Author: Chris Ostrander

Breaking down the Sabres goaltending schedule

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The general consensus among the fans and media is that Ryan Miller had a down year in 2010-11. His 2.59 GAA and .916 save percentage paled in comparison to his Vezina winning season in 2009-10.

A decreased workload should mean an improved Ryan Miller in 2011-12.

Miller did notch his sixth-straight 30-win season and was named team MVP for his work. A major culprit in his performance last year was the schedule he played. For the second time in his career, Miller shoulder the workload for over 30-straight games. That is 30-straight starts without any time off. Miller was forced to do the same in 2007-08 and his play was markedly worse in that season as well. There are two glaring reasons for these massive games played streaks. The Sabres needed Miller in net to make up ground in the playoff race; and Miller’s backup was so weak the coaching staff wouldn’t play him.

So, thank Jocelyn Thibault and Patrick Lalime for being better cheerleaders than goaltenders. Had Miller gotten a fair amount of rest, like he did early in 2009-10, his numbers would have been much better. The performance of the team in front of him also had a negative impact on his play. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres 3 – Capitals 4 SO

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The Buffalo Sabres dropped their final NHL preseason contest to the Washington Capitals 4-3 in a shootout.

Buffalo led 3-2 in the third, only to surrender the tying goal to Matt Hendricks with just under seven minutes to go. Thomas Vanek scored twice and Jason Pominville added a first period tally for the Sabres. Ryan Miller went the distance and made 29 saves. Jhonas Enroth was expected to see at least one period, but Lindy Ruff opted to get Miller another complete game. I would expect Enroth to play 60 minutes against Alder Mannheim on Tuesday.

Since this contest was sans television there isn’t too much I can offer in terms of analysis. However, losing a third period lead with most of the ‘A’ team playing isn’t very encouraging. Continue reading →

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Capitals

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The Buffalo Sabres play in their final state-side preseason contest tonight before departing for Germany and the NHL Premiere.

With the roster set for the season, this will be the closest to a regular season contest that anyone has seen to date. Luke Adam is probably the only player who will end up in Rochester; he is filling in for Derek Roy for the time being.

The lines should look something like this:

Vanek – Adam – Pominville

Ennis – Leino – Stafford

Gerbe – Gaustad – Kaleta

Ellis – McCormick – Boyes

Regehr – Myers

Ehrhoff – Leopold

Weber – Sekera

Continue reading →

Ryan Fitzpatrick saved Buffalo from becoming a hockey town

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Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills resurgence has captivated Buffalo sports fans and kept the city from thinking hockey-first. While the Sabres will lose top billing for the time being, they will benefit from a shared spotlight.

Just six and a half short months ago Terry Pegula looked down at Gilbert Perreault and cried. That action galvanized nearly every sports fan in Buffalo. It was an act that began to turn Buffalo into a true hockey town.

Under the guidance of Terry Pegula the Sabres fan base has continued to explode.

Pegula immediately put his plan into action to create Hockey Heaven. As the season wore down his team clawed their way into the playoffs and pushed the defending Eastern Conference Champions to the brink of elimination.

Once the summer hit, Pegula kept rolling. He unleashed Darcy Regier, who quickly brought in high-priced troops to improve the Sabres roster. Pegula’s team began a massive remodeling of the locker facilities in the First Niagara Center. Renovations were made to the concession areas and every slug logo, short of the ones on the banners, were stripped from the arena. Life in Pegulaville was in full swing.

All of this action swept Sabres fans off their feet while the NFL lockout was in full effect. Now, the “lockout” was a complete sham and only a few pieces of the NFL offseason were lost. There was never a threat of games being missed. However, the exasperated Buffalo fan base was just about ready to push the Bills aside, as a roster of undrafted free agents and no-names opened training camp. Continue reading →

NHL’s worst idea since the glowing puck

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This is easily the worst idea the NHL has had in quite some time. Numbers on the front of a player’s helmet.

Puck Daddy posted this story today after seeing the tweet from the Minnesota Wild’s equipment manager. The Puck Daddy story comes with a complete breakdown straight from the NHL, be sure to check that out.

I guess i get what they were going for here. With a number on the front of the player’s dome he will be easier to identify. However, the level of ridiculousness here is astounding.

The numbers are way too big, they don’t look natural on that part of the helmet and it makes the helmets look like they belong in a European league.

The thinking is that the player will be easier to identify, by everyone, with the additional digits on their dome. However, the way helmets are built – plus the size of the players – these numbers will be rendered useless. Not ot mention, they will be too small to see from the press box, so broadcasters are out too. The only people this will benefit are those at the game or watching the broadcast.

While most will certainly be able to see that number, it doesn’t make it any less tacky. Plus, there are already four different locations a number can be found on any given uniform; the back, sleeves and back of the helmet. Some teams even have chest numbers which would bring the total to six if this stupid number is allowed to stand. The teams with chest numbers will look like an Excel spreadsheet with six different numbers on each player. To enact something so gimmicky and awkward to aid the casual fan is the height of stupidity.

For the record, the glowing puck was supposed to help casual fans, too.

This is clearly something that wasn’t thought through, by anyone. Someone needs to take this back and do it soon.

Europe approaches with one move to make

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It has been a summer full of new faces, surprises and salary cap calculations. The situation surrounding the Buffalo Sabres roster finally became clear on Monday afternoon.

After waiving Ales Kotalik and Shaone Morrisonn over the weekend, Buffalo was on their way to unloading the money they needed to get under the cap. Meanwhile, Darcy Regier also sent down the remaining batch of prospects and veterans who had been searching for a roster spot.

While the organization waited to see if Kotalik or Morrisonn were claimed, the roster in Rochester got the remaining pieces they will use this season. Only Luke Adam and Matt Ellis remained in Buffalo after the cuts. Paul Szczechura also is with the Sabres, but The Buffalo News reports that he is injured as hasn’t been skating. Continue reading →

Deskchair quarterback – Bills vs. Patriots

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Well, the streak is finally over. An offseason of girly dancing, girly haircuts, girly watersliding and girly boots led to four interceptions and the temporary end of the Patriots dominance over the Bills.

Make no mistake, Tom Brady and the Pats will be back. But for now, let us enjoy the victory that managed to trump the comeback from week two. There have been a whole comedy of errors that counted up to 15-straight losses to New England. Even Sunday’s victory seemed to be at the tipping point of a blowout numerous times during the game.

Chan Gailey and company managed to make the necessary adjustments at halftime to slow the Patriots attack enough to gain some ground – they never really stopped the juggernaut but made some necessary plays. That right there shows how much better this staff is than Dick Jauron’s. Skeletor would have marched out at halftime thinking his original game plan would suddenly click. Gailey didn’t settle and neither did his players. It resulted in a fantastic win that the fan base can celebrate for most of the season. Continue reading →

UB joins CCHA conversation with Canisius, Niagara

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Suddenly the college hockey scene in Buffalo is exploding.

Nick Veronica first broke the story about a joint venture between the Sabres and Canisius to build a rink for the Golden Griffins and Sabres to share. That story has continued to gain momentum recently as Veronica has kept abreast to the situation.

In addition, news also broke that Canisius and Niagara could be part of a coalition to part ways with Atlantic Hockey to join the recently fractured CCHA. Mercyhurst and Robert Morris were the other two schools in on the original conversation. Continue reading →

Bandits to host 2012 NLL All Star Game

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In a news release put out this morning, the Buffalo Bandits announced they will be hosting the 2012 NLL All Star game. All the details can be found at Bandits.com.

Last year’s game was held at Turning Stone to a decent crowd, considering the venue. Holding it in Buffalo was probably an easy decision for the league. This is the best fan base in the NLL and the attendance numbers are always near the league’s best.

This is just another Terry Pegula bull’s eye. There hasn’t been much attention given to the Bandits since the ownership change – mainly because they are a model franchise. But it is good to see the Bandits getting some love too.

February 25 will be a fun day for lacrosse fans and it will certainly be a nice draw for the City of Buffalo as well.

Double Minors: Sabres weekend wrap

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The Sabres finished their three-game weekend 2-1 as they were handed their first preseason defeat on Sunday in Columbus.

Buffalo, finishing a five game in seven nights stretch of hockey, weren’t very competitive against the Blue Jackets. The Sabres dressed what may have been their greenest line up of the preseason with only a handful of regulars playing in Columbus. Robyn Regehr wore the ‘C’ while Ville Leino and Andrej Sekera each wore an ‘A’. A look at the roster shows 10 regulars in the line up and that is fairly generous in my eyes.

Ryan Miller wasn’t spectacular, but he was Friday against Toronto, so I really don’t care too much. Tyler Myers scored on a great individual effort, but there wasn’t much else to like, or care about in this game.

Continue reading →