The Sabres said all the right things about the Boston Bruins after practice Monday. If revenge against Milan Lucic is on their mind, you sure wouldn't know it. While it's reasonable to think the fan base is at least interested in a pound of flesh as it is with two points, the Sabres tried to give us the business-as-usual approach.
"I don't know what the fans are wanting," insisted Paul Gaustad. "We want to get a win. I think that's what we have to focus on: Playing our game, execute our system and try to win. ... We have to address it as taking care our business of executing the game. We're trying to win the two points. You have to focus on our systems and execute what they'll do with their systems."
Lucic, of course, said after the game in Boston the Bruins were a different team and would never allow their goalie to get steamrolled. So he bruised the Sabres on the ice and again after the game. What was Gaustad's reaction to that?
"I don't watch the media or read the newspapers," he said. "So I don't know exactly what he said. It's his opinion and we tried to put that in the past and focus on the stretch of games we've had here."
"All that other stuff, you can't think about it or talk about it too much," added defenseman Robyn Regehr. "You have to try to win a game. There's certain things that happen spontaneously and so be it. It happesn when you're playing a good hard physical, aggressive game. I don't think there's going to be any sort of premediated stuff if that's what you're implying. First and foremost, let's win this hockey game."
The only sign came from Lindy Ruff, who first tried to feign ignorance when asked if the NHL had made any pre-emptive phone call yet to the teams. Then Ruff admitted, "We're all smart enough. As the cowboy would say, 'This ain't my first rodeo.' "
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
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Boston Bruins | Sabres
