Buffalo Sabres Daily Newspaper Clips

Transcription

1 Buffalo Sabres Daily Newspaper Clips November 19, 2010

2 Miller gets a start in the cereal game Kick-Save Krunch hits local store shelves By Mike Harrington Buffalo News There was plenty of hype a decade ago over Flutie Flakes. Terrell Owens had T.O.'s last year. Now comes Ryan Miller's Kick-Save Krunch. The Buffalo Sabres goaltender had a news conference after practice Thursday in HSBC Arena to unveil his entry into the cereal game, a toasted honey oats product that will see some of the proceeds go to Miller's Steadfast Foundation that supports children and their families fighting cancer. The cereal is now available at Wegmans, Tops and Wilson Farms. The box features a stern-looking Miller wearing his U.S. Olympic mask that features the muscular Uncle Sam caricature. "[The name is] catchy," Miller said. "That's what we're going for, something just to have fun with the hockey goaltending element." Fans can also purchase limited edition New Era caps featuring the Uncle Sam character through an offer detailed on the box, and get an electronic trading card of Miller by texting or photographing a code off the box panel. "As we started to bundle everything together, it became a vehicle for Steadfast and New Era had a great idea making this cap a special piece," Miller said. "There's really only one mask and I'm keeping that but this is a chance for fans to have a little bit of that." This is a big weekend for Miller with the Sabres hosting back-to-back home games followed by his foundation's fifth annual Catwalk for Charity in the Town Ballroom on Sunday night. "As [Steadfast] has evolved and progressed, we're trying to find unique ways to raise money and awareness," he said. "This kind of goes along with it. I'm happy to have an opportunity to get people to pay attention and this is something that's fun." Miller also had some fun during a photo/video shoot for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine a couple weeks ago at Park Country Club. Athletes were chosen to do an impression from a favorite movie, and Miller did a knockout one of Bill Murray as groundskeeper Carl Spackler from "Caddyshack." "Just trying to have fun, be a little bit goofy," Miller said. "They told me it couldn't be a sports movie but I begged them." Coach Lindy Ruff said captain Craig Rivet will likely return to the lineup this weekend. Rivet has sat out the last five games after a bout of food poisoning but has been healthy enough to play for the last few days. If Rivet goes back in, Chris Butler would likely sit. Rivet and Butler split time in drills playing with Shaone Morrisonn. Ruff said Patrick Kaleta could play Friday night in HSBC Arena against Los Angeles based on how he feels after the morning skate. Kaleta skated fully on Thursday. The Sabres entered Thursday's play 27th in the NHL on the power play at just 11.1 percent. They're just 3 for 35 at home on the season and 9 for 78 overall in the last nine games but finally, there are signs of life. Derek Roy scored a power-play goal in the second period Wednesday and there were several chances to put away the tying goal on a late opportunity in the third period. The Sabres had 12 shots on goal on the PP Monday against Vancouver, going 0 for 3, and 11 more at Washington. They were 1 for 3 in that game. "It's doing better things," Ruff said. "We could have easily had three or four [Wednesday] but we didn't. I can talk about the opportunities but we've got to convert them. We converted one which was good but the opportunities we had late, we've got to turn them into a goal." Friday night, however, is a tough task. Los Angeles entered Thursday leading the NHL in penalty killing at 90.1 percent -- and is perfect at home (35 for 35). "Lately our power play has been doing a better job getting chances, shots through and traffic in front and getting rewards for it," added Jason Pominville. "It's important you generate momentum off it. We've scored a couple goals. Hopefully we can keep doing those things." Just 20 games into the season, Jordan Leopold is more than halfway to setting a new career high in goals. Leopold had nine goals for Calgary in

3 and scored his fifth of this season Wednesday. He leads Buffalo defensemen in goals and has seven points (two goals, five assists) over the last seven games. The empty-net goal with 3.2 seconds left Wednesday by Washington's Alexander Semin ended the Sabres' run of six straight one-goal games, which had tied a franchise record set three other times. The only time it happened without shootouts was in the season.... The Sabres allowed their third three-on-five goal of the season in the loss to the Capitals, tying Philadelphia for the NHL lead in goals against while facing two-man disadvantages. Lalime plays the waiting game Sabres' backup goalie remains upbeat, vows to be ready if called upon to start By Mike Harrington Buffalo News Patrick Lalime comes to practice with a smile, is good with his teammates on the ice and in the locker room, works late after practice. He even talks to reporters with a smile. And then the Buffalo Sabres' backup goaltender takes his seat on the bench. The Sabres play the next two evenings in HSBC Arena, Friday night against the Los Angeles Kings and Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and it seems likely Ryan Miller will be in goal for both games. So Lalime, who doesn't have a win this year and hasn't played since Nov. 5, waits his turn. And waits. And waits some more. "I'm not doing bad," Lalime said after practice Thursday. "It's not even two weeks [between games] so I've seen longer stretches than that. I'll practice and be ready." So does Lalime think he'll get in this weekend? "You're asking the wrong guy now," he said with his big grin. "I don't know. I'll know more in the next day or so." Coach Lindy Ruff, the right guy, doesn't tip his hand on goaltenders much in public. But he'll often say if Lalime is going to be in on an upcoming set of back-to-backs. Asked about it after practice Thursday, Ruff didn't seem to give Lalime much backing that his time is coming. "We'll give that some thought," the coach said. "We haven't etched anything into the schedule yet but we're still where I feel it's a real desperate stage. We need our best players to play and our best players to be big for us. That's on the offensive side of it, the defensive side and that goes for our goaltending as well." If Lalime doesn't go this weekend, you would think he would get a chance Nov. 27 in Montreal. That would be the last of another set of three games in four nights, capped by a backto-back. In four games this year (three starts), Lalime is 0-3 with a 3.31 goals-against average and an.888 save percentage. Those pedestrian numbers are trumped by these: Lalime is just in his three years with the Sabres. The theory about Lalime, who signed another one-year deal with Buffalo over the summer, has been easy: He's great in the locker room and Miller loves having him as a confidante/mentor. But Jhonas Enroth is coming. Sent back to Portland with Miller and Lalime both healthy, Enroth won back-to-back games in shootouts for the Sabres when they were reeling. You wonder what happens if Lalime puts out a poor performance in his next outing. Can the Sabres continue to keep him on the roster and keep Enroth in Portland? Especially if Ruff, who has notoriously little faith in backup goalies, has more confidence in using the youngster on days Miller needs rest rather than Lalime, it seems likely the Sabres brass has to be contemplating a switch at the position. "It's something you can't really start focusing on this or that," Lalime said. "You have to focus on your job you have to do. Just focus on my job here and they make the call for the rest of it. That's all I can do. "You have to look at the positive all the time. That's how I've been told since I was younger. My parents told me to learn from your mistakes. You have to learn from the positives in every situation." Two of Lalime's three starts this year were pretty solid. But the Oct. 16 game in Chicago and Nov. 5 game here against Montreal were both onegoal losses in which Lalime let in a relatively soft goal that helped become the difference in the game. His other loss, in the Sabres' 4-0 no-show defeat Oct. 30 in Dallas, saw Lalime make a season-high 37 saves.

4 Lalime works dutifully with goaltending coach Jim Corsi before and after practice, making sure he's ready whenever his call comes. It's a tough task. "It's repetition," he said. "We're going over a lot of game situation: Guys in front, screens, tips, whatever. You just try to feel good about a lot of situations out there." Lalime said he's trying not to make too much of a game each time he gets a call, a common trap that backups fall into. "You can't think like that," he said. "I've worked on it the last few years. Whenever you get a game, you try to play like you've been playing the last five or six. In your mind, you just go and play. Don't make too big of a deal of it." Sabres' Miller Introduces 'Kick-Save Krunch' WGR 550 On Thursday afternoon, Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller held a press conference to introduce his newest endeavor, a cereal that benefitted charities that the netminder works closely with. The cereal, aptly coined 'Kick-Save Krunch,' will benefit The Steadfast Foundation with a portion of its proceeds. Miller started the non-profit foundation to support and provide resources to children and their families who are fighting cancer. When Miller was first approached about developing the breakfast cereal, he talked about the decision to get involved. "I didn't know what to think at first. But once we started to bundle everything together and it became a vehicle for Steadfast, and a chance for people who honestly have followed the Olympics or have kind of caught up in it," said Miler. "New Era had a great idea making this kind of a special piece. There's really only one mask, and I'm keeping it. So this is a chance for fans to have a little bit of that and have a little bit of fun. It's really what it's all about. Can we get the word out about what we feel is important as far as helping here in Western New York at Roswell and helping the families and the people affected with cancer. And can we add just a little bit of fun to it." The cereal is produced by the same folks that also made 'Flutie Flakes' and 'T.O.'s.' What does Miller think of the name of the product? "I thought it was catchy, that's what we're going for. Something just to have fun with the hockey goaltending element." Kick-Save Krunch is a honey nut toasted oat cereal and comes in a 14 oz limited edition collector s box. Fans can grab a box of Miller s cereal at Buffalo-area Tops, Wegmans and Wilson Farms stores starting immediately. The product is also available online at Sabres trying to turn the corner at home this weekend WGR 550 Most of the Sabres that talked to the media on Thursday mentioned that they are playing with more confidence even during their loss to the Capitals in Washington on Wednesday. Jason Pominville tried to sum it up as he told our Howard Simon that "it's definitely much better than it's been. We dug ourselves into a hole in the first but we played two good periods after that. I think previously we would stay in our shells and not really get out of it once they had the lead. I think our confidence is starting to be where we want it to be." Pominville also believes that this weekend should be a good test of the team's confidence. "We're starting to play better hockey at home. We want it to be a tough building to play in. Hopefully, we can build off of our last couple of efforts. Steve Montador was more to the point when describing what the team has to do to win. "Be consistent and keep it simple... We always knew we are a good hokcey team and now we are putting it together...we have the pieces in here to do something special." Montador also stressed that he thinks people are stressing the outcomes of the games and not taking into account the way the team is playing. He believes that in the NHL, "the difference between good and great are nil" when talk about how competitive the league is this year. Lindy Ruff was also specific in mentioning what the team needs to do to improve which centered on the efficiency of the Sabres' power play and getting more out of players like Jason Pominville. Ruff also mentioned that the team has had trouble keeping the lead in games like against Chicago and Vancouver. "We let them hang around and eventually we lose hockey games. The opportunities are there. We just

5 have to make sure we cash in and not let teams away." Ruff expects captain Craig Rivet back at some point this weekend while he was not as sure with Patrick Kaleta and will wait to see how he practices on Friday to make a decision. When asked if backup goalie Patrick Lalime would play, Ruff said a goalie rotation had not been set because "we're still where as I feel it is a real desperate stage and we need our best players to play and we need our best players to play big for us. That's on the offensive side and the defensive side and that goes for our goalie as well." Ruff: "We Need to Convert" By Adam Benigni WGRZ BUFFALO - The Sabres have won four of their last six games since struggling to start the season, but head coach Lindy Ruff says he needs more production out of his forwards. "You know some of those opportunities have to turn into goals." The Sabres are coming off a 4-2 loss at Washington on Wednesday night. The Sabres fell behind 3-0 in the game before battling back. The power play went 1-for-4 on the night. Ruff says the power play is generating chances, but needs to connect on more of them. "It's doing better things. You know we could have easily had three or four last night... you know again I can talk about the opportunities... we've got to convert them." The Sabres host Los Angeles Friday night, and then Tampa Bay on Saturday night. Ruff says he's looking for his team to do more than just win those games. "The opportunities are there. We just have to make sure we cash in and put teams away." Ruff says he expects captain Craig Rivet to return to the line-up at some point during the weekend. Rivet has battled a virus and with the Sabres winning, Ruff has elected to keep him out of the line-up. Ruff also said there was a chance Patrick Kaleta (upper body injury) could return to the line-up soon. Ruff said that no decision has been made as to whether back-up goaltender Patrick Lalime would play in the next two games. Have Breakfast with Ryan Miller By Allison Jagow WGRZ BUFFALO, NY- Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller announced his new cereal will be on sale starting Thursday. KICK-SAVE KRUNCH is a honey-nut toasted oat cereal and comes in a 14 oz. limited edition collector's box. Fans can purchase their box of Miller's cereal at any Tops, Wegmans, and Wilson Farms store in the area. "It's really what it's all about... can we get the word out as far as helping here at Roswell and helping the families and the people with cancer... and can we add just a little bit of fun to it." A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Steadfast Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides support and resources to children fighting cancer and their families. Miller is the founder of this organization. Ryan Miller gets a breakfast cereal By Don Postles WIVB BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - First Doug Flutie, then Terrell Owens, and now you can pour yourself a bowl of cereal from a box with a picture of Ryan Miller. It's on store shelves now, top shelf to bottom shelf. Ryan Miller hopes "Kick-Save Krunch" will be in your kitchen shelf soon. The Sabres goalie introduced the new breakfast food Thursday afternoon at HSBC Arena. The limited edition, blue box features a picture of the mask Miller wore during this year's Winter Olympics. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Steadfast Foundation, Miller's foundation for children and their families fighting cancer. "Number 30" is flattered to be the latest Buffalo sports legend honored at the breakfast table. "It's something fun, you know? Flutie had his going on. We'll see, but I remember that being popular, and I remember when I was younger hearing about that. So, hopefully, it is a big hit, and people like it," said Miller. Kick-Save Krunch is available now at Tops, Wegmans and Wilson Farms around western New York. It should "score" big with fans.

6 Los Angeles (12-5-0) at Buffalo ( ) By Matt Beardmore STATS LLC With their lengthy home winning streak and lead in the Western Conference gone, the Los Angeles Kings are heading east to try to get back on track. The Pacific Division-leading Kings look to avoid a third straight defeat when they open a fourgame trip Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres, who have dominated this series in western New York. After its season-high six-game winning streak was snapped Monday with a 6-3 loss in San Jose, Los Angeles (12-5-0) suffered its first home defeat after an start Wednesday, 5-3 to Columbus. The Kings also fell a point behind Detroit for the top spot in the West. "We don't like the way we've played here now in the last couple of games," coach Terry Murray told the Kings' official website. "A couple of those goals look pretty easy for them, and that's really out of character for us." Los Angeles, among the league leaders with 2.3 goals allowed per game, has surrendered as many goals during the last two games as it did in its previous eight. "We'll have to just tighten things up as we head out on the road," said Murray, whose team plays three times over the next four nights. While the Kings try for their second road win in this matchup after going with a tie in Buffalo since the beginning of the season, the Sabres (7-10-3) look to notch their third straight home win. Buffalo has scored seven goals in its last two games at HSBC Arena since averaging 1.9 during its worst start (0-6-1) at home in 17 years. In Buffalo for the next four games, the defending Northeast Division champions will try to rebound from Wednesday's 4-2 loss at Washington that snapped a five-game point streak and team-record five-game stretch of overtime contests. The Sabres went during that run. "After the third goal we really turned the corner," coach Lindy Ruff said Wednesday of his team trailing 3-0 less than 23 minutes in. "We made a lot of good plays, won the battles to create some of those chances. I didn't like our start. Obviously, that hurt us." The play of Derek Roy hasn't hurt the Sabres. The veteran center has three goals and nine points in the last six games, and he's registered a goal and six assists in five career matchups with Los Angeles. Roy scored and added two assists in the Kings' last visit, a 5-0 victory Dec. 19, Buffalo has outscored Los Angeles 23-4 in winning the last three meetings at HSBC Arena. The Sabres may have trouble producing another lopsided win as they'll likely face one of the league's top goaltenders in Jonathan Quick. Despite yielding a season high-tying four goals Wednesday, Quick is among the NHL's best with a 1.73 goals-against average and is off to the best start (10-2-0) by a goalie in franchise history. He is with a 2.40 GAA in two starts against the Sabres. Buffalo's Ryan Miller, with a 1.67 GAA in three home starts versus Los Angeles, made 40 saves in the Kings' last visit. It was the most shots he has turned away in any of his 17 shutouts. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner will try to snap forward Justin Williams' career-best 11- game point streak. He has seven goals and seven assists during the stretch. Up next for the Kings: Friday at Buffalo By Helene Elliott LA Times Kings' Justin Williams has an 11-game point streak and his linemate Jarret Stoll has an eightgame point streak. The Sabres are merely at home. AT BUFFALO When: 4:30 PST. Where: HSBC Arena. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: Records: Kings , Sabres Record vs. Sabres ( ):

7 Update: The Kings haven't won in Buffalo since Feb. 21, 2003 but they have played there only three times since. Losses at San Jose on Monday and at home to Columbus on Wednesday are the Kings' first back-to-back defeats this season. Justin Williams has an 11-game point streak, with seven goals and 14 points in that span, and his linemate Jarret Stoll has an eight-game point streak, with three goals and 10 points in that span. Left wing Scott Parse was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Tuesday and is expected to undergo hip labrum surgery next week. The Sabres are merely at home. Overall, they had won four of five games before losing at Washington on Wednesday.