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Thursday, Oct. 5 7:00pm ET
Hasek day-to-day; Sabres win | |||||
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BOX SCORE
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- With Dominik Hasek back for one more season, Mika Noronen was considered the Buffalo Sabres' goalie of the future. When Hasek went down with a sprained ligament behind his left kneecap Thursday night, Noronen was thrust into the present. The 21-year-old rookie, making his NHL debut, stopped 15 shots over 48 minutes as the Sabres opened their season with a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. "Between the first and second period, (Hasek) wished me luck," an admittedly nervous Noronen said. "He said, 'C'mon, try to play well."' And Noronen delivered. "I can't do anything else other than try to go out there and try to relax," said Noronen, last year's American Hockey League rookie of the year. "I was a little bit nervous the whole game. I had to be happy that our defense played great today." With regular backup Marty Biron still unsigned, Noronen may have to match his effort Saturday against Los Angeles. Although the injury is not as serious as initially feared, Hasek is day to day. He said he might be ready for Saturday, but is aiming for next week when the Sabres take off for a three-game road trip. "I felt really big pain and my knee got shifted a little bit, but fortunately it's not so bad," said Hasek, who missed 40 games with a groin injury last season. J.P. Dumont, playing against his former team for the first time since he and Doug Gilmour were traded to Buffalo last March, Miroslav Satan, Maxim Afinogenov and Richard Smehlik scored for the Sabres. Gilmour had two assists. Up 2-1, Afinogenov put the game away when he pounced on Eric Daze's turnover at the Chicago blue line and cut in alone, flipping the puck over Jocelyn Thibault 1:13 into the third. Noronen gave up goals to Jean-Yves Lerous and Anders Eriksson. "Overall, for being thrown into the fire, and not being prepared to play, it was a very good showing," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. Hasek agreed after watching the rest of the game on TV. "It's good to have someone who could step up and play well," he said. Hasek was hurt 11:35 in when Buffalo defenseman Jay McKee bowled over Tony Amonte during a scramble in front. Amonte then fell forward into the crease, coming down hard on the back of Hasek's left leg. Getting up quickly, Hasek headed straight for the bench and then the locker room, throwing his blocker and stick on the ice in a fit of frustration. McKee said it was a freak accident. "When guys are jamming, our job is not to play the puck but to knock guys down," McKee said. "(Hasek) said after, he was a little bit worried at first. ... But any time you feel a little jolt in the leg or the knee it's going to scare you." Amonte hoped Hasek wasn't seriously hurt. "I was a little off balance and I think one of their defense just tried to clear me out from the front of the net and I just fall on him innocently," Amonte said. The Blackhawks power-play struggled, going 1-for-7. "We had all these chances with the power play and couldn't score. And we gave up a couple of very soft goals," Chicago's Alpo Suhonen said following his NHL-coaching debut. "I guess the more experienced team won, in the sense that they've been used to winning." Suhonen, of Finland, became the NHL's second European-born coach when he was hired this offseason. Ivan Hlinka, the former coach of the Czech Republic national team, was named Penguins coach shortly after. The only other European-born coach was Johnny Gottselig, also with Chicago from 1944-48. Game notesWith Hasek questionable, Sabres goalie coach Jim Corsi joked about suiting up Saturday. ... Sabres first-round draft pick Barrett Heisten has jumped to Seattle of the Western Hockey League. Although the Sabres have until June 1 to sign the left wing, Heisten threatened to wait in order to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. ... The Blackhawks dealt defenseman Brad Brown and left wing Michal Grosek to the New York Rangers, while acquiring New York defenseman Stephane Quintal off waivers. Quintal watched the game from the stands and is expected to make his Blackhawks debut Saturday. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Chicago Clubhouse Buffalo Clubhouse Quintal waived by Rangers, claimed by Blackhawks
RECAPS Ottawa 4 Boston 4
Buffalo 4 AUDIO/VIDEO   J.P. Dumont goes top-shelf on Jocelyn Thibault.avi: 719 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | |||||