Matt Hackett will not be going quietly back to AHL Rochester once Michal Neuvirth returns to good health. Hackett muscled up and kept the Sabre in the contest in Montreal by making 33 saves on 25 shots faced, including the first 31 he faced.
In the end, the pop-gun Buffalo offense wasted yet another goaltending performance.
The Sabres have now lost 10 of their last 12 games.
Team Canada Olympic gold medalist Carey Price made 24 saves for his fifth shutout of the season (24th of his career) for the Canadiens who now have won three in a row and six of their past seven.
With ten games remaining in the Sabres' season, it will be interesting to see which goalies will be getting the extended audition time. With Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth nursing injuries, Hackett appears to have stilen the net from Lieuwen.
In two games played, Hackett has a .958 save % and a 1.61 GAA.
Nathan Lieuwen has a 3.00 GAA and .903 save %.
Will Nolan ride Hackett in Smashville on Thursday night or will Lieuwen get the net?
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Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers returned from a five-game injury (elbow), only to be injured again on Tuesday night. Myers left the game at 6:15 of the third period after he was tripped and was sent careening off the goal post while on a 2-on-1 shorthanded breakaway. Myers returned to the game.
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Daniel Briere scored with 3:06 remaining on a power play for the Canadiens.
Thomas Vanek added an assist.
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Ville Leino isn't doing anything positive to squash the compliance buyout rumors that have swirling around him this season. Leino was paroled from Ted Nolan's dog house on Tuesday night in Montreal after sitting out the last two games for sloppy play and a lack of offense. You'd think that they guy would be grateful for the opportunity to play again.
Leino has a bagel in his "goals scored" column this season. He's being paid a king's ransom to score goals and to make plays. He's doing neither. He has 12 assists. Big deal.
On Tuesday morning, Leino was asked to comment about his pitiful offensive production. In typical Leino fashions, he was like "yeah, whatever".
Leino typical.
“I’m sure it weighs on me, too, but obviously there’s a lot of other guys on the team, too, that hasn’t been able to really help that much either,… he said..
Rather than be humble and contrite, Leino chose to take the low road. “There’s so much going on in here in the organization with how this team’s been lately,… he said, before acknowledging he “can’t really do anything about… .
Sabres fans are counting the days until Tim Murray can use one of his two compliance buyouts to get rid o Leino, who is signed through the 2016-17 season. Leino carries an oppressive annual cap hit of $4.5 million.
Thanks, Sabres.com
Leino's a veteran. He needs to be a better example for the kids in the room.
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Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula have issued this statement to express their condolences on the passing of Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, Jr.
"The entire Buffalo Sabres organization was saddened to learn of the passing of Ralph Wilson, Jr. His contributions to the city of Buffalo over his 50-plus years of owning the Bills were immeasurable and his legacy in Western New York and the sports world will be long-lasting. With his passion for the game and never-ending loyalty to the great fans of Buffalo, he embodied what all owners in sports strive to be. On behalf of the Buffalo Sabres, we would like to offer heartfelt condolences to his wife, Mary, the Wilson family and everyone in the Buffalo Bills organization."
---Buffalo Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula
Wilson was a Hall of Fame inductee owner and founder Ralph Wilson. He passed away at the age of 95 on Tuesday. Wilson was one of the original founders of the American Football League
Wilson founded the Buffalo Bills in 1960.
— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) March 25, 2014***