Shutdown Pair

Tag: Andrej Sekera

  • Perspective, Again

    This comment at the Buffalo News article about the rest of the team needing to be like Vanek stopped me dead in my tracks:

    Listen, exactly one year ago, would it have been plausible that the expectation for the 2011-2012 season would have been President’s trophy and Stanley Cup? Come on, really? Do you realistically think Terry and Ted had that expectation for this season? The long term outlook for this team is not just good, it’s friggin’ great! The owner is a bleed-Sabres-blue high integrity guy who wants success more than any of the knuckleheads who post here. Color me naive, but even with the inconsistent team performance, I absolutely believe that the players want it too – why, because they say so and I don’t think they’re BS’ing me – I actually like them. It’s just not something you can wave a magic wand over – it’s going to take time, and not months-time, but years-time. Sorry about that reality for you gotta-have-it now-wantski’s.

    Dude, what?  A positive comment, thought out, with decent spelling, punctuation and grammar?  What the hell?  Dan from Charlotte, you are in the wrong place my man.  Don’t let the rest of the trolls over there eat your soul.  In all seriousness, I can see the right of what Dan says here.  I sometimes felt I was the only person who wasn’t in full-on freakout mode after the Sabres’ recent struggles.  I WANT them to win every game and win the cup and poop in the Leafs players’ gloves.  But it won’t be happening, not right away.  Having the money to spend to the cap and eat a bad contract or two and upgrade the facilities doesn’t mean the wins just roll in.  Do their chances go up?  Yes.  It does not mean, however, that James Reimer will simply bow and step aside to allow Vanek to score a quadruple hat trick the next time Buffalo goes to Toronto.

    Me, I’m here for the ride.  I learned a few years ago to stop letting sports teams make me miserable.  I will still get on the players not pulling their weight, raise up the ones who are raising their game, and when I attend as a fan, I’ll cheer and clap and chant and boo.  Let’s just do that and have fun.  The wins will be there.

    As for tonight, Buffalo is in Washington tonight, to try and beat the only team nice enough to lose to them in the past five games.  Miller is in tonight, maybe Enroth tomorrow.  Gragnani in for the injured Sekera, out ‘weeks’.  So there went a whole couple of days where we could think the Sabres were getting healthier.  Let’s go.

  • Comfortably Numb

    Okay, nice headline, nerd.

    I missed the later goal when my wife came home after the second period, but I just can’t get too worked up over this loss.  Miller played better, which was my main concern.  There needs to be some more scoring.  They didn’t take many shots, and when they did, they seemed to go right into Anderson’s chest.

    The Sabres forwards, almost to a man, deserve much of the blame for last night’s game.  Nine of Buffalo’s anemic 23 shots came from the blue liners, including the only two guys to have more than two shots (Sekera and Ehrhoff), and the only Sabre to score (Leopold).  On a night where you give up five shots to Erik Condra and SIX to Chris Neil, that’s not good enough.  I’m perfectly OK with any shake-ups Darcy wants to try for the forward group, although getting everyone back healthy might count as a shake-up too.

    Buffalo next plays tomorrow night in Toronto.

  • 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.

  • THE Most Important Sabres Question You Will Ever Answer

    [poll id=2]

    It started when I heard Rhett Warrener (and possibly Jordan Leopold?) call Robyn Regehr ‘Reggie’ in interviews, and I haven’t been able to shake this VERY IMPORTANT question ever since.  Many of you know I have a problem with Andrej Sekera being called ‘Reggie’, because the J IS SILENT in his name.  But!  Robyn Regehr’s claim in that regard is no better – Reg-ear is the G sound, not the J sound.  This team, as far as I’m concerned, has NO Reggie.

    Actually, not that I think about it, Silent J would be an outstanding nickname for Sekera.  I think it shall be my goal this season to get that into common usage.  Help me out!

  • Character Wins and Subsequent Losses

    A come from behind win against the East-leading Philadelphia Flyers is an event to be celebrated.  Some even declared the weekend a success just by getting these 2 points.  While that’s true enough from a certain point of view, I’d like to see Buffalo take the playoff spot by the throat and not let go.  Win tomorrow, behind Enroth (who they have won for before), and show the league they are not an easy out.  Take that 7th spot, gain points against a couple of good teams in Pittsburgh and Boston, then roll the Leafs in front of their own fans.  I want waffles on the ice, guys.  Too many times this team has impressed and regressed.  The move needs to be made now.  Make it so.

    As far as the game goes, you have Pominville, Ennis, Stafford and Sekera scoring, with Nathan Gerbe getting the empty netter that many of us missed (see below).  Brad Boyes and Thomas Vanek both had 2 assists, and Vanek played more than 20 minutes.  Tim Connolly, by the way, 17 min, -1, ‘winning’ just over a quarter of the draws he took.  So valuable.  Montador, +3.

    By the way, Time Warner Cable and MSG combined for a horrible series of gaffes in the broadcast today, twice causing those of us on the SD feed to lose the game, including with 2 minutes to go when MSG switched back to…halftime of a Women’s College Basketball game.  You just can’t be that asleep at the switch on such an important game.  I’m smart enough to have my DVR record 30 minutes past the normal end time, you’d think they could have a guy you know, watching the game to make sure the right broadcast stays on.  Terrible.

  • Buffalo Sabres: A Look At The Depth Chart

    With training camp less than a month away, and the Buffalo Sabres roster looking pretty much set, I thought now would be a good time to investigate the lines and defense pairings for the coming season.  Starting up front:

    Ennis – Connolly – Pominville
    Vanek – Roy – Stafford/McCormick?
    Gerbe – Gaustad – Kaleta
    Hecht – Niedermayer – Grier

    It’s an odd mix of diminutive players and size/grit, to be sure.  Zack Kassian could make things interesting when he’s off his time-out from GMDR and gets to sign.  I’m not sure what happens if McCormick gets one of the RW spots, Stafford really is the only one that can come out.  I don’t think you play anybody out of position to try and keep him in the lineup.  Gerbe, I suppose, could end up on the fourth line if Lindy wants to keep Hecht up on the third, though my hope is with cagey vets like Grier and Niedermayer taking over the fourth line will get more than 6 minutes a night.  It’s a lineup that has some scoring potential, but should help out the revamped defense core quite a bit as well.  Speaking of:

    Myers (RH) – Morrisonn (LH)
    Montador (RH) – Leopold (LH)
    Rivet (RH) – Sekera (LH)

    Butler (LH)

    Obviously Myers is the top dog, and I slotted Morrisonn next to him as he’s another more stay at home type as Tallinder was for Tyler last year.  You get a similar Off/Def pair with Montador/Leopold, leaving Rivet and his bad shoulder to mentor Sekera and Butler in the third pair.  This keeps the left hand/right hand balance, and keeps Rivet healthier so he can bulldoze some guys in front of Miller.  If Leopold can chip in points to balance the Myers pairing, the offense from the backend will be right where it needs to be.  Now, Morrisonn may not fit in as a first pair guy which blows all this up but I think this works the best.

    I don’t HAVE to go over the goalies, do I?  Miller gets more work than we like (without the Olympics thankfully), especially considering the TWENTY TWO back to back game situations.  Does Lalime get 15 games?  Lalime and Enroth combined for 14 starts last year, I’d like to see that at 20 with all the back to backs but I can’t predict it.

    Look, it’s not the wholesale changes in the top 6 we were looking for, but as we’ve investigated before, there aren’t a lot of guys available who are a for-sure improvement.  Stempniak might be a one-hit wonder, and there’s that self-imposed cap…

  • Can Myers Be Our Pronger Or Lidstrom?

    Steve Simmons has a column over at the Toronto Sun regarding Chris Pronger and what he brings to a team when he joins, and the wreckage left in his wake when he leaves.  GM Ken Holland of the Red Wings has this to say:

    “He does things that other players can’t do, haven’t done, don’t know how to do. And he just does them easily,” said Ken Holland, general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, who admitted to being “pretty damn happy” when the Ducks traded Pronger to the Eastern Conference.

    Kukla’s has a a bit more of Ken’s comments, which is where Lidstrom is reference:

    If you wonder why we’ve worried about Lidstrom leaving, it’s because look what happens when Pronger leaves teams.  They don’t recover. It’s pretty apparent what he does for teams and he’s even more appreciated when he’s not there because you come to appreciate all he does. Look at Edmonton. They had one great year. That wasn’t an accident. Look what’s happened to them since.

    Indeed.  Anyway, that brought me back to thinking of Tyler Myers.  His meteoric rise to the top of the defensive depth charts is not completely unexpected for those that saw his final year of Juniors.  That leaves us wondering just where his ceiling is.  Here are the relevant stats for the two mentioned guys and Myers in their rookie seasons:

    • Tyler Myers (Buffalo Sabres, 19yrs old) – 82GP,  11G 37A, +13, 32 PIM
    • Chris Pronger (Hartford Whalers, 19yrs old) – 81GP, 5G 25A, -3, 113 PIM
    • Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroid Red Wings, 21yrs old) – 80GP, 11G 49A, +36, 22 PIM

    You can see that Myers (as of now) fits in right between the two.  Pronger has a physical game right now that Myers can’t match, though his offseason goals to gain wait and strength would go a long way at putting him in that territory.  As for the much smaller Lidstrom, the offensive numbers are in line, with the +/- as the main outlier, thanks to the better goal-scoring of the Red Wings that year, compared to Buffalo this year (+64 goal differential).

    This second year is going to be huge for Myers.  Possibly a different defense partner, higher expectations, and adjustments from the rest of the NHL.  His offseason work will determine whether or not he becomes Chris Pronger/Zdeno Chara, or Andrej Sekera.