Buffalo Sabres

Tootoo suspended two games for hit on Miller

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

The NHL didn’t give Lindy Ruff another chance to hammer on the justice process. They suspended Jordin Tootoo for two games based on his actions on Saturday against the Sabres.

Surely there are Sabres fans up in arms over this ruling, but it is an appropriate sentence for the play.

Realistically, Tootoo’s sentence is right in line with the play from Saturday. You might even say Tootoo probably shouldn’t have had to answer beyond his five minute major and game misconduct on Saturday had the NHL gotten it right the first time. The NHL’s reasoning behind giving Lucic a pass was he didn’t show intent to hit Miller, despite what looked like obvious evidence to the contrary. In comparing the two incidents one could conclude there was plenty more intent from Lucic than Tootoo.  Regardless, Lucic’s actions deserved a few games in the press box, the NHL didn’t see it that way and it left the door open for further incidents.

To Tootoo’s credit, he looked to be giving some effort to avoid Miller while also throwing his body at the superstar. Yes, a major contradiction. But it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say Tootoo was hoping to hit Miller while avoiding him, one of those accidentally on purpose things. So, the Shanahammer made his “statement” and gave Tootoo a couple of nights off in order to appease the masses.

Will this end all of the huffing and puffing? Not by a long shot. This was nothing more than a slap on the wrist and won’t send the message that players will miss significant time if this is to continue. This play wasn’t as violent as the Lucic hit, so the league was in a tough spot. It was a lose-lose situation but they seem to have lost big time with the choice they made. For what it’s worth, the days of gongshow hockey and freight train attacks on goalies are few and far between. Still, for this to happen to Miller in each of his last two outings looked to be more than a coincidence and something needed to be done.

The league didn’t do itself any favors with an elementary school punishment. The play certainly didn’t warrant 15 games, but a two-game sentence harkens back to the days of Colin Campbell. It certainly doesn’t signal a serious change in the way the league hopes to operate.

Sabres assigned numbers, make it stop

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42, 57, 54, 72, 63, 78; this is not the starting defensive lineup for the Buffalo Bills, it is a listing of numbers assigned to prospects in the Buffalo Sabres system.

A few of the numbers above now belong to regular roster players and this season has shed some light on even more quirky numbers (81 for Brayden McNabb) which have been assigned to Buffalo’s prospects. This is something that myself and Eric (from 3rd Man In) have both bemoaned simply because the players look ridiculous. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres grind one out in Nashville

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The story from last night is focused on the Jordin Tootoo hit on Ryan Miller. What may be lost is the fact that Buffalo managed to get back into the win column on the legs of a great goaltending performance and a three goal night, despite being badly outshot.

The Tootoo incident is tough to diagnose. The original camera angle looks like a hockey play, it is the reverse angle that shows there may have been a little more intent on Tootoo’s part to collide with Miller. Obviously the argument over his reputation will be a big topic regarding the play, but there seems to be two key ingredients that will likely result in a suspension. It is tough to say if Tootoo could have found his way behind the net, but that will certainly be an issue. Tootoo jumped into the hit and made some effort to avoid Miller but his effort also helped carry him further into the goaltender. Based on the precedent set from the Lucic hit, Tootoo will get a pair of games. If this was a solitary incident, he may escape justice.

Regardless of that play, the Sabres played a neat game that was worthy of two points. Miller was certainly the difference for the Sabres – they were outshot 34-14 – but the line of Luke Adam, Ville Leino and Zack Kassian came to play too.

Based on the recent track record of this team, two points is a step in the right direction. The next step will be to carry the play on their way to a sound victory.

  • Zack Kassian will need to go back to the AHL at some point. He clearly has the chops to play at the NHL level, he just needs to refine a few portions of his game (defensive zone, skating). Kassian’s goal is one that Sabres fans will see a lot more of. At one time Kassian was a pretty prime piece for a major trade, now he might be an “untouchable prospect.”
  • Joe Finley was only so-so in his NHL debut. Considering he is finally turning a corner in his development, he may still have a few more steps to take. He wasn’t horrible in these two games, which was certainly a possibility.
  • Ville Leino notched his first multi-point game in Buffalo. That is a good step for a guy who looks to be struggling to adopt “the system”. He is working well with Kassian and Adam – he has worked well with a few lines this season, but they haven’t been kept together. Depending on the length of Boyes’ injury, this line could stay together for quite a while. That is promising for all three players, not just Leino.
  • Miller had a good game. His highway robbery in the third period was great to see. That is one of those saves that make people put him in the top ten among the NHL’s goaltenders each season. His big test will come Wednesday against Philly. He had a rough outing last time and will certainly need to right the ship on home ice.
  • Christian Ehrhoff is in straight up beast mode. He is playing major minutes in major situations and is playing well. He also just about ripped off Patric Horqvist’s head after he hit  Miller twice in the third. Major props.
  • Only other thought regarding Miller and Tootoo is that the cards fell in an awfully coincidental manner. Tootoo, Miller in his first game back, first game since gettin bowled over by Lucic. Tootoo may have tried to avoid Miller, but given the circumstances it seems fishy.

Three Stars

1. Luke Adam

2. Ryan Miller

3. David Legwand

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The Morning Skate: Sabres searching for answers in Smashville

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

Everyone is starting to run out of answers regarding the Sabres’ play as of late. The line combos aren’t working, play in goal has been average and injuries are mounting. Buffalo is 1-4-1 in their last six and have shown little in recent games.

A trip to Nashville probably isn’t the best medicine for a struggling club. The Preds are sitting in 11th out West, but play a stifling style that isn’t going to be conducive for solving the Sabres’ scoring woes. On the bright side, the Sabres play much better hockey on the road. So they’re got that going for them. Which is nice.

Ryan Miller is expected to make his return to the crease tonight. It will be his first action since being concussed/whiplashed in a collision with Milan Lucic on November 12. It should be noted that Miller’s play appeared to be taking an uptick based on his final two periods against Winnipeg and his first period play in Boston. Hopefully whatever he was battling has been expelled from his game and he will return to the form we saw over the first three weeks of the season.

Of note, the Predators Tweeted that Buffalo native Chris Mueller will make his season debut tonight. Cue the Bucky column on the Buffalo boy now. I’ll toss in and extra five bucks if he manages to hit on Tim Kennedy’s whereabouts in tomorrow’s piece too.

The Sabres have been bad from top to bottom as of late, so there isn’t one thing one could point to as a key for tonight. Obviously controlling the play and hitting the net would be a wonderful place to start given Buffalo’s recent scoring woes. Getting Thomas Vanek back on track would be helpful too, perhaps removing the king of bad angle shots from his line would be a good starting block there.

Highlighted Matchup

Ryan Miller. While it is inconclusive if Miller is getting the nod tonight, his play could end up being crucial for the Sabres’ success. Jhonas Enroth has been admirable in relief for Miller, while he has had some shaky outings over the last week, quite often Enroth has not gotten the necessary goal support to win. If Miller keeps the Preds to two or less he will have done all he needs to allow his team to get a victory.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller 11GP 5-6-1, 2.86 GAA, .909 SV%

NSH: Pekka Rinne 23GP 10-8-4, 2.57 GAA, .921 SV%

Last Game

3/20/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 3 – Predators 4 OT

*stats to come later*

Double Minors: Sabres outclassed in loss to Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings strolled into First Niagara Center and showed the Buffalo Sabres where they stood in every facet of the game.

By the end of the game it seemed pretty clear that the Sabres are a long way from being in the same class as the Wings – at least after yesterday’s effort.

Buffalo fell behind 3-0 after 15 minutes of play and didn’t break Jimmy Howard’s shutout until the final seven minutes of the game. Once again, the Sabres only managed to score one goal, the third such occurrence in their last five games.

The primary culprit to the Sabres woes were giveaways. Buffalo tries to pride itself on being a puck possession team, as do the Wings. The Wings were the only puck possession team last night. Detroit controlled the play leading to their first goal, their power play deposited their second and a brutal giveaway by Jochen Hecht led to the third. Even the empty net goal was caused by a sloppy play in the offensive zone.

Hecht was the lone goal scorer for the second-straight game. He roofed a two-on-one chance that capped a pretty nice passing play between Ville Leino, Jason Pominville and Hecht. There wasn’t too much offense beyond that play.

Defensively the Sabres seemed outmatched by the deeper, more talented Red Wings. Jhonas Enroth had a shaky outing, although he settled in during the second and third periods. It should be interesting to see if Ryan Miller does get the start in Nashville tonight.

  • Joe Finley didn’t see too much ice – 7:51 to be exact. Pat Kaleta was the only Sabre to see fewer minutes and that was because the gritty winger re-aggravated his groin injury. Finley, touted as a strong skater, looked sluggish and a bit over his head. Obviously you can’t draw much from a single game, but Finley’s debut was less than impressive.
  • Brayden McNabb is still playing good hockey. Two more hits and 18 minutes for the youngster. He seems to be coming around just fine.
  • Enroth really started the year on a tear, he hasn’t been super human since taking over the starting role. While Ryan Miller wasn’t brilliant in the games before his injury, it will be good to get him back in net. Having a pair of reliable goalies will likely do wonders for the psyche of this team.
  • Lindy Ruff will probably be shuffling his lines soon. Scoring one goal in three of their last four games is a serious problem, he needs to find a way to get his scorers going. Roy, Stafford and Vanek have been very quiet lately and that trend needs to stop.
  • Zack Kassian wasn’t horrible. He was -1 again, but he has shown he is going to be a capable NHLer when he gets a permanent spot. All of these injuries will keep him up for the foreseeable future, but you can tell he hasn’t reached that extra gear just yet. .

Three Stars

1. Johan Franzen

2. Jimmy Howard

3. Valterri Filppula

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The Morning Skate: The Legend of Joe Finley arrives vs. Red Wings

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The Sabres have really hit the skids lately. They only seem capable of beating teams who are about to fire their head coach – save for the Blue Jackets – and can’t keep their lines together long enough to form any sort of chemistry.

Meanwhile, the juggernaut that is the Detroit Red Wings comes to town sporting a six-game winning streak, a healthy roster and a generally tall task for the Sabres this evening. Buffalo is still struggling with injuries, Big Joe Finley will make his NHL debut this evening in place of Jordan Leopold. On the bright side, Ryan Miller is back in the lineup (he will backup tonight) as are Tyler Ennis and Pat Kaleta.

I’m hoping Ennis remembers where he left his offense for the offseason, because he was fairly useless in the time before his ankle. I would imagine Ennis goes in for Matt Ellis and Kaleta replaces either Zack Kassian or potentially Ville Leino. Obviously much of this will be up in the air until game time.

The bottom line for tonight is that the Sabres need a victory. They have been horrible at home and need to buck the trend. They face a difficult matchup as the Red Wings are healthy, talented and generally difficult to beat. Still, the Sabres need to get back into the left hand column and begin climbing back toward the top of the Eastern Conference.

Highlighted Matchup

Joe Finley. The man who spawned a Twitter hashtag for the ages (see line above). I was high on Finley when he was drafted by the Caps. I became an even bigger fan when he blossomed for North Dakota leading up to 2009. Injuries derailed his development over the past two seasons and the Sabres very well may have stumbled onto a diamond in the rough with this guy. He certainly had the potential to be an effective NHL defenseman, injuries have just kept him from reaching that level.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 15GP 8-4-1, 2.27 GAA, .926 SV%

DET: Ty Conklin 4GP 1-2-0, 3.33 GAA, .880 SV%

Last Game

2/26/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 2 – Red Wings 3 SO

Sabres Stat Pack: Goal scoring becoming a cause for concern?

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More secondary scoring may elevate the Sabres' game

The Sabres are in the midst of a 15-game stretch that sees them play 11 contests at First Niagara Center. It is a stretch of games that some may say could define the season, whether that is true or not remains to be seen.

The run began with a letdown against New Jersey on November 16. There are six games left in the “homestand” – so far the Sabres have only won one home contest. They won’t start winning if they don’t start scoring. Or defending, for that matter.

The Sabres offensive woes have been far more pronounced that the struggles they have had defensively this season. There have certainly been patches in which Buffalo has managed to look like mites in their own zone, but it has been on offense where many issues remain.

Lindy Ruff has shuffled his lines more than a blackjack deck this season and it seems to be catching up to him. Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville have each slowed the torrid pace with which they began the season. Luke Adam has managed to find the net again after a dry spell, but there is little support beyond those three players. Adam, Pominville and Vanek have accounted for 29 of the 66 (43%) of the Sabres’ goals this season. The other 37 have been scored by 17 other players.

Lindy Ruff is wasting Vanek and Pominville with Jochen Hecht. Hecht is a quality center/wing who can contribute offensively while providing the most return in a defensive role. However, Ruff’s apparent love affair with the German has placed Hecht on a scoring line year after year. It is a tired game that jumped the shark along with “putting on a show for the home fans” and expecting Ryan Miller to be Dominik Hasek. Continue reading →

Sabres call up Finley, get meaner on the blueline

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The enormous bottles aren't that noticeable in your hands, especially when you're 6'8".

The Sabres started the year with far too many wingers and a plethora of offensive defensemen. While the lack of centers and overabundance of wingers remains a fringe issue, the blueline has gotten a sudden dose of nasty.

In light of Jordan Leopold’s upper body injury, suffered yesterday against the Islanders, the Sabres have called up Joe Finley from the AHL.

Finley was a training camp invitee who had a strong showing in camp before signing a minor-league deal with the Amerks. Since then the former Capitals first round pick (27th overall in the 2005 Crosby draft) has blown up. By all accounts he has been a rock on the blueline and a steady shutdown force. He was rewarded with a two-way deal earlier this week.

Did I mention he is 6’8” and 260 pounds? No? Well now I did.

I was a fan of Finley back when he played at North Dakota. He is a big, nasty guy who is a shutdown defender. Just the type of attitude the Sabres need. Calling him up for Friday is kind of a risky move. The guy has gone through some tough times due to injuries before blossoming with the Sabres organization. I would hate to see him rushed along too fast only to halt the progress he has made to this point.

Considering the impressive NHL debut T.J. Brennan made last week, Finley must be showing considerable promise in the AHL. For a strong-skating big man with a serious mean streak, Finley has promise. He also has yet to see the NHL and has had a tumultuous journey to this point. Finley’s NHL debut shouldn’t be overly scrutinized, just be excited if he shows the ability to fit in at this level.

Cutting to the core of the Sabres problems

Chris Ostrander1 Comment
Is the same attitude from the same players (like Roy and Stafford) a major cause to the Sabres' problems?

There are plenty of questions surrounding the Buffalo Sabres as the month of December begins. This is a team that has managed to float around the Eastern Conference playoff picture – albeit the bottom of the playoff picture – despite shortcomings at home, injuries and a lack of depth scoring.

The Sabres – 1-3-1 in their last five – have had their fair share of struggles at home this season and have now begun to struggle no matter where they play. Buffalo opened November on a  4-2-0 run that included four home victories. Since losing Ryan Miller on November 12, the Sabres have gone 3-4-1. Two of those three victories came against teams which fired their coaches this week. Buffalo has not received any scoring from players not named Vanek and Pominville and it seems as if a gut check is in order for a team which has slid from the top of the conference to a two-point lead for a playoff position.

Regardless of Miller’s play this season, goaltending has been the least of Buffalo’s worries. Both Miller and Enroth have played admirably (save for two games by Miller) and the numbers show for it. The Sabres were averaging three goals against per game up to, and including, the night they lost Miller. The 6-2 loss to the Bruins and the 6-5 OTW against Winnipeg inflate those numbers. Overall, the Sabres team GAA is 2.71 for the month. They have averaged only 2.64 GF in November.

What is the solution for a team that can’t seem to win at home, won’t back up their stars and can’t provide scoring support to their two studs who have accounted for 31% of the goal scoring this season. In fact, Adam, Pominville, Roy and Vanek account for 51% of the goal scoring this year. Perhaps it is time for a change in the makeup of this hockey club. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres fall to East’s cellar dwellers

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Another day, another loss to a last place team. Make that another loss to a last place team while only scoring once. Obviously something isn’t going right down at First Niagara Center.

Last night’s catastrophe was a value game on the Sabres ticket pricing system, thank goodness for those who bought tickets. The first two periods were a snoozefest and only once did either team score – a NYI power play goal in the first.

The Sabres didn’t seem to have too much giddyup, despite being off since Saturday. Brayden McNabb continued to kill people, he and Robyn Regehr combined for six hits on the night. Once again, McNabb probably had more hits than the two allotted to him, but six is a good number for a nasty, mean defensive pairing.

This wasn’t one of those games where you could point to one or two moments and say “that is why the Sabres lost.” However, it was one of those games where the team was so flat you had to wonder if they cared to play the game at all. Certainly this group of players is professional enough to know each game in the NHL will be a battle, there really aren’t any throw away games. Maybe they’re not, I could be dead wrong.

Still, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville found their way to the scoresheet – even though it was by a goofy, bouncing pass to Jochen Hecht. Hecht did score his second of the season and Zack Kassian had a pretty decent fight in his third NHL game. Aside from that, and Jhonas Enroth, this team was bland, passionless and deserved to lose the game.

  • About that Zack Kassian fight, it was a pretty good one. Not sure who actually landed the most punches, but give Kassian credit for standing up for Nathan Gerbe and proving that he is going to be a capable fighter in this league. Kassian has shown a nice brand of tough hockey in these first three games, it certainly shows a lot of promise for the future. Oddly, this wasn’t the first time these two guys have fought.
  • Enroth was strong in net for Buffalo. It seemed like one of those games where he wasn’t quite in control, but made the saves he needed to make. I fear that will be one of his downfalls, his size will force him to play a reckless style at times, which may hurt him in the long haul. Still, he let his team hang around in a game where most didn’t seem to care about playing. It was another god effort from the young Swede as he has shown a bit of moxie since being yanked on Friday.
  • Brayden McNabb is a beast and he was a +1. Even though plus/minus is a ridiculous stat, the kid has been good in these first two games. Keep him up here as long as you like, dude has got game.
  • Ville Leino pretty much alienated any fans he had left with a brutal neutral zone giveaway and a subsequent miss on a yawning net. Yeah, the pass came at him quick and was in his feet. But for $4m+ on the cap, he needs to corral that one. It was nice to see him get back to the scoresheet Saturday, but we are getting to the point where you need to see more from him. If only he wasn’t stashed on the fourth line…
  • Derek Roy was kind of wasted between Kassian and Nathan Gerbe, just as Hecht is a waste on the top line with Vanek and Pominville. Lindy Ruff has been far too impatient with his lines this season. He has to be partly to blame for Leino’s struggles, he is handcuffing other productive forwards and now the goal scoring has all but evaporated.
  • Christian Ehrhoff’s adjustment period is officially over. He has come on in recent weeks and has come on hard. It reminds me of Brian Campbell’s coming-out party in the 2006 playoffs. Campbell was called upon to play big minutes and it turned him into an elite defenseman. It seems as if the same is true of Ehrhoff.

Three Stars

1. Al Montoya

2. Brian Rolston

3. Jochen Hecht

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Event Summary