very pleased with how the new lines played together and raved about Roy's performance.

"We're really deep at center on this team and Derek hasn't been able to garner much ice time when he's played this year", Ruff would say. "With the injury to Max (Afinogenov), we decided to move guys around a bit to get Derek more ice time and some powerplay time."

"It sure looks like it worked...he was awesome out there."

"It's the first time I've been given powerplay time and that's pretty big", Roy would explain after the game. "I understand my play hasn't been consistent this year so I just have to keep going out there and playing hard whenever I'm on the ice."

Ruff retooled the lines quite a bit, breaking up the Briere-Vanek-Dumont line for the first time all year. He had Briere at left wing with Connolly and Dumont, Drury centering Hecht and Kotalik, Roy centering Vanek and Pyatt and finally Gaustad in the middle of Mair and Grier.

Teppo Numminen was a healthy scratch for Buffalo. Ruff says Numminen hasn't been at his best over recent games and decided to play rookies Nathan Paetsch and Doug Janik over the veteran. Jeff Jillson (jaw), Afinogenov (finger) and Toni Lydman (hip flexor) are all still injured.

Buffalo will host super-rookie Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Sunday night at HSBC Arena.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Toronto	1	0	1		2
Buffalo	1	3	1		5

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 10 (D. Kalinin, D. Roy), 2:33 (PP)
2. Toronto - J. O'Neill 24 (T. Kaberle, M. Sundin), 14:38 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - D. Roy 3 (J. Hecht, C. Drury), 1:21 (PP)
4. Buffalo - B. Campbell 8 (J. Dumont), 8:40
5. Buffalo - M. Grier 5 (A. Mair, P. Gaustad), 12:55
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Toronto - D. Audette 6 (penalty shot), 1:46
7. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 11 (J. Hecht, C. Drury), 14:49 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Toronto	11	8	5		24
Buffalo	9	10	14		33
GOALTENDING
Toronto	E. Belfour (L: 22-14-2)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 14-8-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Toronto	1 - 7	1. D. Roy (BUF) 1g 1a
Buffalo	3 - 8	2. A. Kotalik (BUF) 2g
ATTENDANCE	18690	3. C. Drury (BUF) 2a

NoSkillz · 02-25-2006, 11:20 AM

Sabres Trade Taylor to Pittsburgh for Pick

Buffalo News
January 13 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
General Manager Matt Bosela announced this morning that center Chris Taylor has been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

"Chris is a true professional and we felt it only fair to give him a chance with another NHL club", Bosela said. "Our young kids are really playing well which has made it tough for us to find a spot for him."

Taylor couldn't even find a spot in Rochester this year, spending the first half of the season loaned out to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. He's been playing first or second line most of the year but has struggled immensely, notching only 14 points (5g 9a) in 40 games and sports a very poor -16 rating.

Taylor had 1 assist in 2 games with the Amerks this year.

Taylor played 90 games for the Sabres over the years, compiling 9 goals and 12 assists. He was a mainstay in Rochester over the years, leading the Amerks in scoring three times.

NoSkillz · 02-25-2006, 11:33 AM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Washington Captials at Buffalo Sabres

January 15, 2006
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY

Season Series:	Washington Leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	December 28, 2005 in Buffalo
	Washington wins 4-3, with Alexander Ovechkin scoring twice to lead the
	Caps to victory

	Washington	Buffalo
Overall Record:	19-17-10 54 pts	27-17-2 56 pts
Standings:	10th Eastern Conference	T5th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-4-2	4-6-0
Powerplay:	14.2% (25th)	28.0% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	77.8% (29th)	77.7% (30th)
Goal Leader:	A. Ovechkin - 32	M. Afinogenov - 23
Assist Leader:	J. Halpern - 32	C. Drury - 33
Point Leader:	A. Ovechkin - 56	D. Briere - 51
Penalty Minute Leader:	B. Witt - 74	A. Mair - 117
Goaltenders:	O. Kolzig (17-14-9 2.81gaa .909)	R. Miller (13-9-2 3.43gaa .890)
	M. Ouellet (2-3-1 3.34gaa .893)	M. Biron (14-8-0 3.30gaa .892)
Who's Hot:	J. Halpern (3a -1 in last 5)	C. Drury (1g 6a +2 in last 5)
Who's Not:	A. Cassels (1a -1 in last 5)	T. Pyatt (0pts -1 in last 5)
Injuries:	J. Aulin (partially torn ACL)	T. Lydman (hip flexor strain)
	M. Kondratiev (thigh strain)	M. Afinogenov (broken finger)

NoSkillz · 02-25-2006, 01:06 PM

Sabres Prevail over Ovechkin & Capitals

Buffalo News
January 16 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Five different Sabres hit the goal sheet on Sunday evening in a high-flying 5-3 victory over the Washington Capitals, Buffalo's second straight win.

Dmitri Kalinin, Paul Gaustad (pictured below right), Brian Campbell, Jochen Hecht and Tim Connolly (above left) all scored for the Sabres. Connolly (1g 1a) and Daniel Briere (2a) both had multipoint games for Buffalo.

Connolly's 15th goal of the season sets a personal career high while Briere's assists were his first points in six games for the Sabres.

Steven Eminger (first career NHL goal), Eric Fehr and Alexander Ovechkin scored for Washington. Eminger (1g 1a) and Andrew Cassels (2a) had multipoint games for the Caps.

Martin Biron won his second straight contest for the Sabres, stopping 22 of 25 shots. Olaf Kolzig was sensational for Washington, as he was peppered with 55 shots, turning away 50 of them.

"If it wasn't for Kolzig, we could have scored ten tonight", an elated Lindy Ruff said in the post-game press conference. "All four lines were pressing all night and I thought this was one of our more dominant performances of the season, even if the scoreboard didn't show it."

Jeff Jillson and Teppo Numminen were healthy scratches for Buffalo. Jillson was cleared to play, as he's been practicing with a full face shield after suffering a broken jaw in practice last week. However, Ruff decided to stick with his two rookie blueliners in Doug Janik and Nathan Paetsch.

Both continue to play solid, if unspectacular hockey.

Maxim Afinogenov and Toni Lydman remain on the Injured Reserve list with their injuries.

Buffalo travels to Nashville to take on the Predators on Tuesday night. Game time is 7:30pm.

Sabres Notes:
Sean McMorrow, as expected, cleared waivers on Sunday morning and is back with Rochester. Prospect Marek Zagrapan was injured in QMJHL action, suffering a groin strain in a game Saturday night. Zagrapan has 47 points (23g 24a) in only 29 games this year and has battled injury all season.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Washington	1	0	2		3
Buffalo	2	2	1		5

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - D. Kalinin 5 (D. Roy), 1:32 (PP)
2. Washington - S. Eminger 1 (B. Witt, A. Cassels), 9:18
3. Buffalo - P. Gaustad 2 (A. Mair), 18:01
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Buffalo - B. Campbell 9 (T. Connolly, D. Briere), 6:19 (PP)
5. Buffalo - J. Hecht 10 (A. Kotalik, C. Drury), 11:55 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Washington - E. Fehr 8 (A. Cassels, S. Eminger), 1:04 (PP)
7. Washington - A. Ovechkin 33 (G. Laraque), 15:56
8. Buffalo - T. Connolly 15 (D. Briere, J. Dumont), 17:15

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Washington	5	9	11		25
Buffalo	16	21	18		55
GOALTENDING
Washington	O. Kolzig (L: 17-15-9)
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 15-8-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Washington	1 - 3	1. P. Gaustad (BUF) 1g
Buffalo	3 - 4	2. T. Connolly (BUF) 1g 1a +1
ATTENDANCE	16113	3. S. Eminger (WAS) 1g 1a +2

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 01:16 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Nashville Predators

January 17, 2006
Gaylord Entertainment Center, Nashville, TN

Season Series:	Nashville leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	January 8, 2006 in Buffalo
	Nashville wins 4-0, with Scott Walker scoring twice and adding an assist
	while Tomas Vokoun picked up the shutout in the victory

	Buffalo	Nashville
Overall Record:	28-17-2 58 pts	26-13-7 59 pts
Standings:	T5th Eastern Conference	5th Western Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-5-0	6-3-1
Powerplay:	28.7% (1st)	17.0% (14th)
Penalty Killing:	77.6% (29th)	81.6% (19th)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov - 23	S. Walker - 26
Assist Leader:	C. Drury - 33	P. Kariya - 29
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 53	S. Walker - 52
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 117	J. Yablonski - 97
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (15-8-0 3.29gaa .892)	T. Vokoun (26-9-6 2.25gaa .927)
	R. Miller (13-9-2 3.43gaa .890)	C. Mason (0-4-1 3.56gaa .887)
Who's Hot:	C. Drury (5a +1 in last 5)	S. Walker (5g 4a +1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (0pts -2 in last 5)	J. Yablonski (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	T. Lydman (hip flexor strain)	None
	M. Afinogenov (broken finger)

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 02:42 PM

Buffalo Can't Solve Vokoun; Predators Win 5-2

Buffalo News
January 18 2005 (Nashville, TN) -
Paul Kariya scored once and added three assists in a 5-2 Nashville win over the Buffalo Sabres last night at Gaylord Entertainment Center.

Marek Zidlicky scored two goals, one into an empty net, while Scott Walker and David Legwand scored singles. Kariya (1g 3a), Legwand (1g 2a), Danny Markov (3a) and Zidlicky (2g) had multipoint games.

Zidlicky (below right) now has 17 goals on the season and leads all NHL defensemen in that category.

Thomas Vanek and Taylor Pyatt scored for Buffalo.

Tomas Vokoun continues to confound the Sabres, turning aside 34 of 36 Buffalo shots. Martin Biron struggled once again, allowing four goals on 29 shots with the empty netter.

Coach Lindy Ruff was pretty pleased with the Sabres efforts but said the penalty killing unit is becoming an issue.

"I thought we played an excellent game in 5-on-5 situations but when you allow three powerplay goals, it's tough to win in this league", he said.

"We've struggled all year in this department and we may have to change our tactics because we're just not getting the job done. We may have to change our personnel as well."

Teppo Numminen and Jeff Jillson were once again healthy scratches for the Sabres.

Buffalo goes home and will face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at HSBC Arena. Game time is 7:30pm.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	0	1	1		2
Nashville	2	1	2		5

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Nashville - S. Walker 27 (P. Kariya, D. Markov), 8:38 (PP)
2. Nashville - D. Legwand 12 (P. Kariya, D. Markov), 16:08
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Buffalo - T. Vanek 23 (J. Dumont, B. Campbell), 3:02 (PP)
4. Nashville - P. Kariya 17 (D. Legwand, T. Vokoun), 10:02 (PP)
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
5. Buffalo - T. Pyatt 6 (P. Gaustad, A. Mair), 1:30
6. Nashville - M. Zidlicky 16 (D. Markov, D. Legwand), 2:28 (PP)
7. Nashville - M. Zidlicky 17 (P. Kariya), 19:09 (EN)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	7	16	13		36
Nashville	13	7	10		30
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (L: 15-9-0)
Nashville	T. Vokoun (W: 27-9-6)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 3	1. P. Kariya (NAS) 1g 3a +2
Nashville	3 - 4	2. D. Markov (NAS) 3a +1
ATTENDANCE	15699	3. D. Legwand (NAS) 1g 2a +2

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 02:54 PM

Vanek Injured in Practice; Sabres Make Roster Moves

Buffalo News
January 18 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Sabres rookie Thomas Vanek suffered a shoulder contusion in practice yesterday and is doubtful for the game against Pittsburgh tonight.

"It's nothing major, these things happen", Vanek said after coming out of the trainer's room. "I feel I can play but it's the coach's decision."

"I don't envision taking a chance with Thomas", Lindy Ruff said. "We have quite a few injuries right now but we still have some kids in the system that can take his spot for a game. We'll miss him, that's for sure but he should be back in a game or two."

Vanek is having a wonderful rookie campaign, with 23 goals and 24 assists in 48 games. He also carries a +6 rating.

General manager Matt Bosela made a few roster moves, recalling forward Michael Ryan (pictured at right) from Rochester while sending Doug Janik and Nathan Paetsch back to the Amerks.

Ryan had 26 points (9g 17a) in 44 games and was a +8 while playing on the third line most of the year in Rochester. Ryan has yet to play an NHL game in his career.

Janik had one assist and a +1 rating in 8 games with the Sabres this year while Paetsch was pointless and a -2 in his four games in Buffalo.

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 03:13 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Pittsburgh Penguins at Buffalo Sabres

January 19, 2006
HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY

Season Series:	First game in 2005-06
Last Meeting:	March 27, 2004 in Pittsburgh
	2-2 tie, with Konstantin Koltsov scoring the tying goal and Martin Biron and
	Sebastien Caron battling in net

	Pittsburgh	Buffalo
Overall Record:	29-14-3 61 pts	28-18-2 58 pts
Standings:	4th Eastern Conference	6th Eastern Conference
Last 10 Games:	4-5-1	5-5-0
Powerplay:	18.0% (11th)	28.8% (1st)
Penalty Killing:	85.4% (4th)	76.7% (29th)
Goal Leader:	Z. Palffy - 25	M. Afinogenov & T. Vanek - 23
Assist Leader:	M. Lemieux - 25	C. Drury - 34
Point Leader:	Z. Palffy - 45	D. Briere - 53
Penalty Minute Leader:	R. Vandenbussche - 95	A. Mair - 117
Goaltenders:	J. Thibault (24-10-3 2.44gaa .920)	R. Miller (13-9-2 3.43gaa .890)
	J. Hurme (4-3-0 1.93gaa .933)	M. Biron (15-9-0 3.32gaa .891)
	M. Fleury (1-1-0 2.88gaa .906)
Who's Hot:	Z. Palffy (3g 2a -1 in last 5)	D. Kalinin (2g 1a +2 in last 5)
Who's Not:	L. Pirjeta (0pts -1 in last 5)	M. Biron (2-2 3.61 .866% in last 5)
Injuries:	S. Gonchar (dislocated shoulder)	T. Lydman (hip flexor strain)
	J. Thibault (rotator cuff strain)	M. Afinogenov (broken finger)
	M. Ouellet (neck strain)	T. Vanek (shouder contusion)
	S. Ozolinsh (UCL tear)

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 04:28 PM

Sabres Explode in Third Period; Destroy Penguins 8-2

Buffalo News
January 20 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Pittsburgh goaltender Jani Hurme could sue for non-support after he singlehandedly kept the Penguins in the game last night against the Buffalo Sabres.

Buffalo peppered him with 38 shots through two periods and still found themselves tied at 2 a few minutes into the third period. But Hurme couldn't hold them off any longer.

Jay McKee's slapshot from the corner boards a minute after the Penguins tied it went through Hurme's five hole and was the first of a six goal barrage in an eventual 8-2 win at HSBC Arena last night. The goal was McKee's first of the season.

Jochen Hecht scored twice, while Dmitri Kalinin, McKee, Paul Gaustad, Mike Griere, Ales Kotalik and Daniel Briere scored singles. Briere (1g 2a), Hecht (2g), Kalinin (1g 1a), McKee (1g 1a), Grier (1g 1a), Gaustad (1g 1a), Henrik Tallinder (2a), Adam Mair (2a) and Brian Campbell (2a) all had multipoint games in the barnburner.

Briere's goal ended a lengthy 10-game stretch without a goal.

Colby Armstrong and Ziggy Palffy scored for the Penguins. Josef Melichar had two assists for Pittsburgh as well. Mario Lemieux and super-rookie Sidney Crosby were both kept off the scoresheet and worse yet, went -2 and -3 respectively.

Lindy Ruff praised the players persistence in the win.

"It would have been easy for the players to stop hustling, with their goalie playing so well", Ruff indicated. "It's a testament to their work ethic that they just wouldn't stop taking shots."

The Sabres ended up with an incredible 63 shots in the game while holding Pittsburgh to only 24. Ryan Miller was solid in net for Buffalo in picking up his 14th win of the year.

There were no healthy scratches for Buffalo last night. Thomas Vanek continues to be troubled with a shoulder contusion and Michael Ryan played his first career NHL game in his place. Somehow Ryan ended up a -2 in the contest.

He was sent back down to Rochester after the game.

The Sabres will next travel to Colorado to face the Avalanche. Game time Sunday night is 8:30 Eastern Time.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Pittsburgh	1	0	1		2
Buffalo	2	0	6		8

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - J. Hecht 11 (D. Briere), 3:26
2. Pittsburgh - C. Armstrong 3 (L. Pirjeta, J. Melichar), 11:36
3. Buffalo - D. Kalinin 6 (D. Briere), 12:24
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
No Scoring
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
4. Pittsburgh - Z. Palffy 26 (J. Melichar, M. Recchi), 5:50
5. Buffalo - J. McKee 1 (A. Mair, B. Campbell), 7:00
6. Buffalo - P. Gaustad 3 (M. Grier, A. Mair), 9:23
7. Buffalo - M. Grier 6 (P. Gaustad, J. McKee), 12:10
8. Buffalo - J. Hecht 12 (T. Numminen, H. Tallinder), 13:05
9. Buffalo - A. Kotalik 12 (B. Campbell, T. Connolly), 14:48 (PP)
10. Buffalo - D. Briere 22 (H. Tallinder, D. Kalinin), 18:30

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Pittsburgh	4	8	12		24
Buffalo	24	14	25		63
GOALTENDING
Pittsburgh	J. Hurme (L: 4-4-0)
Buffalo	R. Miller (W: 14-9-2)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Pittsburgh	0 - 5	1. D. Briere (BUF) 1g 2a +4
Buffalo	1 - 6	2. H. Tallinder (BUF) 2a +3
ATTENDANCE	16060	3. J. Hecht (BUF) 2g +4

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 09:33 PM

Well-Travelled Hunter Gets Called Up to Buffalo

Buffalo News
January 21 2006 (Buffalo, NY) -
Buffalo Sabres general manager Matt Bosela has recalled forward Dylan Hunter from the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL.

Hunter will suit up for the Sabres tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche in his first NHL game.

Hunter has had a tumultuous year, getting cut from the London Knights, a junior team run by his father, then not seeing any playing time with the Rochester Americans after getting signed to a pro contract by the Sabres.

Bosela was able to find Hunter a spot in the ECHL with the Stockton Thunder and after a slow start, Hunter started setting the league on fire.

He joins Buffalo having amassed 53 points (26g 27a) in only 31 games, along with 105 penalty minutes and a +5 rating. He leads the ECHL in scoring, even though he's played about 10 games less than most of the other players in the league. He's also averaging over 30 minutes a night in ice time.

"Stockton GM Brian MacLellan promised me that he'd give Dylan a good shot at earning playing time and he's certainly delivered in that regard", Bosela says. "It's been a great learning experience for Dylan and it's been a character builder as well."

"He's improved with every game down in the ECHL and now it's time to see what he can do in Buffalo."

Buffalo also got good news when Maxim Afinogenov and Toni Lydman returned to practice. Lydman is likely ready to go for tomorrow's contest against Colorado, having fully recovered from his hip flexor problem.

Afinogenov is likely going to need a bit more time to recover from his broken finger. He's starting to take shots in practice but hasn't resumed full-contact drills as of yet.

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 09:51 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Colorado Avalanche

January 22, 2006
Pepsi Center, Denver, CO

Season Series:	Colorado leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 20, 2005 in Buffalo
	Colorado wins 4-1, with four different scorers hitting the sheet and David
	Aebischer stopping 25 of 26 Sabres shots

	Buffalo	Colorado
Overall Record:	29-18-2 60 pts	31-13-4 65 pts
Standings:	6th Eastern Conference	4th Western Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-5-0	6-1-3
Powerplay:	28.5% (1st)	26.8% (2nd)
Penalty Killing:	77.2% (29th)	86.1% (2nd)
Goal Leader:	M. Afinogenov & T. Vanek - 23	A. Tanguay - 25
Assist Leader:	D. Briere & C. Drury - 34	J. Sakic - 42
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 56	J. Sakic - 62
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 119	B. May - 117
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (15-9-0 3.32gaa .891)	D. Aebischer (29-9-4 2.34gaa .920)
	R. Miller (14-9-2 3.37gaa .891)	V. Kolesnik (2-4-0 3.02gaa .898)
Who's Hot:	P. Gaustad (2g 3a +3 in last 5)	J. Sakic (2g 7a +1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	M. Biron (2-2 3.61 .866% in last 5)	B. Richardson (0pts in last 5)
Injuries:	T. Vanek (shoulder contusion)	D. Hinote (partially torn ACL)
	M. Afinogenov (broken finger)

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 11:01 PM

Briere & Dumont Leads Sabres to Big Road Victory over Avalanche

Buffalo News
January 23 2006 (Denver, CO) -
Linemates Daniel Briere and J.P. Dumont each scored two goals and added assists in a well-earned 6-4 win over the powerful Colorado Avalanche last night at Pepsi Center in Denver.

Paul Gaustad and Tim Connolly, with the winner, also scored for Buffalo. Jochen Hecht (2a) and Jay McKee (2a) joined Briere and Dumont with multipoint efforts.

Alex Tanguay, Andrew Brunette, Marek Svatos and Milan Hejduk scored for the Avalanche. Hejduk, Svatos and Tanguay each had a goal and an assist in the contest while Rob Blake contributed two assists for Colorado.

Martin Biron got the call in net and was just good enough to earn the victory, turning aside 22 of 26 Colorado shots. Vitaly Kolesnik, the backup goaltender in Colorado, got the call and was pretty busy, turning aside 40 of 45 shots.

"Just an excellent performance once again", enthused Lindy Ruff after the game. "I actually asked the guys to play more passive when we got the 4-2 lead and it almost cost us the game, as they scored two quick ones to tie it."

"Thankfully, our guys had a couple more in them!"

Dylan Hunter played his first NHL game for Buffalo and recorded an assist on Dumont's powerplay marker. He played a little over 12 minutes and lined up alongside Derek Roy and Taylor Pyatt on the Sabres third line.

Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov both missed the game due to injury while Jeff Jillson was a healthy scratch after Toni Lydman returned from his hip flexor injury.

Buffalo continues out west to Vancouver to play the Canucks on Wednesday night. Game time is 10:00 Eastern Time.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	2	1	3		6
Colorado	0	2	2		4

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - P. Gaustad 4 (A. Mair, D. Kalinin), 6:14
2. Buffalo - J. Dumont 19 (D. Hunter, D. Briere), 17:49 (PP)
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
3. Colorado - A. Tanguay 26 (M. Hejduk, P. Brisebois), 3:28 (PP)
4. Colorado - A. Brunette 9 (M. Svatos, R. Blake), 5:42
5. Buffalo - D. Briere 23 (J. McKee, J. Hecht), 6:49
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
6. Buffalo - D. Briere 24 (J. Dumont, J. McKee), 2:39
7. Colorado - M. Svatos 22 (P. Turgeon, J. Liles), 4:25
8. Colorado - M. Hejduk 19 (A. Tanguay, R. Blake), 8:03
9. Buffalo - T. Connolly 16 (C. Drury, H. Tallinder), 16:24
10. Buffalo - J. Dumont 20 (D. Kalinin, J. Hecht), 18:07 (EN)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	11	21	14		46
Colorado	8	9	9		26
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	M. Biron (W: 16-9-0)
Colorado	V. Kolesnik (L: 2-5-0)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 4	1. D. Briere (BUF) 2g 1a +2
Colorado	1 - 3	2. J. Dumont (BUF) 2g 1a +2
ATTENDANCE	16382	3. J. Hecht (BUF) 2a +2

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 11:35 PM

Vanek & Afinogenov Return to Practice; Mancari Accepts Loan Assignment

Buffalo News
January 25 2006 (Vancouver, BC) -
Sabres wingers Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov both returned to full-contact drills in practice yesterday morning in Vancouver.

Vanek will likely be ready to go tonight against the Canucks while Afinogenov may be held out for one more game due to tenderness in his broken finger.

"There's no reason for Max to rush back", stated Lindy Ruff. "The team is starting to come around nicely and we've got a couple extra guys here so one more game isn't the end of the world."

"Thomas will be ready to go for sure though."

In other Sabres news, Mark Mancari (pictured at right), who's spent the year playing for Rochester, has accepted a loan assignment to Stockton of the ECHL. Mancari, who hadn't been used much in the last few weeks, had 11 points (4g 7a) in 25 games with the Amerks and was a +4.

General manager Matt Bosela said the team was "disappointed that Mark wasn't able to get more ice time in Rochester and that this move would help his development immensely."

Bosela would add that he felt Mancari earned the shot at more playing time in Rochester with his "fine play" but was a victim of the numbers game due to the shared affiliation with the Florida Panthers.

Stockton has welcomed three Sabres prospects this year: Mancari, Dylan Hunter (now playing in Buffalo) and goaltender Adam Dennis, who's not seeing much time behind Eric Fichaud, the #1 keeper for the Thunder.

NoSkillz · 02-26-2006, 11:37 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Vancouver Canucks

January 25, 2006
General Motors Place, Vancouver, BC

Season Series:	Vancouver leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 18, 2005 in Vancouver
	Vancouver wins 7-2, as Markus Naslund scored a hat trick and added an
	assist in chasing Martin Biron from the Buffalo cage

	Buffalo	Vancouver
Overall Record:	30-18-2 62 pts	31-16-6 68 pts
Standings:	6th Eastern Conference	T4th Western Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-5-0	3-5-2
Powerplay:	28.5% (1st)	21.3% (T5th)
Penalty Killing:	77.0% (30th)	84.4% (T7th)
Goal Leader:	D. Briere - 24	T. Bertuzzi - 38
Assist Leader:	D. Briere & C. Drury - 35	H. Sedin - 42
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 59	T. Bertuzzi - 71
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 121	M. Cooke - 143
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (16-9-0 3.34gaa .889)	D. Cloutier (26-15-4 2.69gaa .912)
	R. Miller (14-9-2 3.37gaa .891)	A. Auld (5-1-1 2.12gaa .918)
Who's Hot:	D. Briere (3g 5a +7 in last 5)	T. Bertuzzi (5g 3a +3 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (1g -1 in last 5)	J. King (0pts -2 in last 5)
Injuries:	None	B. Morrison (torn ACL)

NoSkillz · 03-05-2006, 04:06 PM

Bertuzzi and Canucks Continue to Confound Sabres

Buffalo News
January 26 2006 (Vancouver, BC) -
After a slow start, the Vancouver Canucks and the NHL's leading scorer imposed their will on the Buffalo Sabres.

Bertuzzi scored three times in the second period of an eventual 6-3 Vancouver win over Buffalo last night at General Motors Place. Anson Carter, Matt Cooke and Markus Naslund also scored for the Canucks. Naslund (1g 2a) and Henrik Sedin (2a) joined Bertuzzi (3g) with multipoint games.

Jochen Hecht, Daniel Briere and Dylan Hunter, with his first career NHL goal, scored for the Sabres. Hecht also contributed an assist in the contest.

Ryan Miller took the loss in the Buffalo net, allowing 5 goals and getting pulled after Bertuzzi's third of the night. Dan Cloutier picked up his 27th win of the year.

"They are a powerful team and we had trouble controlling the Sedin, Bertuzzi, Naslund line in the second", coach Lindy Ruff said after the game. "Overall, I thought our offense was decent but Cloutier played really well."

"I can't be too disappointed. We gave a good effort."

Thomas Vanek returned to the lineup and notched an assist after missing two games with a shoulder problem. Taylor Pyatt and Jeff Jillson were healthy scratches for Buffalo and Maxim Afinogenov is still nursing his broken finger. Ruff says that they may rest Afinogenov for one more game as a precautionary measure, even though he's fully participating in practices.

There's no break for Buffalo, as they flew into Minnesota after the game and will face the Wild tonight at Xcel Energy Place in St. Paul. Game time is 8:30pm Eastern Time.

FINAL	1	2	3	OT/SO	TOTAL
Buffalo	1	1	1		3
Vancouver	2	3	1		6

FIRST PERIOD
SCORING
1. Buffalo - J. Hecht 13 (C. Drury), 2:40 (PP)
2. Vancouver - A. Carter 8 (J. Ruutu), 5:02
3. Vancouver - M. Cooke 13 (D. Sedin, R. Kesler), 15:40
SECOND PERIOD
SCORING
4. Vancouver - T. Bertuzzi 39 (M. Naslund, H. Sedin), 2:19
5. Buffalo - D. Briere 25 (J. Hecht, J. Dumont), 4:54
6. Vancouver - T. Bertuzzi 40 (E. Jovanovski, M. Ohlund), 11:47 (PP)
7. Vancouver - T. Bertuzzi 41 (M. Naslund, H. Sedin), 12:25
THIRD PERIOD
SCORING
8. Buffalo - D. Hunter 1 (D. Roy, T. Vanek), 7:11
9. Vancouver - M. Naslund 30 (S. Salo), 7:49 (PP)

GAME INFORMATION
SHOTS ON GOAL	1	2	3	OT	TOTAL
Buffalo	20	8	11		39
Vancouver	10	17	9		36
GOALTENDING
Buffalo	R. Miller (L: 14-10-2)
Vancouver	D. Cloutier (W: 27-15-4)
POWERPLAYS		THREE STARS
Buffalo	1 - 5	1. T. Bertuzzi (VAN) 3g +1
Vancouver	2 - 5	2. M. Naslund (VAN) 1g 2a +2
ATTENDANCE	18422	3. M. Cooke (VAN) 1g +1

NoSkillz · 03-05-2006, 04:23 PM

GAME DAY PREVIEW
Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild

January 26, 2006
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN

Season Series:	Minnesota leads 1-0
Last Meeting:	October 16, 2005 in St. Paul
	Minnesota wins 5-3, as Randy Robitaille scored twice, nullifying 3 point
	efforts from Chris Drury and Ales Kotalik

	Buffalo	Minnesota
Overall Record:	30-19-2 62 pts	23-22-8 54 pts
Standings:	6th Eastern Conference	9th Western Conference
Last 10 Games:	5-5-0	5-3-2
Powerplay:	28.3% (1st)	17.3% (13th)
Penalty Killing:	76.7% (30th)	81.3% (17th)
Goal Leader:	D. Briere - 25	M. Gaborik - 20
Assist Leader:	C. Drury - 36	T. White - 22
Point Leader:	D. Briere - 60	B. Rolston - 34
Penalty Minute Leader:	A. Mair - 121	R. Low - 63
Goaltenders:	M. Biron (16-9-0 3.32gaa .890)	B. Boucher (20-15-5 2.48gaa .912)
	R. Miller (14-10-2 3.49gaa .887)	M. Fernandez (3-7-3 3.37gaa .892)
Who's Hot:	D. Briere (4g 5a +6 in last 5)	N. Schultz (2g 2a -1 in last 5)
Who's Not:	T. Pyatt (1g -1 in last 5)	M. Michalek (1g +1 in last 5)
Injuries:	M. Afinogenov (broken finger)	J. Girard (torn MCL)
		D. Tjarnqvist (partially torn ACL)

01-08-2006, 01:27 AM	#159
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	World Junior Championship About to Begin; Sabres Prospects Take Center Stage Buffalo News December 27 2005 (Vancouver, BC) - The 2006 World Junior Championships start tonight in Vancouver, British Columbia and the Sabres will be represented by four individuals, three of whom play for Slovakia. 2005 top pick Marek Zagrapan leads the way for Sabres prospects and will play a starring role for the Slovaks in this event. Zagrapan has 21 goals and 23 assists for Chicoutimi of the QMJHL through 28 games. "Marek is improving his game on a nightly basis", Buffalo general manager Matt Bosela says. "He's tearing up the league offensively and his overall game is rounding into shape. We couldn't be more pleased." Bosela has five of his scouts in Canada to watch this big event that includes all of the top under-20 players in the world. "We're here to watch our own guys, obviously, but there are a number of draft-eligible players here as well." The United States team has two top players that are eligible for the 2006 draft. Both Phil Kessel and Peter Mueller are expected to be top-five picks in the upcoming draft and will likely dazzle in Vancouver. "They're both very exciting individuals and we'll certainly be keeping a close watch on them." Sabres prospects Michal Valent, a goaltender, and defenseman Andrej Sekera will also be among the players on the Slovakian team. Valent has seen limited playing time with Czech National League club Beroun, going 1-2 with a 3.67 goals against average. Sekera, coming off player of the week honors in the OHL, has 6 goals and 15 assists in 31 games with the Owen Sound Attack. Defenseman Michael Card will be representing Canada in the championships. Card, who plays for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets, is having a big season with 4 goals and 30 assists in 36 games. He also owns a +23 rating on the year. The tournament gets underway later this evening, as defending champion Canada faces off against Sweden. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

01-11-2006, 09:43 PM	#161
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Gaustad Recalled from Rochester Buffalo News December 28 2005 (Washington, DC) - The Buffalo Sabres have recalled center Paul Gaustad from the Rochester Americans. Gaustad will be in the lineup tonight in the game against the Capitals. Gaustad was a late cut in training camp and after a slow start in Rochester, has recently been putting points on the board. He has 7 goals and 8 assists in 34 games with the Amerks thus far and carries a +5 rating. "Paul brings some much needed size and grit to the team and we're hoping he can contribute the energy and timely scoring that's been his calling card with Rochester", general manager Matt Bosela said. Gaustad has played one game in the NHL, that coming during the 2002/03 season with the Sabres. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

01-22-2006, 01:14 PM	#171
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Lydman Injured in Practice; Placed on I.R. Buffalo News January 5 2006 (Buffalo, NY) - The Buffalo Sabres have been fortunate to have very few injuries so far this year. However, steady defenseman Toni Lydman suffered a hip flexor strain in practice yesterday and will be out for about two weeks. "We're just being careful with Toni", general manager Matt Bosela said. "We're only at the midpoint of the season so there's no reason to have him play through the injury. He feels pretty good but we'll just slot in Jeff (Jillson) for a few games while he heals up." Lydman has one goal and eleven assists in 40 games for the Sabres this year and has a team-leading +15 rating. Bosela indicated that he has no plans to bring up a player from Rochester to fill Lydman's spot on the roster. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

01-25-2006, 10:02 AM	#174
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Just wanted to write a quick thank you to everyone who nominated me for a Golden Scribe award. It's nice to know that there are some out there that are enjoying this! __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

02-23-2006, 09:38 PM	#178
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	USA Defeats Canada to Win World Junior Championships Buffalo News January 10 2006 (Vancouver, BC) - Ottawa Senators prospect Brian Lee capped a wonderful World Junior Championships by scoring once and adding two assists in a 3-2 United States victory over Canada last night in Vancouver. London Knights forward and Edmonton Oilers prospect Robbie Schremp (pictured) was named tournament MVP for his 2 goal, 12 assist performance in the Championships. Two of the more talked about prospects for the upcoming 2006 NHL Entry Draft had very different championships. Peter Mueller of Spokane in the WHL was spectacular playing on a line with Schremp and Knights teammate David Bolland, notching a tournament-leading 8 goals and 4 assists. However, it was a championship to forget for highly touted forward Phil Kessel, who only contributed two lonely assists in the seven US games while going -1. Buffalo had four prospects take part in the championship, three of whom played for Slovakia. The Sabres #1 pick in 2005, Marek Zagrapan, had no goals and two assists in five games, going +1. Defenseman Andrej Sekera had an excellent tournament, scoring twice, adding an assist and going +3. Goaltender Michal Valent only played one game but was spectacular in a losing effort, saving 21 of 23 shots in a 2-1 defeat to Finland. Defenseman Michael Card picked up a silver medal for Canada in the tournament. He played six games, scored a goal and was a +1. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

02-23-2006, 09:53 PM	#179
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Jillson & Hecht Injured in Practice; Roy to Play in AHL All-Star Game Buffalo News January 10 2006 (Buffalo, NY) - Jeff Jillson and Jochen Hecht both were injured in practice yesterday, although neither is serious enough to warrant extended time on the injured reserve list. Jillson took the biggest blow, suffering a broken jaw in a collision in front of the net in drills. Hecht just suffered a nasty cut to the forehead in an unrelated incident. "Jeff will likely miss a few games with the broken jaw but we don't anticipate Jochen missing any time", coach Lindy Ruff said after the high-tempo practice. "We certainly need both guys back quickly, especially with all of the games we have coming up." Ruff was working on some new tactics and line combinations in practice but says "nothing is set in stone...we're just working on some stuff right now." General Manager Matt Bosela indicated that Nathan Paetsch would likely be called up from Rochester to play in Jillson's place for the Tampa Bay game. It would be Paetsch's first official NHL game if he suits up. Paetsch has 3 goals and 7 assists in 41 games for Rochester this season and sports a +1 rating. He also has 90 penalty minutes for the Americans. In other Rochester news, center Derek Roy has been named to Canada's roster for the AHL All-Star game. Roy, who's shuttled between Buffalo and Rochester all season, has 20 points in 22 games with the Amerks. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

02-23-2006, 10:08 PM	#180
astrosfan64 College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2004	This is a great dynasty. I've enjoyed it a ton and everytime I read it, I fire up EHM soon afterwords.

02-25-2006, 11:20 AM	#186
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Sabres Trade Taylor to Pittsburgh for Pick Buffalo News January 13 2006 (Buffalo, NY) - General Manager Matt Bosela announced this morning that center Chris Taylor has been traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. "Chris is a true professional and we felt it only fair to give him a chance with another NHL club", Bosela said. "Our young kids are really playing well which has made it tough for us to find a spot for him." Taylor couldn't even find a spot in Rochester this year, spending the first half of the season loaned out to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. He's been playing first or second line most of the year but has struggled immensely, notching only 14 points (5g 9a) in 40 games and sports a very poor -16 rating. Taylor had 1 assist in 2 games with the Amerks this year. Taylor played 90 games for the Sabres over the years, compiling 9 goals and 12 assists. He was a mainstay in Rochester over the years, leading the Amerks in scoring three times. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

02-26-2006, 02:54 PM	#191
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Vanek Injured in Practice; Sabres Make Roster Moves Buffalo News January 18 2006 (Buffalo, NY) - Sabres rookie Thomas Vanek suffered a shoulder contusion in practice yesterday and is doubtful for the game against Pittsburgh tonight. "It's nothing major, these things happen", Vanek said after coming out of the trainer's room. "I feel I can play but it's the coach's decision." "I don't envision taking a chance with Thomas", Lindy Ruff said. "We have quite a few injuries right now but we still have some kids in the system that can take his spot for a game. We'll miss him, that's for sure but he should be back in a game or two." Vanek is having a wonderful rookie campaign, with 23 goals and 24 assists in 48 games. He also carries a +6 rating. General manager Matt Bosela made a few roster moves, recalling forward Michael Ryan (pictured at right) from Rochester while sending Doug Janik and Nathan Paetsch back to the Amerks. Ryan had 26 points (9g 17a) in 44 games and was a +8 while playing on the third line most of the year in Rochester. Ryan has yet to play an NHL game in his career. Janik had one assist and a +1 rating in 8 games with the Sabres this year while Paetsch was pointless and a -2 in his four games in Buffalo. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

02-26-2006, 09:33 PM	#194
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Well-Travelled Hunter Gets Called Up to Buffalo Buffalo News January 21 2006 (Buffalo, NY) - Buffalo Sabres general manager Matt Bosela has recalled forward Dylan Hunter from the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL. Hunter will suit up for the Sabres tomorrow night against the Colorado Avalanche in his first NHL game. Hunter has had a tumultuous year, getting cut from the London Knights, a junior team run by his father, then not seeing any playing time with the Rochester Americans after getting signed to a pro contract by the Sabres. Bosela was able to find Hunter a spot in the ECHL with the Stockton Thunder and after a slow start, Hunter started setting the league on fire. He joins Buffalo having amassed 53 points (26g 27a) in only 31 games, along with 105 penalty minutes and a +5 rating. He leads the ECHL in scoring, even though he's played about 10 games less than most of the other players in the league. He's also averaging over 30 minutes a night in ice time. "Stockton GM Brian MacLellan promised me that he'd give Dylan a good shot at earning playing time and he's certainly delivered in that regard", Bosela says. "It's been a great learning experience for Dylan and it's been a character builder as well." "He's improved with every game down in the ECHL and now it's time to see what he can do in Buffalo." Buffalo also got good news when Maxim Afinogenov and Toni Lydman returned to practice. Lydman is likely ready to go for tomorrow's contest against Colorado, having fully recovered from his hip flexor problem. Afinogenov is likely going to need a bit more time to recover from his broken finger. He's starting to take shots in practice but hasn't resumed full-contact drills as of yet. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

02-26-2006, 11:35 PM	#197
NoSkillz College Benchwarmer Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: St. Catharines, Canada	Vanek & Afinogenov Return to Practice; Mancari Accepts Loan Assignment Buffalo News January 25 2006 (Vancouver, BC) - Sabres wingers Thomas Vanek and Maxim Afinogenov both returned to full-contact drills in practice yesterday morning in Vancouver. Vanek will likely be ready to go tonight against the Canucks while Afinogenov may be held out for one more game due to tenderness in his broken finger. "There's no reason for Max to rush back", stated Lindy Ruff. "The team is starting to come around nicely and we've got a couple extra guys here so one more game isn't the end of the world." "Thomas will be ready to go for sure though." In other Sabres news, Mark Mancari (pictured at right), who's spent the year playing for Rochester, has accepted a loan assignment to Stockton of the ECHL. Mancari, who hadn't been used much in the last few weeks, had 11 points (4g 7a) in 25 games with the Amerks and was a +4. General manager Matt Bosela said the team was "disappointed that Mark wasn't able to get more ice time in Rochester and that this move would help his development immensely." Bosela would add that he felt Mancari earned the shot at more playing time in Rochester with his "fine play" but was a victim of the numbers game due to the shared affiliation with the Florida Panthers. Stockton has welcomed three Sabres prospects this year: Mancari, Dylan Hunter (now playing in Buffalo) and goaltender Adam Dennis, who's not seeing much time behind Eric Fichaud, the #1 keeper for the Thunder. __________________ MY CURRENT FM19 DYNASTY - FM19: "Ludere causa Ludendi - To Play for the Sake of Playing" - Queen's Park FC (Scottish League Two) MY OLD FM11 DYNASTY - FM11: From Semi-Pro Minnows to the EPL - Dover Athletic FC My Personal Blog - Now on the Tee - Golf, Sports, Poker, Life 2006 GOLDEN SCRIBE AWARD WINNER FOR BEST 'OTHER SPORT' DYNASTY - EHM2005: Sharpening Swords in Buffalo

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)