Author: Chris Ostrander

Between the Pipes: Lackluster effort leads to lackluster result against #Lumbus

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Things got ugly quick for the Sabres last night. Columbus scored just 1:51 into the contest and managed another early goal in the second period as well on their way to a 4-1 win.

Not pictured: the clothesline Ryan Miller was hung from last night

While the Sabres received a highlight reel tally from Thomas Vanek, there wasn’t much else to take away from the loss that set Buffalo back to 0-4-1 on the season. The Sabres added three more fights in a contest where they were badly outpossessed and outshot (33-27) yet again.

The first three Columbus goals – all scored in the first period – found their way behind Ryan Miller with little resistance offered by the Sabres skaters as Cam Atkinson and Marian Gaborik each tallied little more than tap-ins during the opening stanza.

Atkinson’s tally, a rebound off the crossbar, came with Tyler Myers spectating the play from beside the goal scorer. Nick Foligno scored the team’s second goal with an assist from Myers’ stick and ultimately Mike Weber’s skate before Gaborik deposited a two-on-one in which Weber entered the net before the puck did, effectively eliminating his goaltender from the play.

For the Sabres efforts, they nearly hit the 30-shot plateau but again didn’t offer many tests to their opponent’s netminder. Buffalo’s second line has been all but invisible this season with the vast majority of their chances coming off the sticks of their top line. Vanek and Cody Hodgson – who appears to deserve credit for playing injured – have been Buffalo’s lone offensive threats as the rest of the forwards continue to acclimate to what’s becoming unfamiliar territory (the attacking zone).

Saturday night shouldn’t offer much of a reprieve for the team as the Blackhawks will certainly be expected to steamroll the inferior opponents the Sabres will likely provide. Continue reading →

21st Century Park offers great opportunity for Outer Harbor

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Momentum continues to build on Buffalo’s Outer Harbor as additional announcements continue to roll in after Governor Cuomo’s announcement confirming the NFTA’s withdrawl from the massive property  this year.park

The newest group to step forward is one pushing for a large park to be constructed on the Outer Harbor. Their plan calls for a massive 130 acre area to be occupied by a brand new park that would span between Wilkeson Pointe and the recently purchased Terminals A and B. The Buffalo News has all these details if you wish to learn more.

What interests me is the scope and approach of this proposal. While I’m not usually one to promote yet another open park in place of potential mixed use development along out waterfront, this strikes me as one of the strongest uses of waterfront land since the renewed interest in developing the waterfront began.

Of course, in typical Buffalo fashion, this is currently little more than a pretty drawing being promoted by a community interest group set to be presented along with other pretty drawings from other groups. Regardless, it serves as a strong use for a significantly large piece of land that’s sat vacant for far too long.

You may notice that this land is part of the proposed Bills stadium that was pitched earlier in the year. I’m not particularly fond of that stadium plan although I assume that group may be amongst those pitching ideas along with the 21st Century Park group – exactly how many wasn’t mentioned by the News.

Kudos to the 21st Century group for noting the Esmonde Template in securing noted preservation obstructionists as “close friends” as stated on the park website. This is the type of project that those two loveable “waterfront development enthusiasts” would promote, but it just goes to show the importance of securing the proper protection for your projects. Continue reading →

Between the Pipes: Sabres drop OT decision to Bolts

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For my new goalie focused recap I chose a picture with two skaters.

For this season I’m going to try and mix things up a bit for game recaps. Since the blogging community continues to be well represented at each Sabres game, I know that there will be at least one or two quality recap for each game. In addition to the stories coming from the mainstream media sources in town I’d like to try to offer something of a slightly different ilk for my game recap.

So what I’m going to work out over these first few weeks is a little different take on the typical Sabres game recap. While I’ll still provide some basic elements of what occurred, my primary focus will be on the players between the pipes for both the Sabres and their opponents with some additional thoughts added at the end. So that’s the plan for now. If it happens to be garbage I’ll regroup with something that makes sense.

As for last night, it wasn’t the most painful hockey game that I’ve ever had to sit through. Buffalo’s inability to pass and cycle the puck was rather pathetic and their overwhelming lack of puck possession resulted in yet another imbalanced shot on goal tally that saw the Lightning nearly double Buffalo’s efforts at even strength (29 shots to 16 shots).

Despite that imbalance, the Sabres managed to stake themselves to a pair of one-goal leads thanks to their previously dormant power play and were a backwards whistle away from taking a two-goal lead early in the third.

That confusing play – which wound up being nothing more than a massive screw up by the officials – really wound up serving as the true turning point in the game. Somehow the officials missed Ott playing the puck on the sideboards – how I’m not quite sure – and waited until McBain shot to call the play. All of this combined to be massively confusing not only because of the goal, but because the Bolts had managed to get a whistle on a delayed penalty of their own after the puck struck one of their skates earlier in the period. So there was already a precedent of questionably ending plays on delayed penalties prior to this play. Add in that the high stick was a pretty weak call – as Vanek and Carle had gotten tied up behind the net – and it was a very ugly turn of events.

Oh yeah, and Tampa scored on the ensuing power play to tie the game.

The loss fell on Jhonas Enroth’s shoulders and his record is now 0-1-1 on the young season as the 31 saves matched his output against the Penguins on Saturday. Enroth’s play was strong despite fighting the puck early in the contest. His stiffest tests came from Tampa’s five power play shots and he responded well.

His counterpart, Ben Bishop, wasn’t very busy and coasted through most of the game without needing to make many impressive stops. Bishop’s finest save came when he flashed his glove on Mark Pysyk in the first and he was quite busy in the third as the Sabres fired 13 of their 23 shots during that stanza. Continue reading →

Extra Points: Injury and insult in Cleveland

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In what has recently become a nearly annual blunder bowl for the NFL, the Bills and the Browns managed to put up some points on Thursday night in their primetime showdown.

A game that I joking referred to as the Mistake by The Lake Bowl has been exactly that for the last few meetings. In fact, three of the last five meetings between the two teams (entering Thursday) saw fewer than 20 points scored in the game. That includes the game played in a blinding snowstorm in 2007 and the windswept pillow fight in 2009, two games won by the Browns with a combined 14 points scored.

Thursday night, however was anything but a snoozer. The Bills leapt to an early lead, injured the Browns starting quarterback and had snatched momentum from the home squad. However, a pair of big punt returns, a strong return effort from Brandon Weeden and an injury to EJ Manuel turned the tables on the Bills quickly. Continue reading →

Ott and Vanek named co-captains, nothing to see here

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This shouldn’t matter. At all. But because it’s Buffalo things have to be difficult.

The Sabres finally got around to naming their captains today and by choosing two , you know, instead of one, they managed to piss off plenty of people.

From an organization who unveiled the worst looking jersey this side of Gorton’s Fish Products in a painstaking slow process, it’s just another reason for annoyed fans to pile one. I personally don’t have that much of a problem with the decision to name Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott co-captains.

No word on if there is a third jersey captain who gets to wear one of these bad boys.

Yeah, it’s dumb to have two captains. I get it, I sat through the monthly captain rotation that Lindy Ruff instituted and I also watched as Chris Drury and Daniel Briere led the Sabres to the President’s Trophy sharing the “C”.

Ultimately this is pretty much a non-decision as Ron Rolston picking the two of the best candidates he had to wear a letter for this distinction. Why he couldn’t just choose one doesn’t make much sense, but it wasn’t a bad decision to pick the pair of Ott and Vanek. They both carry enough merit to be considered strong candidates to be named captain and were actually probably the two frontrunners along with Christian Ehrhoff.

Look at it this way, Rolston – and the organization as a whole – not only rewarded Ott for his contributions on the ice but in the locker room. He’s become a fan favorite, brings the ever popular blue collar attitude to the room and deserved recognition for that. His style of play isn’t necessarily that of a player you’d want as your captain, so perhaps that factored into the decision to keep him from wearing the “C” full time.

Vanek, on the other hand, is Buffalo’s best player. He’s one of the longest tenured players on the team, is probably the easiest choice when it comes to choosing a player to wear a letter (contract status not withstanding) and giving him a share of the captaincy could be an olive branch of sorts from management indicating they want him around.

Vanek stated that wearing the “C” doesn’t necessarily make him want to stay, but it is an indication that the team does indeed want him around. Even if it’s something that doesn’t cause him to sign tomorrow, showing him that level of respect is a step in the right direction. And if the team manages to open some eyes this season, perhaps he can be convinced to stay.

Or maybe they just want to artificially increase his trade value.

The Instigator Podcast 3.1 – Changing of the Seasons

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Eric and I are back for season three of The Instigator Podcast. We wrap up the Sabres Blogger Summit that was held last night, chat about the roster for the upcoming season and play plus/minus with the candidates to wear the Sabres’ “C”.

Injuries present unique situation for Zadorov, Larsson

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Something interesting happened to the Sabres in the past week. A run of injuries suffered at the tail end of the preseason created some unique roster opportunities for a handful of Sabres prospects.

Obviously the last thing any team wants is to suffer injuries. Particularly injuries to players who have been touted as key pieces to the future success of the franchise. Yet, the injuries to Joel Armia, Marcus Foligno and Nikita Zadorov aren’t going to cause the Sabres as much stress as you may originally believe.

All three players are bound to be shifted to injured reserve in order for the Sabres to meet the NHL’s roster requirements this afternoon. While it will prevent them from getting immediate ice time, they’ll have the opportunity to stay in Buffalo while they recover. Specifically for Armia and Zadorov it means spending more time with the team, working out here and just absorbing more time with the big club as they heal up. Particularly for Zadorov, that is a great benefit.

Zadorov’s injury should provide him some additional time in Buffalo before heading back to London.

Considering it appeared as if Zadorov was destined to be returned to London, he will now get approximately two more weeks to spend with the Sabres strength and conditioning staff and I’d gather he’ll probably have the chance to get on the ice a few times as well. While it wasn’t a guarantee, I do believe that the Sabres wanted to give Zadorov a nine-game tryout prior to his injury. Assuming that was indeed the case, his nine-game cameo might just come after he’s fully recovered. Comparing the two timelines is easy enough; two weeks plus nine games > nine games. Continue reading →

Extra Point: Turnovers help Bills close out defending Super Bowl Champs

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Feel free to insert your own cliché on ugly wins when thinking back on the Bills’ win over the Ravens yesterday. The Bills got the thing to the garage but with the effectiveness of a drunk guy wearing an eye patch.

The offensive shortcomings of the second half that allowed the Ravens start to sneak back into the game amplified a lot of the worry of most Bills fans while also erasing an impressive first half from their collective memories.

Buffalo’s defense rebounded well after allowing over 500 yards of offense to the Jets last week and virtually eliminated Baltimore’s running attack while managing to survive with a patchwork secondary that helped contribute to a five-interception day.

Aaron Williams led the way with a pair of interceptions and an overly impressive day that only saw him beaten badly once on a deep ball to Torrey Smith. While it was yet another bad day for Justin Rogers, the contributions of Williams, Kiko Alonso (2 INTs) and a pass rush that recorded four sacks and 12 hits on Joe Flacco bridged the gap for the struggling corner.

The Bills front seven was stout for the entire game. Marcell Dareus had one of, if not the very best performance of his professional career while the others on the line each brought valuable contributions themselves.

Manny Lawson, in addition to adding his first sack of the season, was stepping to the slot receiver at times to provide coverage. Mario Williams was pushing the pocket at times – and Flacco rolled away from him quite a bit during the afternoon – added a very important red zone sack of Flacco that aided in holding the Ravens to a field goal.

Offensively the Bills did all their talking in the first half. EJ Manuel was efficient and hit on a big play to Robert Woods to help stake the Bills to their second lead of the game. Manuel sputtered in the second half, losing some composure but managing the game well enough for the Bills to get the W. Continue reading →

Sabres can fast track youngsters this season

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Perhaps this season won’t be about winning the Cup for the Sabres, but that might not be all bad. If suffering is indeed what Sabres fans are in for, at least the crop of fresh faces on the roster will provide a compelling narrative to follow for the season.

In the weeks between the draft and training camp, the Sabres voiced their support of Rasmus Ristolainen as an NHL-ready prospect and confirmed that Mikhail Grigorenko would play the season in Buffalo. Additionally, players like Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson and Mark Pysyk began showing that they’d also be vying for a spot on the roster that takes the ice in Detroit on October 2.

With only six days left until the regular season opens, the roster is beginning to take shape with only a few spots left to confirm. How many fresh faces will be on the opening night roster is one aspect that hasn’t been determined at this point.

Buffalo still has nine defensemen in camp with newly signed, junior-eligble Nikita Zadorov amongst the group. Zadorov has received rave reviews throughout the summer and the preseason and has probably earned himself his nine-game tryout before being sent back to London. However, the already crowded blueline corps has little wiggle room to find a spot for Zadorov, even if it is for nine games.

It would be great if the Sabres could find a way to get Zadorov into the line-up for those first nine games, they certainly don’t need to have Alexander Sulzer on the roster to open the season and could use his spot to insert Zadorov to start. It isn’t inconceivable to think that either Sulzer or Jamie McBain will be heading to Rochester regardless of what the Sabres plan on doing with Zadorov simply because I don’t see many minutes available for those two at this point. Continue reading →

Conspiracy theory: Could the Sabres be running the world’s greatest jersey con?

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In an odd twist of rhetoric, many Sabres fans have been muttering a similar phrase the past couple of days. “It’s too bad to be true. Right?”

The Sabres new third jersey has only managed to scrape together a few dozen fans as backlash for the new jersey has been beyond negative to this point. Fans, bloggers and mainstream media members (local and nationally) have panned the uniform’s busy design leaving little support in their wake. Although social media was hardly what it is today when the Slug jerseys were unveiled, it seems as if this new creation has received more backlash than the previous number one contender for the worst jersey in Sabres history.

However, what if this was all part of a massive, well-orchestrated charade? What happens at training camp when the jerseys are to be officially unveiled and the lights go out and suddenly Ted Black’s entrance music comes on? Would the team President pulling the curtain on a different, better looking third jersey not be the greatest troll job in the history of hockey?

Naturally the chances of such greatness occurring are somewhere between slim and a new Peace Bridge, but I can’t say it wouldn’t be all that surprising. Let’s consider the facts: Continue reading →