Shutdown Pair

Category: Sabres

  • While you were sleeping…

    I don’t check the standings religiously this early in the season, but I saw them today and did a bit of a double-take.  In case you haven’t seen them either, Buffalo is now behind both Toronto AND Ottawa in the Northeast division, with Montreal 2 points behind.  There’s still plenty of time, no question there, but it’s a bit disconcerting to say the least.  Ottawa is supposed to be terrible, but they’ve won 6 straight.  They haven’t exactly been taking on intimdators (Columbus, Florida, Carolina, the Rangers) but you beat the teams you play and they are doing that.  Buffalo can’t afford to lay eggs when playing all the middling to bad teams, especially at home.

    So what’s wrong?  I think you have to start with the defense.  Myers has looked unsure of what to do at times, which is unlike him when he’s playing well.  He’s waiting too long to decide on whether to go for a pass or just clear the puck, and opponents are reaching him and making the decision for him.  Ehrhoff isn’t great defensively, but Canucks fans could’ve told us that.  He’s gotta be scoring if he’s not going to be defending.  Gragnani has just been a train wreck out there recently, passes to nowhere, difficulty in breakouts, pretty much everything seems hard for him.  Will not be surprised to see Mike Weber get a shot Wednesday.

    It’s not time to panic and trade everybody, but Buffalo can’t afford to be standing still for too much longer.  They just might end up where they were last January,with no new ownership boost available to save them.

  • Poll: Your Feelings on Jhonas Enroth

    (hey, if they are going to blame calls for Enroth on blogs, might as well make it official!)

    [poll id=”5″]

    Meant to be tongue-in-cheek, as we all know Miller is the guy.  Just curious.

  • Panthers VS Sabres Game Notes

    First period thoughts:  Passing is squirrelly at best.  Miller made some solid saves.  McCormick/Ellis/Boyes did some good work out there but they can’t be the best line.  Sekera had some good plays, Gragnani needs to learn how to receive a pass.  Myers is still having a rough go, with the penalty and some tough plays around his own net.  I’m fine with the goal not counting, could’ve gone either way but when the foot moves forward, and the refs started discussing it right off.  Personal note:  I almost cheered in the pressbox.  Bad Tick.

    Second period thoughts:  Vanek went Atlas on his goal, but the D is still just slinging pucks all over the pace and hoping the right guys get them.  They are lucky this is the Panthers and not the Capitals.  The Sabres seemed to pick up their play and operate a bit more coherently after Vanek’s goal, so hopefully that can continue on into the third.  Theodore has looked beatable, but they’ve gotta get more shots – only 14 after 2 periods.  Not enough.  Personal note:  I like the hot dogs up here better than the ones they sell at the concession stands.  Which isn’t saying much.

    Third period thoughts:  Silent J fizzled on a breakaway.  Gragnani is still a wreck.  Just when you thought it was safe to plan for a win, the wheels fell off.  Perhaps the retaliation penalty by Stafford was a sign of things to come.  Gerbe getting the extra 2 was deadly.  There were still too many passes that were sent on their way with no thought to destination.  While they got a few more shots in, it was in no way enough.  Miller definitely could’ve been better but you can’t lay it at his door, not totally.  Seemed like no one was on the same page, except maybe McCormick/Ellis/Boyes.  A tough loss to swallow.  Personal note:  Not sure I want my first post-game press conference to be with Angry Lindy.

    Post-game presser thoughts:  Lindy was ticked with their effort, using words like pathetic, disjointed and the like.  Didn’t want to say too much about the calls.  On a personal note, Vogl works blue and I had a difficult time not throwing down a #feces reference.  It’s interesting to see the regulars operate there, there’s a hierarchy in place for questioning, though I don’t think too many wanted to gamble on getting an earful back for a dumb question tonight.

    Anyway, it was a great experience.  I want to thank Ian Ott, Kevin Snow and the Buffalo Sabres for the opportunity.  I think I will do this again, though it’ll be easier once my wife is off work again.  Philly comes to town on Wednesday, a 7:30pm start game on Versus, so plan accordingly.

  • Gameday 2011-2012 – Panthers at Sabres

    I’m in the pressbox for this one, as the Sabres host the Panthers this lovely evening.  Florida is in the building at 5-4-0 having just lost to the Senators (ugh).  They might have something in young goalie Jacob Markstrom, who has a 2.11 GAA and a .945 save percentage so far.  Positively Enrothian numbers, that.  I’m going to focus in on Tyler Myers and Luke Adam as much as I can, I’m really curious to see how much of the top line’s performance is due to the youngster and how much is just him being in the right place at the right time.  Myers, well, I just want to see what he’s doing wrong to maybe figure out how hard it will be for him to change it up.

    I’ll be active on twitter tonight, though I might save my best stuff for my game recap.

  • Calder Watch – Luke Adam

    I did this for Tyler Myers during his eventual Calder winning season, so I thought I’d bring it back for Luke Adam with his hot start.  Centering Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville certainly agrees with the young man, as he is second in rookie scoring with 8 points (3G 5A).  He’s getting solid minutes, including 2 minutes a game of power play time.  With what amounts to the top line center role, he’s facing tough competition each night.  He’s had a few offensive lapses, but it seems Lindy is going to stick with the kid through them.

    Adam’s main competition for the Calder trophy so far would be Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (5G 4A) and Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog (4G 2A).  Both have more goals early on, but what they have on Luke that would really help them is name recognition.  Assuming both stay with the big club and don’t get sent back to a Junior team (where applicable), both are recent high draft picks that are highly touted.  I feel Adam and other lesser known potential candidates like Craig Smith or Raphael Diaz would have to significantly outperform RNH and Landeskog to get the trophy.  Still, it’s not out of the question for it to happen, especially if Adam keeps getting time between Pominville and Vanek.  I’ll be updating this weekly throughout the season.

  • Sabres Hold Off Jackets

    Giving up 40+ shots isn’t how you want to win, but a strong performance from Jhonas Enroth allowed the Sabres to do just that last night.  Vanek/Adam/Pominville continue to dominate, with Pommers scoring twice, Vanek assisting on 3, and Brad Boyes scoring again.  There were penalties and giveaways, guys named Cody fighting, and a Kaleta goal celebration.  It was the sort of game where you are happy you won but you still work the team twice as hard so they don’t get it in their heads that this was okay.  Still, it was entertaining as hell to watch.  Two of the goals came on the powerplay, which looked to have better puck and player movement.  That’s one thing they don’t have to forget, at least.

    The Sabres will be back at it tomorrow night against the Panthers, and I might be in the pressbox for that one.

  • Gameday 2011-2012 – Blue Jackets at Sabres

    The Columbus Blue Jackets come in for a visit tonight at the First Niagara Center, coming off their first win of the season.  It was the first game back for James Wisniewski after his long suspension from the Shan-hammer.  The Sabres, of course, are still looking for their first win at the FNC, but they should have a decent chance to get one tonight or Saturday against the Panthers.  For all the Miller talk in the Yahoo game preview, Jhonas Enroth gets this game.  A good place to get him in, and a good sign that Lindy is going to actually play him 25 games as it’s NOT a back to back situation.

    7pm start.  Time to get on a roll.

  • Bolt It Down

    Despite the quick start, last night’s tilt against the Lightning turned into the typical tough loss.  A couple of goals against off your own defenseman’s skate, a couple of other guys have a rough outing, and the end result is a 4-3 loss.  Vanek and Boyes opened the scoring early, and Gerbe made it interesting late, but ultimately Mathieu Garon got another win against the Sabres.  You can bet we’ll be seeing him in the other two games against the Lightning.

    You hate to lose two in a row to the same team, but I scratch my head a bit at some folks out there.  They seem to forget that Tampa was a playoff team last year, taking eventual champ Boston to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.  But hey, if it makes you feel better to panic a few games into the season, go ahead.  I’ll just be over here, enjoying the action.  Next up, the Blue Jackets come for a visit tomorrow night.

  • Let’s Play Two

    The Sabres play the Lightning again tonight, at home this time after getting their hats handed to them by the same team on the road.  Tyler Ennis cut his hair and got hurt…coincidence?  I think not.  Anyway, it does leave Buffalo an interesting option – move Ville Leino to the wing and play Hecht at center.  You’d never have a better time, as the injury is the perfect excuse to try it out.  If Leino goes gangbusters back at the wing, you can leave him there as long as you like.  If not, he can go back in the middle.  It doesn’t mean he’s a ‘bust’ if he plays better on the wing, he might just need more than a couple of weeks to adjust and get his feet under him.  No big deal.

    It’s a 7:30 start time again (seems like we’ve had a bunch of those already).  Garon is apparently going to be in goal again, as the Lightning noticed Roloson hasn’t beaten the Sabres in 9 tries.  Still, Buffalo needs to solve the TBL defensive scheme and get some shots on net.  Garon is beatable, and Vanek has eaten these guys up in the past.  I think we’ll see some solid play tonight.

  • Ville, Don’t You Lose My Number

    (note:  I started writing this before yesterday’s game)

    Five games, and Ville Leino is already on the list of Darcy trade busts?  Man.  I know his contributions have been small so far – we all know that – but they’ve won 4 of 5.  Lindy’s already changing lines, I mean seriously, he LOVES that so of COURSE he has, and I’m betting Ville will be fine.  It’s easy to forget what Gerbe’s numbers looked like through the first half last year (that would be one goal before January).  He ended the season as one of the Sabres’ hottest forwards along with Stafford, and it’s continued this season.  It’s too early to give up on him, less than 1% of the way through his contract.

    edit:  And he gets on the scoresheet last night.  Go Ville!  I believe in you, and will be pulling for you to keep up the good work.