Shutdown Pair

Tag: Tyler Myers

  • 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?

  • Canada Needs Us

    Pondering the Team USA loss to Canada in the World Junior Championships last night (4-1 and it wasn’t that close really, thanks Jack Campbell!) and the split mindset the Canada fans have.  On the one hand, they WERE the ones chanting “We Want USA!” while winning their quarterfinal game.  On the other hand, they dismiss the USA, saying that we aren’t a rival.  Which is it?  Here’s the truth:

    THEY need US.

    Canada desperately needs the US to care about this tournament.  While Sweden and Finland will always be in the mix, and Russia is OK but not where they were 30 years ago for international competition, but how fun is it to play them?  Hard to chirp fans when most don’t speak your language.  No, they need Americans to care about the competition.  If you’ve been reading any of the Twitter or blog coverage from our neighbor to the north, they’ve been doing everything they can to try and pull us in, whether it’s jabbing at our patriotism, insulting our cities (thanks for helping them with that, Etem), or bringing up the Olympic tournament as if the grown-up game matters when thinking about this.  It must drive Canadians crazy that we can shrug off the loss so easily, when they’ve been thinking about last year constantly, sharpening their skates and taping their sticks, listening to Bryan Adams and watching Brendan Fraser’s Dudley Do-Right.  American coverage of the tournament (beyond a few die-hards) is basically teams tweeting about good performances of their prospects.  Heck, once I got the NHL Network, that’s why I started watching the Junior games (Memorial Cup along with WJC), to get a glimpse of Tyler Myers, among other prospects.  It’s neat to have that inside knowledge of a guy before he gets to the show.  It’s fun to get all patriotic and cheer our kids.  We’re taking our medicine on Twitter, but by tonight, we’ll be back to worrying about the Sabres forwards or mocking the Devils about Kovy’s contract.

    And it will drive Canadians NUTS.

  • Tradeable Assets

    Yes, I think it’s time to look at who has value to ‘sell’, after that effort this weekend.  There is still time to recover, but it’s growing short.  49 games left, but only 30 points in the standings in the first 33.  It took 88 to make 8th last year in the East, but that was unusually low.  It will probably take a few more than that, which seems problematic for this current cast of characters.  So that means changes, and the decision to be a buyer or a seller.

    For the purposes of this post, we are looking at ‘selling’.  I covered ‘untouchable‘ players before the year, thought I am taking Goose off the list.  I might even put Leopold and Roy on, considering their performances so far.  Either way, here’s what i’m looking at for tradeable assets:

    1. Tim Connolly – He’s always going to top the list for a lot of people, and it’s understandable.  We are tired of the injuries, the streaks, potential that never gets realized.  He would have value, maybe, and his contract isn’t terrible closer to the deadline.  He has to be healthy to move though, which is the biggest problem.  By the way, shouldn’t they be putting in a steel honker for Timmy?  Anyway, I don’t know anyone that would complain about him being gone, and most would be happy for whatever they get for him.
    2. Drew Stafford – This would be a case of selling high, as Angry Eyebrows is on a very favorable contract ($1.9mil expiring this year, RFA) for his production so far.  Trading Drew would potentially open a wing spot for Zack Kassian next year while getting some return for another guy who has shown potential here but never really put it all together for any length of time.
    3. Craig Rivet – It honestly makes more sense for him then the team, you know he wants to play but just doesn’t seem likely to get back in barring a run of injuries.  $3.5mil prorated would still be tough for a team to swallow for a d-man in the twilight of his career (who’s not cracking THIS lineup).
    4. Jochen Hecht – Has the complicating factor of another year left on a fairly hefty deal for a two-way forward who is underperforming.  Seems more likely to go if the Sabres are trading for a player with salary coming back.
    5. Chris Butler – Sekera has to be safe, in my mind, as Myers’s new partner.  I get the feeling Butler is on borrowed time, if there was someone that was trusted more to slide into his spot (which is not Rivet).

    I’m honestly not sure what to do about Enroth, as no one would want Lalime, and anyone else that left would be a spare part for spare part deal, not any sort of change that would fix the culture/shake up the incumbents.  Same thing for trading prospects – there may be fantastic deals to be made, but that doesn’t fix the team next year.  All of this also assumes the long-term deal guys stay, which I find extremely likely (Miller, Vanek, Pominville, and probably Myers after this year).

    There are two things that could shift the focus from selling players for picks/prospects.  One would be the Sabres going on a big-time winning streak…and the other is Terry Pegula.  He is the wild card, no doubt about it.  He could complete the sale and decide to set a bomb off in the locker room, wiping out coaches, GMs, players, the whole nine yards.  I know some of you are hoping for that, and to be honest I wouldn’t get upset if it happened.  What that would mean, though is giving up on this year AND next, unless you think the young players and newly acquired talent would mesh immediately with a potential new coach.

    I still have hope that this team figures it out and makes these rambling thoughts moot.  The rational part of me has serious doubts.

  • Atlas and the Two Tylers

    What a snipe from Tyler Myers!  After the puck rolled away from the defender, Myers picked the top corner of the net to end the game in the last minute of OT.  The Tiny Tyler had a goal also, along with Cody McCormick and Steve Montador.

    This was one of the most entertaining games I’ve seen this year, Vancouver deserves all their accolades.  That power play is insanity.  I thought the Sabres did a decent job on them, but the Sedins are some of my favorites to watch.  Shouldn’t have given up the lead in the third, but the Myers steal almost caused me to wake the kids.  Could’ve been a loss, but what a way to win.

    Would be nice to get one in regulation but hey.

  • Oh, Kovy…

    Were it not for the fact he’s making a cubic buttload of money over the next 15 years, you’d almost feel sorry for Ilya Kovalchuk.  It’s obvious that he WANTS to help his team out but the harder he tries, the worse it goes.  Sort of like a Ben Stiller movie, it’s almost too embarrassing to watch.

    A lot of positives for Buffalo last night, with many of the big names contributing.  Derek Roy scored both in regulation and the shootout, Tyler Myers had a goal and 2 assists, and the +3 goes a long way towards getting him back where he belongs.  Enroth had an up and down game but made big saves when it counted (until he didn’t have to, thanks to Kovalchuk).  Is there any reason Enroth shouldn’t be the backup right now?  Leggio is killing it for the Pirates (currently 7-1), so let the Williamsville native take the reins.  How much of a loss is it if Lalime is lost via waivers, really?

  • Gameday 2010-2011 – Bruins at Sabres

    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.

  • The Sabres in October

    October record:  3-7-2

    Overall record:  3-7-2

    Buffalo came into the season with some expectations, as a playoff team from the year before with it’s ‘core’ intact (for better or worse).  I felt that the changes that were made should at least be even swaps.

    So what happened?  Unfortunately, there’s quite a few things that have gone wrong:

    • Jason Pominville’s injury.  He still hasn’t passed his test to get back on the ice.  Perhaps someone should send him Brain Age and a DS to work his brain out a bit.
    • The power play.  6 for 46, 13% won’t cut it.  With the close games they’ve been playing, one extra goal here or there makes all the difference.
    • Tyler Myers has struggled.  He hasn’t been the difference maker he was last year, though I think he might be coming around.  He’s still scoring, including having 2 of the 6 PPG.
    • Ryan Miller has been uneven.  He’s currently sporting a pedestrian .903 save percentage.  He’s bookended starts where he sparkled with games where he…hasn’t.  Not much help in front but some stolen games could be all they need to get on a roll.
    • Craig Rivet, benched.  Not good when you have to bench your captain.

    There is reason for hope, and some positive things to build on however:

    • Derek Roy.  He’s a point per game, with 6 goals (3 on the PP), and tied the recent Atlanta game with 8 seconds left to at least get the team a loser point.
    • Steve Montador is +9, which is part his good play, and part the competition he faces.  Still, he’s been solid since last year, so it’s good to see him getting some recognition.
    • Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford have been at or above my expectations, combining for 5 goals and 14 points.  Both are solidly plus players.

    In reality, the Sabres still only sit 2 games out of a playoff spot, with 70 more to play.  They have a goalie that has yet to play his best, and injured players that will be coming back.  The leash is short, though, before a ‘shake-up’ change begins to be something that I’d agitate for.  Still looking at you, Timmy…

  • “Angry” Teams

    I don’t buy the whole ‘angry team after a loss’ thing that’s being attributed to the Flyers last night, at least as it pertains to them beating the Sabres.  Yes, the Flyers came out ‘flying’ so to speak, but it was undisciplined.  It seemed like Philly was going fbeor the body at the expense of everything else (sort of like year one Kaleta) and as a result, the Sabres were able to get the lead.  The Flyers felt that the first period fight gave them a boost, but I don’t buy that totally.  I can see it providing a boost for them to score that Briere goal, but you should be able to recover from that and fight back after the intermission at the very least.

    At the end of it, they got out-worked by the best players on the Flyers, and couldn’t cover for Miller having a less-than-stellar night.  He in particular blamed himself for getting upset on the uncalled goalie ‘contact’ by Briere.  I like that even after Flyers took a 5-1 lead, Buffalo kept working and got some goals back (Tyler Myers!  and Vanek had another goal), but it was THAT effort level they need to win their games.  They don’t work like that at home, and only worked that hard for about half of the game last night.  Still not time to push the you-know-what since there’s plenty of season left. (I know Adrian Dater hates those cliches, eff him)

  • The Road Warriors

    That’s what the Sabres are lacking, a dog (sorry Sabretooth)

    It’s kind of ridiculous, really.  We’ve seen plenty of ‘good signs’ for the Sabres at home, but they still haven’t gotten it done.  Then we see them blast the Devils, without Kovalchuk (seriously what the heck?) and Brodeur on the road, and it doesn’t tell us anything.  Tim Connolly, Tyler Myers, and Thomas Vanek are all scoring now, which is good, right?  But will it last?  Again, good signs abound, but these guys have to get it through their heads that they can do that to any team in the league, any given night.  We can see that they are capable of it, they have great passers, solid finishers, guys with great point shots, and a dominant goalie.  They just need to get things done.

    ***

    Okay, what the heck is up with Kovalchuk?  I’m not sure what the Devils and John MacLean hope to accomplish by sitting him – goal scorers don’t score/break slumps wearing a suit.  I can appreciate the desire to sit an underperforming player, but I feel that scorers just need to play out of it.  It’s also a PR NIGHTMARE for a team that also had tons of negative press over his contract to begin with.  Look at it this way:  before the bizarre Kovy benching, I would’ve shrugged off an NJ slump and assumed they’d get back in the mix by Christmas.  Now, I have a few more doubts, wondering about locker room issues and MacLean losing the team/getting fired.  Wouldn’t be the first time Lou has dumped a coach and taken over…