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.
Tag: Hockey
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Take a breath
The Buffalo Sabres come into the All-Star break on a surprisingly good note, considering where they were even a few weeks ago. 8th place is in their reach, 6 points back with 3 games in hand on Atlanta, though before the year I’m certain most of us wouldn’t have pictured being happy about that but it’s what we have. Even though the team is rolling a bit over the last 13 games, the break comes at a good time for the health of guys like Stafford, Kaleta, Vanek, maybe Montador, and Miller who could use a rest.
The next game is February 4th against the Pens, and the 3 weeks after that leading to the trade deadline will tell the story. It *should* be possible for the Sabres to make up ground with multiple games against Toronto, along with games against Ottawa, Florida, the Isles (well…), and Atlanta (a great chance to help themselves). Get your points there, do some good work against the likes of Detroit, Washington and Tampa and see what happens.
The trade deadline is the thing, though, isn’t it? Despite Darcy Regier’s best efforts, it hasn’t been kind to the Sabres for several years. Heck, I’ve liked some of the guys picked up but, well, hear it from Darcy:
“One of the hard parts isn’t just finding good players but players that fit. That’s the challenge.”
I’m pondering the roster this year, and I’m not honestly sure what the move is. It’s easy to say they need scoring, but what team wouldn’t want that? Heck, who do you move? The ones we want to get rid of, nobody wants, and I think we generally like all of our prospects that we’ve gotten to see so far (even Byron scored, and Gerbe is on fire). I don’t envy Regier’s position this year, especially with the specter of ownership ‘changes’ hanging over.
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Nathan Gerbe: Saving the Season
It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there’s no denying the impact the diminutive winger is having on the Sabres right now. He had a goal against the Islanders yesterday, and had the only 2 scored against the Isles in the previous 5-2 smack down the Sabres endured. In that game, it seemed only Ennis, Gerbe, Gragnani and Vanek even played. Gerbe has 5 of his 6 goals in the past 6 games, is on a 3 game goal scoring streak, and has no problem mucking with guys who double his weight. Nathan registered 18 shots in the past 3 games. He’s playing like a kid that wants to stick, and they’ll need his scoring while Roy is out if the Sabres still think they can make the playoffs.
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How an NHL Guardians Cartoon Could Work
Having read Puck Daddy’s breakdown of the future of the Guardian Project (i.e. it’s with us for a while), and I got to thinking about ways it could be improved. Specifically, their problem with creating a cartoon or other TV show around it. It was mentioned that the dude from GME (Guardian Media Entertainment) balked at doing a show centered around 4 characters. However, I think that could work, and what show do they need to look at for inspiration? Captain N: The Game Master. Yes, I went there. In Captain N, there was a core group of characters each week (for our purposes, you could have The Capital, The Penguin, The Red Wing, and another of your choice), and then have each episode center around assisting one of the other Guardians in their ‘realm’ or home rink or what not. Include cameos from that team’s star players if you like. The heroes bicker but ultimately come together just in time to defeat the villain, and shake hands at the end (well, not the Penguin). Hey, if they play up the campiness like Pro-Stars or Captain N, it just might work. What say you?
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Gameday 2010-2011 – Sabres at Bruins
It’s these guys again, and this time no Drew Stafford to save us, who’s nursing a groin injury and is out for the next game or two. Marc-Andre Gragnani gets the call this time instead of Luke Adam, who was sent down to Portland after Kaleta returned. Boston’s offense has come alive of late, since losing to the Sabres 7-6 they have mixed in 6-0 and 7-0 shutouts, and a 7-5 win over Philly.
A win tonight puts Buffalo back in 10th, and Carolina would be the next target (before today’s action they are 5 points ahead, playing the Rangers). The Canes lost two straight to Boston (one of which is that 7-0 shutout).
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A Bad Win
There may not really be any such thing, but Buffalo can’t afford to give up points to division teams. Net positive, yes, but time is running out, and 3 point games (as much as you might hate them) just don’t help enough. Gotta get wins in regulation time here. The Sabres have 3 teams to jump, and the more they play, the more this looks like 2 and 3 years ago – 10th place. Blech.
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Standing Still
Just one of those Buffalo things, people will say. The Sabres have put together a solid run here, going 4-1-1 in the last 6. Vanek (3G 5A) and Stafford (5G 3A) each have 8 points during that time, and Gaustad/Gerbe/McCormick have been playing well for some secondary scoring. And yet, they are still 8 points out of a playoff spot. That’s the problem with being on the outside looking in – you need help. Like I mentioned in a previous post, the Sabres can help themselves later this month with games against Boston and Montreal. They have to keep winning other games for that to matter, though.
Other random thoughts:
- Wasn’t it nice hearing RJ on TV last night? Felt so comfortable.
- Sure wish Commander Cody got to really fight last night, was over too quick. Really starting to like McCormick.
- Jeff Skinner is a player.
- I still hate Carolina.
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You Just Don’t Know
Really, you just can’t know how a team, any team, will respond to an injury to a key player. Many of us wrote off the season after Roy got hurt (myself included), but all the Sabres have done since then is go on a run. Since the 5-2 loss in Calgary, Buffalo has gone 4-0-1, including a 7-6 barnburner highlighted by a Drew Stafford hat trick, and a 3-0 real shutout of San Jose, and a 2-1 win against the Coyotes, games in which the Vezina quality Ryan Miller made appearances.
Players and coaches will always throw out the ‘other guys need to step up’ cliche when an injury like this happens, but it really is true, and it’s happened here. EX:
“Since Derek’s (Roy) gone, there’s a chance for a lot of guys to step up and play some extra minutes. Guys are trying to take advantage of that.” Jochen Hecht
Stafford is on a tear (in addition to the hatty he had an OT game-winner in Phoenix), Jordan Leopold has 10 goals, Shaone Morrisonn has brought an increased physical presence, Mike Weber has too (in addition to a few goals!) and there have been goals by Jochen Hecht, Luke Adam, and Jason Pominville, all guys who are in that ‘needs to step up’ category.
Looking at the standings, Buffalo is currently 10th, 8 points behind Boston and Montreal (catching both would jump them all the way into 3rd). The schedule for the month means Lalime will be keeping the bench warm quite a bit, as there is only 1 back to back set of games as part of a 3 in 4, with two of them against the Isles. Gotta get him in once there, I’d think. There’s a game each against the teams they are chasing in the Northeast, how successful January is probably turns on how they do there. It’s a tough lead to make up, but a team that plays the way they have in the past few games can do it. They are making it interesting, at least.
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In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck
Tyler Ennis did what he was supposed to do.
He went to the net, created traffic, but unfortunately instead of deflecting a goal in, he stopped it. Of course, some still think it went in, but doesn’t show as such because of the angle of the camera above the net. Until we have cameras IN the goalposts, there’ll never be a better angle, so we live with it. Unfortunately for the Tiny Tyler, he followed up that ‘save’ with a high-sticking penalty in OT, and the Avs capitalized for the game-winner (4-3). Both Budaj and Miller had stretches of spectacular saves, sandwiched around a goal or two that made you roll your eyes.
The game was definitely a spiritual successor to the Bruins game from the other night, defense optional. I don’t think there was one d-man that was really any good, Montador got a goal from a bad angle thanks to Budaj brain-farting on the shot. Thomas Vanek scored on a 4-min power play (yay!), but then the team gave it right back by allowing a shorty after that (boo!). Hecht scored, Vanek had 1G, 1A, and Drew Stafford had 2 assists.
Buffalo travels to San Jose for a game tomorrow, a painful 10:30pm start.
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Gameday 2010-2011 – Sabres at Avalanche
The Sabres are at an odd place as they visit Colorado. They came home during a lull in the World Juniors and beat Boston in a wild 7-6 affair, after we all declared the season and the offense dead minus Derek Roy. The Avs aren’t exactly going gangbusters right now either, 1-4-1 in their last 6 and 4 straight home losses. It’s apparently Peter Budaj instead of Anderson, so add another backup to the tally, though neither one is good right now:
Peter Budaj will get the nod in net for Colorado in place of starter Craig Anderson, who’s 1-4-0 with a 3.63 goals-against average in his last five starts.
Budaj, who will make just his second start in the past month, hasn’t been any better than Anderson. He’s 1-1-2 with a 4.18 GAA in four starts since Nov. 27.
Budaj has done well against Buffalo, but if the ’11 goals in past 2 games’ Sabres show up, Colorado may find themselves getting blown out. I’d settle for any kind of win, even a shootout, as bonus points given up to the West don’t matter.