Author: Chris Ostrander

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Hurricanes

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There will be plenty of fanfare at the First Niagara Center as the Buffalo Sabres open their home schedule against the Hurricanes after a five-day layoff tonight at 7:30 p.m.

Buffalo, currently 2-0-0 and tied with Toronto for the Northeast Division lead, have enjoyed a five-day layoff as they recuperate from their trip to the NHL Premiere. Carolina is fresh off their first victory of the season, a 3-2 triumph over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

A pre-game plaza party will take place outside the First Niagara Center as there will certainly be some fireworks in store for those holding a ticket for the first home opener in the Pegula Era. There is a chance the hoopla surrounding the first game may end up being distracting, but there is no reason for Buffalo to come out flat. Between the five-day break, the brand new locker facilities and the momentum they built with their two convincing victories in Europe, the Sabres should have little trouble finding energy for this game.

Carolina has struggled a bit as the season opens up. The Canes have managed three out of a possible eight points and have allowed at least four goals in all but one contest. They should build off their win over the defending Stanley Cup champs and the fact that they held the Sabres attack at bay in the 2010-11 season series.

The Hurricanes didn’t do much to upgrade their roster in the offseason, bringing in a trio of ex-Maple Leafs (Tim Brent, Tomas Kaberle and Alexei Ponikarovsky) and promoting some youngsters. Between the pipes is where the Canes will win this game. They boast two goaltenders – Cam Ward and newcomer Brian Boucher – who have a good history against Buffalo.

Buffalo will likely ice the same lineup they had in Europe, with Matt Ellis, Jochen Hecht and Mike Weber as the scratches. The Sabres potent line up will be foreign to the Canes and could create matchup problems early in the contest.

Highlighted Matchup

Buffalo’s three scoring lines against the Carolina defense. The Canes have plenty of forwards that are capable of serving in a checking role. However, they have three defensemen under the age of 25 and at least 50% of the blueline would fall under the offensive defenseman classification. If the Sabres can exploit the last change to get their skill players against a non-checking line, they should have success in generating offense.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller 2 GP, 2-0-0, 1.50 GAA, .952 SV%

CAR: Cam Ward 3 GP, 1-2-0, 3.35 GAA, .885 SV%

2010-11 Season Series: BUF 2-1-1

1/13/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 3 – Hurricanes 2

3/3/2011, RBC Center, Sabres 2 – Hurricanes 3 OT

3/15/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 0 – Hurricanes 1

4/3/2011, RBC Center, Sabres 2 – Hurricanes 1 OT

Team Stats

BUF 2-0-0 4pts (T-1 NE), PP 3/8 37.5% (2), PK 6/7 85.7% (T-15)

CAR 1-3-1

Game presentaion in the Pegula era, will it change?

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The opportunity is there for the F’N Center to be loud this season.

Amid the whirlwind offseason at One Seymour H Knox III Plaza, a great deal of changes were made to the cosmetics within the First Niagara Center. There are plenty of new features that greet the fans when they enter the building for the home opener. (Note, this was lost in the original post, my apologies).

Personally, I’m interested to see what changes, if any, have been made to the game presentation for the regular season. With a new attitude surrounding the team, I am wondering if the game presentaion will reflect a more aggressive attitude as well.  Some have stronger opinions on this than others, but I feel that the overall atmosphere in the First Niagara Center has been somewhat dull in recent years.

The fans are due just as much guilt – or perhaps more – as the arena staff. Ted Black said it right when he described the job as one where nearly 51% of the people watching will be unhappy with what you’re doing. There is no right answer for the Sabres game presentation staff, which is an unfortunate situation to be in. Even if they come and absolutely kill it this season, a major portion of the fans won’t be happy. It isn’t a fair position and I wish them all the luck in the world getting things right.

However, the one thing I hope has changed is the overall attitude of the show the fans witness. The game is paramount to anything else going on around it. Therefore the on-ice product is the main factor in stimulating the fans. Based on the changes to the roster, the Sabres should have little trouble playing entertaining hockey games.

For much of last season the Sabres were pretty lousy, that didn’t help one bit. What made matters worse was the relatively stale atmosphere within the arena. I feel the biggest contributor to that was every stoppage in play was filled with deflating ads and videos. Rather than having the opportunity to create a hostile atmosphere, nearly every second of time outside of the game is being sold.

If there are less Aspen Dental commercials – and more compilations of goals, saves or Pat Kaleta steamrolling people set to hard, edgy music – the fans will be riled up and they will create a little more noise. For the record, more noise = better gameday experience. Continue reading →

The odd men out

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Mike Weber was particularly good for the Buffalo Sabres last season. So good, in fact, he earned a two-year contract extension in the offseason.

Yet, he is stuck in the press box as the season begins for the second year in a row. Lindy Ruff has opted to dress Marc-Andre Gragnani and Andrej Sekera as his fifth and sixth defensemen over the stay-at-home defenseman. In previous seasons all three players would be seeing regular shifts. In fact, Drew Schiestel would probably be seeing some time as well. That was all in the past, life with Terry is much better.

Now the deep-pocketed Sabres are stuffing salary in the minors and stockpiling blue-chip prospects as they strive for a Cup with veteran additions. Mike Weber just happens to be a casualty in this particular scenario. Continue reading →

New Sabres locker room open for business

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The Sabres returned to the First Niagara Center – which is receiving new outer signage this week – for their first practice session since returning from Europe. They were greeted with a shiny new players lounge and locker room.

I don't know why, but this is my favorite feature. It screams professionalism for some reason.

John Vogl and Bill Hoppe were quick to Tweet pictures (thanks for the entry image Bill) and Jessie Pegula followed up with some later in the day. The Buffalo News gallery has some very good shots that are slightly higher quality than a camera phone offers.

From the few pictures I have seen, this thing is outstanding.

The signage, decor and overall look of the outer features are very cool (entry image). It translates to the Sabres Hall of Fame wall and the retired numbers. All of this is equally impressive and incredibly cool. For some reason the Buffalo Sabres wall strikes me as one of the coolest features. I’m not sure why, but it just looks like something a winning team has.

As for the interior, I can’t tell much from the pictures. However, the player’s lounge looks pretty cool as does the locker room itself. It is very open – to promote communication – and the decor is very similar to the outer portion. The Sabres logos at the center of the room are the obvious focal points, while each player stall has a picture of the player in action. There is also a quote over the door way that reads, “Belief, Commitment, Character, Discipline, Trust” all above the word “Excellence.”

It has a “Play Like A Champion Today” feel to it. While I’m not an NHL player, I have to say this is quite an awe striking renovation. It wouldn’t be fair to say they have gotten anything right or wrong, but from where I’m sitting there can’t be too much missing. I know the goal was to catch up to some of the newer buildings and the state-of-the-art rooms around the league. I think it is safe to assume this locker facility is second to none.

Between the minor touches around the arena and this project, I have to think that Terry Pegula took the First Niagara Center from a 15-year old building to a five-year old building with little more than a snap of his fingers. There are certain things that can’t be changed in that building, but he certainly put it in the neighborhood of the newest buildings in the league.

Keep an eye on The Buffalo News and Sabres.com for more pictures as the week progresses.

Where does Hecht go in the lineup?

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There are a few facts and a few delusions floating around the First Niagara Center right now. The fact is the Sabres were very impressive in their first two wins during the NHL Premiere series in Helsinki and Berlin last weekend. Some of the delusions are that this team will be virtually unstoppable as the season progresses.

The Sabres are not going 82-0, sorry. That doesn’t mean they aren’t a good bet to finish high in the East, or even to snag the Northeast Division crown. However, there are some overzealous fans out there with expectations that are far too lofty.

One factor that could seriously change the fortunes of the Sabres will be the return of Jochen Hecht. I am going to leave out the two extremes – he provides an even greater spark or sends the team down the abyss – but it is safe to say that his return to the lineup will disrupt the status quo.

Continue reading →

Deskchair quarterback: Bills 31 – Eagles 24

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It was another barn burner down at Ralph Wilson Stadium yesterday. The Buffalo Bills found a way to win, despite giving up nearly 500 yards of offense.

Somehow this football team keeps finding new and interesting ways to win games. It is pretty refreshing considering the last decade has been filled with new and interesting ways to lose games. Yesterday’s version was about three quarters of dominance followed by 20 minutes of white-knuckle action in which the Bills barely held on.

The defense continues to be either extremely good or extremely bad, often both sides are revealed in the same game. Buffalo managed five turnovers and scored a big touchdown, but struggled to make a stop in the second half when they really needed one.  This has become an alarming trend; against New England, Cincinnati and now Philly, the defense has been very porous in the second half. Now, they found a way to get a stop yesterday. However, until that miscue, the Bills defense was on their heels for most of the second half. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres 4 – Kings 2

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The Buffalo Sabres improved to 2-0 after yet another impressive showing against the Los Angeles Kings. The Sabres rode a two-goal effort from Luke Adam to a 4-2 victory as the Vanek-Adam-Pominville line accounted for another pile of points.

A day after Vanek picked up two goals and an assist with Pominville and Adam accounting for five more points (1+4), Adam scored twice and his line mates picked up three more points. Drew Stafford and Paul Gaustad also scored for the Sabres. Ryan Miller saw 33 shots and turned aside 31 – this was the second-straight game he saw over 20 shots in the second and third period.

There will be a long week off for the Sabres before they open their home schedule against Carolina next Friday. A good portion of this week will be devoted to readjusting to the time change they had to shake a short time ago.

  • Ryan Miller played his first set of back-to-back games this season and was sensational in both games. While the Kings went with their backup, the Sabres stuck with Miller after his 29 save performance on Friday. Expect to see Miller on Friday again with Enroth playing his first game on Saturday.
  • The Sabres power play was slightly less effective this afternoon, but they still managed to get one goal in four tries. Buffalo is now three-for-eight in the young season. Having the ability to ice three different units is a major advantage for the Sabres. The Sabres’ current percentage is now 37.5%, I am expecting the power play to hover near 22% for most of the season.
  • Luke Adam has all but cemented his spot with the Sabres for the entire season. He has four points (2+2) through two games and his skating has improved markedly from his brief debut last season. Adam meshes well with Vanek and Pominville and I expect the both of them to succeed with Adam as their pivot.
  •  Drew Stafford was probably the best player to not record a point over these two games. It was good to see him get a goal in this game to justify the effort he had put forward. Stafford looks fast and has been dynamic playing with Derek Roy and Nathan Gerbe. Considering that these three have never played on the same line, I expect to see them to build chemistry over the next week or two.
  • The Christian Ehrhoff/Jordan Leopold pairing led the Sabres in ice time yet again. It looks as if the power play time both will receive will keep them on the ice for most games.

Three Stars

  1. Luke Adam: 2G, +2 rating
  2. Thomas Vanek: 2A, +1 rating
  3. Anze Kopitar: 2G, 5 SOG, +2 rating

NHL Links

Game Summary

Event Summary

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Kings

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The Sabres will have some added adversary in their second regular season game this afternoon. Due to travel issues, Buffalo didn’t arrive in Berlin until nearly 4 a.m. local time. Coming off a convincing 4-1 win over Anaheim, the Sabres will face the Los Angeles Kings at 2 p.m. this afternoon.

Los Angeles clawed back from a 2-1 deficit to topple the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime, yesterday in Stockholm. Buffalo rode a dominant 40 minutes to victory in Helsinki before running into the travel monster at the airport.

Both teams received great play from their big guns yesterday and had great success on special teams. The Sabres scratched Matt Ellis and Mike Weber, while Jochen Hecht sat out with continued concussion issues. There is a possibility that Ellis and Weber could be inserted to get fresh legs, but everyone was part of the travel delay. I doubt they would bring much of a difference to the lineup.I have Jhonas Enroth and Jonathon Bernier as my projected starters since this is a back-to-back set and the unique situation of the NHL Premiere.

Highlighted Matchup

Mike Richards vs. Ville Leino. The pair of former Flyers each scored in their debut yesterday. Richards’ tied the game late, while Leino recorded the game winner with a beauty in the first period. Both are expected to contribute for their respective clubs this season. If one can trump the other today it may have an influence on the final score.

Projected Goaltending Matchup

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 2010-11: 14 GP, 9-2-2, 2.73 GAA, .907 SV%

LA: Jonathon Bernier 2010-11: 25 GP, 11-8-3, 2.48 GAA, .913 SV%

Last Meeting: 11/19/2010, HSBC Arena, Sabres 4 – Kings 2

Team Stats (Rank)

BUF: 1-0-0 2pts (T-1 NE), PP 2/4 50% (3), PK 5/5 100% (T-1)

LA: 1-0-0 2pts (T-1 PAC), PP 1/5 20% (7), PK 1/1 100% (T-1)

Buffalo’s success will again hinge on their special teams. They had a fairly solid game five-on-five and dominated the extra-man situations. If they continue that today they should see added success. Hopefully the Kings travel wasn’t friendly either and they aren’t sharper than Buffalo at the outset. Expect a tight-checking conservative attack from the Sabres as they find their legs.

Double Minors: Sabres 4 – Ducks 1

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The Sabres started the season off with a convincing 4-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks in Helsinki. Thomas Vanek scored twice on the power play and Ryan Miller made 29 saves for Buffalo.

Buffalo’s big guns were active early as Vanek and Ville Leino scored in the first period and Jason Pominville and Vanek tallied in the second. Miller was tested late, turning aside 23 shots in the second and third period after facing only six in the first. The Sabres special teams were especially effective as Buffalo killed off all five penalties and converted two of four power play chances.

There were a few hiccups as the game progressed. The Sabres coasted through the third period after building a 4-1 lead through two periods. They didn’t register a shot in the final stanza and spent a great deal of time short handed. They face Los Angeles tomorrow after the Kings came back to top the Rangers 3-2 in overtime.

  • Christian Ehrhoff’s contribution to the power play was immediate. He assisted on Vanek’s second goal of the game after making a strong move down the boards. His presence on the top unit will be a major benefit for the Sabres all season.
  • Ryan Miller had an outstanding performance. He had an easy first period but was up to the task in the second and third. He made several sparkling saves and certainly earned his third-star status.
  • If Leino and Vanek can get hot early it will be of benefit to everyone involved. Vanek’s line accounted for three goals and eight points today. Leino only tallied once, but looked smooth as a centerman, he won just under 50% of his draws, a number that will go up with more repetition.
  • The Robyn Regehr and Tyler Myers paring will be absolutely miserable to play against. Regehr has a serious mean streak and it is clear that it will rub off on Myers – someone who showed his nasty streak in the playoffs. Myers was third in ice time (23:00) and Regehr will log equal minutes if he stays out of the penalty box (4 PIM).
  • This team needs to learn to keep the pedal down. It is only one game, I’m well aware. But the way the Sabres shut it down in the third period is somewhat disconcerting. They lost a big lead in game six against Philly and it cost them the series. They need to learn that you press on the throat when your heel is on it, not let up.

Three Stars

  1. Thomas Vanek: 2G + 1A, 9SOG
  2. Jason Pominville: 1G + 2A
  3. Ryan Miller: 29 saves – 30 shots, .967 SV%

NHL Links

Game Summary

Event Summary

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Ducks

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The Buffalo Sabres finally drop the puck on the 2011-12 NHL season this afternoon when as they take on the Anaheim Ducks as part of the 2011 NHL Premiere. The Morning Skate will go full format for the regular season, the scaled-back TMS used for the preseason is due to the swollen rosters and lack of stats.

Buffalo has a tough draw for the Premiere compared to some past match ups. They will play two of the favorites to emerge from the West between Anaheim today and Los Angeles tomorrow. A slow start won’t be accepted well in Buffalo and these two games will offer a barometer to see what you should expect from the Sabres this season.

The powerplay came along well towards the end of the preseason and the lines appear to have gelled quite well. How they will fare in a regular season game is the unknown factor, but the look of three solid scoring lines should instill confidence in Sabres fans.

Highlighted match up

The toughest match up for the Sabres will be how to neutralize the Ducks top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan. All three are tough, nasty players who can score goals at ease. Expect to see Tyler Myers and Robyn Regehr see quite a bit of time against this line with Paul Gaustad’s line also checking the big guns. If the Sabres can shut down these three they will likely have success in today’s game.

Projected goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller 2010-11: 66 GP, 34-22-8, 2.59 GAA, .916 SV%

ANA: Jonas Hiller 2010-11: 49 GP, 26-16-3, 2.56 GAA, .924 SV%

Last meeting 12/21/2010, HSBC Arena, Sabres 5 – Ducks 2

Expect both teams to play with a lot of energy, they have had plenty of time to adjust to the time change and will be amped to get the season started. Anaheim will have the crowd on their side as Teemu Selanne returns home alongside Saku Koivu. Ville Leino is Buffalo’s lone Finn and he doesn’t have the star power of the other two, so expect a pro-Ducks crowd. The Sabres will need a quick start to build confidence with the new roster and potentially win some fans to their cause. Expect special teams to play a huge role in this game as both teams try to establish some footing on a new season.