Bandits Postgame: Winless weekend erases hot start
After a pair of wins against division foes, the Buffalo Bandits dropped a back-to-back set this weekend, bringing them back to the pack in the East Division standings.
Friday’s loss was a disappointing one, but resulted from sloppy play that could easily have been remedied. Yesterday was a different experience. Undisciplined play and a slow start doomed the Bandits. A 10-5 deficit grew to a 19-11 loss, the second-straight for Buffalo.
After entering the weekend first in the East at 2-0, the Bandits had the opportunity to strengthen their hold on the top spot in the division. Now they sit at 2-2 (.5 game back from first), right in the thick of what will become a dogfight for playoff position.
The bench-clearing brawl that erupted at the end of the second half cleared a handful of players from both rosters. However, Buffalo lost Mark Steenhuis, Billy Dee Smith and Steve Priolo – three major players on the defensive side of the ball. In addition, Mike Thompson – who came in relief of Angus Goodleaf – was in the box for five minutes to begin the second half. The penalty trouble that Buffalo got in cost them, giving up nine power play goals to the Swarm.
Buffalo returns home to face Washington next Saturday. Washington will be hungry for a victory, last year’s finalist has yet to win this season. Given Buffalo’s slide, they will need to turn around their effort next week. Read more…
Bandits shootaround: Swarm home opener pivotal for Buffalo
Last night’s loss to Philadelphia was the first of the season for Buffalo. The loss also dropped the Bandits into a tie for first in the East Division. The tie in the standings makes tonight’s game in Minnesota that much more important.
The Swarm opened their season on the road on January 14 in Colorado. Minnesota has not played since their 20-14 loss on opening weekend. So, the Bandits face a rested opponent this evening in their home opener – albeit a rested opponent who has not seen game action in nearly two weeks.
Buffalo fell victim to sloppy passing and poor ball control last night at home. A handful of questionable goals against dug the hole deeper in the eventual loss. Last night’s game was also the first in which Darris Kilgour made changes to his lineup. Tom Montour and Frank Resetarits each saw their first action of the year while Jimmy Purves and Mat Giles watched from the press box. Given when Giles brought to the table in the first two games, I would have to think he will be back in the lineup for Resetarits this evening. The only other anticipated lineup change would likely come in goal; but with the need to keep their grasp on first, I think you will see Mike Thompson again.
Crease Crashing
Mike Thompson had a tough outing last night. He had a few tough goals beat him, but he owned that fact. He is a gamer and will certainly come to play tonight. There is a chance you see Angus Goodleaf rather than Thompson, depending on the schedule Kilgour put together. Taking last night’s loss into account, I go with Thompson in what looks a little like a must-win situation.
Nick Patterson was in a shooting gallery during his first contest this season. He faced 50 shots that night, turning aside 30. He is a fairly active goalie who has similar strengths to Brandon Miller – who shutdown the Bandits shooters last night. Last year the Bandits beat him with movement and rotation. They didn’t have much of that last night, hopefully that changes this evening.
Rested or Rusty
The Swarm haven’t played since January 14. That is a full two-week for those scoring at home. They certainly saw time together in practice since, but have not had game action. If the Swarm can get out to a good start, their legs will likely carry them to a win. There is also the chance that the layoff will take some time to shake loose. It could certainly go either way. The fact that Buffalo is coming off a game should only help Minnesota, however.
Spread the Scoring
Only two Bandits had four points yesterday – Mark Steenhuis and Chad Culp (2+2). In the first two wins there were multiple scorers with four or more points, namely John Tavares (16 points in two games). Buffalo’s offense was somewhat stagnant last night, with many shots coming from outside angles. Not only do the Bandits need to exploit the motion their offense can create to capitalize on chances.
Bandits postgame: Fourth quarter meltdown dooms result
What should have stood out as the stat of the night ended up being nothing more than an afterthought for the Buffalo Bandits. A stingy third quarter effort was wasted as the Bandits gave up six fourth quarter goals in a 13-10 loss to Philadelphia.
After a see-saw first half, the Bandits defense clamped down in the third quarter. Buffalo shut out the Wings for the duration of the third and scored two of their own to take a 9-7 lead into the fourth. The Bandits actually held Philadelphia scoreless for 26:04 between the second and fourth quarters.
We didn’t play our best game, that’s disappointing. We had our chances, we could have gone up by three or four goals and it might have been a different game. ~ Darris Kilgour
The fourth quarter was a different story. Pat Heim scored 2:59 seconds into the stanza and Drew Westervelt added the game-tying goal just 18 seconds later. Westervelt finished with seven points (3+4). Buffalo did not recover from the turnaround, getting outscored 6-1 in the final quarter. Read more…
Entertainment value varies throughout All-Star weekend
By the end of tomorrow night, all of the interesting All-Star events will be over. Between the Fantasy Draft and Skills Competition, the NHL All-Star weekend is more front-loaded than Christian Ehrhoff’s contract.
Last night’s fantasy draft was equally entertaining as last year’s. Having the players mic’d up is a stroke of brilliance and gave just as many gems as 2011. It would be hard to argue that Pat Kane’s comment on the blond jersey presenter could be topped. Nor could you argue that the comment was to be expected from a guy like Kane.
Logan Couture joined Phil Kessel as the last pick in the draft. The NHL made a wise change this season, rather than letting Couture stew by himself in his seat, they brought up him and Jamie Benn to the stage. Thus eliminating the ultra-awkward photo-op for the final pick. Couture is now the proud new owner of Honda’s ugliest production vehicle.
Some Sabres fans seemed to care deeply about where Jason Pominville was to be selected. Couture – who is a Bills fan – saved him from the humility and fans from worrying. Considering the stage in which this took place, would it really have been that big of a deal? Sure, it would have sucked for the representative from this underachieving team to go last in the draft. But he is still one of the best players in the league, there is a reason he was selected to the original pool of players. Not to mention, the players don’t seem to place too much stock in the All-Star game, so I’m sure they could care less about where they’re taken in the draft. Trust me, these guys could care less where they’re picked. Read more…
Bandits Shootaround: Talented Wings fly into Banditland
Of the teams to benefit from the summer’s expansion draft, the Philadelphia Wings would be in the conversation of the most fortunate. Dan Dawson was their most prized acquisition in a very busy offseason.
The Wings had an ugly first week, but dispatched the 2011 finalists last week in an impressive bounce-back effort. Philadelphia made a strong statement in beating Washington last week and have been fueled by their big names, as to be expected.
Dan Dawson is a truly unique talent who makes every player around him better. Darris Kilgour’s approach against Dawson in recent years hasn’t been to isolate and lock down on him, but rather to eliminate his weapons. Dawson is certainly a shooting threat, but is a pass-first player. Forcing him to play alone is likely the approach Kilgour will try and take.
The Wings also boast a few other impressive threats. Brodie Merrill is among the league’s best in the transition game. His defensive skill set is certainly the hallmark to his game, but his two-way skills are second to none. In my eyes, Mark Steenhuis is likely the most offensively talented transition player in the league and Merrill is the best defensive transition player. Read more…
Statues for legends, could it work for the Sabres?
The Buffalo Sabres fortieth anniversary brought about some very cool festivities and features. A new alternate jersey, the Albright Knox exhibit, the in-arena history exhibit and more. What the year-long celebration told me was there is a wonderful opportunity for a permanent Sabres Hall of Fame.
The Bobby Orr statue outside of TD Garden offers a nice template for the Sabres to potentially draw from.
I’ve shown interest in the Sabres involvement with the space which formerly housed the Ira G. Ross Aerospace Museum and the Backstage Club prior to that. Previous posts have been dedicated to my pipe dreams and I even used the Blog Summit forum to offer a suggestion regarding the space.
For those who haven’t read up on the subject; I envision the Sabres taking advantage of the empty space as a team-oriented Hall of Fame. Better yet, the 12,000 square feet (thanks Mr. Black) could be devoted to Buffalo hockey history. Regardless, I see that space as a perfect spot to celebrate the team’s history. In addition to putting together a Hall of Fame, I have come upon another idea regarding honoring the team’s history around the arena.
My most recent light bulb moment comes thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens will be unveiling a Mario Lemieux statue outside of CONSOL Energy Center. Much like Chicago, Detroit and Boston (to name a few), the Penguins will immortalize their greatest player with a statue outside of the arena. Why don’t the Sabres do the same? Read more…
Double Minors: At long last, a win
It came in about as ugly a wrapper as you could find. But the Sabres finally got a win on the road.
Ryan Miller stood on his head, making 27 saves, and Nathan Gerbe sealed the victory in the shootout. The Sabres only mustered 14 shots, but they played responsible game and finally got a victory. 
The good news was that Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff made their return to the lineup. Regehr only saw 18:10 of ice as he may not be back to 100% just yet. Ehrhoff picked up where he left off prior to December 30. He played a team-high 24:27 on the night. The bad news is that Jochen Hecht is out with another concussion and it seems extremely serious. Hopefully he recovers soon, it has been a nightmare season for the veteran center.
Ryan Miller’s first star effort shouldn’t go unnoticed. Everyone and their three brothers had been waiting for Miller to put toegther a sound outing, he did just that last night. Not only did he face twice the amount of shots that Brodeur faced, he made a handful of dazzling saves needed to keep the game tied. Miller has been making some timely saves over the last couple weeks, but he hasn’t received the defensive or offensive support for them to matter. The goals weren’t there tonight, but the defensive game was much better and it finally showed on the scoreboard. Read more…
The Morning Skate: The All-Star break is almost upon us
It has been a long January. A very long January. After tonight’s match up there will be a brief reprieve for Sabres fans during the NHL All-Star break. Perhaps the best part of the time off will be the opportunity the team’s walking wounded has to heal.
- Here’s hoping.
The Sabres skate into New Jersey with nothing to hold their heads up about. Their leading scorer has begun to slump, their most steady defenseman has been out injured, their replacement defensemen have been quite average and their goaltending continues to perplex. Oh, and they have lost 12-straight road games and still can’t score goals. Like I said, a long January.
Somehow, there is still some hope floating about. Truly. Christian Ehrhoff returns from a rib injury that has held him out for some time, Tyler Ennis and Robyn Regehr are skating in full and trade talk around the league is heating up. For those hoping for a Marlins-esque deconstruction, keep holding your breath. But don’t be surprised to see some moves made.
The Sabres are playing a very beatable team this evening. Unfortunately Marty Brodeur seems to do his best “Marty Brodeur” every time these teams meet. So goals will certainly be at a premium. Ryan Miller played the last game at The Rock, and played pretty well. He still yielded three goals, but you couldn’t hang the loss on him. This smells like a great opportunity for Lindy Ruff to use his backup. Let Miller take a full week off and decompress. Of course, Lindy Ruff will probably play Miller. It just seems like a good opportunity to let him collect his thoughts. Read more…
Just another day at the office for John Tavares. In two games the ageless wonder has sixteen points (6+10) for the 2-0 Bandits.
Tavares’ latest show came at Blue Cross Arena where he put up a four-goal, four-assist clinic against Buffalo’s I-90 rivals. Buffalo won the contest 12-9 after pulling away thanks to a late 7-1 run. It was a well-executed win for the Bandits who were able to keep the Knighthawks from running wild. Avoiding a run-and-gun game was key for the Bandits.
Just like in week one, the offense made the plays, but defensively, the Bandits were stellar. Mike Thompson made 31 saves on 40 shots, backing up a stellar performance from the week before. Buffalo’s defense held the young Rochester scorers in check. Only Cody Jamieson (three) and Stephen Keogh (two) scored more than once and the offense that produced 22 goals the week before didn’t break double digits against the stingy Buffalo defense.
Darris Kilgour’s deep bench flexed their muscles again this week. Roger Vyse – who was a healthy scratch last week – had a pair of goals and an assist while Mark Steehuis and Chad Clup each scored a pair too. Luke Wiles looks more and more like a brilliant acquisition. He added six more points (2+4) to his efforts from week one (3+1 vs. Toronto). Read more…
Double Minors: Effort comes up short in 12th-straight road loss
If yesterday’s 4-2 loss in St. Louis came during any other season, if would have been just a road loss. Buffalo had scored the first goal, yielded three to their opponent before cutting the lead to one before having the game iced with an empty net goal. However, because this came as the Sabres’ 12th-straight road loss, it has much more meaning.
Considering the Sabres were playing one of the league’s hottest teams and facing the hottest goaltender of the past few weeks, the outcome could have been much worse. Compared to the dismal effort shown in the previous three games, this was an improvement. Yet, there were still plenty of shortcomings.
The Sabres received goals from two defensemen. However, the forwards were shutout and only two (Ville Leino and Jason Pominville) registered points. Buffalo only had 21 shots on goal (three in the third) and seven were taken by defensemen. No player on the Buffalo roster had more than two shots.
Ryan Miller had a strong game, stopping 23 of 26 on the night. He made numerous big saves while the game was still in doubt. Two St. Louis goals, including the game winner, came with two players right on Miller a top the paint. Yet again, it was a night that Miller didn’t get much support from the players in front of him. Read more…
