I jumped on Buffalo Hockey Night Live with Sydney from Sabreland and Brittany from Sabres in Seven for a little Sabres talk this evening. If you didn’t catch it earlier, have a listen:
The embed code doesn’t seem to be working. This link will take you directly to the podcast.
The 2011-12 NHL season is in the books for the Buffalo Sabres. Ultimately, it was a disappointing year considering the mid-season struggles and the failure to reach the playoffs. I’ll attempt to merely focus on yesterday’s loss in Boston.
Brad Boyes enjoyed what should be a nice swan song with the Sabres, picking up a pair of goals. I fully expect that he will be seeking a new city to play in for the 2012-13 season. Boyes’ first two goals staked the Sabres to a 2-1 lead before Jason Pominville’s 30th goal gave Buffalo a 3-1 lead. However, as was the case for portions of the season, Buffalo’s two-goal lead was not enough for a victory.
Jhonas Enroth was hardly to blame, turning aside 37 shots (including six in overtime). Tyler Seguin scored a pair and Brad Marchand tied the game on an interesting piece of defense from the Sabres. Enroth didn’t get enough playing time this season and it shows in his record. Winless since November, Enroth wasn’t the player so many fans fell in love with last spring. I’m wondering if the love affair would continue if he was indeed the full-time starter?
Regardless, yesterday’s failure was just another chapter in a season full of them. It was a meaningless game, so the outcome matters little in my opinion. The season finale was basically bonus hockey for me and that is how I treated it. Now comes a few months of playoff hockey and then what should be an interesting offseason for the Sabres organization.
Tomorrow evening, I will be taking some time to talk Sabres hockey with Brittany Sabres in Seven and Sydney from Sabreland on a new podcast called Hockey Night Live. The details can be found here. Be sure to tune in and call in. If you have any topics you wish discussed, use #BHNL and Tweet at us.
Worry not, The Instigator lives on and Eric and I will be picking up the broadcast schedule very soon so that we can recap the season, talk about the offseason and maybe make broad claims about firing the management staff while using inaccurate facts.
A national audience was able to tune in to catch the most convincing victory of the year for the Buffalo Bandits.
The debut of the NLL on CBS Sports Network was a good one of the league and the Bandits. Mark Steenhuis had six points (3+3), Luke Wiles had seven (3+4) and John Tavares had eight (4+4) as Buffalo cruised to a 17-7 victory over Philadelphia.
The real story was the near flawless effort the Bandits defense put together. It has been a rough season for the Bandits, defensively. Mike Thompson has had his ups and downs and Anthony Cosmo has struggled to settle in since being acquired via trade. However, things came together last night for Darris Kilgour’s squad. Cosmo was phenomenal for the entire game and the defense, as a unit, kept most of the Wings’ shots well to the outside.
“Our defense was great tonight, great slides and movement,” Luke Wiles said. “[Cosmo’s] a great goalie and there are teams in the league that are scared of us because we have him in our net.”
There were a number of easy saves that Cosmo made on the night. However, there were plenty of dazzlers as well. That includes a pipe-to-pipe stop in the third quarter that goes down as one of the most impressive saves I’ve seen made on an indoor lacrosse field.
If Cosmo’s game is on the upswing, the Bandits could become a very scary team to play against. As they stand now, their still in a dogfight to avoid losing out in the new crossover system installed for this season. However, they have started to find some more goal scoring (outside of last weekend) and the defense very well may be coming around. Continue reading
In what became a very schizophrenic season, the Sabres enter their final game with little to play for. The Bruins enter today’s game with a first-round series against Ottawa waiting around the corner. Boston rested a number of players this past week, but I’d expect Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Tim Thomas all to play this afternoon as a tune-up for the playoffs.
This will be a strange game as the Bruins will be just trying to avoid injuries and the Sabres will likely be just going through the motions. Jhonas Enroth will be the starter for the Sabres while Thomas will go for Boston. If Claude Julien is really playing it safe, Anton Khudobin or Marty Turco will start, but I would guess he wants his stud to get one more game under his belt. The only reason Turco would play, it could be his last game of his career.
Given that today will be a glorified exhibition game, I’ll just list a few bullet points to check out during the game.
The recently released design for the Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino struck me as a big middle finger to every person who has spent the better half of a decade trying to hold up and halt the progress of the downtown casino.
The release of the design came out just ahead of the official announcement of the RFP for the Webster Block – one of the pivotal lots in and Canalside and the First Niagara Center. According to reports, the plan for the Webster Block will come out in June with the possibility of construction on a new project to coincide with that of the Donovan Building and the casino just a few blocks away.
Construction on the casino is supposed to be complete in 2013, but we will see how many lawsuits are filed in hopes of stalling the project. One of the ideas behind the scaled-back casino project was to allow the surrounding neighborhood(s) to prosper from those patronizing the establishment. In theory, it is a good approach to take; allowing casino-goers certain services from the nearby restaurants and FNC will keep people moving throughout the area, rather than confining them to the casino. This is the type of thinking I can get behind.
If I’m being truthful, I don’t love the redesigned casino. The entire project is nothing more than a nice looking building buried in a sea of parking lots. I understand the need for parking – it is something that has been lost on many – but it would seem as if the assembly of lots may be more of an antagonistic piece of design. I can’t say I blame the Seneca’s for such action, regardless of the actual intent. This project was once a giant hotel and casino project complete with a performance hall. It may have been expected to act as a silver bullet for the city, which was an incorrect designation. However, the hotel tower and gaming hall would have brought a serious attraction just steps away from FNC. However, numerous lawsuits and the claim of a dipping economy held up the project and eventually led to the pathetic embarrassment that has graced the corner of the lot since 2008.
Now the casino will be nothing more than a complimentary piece of the puzzle, rather than a major part of the big picture approach to a district starving for development.
The reason I offer such an opinion on the casino itself is that the potential project to be built on the Webster Block could have some relationship to some of the ancillary amenities offered to casino patrons. The Webster Block project will undoubtedly have an impact and ties to the development of Canalside. At least it should.
It was all too similar to so many Sabres letdowns in the past. 20 minutes from a victory and a bend but don’t break mentality leads to a breakdown and a loss. Unfortunately, last night’s breakdown ended up being the final domino to fall on the Buffalo Sabres’ season. 
Ville Leino opened the scoring and Ryan Miller was great in net, but it wasn’t enough. Buffalo tried to shell up in the third, allowed 16 shots and a pair of goals on their way to a 2-1 loss. The loss, coupled with Washington’s regulation victory sealed Buffalo’s playoff fate, and that was all she wrote.
Not to be a complete downer on the loss, but it played out just as you might expect it to. Buffalo was rather tentative for most of the game, but managed to capitalize on one of their better chances on the Leino goal. However, the Sabres came out for the third just hoping to hang on to the one-goal lead and escape with two points. I understand their losses on the backend, but that third period effort was in-ex-cus-able (go to 30 seconds).
The Sabres had already been outshot 19-16 entering the third period only to be outshot 16-10 in what would turn out to be their most important period of the year. Whether this falls on poor coaching decisions, mental weakness or just the wrong mix of players, the third period was basically a microcosm of the entire year.
With the loss, Saturday’s matinee in Boston becomes next to meaningless. The Bruins will likely continue resting a number of their regulars and the Sabres will likely send some (or most) of their AHL call ups back to Rochester while re-inserting some of their ailing veterans. Also it will mean that Jhonas Enroth will get the honor of the next Sabres backup to play the final game of the season, finally giving Ryan Miller a night off.
As the offseason begins for the Sabres, there will be plenty of necessary questions that will need to be addressed. How the Sabres management chooses to address them is anyone’s guess.
Yet again Sabres fans will be touting tonight’s game as the biggest of the season. In a way, they’re correct. However, they’re also putting too much weight on the singular aspect of tonight’s game against the Flyers.
Yes, if the Sabres do not win this evening they can all but kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. However, if they win, they will be playing in another biggest game of the year on Saturday. See how silly this is?
What made me realize this is the accusation that many Sabres players seem to receive regarding their status as big game players. Don’t confuse this with mental toughness. I’m just talking about those who are criticized for not showing up when their team needs it the most. Whether you’re talking about Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Ryan Miller or anyone else you wish to pick on. Saying these guys don’t show up when it counts is a load of crap. Every game is relative to the ones that come before and after it. There isn’t necessarily one biggest game, so to speak.
Look at it this way. Had Ryan Miller not gone on his torrid streak, the Sabres would be talking draft picks right now. The same goes for last week against the Caps. That was the biggest game of the season, to that point. Miller performed and the Sabres rolled. Derek Roy was the hero on Tuesday but was chastised much of the year for not stepping up when his team needed him most. I’m not saying that criticism of Roy isn’t warranted at points, the same goes for Miller and other players. Had the Sabres shown up last weekend, these final two games wouldn’t matter as much. So which game matters the most?
What you need to realize is that bitching about a player’s big game-ness is a futile task. Hockey is a team sport and is played in a marathon setting, not a sprint. The collectiveness of the whole effort is what matters most, not necessarily one player’s actions in one game.
Now, allow me to contradict myself. Tonight’s game is massive, there is no getting around that. The Sabres remain in do-or-die mode as they try to sneak into the playoffs. They face a tough task playing a Flyers team that has owned them for the whole season and are still battling for home ice in the first round. The only thing to Buffalo’s advantage is that the Penguins have distanced themselves from the fifth-place Flyers by a bit and Ilya Bryzgalov is just returning from injury.
The Sabres have been a defensive train wreck these last three games and they desperately need to remedy this if they hope to skate with Philly. The Flyers have a potent attack that will dice the Sabres if they don’t play a responsible game.
Buffalo has been scoring goals lately, getting to Bryzgalov early will be important. He was yanked against the Rangers and will still have some rust to shake off tonight. If he is unsettled, the Sabres will have a glorious chance at getting two points.
Highlighted Matchup
Sabres’ defense vs. Flyers’ big guns. Philly boasts a number of potent scorers; Buffalo’s blueline has been depleted and has given up some glorious chances the past three nights. The Sabres need to be physical and engage the Flyers early to prevent scoring chances. Too often the Sabres have played soft on entries and offensive cycles which has allowed time and space for their opponents. Unless that is remedied it will be a long night for Ryan Miller.
Projected Goaltenders
BUF: Ryan Miller
PHI: Ilya Bryzgalov
Last Meeting
After a decade of announcements, renderings and eventual letdowns with regard to most development around Canalside, the ECHDC went out and just did something. I don’t hate it either.
There has been some discussion over the past year about putting more public art in and around the waterfront, specifically regarding putting murals on the Connecting Terminal elevator and lighting up a number of the grain elevators along the Buffalo River. Now it appears that the ECHDC also plan on lighting up the Skyway, too.
The story (link above) came out with little fanfare as the lighting process seems to be in the preliminary testing phase. However, I’m glad the ECHDC decided to take this step without giving those against the move time to whine, complain and sue. According to a first hand account, the setup is very basic at this point. More from friend and 2ITB reader Andrew Kulyk:
Light sources are on portable stands and reflect onto the supports. I assume the permanent lighting will be somehow affixed to the concrete itself. Three supports are lit up in the testing phase and change colors. Looks totally awesome.
Only a few support legs are lit at this point. That is ok, obviously those in charge have decided that if the Skyway won’t be leaving anytime soon, let it become part of the neighborhood. The Peace Bridge looks fantastic bathed in changing LED lights, I don’t expect the Skyway to turn into the Golden Gate, but the LEDs will at least help turn a hulking barrier into something less obstructive than before. Continue reading
To quote a loyal 2ITB reader regarding yesterday’s game, “simply stunning”.
After 20 minutes of listless hockey, it would have appeared the Sabres were cooked. Not only for the game but their season as well. However, the slow crawl back began on a second period power play and ended with Derek Roy’s game winner on the man advantage.
It certainly wasn’t an ideal victory, with the early deficit and stale first period effort after a strong opening 10 minutes. But they don’t ask how, they ask how many. Buffalo’s victory keeps them at pace with the Capitals and the Panthers, who only managed a point against Winnipeg last night.
The Sabres seem to be missing the presence of Tyler Myers and Christian Ehrhoff for no other reason than because their big minutes have been distributed among players like Alex Sulzer, Andrej Sekera, Mike Weber and Brayden McNabb. Even Jordan Leopold has seen an uptick in his time. None of these players have reacted particularly well to their increase in ice time and it has certainly shown in the defensive zone. Although, the Sabres did buckle down in the final 40 minutes, allowing 12 shots in the second and third period versus 13 in the first.
The past three games haven’t been too kind to the Sabres in a defensive sense. Ryan Miller wasn’t particularly sharp, but made a number of impressive saves along the way this evening. I would have to say the Sabres won the game in spite of Miller’s play. However, there were a number of huge saves that he did make which took goals away from the Leafs.
Thursday and Saturday will be a pair of tough tests for this team, especially if they continue yielding the type of easy chances they gave up to Jake Gardiner’s, Clarke MacArthur’s and Tyler Bozak’s second goal. Of course, there is still some hope left that the Sabres will be able to pull off the improbable.
