30dive Posted June 1, 2006 Author Posted June 1, 2006 Associated Press 6/1/2006 9:28:40 AM For nearly two weeks, the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres have fought to a standstill to see who will play for the Stanley Cup, so closing the intense series with a Game 7 seems fitting. In an Eastern Conference finals series tied 3-3, the Hurricanes' home-ice advantage might be the only discernible difference between evenly matched teams playing Thursday for the right to face Edmonton in the Stanley Cup finals. Five games have been decided by a goal, the last two in overtime. And throughout the series, momentum has turned with each shift. And another bad turn has emerged against the Sabres. Buffalo's already depleted blueline has taken another hit as defenceman Jay McKee will not be in the lineup. According to head coach Lindy Ruff, he has "a freak infection with his leg" from a cut he suffered earlier in the playoffs. It leaves the Sabres without four of their regular defencemen for Game 7. Related Info Ruff working around depleted defence Sabres rookie Pominville drawing attention Get Ready for Seven NHL Insiders I NHL Insiders II McKee is the team's top shot-blocker and best defensive player. He was a force in Buffalo's 2-1 overtime victory on Tuesday. He logged more than 26 minutes of ice time - third most on the team - was credited with five checks and blocked three shots. Teppo Numminen (hip flexor) had a setback after being limited to playing only 4:13 in Game 6. It had been Numminen's first game back after missing four with the injury. Buffalo is also down Henrik Tallinder (broken left arm) and Dmitri Kalinin (ankle). The Hurricanes and Sabres have always seemed to find a way to win when they needed to most. Now they're both preparing for a game that will leave the loser with the empty feeling that a season's worth of hard work went unfulfilled. "It's a great opportunity," Sabres co-captain Chris Drury said. "You don't know how many of these you're going to get in your career and your life. If we enjoy it and have a positive attitude going in with nothing to lose, I think we're going to be all right." Neither franchise has had much success in Game 7s. The Sabres are 1-4 while the Hurricanes are playing their first since moving before the 1997-98 season to North Carolina from Hartford, Conn., where the former Whalers went 0-3 in Game 7s. Still, few expected either team to even have this chance when the season began. The Hurricanes had missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons since making an unexpected run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2002. The Sabres hadn't won more than 37 games in a season since last making the playoffs in 2001. But with rule changes that sought to eliminate the defensive clutching and grabbing that bogged down scoring, these teams evolved into examples of what the post-lockout NHL hoped to be: fast-paced and offensive-minded. The formula was enough to carry each to 52 regular-season wins - franchise records for both - and two rounds worth of playoff victories. "This is kind of how we pretty much figured it would go," Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy and it certainly hasn't been." Now the question is which team will impose its brand of play well enough to advance. Considering the way the past three games have gone, it's impossible to predict. Carolina is the only team to win consecutive games, following a 4-0 road win in Game 4 - the only game to be decided by more than one goal - with a 4-3 overtime home win in Game 5 to put the Sabres on the brink of elimination. But Buffalo - which controlled play for much of Sunday's loss - came out with a dominating first period to take an early lead in Game 6 before getting a 2-1 overtime win on co-captain Daniel Briere's power-play goal. Don't expect the Sabres to change much heading into Thursday, either. "We're not going to approach it any differently," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think the way we have to approach Game 7: same intensity, same desperation." In the end, Carolina's biggest advantage could be playing at the RBC Center, where they were 31-8-2 in the regular season and have played in front of progressively louder playoff crowds. In 117 best-of-seven series that have gone to the final game, the home team has won 73 (62 percent), according to the NHL. Of course, that might not matter much in this series. "If you had told us at the start of the year that we'd be in Game 7 in the conference finals playing one game to go to the Stanley Cup, I think everyone in this locker room would have taken it," Carolina defenseman Glen Wesley said. "And that's the position that we're in. We've got home ice and we've got to make the best of it."
Taro T Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 McKee out for Game 7. I can't believe this run of bad luck... 701267[/snapback] Unless that reporter called Lindy from the West Coast, that article is 3 hours old. McKee's agent was on GR about an hour ago and said he was going to try to go to Carolina and made it sound more like he had a flu. I would expect someone more closely related to the Sabres to get the story before TSN would. I don't believe the "he's definitely out" story one bit. Not yet at least.
shrader Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Unless that reporter called Lindy from the West Coast, that article is 3 hours old. McKee's agent was on GR about an hour ago and said he was going to try to go to Carolina and made it sound more like he had a flu. I would expect someone more closely related to the Sabres to get the story before TSN would. I don't believe the "he's definitely out" story one bit. Not yet at least. 701278[/snapback] TSN regularly edits their stories without updating the time. They originally posted the story about McKee's health issue in the 9am hour, that's where the the time at the top of the article comes from.
kasper13 Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Lindy Ruff never said word one about Jay McKee. Not on WGR all AM, not on any of the 12pm newscasts. All that was said is that McKee is expected to be in Carolina sometime today. Nobody has a clue what his ilness/injury is and if he will or will not play tonight. In my opinion, unless McKee is dead, I expect him to play.
SilverNRed Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Let's Go Nath-An Paetsch!!! CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!!!!! Let's Go Nath-An Paetsch!!! CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!!!!! Let's Go Nath-An Paetsch!!! CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!!!!!
plenzmd1 Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Lindy Ruff never said word one about Jay McKee. Not on WGR all AM, not on any of the 12pm newscasts. All that was said is that McKee is expected to be in Carolina sometime today. Nobody has a clue what his ilness/injury is and if he will or will not play tonight. In my opinion, unless McKee is dead, I expect him to play. 701285[/snapback] Does anybody have GR on? I cannot get the stream
shrader Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Does anybody have GR on? I cannot get the stream 701289[/snapback] Jim Rome is on right now. They shut down the stream when any espn radio is on.
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 The flu? Didn't this happen before, circa 1994 and Bruce Smith? Take the flu shot people. Prediction....Buffalo 2-1, as Miller channels his inner Hasek with the game of his life. 701273[/snapback] Actually, Bruce Smith did get the flu shot. It's what knocked him out of the game.
Lurker Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 My head is spinning with all the conflicting reports. Sadly, this one seems the most definitive.
Dan Gross Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Also, the rest of the team was hit by that ray gun in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and there's no time to fix them. So the entire Sabres team is going to be 4 feet tall tonight. 701166[/snapback] On the plus side, the ray made Danny Briere taller...
Movinon Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Paul Hamilton just confirmed that McKee is out. 701312[/snapback] UNFREAKINBELIEVABLE
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Someone please tell me the last time a hockey team lost FOUR defensemen in the playoffs. Darin? Lori? Hockey Sherpa? Bueller? Bueller? This is such bad !@#$ing karma I can only laugh...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Someone please tell me the last time a hockey team lost FOUR defensemen in the playoffs. Darin? Lori? Hockey Sherpa? Bueller? Bueller? This is such bad !@#$ing karma I can only laugh... 701327[/snapback] bad luck. karma is earned, and in no way have these guys EARNED this much hardship.
KD in CA Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 I just checked into my hotel near RDU......room #113. I hope it's not a bad sign. LET'S GO SABRES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like A Mofo Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Someone please tell me the last time a hockey team lost FOUR defensemen in the playoffs. Darin? Lori? Hockey Sherpa? Bueller? Bueller? This is such bad !@#$ing karma I can only laugh... 701327[/snapback] Just had a thought before: I remember some baseball fans saying that it took a miracle comeback for the Sox to finally beat the yankees, almost saying that it would take something so off the wall and unlikely, that it was almost fitting the red sox won the world series by becoming the only team to come back from 0-3 in MB history to win a series. Maybe if you sit and think about it, Sabres are without 4 top d men...and Connolly...all looks bleak and it looks like a typical way for buffalo to lose right? Maybe this is exactly the setting needed for a Buffalo team to break through, rise above almost impossible odds, and win it all. Im trying any good karma at this point!
Ramius Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Someone please tell me the last time a hockey team lost FOUR defensemen in the playoffs. Darin? Lori? Hockey Sherpa? Bueller? Bueller? This is such bad !@#$ing karma I can only laugh... 701327[/snapback] ITs like someone, somewhere doesnt want the sabres ot win. Or they are just testing the patience and heart of the sabres, ala the 2004 sox.
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Just had a thought before: I remember some baseball fans saying that it took a miracle comeback for the Sox to finally beat the yankees, almost saying that it would take something so off the wall and unlikely, that it was almost fitting the red sox won the world series by becoming the only team to come back from 0-3 in MB history to win a series. Maybe if you sit and think about it, Sabres are without 4 top d men...and Connolly...all looks bleak and it looks like a typical way for buffalo to lose right? Maybe this is exactly the setting needed for a Buffalo team to break through, rise above almost impossible odds, and win it all. Im trying any good karma at this point! 701336[/snapback] Again, Karma is EARNED and not given as some think it is. In NO WAY has this perennial underdog earned this kind of grief.
Crap Throwing Monkey Posted June 1, 2006 Posted June 1, 2006 Just had a thought before: I remember some baseball fans saying that it took a miracle comeback for the Sox to finally beat the yankees, almost saying that it would take something so off the wall and unlikely, that it was almost fitting the red sox won the world series by becoming the only team to come back from 0-3 in MB history to win a series. Maybe if you sit and think about it, Sabres are without 4 top d men...and Connolly...all looks bleak and it looks like a typical way for buffalo to lose right? Maybe this is exactly the setting needed for a Buffalo team to break through, rise above almost impossible odds, and win it all. Im trying any good karma at this point! 701336[/snapback] There's hope, then there's wishful thinking, then there's delusion. Where are you right now?
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