Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres premiered the movie, “Dominik Hasek: Always the Goalie” on Friday, which went back to when the Hall-of-Famer first took the ice at 6-years-old, right up until his last season playing pro in the Czech Republic.
Hasek hadn’t seen it before the premiere and said,
“I’m very excited about this movie and they informed me about two or three years ago that the Sabres wanted to produce a movie about me and I say, ‘OK’ so they came to the Czech Republic, they talked to people from my childhood, they talked to my parents, they talked to my teammates and now I get to see a movie about myself and I’m very excited.”
The team offered to show Hasek parts of the movie, but he declined because he wanted to see it for the first time with everyone else in the theater.
When Hasek was here he started ‘Hasek’s Heroes’ which helps under-privileged kids get equipment and ice-time to learn and play hockey. It’s something near and dear to him and he comes back every year to check on it and even take the ice with the kids. The former NHL Hart Trophy winner said,
“In the movie I say Buffalo is my second home and it’s true, and I spent here nine unbelievable seasons and this community and city will always stay in my heart and same important is ‘Hasek’s Heroes.’
In the last season before I was traded to Detroit I started this program and through 35 years I’m in touch with these people that are in charge of this hockey program. I like to come back and see my friends and the Buffalo Sabres, but I think this hockey program is important to me and the main reason I come back to this city every year.”
In 2007-08, Hasek played four games with the Red Wings and then retired at the age of 42. Many things have changed in the NHL since then including goaltending,
“I’ll be honest, these goalies are better, the game changed and the goalie style changed, they are sliding, they play a different way than I did, I was more up and down goalie, I liked to go butterfly, I poke checked, I jumped, the game is changing, the players are better and the goalies are better.”
Hasek said with a laugh that sometimes the goaltending styles now are “A little bit boring.”
After losing five straight games to the Montreal Canadiens, the Sabres have beaten them twice in January. With a record of 20-3-1 in their last 24 games, the Sabres are third in the Atlantic Division with a points percentage of .632. Montreal is in Wild Card position No. 1 at .620
With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen injured, Lindy Ruff has decided to go away from alternating goalies and use Alex Lyon for the second-straight game.
Lyon has a team record 10-straight wins, where he has registered a 1.89 goals-against average and a save percentage is .934.
Overall this season, Lyon is 13-6-3 with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
The Sabres are now sixth in the NHL in goals for averaging 3.40 goals per game.
Josh Norris and Jacob Bryson returned to the ice from injury on Saturday. Ruff said Norris will practice on Sunday and they’ll see how he’s doing before deciding if he’ll wait until after the Olympic break to return. Norris said when he’s ready, he expects to play right away. He admitted he got hurt both when he got checked into the wall and then when he got in a scrum right afterwards getting cross checked. Ruff said Bryson should be available for the two Florida games and that Jordan Greenway is a game-time decision for Saturday.
Montreal has two-straight wins, and they were impressive against the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights. Overall they’ve won 4-of-6, but are 4-3-1 in their last eight games.
Jakub Dobes won both those games and is 7-0-1 in his last eight games. In that time he has a 2.58 goals against and .898 save percentage. Overall he’s 17-5-3 with a 2.96 goals against and .890 save percentage.
Cole Caufield has 30 goals in 54 games. He just had his six-game goal scoring streak broken scoring nine goals. Nick Sukuki leads Montreal in scoring with 18 goals and 44 assists for 62 points in 54 games.
Join Brian Koziol and myself for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. when you’ll hear from Ruff, Hasek and Norris.