Shutdown Pair

Tag: Ilya Bryzgalov

  • Gameday 2011-2012 – Flyers at Sabres

    The Flyers visit the Sabres tonight, for a 7:30pm Versus game.  Ilya Bryzgalov gets the start for Philly, and I haven’t been following Twitter closely today, but I’m assuming there’s been at least three snide weather/city remarks by Philly beat reporters.  I haven’t seen any lines/practice notes for Buffalo today but with the way injuries are, I don’t think it’s nailed down until the puck is dropped.  Will we see Miller again?  Yeah, I bet we do, as there are (surprise!) back to back games this weekend, though both are at home.  Enroth Friday against the Panthers makes sense to me.

    The other bit of news is Jordin Tootoo’s 2 game suspension for bowling over Miller.  I am not surprised, though I thought it might go 3-4 games.  At least he’s established as a repeat offender for the next time he doesn’t mean to take a stroll right through a goal crease, I didn’t mean to, honest!

  • NHL Awards Ceremony Pregame

    The NHL gives away it’s major awards tonight in Las Vegas, and I thought I’d toss up some notes in case you are the sort that ignores the off-season until training camp.

    The first name you need to listen for is Ryan Miller.  He is a Vezina finalist, against Brodeur and Bryzgalov.  He has a great look at winning this, especially with the crest of popularity he has from the Olympics here in the US.  Miller is also a top contender for the Messier Leadership award, where he’s up against Sidney Crosby and Shane Doan.

    Miller is also up for the NHL Foundation Award, which, well:

    is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player “who applies the core values of (ice) hockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork—to enrich the lives of people in his community”.

    That’s definitely our man, what with his creation of the Steadfast Foundation and work with other charities.  Mike Green and Dustin Brown are also candidates.

    Perhaps the most interesting award for Sabres fans this year is the Calder trophy, with Tyler Myers up against Matt Duchene of the Avs and Jimmy Howard of the Red Wings.  There are good arguments for all of them, and I’m not honestly sure I could be unbiased about this one.  I think Tyler Myers did more for his team this year, as he basically allowed Buffalo to play the game differently, he came up huge offensively, was huge (heh) in his own zone as well, and soaked up a ton of minutes.  Jimmy Howard could steal this, though, with the ‘goalie is a harder position’ argument.