Shutdown Pair

Tag: Hockey

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.