Shutdown Pair

Tag: NHL

  • Miller and Myers

    You’re still smiling about last night’s game, admit it.  Nerves to start, especially after Atlanta tied it, but Terry Pegula got his first win.  The Thrashers are a team the Sabres should beat, one that was struggling as much if not moreso than Buffalo the past few games, and they took care of business.

    It’s interesting to see the names popping up on the scoresheet now, such as Gaustad and Pominville.  We’ve kind of been waiting for these guys to chip in regularly all year, and now would be a great time for them to do so.  Most important, though, is the play of the two guys in the title, Ryan Miller and Tyler Myers.  Miller, after having a couple of rough games, has been very good in the past several, despit some of them being losses.  His save percentage in the last four is .947 and he’s been bailing the team out with some sick saves when needed.  Tyler Myers scoring on a booming shot on a rush down the right wing is becoming a thing, basically daring goalies to stop it.  So far, only the post has been successful.  It was also a Myers shot that lead to Pominville’s goal as he cleaned up the rebound.  A run that involves actual playoff wins is going to need these two guys on their game, along with the scoring Buffalo has been getting from Vanek and Stafford.

    The Sabres play two games this weekend, which I will be tracking by phone as I’m headed to Virginia for the week.  I’ll pop in on Twitter, especially to follow potential deadline deals that pop up, but won’t be blogging (or even able to see the games).  Have fun, guys.

  • Back to Work

    Yesterday was fun, probably the most fun being a Sabres fan has been in a few years.  But there’s a game tonight, an important one since Carolina gained a point last night.  The Thrashers should be an easier target to rebound against, being 1-6-1 and also losers of three straight.  The energy the team gets from the buzz in the building (heck, the whole WNY area) will send them out flying, I bet, but the finish has to be there.  I can barely contain my excitement for tonight.  And they haven’t even traded away all the players we hate yet!

  • No Financial Mandates

    Well, the press conference is over, tears have falled, but no axes – yet.  Darcy Regier has free reign to improve the team with ‘no financial mandates’ in place.  This is his trial run.  Can he improve the team?  Will he part with players he drafted to do it?  Draft picks?  There are no more excuses, that’s for sure.  More scouts, better player development budget.

    The presser hit the right notes for locals – Pegula came off as a funny family man, sitting near his hero Gilbert Perreault, firmly taking the helm while looking a bit uncomfortable on camera.  He joked with Ed Kilgore, jokingly deferred to his wife about the carpet and arena upgrades in the arena, and called his two twitter celeb daughters his ‘tweety-birds’.  He has our full attention, now he and Regier have to knock the trade deadline and this first off-season out of the park.  No pressure.

  • Pegula Eve

    I guess if the Sabres are going to lose 3 straight, the best time to lose them is when other teams are losing too and you can stay 4 points back of the playoffs.  Buffalo wasted a dominant performance by Miller, who did his best to bail the team out but he can’t score goals.  At least, not without a lead and an empty net at the other end.

    With the Sabres not playing until Wednesday, the focus will shift to tomorrow’s press conference, where Terry Pegula offically ‘takes over’ the ownership from Tom Golisano and gives his first press conference.  We are all waiting to see what he has to say, and more importantly what he and the team does going forward.  The first mile-marker for Pegula is the trade deadline.  Will his ownership change what Darcy Regier does?  It seems like it should, but how much of the recent moves (and non-moves) are Darcy, and how much are Larry and Tom?  We’ll see.

  • Crazy Trade Proposals

    I’ll admit I don’t troll HFBoards (or follow Eklund) so I don’t hear most of these, but a few of these have come to my attention lately so I thought I’d share.  For example, it was mentioned in the comments of this Die By the Blade post that there was a ‘Bruins want Vanek’ rumor floating around.  I’m sure Boston would love Atlas, but I think that Buffalo would remember just in time that you have to score to win games.  The money would be tough for them too.

    Slightly less egregious is Adam Proteau positing that Steve Montador is one of the top 10 players most likely to be traded.  While he is a UFA, I would’ve been more likely to agree with that position if the Sabres weren’t 2 points out of the playoffs with games in hand.  I think most people here want him re-signed, not traded, and I have to think a steady defenseman you don’t have to worry about would be a good thing to keep.

    Any other crazy trade proposals out there?

  • 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!