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head coach: Lindy Ruff

roster: C - Mike Peca, Derek Plante, Brian Holzinger, Wayne Primeau, Eric Rasmussen. LW - Geoff Sanderson, Miroslav Satan, Michal Grosek, Paul Kruse, Denis Hamel. RW - Donald Audette, Matthew Barnaby, Dixon Ward, Rob Ray, Vaclav Varada. D - Alexei Zhitnik, Darryl Shannon, Jay McKee, Mike Wilson, Bob Boughner, Richard Smehlik, Jason Woolley, Jason Holland, Rumun Ndur, Jean Luc Grand-Pierre. G - Dominik Hasek, Steve Shields, Martin Biron.

injuries: Michael Peca, c, (knee, 7 days); Paul Kruse, lw (knee, 14 days).

transactions: Recalled from Rochester (AHL): Martin Biron, g; Jason Holland, d; Jean Luc Grand-Pierre, d; Rumun Ndur, d; Eric Rasmussen, c; Denis Hamel, lw.

standings:

Eastern Conference - Northeast Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA    
y-Pittsburgh 82  40  24  18    98  228  188 
x-Boston     82  39  30  13    91  221  194  
x-Buffalo    82  36  29  17    89  211  187  
x-Montreal   82  37  32  13    87  235  208  
x-Ottawa     82  34  33  15    83  193  200  
Carolina     82  33  41   8    74  200  219   

y - Clinched division
x - Clinched playoff spot

game results:

04/08 Carolina        W 3-1
04/10 Montreal        W 2-1
04/11 at Ottawa       T 4-4
04/13 Philadephia     W 2-1
04/15 at New Jersey   L 5-4
04/18 at Montreal     T 3-3
04/19 Ottawa          L 2-1

team news:

by Joe Brunner, Buffalo Correspondent

The Sabres finished the season on a disappointing note, managing just one point in the final three games when fourth place in the Eastern Conference was there for the taking. Instead of playing Washington or Boston and having home ice advantage, the Sabres must take their act on the road and face the hated Flyers.

Dominik Hasek came down with the flu, missed the Devils game and clearly wasn't well when he returned to face Montreal. To add more misery to their woes, Mike Peca and Paul Kruse went down with knee injuries in the Devils game. Peca should be back by the first or second game of the Flyers series, but Kruse appears to be gone until the second round if the Sabres are fortunate to get that far. The physical presence provided by Kruse will be sorely missed against a much bigger Flyer team. If things weren't bad enough, it's also been revealed that rookie Curtis Brown is suffering from the flu. Brown has been one of the few Sabres scoring goals lately on a regular basis.

Although the playoff picture appears bleak, the Sabres do have a good shot at defeating Philly. Let's face it, the Flyers haven't exactly been on a roll the last couple months. And their goaltending... well, we know all about that. If the Sabres can stick to a tight, disciplined, defensive style game they have a real chance at pulling a major upset. Of course, I'm assuming that Dominik Hasek has put his playoff troubles behind him and will show the same form he displayed when he led the Czechs to Olympic gold.

The Flyers have shown they're vulnerable to speed in the transition game. A winning strategy for Buffalo might be to allow them to have their shots from the outside, and try to burn them on the rush. Sure, Buffalo will be outshot 35-20 every game, but with Philly's goaltending that might be good enough. My advice to the Sabres is to shoot from the red line if Hextall is in the nets. And if Burke is in goal a good strategy is to start up the "wife beater" chant when the series returns to Buffalo.

This should be a highly entertaining series for fans of both teams. Matt Barnaby, whose act is always popular in Philly, has indicated he's considering bringing back the silver teeth caps with the Sabres logo for the playoffs.

The Sabres finally closed the door on the public relations disaster that plagued them in the off-season by firing president and CEO, Larry Quinn. Quinn, who drew most of the fan's wrath for his handling of John Muckler, Ted Nolan, and Pat LaFontaine, was replaced by Mike Rigas, who also happens to be the son of new owner John Rigas. Ron Bertovich, who was with Adelphia cable's Empire Sports Network, will handle Quinn's administrative duties. Usually when someone gets the ax people express some sympathy for the guy, regardless of how poorly he performed on the job. In Quinn's case, I have to report that the only feeling in Buffalo was warm and fuzzy.

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