Mittwoch, 30. November 2011

Sabres continue to struggle / Trade Rumors

Another set-back and another set-back at home. The Islanders took both points out of the First Niagra Center, leaving the Sabres behind with empty hands once again.

The game was painful to watch as both teams struggled to get things going at all. The Islanders took the lead on a PP goal and Buffalo couldnt get anything going until early in the third period. I was sitting in front of my TV shaking my head several times at some plays.

Personally I cant believe Lindy is still giving so much ice-time to Sekera and Gragnani. As soon as one of them has the puck in their own end, my heart starts to beat faster. Both hang on to the puck way to long in their own end. So often they have a decent chance to clear the own zone but try to make the 4ft along the board pass again and again. Usually the opponent just outgrinds them along the boards. Right now I would rather see McNabb and Brennan in the lineup as they keep it simple. They chip the puck out and dont make any fance plays in their own zone.

McNabb had another good game on tuesday night. He rocked Nielsen with a perfect open ice hit and was able to poke check the puck away from Tavares two times in high-danger situations. The kid still has a lot to learn but he is doing a good job.

Jochen Hecht scored the only goal for the Sabres to tie the game early in the 3rd. Hecht now has 2 G in 4 games back since his injury and has a plus/minus rating of +4. Andrej Sekera opened the play with a nice pass and Hecht put a puck, that deflected of Pommers skate, home.

The key play happened midway through the third period. Kyle Okposo rang a shot of the post and the Sabres were lucky that they didn't found themselves back in a one goal deficit matchup.
Tavares rang one of the post just moments later and Luke Adam saved the puck on the goalline for his beaten goaltender Enroth, who had a good game again.

Those 3 big chances should have been a wake-up call. Actually one shot that goes off the post should already be enough to shake you up. But if the Islanders hit the post twice and you have to save the puck on the goalline within 2 or 3 minutes, and they still score, then you are doing something wrong. Rolston gave the Islanders a well deserved lead in the third. The Sabres were unable to get back in the game. They didnt manage to tie the game during a 5 on 3 powerplay and fell short by one goal again.

Ville Leino had the biggest chance with less than 2 minutes to go but the pass went through his legs. Leino was just a ft away from the goal and had a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open net. It looks like as if he just can't catch a break right now.

Trade Rumors

Today we have heard some trade Rumors across the league that include the Ducks and the Sabres. It looks like the Ducks are willing to move Bobby Ryan. Another Source says, that the Sabres are interested in George Parros. So let's start dreaming. With the cap numbers the Sabres would have to give up a forward for sure. Drew Stafford has been rumored to leave the Sabres. So what about Stafford and Sekera for Ryan and Parros... Would you do it? We have to wait and see what happens but looks like the Sabres have reached a point were they wanna change some things in their lineup.

Dienstag, 29. November 2011

The Kids are all right

Impressive. Thats what you can say about the Rookies of this Sabres team. Buffalo was without nine regular starters on saturday against the Washington Capitals and kicked them out of the First Niagra Center by a score of 5-1. Kassian had his first NHL goal and Luke Adam scored 2 for the Sabres. The lone goal for Washington came on a Capitals penaltyshot. Paul Szczechura had 2 assists and McNabb made his presence felt with 6 hits in the first 2 periods.


So did I expect something like that? No I didn't. When RJ said something like: "McNabb passes it across to Brennan who sends it to Kassian", it sounded like a Sabres game in the 2013-2014 season. The rookies did a perfect job and it was fun watching the Sabres play. They had good games this season already but if you consider this circumstances the game was outstanding.

So the question now is, "hey why dont we keep them up here and get rid of the old guys who hardly showed up lately?. The answer is as easy as the question. The guys came up here and had a chance to show what they are made of. They wanted to prove that they can play in the NHL and that they can be on the team as a permant player. This is a boost in the mindset by each rookie you shouldn't forget. The guys like Kassian, McNabb and Brennan can play in the NHL but can they bring that performence night in and night out on a permant basis? This is something you can't say for sure. It's good that they had the chance to play here, but as soon as the veterans are healthy again, those guys will be sent down again. Szczechura, Tropp and Brennan already got sent down yesterday. Regehr, Stafford and Kaleta should be ready to get back in the lineup tonight against the Islanders.

The Washington Capitals fired Bruce Boudreau after the loss in Buffalo and something like that could happen tonight. Jack Capuano is sitting on the hot seat and a loss tonight could mean that he is the fourth coach this year that has been released from his duties.

Interesting Facts:

- Luke Adam now has 5 multi-point games this season.

- The often critizied Buffalo Sabres powerplay ranks 8th in the league. If you combine the PP and PK rank the Sabres (PP:8th PK: 5th) are third in the league only behind Vancouver (PP:1st ; PK: 7th) and Pittsburgh (PP:9th, PK2nd).

- Paul Szczechura is second in the league in the Points per Game category. He has 2.00 P/G and is second behind Sidney Crosby but ahead of Evgeni Malkin.


Samstag, 26. November 2011

Blue Jackets roll over Sabres

The Blue Jackets scored two quick ones and jumped to a 4-0 lead early in the 2nd period. The Sabres played their worst game of the season and traveled home with a 1-5 loss in their bags. After we had seem them play 20 minutes or 40 minutes of good hockey in some games, last night they were unable to create anything over the whole sixty minutes

Jordan Leopold scored the only goal for Buffalo and Zack Kassian had his first NHL point in his first NHL game as he and Regehr assisted on the goal.

TJ Brennan scored his first NHL goal a couple of days ago and Kassian had his first point last night but it's nothing to be suprised about. Right now the Sabres should be called the Amerks. Buffalo had to suffer 8 injuries over the last 7 games and had to call up several players from Rochester.Kassian, Ellis, Brennan and MacIntyre were joined by Szczechura and McNabb today.

Its unbelievable... Regehr and another forward injured last night aganst the Blue Jackets... Here are the last 7 games the Sabres played and the players injured in those games.

12. Nov at Boston (G - Ryan Miller injured)
14. Nov at Montreal (C - Cody McCormick injured)
16. Nov vs New Jersey Devils (D - Mike Weber injured)
18. Nov at Carolina (No player injured)
19. Nov vs. Phoenix (D - Myers injured, RW - Kaleta injured)
23. Nov vs. Boston (C - Brad Boyes injured)
25. Nov vs. Columbus (D - Regehr injured, and another Forward it has not been revealed who yet but looks like its either Vanek or Pominville)

Buffalo played very good against Boston which is an indicator that even without several starters they can compete with the teams in the league. The Pominville-Hecht-Vanek line looked solid out there in the past 2 games but they have to lead this team now. This could be a little difficult tonight as the rumors say that one of those 3 guys could be the unknown injured forward. Other than that the Roy line has to step it up. Stafford Roy and Leino got everything you need to be a offensive threat out there. However they were not able to scare the opponents lately.

The Sabres play the Capitals tonight who struggle after an impressive start to the season. Washington is 3-6-1 over the last 10 games and have a negative road record. Buffalo has to bring an A+ game tonight to beat the Capitals. They have two days off after that game and maybe a few injured players can come back for the game on Tuesday against the Islanders.

Freitag, 25. November 2011

Boston survives in Buffalo

The Boston Bruins were able to overcome a 2 goal deficit and won 4-3 in a shoot-out at the First Niagra Center. The NHL was looking at that game after Lucic ran over Miller a couple of weeks ago. The Sabres played their best first period this season and had a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. TJ Brennan who was called up from Rochester scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game and gave Buffalo a 3-1 lead midway through the 2nd.

So why did Buffalo lose then? Boston fought back into the game and , as usual, had some help from the guys in black and white on the ice. They scored 2 PPG's on PP's that should have never happened. On the first penalty the Bruins were clearly offside. As a result of that they had the extra step on Buffalo's D and the Sabres ended up taking a penalty on that rush. Seguin scored to cut the deficit to 1.

Chara added another PPG in the third and tied the game at 3. Roy was behind his own net when he got his stick held. But it wasn't a holding the stick penalty against Boston, it was a call that send Roy to the box. Roy tried to argue but it didnt help and Chara's shoit deflected in of Ehrhoffs leg just moments later.

In the Shoot-out it took 6 rounds to find a winner but in the end the Bruins took home the extra point.

Overall the Sabres played a good game and proved that they are able to answer the physical play by Boston. They outhit the Bruins 39-24 and Nathan Gerbe had a team-high 8 hits. But once again the Sabres finished a game one man short. Jochen Hecht played his first game after his concussion and had a strong game. On a line with Vanek and Pominville his back and forechecking was very good. Brad Boyes left the game and Ruff told the media that he will miss some time.

Milan Lucic who made his first trip to Buffalo after injuring Miller, was invisible for the entire game. He had a fight with Gaustad two minutes into the game. You can hardly call it a fight though as no one landed a single punch. Lots of misses and no blood was exchanged. Regehr had a fight later on as well but once again you couldn't really call it a fight as no one went down by contact.

Bag of the game though is Shawn Thornton. Known as a tough guy on the team he challenged 3 guys for a fight on the ice.
A) Thomas Vanek (0 Fights in his NHL career)
B) Jochen Hecht (First game back after a concussion and first game since last year's playoffs.)
C) Nathan Gerbe (5'5" - 178 / Thornton at 6'2" - 217)

So not really classy moves out there by Shawn.

In the end that game should give Buffalo a lot of confidence. They are able to play a good game against the (at the moment) best team in the league and they had chances to win it. In a few months we might look back at the Lucic hit on Miller and we might thank Milan for his stupid move as it could turn out as a team building event.

Tonight the Sabres play the Blue Jackets and after the injury that Boyes suffered, Buffalo called up Zack Kassian. People expect a lot out of this kid but I think Kassian is not NHL ready yet. I don't expect fights or goals or anything like that tonight from him. I would be happy if he does his job on the ice which means... Finish your checks, play physical and keep it simple.

The game starts at 7PM.

Mittwoch, 23. November 2011

Sabres looking for consistency

The Buffalo Sabres are still looking for another winning-streak in the month of november. Over the last 6 games the Sabres went W-L-W-L-W-L. The good thing is that this would mean that we are going to see a big W against the Bruins tonight.

Jhonas Enroth bounced back against the Canes posting his 2nd career Shut-out. They didnt play good but they were able to come away with a 1-0 road victory. Jason Pominville gave Buffalo the 1-0 lead on the PP in the first period. From that point on the Sabres never looked back and were help to hold on to that lead. Carolina played a really good game but the Sabres were the lucky team that night.

One night later the Sabres played a really good game against the Phoenix Coyotes but fell short by a score of 2-4. So once again Buffalo lost a game at home leaving their fans in disappointment. After the last few games you start to think if the Sabres should play poor in the future as they were able to win those games, while they lost the games when they played good hockey. Luke Adam and Patrick Kaleta gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead early in the 2nd period but Phoenix scored two quick goals midway through the game and changed the momentum. The Sabres hit iron, missed an open net twice, and a phoenix player saved the puck in his own crease with a skate twice. Buffalo could have scored at least 5 or 6 goals that night but they could not get it done.

Over those 2 games the Buffalo Sabres were hit by the injury bug again. Tyler Myers broke his wrist and will be out for 4-6 weeks. Cody McCormick is out as well and joins Mike Weber and Tyler Ennis. Jochen Hecht is cleared to play and will be back in the next game.

Tonight the Buffalo Sabres will play the Boston Bruins. This isn't a game like any other. After the Lucic incident with Ryan Miller the entire league is looking at the matchup. Will there be a fight and if so how many? Will the Sabres take a run at Thomas and how will the response be overall.

Jochen Hecht will be back in the lineup against Boston which is a good thing as he is a player who knows how to play defense. TJ Brennan will be in the lineup tonight as well playing his first ever NHL game. It's not safe to say who will be the scratch tonight when Hecht comes back. I assume it will be Ellis or Tropp but this is going to be a tough decision. It's tough to scratch Tropp as he played very well lately, but Ellis adds the grit and toughness you might need tonight. In the end I think Ruff will scratch Ellis.

Buffalo has to play a tough game tonight and they can't take a run at Lucic all the time. They could easily forget the other players on the ice and those Bruins will make you pay if you let them wide open.

Shanahan called both GM's and told them that he is going to watch both teams closely tonight. So any silly move will end up in a suspension. So watch out tonight.

Boston has won 9 games in a row and they look to make it 10 tonight. Buffalo will try to deny Boston that opportunity.

Freitag, 18. November 2011

Sabres riding the Rollercoaster

It was time to stand up and play like a team in Montreal against the Canadiens. Buffalo did that in a good way. They didnt come out running over everything that moved but they played a good physical road game. However it was Montreal who had the 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. That was good enough for the the tv "experts" on versus (Mike Milbury and Keith Jones) to start their rant about the Buffalo Sabres. It was really annoying to listen to those 2 guys. The Sabres might have two enemies in the Eastern Conference. 1. Boston Bruins 2. Philadelphia Flyers. So as a viewer there wasn't much intelligent stuff you could expect out of Mike and Keith. It was a huge satisfaction to see the Sabres bounce back and taking the win in the Shootout.

Many people expected Buffalo to crush everyone along the boards and play as physical has never played before. They didn't do it. Thank god they didn't do it, because they would have mostlikely been called for every little thing. You can bet that the referees had a closer look on Buffalo that night. Pominville and Roy scored in the third period and in the Shootout Vanek and Boyes sealed the win with 2 beautiful goals.

Thiss has been the time of the week were the Sabres were on their way up on the Rollercoaster. Just two days later they started a little downride again. Tyler Myers who had been benched in Montreal came back against the Devils and scored 2 goals on Martin Brodeur. It wasn't enough as the Devils left the First Niagra Center with a 5-3 victory. It was a combination of poor defence, bad luck and a fantastic Martin Brodeur. People saying Brodeur isnt as good as he used to be, but I saw the old Brodeur in Buffalo on Wednesday evening.

The Devils took an early 2-0 lead in the first as they scored shorthanded(Parise) and on the powerplay(Kovalchuk). So Buffalo fell behind by two goals early again. but this time they were not able to come back as they were one step behind the Devils all night long.

The best player on the ice for the Sabres was Tyler Myers. It was the Tyler Myers everyone loves to see in Buffalo. He played physical, was rushing down the ice several times and he put his name on the scoreboard twice. Let's hope Tyler continues to play like that from now on. He will have bad games again for sure as he is still a young guy who is in his third NHL season, but thats part of his development. And he still is a franchise defencemen.

The Sabres might get one of their injured players back this weekend. It could be either Ennis or Hecht. As much as I would like to see both back on the ice, I think Ill have to pick Hecht right now for one simple reason. The lack of defence on the team. Buffalo's defender don't play good right now and the offence isn't backchecking good enough. Hecht is knows as a good defensive forward and I hope he can help in that department when he gets back.

Buffalo plays Carolina tonight and I think the Sabres will like the matchup. The Sabres have a good road record and they look comfortable when they play away from Buffalo.

Luke Adam had a really good rookie season so far and he is scoring even, when he isnt on top of his game. Luke might end up on the third line this year and he might only get around 10 minutes per game of ice time but this guy has a bright future in Buffalo. And he might prove it tonight again.

Montag, 14. November 2011

Sabres lose game and Miller

Wow! Milan Lucic is the new public enemy number 1 in Buffalo. After his reckless play on Saturday he will have a phone call from Brendan Shanahan today. Lucic ran over Miller while he was playing the puck. I expect a suspension today, as the league has to make a statement, if you dont suspend Lucic, the goalies around the league will have to look out in the future, and this can not be something the league wants. It's their job to stop pucks and it's not their job to absorb hits like that as their equipment is not made for that. Miller is out indefinitely with a concussion.

Buffalo played a very good first period and held a 1-0 lead over the Bruins after a goal by Thomas Vanek who banged it in of Tim Thomas from behind the goal-line. Boston took over the game and walked away with a 6-2 victory.

The sad part is not that the Sabres lost the game, it's that they didnt answer the way they had to. Gaustad, Regehr, Kaleta and McCormick are tough guys but they didnt do anything at all. McCormick still has the cut over his eye so I didnt expect him to fight and thats ok. For Gaustad, Kaleta and Regehr it's a different story. You goalie just got run over and you sit back and watch it happen.

I have seen many Boston fans celebrating that Lucic hit as a fantastic hockey play, but if the same thing would have happened to Thomas after a hit by Matt Cooke (for example), they would go nuts as well. We wanna get those hits out of the game and Lucic had plenty of time to avoid that hit.

But let's get back to the Sabres and their reaction. Chris Drury got hit by Chris Neil a couple of years ago and Mair, Gaustad and Peters did what they had to do. Just to get this thing right, you dont wanna see a player taking a run at a Boston's superstars and take them out, but you wanna see them stand up after a hit like that. You gotta show that you will not accept it that way and that no one can shove you around without any consequences.

Both teams will meet again on November 23rd and we dont know if Lucic will be in this game or not. If he is, the game will be a special one. At least that's what I hope because if not I would be really disappointed.

It's not the first time that Miller got run over and it wasn't the first time that the Sabres didnt react. Once again you gotta stick up for one another and the Sabres didnt do it. And thats not only sad but it is worrying. If I am Miller I would not be able to tolerate that stuff any longer and would look for a new team as soon as my contract expires.

But let's get back to hockey, the Sabres play Montreal tonight and looking to get back in the winning column. Montreal has improved lately and it won't be an easy game. Enroth will start and due to Miller's concussion, MacIntyre was called up from Rochester to back up Jhonas.

Samstag, 12. November 2011

Sabres, Enroth make it 4 in a row

Jhonas Enroth is 12-0-1 in his last 13 games for the Buffalo Sabres. Thats quite impressive for a guy who has always been called to small for an elite goalie. Last night the Sabres walked away with a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators and Forward Derek Roy continued with his point-streak.

Stafford added 3 assists and Enroth stopped 36 shots. Buffalo scored two quick ones again to take the 2-0 lead over Ottawa early in the first period. The Sens decided to pull Craig Anderson and Auld finished the game between the pipes for the Sens.

The Leino-Roy-Stafford line was very strong out there and was not only responsible for goals, but also for a good amount of zone time and several good chances. Those boys start to click and get to know each other better and better.

The D looked better as well, as Gragnani was the only Defender who had 1 giveaway.Ehrhoff and Gragnani both finished +3 and Ehrhoff also lead Buffalo in ice-time.

Overall a very very good home game for the Sabres, who are now 5-4-0 at home.

The team left right after the game to Boston, where they will play the Bruins tonight. Boston started the season 3-7-0 but the Champion found its rhythm lately and like Buffalo the Bruins are on a four game winning streak. Tyler Seguin leads the NHL in the +/- category with +11 and has recorded five goals and 2 assists during the current winning streak.

Former Sabre Daniel Paille will not play tonight, after he took a puck to the face against the Islanders on Monday.

Tim Thomas will mostlikely start for the Bruins in net and it is expected that he will see Ryan Miller across the ice. Miller beat Winnipeg on Tuesday and still isn't on top of his game., but will try to improve his 5-5-0 record.

Kaleta could be back in the line-up tonight after he missed the last 4 games after a suspension he recieved for a headbutt in the game against the Flyers. Corey Tropp or Matt Ellis are expected to sit tonight.

Defence needs to step up

The Sabres are on a winning streak that is lasting for 3 games now. With three one goal wins in a row the Sabres continued their chase for the number 1 spot in the division. When the Winnipeg Jets came to town a couple of days ago the offense was clicking for the Sabres. They scored 4 PPG's and 6 goals in total which was the most so far this season. However as good as the offense was, it was the defence that made coach Lindy Ruff angry. The Sabres gave up 5 goals in that game and had to fight back several times.

The biggest problem here isn't, that the Sabres had to swallow 5 goals, it's the fact how easy the opponent was able to score against Miller or Enroth so far. The lack of communication seems to be a reason for it and Ruff has mixed up his Defense pairs a lot already. Regehr started the year with Myers but lately the big tall defencemen was paired with Andrej Sekera, who struggled over the past couple of days as well.

With Myers and Sekera the team has a defensive pair that has been very inconsistent so far. Sekera made huge steps forwards last year as he took the puck, rushed down the ice and created many good scoring chances. This year however he looked out of place in several games.

Myers has not found his offensive touch so far and his defensive play seems to be sloppy at times. His decision making seems to take longer than it has taken in the past.

Gragnani was already scratched for one game this year as Ruff thought his defensive play needs work. Indeed Gragnani couldnt transport his good play from the end of last year into the new season. With only 13 games so far this year and 28 regular season games in total, Gragnani is still a rookie in this league and not every rookie defencemen can have a breakout-year like Myers two years ago.

Christian Ehrhoff is no rookie. He had a tough start to the season but he seems to find his rhythm lately. Sometimes you still see some bad breaks like the one against the Sens but overall he has still improved. Luckily communication is something you can work on quickly.

In my opinion the only two guys on the backend, that are rock-solid right now are Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regehr. Both make hardly mistakes night in and night out and both are are living up to the expectations right now.

Mike Weber only played one game so its hard to judge him at the moment. Mike needs ice-time to find his game but so far Lindy only used him once. There are still 68 games left and Mike will get his chance again.

So with those 7 Defencemen, there will be one left out in the end. Four guys should be set in stone this year. Regehr, Leopold, Ehrhoff and Myers got a roster spot for sure. Down the road I think Gragnani will have his spot as well. Right now I think the battle for the sixth and last spot on the D-corp will be between Sekera and Weber. We can only hope that this battle, will push Gragnani, Sekera and Weber to a higher level.

Donnerstag, 10. November 2011

Sabres outscore Jets in wild OT victory

Ryan Miller must have felt like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day. Just a few minutes into the game and Winnipeg celebrated an early 2-0 lead at the First Niagra Center. Miller had stopped 1 shot but once again, you couldn't blame him for the early deficit. Andrej Sekera had a terrible across-the-ice pass that was intercepted by Kyle Wellwood. Flood finished it off a few passes later to give Winnipeg a 1-0 lead. Only 66 seconds later Bryan Little was left alone in front of the net. Wheeler found him with a beautiful pass from behind the net and Little made no mistake.
So the crowd wasn't pleased and sadly Miller had to bleed for it. Ironic clapping and cherring a few moments later when he stopped a shot. At the end of the TV Timeout the players skated past Miller and gave him a tap on his pads. So it looked like the players knew that this wasn't all Ryan's fault.

Buffalo fought his way back into the game and with 2 goals within 11 seconds the game was tied at 2. Roy scored on the PP and Corey Tropp scored his first NHL goal after some fantastic work by Gaustad along the boards and a nifty pass by Gerbe. The wild action on the ice continued for 50 more minutes. Glass scored for Winnipeg, Pominville answered shorthanded after a spin-o-rama pass by Gaustad. Little with his second of the night gave the Jets the lead back again for the third time. The goal was scored on the PP and Buffalo had to swallow a PPG for the first time, in a long time.

While talking about special teams, we should mention that the Sabres had huge PP issues over the past couple of games. Derek Roy scored a PPG in the first period and Thomas Vanek scored another PPG in the second stanza to tie the game at 4. Vanek ripped home a laser from the point and beat a stunned Pavelec over his left shoulder. I had no idea Vanek scored until the light went on, cause I definitely didn't see the puck.

After 40 minutes the game was tied at 4 and you were hoping that the Sabres would realise that. Andrej Sekera left his mind in the locker room when he entered the ice. Myers took care of Wheeler along the wall and no one knows why Sekera joined Myers in that fight for the puck. Andrej didn't see Dustin Byfuglien enter the zone and a backpass by Wheeler left him all alone in front of Miller. Byfuglien made no mistake and ripped one home top-shelf.

Miller had no chance to stop that shot. Miller didnt give up any weak goals, but he didn't look comfortable in the net either. We know Miller as the calm goalie, who barely runs around in his crease looking for the puck. He juggled some pucks and was caught moving around in his crease for quite a few times. Then again it's probably something that happens when you had some average games and in addition to that have to fight the media and fans that take a run at you. Miller wasn't close to be the Miller we know but I still think, that he will be on top of his game soon. He needed that victory for his self-confidence and I think he has hit the bottom and is on his way back up. Lindy Ruff didn't pull him this time and Miller fought his way through. It was a good move by Ruff, who didn't give his players any chance for an excuse.

Derek Roy scored another PPG late in the third that sent the game to OT. Mark Stuart went off for roughing. It was probably one of the dumbest penalties you can take, when you are already down a player. It gave Buffalo a 5 on 3 and Roy fired a slap-shot home.

In Overtime speedy forward Nathan Gerbe was rushing past Wheeler who hooked him down. Pominville ripped one on net and hit Vanek's shinpad. It was his second of the night and Buffalo's fourth PPG in that game. The Sabres walked away with a 6-5 OT win.

The Sabres will play Ottawa on friday. The Sens improved a lot lately and it will be a tough game on friday evening. I expect a close game and Buffalo has to play better D to win this game.

Dienstag, 8. November 2011

Miller-Time

Ryan Miller will be back in net tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, and everyone will look at his performence. When you think about Ryan you are used to expect nothing less than a perfect game. He struggled at this part in the 11-12 season so far. Lindy Ruff decided to start Jhonas Enroth lately and his decision has paid off. Enroth was able to beat Calgary and Ottawa last weekend and he improved his impressive NHL record to 13-3-2. Not to shabby for a guy who has always been told that he is too small for an elite NHL goalie. Jhonas is far away from being considered an elite goalie, but still not many people thought he could play that good.

Enroth stopped 54 of 57 shots in the last 2 games and currently ranks 3rd in GAA and Save percentage in the NHL. When the Winnipeg Jets travel to Buffalo for the first time since November 5th 1995 tonight, Ryan Miller will be the masked man again. Although I mentioned a couple of days ago that I would like to see Ryan back in the net on a road trip, I can't wait to see what happens tonight. It will be a tough game for Ryan cause everyone will look at him and his response after the shaky performances against Philadelphia and Florida.

For me it's not Ryan who has to show up tonight. Of course he has to be on top of his game but I think the team has to prove that they can help out Ryan and that they can play as good as they do with Jhonas in the net.

Random Facts about tonights game:
The Winnipeg Jets won both meetings against Buffalo in their last season(1995-1996).
The last player who scored a goal against Winnipeg in a Sabres jersey was Brad May(01/10/96).
Teppo Numminen played for the Jets and scored in that game as well (01/10/96).
The Sabres home games in the 95-96 season were played at the Aud. It was the last season the Sabres played in the Aud, so the Winnipeg Jets never played against Buffalo in the First Niagra Center (aka HSBC Arena aka Marine Midland Arena)

Prediction:
I think Ryan will bounce back tonight and will lead the Sabres to a victory. The Sabres however will give up a goals and Ryan will be named 2nd star of the night. The Sabres will walk away with a 4-1 victory.

Samstag, 5. November 2011

Game 12 - Back on track

Thanks Drew, Thanks Nathan!

Sabres beat Calgary 2-1 and Enroth's winning streak continues. It was a good effort last night and even more important they got rewarded for it. Adam,Pominville and Vanek were held pointless but nevertheless the Sabres walked away with 2 points. The D looked much stronger and the PP improved a lot. No PPG was scored but it should give the Sabres a good feeling heading into tonights game against Ottawa.

Ottawa is riding the rollercoaster since the season started. They had a terrible start as they opened the season 1-5-0. They turned it around and started a six game winning streak. It will be interesting to see how the rollercoaster track continues.

Enroth with back-to-back starts in Ottawa. Not sure about that decision cause I think Ryan has a tough time right now. I would have put him back in the net at Ottawa cause it should be much easier for him to get back in the net without the sabres fans at the First Niagra Center watching every step he takes.

Donnerstag, 3. November 2011

Game 11 - Sabres fall short... again

The Buffalo Sabres suffered another set back on wednesday evening when they lost at home by a score of 3-2. Ryan Miller was pulled with 6:23 minutes played in the first period. Jonas Enroth took over his job and stopped all pucks he had to face. However it wasn't enough as the Flyers walked away with the 3-2 victory.

The crowd was not amused when they saw Ryan's performance in the first 6 minutes. But is Miller really the one to blame? Yes he gave up some goals that looked soft but on the other hand the Sabres Defense shows a lack of concentration with Ryan Miller in net. Miller had to face 11 shots in the first 6 minutes which is by far too much. Jonas has been very good so far this year but with him in goal the Defense seems to be way more aware of everything around him.

The real problem so far is something that could have been expected but it's also something some people never think of. The Sabres aquired Ehrhoff and Regehr and it will take some time to get them into the Sabres System. Ehrhoff doesn't have Edler anymore on his side and as hard as it sounds, it takes time to get used to your D-partner. I still think that Ehrhoff is a great addition to the team but give this kid some time.

Last night the powerplay wasn't as good as it should have been. Finally the Sabres had some PP-Opportunities but they couldn't cash in. Special teams are something streaky. So the Sabres will go 4 for 13 in 3 or 4 games but will mostlikely go 1 for 19 in the next few games. If all bad streaks come together at the same time you end up losing games.

The Sabres have two important games ahead of themselves. They will play Calgary on Friday and Ottawa on Saturday. They better finish the weekend with at least 3 points or the mood around the First Niagra Center will continue to become worst.


Mittwoch, 2. November 2011

Sabres to host the Flyers

Mike Weber will start tonight, while Gragnani will watch the game from the press-box. Grags couldn't transport his good play from the '10 playoffs into the '11-'12 season. Will Grags be back this year? No doubt yes but will it be easy for him? Mike Weber will not go down without a fight for that 6th spot, thats for sure.

As of now I see Mike Weber in the line-up over the next few weeks. For me it's a battle between Gragnani and Sekera. Andrej didn't play up to the expections yet as well although he has a comfortable +/- rating of +6.

The problem with Sekera right now is his first pass. Last year we got used to the Andrej who takes the puck and rushes up the ice. He gave the Sabres a chance to go in for the battle along the boards. That's missing right now.

Another D-Men who can play better is Tyler Myers. Myers is playing better than he did in october 2010 but he has the skill to make it happen on the offence as well. His defensive play is solid right now, something that he didn't have in his pocket 12 months ago.

It sounds like lots of critism for a team who started 6-4, doesn't it? Well that's because we all saw the Sabres play some great hockey over that 10 games. They had two almost perfect games in europe but over the next games they couldn't play up to their potential for sixty minutes.

Tonight I am expecting lot's of energy as they play the team that destroyed their playoff hopes a couple of months ago. Ville Leino will face his former team and with his new Linemates it will be interesting to see if we finally see the Leino we are all waiting for.

Maybe we can continue a common tradition that the guy between the pipes who starts for Philly will not be the same sixty minutes later...


Games 9 - 10

Game 9

What you do, when you lose 2 games in a row against the same team and have a home-game ahead of you. You make you do everything to win it. As always the Sabres had a good start but it took some time until they found themselves on the scoreboard. Brad Boyes scored the 1-0 on the PP, a special on which the Sabres struggled so far in the season. When Jason Pominville made it 2-0 it was once again a 2-0 lead for the Sabres. But once again they couldn't hold on to it. Prospal and Tyutin scored to Columbus to tie it with 9 minutes left in the game. Pominville hustled back to break up a pass to Tyutin. He did touch the pack but was laying oin the ice and Tyutin jumped on that "broken pass" and scored for the Blue Jackets. Sabres found the right gear moments after that 2nd goal and Kaleta made it 3-2 for Buffalo. Another PP Goal for the Sabres and the game was in the books. However after that game you were happy about the win but you had to realise that the Sabres need to play better through 60 minutes, cause 10 good minutes will not give you a chance to win games night in and night out.

Game 10
Sadly I was unable to watch that game but when you lead at home with less than 5 to go in the game you should be able to hold on to the lead. Once again penalties cost the Sabres a game and Florida walked away with a win in regulation. I can't say much about that game but from what I heard it was once again not a full 60 minute effort by Buffalo.

After 10 Games you can be happy with a 6-4 to start the season but it could have been a better record if they would have played up to their potential.

Dienstag, 1. November 2011

Games 6 - 8

Game 6
After a heroic performance by Ryan Miller, the Sabres faced off against the Florida Panthers. It was the third game in four nights for the Panthers and Buffalo took advantage of that. They walked away with a 3-0 victory and even more important Ville Leino found himself on the scoreboard again after he found Pominville alone in front of the net, who buried the puck to give the sabres a 2-0 lead. Moments after he scored Leino skated over to Pommers to congratulate him. What followed was something, that should have erased all doubts that were left on Pommers as a captain. Everyone on the team knew that Leino had, despite the goal in the first game of the season, a tough start. Pominville had some friendly words for Ville after his nice pass and fans were hoping that this would be the start of a Ville Leino they saw in Philly. Vanek had 2 goals in that game and continued with his great scoring-streak.

Game 7
Tampa Bay was waiting for the Sabres who had won 3 consecutive games on their road trip. They wanted to make it 4 in a row but in the end they fall short. Mathieu Garon was great between the pipes and the Sabres didnt find a way to put on home. Outstanding defense combined with great goaltending gave the Lightning a well deserved home victory. The sabres didn't find their legs through the entire sixty minutes and had to take their first loss in 8 days. Still 5-2 isnt a bad record to start the season with.

Game 8
Tampa Bay was the opponent again only a couple of days later and the Sabres wanted to make things better this time. After 10 minutes they outplayed, outhit and outscored Tampa with a 2-0 lead in the pocket. However things went into the wrong direction. Luke Adam was unable to tie up Lecavalier who was able to burry his own rebound and make it a 1 goal game. Once again it was a deflected puck that found its way in behind rehind Miller and tied the game at 2. So after 20 minutes the Sabres had played a great period but had nothing but a tie in their hands. Another deflected puck and a breakaway goal from Ryan Malone pretty much tell the rest of the story. Nathan Gerbe scored his second of the year but it was to little too late and the Sabres had lost 2 games in a row.