Buffalo Sabres

Double Minors: Sabres 3 – Devils 5

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Depending how you spin it, the Sabres either had a hiccup along the line of a solid run; or the Sabres have dropped two of their last three.

The latter may be more appropriate considering Buffalo has allowed five or more goals in three of their last five games – one of those was a victory over Winnipeg. Clearly the team’s streaky defense is becoming an issue while Lindy Ruff’s line shuffling continues to be an extreme success or failure.

New Jersey rode two early goals to a 3-1 first period lead and never led by less than two the entire game. Another slow start at home as to be concerning to the staff, it certainly has the fans questioning the team’s talent. Frankly, the fact that this team so often stumbles at home is starting to become a serious issue. The task now is to identify what is causing these slow starts. Is it the coaching staff, the players, a combination? No matter where the onus lies, this is something that needs to be hammered out. Ryan Miller has been hung out to dry in the opening minutes of a home game twice and Jhonas Enroth was the victim last night.

  • The only bright spot for the Sabres was Tyler Myers. His trip to the press box brought him back in full force. He played an aggressive game and was rewarded with two goals. The official stats credit him with only one hit, but I doubt that is actually an accurate number. Based on Myers’ response to being benched, perhaps Lindy Ruff should shelf more of his stars in the coming weeks.
  • Christian Ehrhoff takes the cake as the biggest disappointment for me early in the season. He is playing with zero passion and often looks as if he is loafing about the ice while he counts all of the zeros on the game check he will be collecting. It is about time that Ehrhoff find his game, he was an effective peice of the puzzle in Vancouver but hasn’t found a way to contribute in Buffalo. Just goes to show what happens when you overpay European players.
  • Jhonas Enroth is, in fact, human. While he didn’t get much help last night, the youngster had a very average outing on his way to being yanked after allowing five goals. He definitely got the Ryan Miller treatment from his teammates yesterday.
  • Don’t assume that Enroth being pulled was only because he played an average game. Ruff was likely trying to get him a few minutes to truly rest entering the weekend. The ten-minute respite may be an indication that Enroth will get the start on Friday and Saturday.
  • Slow start aside, it was the Sabres special teams which cost them yesterday. On the whole, the special teams units have been a big reason for Buffalo’s success. But a power play and short handed goal in the first five minutes is a recipie for disaster.
  • Fun times: Ville Leino picked up another apple. Dude just needs to keep finding his legs down the left wing. I have faith he will come around.
  • Still hate Derek Roy at center with Vanek and Pominville. The change-up pushed Luke Adam all the way to the fourth line while promoting Brad Boyes to center with Stafford and Leino. I contend that Stafford and Leino need a finisher at center, maybe Boyes meets that quota, but Adam is not at the point in his development where he can adapt to numerous lines. He fit perfectly with Vanek and Pominville, it would seem that moving him elsewhere is not going to work out.

Three Stars

1. Patrick Elias

2. Tyler Myers

3. Martin Brodeur

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Tropp recall keeps sandpaper in Sabres’ lineup

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With Cody McCormick out for tonight’s game against New Jersey – and potentially more games depending on the severity of his injury – the Sabres recalled Corey Tropp from Rochester.

This was the easy choice for Darcy Regier to make. Tropp had a fine showing in his first four NHL contests and even managed to find the score sheet with a goal and an assist in his first call up. Many fans were clamoring for Zack Kassian to be the replacement for McCormick, but Tropp was the right call.

Considering there isn’t much information out there regarding McCormick’s injury, it is impossible to speculate how much time he will miss. For all we know, he will be back on the wing for Friday’s game. Worst case is that he misses extended time and the Sabres are without their primary tough guy. Obviously the biggest issue that would impact is the expected response from the Sabres when the Bruins roll into town next Wednesday. While Tropp isn’t afraid to drop his gloves, he is not the fighter that McCormick is. Continue reading →

The Morning Skate: Sabres look to extend Northeast Division lead at home

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The Sabres return to First Niagara Center today to face the New Jersey Devils, a team fresh off a trip to Boston last night.

Buffalo remains without Ryan Miller and it appears that Cody McCormick may miss the game due to an injury sustained in Montreal. While no word has come down at this time the Sabres have two options, call up a forward from Rochester or dress seven defensemen. Obviously option two is far more attractive, especially considering the play of Corey Tropp in his four-game debut. Many fans are clamoring to see Zack Kassian, but it may be too soon for that. Marc-Andre Gragnani could end up on the wing, but that just seems like a monumental waste. However, he is probably better served in that position than any other.

The Devils fell to the Bruins thanks to a three-goal third period from the B’s. New Jersey is currently on the outside looking in at the Eastern Conference ‘s top eight. Their position is due, in large part, to a shoddy start and an injury to Marty Brodeur. Of course, Brodeur wasn’t stellar in his time before or after the injury either, so it could be a case of an aging core playing in front of an aged star.

Considering Johan Hedberg played in Boston, it should be expected that Brodeur will be in net for the Devils this evening. The Sabres will counter with Jhonas Enroth as he is expected to see the lion’s share of work until Ryan Miller returns.

Highlighted Matchup

Zack Parise vs. Thomas Vanek. Both were NCAA superstars, both the Devils and Sabres offense run through them, respectively. Vanek has been on fire all season, Parise has decent numbers through 16 games. It will be interesting to see which player comes out on top tonight.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 8GP, 6-0-0, 1.76 GAA, .942 SV%

NJD: Martin Brodeur 6GP, 2-3-0, 3.02 GAA, .880 SV%

Last Game

3/26/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 2 – Devils 0

 

Surrounded by criticism, Sabres ascend to first in Division

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With all the complaining, anger and profanity that came from Saturday’s debacle in Boston, everyone forgot one very important fact; the Sabres were still one point away from leading the Northeast Division.

Sure, the Sabres showed they lack the testicular fortitude to truly stand up for themselves after Milan Lucic freight trained Ryan Miller. The Sabres also turned in a pathetic effort in the game which opened the door for every doubtful fan to pile on the team’s weaknesses. Still, there has been much more to the season than one effort here in November.

It is important to point out the lack of response from the Sabres. It was pathetic and showed the team may have little heart. In addition, the game showed the defensive shortcomings the team has at this point. Mike Weber offered a breath of fresh air yesterday in Montreal; I would be surprised to see him back in the press box for the remainder of the season.

However, the Sabres showed resiliency against the Canadiens. They got a great performance from their goaltender and rallied to steal a pair of points on the road. Those two points vaulted Buffalo past Toronto for the division lead and into second place in the Eastern Conference. The run atop the division may be short lived considering the Leafs play on opposite days of the Sabres over the next few weeks. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres 3 – Canadiens 2 SO

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Jhonas Enroth worked his magic again. If only his name rhymed with magic the way Ryan Fitzpatrick’s does.

It was Buffalo’s second visit to Montreal and the second time they had to rely on their goaltender to keep them in the game for the first 40 minutes. Enroth, despite looking a little sloppy on the two Montreal goals, was the only reason the Sabres had an opportunity to tie the game in the third period.

Lindy Ruff made a great coaching decision entering the third period. He changed 50% of his line up, and it worked. All three defensive pairings were shuffled and Derek Roy was moved between Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville – Luke Adam moved between Drew Stafford and Ville Leino. The change-up created Subway Line 2.0, we will see if Ruff sitcks with those top two lines for long, Adam’s style of play doesn’t seem to suit Stafford and Leino on his wings.

Regardless, the new Subway Line created quick. Jason Pominville wired a clapper in from the high slot on a beauty of a feed from Roy (Vanek picked up a phantom second helper) and Roy tied it with a neat snipe to the same corner Pominville hit earlier. Vanek recorded the primary assist on the Roy goal to finish with two points on the evening.

Vanek’s shootout goal was silky smooth, like many of his shootout tallies in the past. Brad Boyes’ shooutout goal, which would be the winner, was a thing of beauty. Lindy Ruff must love having those types of weapons at his disposal for the skills competition.

The one downer from the night came in the first 40 minutes. Buffalo was sluggish, sloppy in their end and didn’t seem to be in the game. Basically they were giving Enroth the treatment that is typically reserved for Ryan Miller. Still, their goalie kept them alive and they manged to strike in the third to steal their third and fourth points in Montreal. The Sabres have taken four of six on this gruesome run of games, just about the best case scenario for points percentage through the first three.

  • Jhonas Enroth is certainly making me a believer. By no means am I ready to kick Ryan Miller to the curb. He showed his chops were still there on Saturday, considering the circumstances under which he attempted to play, Miller showed that he may have consulted Ilya Bryzgalov’s iPhone compass to get out of the woods.
  • The Sabres special teams have been impressive lately. Granted, the power play was o’fer on two four-on-three chances, those are the ones that you must score on. Still, the power play has been generating chances and the penalty kill continues to be impressive. Regardless of the goal they gave up tonight (result of a few bad clearing attempts) they buckled down in the third and overtime, exactly what you need from the penalty kill.
  • Mike Weber will not be going back to the press box any time soon. He had a very strong outing this evening. Outside of the muck-up he and Regehr made of Montreal’s second goal, he was sound. Compared to the Philly game he looked like a Norris candidate. Tyler Myers will be coming back to the lineup in no time, but I doubt Weber is the one removed for the 6’8″ rearguard.
  • It is tough to see Brad Boyes relegated to the fourth line. I feel he brought the right offensive spark to the Gaustad/Gerbe line. While Kaleta gels nicely with those two to create a strong checking line, Boyes is being wasted on the fourth line. No offense to the great Matt Ellis. Still, Tyler Ennis will be back soon and either Ennis or Ville Leino will probably be pushed down with Boyes and either McCormick or Ellis. It isn’t a great situation with the hodgepodge they are dealing with there.
  • It is my opinion that Tyler Myers remains in the press box for Wednesday’s game against New Jersey. Give Weber one more outing to really get his feet, identify the true weak link on the blueline (MAG, Sekera etc.) and remove them to reinsert Myers.

Three Stars

1. Brad Boyes

2. Max Pacioretty

3. Erik Cole

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Miller injury a wake up call for Sabres

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The story on Ryan Miller and Milan Lucic has had a few days to simmer, both in the national media and here in Buffalo.

The big news came down yesterday when it was confirmed that Miller had indeed been concussed on the collision with Lucic. After having a hearing with the Shanahmmer, Lucic was cleared of any supplemental discipline, the right call in my book. Perhaps the hit was worthy of one or two games off, but really it was no more than a dirty play – it wasn’t even close to the things Matt Cooke has done.

The dirty hit wasn’t even the most despicable part of the play. The worst part is that he did not have to answer for his actions; the Sabres failure to respond was downright embarrassing.

Yes, Lucic runs around the ice and plays a game that toes the line between clean and dirty. Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand do the same thing; their style is to intimidate and grind out their opponents. More often than not, Lucic and Marchand are well into dirty territory regarding their play. Sometimes they get a call, sometimes not. It is just how they play the game, you need to accept it in some regard but it certainly makes hating them an easy task.

In regards to Saturday, Lucic took a cheap shot at Miller and was trying to do nothing other than put the Sabres goalie onto the main concourse of TD Garden. In no way was he thinking of avoiding the goalie and slowing down, he saw Miller in his path and made sure to clear him from the tracks.  For some reason, the Sabres chose not to respond in kind. Suspension or not, something needed to be done.

Thomas Vanek shouldn’t be required to step up in that situation, at least he attempted to return the favor, although his hit barely affected Lucic. Then the purse tossing started from the boys in blue and gold. Andrej Sekera slid in and softly pushed Lucic against the boards, meanwhile Tyler Myers came in with a similarly weak effort. Paul Gaustad was late to the party, but really didn’t do much to stand up for Miller either. After that? Nothing from the Sabres. Cody McCormick was quiet, as was Pat Kaleta. There were no big hits or fights, they didn’t run at Tim Thomas (the wrong response) nor did they attempt to reassert themselves from a general physical standpoint.

Maybe trying to fight Lucic in that moment would have been foolish. The only two players on the roster truly capable of handling Lucic in a fight – Robyn Regehr and McCormick – weren’t on the ice. Of course they didn’t challenge him later in the game. So, maybe you don’t have someone who can immediately drop the gloves and make Lucic pay. However, you have the option of taking an eye for an eye.

This is going to come across as extremely dirty, but if I wasn’t capable of holding my own in a fight with Lucic I would have taken the next step. Whether it was trying to put the butt end of my stick through his nose or giving him a lumberjack hack elsewhere, I would have made him remember the time he ran Ryan Miller. Is that overkill? Certainly. Would it be a better response that what the Sabres put forth? Yes, by default. Still, it would have been a response.

Now, those are the most extreme measures of retribution for the actions Lucic took. Maybe the best course will be to have Kaleta or someone else catch him with a big body check. McCormick or Regehr could even engage him in a fight. It doesn’t matter, so long as he pays for his actions and pays hard.

That brings this argument back to square one. Where was the rest of the team for that very play or for the remaining 40 minutes of hockey? How is it possible for a professional hockey team with their eyes set on the Stanley Cup unable to respond when their starting goaltender and top star gets scummed by the other team?

Not only did the Sabres fail to step up and answer the bell on Saturday, they put up a billboard for the rest of the NHL saying, “you can push us but we won’t push back.”

The Morning Skate: Miller out with concussion, Enroth to see extended time

Chris Ostrander1 Comment
Ryan Miller stoned the Canadiens the last time the two teams met, it will be up to Jhonas Enroth to do the same tonight.

The Buffalo Sabres will play without the services of Ryan Miller this evening against the Montreal Canadiens.

Miller is out with a concussion sustained on the hit he took from Milan Lucic on Saturday night. Whether Lindy Ruff’s goaltending schedule called for Miller to play again this evening is a mystery, but the goaltender was strong until he was taken out due to the injury on Saturday.

The Sabres recalled Drew MacIntyre from the AHL for the time being. It doesn’t appear that there is any sort of timetable for Miller to come back. Based on last season, it should be about a two week process.

Buffalo enters this game in a bit of a flux. They were pushed around Saturday and have been hammered by the media and fans for their inaction following the hit on Miller. Certainly the team will come out with the goal of establishing themselves physically this evening. So long as they don’t go out of their way to run people through the boards, they should be in good shape.

Montreal is currently tied with Boston in the Northeast Division basement. However, both teams have started to click after suffering slow starts. In addition, Carey Price’s career dominance of the Sabres is never something to scoff at.

One thing that is lost in every Sabres loss is the big picture. Buffalo is still 10-6-0 and remain one point behind Toronto for the division lead and three behind Pittsburgh for the best record in the East. This week will be very telling for Buffalo in the standings. Tonight marks game three of a six games in eight night stretch. A strong points percentage on this swing will be key moving forward.

UPDATE: Multiple tweets and news stories indicate that Tyler Myers will be a healthy scratch for the Sabres tonight. Can’t say that is a bad decision, I’m sure Sekera and Gragnani will get their turn up there soon enough.

Highlighted Matchup

Jhonas Enroth. Since goaltending is such an independent position I am not going to include Carey Price here. The Buffalo defense is also an easy target, but the onus is now on Enroth. He faced a similar situation last spring when Miller went down and he answered the bell. This stretch of games – in which he will likely play each night – will do a lot for the fans who have been really pumping his tires and for those who still question if he is really a better option compared to Miller. He will need the support of his team, if the Sabres play as they have in front of Miller the last few outings Enroth is in for a long night.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth

MTL: Carey Price

Last Game

10/18/2011, Bell Centre, Sabres 3 – Canadiens 1

Double Minors: Sabres 2 – Bruins 6

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Going over the Sabres 6-2 thrashing at the hands of the Boston Bruins would be overkill at this point. It is clear that Buffalo didn’t come ready to push back against a stronger, more physical team last night.

Last night must have left Ryan Miller wonering what he needs to do to get some support.

The Milan Lucic hit on Ryan Miller is a whole different monster that revolves around a scummy player and one team’s inability to sack up and answer the bell. My short opinion on that matter is Lucic went out of his way to injure Miller. He knew exactly what he was doing because that is the type of player he is. The Sabres failed to stand up for their goaltender, because that is the type of team they are.

As for the game, the Sabres again showed a complete lack of hockey sense when it came to playing defense. Miller turned in a fine performance through the two periods he played. Unfortunately Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera continue to make countless errors in zone and with the puck, the pair was on the ice for the first two Bruins goals. After that Marc-Andre Gragnani took a limp wristed attempt at stopping a two-on-one and the Bruins had deposited another goal.

There is no good reason for the Sabres to continue operating in this fashion. Their “top” defenseman (Myers) is seriously under-performing as he is sluggish all over the ice, is forcing passes and is not even close to the Calder winner or the defenseman many saw at the tail end of last season. There is obviously a major flaw in his offseason training program because he has opened the season with horrible stretches for two years in a row.

The rest of the defense isn’t immune to this either. Sekera had enjoyed a great stretch of hockey before tanking over the last week and a half. His play far eclipses Myers at times in terms of ineptitude. Sadly the two are paired together and the level of fail is almost nauseating.

Robyn Regehr is pretty much sitting on an island of misfit offensive defensemen at this point. He is the only true stay-at-home force the Sabres have – plus Mike Weber who can’t crack the lineup – and is obviously over his head in terms of staying responsible in zone. Jordan Leopold is exactly who you think he is, you can’t ask for too much more than he is giving at this point. In fact, that pairing is the only stable one that Sabres put out on a nightly basis.

As for Christian Ehrhoff and Gragnani, they may as well be playing wing. Ehrhoff is far too much of a risk to play with an offensive defenseman who lacks the toughness to lay a simple body check. Ehrhoff’s gaffe on the third Boston goal was bad last night, the feeble attempt Gragnani took at defending it was far worse.

It is time for a serious overhaul on the Sabres blueline.

  • As I stated above, Ryan Miller was having a strong outing for the Sabres. I suspect his upper-body injury was affecting his play and the team’s general lack of energy motivated the goalie change. Not much more can be asked of Miller last night when his defensemen are basically giving him a two-on-none to defend. From his perspective that game had to be a complete embarrassment to be a part of.
  • Jhonas Enroth didn’t get much more help from his teammates once he was in net. He also was not the superman has has been in the past few outings. Still, you can’t ask too much from a goalie in the situation he was inserted into.
  • Sekera and Gragnani get two major goat awards for their lack of effort on those two-on-ones. Sekera literally did nothing and Gragnani was so far back that Miller was still responsible for both the shot and pass.
  • Thomas Vanek scored, which is nice. Keeping the TV Party rolling is key.
  • Gragnani’s goal came on the power play, that is also a bonus. If that unit can stay effective it will certainly go a long way for Buffalo’s prolonged success. Hopefully that goal isn’t justification for keeping Gragnani in the lineup.
  • Gragnani is probably the first defenseman that should come out of the lineup. Sure, Ehrhoff, Myers and Sekera are all worthy of being benched too, but Gragnani is heads and shoulders worse that those other three. Is a trade in order? Perhaps. Is that a realistic solution? Probably not.
  • Better hope Miller’s injury is minor, anything that will keep him out longer could be devastating. Especailly considering the stretch of games the Sabres have this week.

Three Stars

1. Tyler Seguin

2. Rich Peverly

3. Brad Marchand

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The Morning Skate: Ruff sticks to goalie schedule in Boston

Chris Ostrander1 Comment

Lindy Ruff is sticking to his goaltending schedule this evening against the Bruins, Ryan Miller will be starting for Buffalo.

As Mike Harrington pointed out on Friday, Miller’s career numbers against Ottawa (13-15-2) and Boston (20-5-7) may have played a factor regarding who Ruff decided to play yesterday. the fact that Miller has been average in his last five outings and Enroth pulled out a win last Saturday in Ottawa likely had something to do with his decision as well.

Buffalo heads to Boston for the first time this season on a four-game winning streak. The Bruins have managed to string some victories together after a slow start that saw them lurking near the bottom of the conference for some time. The Bruins are also on a four-game winning streak of their own and have picked up six of their seven wins in their last ten outings.

Tim Thomas has given the Bruins some stability through their rocky start, however it has been Boston’s offense that hasn’t been able to click until recently.

Tonight should serve as a strong litmus test for the Sabres. They have shown the ability to get wins against stiff competition but also laid an egg against the Flyers, so playing another elite squad should give the fans and team an idea of where they stand.

Highlighted Matchup

Tyler Seguin/Milan Lucic vs. Buffalo defense. I want to highlight the Buffalo defense for the foruth-straight game because they haven’t managed to string together more than two or three impressive outings so far this year. Considering that the team hasn’t really put forth a complete effort in front of Ryan Miller, tonight would be a good game to start.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller 10GP, 5-5-0, 2.74 GAA, .913 SV%

BOS: Tim Thomas 10GP, 5-4-0, 2.00 GAA, .931SV%

Last Game

3/10/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 4 – Bruins 3 OT

 

 

Double Minors: Sabres 5 – Senators 1

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The Sabres finally made one look easy, despite playing the dullest second period of the season. Buffalo chased Craig Anderson early and poured in five goals on Ottawa on their way to an easy victory.

Derek Roy continued his hot streak with a goal and two assists while the Subway Line continues to find the scoresheet on a nightly basis. This time it was Thomas Vanek making a nifty pass to Luke Adam for Buffalo’s fourth goal. of the evening.

The continued success of the Vanek-Adam-Pominville line is a nice luxury, the fact that the Leino-Roy-Stafford line has come to life is huge for this team. Leino, despite being fairly invisible for the first two periods, came to play in the third. His board work was fantastic and he manged to score his first goal in North America this season on a very nice three-on-two rush.

Buffalo’s defense was a completely different unit than the group that hit the ice on Tuesday. They made smart, easy plays with the puck and did a fantastic job protecting the house all night. Lindy Ruff mentioned it in his press conference, the Senators maybe had five or six quality chances all night.

The biggest beneficiary of the Sabres play in zone was Jhonas Enroth. The rookie turned away 36 shots, but few were of a great challenge to the netminder. Giving credit where it is due, Enroth made a few dazzling saves and turned in a gem for the Sabres last night. His play is exactly what they need and it seems as if he is going to be able to carry it on for some time.

  • The only thing that would have kept Enroth in for tonight’s game against Boston would have been a shutout. Considering he played back-to-back last weekend, Ruff will not want to over work him too early on in the year. Still, he has put forth an excellent stretch of games and he has likely pushed his projected starts from 20-25 to 30+ for the year.
  • Tyler Myers certainly wasn’t stellar last night. However, he played within himself and made good choices with the puck. I feel his play will take some time to come along again this year, I truly wonder if his offseason conditioning program is not up to snuff.
  • Corey Topp will be returned to Rochester. However, his NHL debut was impressive. He manged to find the back of the net, was on for a couple of goals for and was generally effective in his role. I would imagine he will see at least 15 games this season due to injury.
  • I think Ville Leino’s season is finally ready to begin. He was shuffled to four different lines before settling on the wing with Roy and Stafford. This appears to be the right spot for him as his playmaking seems to be back on track. Prime example: he led the three-on-two and made a slick pass to Stafford before eventually depositing the rebound for his second goal of the season. That type of play is what people are expecting from him, I would imagine that this will continue now that he has found a comfort zone.
  • With Pat Kaleta returning tonight, I really hope Lindy Ruff places him with Matt Ellis and Cody McCormick. Not only do those three play a hard-nosed style without ever quitting, the Gerbe-Gaustad-Boyes line has been very impressive during Kaleta’s absence. It seems obvious that Boyes has recated well to both of his promotions (Gaustad line and power play) and will continue to play well with talented players. You don’t lose as much with Kaleta skating on the fourth line as you do when Boyes is on that line.

Three Stars

1. Derek Roy

2. Jhonas Enroth

3. Drew Stafford

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