Shutdown Pair

Tag: Buffalo

  • Sabres Win; Miller Gets Tootoo’d

    What a wild affair in Nashville, as the Sabres beat the Predators 3-2.  Luke Adam, Zack Kassian and Tyler Ennis scored, but the real story will again be Miller getting flattened.  This time, the team came to his aid like he owed them money, though Ryan tried to fight his own battle by punching whoever came near.  Jordin Tootoo was the culprit, and though he was being gently touched by Ehrhoff at the time, he practically leaped into Miller’s chest like a linebacker making a tackle.  Gaustad dove in to take care of business and it basically seemed like exactly what we should see when that happens.

    Kassian’s goal was sweet, there was some hard work, but the team was severely outshot.  Miller made some huge saves, before and after getting mauled.  We all now wait to hear what Tootoo will get for a suspension, if any.  He’s no boy scout though I don’t know how much of that would count for Shanny’s repeat offender status.  Lindy Ruff was outraged after the game, and this might be the first time I would wish we could play Nashville again in a season.

  • Catching Up

    So while I was gone (Disney with the kids) it looks like…

    • We killed Bruce Boudreau’s career for about a day
    • Miller is getting healthier
    • A whole mess of Amerks came up and did some stuff
    • The Legend of Joe Finley became a thing
    • INJURIES

    What else did I miss?

  • Myers To Miss A Month

    Multiple Twitter reports from the Sabres beat writers have Tyler Myers out for about a month with a broken wrist.  This is a huge blow for the big guy, who I thought had responded well after his benching and might’ve been rounding into form.  TJ Brennan is back up with the club and may see some time as Weber is also on the shelf (he practiced today with Ehrhoff).

    The Sabres need to pull together and play a team game from here on out.  One might even suggest a strong adherence to The System (I guarantee Roy or Pominville mention The System several times in their next few interviews).  They can keep winning games here – they do play Columbus after Boston – and it’s worth remembering that no team has more wins than Buffalo right now.  The ones ahead of them in the standings all have more loser points.  Even a dip in the standings now will not spell doom for the season.  Let’s see if the boys can dig in and keep getting points in front of a patchwork D and the backup goalie.

    By the way, I would apparently be remiss in blogging today if I did not mention Sidney Crosby at least once, so:  Sidney Crosby.

  • Prep Time

    The Sabres split the weekend, shutting out the Canes 1-0, while losing to the Coyotes 4-2.  Other than suffering the ignominy of allowing Biz Nasty to score, the worst news came in the third period on Saturday, when Tyler Myers didn’t return to the ice.  He’s got an ‘upper body injury’ that we should hear more about today.  He had just picked his game up after his benching (though he still had a few bad decisions) so losing him now (if indeed they do) would be tough.

    All of this becomes background noise as Wednesday approaches, and the rematch with the Boston Bruins looms.  I talked before about the likely scenarios we’ll see for that game, though we now have even more injuries that make brawls and fights even less likely.  Cody McCormick is still sitting, he’d be the most likely to go after Lucic on his own.  If Myers is out, I don’t think I’d want any defensemen to take themselves out of the play challenging Lucic (Weber or Regehr…obviously Leopold isn’t stepping in there).  So barring a Commander Cody recovery or callup cannon fodder, what we’re probably going to see is a bunch of hard hits, Kaleta-style charges, and a shit-ton of after the whistle tough-guy posturing without punches.  It’ll be annoying until the refs start tossing guys into the box to discourage it.  I’d much rather just see Buffalo win the game and keep their players upright and available for future games at this point.  Get Lucic later.  The anger will keep.

  • Gameday 2011-2012 – Sabres at Hurricanes

    It’s hard to know what to write about this team right now – that was a rough loss last game, but if Myers is going to score and go beast mode on guys, well, that I’m glad to see.  Carolina sucks so hopefully Jhonas Enroth can rebound against them.  Weber is hurt, TJ Brennan is recalled, Hecht practiced, Ennis is still non-contact (think I got all that right).

    Wins tonight and tomorrow (Enroth gets both?) would be great for putting some distance on Toronto who is struggling through injuries and questionable goaltending also.

  • Gameday 2011-2012 – Devils at Sabres

    It feels like a really strange night tonight.  The Devils don’t exactly excite anyone, and there’s so much other stuff happening around the Sabres it really feels like this game is an afterthought.  They players are all answering questions about their injured goalie, the injured goalie is snarking at the media, and some of the media is snarking right back (looking at you, Sully).  Add in a few other injuries (Cody McCormick is out, Corey Tropp is back), a goalie ‘controversy’ now on simmer thanks to the concussion, the return of Tyler Myers (Grags sits) and you’re one ring short of a circus.

    The Devils might have Kovalchuk back tonight if he feels OK during the pregame activities.  New Jersey played in Boston last night, losing on a late goal, so for once Buffalo will be (slightly) more well rested.  Enroth is firmly entrenched in the net, though I’m curious about what happens this weekend.  It’s a 7:30pm Versus game, though Dave Strader is calling it and he’s solid.  We do get more Pierre though, so look for Rob Ray to ‘accidently’ elbow him in between the benches tonight if he starts close-talking.  Let’s go.

  • Backup Plan

    The Sabres backup goalie is Drew McIntyre.  If you are like me, you had to look him up to get the details, which include a grand total of 2 NHL appearances since being drafted in 2001.  He’s had some solid years but has never made the jump.  Ryan Miller has his second concussion in 8 months.  Jhonas Enroth is playing great…but in the worst case scenario of Miller missing significant time it’s worth noting that Jhonas has only had one season with more than 50 appearances.  Combine that with all the back to back weekends the Sabres have, and you can see that Enroth is in a bit of unknown territory.  It’s early yet, and I wouldn’t want anyone to panic (not that this fanbase has done that this year AT ALL), but the goalie situation beyond Enroth gets interesting very quick if Miller isn’t any closer to returning after this week.  Something to keep an eye on.

  • Head Games

    The plot, it does thicken.  After a resounding win over the Senators, Buffalo went to Boston and let the Bruins run roughshod over them (literally).  A lot has already been said about Lucic and Miller and responses.  I think Nick Mendola summed up the immediate reaction best for me:

    The Sabres immediate response to the offense was mostly fine in my book, given their personnel. Miller tried a blind baseball swing back at Lucic. Thomas Vanek tried to knock the train over. No dice. Andrej Sekera shoved Lucic and looked around for reinforcements. Not seeing any coming, he buried his head and hoped for the least beating possible. I’d like Paul Gaustad to look more interested in getting to Lucic, and maybe it’s above Tyler Myers’ weight class right now.

    While I did wonder where the Gaustad is that came off the bench to attack Ovechkin for cheap-shotting Briere, but the officials got their arms on guys as quick as they could and Goose apparently didn’t see it happen.  As for not taking care of Lucic later, well, for the rest of the 1st and 2nd periods, the game wasn’t out of reach (though those two goals later in the 2nd off stupid defense AGAIN had to drive even a concussed Miller crazy).  Would I want a full-on brawl to develop?  Would I have wanted Kaleta to run Tim Thomas?  Or the usual suspects to charge Lucic whenever they could, late/dirty or not?  I might’ve had a positive visceral reaction to events like that at the time, but after the fact, I’d be a bit disappointed.  I like Tim Thomas, and I wouldn’t like to see him get hurt, even in retaliation for a stupid shot on a Sabre.

    So, what happens next week when these two teams meet again, here?  There are a few scenarios:

    • Scenario One – The Sabres call up Kassian, roll out a line featuring Cody McCormick, Gaustad and BZK (backed by Regehr and Weber), and they brawl with whoever they are on the ice with, Neil/Drury game style.  EXTREMELY UNLIKELY.
    • Scenario Two – Cody McCormick fights Lucic, Kaleta hits him a few times.  Beyond that, a normal game.  MORE LIKELY.
    • Scenario Three – Gary Bettman or Colin Campbell attend the game, and the teams are on their best behavior.  SOMEWHAT LIKELY.

    There is one wild card in this – a Sabres player truly running a Bruins player.  Maybe Myers bounces Horton’s head off the boards accidently with his elbow.  Maybe Kaleta does the usual Carubba worthy hit near the boards on a guy in an awkward position.  It might even be an accident, and have nothing to do with the recent history.  But that’s the one thing that will kick that next game into clownshoes territory.  Still, the most likely one is the ‘one fight and done’ thing.  ‘The next game’ is always a disappointment.

    Miller is concussed, and Drew McIntyre will be the door opener for however long that lasts.  Jhonas Enroth is the man now, and it’s no easy stretch coming up, in Montreal tonight, home for NJ Wednesday, then another set of back to backs this weekend (Friday in Carolina, Saturday here for Phoenix).  You have to think Darcy and Lindy are hoping Miller is ready for the weekend but with a concussion, you just can’t know.  The team needs to pull together here and rally.

  • Gameday LIVE – Senators at Sabres

    In the pressbox tonight, so I’ll be updating this post with my thoughts between periods.

    1st Period:  Wow, two quick goals.  And they give one right back on the PK.  Fun stuff.  Anderson was terrible with his rebounds so Alex Auld is in net.  Some dude proposed on the Kiss cam.  I’ve wondered whether there are any people who are already engaged and just do that to get on TV/get attention.  The rest of the period had a slower pace with a bit more of the dodgy passing, though not nearly as much as the recent losses.  Vanek is a touch off.

    2nd Period:  Leftover penalty time killed easily.  Not much action then Enroth had to make a beauty of a save.  Vanek making some noise again, but the wraparound wasn’t there tonight.  Sabres powerplay showed some life with a short 5 on 3, with some very solid keep-ins and puck movement, but no goal so far.  Enroth got wiped out when Zenon Konopka shoves Gragnani into him, drawing a penalty.  Some activity in front of the Buffalo net, and Gaustad getting a bit testy when clearing the crease.  Will be watching in the third.

    3rd Period:  Sens fan in the building, wearing a hockey helmet.  Good planning.  Stafford and others had some hard hits to start also.  Goose just missed a tip in.  Ville Leino scored on a reviewed goal that came out of Auld’s glove, and the Sabres got a little ‘fancy’ (DRINK) for a few minutes after that.  Not unexpected in a 5-1 game.  That’s the final, though they did get a solid chance to score on Auld again close to the end.

  • Will “The Schedule” Become the Next Great Lindy Ruff Meme?

    We’ve all had fun with Lindy Ruff and the players and their constant use of ‘The System”.  “We didn’t play the system tonight” or “We’ve got to get back to playing our system”.  Now, with the goalie stuff going on, we have ‘The Schedule’.  Which goalie is playing tonight?  It’s Scheduled.  Who does Ruff consider his number 1(A?) right now?  You’d know, if only you could see The Schedule.  Is The Schedule a physical construct?  Or just a metaphysical one inside Ruff’s mind?

    The Sabres play the Senators tonight, and I heard that Chris Neil might not play.  That’s too bad, because I wanted Cody McCormick or Paul Gaustad to beat the snot out of him.  I think I’ll be home tonight barring anything strange happening.  But I have a wife and kids, so strange is possible…