Author: Chris Ostrander

Upcoming Equipment Changes are a Step in the Right Direction

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Change is coming once again for National Hockey League goaltenders as this week’s GM meetings indicated that equipment will be scaled down after this season.

The apparent focus on chest protectors and pants is long overdue as the two units have managed to escape much of the focus of past equipment changes. They’re also the only two units that haven’t been altered since the 2004-05 lockout, as pads, gloves and blockers underwent the most change.

All of this is being done to hopefully inject more offense into the game. As goal scoring continues to dip, addressing oversized goal equipment is both an easy and obvious change to make. Oversized shoulder floaters will likely go the way of the Dodo along with other size-related changes.

As a goaltender myself you might think I’d be staunchly against these changes, but I think they’re necessary at this time. Chest protectors and pants are still quite beefy and can stand to be tapered more to the shape of the player wearing them. I’m speaking specifically to the current construction of the shoulder floaters on chest pads today. This is a good example of the type of height you see from these units that not all companies fall in line with (here’s a unit with a more tapered look). Continue reading →

Celebrate Ryan Miller’s Return with Highlights

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The inevitability that Ryan Miller was going to be traded two seasons ago was something I was aware of even before the season had begun. A looming UFA, Miller held value across the league as a quality starting netminder and didn’t fit well with the Sabres rebuild.

That didn’t make it any easier the day he was traded.

Miller received a fair dose of criticism during his time in Buffalo and, to this day, I don’t understand how he was so under-appreciated. Perhaps it was because he was living in Hasek’s shadow for many fans. Maybe it was simply because a “Ryan Miller Shoutout” was unacceptable for some. Either way, when I look back at his time two years removed from his trade, I appreciate the talent we had even more. The post-Briere and Drury years were rife with under-achievement and, frankly, wasted some of the best hockey of Miller’s career.

By no means do I think the Sabres should have kept him, however. Tim Murray made the right decision in moving Miller when he did. It was the right move for the Sabres and it was the right move for Miller as well. I’m glad to see that Miller is playing well in Vancouver and I’m looking forward to seeing him on the ice at First Niagara Center once again.

Perhaps this period of Sabres hockey in which the answer in goal is somewhat cloudy will help clarify Miller’s worth to the organization during his tenure. In the meantime, enjoy this collection of Miller highlights. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Replay Derails Sabres Comeback Against Sens

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For a few fleeting moments on Thursday night, the plan had fallen into place perfectly. Evander Kane had shoveled a puck home from beside the net, DJ Kool was blasting throughout the arena and the momentum had fully shifted as the Sabres had tied the game.

However, Ottawa successfully challenged the play as the Sabres were deemed to have been offside on the zone entry and the score reverted to 2-1. While the Sabres still had a firm control over the game, they were unable to score another tying marker.

For the record, the Senators and the referees made the right call. The play was just ever slightly offside and the review showed that. So twice in two nights the new NHL review system worked as planned. It will be a hard pill to swallow for Sabres fans but it was the right call. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 4.9 – 2015-16 Season Preview

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Tyler and Chris are back after summer break and we’re talking about the outlook for the 2015-16 Sabres season. We spend some time looking at some question marks surrounding the defense corps, just how long of a look Brendan Guhle will get and realistic expectations for this year’s team.

Remember #GaslightForGoalSong When You Vote for the Sabres Goal Song

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The Sabres are hosting a little contest to determine their goal song for the upcoming season and the #GaslightForGoalSong campaign is one step closer to being realized.

The Sabres have eight choices for the new goal song in total that range from truly dreadful to more than acceptable. Highlights include something horrible by Pitbull, Swords of 1,000 Men (which already had a short-lived run as the goal song) and Let Me Clear My Throat by DJ Kool.

I have, at times, offered up my thoughts on certain aspects of game presentation at Sabres games. For the most part I’m relatively indifferent to what they do until I see a promotional game befit for minor league baseball or just terrible, awful music being played. So game presentation is hardly a hill I’m willing to die on. I do, however, wish the Sabres had a better goal song. Continue reading →

Sabres Goal Masks for the 2015-16 Season

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With a new season comes new helmets and the Sabres organization will be treated to a number of new goal masks for this season. Thanks to Tim Murray’s dealing, Chad Johnson and Robin Lehner bring their unique looks to the organization this season. Additionally, Linus Ullmark and CJ Motte will have new mask art to add to the organizational list.

Here are the masks Buffalo’s goaltenders will be sporting as the season opens: Continue reading →

Sharing Some Thoughts on Last Night’s Sabres-Related Outrage

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The Sabres opened their preseason schedule last night in Minnesota with Jack Eichel dazzling in his first game action against NHL veterans, perhaps you heard. You may have also heard that the game wasn’t on television.

There has been a fair bit of outrage on the Twitterverse due to this development. The lack of streaming content for last weekend’s Prospects Challenge has left a hockey starved fan base without much to hang on as the regular season approaches. Last night’s game wound up bringing various fan complaints to a head. It was underscored by the adorable Tweet pictured here.sabres

Now, the Sabres have traditionally kept preseason games off television. My understanding from when I was with the Sabres is that it’s a relatively fruitless venture which puts an undue expense on the broadcast arm of the team. This makes a lot of sense when you consider your typical preseason game roster is filled at least halfway with players who won’t be with the club during the regular season and the viewer base isn’t nearly as invested as they would be for a regular season game.

I pointed this out on Twitter earlier in the day as the fervor over the lack of TV or a stream began to ramp up. At the very least, the precedent has been a relative lack of TV games in the preseason. So it’s not as if this was a massive change from the past. Also, from my perspective, I wasn’t overly concerned that the game wasn’t on TV.

What seems to have led to the collective outrage over last night’s game is a combination of poor outreach via social media and the swell of frustration surrounding streaming (and not streaming) the prospects games this summer. Continue reading →

Revamped Blueline a Key in Buffalo’s Turnaround

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As the Sabres open their preseason campaign this evening against Minnesota, portions of the reshaped roster will be front and center for the first time. While this includes players like Jack Eichel, Buffalo’s beefed up blueline will be on display as well.

Buffalo returns most of their defensive corps from the end of the 2014-15 campaign as Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges, Rasmus Ristolainen and Mike Weber will all see significant minutes this season. However, Mark Pysyk is expected to be in Buffalo full-time along with new additions Carlo Colaiacovo and Cody Franson. Those new faces should each play their own role in turning the corner after two years of woeful defensive results.

While Ristolainen will remain on the shelf for a little while longer due to a pre-camp injury, the club opened camp with a pretty clear picture of what their defense pairs will look like. Gorges is skating alongside Bogosian, Weber is paired with Pysyk while Colaiacovo and Franson are the next pair up. One would presume that Ristolainen steps in with Pysyk when he’s healthy, but that’s hardly set in stone at this point.

Based on the current pairings, it would seem that Gorges and Bogosian will serve as the team’s top pair with Pysyk and Ristolainen potentially seeing second pairing minutes. Colaiacovo and Franson are likely best used in manageable situations – something Murray mentioned after signing Franson – which would be ideal for a third pair made up of two veterans who can contribute offensively.

Assuming Weber is penciled in as the seventh man for the time being, he will likely be utilized when Dan Bylsma is looking to ice a heavier lineup or even a defensive corps with more of a tendency to stay at home.

Depth beyond the top seven is far more impressive than it was just a year ago. Of course, the top seven is far more impressive than it was a year ago. Jake McCabe is the prohibitive favorite to be the first call up and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t recalled on a fairly regular basis. Chad Ruhwedel, Matt Donovan and Bobby Sanguinetti all have NHL experience and while they’ll each see more time in Rochester than Buffalo, they provide fair replacement value should the Sabres be hit by an injury bug. Continue reading →

Reloaded Forward Group is Full of Upside

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Pop quiz, hot shot. Can you name all of the forwards vying for a spot on the Sabres roster this year? No cheating.

The Sabres enter camp with a hefty roster bolstered by two years of rebuilding. As a result, fresh faces abound and it isn’t too hard to leave out a name or two while you’re penciling in lines.

Tim Murray’s first 18 months have brought Evander Kane, Jamie McGinn, Ryan O’Reilly (and brother Cal), Zach Bogosian, Josh Gorges, Cody Franson and Robin Lehner (among others) to the Queen City. Oh, and two guys named Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel, too. As a result, trying to ferret out exactly who will be on the opening night roster isn’t an easy task.

Obviously Eichel is going to be at the center of attention throughout camp. After all, where would the Sabres marketing team be if they couldn’t show us Jack Eichel doing Jack Eichel things with people who aren’t Jack Eichel? All kidding aside, I’m beyond ecstatic to see him in preseason action after his play in development camp (especially the 3-on-3 tournament) and at the Prospects Challenge. I just hope the Sabres don’t run him into the ground as they try to promote him the team.

The number of potential position battles for a team starting to turn the corner out of a rebuild isn’t that surprising. The forward group has the most potential for upheaval as there are upwards of 15 players who could conceivably push for a roster spot for the October 8 opener. Continue reading →

Eichel Takes Center Stage in Prospect Challenge Finale

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That went about as well as the Sabres could have hoped. Well, aside from the light crowd, I suppose. Still, Jack Eichel put on a show in the third period and OT, lifting the Sabres to a 3-2 OT victory over the Bruins prospects in the final game of the inaugural Prospects Challenge.

Buffalo’s 2-0 record bested the three-team field as New Jersey’s prospects were dispatched in each of their games while the Bruins finished 1-1. Eichel put a pair of exclamation points on the tournament with a nifty assist to open the scoring on Saturday night and then winning a race along the wall to create a two-on-one with Sam Reinhart on the winning goal.

Of course, this is sort of what you’d expect from the team’s electric number-two pick. He’s been billed as one of the best prospects of the last decade and aside from a sluggish showing in July’s Development Camp scrimmage, he’s put up highlight after highlight. I was far more interested in keeping an eye on players like Brendan Guhle (he was good), Nick Baptiste and others but the allure of Eichel and Reinhart is had to ignore.

Eichel’s game winner is obviously the nice, neat exclamation point on the evening but it was his assist on the game-tying goal was the more impressive play. Eichel drifted down towards the faceoff dot and slid a gorgeous saucer pass through the Bruins’ penalty kill to find Brycen Martin streaking down the opposite side. Eichel is at home posting up at one point of the umbrella on the powerplay. He has a heavy shot which keeps him from being simply a passing threat, but when he has time to dissect a team, he’ll do it. Both he and Reinhart strung together some very impressive passes throughout the night.

I liked that the first word that Randy Cunneyworth used to describe Reinhart was poise. Going back to last year’s development camp, the one thing that really stands out about his game is how he seems to let things come to him. He seems to be the one dictating things on the ice, not letting things dictate his game. Cunneyworth didn’t hesitate to put he and Eichel together when the Sabres needed to tie late and they were on the ice for the winning goal as well. There may be some time until they’re playing together regularly at the NHL level, but tonight’s sneak preview was a nice treat.

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While I was unable to make it to Saturday’s opening game, I was surprised to see how few seats were filled given the ridiculous turnout for this summer’s Development Camp. Tonight was no different as there were only a few well filled sections in the 100 level. Add in the lack of a live stream and a fraction of fans got a chance to check out these games compared to those who saw the scrimmage in July.

I don’t want to get into too many points on not streaming the game, the odd lack of coverage by the Sabres Twitter during the game itself (they made up for it with some good Vines) as that is best saved for a later post. What is odd is that Sabres fans didn’t flock to the arena for these games as they did in July. These were actual games against actual opponents that even included some of the draft’s best talents – the Bruins had three firsts on the ice tonight – not named Jack Eichel. The weather, Bills and a number of festivals certainly played a role in the ticket sales, but I’d certainly argue that Buffalo’s tremendous hockey fans could have shown a bit better given that their shiny new toys were on display over a rainy weekend.

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  • Brendan Guhle continues to grow on me. I admit I didn’t know much about him prior to the draft, but his skating ability at Development Camp piqued my interest and that was on display again tonight. He needs time to add weight, but he has shown some impressive upside. He made a great play to burn down the far boards to collect a loose puck and create an odd-man rush in the second period. It was an impressive display of speed and a good read to push up into the play.
  • Jake McCabe was another player who impressed me tonight. He was quick to engage physically and was easily the most talented defender on the ice. He was also the player with the most professional experience on the ice, so that was probably to be expected.
  • Good on the Rochester Americans social media for their consistent, solid coverage. Filled the gap while the Sabres account was nearly silent. At their own event, no less.
  • I had reservations about 3-on-3 overtime and I have dropped every single one of them after tonight’s display. There is a ton of open ice, mismatch opportunities at every turn and the ability for extended possessions in-zone. Oh, and it’s a long change for each team. There were numerous solid opportunities for each club, it just so happened that Jack Eichel cashed his. I can’t wait to see it in the regular season.
  • CJ Motte had a nice game. He’ll make for a nice depth addition for the organization in the minors. He moves well and plays an athletic style. He’s not a giant like Robyn Lehner or Anders Lindback, even. But he gets out and challenges shooters and keeps the game in control.