Patrick Lalime has retired, and will work 15 Montreal games for RDS, as well as contribute to other shows for the network. He was a great person, if not the best backup goalie fit for Buffalo, and I wish him well. If you’ve ever heard him speak (in English or French) you know he should be a solid TV guy.
There were some startling numbers (pre-lockout) put on Twitter last night about Lalime, whose careers numbers (other than Cups) are very similar to Chris Osgood.
There’s a lull in the schedule, following the loss on Tuesday, so here are some random thoughts.
The next few nights are nerve-wracking, as Toronto and New Jersey both play tonight, with NJ and Carolina in play tomorrow. The Sabres need to have a good weekend against Atlanta and Nashville (who really need points too).
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.
Some things you will hear ad nauseum tonight:
You get the idea. It’s the battle of a backup goalie versus an AHL goalie, with both teams trying to claw their way out of the bottom of the Eastern conference. Craig Rivet didn’t make the trip, looks like Butler back in. Perhaps for the best. Patrick Lalime is back as the backup, apparently his appendix is in fine working order. Interesting how no one is clamoring for him now that Enroth won a game, including a solid shootout performance.
I am cautiously optimistic about tonight, considering the opponent, it’s on the road, and they beat this same goalie not that long ago quite soundly. Beyond that, not saying anything else until I see the effort from the past few games continue on for a few more.
No, this is not a panic button post, but more the other team in town getting me thinking: Should Buffalo target next year as the year to make a cup run? There are some good reasons why they should:
At the Memorial Cup (in Brandon), neither one of the western teams wanted any part of him. They wouldn’t look him in the eyes.
So there you have it. What does that change about this year? I’d be hesitant to trade for a ‘rental’ player at the deadline, especially if there is a prospect moving out. I like our prospects a lot more than I do most of the guys Darcy has brought in at the deadline recently (though a lot of that is hindsight). I might change my view on that as the season wears on, though. I do think this team can still make the playoffs, but I can’t imagine a true cup run.
Buffalo gets another crack at getting their first home win tonight when the Bruins visit, but it’s not going to be easy. Boston is 6-2, having only allowed 11 goals on the year. Tim Thomas is back in the saddle, with a ridiculous .50 GAA. Ryan Miller is questionable tonight with a ‘lower body but not groin’ injury, so Enroth has already been recalled in case he can’t go today. The assumption is Lalime would get another start but nothing is set in stone.
On the plus side, Jason Pominville is set to return tonight, having finally mastered the neuro-psych test. Craig Rivet is also back from being a healthy scratch. The biggest improvement needs to come from special teams, where they have a middling power play and a bottom five PK. When you are taking a ton of penalties (especially when already on your own power play), a horrible PK will end your chances of winning pretty quick.
I tweeted this yesterday, but it’s worth mentioning this article about Tyler Myers by Kent Wilson of The Score again. He shows that Myers has been pretty unlucky so far this year, unsustainably so, which bodes well for his production here on out.
When we look at Myers’ PDO (on-ice SV% + on-ice SH% at even strength), that’s exactly what we find: the kid has suffered from horrendous fortune thus far. The team has shot at just 3.64% with him on the ice and Ryan Miller has a .880 SV% behind the kid. That’s a PDO of 91.3 and so unsustainably low that it can’t possibly continue indefinitely. To extend the poker allusion, he’s not going to be dealt sevens and twos all night.
Steve Montador, as a comparison, sees an 11.85% shooting percentage and a .929 save percentage when he is out there, against weaker competition, which is boosting his numbers.
Edit: Miller is OUT tonight, no word on Lalime/Enroth, according to multiple reports on Twitter.
Patrick Kane and the defending Stanley Cup champs, here in Buffalo, TONIGHT. This could be a good measuring stick for the Sabres, after an uneven first two games. I’m still waffling about going tonight, as there are some good deals on tickets out there, and I would very much like to see Chicago. I used to follow them pretty close back in the days of Roenick, Belfour, Amonte and so on.
As for changes tonight, Gerbe out, McCormick in. Didn’t see anything about the goalie but I imagine Miller, since he had one whole night off. Be interesting if Lalime got in there, he seems to hold his own (sometimes) against his former teams.
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:
I think that covers most situations. Any disagreements? Another category I missed?
We looked at the defensemen, so let’s follow that up with a look at the goalies of the Northeast division. The goaltender situation in the Northeast is interesting, with surprising changes (Halak out) and a whole mess of veterans running out of time to regain form. All stats are from last season.
10. Pascal Leclaire, Ottawa Senators (3.07 GAA .877 SP)
Leclaire was brought in by Ottawa to compete for a starting job with Brian Elliott, but inconsistent play and some hard luck injuries have relegated him to the bench. Even the bench wasn’t safe for poor Pascal, as a stray puck nailed him in the jaw while he was chatting idly. At least he had a sense of humor about having surgery for it:
“I don’t know I might try to get calf implants or abs or something. We’ll see what the prices are.”
9. Alex Auld, Montreal Canadiens (2.96 GAA .895 SP)
Auld was brought in to back up Carey Price after Client Jaroslav Halak moved on to the Blues. Auld is a journeyman who is not a threat to take Price’s job, which is good for him, I guess. He’s played well for short stretchs but has never been able to turn in a season that could win him a job. If he sees significant time this year, Montreal is in trouble.
8. Patrick Lalime, Buffalo Sabres (2.81 GAA .907 SP)
Ryan Miller was pushing for Lalime to be back as his backup, and he got his wish. He’s a great guy, and Miller likes him, which is good enough for me. He hasn’t always gotten goal-scoring and defensive support the way Miller has, but Lalime plays better with more playing time. I would expect a few appearances by Jhonas Enroth, and if Miller were to go down, I bet they’d split time.
7. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Toronto Maple Leafs (2.85 GAA .907 SP)
Giguere is basically in a dead heat with his partner, both are solid goalies on a team that was bad last year. Improved play around them could see one of the two jump up the list, though I give the edge to Gustavsson because of his youth.
6. Jonas Gustavsson, Toronto Maple Leafs (2.87 GAA .902 SP)
See the above, I guess. Jiggy has the name recognition, but Gustavsson should get a solid shot at being the goalie of the future.
5. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens (2.77 GAA .912 SP)
The former Jesus Price lost playing time to Jaroslav Halak last year, before getting handed the starting gig by default for this one. He only won 1/3 of his games last year, on a team that went on a decent playoff run. Pretty shaky situation for a team under a ton of scrutiny.
4. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins (2.56 GAA .915 SP)
His unorthodox style and the wild saves that come with it make for some fun video, Tim Thomas gained popularity quickly once he finally earned a starting job in Boston. It comes as quickly as it goes, though, with Tuukka Rask taking over from the former Vezina winner and starting every playoff game. Still, he can make plays and can rebound if Rask falters under the heavier load of a full season.
3. Brian Elliott, Ottawa Senators (2.57 GAA .909 SP)
This guy absolutely KILLS the Sabres, going 4-0 with a 1.81 GAA against our hometown club last year. He also went 4-0 against the Sabres the year before that. He never seems to be playing that well, just always well enough to win versus Buffalo. It’s good enough to put him below the top two.
2. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins (1.97 GAA .931 SP)
As I mentioned above, Rask took the reins and the Bruins rode his success into the playoffs and past the Buffalo Sabres. I’d want to see him in for 60+ games but he was great for a team that dropped off offensively from the previous season (Boston was the only team to score fewer than 200 goals).
1. Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres (2.22 GAA, .929 SP)
Did you have any doubt that I would put the reigning Vezina champ (and Olympic Silver Medalist) at the top of this list? Sabres fans will again sound like a broken record in asking for Miller to not play quite so many games, but he dealt with an intense workload last year and threw down his best numbers. Though he can flash the leather when needed, Miller is at his best when the saves look routine, relying on excellent positioning, rebound control and anticipation to be in the right place at the right time.
There you have it. Agree? Disagree? I’m a nutjub? Fire away!
With training camp less than a month away, and the Buffalo Sabres roster looking pretty much set, I thought now would be a good time to investigate the lines and defense pairings for the coming season. Starting up front:
Ennis – Connolly – Pominville
Vanek – Roy – Stafford/McCormick?
Gerbe – Gaustad – Kaleta
Hecht – Niedermayer – Grier
It’s an odd mix of diminutive players and size/grit, to be sure. Zack Kassian could make things interesting when he’s off his time-out from GMDR and gets to sign. I’m not sure what happens if McCormick gets one of the RW spots, Stafford really is the only one that can come out. I don’t think you play anybody out of position to try and keep him in the lineup. Gerbe, I suppose, could end up on the fourth line if Lindy wants to keep Hecht up on the third, though my hope is with cagey vets like Grier and Niedermayer taking over the fourth line will get more than 6 minutes a night. It’s a lineup that has some scoring potential, but should help out the revamped defense core quite a bit as well. Speaking of:
Myers (RH) – Morrisonn (LH)
Montador (RH) – Leopold (LH)
Rivet (RH) – Sekera (LH)Butler (LH)
Obviously Myers is the top dog, and I slotted Morrisonn next to him as he’s another more stay at home type as Tallinder was for Tyler last year. You get a similar Off/Def pair with Montador/Leopold, leaving Rivet and his bad shoulder to mentor Sekera and Butler in the third pair. This keeps the left hand/right hand balance, and keeps Rivet healthier so he can bulldoze some guys in front of Miller. If Leopold can chip in points to balance the Myers pairing, the offense from the backend will be right where it needs to be. Now, Morrisonn may not fit in as a first pair guy which blows all this up but I think this works the best.
I don’t HAVE to go over the goalies, do I? Miller gets more work than we like (without the Olympics thankfully), especially considering the TWENTY TWO back to back game situations. Does Lalime get 15 games? Lalime and Enroth combined for 14 starts last year, I’d like to see that at 20 with all the back to backs but I can’t predict it.
Look, it’s not the wholesale changes in the top 6 we were looking for, but as we’ve investigated before, there aren’t a lot of guys available who are a for-sure improvement. Stempniak might be a one-hit wonder, and there’s that self-imposed cap…