Kevin's Watch

yep, Raycroft (Leafs) had a great game last night, stoning the Rangers on 37 shots and letting in only one in an exciting 2-1 win.
Leafs now are in a 3 way tie for 8th playoff spot abd with 6 wins in their last 7....

C'mON Stanley!

is Peca coming back this year? what happened. stone the crows, I would have loved to bring him back for a play off run.

Peca injured.
From Dec. 22:

Toronto centre Michael Peca seriously injured his right knee in the first period of the Maple Leafs' 3-1 loss to Chicago on Friday night and had to be helped from the ice.

Peca collided with Chicago defenceman Jim Vandermeer in the Toronto zone with 5:17 left in the first. Vandermeer received a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct.

``He's in quite a bit of pain,'' Toronto coach Paul Maurice said. ``We're not going to know until the doctors get a better look inside.

``This is not day-to-day,'' Maurice added. ``It's a bad injury.''

Peca left the Maple Leafs dressing room on crutches, wearing an air cast.

From what I heard last, we will be fortunate to have him back for the playoffs...

The Peca/Tucker combo ironically was a great force.... now both are injured...

that's too bad, I always liked him. hell, I even lost track of Miroslav Satan. hold on... I found him on the Islanders. I get little news in the local papers. I wash hoping that Houston stole the Pens, but I doubt it will happen. we could have been a hockey town.

Buffalo 4, Atlanta 3, SO


ATLANTA (AP) -- Daniel Briere took care of the scoring. Ryan Miller thwarted two of the league's most dangerous players in the shootout.
Briere had two goals in regulation and another in the shootout, leading the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday night. "He's kind of the main guy for them," Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen said. "You're always looking to see where he is on the ice. I try to keep one eye on him to see where he goes. He's very quick. He can do it all."
The Eastern Conference-leading Sabres, winning for just the fifth time in their last 12 games, scored all three of their regulation goals on the power play. They took the shootout 2-0, with Ales Kotalik scoring the deciding goal. Miller stopped Slava Kozlov and Marian Hossa in the shootout. Before Tuesday, Kozlov was 7-of-8 going one-on-one against the goalie, while Hossa had an impressive 5-of-7 mark. Scott Mellanby scored the tying goal for Atlanta with 8:09 left in regulation, but the Sabres knocked off one of their top challengers in the East. Briere took advantage of the wide-open style favored by both teams. "There wasn't too much traffic, a lot less than we've seen in the past," he said. "It was fast and exciting. We played with fire." The Thrashers, first in the Southeast Division, dropped 10 points behind Buffalo in the conference standings with their third straight loss. Atlanta went 2-3-1 during a homestand at Philips Arena and now heads off on a six-game road trip, its longest this season. "We're disappointed with it," Mellanby said. "We didn't come out with a lot of points. No disrespect to the teams we played, but losing twice to Philadelphia -- those are points we need. We've got to pick it up." Miller made 27 saves, including a brilliant stop in the final seconds of overtime. Kozlov swept in on a breakaway and picked out the top right corner, but Miller got enough of his glove on the shot to send it over the crossbar. In the shootout, he knew what he was up against. Miller blocked Kozlov's backhander, then turned aside a wrist shot by Hossa. "I just want to come out and challenge them, shorten their options and maybe they'll change their mind," Miller said.
Atlanta dropped to 6-3 in shootouts, ending a streak of five straight wins. Buffalo improved to 8-2 in shootouts, clinching it with a brilliant move by Kotalik, who backed Lehtonen into the net before flipped a backhander over the fallen goalie. "I decided to do something different," Kotalik said. In the opening period, Briere scored the first goal of the night off a rebound, reaching around from behind the net to swipe a rebound out of the air. Lehtonen was amazed. "I thought the play was over, and he reached around from behind the net to tap it in there," the Thrashers goalie said. "That's one of those goals that's not going to make me too mad." Ilya Kovalchuk tied it for Atlanta 39 seconds later with a slap shot from the left circle. Briere picked up his 23rd goal of the season with 1:12 left in the second, putting Buffalo ahead 3-2. Andy Sutton whiffed on a clearing attempt, Nathan Paetsch scooped up the puck and passed to Briere all alone at the far post for the one-timer that beat Lehtonen. The Thrashers, after scoring their first two goals at even strength, finally took advantage of its slumping power-play unit to tie it at 3. Hossa flipped a pass over sliding Buffalo defenseman Toni Lydman and Mellanby whacked it on the fly past a helpless Miller. Jon Sim gave Atlanta its first lead, scoring off a long pass with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the second period. The Thrashers caught Buffalo in a line change and Jim Slater flipped a long pass into the Sabres' zone. Sim caught up with the puck near the boards and somehow got it past Miller from a bad angle to make it 2-1. Thomas Vanek evened it for Buffalo about 4 minutes later. With Sutton off for hooking, Teppo Numminen pushed ahead a perfect lead pass to Vanek, who slipped between two Atlanta players and whipped a shot over Lehtonen's right shoulder, just inside the post.

...and I continue to eat crow. I was poo-pooing him so much when he got traded to the Leafs.

Raycroft absolutley stole the show last night in the 2-1 victory over the Blues. I diving glove save from the other side of the net!

I gotta get on the bandwagon now....

The road may be rough, the weather may forget us
But won't we all parade around and sing our songs,
a magic kingdom, open-armed

Greet us hello, bravo, name in lights
Passing on the word to fellow passengers and players, passing in,
Until you're tired looking at all the flags
And all the banners waving
This is some parade, yesiree Bob.
Could we have known?
Yesiree Bob, could we have known?

Look at all the flags and all the banners waving.
Open up our arms, a magic kingdom, open-armed and greet us all

Come on aboard I promise you you won't hurt the horse
We treat him well, we feed him well
There's lots of room for you on the bandwagon
The road may be rough, the weather may forget us
But won't we all parade around and sing our songs and wave our flags.
A magic kingdom, greet us all hello, greet us hello, greet us hello.

Buffalo 3, Ottawa 2

N.Y. (AP) -- Thomas Vanek scored twice, including the game-winner with 4 minutes left, to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night. Maxim Afinogenov also scored in helping the Sabres successfully open a season-high six-game homestand and end a four-game losing streak against their Northeast Division rivals. Backup goalie Martin Biron was sharp in making 28 saves. Peter Schaefer and Dean McCammond scored for Ottawa, which dropped to 8-3-1 in its past 12. The Sabres, who twice squandered one-goal leads, won despite playing on consecutive nights after a 4-3 shootout win at Atlanta. And they defeated a well-rested opponent -- the Senators had been off since a 3-2 shootout loss against Toronto on Saturday. Vanek's second goal came on the power play and during a wild scramble in front. Vanek's first shot from the slot -- and with goalie Ray Emery out of position -- was stopped by diving defenseman Anton Volchenkov. The puck caromed to the left circle, where Ales Kotalik fanned on his attempt, but the shot slid to the right post and Vanek slipped it into the open side. The goal made up for a questionable penalty call that went against the Sabres earlier in the period, and led to Schaefer's goal which tied the score at 2. Schaefer scored during a scramble, when he converted Mike Fisher's rebound. The goal came on a Senators power play, when officials incorrectly penalized Teppo Numminen for delay of game after the Buffalo defenseman's clearing attempt went over the glass. Replays showed Numminen's backhander first hit the boards -- which should have negated the penalty -- before going out of play.
Questionable call aside, this marked the fifth time in seven games the Sabres have allowed an opponent to tie the score in the third period -- with Buffalo losing three of those outings. The game was a defensive stalemate between two of the Eastern Conference's most potent offenses before Vanek and McAmmond traded goals 41 seconds apart just past the midpoint of the second period. Vanek picked off Volchenkov's lazy cross-ice pass and drove untouched to the net to open the scoring. McAmmond tied it by poking in a rebound after Biron had difficulty controlling Joseph Corvo's shot from the right circle.

Notes
Retired defenseman Phil Housley was inducted into the Sabres' Hall of Fame in a pregame ceremony. Drafted sixth overall by Buffalo in 1982, Housley played eight seasons with the Sabres and still ranks as the team's most productive defenseman with 558 points. The native of St. Paul, Minn., retired in 2003 with 1,232 points (338 goals, 894 assists), most among American-born players.

and they regain top spot in the NHL over Nashville (god, I still have problems saying "Nashville" when it comes to hockey... )

Now, let's see if the Leafs can keep Buffalo in top spot by kicking so Predator butt tonight...

try Florida, ANaheim, Dallas as well...

go Leafs!

poop.
close game (not really a nice game to watch), but Leafs fall 4-2. Too many undisciplined penalties from the Leafs. This is their story when they lose and will have to improve on that if they have any hope of getting to the playoffs.
Penguines are next! sheesh!

nice article i thought you would enjoy, will give the two highlights.

BUFFALO SABRES

The Sabres may finish as No. 1 seed in Eastern Conference but they need a blue-liner to replace Jay McKee's shot-blocking and heart and a banging winger to fill the Mike Grier hole. They lost two big leadership cogs. They've got inconsistent winger Alex Kotalik and maybe small centre Derek Roy to dangle. But they're right up against the cap, which complicates things.


TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

The big question is whether they would move captain Mats Sundin or will they pick up his $5.33-million option for next year. Sundin has a no-trade clause and he'd have to waive it. There's really little room for Sundin and signing unrestricted free agent winger Darcy Tucker with very tight cap space. They will certainly listen to offers on Tucker, but he's only played one game since December because of a broken foot. They've boxed themselves in signing defenceman Bryan McCabe and Pavel Kubina for $10.7-million cap space. Nik Antropov (unrestricted free agent) is trade bait.

www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/sport ... k=6135&p=1

the good with the bad?

Buffalo 3, Calgary 2, SO
Buffalo Sabres forward Ales Kotalik would like to remind everyone that he's got more than one move when it comes to scoring shootout goals.
Thing is, his backhand flip shot off the forehand fake is the one that works so well. Using what is quickly becoming his patented move, Kotalik scored the lone shootout goal to rally the Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Saturday night. "That's the move I'm comfortable with and I'm trying to use whatever I think is going to end up in the goal," said Kotalik, who sealed Buffalo's 4-3 shootout win over Vancouver last month on a similar play. "But I've scored on different moves." Kotalik's goal allowed the Sabres to overcome two one-goal deficits, improve to 5-1 in their past six and also take the edge off what was mostly a bad-news day. Almost overshadowing the win was the team announcing forward Paul Gaustad will miss the rest of the season, requiring surgery to repair a sliced tendon in his lower left leg. Then the team lost defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, who is out indefinitely after breaking his left hand while blocking a shot in the first period. "These things happen," co-captain Daniel Briere said. "You look at last year when we had a lot of guys go down. ... Somebody's going to have to step up." Briere, who forced extra time by scoring with 3:32 left in regulation, and Thomas Vanek also scored for the Eastern Conference-leading Sabres (38-15-4). Ryan Miller stopped 23 shots through overtime and all three shootout attempts in helping Buffalo extend its home win streak to a season-best five games. Kristian Huselius, extending his NHL-leading points streak to 15 games, and David Moss scored for the Flames, who lost their third straight game (0-1-2) -- and third when holding a third-period lead. The Flames blew a 2-0 third-period lead in a 3-2 shootout loss to Chicago on Tuesday and then squandered a 1-0 edge in a 2-1 loss at Columbus on Thursday.
"We had the lead with 5 minutes left and we have to hold that," Flames captain Jarome Iginla said. "We need to bear down a little bit more," Moss said. "We played well for the most part of the game, but they got a break and capitalized on it." Moss was referring to Briere's goal, set up by Jochen Hecht, who shook off Stephane Yelle's check to nudge the puck forward to Briere, waiting at the side of the net. Briere then stepped out and backhanded a shot that beat Miikka Kiprusoff on the short side. Kiprusoff was otherwise solid, keeping the Flames in the game by stopping 32 shots, including 15 in the final 25 minutes. There was his glove save on Kotalik's snap shot from the right circle with 1:49 left in overtime. And Kiprusoff was even better a minute later, diving out and getting a glove to bat down Toni Lydman's shot on a 2-on-1 break after Calgary's Craig Conroy snapped a shot off the crossbar at the other end. Miller was just as solid when it counted, particularly during the shootout. He stopped Dion Phaneuf and Matthew Lombardi's attempts to squeeze shots through his legs. And then on Calgary's final attempt, Miller wasn't fooled when he reached out with his right pad to foil Huselius' trying to beat him on the far side. "Knowing that we have Ryan back there gives us a lot of confidence," Briere said. "We have the mentality that we only need to score one."

Sabres LW Gaustad out for season with torn tendon; D Spacek breaks hand
It's one major injury after another for the Buffalo Sabres. Shortly after general manager Darcy Regier announced Saturday that forward Paul Gaustad was to miss the rest of the season with a sliced tendon in his left leg, Sabres defenseman Jaroslav Spacek broke his left hand blocking a shot during a 3-2 shootout win over Calgary. "We're looking at weeks," coach Lindy Ruff said, referring to Spacek, who was hurt 16 minutes in. The outlook is much worse for Gaustad, who is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday and not expected to return even if the Eastern Conference-leading Sabres make a deep playoff run. "Right now, he's definitely done," Regier said during the first intermission. "It'll be a long process back." Gaustad was cut on the lower part of his leg when he inadvertently collided with Ottawa's Dany Heatley early in the third period of Buffalo's 3-2 win Wednesday. Numerous stitches were needed to close the cut, but initial tests didn't reveal serious damage. It was believed that Gaustad would miss no more than a week, but additional tests revealed the severity of the injury Saturday. "It felt like I got punched in the stomach when I found out what happened," said Gaustad, who was walking on crutches and wearing a protective boot. "It was a freak accident. It's something I've never really dealt with in my career. It's just devastating to me." Gaustad, in his second NHL season, had been playing on a line with Sabres leading scorer Chris Drury, and had a career-high tying nine goals and 13 assists in 54 games this season. His loss is a big blow the Sabres, who rely on the 6-foot-4 and 229-pound forward's size and gritty style. "We're going to miss Paul, but we went through this last year," Ruff said. Buffalo was resilient last spring in reaching the Eastern Conference finals, which it lost in Game 7 to Carolina, despite eventually missing five regulars, including four defensemen. "Maybe we get some of the injuries out of the way now, and get healthy for later in the year," Ruff said. Spacek's hand was already in a soft cast when he spoke to reporters following the game. "I knew it was broken right away," said Spacek, who was hurt after blocking Mark Giordano's snap shot. Spacek, the Sabres top free-agent addition last summer, was playing his first game back after missing three with a knee injury. His 20 points (five goals and 15 assists) in 53 games rank second among Buffalo defensemen.

Flyers trade C Forsberg for package of players, picks

The Philadelphia Flyers hope trading Peter Forsberg a second time brings better results. The center of trade rumors the past few weeks, Forsberg on Thursday was traded to the Nashville Predators for a combination of young players and draft picks.
In return for the Swedish superstar, the Flyers received right wing Scottie Upshall, defensive prospect Ryan Parent and first- and third-round selections in the upcoming draft in June from the Predators, who entered Thursday with a league-leading 81 points. Upshall was chosen sixth overall in 2002, while Parent was the 18th player taken in the 2005 draft. Drafted sixth overall by the Flyers in 1991, Forsberg was part of the package Philadelphia sent to Quebec for Eric Lindros in June 1992. He went on win the Calder Trophy in 1995 as well as the Art Ross and Hart Trophies in 2003 and helped the Colorado Avalanche to Stanley Cup championships in 1996 and 2001. Built up as a can't-miss prospect who was drafted first overall by the Nordiques in 1991, five picks ahead of Forsberg, Lindros refused to play for Quebec and landed in Philadelphia for a package of six players, two draft selections and $15 million. Despite winning the Hart Trophy in 1995 and leading the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals two years later, Lindros was deemed a disappointment in Philadelphia, sustaining numerous concussions that kept him out of the lineup for long periods of time and becoming involved in a bitter feud with then-general manager Bob Clarke before being shipped to the New York Rangers in August 2001. A healthy scratch from Philadelphia's lineup for Thursday's home game against Toronto, the 33-year-old Forsberg has recorded 11 goals and 29 assists in 40 games this season. The Swede, who is in the final year of a two-year, $11.5 million contract, has missed 16 games with a number of injuries, including groin, foot and back ailments. A three-time Olympian who led Sweden to the gold medal in the 2006 Torino Games, Forsberg has collected 246 goals and 610 assists in 680 career contests with the Quebec-Colorado franchise and Philadelphia. Upshall, 23, has appeared in 14 games with the Predators this season, registering two goals and an assist. In 77 NHL contests with Nashville, he has notched 11 tallies and 29 points. Parent, who turns 20 on March 17, has three goals and six assists in 32 games with Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League this campaign.

Buffalo 2, Edmonton 1, OT

Daniel Briere scored 62 seconds into overtime lifting the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

Maxim Afinogenov also scored for the Sabres, who rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win their fourth straight. Ryan Miller made 27 saves as Buffalo won its sixth straight home game, the team's longest streak since winning seven straight early into the 1999-2000 season.

Shawn Horcoff scored for Edmonton, which has lost two straight to start a critical seven-game road trip as it attempts to climb back into playoff contention. The defending Western Conference champions entered the night seven points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.

Briere scored on a 2-on-1 break and at the end of a long shift. Getting a pass from Jochen Hecht inside the Oilers zone, Briere patiently waited for defender Toby Petersen to slide past him. Then, stepping into the middle, Briere lifted a shot beating Dwayne Roloson over the right shoulder.

ya, that Forsberg trade was inevitable. Nashville got a fantastic player, who can mesh with any team. He is a true team guy. Predators are a lucky bunch. Watch out for them! They are Buffalos biggest competition...!

Oh, and the Leafs beat the Flyers last night. Apparently Forsberg was out for the pre-game skate, got the call about the trade, and left (expected...) So the Flyers were beaten even before the puck was dropped.
(gosh, I hate Bobby Clarke... what a d!ck)

wish we had Forsberg...


Sabres deal with mounting injuries

AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) -- Less than 24 hours after watching two more players go down with injuries, including second-leading scorer Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff refused to sulk.

"We still have a lot of good players," he said after Friday's practice. "We've got a good defense and we've got good goaltenders. We may be a little bit young up front now, but I'm excited about watching these guys play."

The guys Ruff referred to are rookies Drew Stafford and Clarke MacArthur, both of whom were called up from AHL Rochester on Thursday night following Buffalo's overtime win over Edmonton. They will replace Afinogenov, who needs surgery to repair a left wrist he broke in the second period after falling and landing awkwardly, and Jiri Novotny, who aggravated a high left ankle sprain with 7 minutes left when he checked Oilers defenseman Matt Greene.

Afinogenov is expected to miss at least six weeks, while Novotny is out indefinitely.

Last week Buffalo lost forward Paul Gaustad (torn tendon) for the season, and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek (broken left hand) for about a month.

"You look around and there have been cases where teams have lost key players and have been better at times," Ruff said. "You get a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of excitement from players that are getting the opportunity to play. I think that's what you're going to see."

The injuries come as the Sabres are gearing up for the stretch drive of the regular season. They also arrive less than two weeks before the trade deadline.

"This doesn't change my mind-set," Ruff said. "I'm excited about pushing forward."

Stafford and MacArthur already played in Buffalo this season. Stafford has two goals and five points in 19 games, while MacArthur was scoreless in two games. They both saw Afinogenov and Novotny go down while watching Thursday's game together in Rochester, and both received the call to pack their bags at nearly the same time.

"The pressure's on a little bit, but that makes for a better player," he said. "It's crunch time. They're going to expect a lot from me right off the bat.

Boston 4, Buffalo 3, SO

Two games into a critical six-game road trip, Boston Bruins coach Dave Lewis is pleased to find out his team still has plenty of fight in it. Petr Tenkrat scored the lone shootout goal and Tim Thomas stopped all eight shootout attempts in lifting the Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. It was a morale-building win considering how the Bruins responded after squandering a two-goal lead and after a bizarre finish to the second period, when it appeared Boston had escaped with a 3-2 edge. All of that changed when a video review showed Buffalo's Daniel Briere had scored with 53 seconds left in the frame. With the time put back on the clock, the Bruins were forced back on the ice after many of them had already undressed and were relaxing in their dressing room. Lewis was happy how his team maintained its composure. "We didn't get rattled because some of our craziness in the second period," Lewis said. "For us it's really important. It was something we really needed." Boston, coming off a 4-1 loss at the New York Islanders on Thursday improved to 1-1 in opening its road trip and has won five of seven overall. The Bruins (27-26-4) entered the night in 12th place in Eastern Conference -- eight points out of playoff contention. "Beating Buffalo is huge for our confidence, especially on this long trip," said Boston's Marc Savard, who had a goal and assist. The Sabres (39-15-5) not only lost the game but were also were unable to avoid another injury. Forward Ales Kotalik will miss at least Buffalo's next game -- Tuesday against Philadelphia -- after he limped off 5 minutes into the second period with what coach Lindy Ruff described only as a lower-body injury. Buffalo is already down five regulars after Maxim Afinogenov, the team's second-leading scorer, broke his left hand and Jiri Novotny twisted his left ankle in a 2-1 overtime win over Edmonton on Thursday. "It's tough," said Ruff, who noted Kotalik will have further tests to determine the extent of his injury. "We're looking at six guys out of the lineup. That's a sizable amount." Chris Drury, with his career-high 31st, and Drew Stafford also scored for the Sabres who snapped a four-game win streak and also lost for the first time in seven home games. Shean Donovan had a goal and an assist and Marco Sturm also scored for the Bruins, who won for the first time in seven trips to Buffalo. Fittingly, after what happened to the Bruins at the end of the second period, it was a video review that sealed their victory. Tenkrat, the Bruins' eighth shooter, scored when his snap shot was initially stopped by Ryan Miller, but the puck had enough momentum to dribble in under the goalie. Officials initially ruled Miller had made the save, but the goal was allowed to stand after replays showed the puck going in. For Tenkrat, the goal made up for a critical tripping penalty that led to one of the Sabres' two power-play goals at the end of the second period. "It was pretty bad for our team, they tied the game," Tenkrat said. "But I think we played a pretty good game tonight and we were hungry for the win." The win was also meaningful to Savard. He was already in the box for slashing when he received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for complaining after Tenkrat was penalized for tripping. The Sabres followed by scoring two power-play goals in a 47-second span to tie the score. "I'm taking the guys out for dinner tomorrow night because I feel pretty bad about the situation," Savard said. "It was something that I wish I had back, but we battled and we won."

THAT was a tough one to lose, but good game...

Leafs win on Saturday! We are now in Playoff posisiton! 8th place! Woo hoo!

and we really could use the spark of a trade. at least two or three bodies. even folks who cost no more than a pick.

8th place, congrats. better to make the playoffs than not.