Jailbreak

You can't deny it anymore. Go ahead, try to lock him up again.

Buffalo 7:25, Daniel Paille 3 (Adam Mair, Teppo Numminen)

Thank God Almighty, Free at Last!!

Sorry Dr. King, but someone more important has been freed from the clutches of oppressive injury.

Injury Report

- Al Kotalik will return tomorrow against the Devils, skating on the left wing with center Chris Drury and right wing Dainius Zubrus in practice yesterday. Michael Ryan had been skating there, but Kotalik’s return will force Ryan back to Rochester because of a rule regarding emergency injury call-ups. Ryan won’t leave town until the Sabres are sure Kotalik can return.
Lindy Ruff sees potential in a Kotalik- Zubrus pairing.

- Injured forwards Tim Connolly and Daniel Paille also practiced. Paille, out since breaking his left index finger Feb. 20, is "very close.”

- Connolly still is without a timetable for a return. He's been joining the team for morning skates, but still isn't cleared for contact and was understandably sore after his first practice in a month.

- Toni Lydman, who has missed five games with an upper-body injury, did not practice. Ruff said that “he wants to try skating the first part of practice with the team".

Sabres >>> Everyone Else.

http://www.buffalonews.com/101/story/40716.html

ESPN the Magazine has just rated the Sabres at the top of all 122 major pro sports franchises in North America. This is the 5th year they've rolled out the "Ultimate Standings", and it's something I've always paid attention to, mainly because the Packers were always in the top 5.

The Sabres finished in the top 10 in four of those eight categories: first in “Bang for the Buck” (converting fan dollars into wins), second in “Affordability” and fourth in both “Fan Relations” and “Coaching.”The team’s other rankings were 11th in “Players,” 13th in “Ownership,” 25th in “Stadium Experience” and 53rd in “Title Track” (championship prospects). “I would say thank you to the fans,” owner B. Thomas Golisano said Monday, after learning about the rankings and the methodology. “Obviously, if they did the survey and rated us No. 1, we say thank you. “And we’ll keep trying.”

The man, the myth, the legend.

The bottom teams?

122. Detroit Lions

121. Oakland Raiders

120. NY Knicks

119. Minnesota Vikings

118. Chicago Blackhawks

117. Boston Bruins

Other top teams? Anaheim ranked 6th and Nashville 8th. I refuse to acknowledge the NBA as a sport, so their teams don't count, especially the one that rated 2nd overall. The Indy Colts were 4th, the highest NFL team, and the LA Angels of Anaheim, the Pacific Ocean, and Japan were 7th, highest for MLB. Odd that Anaheim places two teams in the top 7.

Can't say I disagree one bit. Oh, and the Canes are 10th. Just thought I'd throw that out there so CG doesn't hurt me.

It's all good in the "Land of the Wings".

Site News

So how about I just realized that I haven't posted in a week and a half??

Life and work (wait, we actually WORK at work??) gets in the way sometimes......

I promise a bevy of posts in the next few days, I'd promise a live blog tomorrow night too, but then I realize we're playing the Devils. That's probably not a good idea considering what happened LAST time.....

Sabre Notes

Sorry for the lack of updating lately...

- So how about that Ty Conklin? 42 saves in a 5-3 win last night in Florida! Two of the goals weren't his fault either, so basically it's more like 1 goal on 43 shots. I'd say that's pretty good. He even LOOKS like Ryan Miller out there....not like I'm comparing the two. Goalie controversy, anyone??

(and if you can't detect the sarcasm...please go get some fresh air)

- Apparently Toni Lydman has an upper-body injury. Not surprisingly, Lindy Ruff was not very forthcoming with information about it. Who stepped up last night? Brian Campbell played 28 minutes, had 3 assists and was a +3. Soupy always seems to be the one defenseman who steps up and plays incredibly well when injuries hit the rest of the defense. Lydman most likely won't be playing tonight either.

- Teppo needs to be benched when we have 7 healthy d-men. That will be all.

Update 1:34pm: Speaking of healthy defenseman, the Buffalo News reports that Spacek will be back in the lineup tonight. Lydman probably won't be.

Andrew Peters is also the "Who am I" on NHL.com today. What happened? Did they run out of the other 700+ players in the NHL?

Reverse the Curse!!

“We’re on a mission.” – Lindy Ruff

On NHL.com today is Buffalo’s entry into the continuing “Countdown to the Quest” series, describing the hopes and dreams of the playoff contenders and their storied (or in our case, not so storied) histories.

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=290546

Most of it focuses on how the fans (well, most of them anyways) stood by the team through heartbreak after heartbreak, through bankruptcy, changes in ownership, and years of mediocrity.

“A Stanley Cup championship would make a world of difference for the Buffalo and
Western New York area. It’s amazing what a sports championship can do to the
morale and outlook of the area. If there is a city that could use a
championship, it is Buffalo.” – Marcel Dionne

But is there really a “curse” that’s the cause of these last 35 championship-less years??
Bills legend Thurman Thomas points back to the sale of the NBA’s Buffalo Braves as the beginning of the hex. It would eventually lead to the relocation of the Braves to San Diego, who are now the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I mean, how much bad luck can one city take,” Thomas asked in an article in the
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. “Ever since that guy (Snyder) sold the Buffalo
Braves….Buffalo’s been cursed, like the Bambino.”

Buffalo being the Red Sox of the NHL??? Please God, no. Well, at least we have a “curse” and truckloads of bandwagon fans. That’s about where the similarities end.

All I know is that if this isn’t our year, then it may NEVER happen. And I need some Cup pictures of my own so I’m not subjected to CG’s Canes pictures the rest of my life.

Please Sabres, reverse the curse.