Author: Chris Ostrander

Double Minors – Game 4

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Series squared. Ryan Miller took over from Thomas Vanek for the night and put the Sabres on his back. That was some Olympic MVP goaltending from Miller tonight.

Between robbing Danny Briere blind and making numerous big saves, it is safe to say that Miller earned his first star status. He didn’t have too much time off this evening as Buffalo was fairly weak along the boards and in clearing the zone all night. Lindy Ruff made a good point that the two posts the Sabres hit in the first period could have buried Philly. Unfortunately the hockey gods left it up to Miller. Continue reading →

NBC scores big, ESPN left out again by NHL

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Take a look around the sports sites and blogosphere and you will read that the NHL has made a choice regarding their next television deal.

NBC and Comcast won out in a bidding war that included CBS, ESPN and others. NBC is reported to have bought ten years worth of broadcast rights for $200 million. EDIT: The deal is $2 billion for the next ten years. That equates to $200 million per season. Continue reading →

Double Minors – Game 3

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After the Flyers walked out of HSBC Arena with a 4-2 victory tonight, I have to wonder if the first five minutes could have gone differently.

The arena was electric and certainly had to have some sort of effect on the Flyers. However, Pat Kaleta took a penalty in a post-whistle scrum and Philly converted on the ensuing power play. Whether or not Ryan Miller allowed a weak goal is irrelevant. Personally, I think a deflection warrants a free pass based on the fundamentals of goaltending. Continue reading →

Back to Buffalo

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It seems as if game two was the complete antitheses of game one. Instead of a tight checking game with few chances, both teams played wide open and tried to outscore each other.

My only thoughts on the outcome revolved around the defensive zone for the Sabres. If any one of the four players who let Claude Giroux waltz in for his first goal had taken the body, that goal never happens. If Ryan Miller was on his game James van Riemsdyk and Ville Leino don’t earn their tallies. Truthfully, if Andrej Sekera wasn’t in the lineup it may have been a better game for the Sabres. Miller wasn’t the player he was in-game one but Sekera was horrendous in his zone. I think it is safe to assume that his upper-body injury hasn’t healed fully and the thought of Dennis Persson playing in that game was beyond ludicrous. Continue reading →

Sabres call up Dennis Persson

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Dennis Persson has been called up as an emergency recall for tonight’s game two in Philadelphia. Seems to me that Shaone Morrisonn’s noggin isn’t 100% and Andrej Sekera hasn’t fully healed from whatever ailment has kept him out of the lineup. I was surprised to hear that Persson was the next man up from Portland other than a guy like TJ Brennan or Drew Scheistel. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Persson will see very little or no ice time at all tonight. it might be a more effective strategy to dress an extra forward and five defensemen. This likely create a serious hiccup in the Sabres’ gameplay for this evening. The puck possession battle was extremely skewed in game one, having one less defenseman can only hurt that stat.

Of note: Drew Scheistel has been out since January with a bum knee. Thanks to Kevin Snow for the update.

Double Minors – Game 1 vs. Philly

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The Sabres went into a loud building and stole a game one win from the Flyers tonight. Sabres fans can thank Paul Gaustad, Nathan Gerbe, Pat Kaleta, Chris Butler, Mike Weber and Tyler Myers. Oh, Ryan Miller was stellar as well.

Pat Kaletas third-period goal was all Buffalo needed

Buffalo got a few big boosts from areas they will need to count on in this series. A. Ryan Miller stole one for them. B. Their grinders (28, 42, 36) were a force and their most effective line. C. The penalty kill was awesome. Here are a few more thoughts from the game: Continue reading →

Who will Get the matchups?

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Playoff hockey is all about the match-ups. Which D-pair will face the top line and which center will take the important draws?

The Sabres – Flyers series offers a myriad of different matches that could produce some interesting situations.

The Flyers depth at forward makes them a difficult team to beat. Mike Richards centers a line that can match your top scorers while being a legitimate scoring threat. Danny Briere, Claude Giroux and the likes also are players who need to be watched closely.

The Sabres will likely counter with Paul Gaustad’s line and the pairing of Tyler Myers and Chris Butler/Andrej Sekera.

One question is if the Sabres have another line capable of checking the remaining scoring depth that the Flyers have. Continue reading →

Why the first round rules

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs is the best sports tournament in the entire world. Nothing can beat it, not the NCAA Tournament, the UEFA Champions League, nothing.

Hayden seems to appreciate the NHL Playoffs, so should you

Sixteen teams needing sixteen wins to hoist the greatest trophy known in sports. There isn’t even an argument regarding that point. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a two month journey that requires perfect timing, a lack of injuries and a few good bounces. Continue reading →

Sabres vs. Flyers breakdown

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The Sabres and Flyers get their series started tonight and many members of the media see this as one of the most even series of the entire first round. I’m not so confident in the Sabres ability to get past Philly. I certainly believe that they have the tools capable of pulling the upset. Of course, there is a reason the Philly was the second best team in the NHL for most of the season.

Why buffalo will win:

Ryan Miller. He has vastly improved his play from the beginning of the year. I feel that a great deal of that has to do with his workload and his health. He has played his best hockey since Jhonas Enroth has come up from Portland. If his extra rest has given him an edge then the Sabres will be in good shape. Continue reading →

2ITB first-round predictions

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After going just about o’fer on my regular season predictions, here is a look at who I think will advance in the first round of the NHL Playoffs.

East

1. Washington Capitals vs. 8. New York Rangers

This is an interesting series. If Ryan Callahan was healthy and the Rangers had better scoring depth they could really give the Caps a run. However, they don’t have those two things. The Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist and block a lot of shots. It ends there. The Caps play good defense and can score in bunches. Their goaltending is quite suspect but Alex Ovechkin has been heating up over the last half of the season. Plus, Jason Arnott and Scott Hannan were two fantastic acquisitions by George McPhee. Caps in five.

Continue reading →