Top Notes
- The Sabres were shut out for the second time this season (last: 2/12 at OTT, 2-0).
- Christian Ehrhoff led all Sabres with a TOI of 25:53; Ehrhoff’s average TOI of 24:57 is the highest by a Sabres skater since Alexei Zhitnik (25:01) in 2003-04.
- Jason Pominville led all forwards on either team with a TOI of 21:53. Pominville’s average TOI of 20:46 is the highest by a Sabres forward since Miroslav Satan averaged 25:01 in 2003-04.
Top Quotes
Sabres defenseman Christian Ehrhoff:
On chain reaction of Islanders goals: “It’s unacceptable; we put ourselves in that position again. We had a lot of chances on the power play but it was a chain and got away again.”
On frustrating play throughout game and changing that: “It’s frustrating. You have to put it behind you. You have to go out there next time with confidence and keep going back at it; don’t be sorry for yourself. We put ourselves in that situation and it’s up to us to get us out of it again.”
On what happened during the Grabner goal in the second period: “Obviously, Grabner was cheating on that and I should know and I’m out against him on the ice. He gets about a breakaway once a game. Obviously, against him out there I cannot make that play.”
Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers:
On frustration and getting another loss: “Until we commit to a simple game we’re going to keep getting the same result. It’s frustrating because we’re doing a lot of great things out there but simple things just like getting the puck deep, until we start committing to doing that for a full 60 minutes, its going to be tough.”
On allowing two goals in the final minutes of the second period: “We talked about it during the second intermission; we thought we were playing a solid game and then all of a sudden it looks like we get a little nervous that it’s going to happen again. Until we start getting the mindset of dictating it’s going to be really tough. ”
On allowing the first goal: “I don’t like the way we react if the other team scores first. It’s almost like, ‘here we go again’ instead of to put it behind you and go out in the next shift. It’s a mindset that we have to grasp as a team if we want to start winning.”
Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov:
On the scrum at the end of the game: “Honestly, all they were thinking was there was 10 seconds left to give up a goal. I don’t think he did anything on purpose, he just tried to bring the puck to the net and see what could happen. I don’t think he did anything that bad.
On his play in the second period: “They put a lot of guys in front of me and I was able to find the puck. You know, sometimes it’s funny how it works; you look the right way sometimes and sometimes you think you are looking the right way but the puck is going the wrong way, and today every time I tried to look or even sometimes guess where the puck was going to go even if I had no chance to see it, it would just hit me. It’s a game; sometimes those go in and sometimes they don’t.”
Islanders forward Colin McDonald:
On the power plays: “Buffalo kept us in the game. They had five or six power plays to zero of ours, so they kept us in the game and we just had the feeling that we were going to get the next one if they kept turning off but it wasn’t the case tonight.”
On Evgeni Nabokov’s shutout and the win: “I mean, what more can you say, right? He probably made about five or six grade-A saves and, again, we were generating a good amount offensively and our guys did a good job just sticking with the game plan and it was a good win for us.”
On scoring: “Yeah, you know, I’m not here to score but if you get that chance it obviously feels good to score on a win like that and first goal on a power play, too. I probably won’t get another power play shift all year, so it was a good win.”
Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky:
On the game: “I thought it was pretty good. We did a lot of really good things and we obviously wanted it from the start and I think we did a good job of getting going, so for us it was a good win.”
On managing the puck: “I think we did pretty good. Obviously, the system that they play they like the take the puck to the middle of the ice and I think as a whole five-man game we did a good job of just trying to find the short plays and the short passes. When you — most of the time — do the high-percentage plays, it is going to make your job a lot easier and I think we did a really good job of going to the middle when we had it and I think puck management was really good.”
On tomorrow’s game against Carolina: “We don’t want to get in any track meet with any team. That is not really our style and we want to play our system. Our previous Carolina game was a couple weeks ago and it’s far forgotten. Obviously, we just want to keep on the path and keep our playoff spot. Tomorrow is no different from our game tonight; we just have to keep our focus. Tonight we will enjoy for 10-15 minutes, but once we are on the plane, we are all business and getting ready for tomorrow night.”
