Buffalo Sabres

Double Minors: Sabres/Amerks unravel late in Ottawa

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Maybe, just maybe, the injuries caught up to the Sabres. After scrapping to a 1-1 tie after 40 minutes, the Sabres simply couldn’t hang with Ottawa on the way to a 4-1 loss.

Buffalo, playing with five players who began the season in Rochester, looked over their heads many times in the game. Particularly in the third period. In particular, the second Senators goal came after prolonged play in the Buffalo zone and a turnover at the blue line by Paul Szczechura.

Lindy Ruff’s system isn’t all that complicated. He preaches puck possession and responsible play in zone. The basic idea is that if your team has the puck, the other team can’t score. It would appear that the depleted Sabres roster is thin on players capable of truly executing this system. Look no further than the shots Bufallo has been giving up lately. A puck possession team shouldn’t surrender 35 or more shots on a regular basis.

Ruff did show great faith in Ryan Miller, sending him back to the crease after his five-goal embarrassment on Saturday. He made some big saves as looked in control of his space this evening. His stat line will again show three goals against, not doing much for that astronomical 3.02 he entered with. However, he turned aside 35 shots and can’t hold much responsibility on any of the three goals he allowed. Earning third star honors and giving that type of performance shouldn’t be too disheartening to Sabres fans.

In fact, if you were to ignore Saturday, it would appear that Ryan Miller may be slowly finding his way out of the woods. He probably doesn’t have as nice of an iPhone compass as Ilya.

  • One last note on Miller, Ottawa’s second goal came on a rebound that struck him in the mask. The ice-level replay clearly showed that at least one strap had become unhooked. Now, this had no effect on his ability to stop the cross-crease feed that led to the goal, but it would have been nice if a referee had stopped play early on that one.
  • Derek Whitmore certainly showed he has some NHL skill in him. As a late college free agent, Whitmore’s career trajectory probably was going to end in the AHL. He has carved out a nice niche as a reliable scorer in the AHL and has now shown he can skate at the NHL level. He still looks similar to Szczechura, however – a depth NHL forward who would likely be 13 or 14 on the depth chart.
  • Marcus Foligno was -1 with two hits. He looked as if he needs a bit more time to develop his skating. He certainly has the ability to translate into a third or fourth line banger with some scoring touch. Not sure if his potential goes much higher than that. Still, a good showing in his first NHL game.
  • Thomas Vanek scored yet again, if the Hart was voted on regarding how valuable the player’s contributions to his team are – not incorporating league-wide stats etc. – Vanek might just be the runaway leader. Without him the Sabres would be looking at a lottery pick.
  • Jordan Leopold and Mike Weber had a rough night. They combined for two sloppy plays on the first two Ottawa goals. These things happen from game to game, but the mistakes are magnified lately with the number of missing regulars.
  • Daniel Alfredsson has been kept fairly quiet in this season’s series against Ottawa. It is awfully nice considering that mustache is the worst thing I have ever seen.

Three Stars

1. Eric Condra

2. Craig Anderson

3. Ryan Miller

NHL Links

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Event Summary

The Morning Skate: Brotherly battle in Ottawa

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More reinforcements have arrived from Rochester. Derek Whitmore and Marcus Foligno will make their NHL debut tonight in Kanata as Buffalo faces the Senators.

The two most recent recalls are in to replace Tyler Ennis and Colin Stuart as they join the other half of the Sabres roster on the injured list. The injury situation is beyond laughable at this point and the Sabres are entering a situation where they just need to maintain some semblance of consistency.

Buffalo went into Ottawa earlier this year and turned in a strong enough effort to get a shootout victory. Their most recent showdown with the Sens was a disappointing overtime loss in which the Sabres entered the first intermission on the heels of very good hockey. Unfortunately, they didn’t put their foot on the collective throat of the Senators, instead they chose to play not to lose.

Based on the potential line up for tonight, it would seem as if the Sabres will be lucky to stay in the same league as their opponent. Ryan Miller is likely to be very busy based on the sloppy play the team usually puts forth and the fact he will have an even further depleted roster.

Highlighted Matchup

Foligno vs. Foligno. Marcus is lucky enough to make his NHL debut against his brother Nick. It is probably a stretch to think the two will drop the gloves, but everyone is hoping to see Marcus’ take on his father’s trademark goal celebration. The two brothers are certain to run into each other over the course of the game, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller 17GP 8-6-2, 3.12 GAA, .902 SV%

OTT: Craig Anderson 28GP 13-11-2 3.42 GAA, .894 SV%

Last Game

12/13/2011, First Niagara Center, Sabres 2 – Senators 3 OT

Introducing “The Instigator Podcast” – 1.1 Venomous

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Today marks the first installment of a joint effort between Eric Schmitz, of 3rd Man In, and myself to bring something a little different to our blogs. It is a podcast that will now be known as The Instigator.

Our first run is a bit lengthy, but there is some good stuff in there. Instigator #1 covers venom, Ted Black’s recent comments, preaching patience and more. Comments and criticism will be welcome and expected. Comment on the story or hit us on Twitter: @3rdmanin or @2ITB_Buffalo.

Injuries beginning to take toll on Sabres’ record

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Despite the laundry list of injuries the Sabres have suffered this season, few losses can be explained because of missing players. At what point does the injury plague begin to reflect on Buffalo’s record? Maybe the win-loss record is already showing symptoms.

Last year certain injuries actually spurred the team to succeed. After a hot run of his own, Ryan Miller was concussed against New Jersey and was out of action for a couple of weeks. Luckily Jhonas Enroth went on a run to keep Buffalo in the playoff race. Despite having Derek Roy’s point-per-game pace on top of their stat sheet, the Sabres were better when Roy was put on the shelf.

The 2011-12 Sabres seem to be suffering a different fate. Pat Kaleta is nearing the oft-injured classification while injuries to Brad Boyes, Tyler Ennis, Ville Leino, Miller and Tyler Myers has sucked quite a bit of talent away from the roster. Even players recalled from Rochester have become victims. TJ Brennan, Colin Stuart and Cory Tropp were all hurt in Buffalo – Tropp and Stuart remain out of commission.

Again, many of Buffalo’s losses have come because of mental errors or terrible, awful hockey (see, Saturday night). But at what point do the band-aids on the roster start to peel off? It may already be happening. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Fright night in Pittsburgh

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It was the great Cosmo Kramer who said, “Yamma hamma its fright night!” That line may be the best way to describe what took place at Consol Energy Center last night.

Fresh off an invigorating home win, the Sabres were looking to start their first winning streak since early November. Then Jason Williams wired a curving slapshot by Ryan Miller from at least 60 feet. You might say Miller wanted that one back.

The 60-footer was just the first of an avalanche of goals against. Miller was very clearly “off” as Simon Despres scored on a pretty poor one-timer. Evgeni Malkin chased Miller with a nifty three-on-two goal in which the Buffalo defense opted to let the world-class lottery pick shoot from the hash marks. No fault to Miller on that one, but that was one of the few mistakes he wasn’t responsible for.

Credit to Miller, who catches heat for not taking responsibility for his play, he stood up and said he was bad and was a big reason for his team’s loss. That certainly doesn’t let him off the hook, but it isn’t as if he said the system wasn’t working and there were letdowns in other areas.

Jhonas Enroth wasn’t much better during his time in the net, but he also fell victim to very loose defensive coverage.

The issues last night extend far beyond number 30 and number 1. The entire team was flat and didn’t bring much punch. Perhaps they expended so much in their victory over the Leafs that they didn’t have any gas in the tank. It would be a flimsy excuse, but it wouldn’t necessarily be a foreign one.

Frankly, Lindy Ruff made the wrong choice by starting Miller. If there is one team Miller can’t beat it would be Pittsburgh. A simple eye test would show you that, the numbers back up the reasoning as well. Add the Toronto game from Friday, a travel day into a back-to-back situation and you have a pretty good recipe for starting Enroth. (Here is some work Alex did over on BBG on Miller’s struggles when fatigued)

Executing and stopping the puck is Miller’s sole responsibility, so there is no letting him off the hook. However, it was astounding to see Enroth back on the bench last night. Maybe Ruff wasn’t happy with Enroth’s recent play, but it was a major mistake to come back with Miller last night.

  • Thomas Vanek scored again. He is having a brilliant season and has truly developed into a major talent for this team.
  • Ruff played with Derek Roy and Luke Adam between Vanek and Pominville, he is going to have to take his medicine and put more offense between his top two forwards.
  • Speaking of Adam, he had a great goal for his 10th of the year. He has had a few struggles but seems to have plateaued at a pretty impressive level. It may just be time to reunite The Subway Line.
  • Paul Gaustad is, in fact, still playing for the Sabres. He scored his first goal in North America this season. Hopefully he can get on a bit of a roll to provide some secondary scoring for this team.
  • The injury situation is downright comical. Tyler Ennis and Colin Stuart fell victim to the bug. I’ll say it again. JT Allaire was the strength coach with the 2007 Bills. They had a whole bunch of odd injuries that year. He is now on staff with the Sabres and everyone has seen the results. Maybe he is just unlucky, but his luck is reflecting poorly on the franchise.

Three Stars

1. Evgeni Malkin

2. Simon Despres

3. Jason Williams

NHL Links

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Event Summary

The Morning Skate: Injury riddled Sabres and Pens face off in Pittsburgh

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Depending how you slice it, saying the Rochester Americans and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are facing off this evening wouldn’t be that big of a stretch. Fact is WBS will host Norfolk while the Amerks are on a road trip in Texas. Their parent clubs have just poached a majority of their roster.

Both the Sabres and Penguins are without numerous key players – a certain Pittsburgh center being the most prominent absence – for this evening’s game. Both teams had to travel to Pittsburgh for the game. Buffalo hosted Toronto while the Penguins were in Ottawa last night.

This is the final trip Buffalo will make to the Consol Energy Center this season; their first trip came back in October. That game was also played without number 87. Buffalo had a far healthier roster the last time they rolled into Pittsburgh. On that night, Jhonas Enroth was dazzling and Buffalo received some depth scoring on their way to a win.

The Sabres power play was shaken from its slumber last night, scoring three goals in the second period alone. Pittsburgh suffered a loss in a high-scoring affair in Ottawa. Looking at the scores from last night’s games, the fact that both teams travelled and that this is the tail-end of a back-to-back set; it may be safe to assume Lindy Ruff and Dan Bylsma will keep things close to the vest.

Highlighted Matchup

The Baby Pens vs. the Amerks. The roster Buffalo will roll out is nothing near the near 50/50 split they iced against Washington in November. The same could be said for the Penguins. However, both teams are missing star players and their depth is being tested. Whichever team gets more support from those depth players is likely to get the win.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 17GP 8-6-1, 2.43 GAA, .922 SV%

PIT: Marc-Andre Fleury 25GP, 15-7-2, 2.28 GAA, .916 SV%

Last Game

10/15/2011, Consol Energy Center, Sabres 3 – Penguins 2

*no stats for the third-straight Saturday, sorry*

Are Canadian ticket holders to blame for the quiet FNC?

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Every Sabres-Leafs game is played in a hostile environment. That is a fact of life. Leafs fans can’t get tickets to their home games, there are seats readily available in Buffalo and they make the trip to enjoy a “road” game.

A portion of the Sabres season ticket base is from Ontario. So, a large portion of those seats are likely going to be claimed by Leaf fans three times a year. Add in the fans who are looking to get back into the black after buying Sabres season tickets, and there is an additional market for buyers. The secondary ticket market is also a viable option. Obviously there are avenues for Leaf fans to invade Buffalo.

What is interesting is the atmosphere that is created for these games. If last night’s contest wasn’t a 50/50 split, it was 60/40. As for which side had the edge, it is anyone’s guess. The back and forth chants between the fans created a playoff-like atmosphere that made an entertaining game even better.

The players responded to the fans and their play showed as much. Buffalo’s players reflected this in their postgame comments as well. Thomas Vanek’s quotes were practically calling out the fans for sitting on their hands every other night aside from yesterday and the Boston grudge match. He has a point. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Power play, Vanek spur victory against Leafs

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It was the home game Sabres fans were waiting to see. The Sabres put forth the closest thing to a 60-minute effort than they had all year long at home and it resulted in a 5-4 victory over the Leafs.

In terms of entertainment value, last night was easily tops for the home schedule this season. Buffalo rode a four-goal second period to the victory. The Sabres’ three power play goals were the difference, one of the few times this season the extra man unit has been the reason for a win.

Credit to the Leafs – who are massively improved – for creating chances and carrying a good portion of the play with their speed and creativity. That is a difficult to team to corral simply because of the speed they possess on each line.

Perhaps the most impressive part of this game was that Buffalo pressed down when their foot was upon the collective throat of the Leafs. Lindy Ruff was running his usual defensive shell in the third period, an easy decision with a two-goal lead, but the team didn’t sit around and wait. While a majority of the third consisted of chip-and-chase, the Sabres stayed aggressive on the rush and had a few good chances.

Vanek’s game-winner came as a result of the Sabres not falling into a prevent defense, although they did yield the Kulemin breakaway and the Grabovski tally as well. While it wasn’t a clean third period, it was far better than the effort put forth against Ottawa on Wednesday.

Buffalo capped their five-game home stand with a 2-1-2 record, that is six of a possible ten points. Considering the way in which they lost their overtime games, the record could have been 4-1-0. While home games have been a chore this season, a .600 point percentage and that record could possibly be considered an improvement.

  • Thomas Vanek, aside from that dreadful turnover, was a complete monster. He had two great goals and made up for his brief cold spell with a four-point night. A fantastic outing from Buffalo’s best player was just what the doctor ordered.
  • Zack Kassian had a couple good hits and used his body well. He is a beast on the wall and in the corners. He also had that tremendous takeaway that led to Vanek’s first goal. In terms of momentum swings, Kassian’s effort on the back check and eventual apple may have been the biggest for the Sabres.
  • Most Leaf fans were bemoaning the officiating last night. Not sure where they were coming from, however. The Phaneuf hit was clearly a boarding infraction, there is no debating that. Was it worthy of a major? Probably not, but the official had to make a choice then and there and he went with his gut. Considering that is the type of hit the NHL is attempting to eradicate, might help to explain why it ended up being a major. As for missed calls, that goes both ways. The other infractions in the Leafs’ parade to the box were quite obvious. Just a tough night for the boys in white.
  • Ryan Miller allowed four goals and his save percentage for last night was .878. However, he was not only the best goalie on the ice, he was great between the pipes. He made some big power play stops, he had a great pad save on Kulemin prior to his PS and he robbed Joffery Lupul on the doorstep. Miller has looked like the goalie who started the season for the Sabres. By no means is that a bad thing.
  • Brayden McNabb didn’t see too much ice last night. He was great in the time he was out there, but the limited time likely means a trip back to Rochester is nearing. That is unfortunate considering he has shown far more in-zone savvy than Marc-Andre Gragnani, who seems to have the uncanny ability to be horrible while still getting ice time.
  • Gragnani was much better last night than he has been in recent games. His power play contributions were noticeable and he didn’t make any glaring defensive zone errors. That being said, his arrogance about his recent play is troubling and his lack of physical play is maddening.

Three Stars

1. Thomas Vanek

2. Drew Stafford

3. Tyler Ennis

NHL Links

Game Summary

Event Summary

The Morning Skate: Connolly return, Lupul Tweet fuel rivalry with Leafs

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The first installment of The QEW rivalry has come a bit late this season. However, the return of Tim Connolly – a healthy Tim Connolly – and a happy Tweeting Joffery Lupul have stoked the fire a bit.

Lupul peeved many in Buffalo with his Tweet from last night. The obvious grammatical error aside, Lupul’s Tweet was reminiscent of comments made by Emerson Etem around this time last year. A bigger deal was made from the winger’s opinion than what really matters. Frankly, downtown Buffalo leaves quite a bit to be desired compared to most cities. Buffalo isn’t even in the same league as Toronto in terms of entertainment and attractions. Buffalonians have a lot of pride, it is noble that everyone stood up for the town after Lupul’s Tweet. Still, there are far too many improvements to be made downtown before anyone can truly say Lupul was out of line.

The return of Connolly is slightly more interesting regarding this evening’s game. Connolly has missed quite a bit of time already but is close to a point-per-game pace. The trade-off Buffalo followed through with between Connolly and Ville Leino is under the microscope thanks to the production of each forward. While it is unfortunate that Connolly is having a solid run compared to Leino, to think that Connolly’s play in Buffalo would have changed one iota is silly. Connolly’s act – like many other Sabres’ – grew stale at the end of his run here. Connolly will receive a hearty number of boos this evening and it should make things a bit more interesting.

Highlighted Matchup

The Sabres need a strong showing. Not one aspect of the game will be more important for Buffalo tonight. They have yet to put in a 60 minute effort at home and desperately need to right the ship. As the injury keeps rolling through the Sabres’ locker room, Buffalo will need to continue to find a way to create offense and win games. Their slide out of playoff position needs to be halted and a win against their biggest rival is the best place to start.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller 15Gp 7-6-2, 2.81 GAA, .912 SV%

TOR: James Reimer 10GP 5-2-2, 2.75 GAA, .900 SV%

Last Game

3/29/2011, Air Canada Centre, Sabres 3 – Maple Leafs 4

Sundher inked to enrty-level deal

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Sundher has piled up points while filling a leadership role for Victoria/Chilliwack over the past two seasons.

The Buffalo Sabres signed Kevin Sundher to an entry-level contract this afternoon. The signing will bring another supremely talented prospect into the organization beginning next season.

Sundher is currently playing in his fifth full season with the Victoria (formerly Chilliwack) organization and will be making the jump to the AHL next season. His speed and playmaking ability have been key in Sundher’s offensive explosion over the past two seasons. In 2010-11 he picked up 24 goals, 52 assists and 93 penalty minutes in 70 games. Through 33 games this season he has 21 goals and 33 assists. He is just short of a point-per-game player for his career, a stat that will likely improve by season’s end.

While Sundher isn’t a top-end talent like Zack Kassian or Luke Adam, he is part of the recent run of drafts expected to change some of the culture in the Buffalo organization. Organizationally, the Sabres are terribly thin at center. From their first line through Rochester, the Sabres have little talent at the position. While Sundher doesn’t have much size (6’0”, 177), he has quite a bit of offensive talent at his disposal. Along with Dan Catenacci and Steven Shipley, the Sabres have some help coming through the pipeline. While none of the three are an elite talent, their skill lends plenty of depth to a position where the Sabres are lacking. The fact that Buffalo was proactive in getting him under contract early is indicative of that.

Although Sundher was passed over regarding Canada’s 2012 World Junior roster, his talent is not to be ignored. He is wearing a letter for Victoria (a duty carried over from Chilliwack), showing clear leadership potential. If Victoria makes an early playoff exit, or misses them altogether, Sundher will have the opportunity to make a late-season appearance in Rochester. The Amerks could bring him on under an ATO much like they did with Luke Adam and Zack Kassian in the past two seasons. The amateur tryout offer would keep Sundher’s ELC from activating while allowing him to play against men for a short time prior to the 2012-13 season.

The “playing against men” chorus is surely reminiscent from Adam and Kassian’s development, the same goes for Marcus Foligno and Bryaden McNabb.Previous development camp appearances have provided Sundher to display his impressive speed and offensive ability in WNY. However, a proper evaluation of his skills will be made after playing games in AHL. Obviously a late appearance this season (even into the playoffs) would be bonus time for the pivot.

Aside from the glaring need to find a true elite center, the Sabres may be in the market for players who can contribute with the rest of their lines as well. Sundher has the speed and skill to translate to a top-six role. He may even become a more attractive option than a player like Derek Roy in the near future.