Shutdown Pair

Tag: Jason Pominville

  • Gameday 2010-2011 – Canadiens at Sabres

    Buffalo is hosting their 40th anniversary celebration tonight, as 40 years ago they opened the season against the Montreal Canadiens.  Members of the Knox family are in, Buffalo is wearing their whites at home, and more.  Should be a fun time.

    Shaone Morissonn is out with a groin injury, so either Weber or Butler will be in tonight (will update if I see which one).  Pominville is still out so expect the same forwards in play.  Montreal is currently 1-1-1, even with the Sabres points-wise.

    I will be watching this game, either in the building or at home depending on the situation.  Wife and kids had a rough day yesterday so hopefully things are better tonight.

    edit:  Butler is in, Miller starts (have to imagine Lalime tomorrow night, does follow the ‘play him against his former teams’ thing they have going with him).

  • Calm Down

    Just a friendly reminder that Buffalo lost (regulation and OT/SO) 37 games last year en route to winning their division.  They 3 times lost 4 or more games in a row, including a stretch of 6 in a row.  I get the feeling they are still adjusting to new linemates/defense partners, and that certainly isn’t helped by Pominville being out.  There are definitely fixes that need to be made, but they sure do have plenty of time to make them.  Let it play out.

    Speaking of Pominville/Hjalmarsson, the suspension made Woot’s news aggregation/humor post.

    CHICAGO (UPI) — Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson has been suspended for two games following a questionable hit, ESPNChicago.com reported Tuesday.

    Hjalmarsson says that his hit, a techno cover of “Free Bird”, totally has precedent and is not even slightly questionable.

    Sounds like something a Swede would do.

  • Gameday 2010-2011 – Devils at Sabres

    Game four in a very busy schedule for the Sabres to start the season sees the undermanned New Jersey Devils visiting Buffalo for a 7pm game.  The Devils are icing a 16-skater lineup due to salary cap constraints, though it was 15 before former Sabres grinder Adam Mair was signed.  This will also be the return of Henrik Tallinder to Buffalo.

    All of this is well and good, but the talk is still all about Pominville, Hjalmarsson and the two game suspension.  Ryan Miller, as usual, was eloquent and should be one of the players’ most respected voices in the future.  Always look forward to his comments after something interesting happens.

    For tonight, Nathan Gerbe is in, and should see some PP time.  It seems obvious that the Sabres should try to skate fast and hard against the Devils in hopes of tiring them out, but it remains to be seen whether that will work.

  • A Pound of Flesh

    In the aftermath of last night’s horrible scene, I wonder:  where do you stand on on-ice vengeance?  There are several levels it can get to, where do you stop looking for blood?

    1. Immediately after the play.  In this case Connolly was on the ice and went after Hjalmarsson.  Not too satisfying to most fans, as a skilled player giving the offender what amounts to a hug with some face slaps isn’t what they want.  Stafford, at least, did a solid job on Neil after the Drury hit.  Goose, too, after that Ovechkin hit on Briere a few years ago.
    2. The rest of the game.  If you have any sort of tough guy on the roster, this one’s going to happen – a fight with someone on the offending team.  Not all that satisfying last night, as Hjalmarsson was kicked out and couldn’t take his lumps, which leads to…
    3. The next game.  Buffalo travels to Chicago on Saturday, which (barring a Stanley Cup Finals matchup) is the last time they’ll see each other this year.  There are two games in between, so if the disciplinary decision comes down today, and it’s 0-2 games of suspension, Hjalmarsson could get targeted then.  These fights are usually a letdown, though, if the offender is not normally a fighter.  Somebody swinging wildly at him, while he covers up and ‘fires back’ a few times to make it look good.

    That’s your choices, really.  The only thing that can complicate them is a rivalry, which is tough to build up with a team from the other conference.  How far do you want your vengeance to go?

  • Sabres and Pominville Fall to the Champs

    Most discussion of the game action went out the window when this happened:

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-4aH7nnPjc[/youtube]

    It was worth a 5min boarding major and a game misconduct for Niklas Hjalmarsson.  Definitely warranted that, and I believe it’s worthy of suspension.  If you watch the video, especially the angle from behind 29, you can see Hjalmarsson’s elbow/shoulder land straight in Pominville’s back, between the numbers.  He had plenty of time to adjust his route, go for the puck, or just not give the upward thrust with his shoulder (a la the Drury hit).  As a first time offender, I don’t see the 5-10 game suspension happening, not for a Blackhawk fresh off the Cup win, but there WILL be a consequence.  One game off, three if Colin Campbell’s wheel of justice spins a bit more wildly.  That said, this has completely removed any positive feelings I used to have for the Blackhawks, the first time I ever rooted for, before I moved up here.

    As for the rest of the game, the power play faltered, especially when they had a 5 minute long one.  Vanek is still snakebit, Derek Roy is a beast (?!), and Miller was stuck in no-man’s land on the Hossa breakaway.  After the mess in the first period, I’m inclined to just toss the rest of this one aside and retry things on Wednesday.

  • Sabres End Preseason on a High Note

    While the Flyers dressed what amounts to the roster for their AHL team last night, a 9-3 win HAD to be fun for those present.  You can’t read a lot into it, other than, the guys who were supposed to score scored.  Such as Myers, Ennis, Gerbe, Stafford (1+3, nice job Angry Eyebrows), Roy, Pominville, and so on.  Kaleta knocked out Darroll Powe apparently.  Carcillo did…something to get ejected, no idea what.  Bring on the regular season!

  • Question: How do you pick your favorite player?

    Always kind of curious about this, as I’ve come into liking my favorite players in a few different ways.  I’ve come up with a few ways that people seem to decide on a guy, see if any of these types fit you:

    1. The best player on your favorite team:  You probably like Ryan Miller or Thomas Vanek.  It’s a great feeling to be watching someone who is going for a major trophy, or is starring in commercials, though some people will label you as a bandwagonner.
    2. Heart and soul guys:  You probably like Paul Gaustad or Mike Grier.  You know that goal scorers come and go, but the real glue of a team are the guys who bang bodies, go to the net, kill penalties, wear letters.  They might have gray in their beards.  These fans will talk about a player for years after they are gone, even if they only spent a year or two in town (say, Guerin in Pittsburgh).
    3. Eligible Bachelors:  I get the feeling that the younger puck bunnies go for (ugh) Derek Roy or Jason Pominville, while the non-teenager ones are more about the graybeard heart and soul guys mentioned above.  They have signs (and sometimes wear wedding dresses) for their favorites.  There may be some hockey knowledge, but it’s more about the guys.
    4. Fighters:  Most likely a fan of George Laraque, or Colton Orr, or even better, a fighter from the 70s or 80s that they obsess about.  They like MMA too, with the Tapout shirt and way out of date barbed wire tattoo giving them away.  Often these fans are unaware or at least uninterested in other aspects of hockey.
    5. Pity Party:  You like Drew Stafford, or Patrick Lalime.  Sometimes you just take a liking to the guy that’s getting kicked while he’s down.  You might very well do a doubletake if you see someone wearing their jersey.  Maybe this fan followed the player in college, or watched them tear up the AHL, and haven’t forgotten the glory days.

    I think that covers most situations.  Any disagreements?  Another category I missed?