Shutdown Pair

Tag: Brayden McNabb

  • Crowd Comments

    I went to the Sabres/Canadiens game on Monday, and I thought I’d comment about the issue everyone is talking about (while they distract themselves from a stressful playoff run).  I had zero problems with the crowd or the noise they made.  Did it get quiet during play?  Yeah, but *I* get quiet during play – I’m watching!  I know I made a joke about it, but it’s true.  Let me turn this around:  those of you who think we should make noise the whole game, what exactly are we doing?  Random cheering?  Constantly trying to chant (even if no one is joining in)?  I’m serious, what do you want to hear?  I thought we were plenty loud at the right times.

    The other aspect of it was whether or not we were cheering Gomez’s injury.  I saw Myers hit him, and it didn’t look like a clean hit to me from the start, though the size difference can make that hard to judge at full speed.  I’m not surprised he got dinged though three games is a bit much for a non-repeat offender to me.  The Sabres have a history with Scott Gomez (the Miller injury – and another ‘lack of response’, painful memory there) so it’s not surprising that fans would be less than sympathetic with him being injured, but it’s not like it was being greatly cheered or anything.  Montreal media needs to remember that a few bad apples on Twitter don’t make a fanbase.  Just like a few Habs fans who flip over and burn cop cars after a playoff win don’t make up theirs.

    We have to hope at this point that the Sabres can rally without Myers (who has been more and more productive lately, including the game-winner against the Habs) and keep rattling off wins to try and get ahead of Washington or Florida.  Sekera is still out, and Sulzer has been playing well in his stead, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Brayden McNabb is back in.  See you at 7:30pm for Colorado.

  • Feeling Relevant

    These were my thoughts as the NHL Trade Deadline coverage got rolling this morning.  Gaustad and Roy had both been involved in the rumors, so no huge surprise when that broke.  The return was surprising, even with the 4th rounder going the other way, but still, we knew he was the sort of guy playoff teams love to add at the deadline.  You know, that intangible-laden 3rd-liner, to win face-offs and ‘battles’ and all that other stuff pundits like to say.  When the official deadline was passing, though, people were disappointed.  “That’s it?” you heard.  Then you started to hear “Vancouver has another deal yet to come”, and then “They’re getting Kassian”.  We all sat up and took notice, and then when we heard Cody Hodgson was the guy coming back…wow.  That’s a great return, giving up Kassian and Gragnani, and getting Hodgson and Alexander Sulzer.  I love these deals.

    As I was thinking about these since they went down, I decided this is basically a win-win-win for the teams involved.  Buffalo is a win both for now – Hodgson has more offensive upside than Goose, and is a lot younger – and in the future, getting Nashville’s first rounder next year in addition to the players from Vancouver.  Nashville gets the vet C that teams love for the playoffs, and Vancouver gets a couple of guys that might fit better on their team than ours.  Kassian needs to prove himself in the NHL, and Gragnani might work best for the Canucks where he can just be a power play QB and get the softest minutes otherwise.

    I’m genuinely interested in seeing what Hodgson can do for Buffalo.  I’m sorry to see Gaustad go, as I had hopes for him…but it was pretty obvious that what he is now, is all he’ll ever be.  And if you turn Goose and a 4th into a 1st, you do it.  Gragnani was expendable…McNabb, and soon, other D-men in Rochester were pushing him from below, but he couldn’t move up any higher than 7th on the depth chart when everyone is healthy.  And all of this happened without crippling the Sabres’ cap situation any more than it already is.  Good job, Darcy.  Is it Wednesday yet?

  • Woo, I guess

    Seems like the Sabres won last night.  They even got some secondary scoring from Gerbe and Stafford.  Huh.  Wish I had seen it.  In the battle of two banged-up teams, the one that hadn’t travelled from Long Island to Chicago to Buffalo for 3 in 4 won.  Amazing.  It would be just like this team to start winning during a stretch where a good portion of people can’t easily see them.

    Bright spots would be Stafford (1G 2A), Gerbe (1G 1A) as above, and I’d toss in Brayden McNabb who picked up two assists.  Buffalo is 4 points out of 7th in the East with that win.

    By the way, the Edmonton media is a bunch of whiny annoying bitches.  Whether declaring that Kaleta is worse than Matt Cooke, or lamenting a quiet arena on a weekday for an underachieving team with a Western opponent, they all came off as super lame last night.  Cover the game, man.