Sabres notebook: Myers takes big hit to set up big goal
Published: October 09, 2009, 12:41 am
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The biggest Buffalo Sabre took a big hit to create a big goal and get his first NHL point.
Rookie defenseman Tyler Myers jumped an errant clearing pass and was totally cool under pressure as he fed Clarke MacArthur for the goal that pulled the Sabres even with the Phoenix Coyotes early in the third period Thursday night.
Myers was drilled just after he passed the puck, from the front by one Phoenix player and from the rear by Coyotes captain Shane Doan. The 6-foot-8 Myers was briefly in a crumpled heap inside the Coyotes' zone before regaining his wind.
"I noticed the D-man [Keith Yandle] trying to flip it out of the zone and he didn't quite get all of it," Myers said. "So I stepped in and grabbed it, found Clarkie and I kind of got blindsided. But it felt good."
"It was unbelievable, wasn't it?" said MacArthur. "I think his wingspan was about 10 feet in the air there when he knocked it down. He made a great pass to me, took a big hit and that says a lot about him."
It appeared Myers struck his head on the ice as his helmet was jarred by Doan's hit from behind.
"It was just one of those plays where [Doan] came back from out of the zone and I didn't see him," Myers said. "We were fortunate to get the tying goal out of it and get the win out of it. I got winded pretty bad and couldn't breathe for a few seconds. After that, I was fine."
Just as he was during Saturday's opener against Montreal, Myers was impressive. He played 19 minutes, 49 seconds — fourth on the team behind Craig Rivet (22:55), Chris Butler (21:18) and Tim Connolly (20:18). And Myers also played more than 7½ minutes on special teams.
"He was very good again," said coach Lindy Ruff. "A real nice play [on the goal]. Showed nice composure to keep it in and not just deposit it somewhere. He had his head up and found Clarke and then Clarke did a great job driving the net and scoring the goal. It was a good answer for their goal."
"He's from the Western Hockey League. He's a tough kid. I know that," joked MacArthur, a fellow WHL alum. "To not back out but to stay in the zone like that and have the composure to do that, it was a great play by him."
Teppo Numminen, who retired in the offseason, made use of his leisure time Thursday by visiting two of his former teams. The longtime defenseman spent the final four of his 21 seasons in Buffalo. He started his career with the Winnipeg Jets in 1988 and stayed with the organization for 15 seasons, including its first seven years in Phoenix.
Numminen remains Phoenix's all-time leader in games played at 1,098. Current Coyotes captain Shane Doan is second at 967.
Numminen still lives in the Buffalo area and said he was taking this season off before deciding on his next career path.
Tickets for the Portland Pirates' game here against Rochester Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. went on sale Thursday. They are priced from $15-$25. The Sabres' current affiliate and their former one will also play here on Sunday, March 7 at 4 p.m. Those tickets are not yet currently available.
The Pirates played their first game at HSBC in February against Albany, drawing a franchise-record crowd of 11,144.
• The Sabres are holding an online auction for a game-worn set of alternate jerseys from last season at Sabres.com. Each jersey comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Also available is used equipment from goaltender Ryan Miller. The auction concludes Oct. 18 at 9 p.m. with portions of the proceeds benefitting the Sabres Foundation.
• The Sabres were just 20 of 54 on faceoffs. They were 33 of 62 in Saturday's loss to Montreal.
• Veteran referee Bill McCreary, who is retiring after the season, worked his 1,600th NHL game.
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