4-6-07: Per his interviews with the media on Friday, Ruff indicated after the morning practice that Connolly “handled eveything pretty well…he made some nice plays in the drills. I thought the battling and one-on-one stuff down-low, he was able to keep pace.” Ruff added that they’ll check to see how Connolly feels tonight before deciding when to use him. Ruff also confirmed that the Sabres would like to get him in both games this weekend, if “he feels well enough to play”. Ruff also elaborated on Connolly’s practice by saying that “you could see that the hands are still working great - it was more to see what the legs were going to do…get some battles and get some fatigue and let him recover today and see how he feels tonight. By 7:00, he’s going to feel one way or the other…real good or fatigue will be a factor”. Ruff was optimistic that Connolly would be OK but emphasized that “we’re not going to take out someone that is going to help the team and risk Tim in an injury situation…I don’t want Tim hurt. I want him to play…I don’t want to risk injury just for the sake of giving him a look”.
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