Sabres rally, beat Bruins in shootout

The end of the Buffalo Sabres' winning streak didn't seem to cool them off at all.

Buffalo rallied from a three-goal, third-period deficit and beat host Boston, 5-4, in a shootout last night, with Ales Kotalik scored the tying goal with 95 seconds left in regulation and then converting the last shot in the shootout.

"I still can't believe it happened. I guess that's what we're capable of," said goalie Ryan Miller, who stopped 30 shots and then two out of three in the shootout. "We were in a deep hole. This shows we don't quit."

The Sabres won their first 10 games before falling to Atlanta in a shootout on Saturday. They trailed Boston 4-1 before Maxim Afinogenov scored with 8:49 left in regulation.

In other games:

• At Raleigh, N.C., Cristobal Huet stopped 31 shots, leading Montreal to a 4-0 win over Carolina.

• At Chicago, Henrik Zetterberg and Robert Lang scored early in the third period and Detroit beat the Blackhawks, 2-1.

• At East Rutherford, N.J., the line of Trent Hunter, Mike York and Miroslav Satan combined for two first-period goals and the New York Islanders defeated the Devils, 5-2.

• At Sunrise, Fla., Rostislav Olesz and Olli Jokinen scored in the first period for the Panthers in a 4-2 victory over Toronto.

• At St. Paul, Minn., Nick Schultz scored to snap a 2-2 tie early in the third period, Pascal Dupuis added an insurance goal and the Wild went on to beat Vancouver, 5-2.

• At San Jose, backup goalie Kevin Weekes stopped 29 shots and the New York Rangers beat the Sharks, 3-1.

• At St. Louis, Manny Legace made 44 saves and Bill Guerin scored twice, leading the Blues to a 4-1 victory over Colorado.

Sabres spoil party night for 'Canes

Daniel Briere scored the only goal in a shootout and Ryan Miller stopped Carolina cold to give the visiting Buffalo Sabres a 3-2 victory over the Stanley Cup-champion Hurricanes in a season-opening rematch of last year's Eastern Conference finals.

Jason Pominville and Chris Drury had goals during regulation for the Sabres, and Eric Staal and Erik Cole scored for Carolina. Tied 2-2 after two periods, the teams played through a scoreless third period and overtime.

Briere, the Sabres' first shootout skater, beat goalie Cam Ward with a backhander for the only goal in the tiebreaker.

Miller made 32 saves in regulation and overtime.

During a 20-minute pre-game celebration, the Stanley Cup championship banner was raised to the rafters of the RBC Center.

"It was an amazing year, but now it's over," said Carolina defenseman Mike Commodore. "The banner's raised and it's time to do it over again."

In other games:

• At Denver, Darryl Sydor scored 2 minutes, 7 seconds into overtime to give Dallas a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche. The Stars overcame a 2-0 deficit early in the third period with goals 28 seconds apart by Mike Modano and Loui Eriksson.

• At Toronto, Martin Gerber, who lost the starting job in goal to Cam Ward in Carolina last season, made 33 saves and the Ottawa Senators beat the Maple Leafs, 4-1.

Staal looks for a jump-start

Has Eric Staal hit the wall? Is his body breaking down after 103 NHL games this year? Has he run out of gas with three assists and no goals in his last six playoff games for the Carolina Hurricanes? Have the Edmonton Oilers come up with some secret formula for him?
Heck, he didn't get a single shot on Jussi Markkanen in Saturday's nail-biting Oilers' 2-1 win in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup final.
"Geez, I appreciate all you guys are doing for me, coming up with all these excuses," laughed Staal, 21, as he faced a forest of interviewers Sunday. "The bottom line is I have to play better and help our team win games.
"It is a grind, obviously. Any time you're (playing) over 100 games in a season it's a long year, but now isn't the time to be thinking about that. The games are just tighter right now. There's nothing specific the Oilers are doing to me. Really, I feel great, too ... I'm not hurt."
Staal, who challenged Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin as the most explosive new kids on the block with 100 points in the regular season, had four shots in the first game of the series in Raleigh, N.C., two in Game 2 and none Saturday. He had seven shots in the last three games of the Eastern Conference final against the Buffalo Sabres. No goals in those games, either. He's also minus-four. His ice-time the past two games (15:57 and 16:41) are the second and third lowest of his 21 playoff games.
"There were a lot of penalties Saturday, and myself and Dougie (Weight) and a few others only played about 16 minutes," he said.
If he's in a mini-slump, it's good news for the Oilers. Still, Oilers coach Craig MacTavish remains a big fan.
"I hadn't seen a lot of him, outside of TV ... but I remember one play he made against Buffalo, late in the game, that really impressed me," MacTavish said.
"He swung behind the net and he got one of those Messier-type looks where it was like he demanded the puck. It was like he said, 'Give me the puck and I'm going to make a difference.' He had an end-to-end rush that almost tied the game for Carolina."
Staal's teammates are not worried about the sophomore's lack of recent production.
"Last time I looked, Eric was still the leading (points-getter) in the playoffs (tied with Cory Stillman at 22)," shrugged Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour. "But so he goes a couple of games without scoring - that's no big deal. I go by the theory you can't hold a good guy down too long."
Staal's coach, Peter Laviolette, isn't gnashing his teeth, either. "A lot of times, when you talk about offensive guys, it automatically translates into whether or not they put the puck in the net," he said. "I have faith in him that, you know, if we need to win a game, he'll be the guy for us."

Sabres Come To Terms With Four Players

Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced today the team has signed forwards Dylan Hunter and Patrick Kaleta, along with defensemen Mike Card and Michael Funk to multi-year contracts. Hunter (left wing, 6 foot, 196 lbs.), Buffalo’s ninth-round selection (273rd overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, spent the past five seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. The 21-year-old son of former NHLer Dale Hunter scored 369 points (95+ 274) in 315 games, including back-to-back seasons of 30+ goals and 100+ points. Hunter, a three-time OHL All-Star, also won a Memorial Cup championship with London in 2005.Kaleta (right wing, 6-1, 200 lbs.), a native of Angola, NY, was selected in the sixth round (176th overall) of the 2004 Entry Draft. Kaleta, 19, played four seasons for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, finishing with 147 points (61+86) in 264 games, along with 358 PIMs. The rugged forward was a key component in Peterborough’s run to the Memorial Cup this season, scoring 18 points (8+10) in 19 playoff games.Funk (defense, 6-4, 208 lbs.) was selected in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2004 Entry Draft. Funk, 19, played four seasons with the Portland Winter Hawks, scoring 121 points (23+98) in 280 games. The native of Abbotsford, B.C., attended training camp with Buffalo this season, and played in one preseason game against Washington on September 17. Card (defense, 6-1, 200 lbs.) was Buffalo’s seventh choice (240th overall) in the 2004 Entry Draft. He played four seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, scoring 147 points (35+112) in 269 games. Card played in three consecutive Memorial Cups (2003-05) with Kelowna, winning a championship in 2004.

Missed opportunities hurting Sabres

If the Buffalo Sabres' season ends tonight at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, they can blame it on missed opportunities, not their patchwork defence.
There was much brave talk yesterday, which was to be expected, but it all had a rather far-fetched tone when you consider what the Sabres did not do the previous evening in North Carolina. They had the Carolina Hurricanes on the ropes, skating hard to overcome all their injuries on defence, but could not finish them off.
Now, with the Hurricanes up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series, the Sabres need to win tonight in the sixth game of the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference final or their playoff run is over. Hence the long stretch for inspiration yesterday.
Chris Drury was the focus, since the Sabres' centre played for the Colorado Avalanche when they were down 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils in the 2001 Stanley Cup final and came back to win.

The Sabres also brought up the Tampa Bay Lightning, which did the same thing to the Calgary Flames in the 2004 Cup final, and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who victimized the Flames in the same way in the first round of this year's playoffs.
"The secret is, a lot of it is not looking ahead -- you can't win two games at once," Drury said yesterday.
"It's putting all your focus and energy into Game 6. Anaheim did it this year, Tampa Bay did it, and we did it."
Well, Anaheim went on to lose the Western Conference final to the Edmonton Oilers, who lay in wait for the survivor of this series.
Here's a couple more factoids, courtesy of Canadian Press: The Sabres' record in rallies they are down 3-2 is 1-12.
Their only win came in 1997, but since it was those perennial playoff patsies, the Ottawa Senators, you almost cannot count it. And the Hurricanes have never lost a series after taking a 3-2 lead, this going back to their days as the Hartford Whalers. They are 4-0 in that department.
But Drury is right. The Sabres should not look ahead. Better they look back at Sunday night's 4-3 overtime loss and figure a way to correct all those missed opportunities.
This was one loss that could not be attributed to the absence of three veteran defencemen with injuries.
By the way, the Sabres will still be missing the three tonight, as Teppo Numminen appears to have suffered a setback in his groin-hip flexor injury.
However, the Sabres showed in Sunday's game they could overcome the injuries, taking a 3-1 lead in the second period. But their advantage was frittered away when their forwards could not come through when it counted, head coach Lindy Ruff noted yesterday.
"We've been a good team in overtime this year and we had our opportunities," Ruff said. "We probably played our best, most solid 30 minutes of the game in the last 30 and didn't get rewarded for it.
"So I think you have missed opportunities or you have great opportunities to win the game. We didn't take advantage of our great opportunities."
There were the obvious misses, such as Maxim Afinogenov's on a breakaway late in the third period and Jochen Hecht's chance early in overtime.
Then there were the ones not squandered because of a big save, but because of a mental error.
The Sabres had the advantage in play during overtime and even threatened during the Hurricanes' power play that produced the winning goal. Shortly before Cory Stillman won the game for Carolina, the Sabres forced a turnover near their blueline that resulted in a three-on-two rush for them.
Mike Grier wound up with the puck and an open shot at Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward. But instead of taking the shot, he hesitated and then tried a pass into the middle, which went astray. Shortly after that, Stillman ended the game.
Rather than dredge up far-fetched analogies, the Sabres should worry about scoring when they have the chance.
They should also locate a couple of missing players, like captain Daniel Briere, who has not been prominent in the last few games.
Ditto for Hecht and Afinogenov, although the latter finally showed up on Sunday, albeit with no finishing touch.
It would also help if goaltender Ryan Miller could go back to being other-worldly, as he was in beating the Senators in the previous round, rather than merely good.

Sabres expect profit of $3.5M or more

With the Buffalo Sabres heading into the Eastern Conference finals, the National Hockey League team is set to do something it hasn't done since the early 1980s - finish the year in the black.
The Sabres, who have played five playoff games at HSBC Arena and will be home for at least two others, will finish the year with profits of at least $3.5 million.

That number could increase, should the team beat the Carolina Hurricanes and head to the Stanley Cup finals.
Each home playoff game is worth about $500,000 in new net revenues for the Sabres, said Dan DiPofi, the team's chief operating officer.
Should the Sabres make it to the finals, the team could host as many as four home games in that round.
Factoring in the final two rounds, that translates to a possible seven more home playoff games and the team generating another potential $3.5 million in new net revenues.
Finishing the season in the black marks a turnaround from the nearly $18 million the team lost in the 2003-04 season and last year's season, which was wiped out by a labor dispute between the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association.
Even before the playoffs began, the Sabres saw an uptick in attendance.
The team finished the regular season with total attendance of 691,699, an average of 16,871 per game. Eighteen games were sellouts. Take away the 8,500 the team drew for one game in Rochester, and the Sabres attracted 17,079 per home contest.
In 2003-04, the Sabres attracted 626,843 fans for a 15,289-per-game average; the season saw a dozen sellouts.
The increase, one of the largest in the NHL, has been attributed to a number of factors, including a variable pricing schedule and the team's winning record.

And a Child Shall Lead Them

By Mike Brody
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Rookie goaltenders have had success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs before – most notably with Ken Dryden in 1971 and Patrick Roy in 1986, both leading the Montreal Canadiens to the Cup – but never before has a crop of rookie goalies dominated the playoffs like they have this season.

Of the five remaining teams in this year’s playoffs, three are led by rookie goalies and another by a first-year starter. Carolina’s Cam Ward, Buffalo’s Ryan Miller, Anaheim’s Ilya Bryzgalov, and San Jose’s Vesa Toskala have all enjoyed incredible playoff success thus far.

Seven-year veteran Dwayne Roloson of the Edmonton Oilers, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Minnesota Wild, is the only experienced goaltender left. I don’t think anyone would have predicted that, especially with the presence of such big-name goalies as Martin Brodeur and Miikka Kiprusoff, and other veteran backstops or NHL powerhouses like Detroit’s Manny Legace, Dallas’s Marty Turco, and Colorado’s Jose Theodore, among the contenders.

The New Favorite

Thanks to a surprisingly easy 4 games to 1 victory over the New Jersey Devils, and a dominating performance winning four straight games over Montreal after losing the first two in Round 1, the Carolina Hurricanes have emerged as the new favorite to win Lord Stanley’s Cup. Despite finishing the regular season with 112 points, just 1 behind Eastern Conference leader Ottawa, the Hurricanes’ odds of winning the Cup entering the playoffs were posted at 10-1. That was before the oddsmakers had seen Ward turn away almost every shot he’s faced.

In 10 playoff games, the 22-year-old rookie has allowed just 17 goals while posting a 1.77 goals against average (GAA). Ward let in just five goals in Carolina’s four victories over New Jersey as he outplayed his boyhood idol Brodeur. With his stellar play, and the Hurricanes’ opportunistic offense, led by 100-point scorer Eric Staal, Carolina will be tough to beat.

The Upstart Challenger

The Sabres’ Miller is the only U.S.-born goalie among the Fab Four. He hopes to duplicate the feat of another rookie American goalie, Ron Hextall, who led the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1987. After a shaky start in Game 1 against Ottawa, Buffalo’s defense and Miller shut down the Senators the rest of the way, allowing two or fewer goals in each of the last four games. The Michigan native has a 2.25 GAA and a .921 save percentage in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Buffalo’s defense has been stellar in front of Miller. Defensemen Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder lead all playoff performers in plus/minus at plus-13. The Sabres’ offense has been scoring in bunches. Buffalo has a team-leading 43 goals scored in 11 games and is riding high after winger Jason Pominville’s shorthanded, overtime goal clinched the series against Ottawa.

Mr. Perfect – Almost

Anaheim’s Bryzgalov has been the most surprising and impressive of all the rookies. Bryzgalov didn’t even enter the playoffs as the Ducks’ No. 1 goalie. That honor went to Jean-Sebastian Giguere, who led Anaheim to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003, his second year in the league, and was named the Conn Smythe winner as the MVP of the playoffs that season.

After splitting their first four games against Calgary in Round 1, the Ducks made the switch to Bryzgalov and they haven’t regretted it. The 24-year-old Russian has practically stood on his head as he is sporting a ridiculous 0.87 GAA and .967 save percentage. He recorded three straight shutouts, including Game 7 at Calgary to clinch that series. In doing so, Bryzgalov set a rookie playoff record, holding opponents scoreless for 249 minutes, 15 seconds. Only Montreal’s George Hainsworth, 270:08 in 1930, has had a longer playoff scoreless streak.

The Final Four

San Jose’s Toskala is hoping to join his fellow first-year netminders in the conference finals. After an excellent series against Nashville in Round 1, including a shutout in Game 2, and two 2-1 victories to open the Edmonton series, Toskala and the Sharks find themselves on the ropes as the Oilers have stormed back to take a 3-2 series lead. Edmonton will try to close it out at home on Wednesday night.

San Jose’s offense is led by Patrick Marleau, who leads all playoff goal scorers with nine. The Sharks will need to get an early lead and help Toskala protect it to force a Game 7 at home on Friday.

The Finals

The matchup between Ward and Miller should be as entertaining as it gets. Both are capable of stealing a game or two for their respective teams. Carolina is the favorite, but Buffalo has a lot of momentum and Miller has shown he can win the close games with four one-goal victories against Ottawa. Look for the Sabres to get to the Finals.

The Ducks have had a long time off after unexpectedly sweeping the Avalanche. Anaheim may be a little rusty to start the conference finals, but the Ducks have good veteran leadership in Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne and will ride the stellar play of Bryzgalov past either the Oilers or the Sharks to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Sabres' tickets gone in minutes

The few thousand tickets remaining for the Buffalo Sabres -- Carolina Hurricanes playoff series were sold in less that one period of a hockey game.
The Sabres said Wednesday the tickets made available to the general public for games 3, 4 and 6 were bought up in less than 20 minutes after going on sale at 9 a.m. The majority of tickets had already been purchased by season ticket holders, leaving just a few thousand for individual ticket purchasers.

Window prices for the third round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, or the Eastern Conference finals, ranged from $100 to $200 per seat.
The Sabres will host the third and fourth games on May 24 and 26, respectively. If a sixth game is necessary, it will be played at HSBC Arena on May 30. The first two games will be played in Raleigh, N.C., starting Saturday, May 20 at 2 p.m., and then Monday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Sabres fever has caught on with a landmark building in downtown Buffalo.
Beginning Wednesday night, M&T Bank will be changing the outdoor lighting scheme on its downtown corporate headquarters to red, black and white in honor of the Sabres' team colorsThe red-white-black lighting will remain in place as long as the Sabres continue into the playoffs.
"We want to show the same pride and excitement that all of Buffalo feels for their Sabres, so we'll light up the top of the M&T Bank building with the Sabres' colors until they bring home the Stanley Cup," said C. Michael Zabel, bank spokesman.