Shutdown Pair

Category: Sabres

  • Crazy Trade Proposals

    I’ll admit I don’t troll HFBoards (or follow Eklund) so I don’t hear most of these, but a few of these have come to my attention lately so I thought I’d share.  For example, it was mentioned in the comments of this Die By the Blade post that there was a ‘Bruins want Vanek’ rumor floating around.  I’m sure Boston would love Atlas, but I think that Buffalo would remember just in time that you have to score to win games.  The money would be tough for them too.

    Slightly less egregious is Adam Proteau positing that Steve Montador is one of the top 10 players most likely to be traded.  While he is a UFA, I would’ve been more likely to agree with that position if the Sabres weren’t 2 points out of the playoffs with games in hand.  I think most people here want him re-signed, not traded, and I have to think a steady defenseman you don’t have to worry about would be a good thing to keep.

    Any other crazy trade proposals out there?

  • Enroth Battles for the Win

    It doesn’t get much more exciting than that, does it?  Enroth weathers a storm as the Sabres give up 18 shots in the first period, with Stafford and and Pominville scoring to tie the game up and send it to a shootout.  And what a shootout it was, 10 rounds, and coming back from being down 2-0 there as well.  Vanek and Ennis scored on their shootout attempts to extend it, as did Gerbe after Montreal scored a few rounds later.

    I will say that Montreal has some great players coming up, and will be interesting to watch and battle against.  Max Pacioretty had a goal, an assist and a shootout goal, and PK Subban is nothing if not entertaining.  Add in Jaro Spacek, who is still a favorite of mine, and I like ’em.  Like beating them more, though.

    One other note from last night:  Seriously, can Pierre McGuire just shut UP?  He talks way too much, and he can’t mention a player without giving us where he went to school or played in juniors.  Every time Myers touched the puck, Kelowna got mentioned.  Has to be the most times the city was ever mentioned on an American TV station.  We get it, Pierre, you watch a lot of hockey.  I can’t remember ever sitting and watching a pro game and wondering “hey, where did he play junior hockey?”.  Add in the close talking and bothering Lalime, and I am really not looking forward to hearing more of him now that he’s going to be on VS more often.

  • Lost Points and Positive Developments

    So, the Sabres scored 6 goals against the Islanders, and lost.  Ryan Miller had a post-game meltdownafter a question from noted feces enthusiast John Vogl.  A bad question, a worse answer after a horrible game.  Buffalo is still in the driver’s seat as far as taking a playoff spot, but Ryan’s issues, whether mental, physical or a combination make you wonder if the push is a good idea.  Should he play game after game after game if his numbers are suffering, just to squeak into the playoffs and go out with a whimper?  I know the hope is that you become last year’s Flyers, but as a fan that’s tough to swallow after winning the division.  Would any trade even fix this?  You’re not getting a better goalie than Miller, and it’s obvious no backup is getting played unless Miller’s car gets set on fire by some Montreal fans prematurely celebrating a playoff spot.  I suppose the best bet is to trade for more scoring and hope you can outscore your opponents.  Not easy.

    There are some nice things to talk about despite them being overshadowed by Millsygate.  Drew Stafford had his fourth hat-trick of the year and continues to muddy the trade him/sign him debate.  Tyler Myers has scored twice in as many games, he needs to be appearing on the scoresheet more if his team is making that playoff run.  Ennis and Gerbe are both contributing (a few giveaways there too but hey, rookies).

    Does Miller getting shelled (and NOT pulled) have any effect on whether or not he plays tomorrow and Wednesday?

  • Ty-Bomber!

    A pinpoint blast from Tyler Myers with 4.5 seconds left in overtime gave the Sabres their first 3 game win streak of the season, beating Florida 3-2.  Thomas Vanek and Mike Weber had the other goals.  That puts Buffalo 2 points out of 8th with 2 games in hand, and puts 6th and 7th in reach also.  This next week is tough, with 4 games in 6 days, starting with an afternoon game against the Islanders on Sunday.  I’ll be curious to see if that means Lalime (or Enroth) gets a start either Tuesday (in Montreal) or Wednesday (home for the Leafs).  Miller HAS to get some rest at some point, and you have to like Buffalo’s ability to score on whoever the Leafs put in net.  I’d go with that game for a backup appearance.  By the way, nobody’s talking about the Sabres facing backup goalies any more, are they?

  • Vanek, Stafford Overwhelm the Lightning

    The Sabres recovered from a bad start (and a few tough goals given up by Miller) to roll over Dwayne Roloson and the Lightning 7-4.  Drew Stafford notched a hat trick, Vanek scored twice, and Jordan Leopold and Tim Connolly had the other goals.  Mike Weber and Tyler Ennis both had 2 assists.  A Vanek goal late in the second to make it 3-2 Tampa was the turning point, and the Bolts came completely unraveled after Stafford bumped Roloson on Leopold’s goal (he was pushed into him).

    I was listening on the radio and tracking it on the phone, and was shocked when I saw the score jump from 3-3 to 6-3.  Now the big discussion point while we await Pegula-mania to kick in is what to do with Stafford.  Did he finally ‘get it’?  My feeling is yes, knowing how hard he worked in the offseason and seeing the pace he is on (37 goals in 64 games after last night).  His longest stretch held pointless is 3 games, and it’s only 4 games for goals.  He’s shooting more, and I’m having a hard time thinking of a bad game for him.  Sign him to a Roy-like contract, $4mil a year for as many years as he wants.  I’d be A-OK with having Angry Eyebrows around long-term.

  • Gameday 2010-2011 – Sabres at Lightning

    It’s a 7:30pm game on Versus, which is always a wonderful thing.  Kind of feels like we are just biding our time until the ownership change is final, doesn’t it?  Didn’t have much time to investigate and elucidate about tonight’s festivities, so I’ll just say:  GO SABRES!

  • On The New Celebrities

    It was an interesting experience the other night, during the Penguins game.  With the fanbase giddy from the outgoing ownership presser, another discovery was made – Terry Pegula’s daughters were on Twitter.  My first reaction was ‘cool’.  I didn’t think much would come of it, but then they (especially Jessie) began to engage with us.  It’s a pretty unique situation – I can’t recall ever having the children of a team owner being this publicly available (other than the grown-up ones that get VP titles).  We’re kind of in uncharted territory here.

    I laughed a bit at first at some of the concerned noises coming from the media regarding them, but honestly there are some things they should watch out for – and some things WE as fans need to keep in mind as well.  First, I’d like to apologize in advance for the morons on Twitter that will be rude, vulgar and disgusting to them, especially after the first decision their dad makes which is unpopular.  Block early and often, and don’t feel bad about it.  On the flip side, the rest of us need to remember that they will probably not be involved in running the team now, or heck, maybe ever.  I can imagine that even joking “haha, put a good word in with your dad for x player” comments will get old quick.

    Actually, on that – I was listening to WGR the other day, and one of the hosts (can’t remember if it was Jeremy or Schopp) was worried that Terry wouldn’t want to trade Roy as an example, since Derek Roy is Jessie’s favorite player.  Uh, really?  I think the billionaire businessman might be able to make a hard decision or two.  This isn’t Veruca Salt, “but I want a first line center NOOOOW!”.  Puh-leeze.

    I guess what I’m trying to say is, they are fans, like us.  They tweet, they blog, but they themselves don’t own anything.  Behave yourselves, and show them what the City of Good Neighbors really means.

  • Pegula, Vanek, and Golisano

    On a day where almost every other team played (minus one game cancelled due to the ‘storm’), several Sabres related stories dominated our discussions yesterday.  First, Terry Pegula really is buying the Sabres.  And yes, even Larry Quinn is no longer denying it.  Tom Luongo and Katebits of The Willful Caboose both say thanks to Mr. Golisano, and I’d like to pass mine along as well.  When I first moved up here, as a hockey fan but not specifically a fan of a team hardcore (I followed the Blackhawks mostly because they were good in my old EA NHL games on SNES), I attended a few games pre-lockout in a half-empty arena thanks to handouts given to my Adelphia employee buddy.  I enjoyed going, but it was tough to buy in when words like contraction, bankruptcy, and Mark Hammister were being thrown around.  I had no illusions that a Rochester businessman with political aspirations buying the team meant he would become the next Mark Cuban, but the team stayed, got some steals in trade and FA that helped the team compete, and lowered ticket prices and increased attendance.  All of which improved the in-arena experience and franchise viability, but more importantly made going to the games FUN.  While it’s been a bumpy ride more recently, we should definitely remember how far down they were back in 2003 and how far Tom has brought them.  Thanks, Mr. Golisano.

    Amidst the fist-pumping over the ‘official’ sale of the team (press conference tomorrow at noon BTW), was the more puzzling news that Darcy Regier was extended through the 2012-2013 season…and Lindy Ruff turned his extension down but wants to remain with the team.  Curious timing, as this would’ve gone down the first time (?) Pegula tried to buy the team in the fall.  I’m not sure what to make of Regier, though I’ve always felt he wants to be more of a wheeler-dealer but was being held back by those above him.  Perhaps we’ll see that at the deadline this year, and if Pegula is pleased, he can stay.  Ruff, I think, knows he has options after this year if he doesn’t like where the Sabres go after the sale but I agree with the sentiment that he’s more likely to stick around.

    We also learned that Thomas Vanek has been battling a bruised finger (as well as missing practice with the flu).  Considering he had 5 goals and 11 assists in his last 12 games, along with plenty of rest time leading up to Friday’s game, I’m not concerned.

  • All’s Quiet

    The Sabres don’t play until Friday, so posting may be sparse unless we get Pegula’d.  Let’s root for Carolina and Atlanta losses, and I’ll see you back here soon.

  • Semin and other Enigmatic Hockey Players

    Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy set off quite a discussion yesterday when he referred to Alexander Semin as ‘enigmatic’.  Apparently that’s not okay.  It got me to thinking, what is it that gets you that label?  It’s a pretty common tag, so there must be some common criteria that come into play.

    First, let’s get the definition of enigmatic:  Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.

    Okay, so who are the enigmas?  Here are guys who came up (some repeatedly) if searching for ‘Enigmatic *position*’:

    Enigmatic wingers:  Wojtek Wolski, Alexei Kovalev, Lee Stempniak, Alexander Frolov, Miroslav Satan, Nikolay Zherdev, Alexander Semin

    Enigmatic centers:  Olli Jokinen, Derick Brassard, Alexei Yashin, Tim Connolly, Jason Spezza, Pavol Demitra, Daniel Alfredsson

    Enigmatic defensemen: Sami Salo, Joni Pitkanen, Dion Phaneuf, Marek Zidlicky, Dennis Wideman, Chris Pronger (huh?), Cam Barker (double huh?), Michal Rozsival, Derek Morris

    Looking at the list, there are a few criteria that jump out:

    1. Be European – almost all of the players on the list are from Europe.  It’s easy to be considered ‘mysterious’ or ‘difficult to understand’ if you literally can’t understand what they say or speak through an interpreter.
    2. One Good Year – some of the non-Euros on the list fell victim to having one good year.  Lee Stempniak is the best example, scoring 14 goals in 18 games after getting traded to Phoenix.  He has 14 goals in 51 games so far this year, and one previous year of 27.  Beyond that, nothing over 14.
    3. Long term injuries – A couple of the guys here (including Semin) have had injuries, some of which kept them out for a while.  But it’s the ones we find out about after the fact (like Vanek the past few games) that can feed into Enigma status.
    4. Be expected to score (and not) – Nobody pays close enough attention to the 4th line plug to care whether he’s gone 10 games without a point, or hasn’t scored in a playoff series.

    Using these criteria, you can see where the ‘enigma’ label comes from, but should it be valid for Semin?  I think it is, but only because the label doesn’t truly mean anything.  Gabe at Behind the Net broke down the Caps’ loss to Montreal as the sort of bad stretch that happens in a short sample size like a playoff series.  Combine that with being european, and you get ‘enigmatic’ instead of just saying snakebit or struggling.  You are less likely to hear about a nagging injury or something he’s working on in practice from someone like Semin with the language difference.  We KNOW what Iginla is thinking, if he goes 15 games without scoring, because he’s talking every night about it.

    This reminds me of when Maxim Afinogenov was here.  He certainly wasn’t the first Sabre to struggle and not score for long stretches, but he bore the weight of that ‘enigmatic’ label.  The thing is, we’d go weeks without hearing from Max while out fan-frustration with his performance would build.  Paul Gaustad doesn’t get the enigma label, but we see him on commercials every broadcast, he’s on the news, we know him.  He can frustrate us, but that word enigma doesn’t come into play.