Shutdown Pair

Tag: Rob Niedermayer

  • Gameday 2010-2011 – Penguins at Sabres

    The Thanksgiving Eve special may feature quite a different lineup than the last few games.  Ryan Miller practiced Monday but couldn’t commit 100% to playing against the Pens, after missing Saturday’s game.  Tim Connolly started practice but didn’t finish it with a groin injury.  Jochen Hecht skated on his own after practice but is expected to play Wednesday.  Drew Stafford isn’t quite there yet, still no contact.  Rob Niedermayer had his knee scoped and is on the shelf for a couple of weeks.  This has prompted the Sabres to proactively call up Luke Adam and Colin Stuart from Portland.

    The prevailing thought is, if Miller can’t go against the Pens, Enroth comes back up and plays.  Hard not to blame Lindy after Lalime’s gaffe, but when you only score one goal there’s not much margin for error.

    Might actually end up attending this one.

  • Should the Sabres play for next year?

    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:

    • Connolly, Niedermayer, Grier, and McCormick off the books – should open some top 6 minutes for Gerbe and Ennis, and possibly an FA center who is more consistent.
    • Next year could mean Luke Adam or Zack Kassian (or both) making the team, upping the size and tenacity of the team.
    • Seriously, read this about Kassian (h/t to Sabres Prospects):

    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.

    • I can’t imagine Jhonas Enroth not being the backup here next year.  Either that or trade the guy.  Tomorrow’s game might be a big factor in that.  If he starts again, I’m seeing the writing on the wall for Lalime, no matter how much Miller and the rest of the guys love him.
    • The biggest question for me is what to do with the defense.  Hopefully a partner for Myers is settled by the end of the year, so whoever that is has to be kept (if it’s not Morrisonn).  Montador and Rivet are UFAs, while Weber, Sekera and Butler are all RFAs.  Someone (or preferably two of them) need to take the next step this year.

    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.

  • Gameday 2010-2011 – Sabres at Flyers

    Buffalo is visiting Flyers for the first time tonight, with a 7:30pm game on everyone’s favorite channel, Versus.  Buffalo is flying high after a resounding win on Saturday against the Kovy-less Devils.  The boys are on the mend, with Shaone Morrisonn and Craig Rivet both practicing and Pominville steadily improving.  Only Rivet *might* play tonight, as there’s no need to rush anyone back with the way Butler, Sekerea and Weber played in their absence.

    Philly lost last night to the Blue Jackets, with an effort that made their coach angry.

    “The first 40 minutes there was nothing there,” Laviolette continued. “There was no jam to our game. We played mindless hockey without any energy, without any passion.”

    ‘Mindless’, ouch.  It’s possible that Philly (being who they are) come in with bodies (and elbows) flying.  Just noticed that there was some rough stuff at the end of the CBJ game, as noted by Broad Street Hockey:

    Something to look out for, though: Scott Hartnell received a ten-minute misconduct at the end of the game, possibly for hitting a ref with his stick.

    Yeah, sounds about right for him.  For the rest of the team, it appears that Pronger is still feeling the effects of knee surgery and is not at full speed, and Danny Briere was a penalty machine against the Jackets.  Also, wondering if we’ll see any fisticuffs from Jody Shelley, assuming he doesn’t end up in the press box.

    Just found out Luke Adam is called up for tonight, but not sure for who.  Stay tuned.

    edit:  Rob Niedermayer is out, didn’t travel with the team as per WGR550.  Well there you go.  Good chance for Adam to shine with the goalie sinkhole of Philly on tap.

    edit again:  The Niedermayers had a baby!  Congratulations, guys.

  • Sabres Overrun the Thrashers 4-1

    The hockey gods lobbed a hanging curveball over the Buffalo Sabres’ plate (if you’ll pardon the mixed sports metaphors) and they made solid contact, winning 4-1 in a mostly-empty Phillips Arena.  Atlanta was returning from a west coast trip, missing several key players (such as Bogosian and Pavelec) and Buffalo took advantage.  Tyler Ennis opened the scoring by getting behind the D and sniped one in off the post.  Great play by Montador on the outlet pass.  Ennis very nearly scored again after the faceoff at center ice, and was definitely working well with Rob Niedermayer and Mike Grier.  You got a little worried as the period went on, as the Sabres continued to pour on the shots but didn’t get any more goals.

    That changed in the second period, though.  Just one minute in, Tyler Myers gets his first of the year while on the power play, as he took a one-time shot off a Chris Butler pass and buried it.  Thomas Vanek was in his office providing the screen.  Butler had a great game to my eyes, including some solid defensive plays where he didn’t get panicky.  Cody McCormick got his second goal of the year soon after, cleaning up a rebound, of which there were many.

    The shutout was not to be, however, as Tobias Enstrom got one past Miller on the power play early in the third.  There was a screen in front, couldn’t make out who it was, but not a bad goal to allow.  By the way, love the Thrashers’ broadcasters getting excited for Ron Hainsey (6’3″, 210lbs) knocking someone down, when it was Tyler Ennis (5’9″, 163lbs)…yeah, he should be able to do that.  Thomas Vanek got it back, though, blistering one home after he got behind the Atlanta defense.

    The theme throughout the night was shots – Buffalo had a ton, didn’t give up many, and the guys that NEEDED to shoot did (Myers, Vanek).  There was very little to complain about.  Let’s see, though, if they keep it up back at home.  Friday, Ottawa, be there.

  • Expected Results

    Two more pre-season games, two more wins for the Sabres.  Buffalo got a 2-1 win over ‘Ottawa’ in the Hockeyville game, wherein the Senators didn’t dress their whole top two lines.  Way to show off the game, guys.  The Sabres lineup included Myers, Vanek, and Miller, with the goals scored by Rob Niedermayer on an embarrassing misplay of the puck by 8th string Sens goal Robin Lehner, though he actually played a good game after that.  Especially considering the lineup in front of him.

    Last night saw a 5-3 win for the Sabres over the Canadiens, which you sort of expected when seeing ‘Alex Auld’ pencilled in as Montreal’s starter.  Luke Adam is making his case to be the first forward called up, scoring twice, which follows a two assist effort in the Hockeyville game.  Vanek, Connolly, and Drew Schiestel had the other Buffalo goals, with Myers adding two assists.  A bit of a penalty fest, with fourteen power play chances between the two teams, Buffalo scored twice, Montreal, none on six chances.

    Next game is tonight at Philly.  Regular season is that much closer.

  • Buffalo Sabres: A Look At The Depth Chart

    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…

  • Get to know Rob Niedermayer

    The Buffalo Sabres came out of nowhere and signed Rob Niedermayer to a 1 year deal today.  It’s worth $1.15 million.  He is, of course, the brother of somewhat retired D-man Scott Niedermayer.  They won the cup together in Anaheim a few years back.  Rob (short for Robin, thanks Heather) is 35, and has played 16 seasons in the NHL.  Here is the first video you find of him if you search ‘Rob Niedermayer fight’ on Youtube:

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_ercXsAwIU[/youtube]

    Nice.  He’s had a 20 goal season, but is more likely to get you 10-15.  As a center, he was second best on the Devils last year in faceoffs.  He’s billed at 6’2″ and 210 pounds, and plays like he knows it.  This video of Rob being interviewed by Lindsay Soto is popular, not sure why:

    [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgGSq3CTgZo[/youtube]

    Anyway, he most likely fits in as a checking line center with Grier on one wing, with the other one possibly in flux.  Ennis, Kennedy or someone else.  Moves could happen, people!