Buffalo Sabres

The Deck is Stacked in Murray’s Favor

Chris Ostrander4 Comments

Nearly a full month removed from their last victory, plenty is being said of the Sabres express trip to the NHL’s basement. The ethics and direction of Buffalo’s season bring about accusations and arguments over tanking, the skillset of the head coach and the ability of Tim Murray to move the Sabres from cellar dweller to contender.

At this point of the season the Sabres are nothing short of a roaring dumpster fire. The scalding hot play of Jhonas Enroth, Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons and Matt Moulson – the quartet that helped power their late November surge – has all but disappeared while the rest of the roster has been battered by injuries. With the roster limping around, the tactically feeble head coach has been unable to find a way to turn around Buffalo’s month-long slump and the team’s slow starts and weak finishes should bring about question surrounding his famous motivational skills.

The result of Buffalo’s 11-straight regulation losses is a spot in 30th place and an increasing probability that they’ll be the proud owners of the highest or second highest chance of drafting first overall. As is widely known, finishing 30th guarantees the Sabres the opportunity to draft Jack Eichel as a consolation if their 20% chance at winning the lottery doesn’t pan out.

While a grand debate has raged all year over the ethics and logic surrounding the push or hope for the first overall selection, it would seem that far too many individuals who follow the Sabres have ignored the arsenal that Tim Murray has at his disposal. While getting McDavid or Eichel remains up in the air, there is little doubt that the 2015 Draft will represent the point in which Murray puts the pedal to the floor on this rebuild. Continue reading →

Jersey Retirement Stirs Hasek Memories

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Dominik Hasek was a special player. For the Sabres but for me as well.

I was drawn to goaltending because of the cool masks and pads but there’s no bigger influence on my commitment to sticking with the position than Hasek. My formative hockey years came in the thick of his prime with the Sabres and before I really refined my play, I did everything I could to replicate what Hasek did in the crease.

I would drop my stick, flop around, race out on breakaways and make just as many saves falling down sideways as I would with a traditional butterfly. While my style was in closer emulation to my other goaltending idol, Patrick Roy, Hasek will always hold a special place in my heart. And then he left. Continue reading →

How the Sabres’ Prospects Fared at 2015 WJC’s

Tyler RoederLeave a comment

Every year the World Junior Championships is used by top NHL prospects as a showcase to prove to scouts that they are either worthy of a 1st round pick, deserve that first pro contract, or maybe a first shot in the show. As we are now three days removed from Canada’s triumph in the gold medal game the final sprint to June 26 in Sunrise is now underway. As evidenced by ISS’s January Top 30, scouts place a premium on performance (or lack thereof) at the World Juniors.

Sabres fans enduring the three-way battle royale for 30th place this season can take solace in the results from this year’s tournament, as many of their current prospects helped their cause, while some names they may have interest in come June also performed well. Here’s a look at how current Sabres farmhands fared in Toronto and Montreal, as well as how some 2015 draft eligible players helped or hurt themselves. Continue reading →

Uncertain contracts leaves Murray with decisions to make in the crease

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It’s likely that the goalie of the future for the Buffalo Sabres hasn’t yet pulled on the uniform for a NHL game. That player may be in the organization already, but there’s a good chance that Jhonas Enroth and Michal Neuvirth don’t ultimately factor into Tim Murray’s future plans.

Both Neuvirth and Enroth entered the season on the last year of their contract with unrestricted free agency looming in the offseason and unless he gets into five games this season, Matt Hackett will join them in unrestricted free agency.

While Hackett’s situation is murky at best, the Sabres could conceivably lose three of the eight goaltenders they have in the system, of which six are currently under contract. That leaves Murray with an odd predicament as the deadline and offseason approach.

Not only does Murray need to determine which goaltender, between Enroth and Neuvirth, he wants to commit more time to along with evaluating Hackett and Lieuwen, the latter will enter restricted free agency this summer.

Tim Murray will most definitely be a seller at the deadline, this much we know. There’s a chance that he may move some assets early, but given the team’s performance, it would appear that he needs to wait to try and leverage as much from a bad roster as possible. Buffalo’s historically bad performance this season has been devastating for their goaltender’s stat lines. Both Enroth and Neuvirth have been victims of Buffalo’s historically bad systematic play in the defensive zone and the pair have typically swapped spots as the team’s statistical leader when their counterpart is between the pipes.

Where it gets interesting is the decision making process for Murray. Does he trade the better of the two, knowing that he will likely be searching for a goalie of the future elsewhere while maximizing return? Or does he choose to keep the player who is performing at a higher level despite the ability to get more in a trade? If his deals last year are any indication, it will be the player that maximizes his value. Continue reading →

Outdoor game fatigue highlighted in this year’s Winter Classic

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Since 2008 the Winter Classic has stood as one of the most unique and impressive pillars in the four major sports leagues. An outdoor spectacle that was made for TV helped give legitimacy to a league that had lost far too much in the first half of the 2000s.

The 2012-13 lockout not only caused a cancellation of the Red Wings and Maple Leafs at the Big House but also cut away a great deal of fan allegiance after a second lockout in fewer than 10 years. The league compensated for the loss of half a season, an outdoor game and a great deal of revenue with six outdoor games last season.

With this year’s Winter Classic fast approaching, I find myself very disinterested in the build up to the game. Overall my level of interest for the game is incredibly low and it is somewhat amplified by the general lack of hype for what has previously been appointment television.

Losing 24/7 and the punch brought to the table by HBO certainly helps to amplify the lack of buzz or hype about the game, but the apathy surrounding the event seems to extend beyond that of the chatter regarding a pay-cable network’s inside look at the two teams.

What’s interesting is that the Epix production of Road to the Winter Classic has been excellent, in my opinion. I really enjoyed each of the first two episodes and I’m looking forward to the final pair. But even that hasn’t helped to boost my excitement for the upcoming game.

Even the jersey unveilings were just part of the white noise of the NHL in the summer. Maybe if one or both jerseys were more attractive I’d personally feel differently, but there hasn’t been all that much discussion on either since they were unveiled.

The entire practice just feels tired. Continue reading →

The Instigator Podcast 3.4 – Sabres vs. Jets Gamenight Podcast

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Eric and I try out a new format for The Instigator as we serve up a pregame and intermission podcast as the Sabres take on the Jets.

http://mixlr.com/instigator-podcast/showreel/instigator-podcast-live-sabres-jets-pregame/

http://mixlr.com/instigator-podcast/showreel/instigator-podcast-live-sabres-jets-intermission/

Off the Record: Disappointing change to blog summit hurts the event

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It’s been nearly five years since I decided to start this little boondoggle called Two in the Box. I had spent a month blogging about my time at the Vancouver Olympics and I decided it was a good time and that I’d continue the fun when I got home.

My time as a venomous, small time, basement brigadier has given me the chance to keep writing on a semi-regular basis about a topic that is near and dear to my heart. It’s been fun and it’s even given me the chance to take on some cool opportunities. One of those opportunities is the ability to receive a press pass at Sabres home games. Another is access into the back room of Willy Wonka’s Factory – aka, the Sabres front office.

The Sabres have been running blog summits with slightly more regularity than my writing schedule over the past few years. I’ve personally made it to four or five of the meet ups and they’ve all featured their own level of intrigue for me.

My first Sabres Blog Summit occurred in the media room in press conference fashion with the Sabres PR and marketing teams on hand. Ted Black was the guest of honor and he sat at the front of the room, took our questions and answered them earnestly. Whether it was a question about the chances of starting a regional sports network, the return of the Frozen Four or the makeup of the roster, he addressed everything we asked with quality information. We all reported on the process and it was massively successful.

What I took away from the summits featuring Black was the positive discourse and his willingness to answer each question to the best of his ability. Hell, he all but confirmed that the Sabres were going to retire Dominik Hasek’s number once he was retired at a previous summit. Those encounters with Black as the MC not only gave us a chance to voice our opinions but to get answers and report back on them. It was a terrific practice that was unique in many ways.

Somewhere along the lines all of that changed. Continue reading →

Backups help contribute to Sabres inspiring run

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Things are going well at One Seymour H Knox III Plaza these days. The Sabres have won 10 of their last 13 games and has done so with a mix of tremendous goaltending and scoring from their top line.

Tyler Ennis was just named the NHL’s first star of the week after picking up five points in three games while his linemates, Zemgus Girgensons and Matt Moulson have helped to combine for 14 goals and 18 assists during this stretch. Their scoring accounts for nearly 50% of the goals that have been scored over this 13-game streak. Further, Jhonas Enroth has been a brick wall, picking up nine of the ten wins and posting a .920 save percentage or better in eight of the contests (once in a losing effort).

So, Buffalo’s surge can be credited to a number of factors. A scalding hot top line and equally impressive goaltending are the two biggest contributing factors, while additional continuity throughout the roster has likely helped to galvanize the lines and defensive pairings compared to the first month of the season. The sparing use of Brian Flynn and one-month absence of Nikita Zadorov clearly had a negative impact on the club compared to the team’s state with them as nightly fixtures.

One other factor that has likely helped to contribute to Buffalo’s recent run of impressive play is that their opponents have almost exclusively played their backup goaltenders in each Buffalo victory. In fact, since November 15, when the streak began, the Sabres have faced six starters compared to seven backups. The Sabres are 3-3 in games against those starters and undefeated against backups. Continue reading →

Going custom for Sabres banners

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The Sabres have an established history of providing replica banners when a number or championship banner goes up at First Niagara Center and they’ll be continuing that trend this year for Dominik Hasek’s jersey retirement.B4XfXHyCAAAphlP

Each fan will receive a miniature version of Hasek’s banner to proudly display in their home or office. While I’m unsure if the banners will be available for purchase through the Sabres Store, you’ll surely get one if you have a ticket. I’m certainly looking forward to being in the arena for that night and I hope to be one of the lucky fans to go home with my own personal banner.

However, that would be the only Sabres banner I own. I was in school for Danny Gare and Pat LaFontaine’s retirement ceremony and I wasn’t present to receive a 1999 Eastern Conference Champions banner or anything else along those lines. I’m a fan of continuity and rather than having one banner, I want my basement to have all of the Sabres banners, within reason. Continue reading →

Ranking the Sabres alternate jerseys

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Things went off the rails last year when the Buffalo Sabres unveiled their newest alternate uniform that has since become known as the Turd Jersey (or #TurdJersey). It was the fourth alternate sweater designed by the Sabres and is by far the worst alternate jersey ever to grace an NHL ice surface.

In honor of tonight’s Second Annual Black and Red Night, I thought I’d honor the other third jerseys worn by the Sabres in an unofficial, but definitive, ranking.

Third jerseys can be tricky. Sometimes teams opt for a futuristic look which often results in mixed opinions. The most recent trend in hockey has been to lean towards traditional or “throwback” designs when it comes to these uniforms. The Sabres have run the gamut in terms of their designs and my rankings are based on a number of factors.

An effective third jersey should serve as a true alternate to a team’s current uniforms. Above all else that is always my first point of evaluation on an alternate uniform. That is obviously a broad definition as the Sabres themselves have done a good job differentiating their home and away uniforms from their alternates, but they haven’t always had well executed jerseys. The key, for me, is something that offers a truly different look to the team’s normal set of uniforms while staying in line with the overarching brand standard. Ultimately determining how a certain jersey fits a team’s identity requires a handful of different evaluations, but the final determination still falls under one umbrella.

One feature I’ve grown to appreciate with any third jersey is the use of an alternate logo. Plastering the current crest on a drastically different uniform can often bring terrible results and introducing an alternate logo that aligns with the team’s #brand is not only a way to branch out from the traditional home and away uniforms, but many alternate logos and jerseys have been quickly adopted as home and away uniforms by teams around the league. Look no further than Los Angeles and Minnesota as great examples of this.

The final way I like to look at a jersey is simple looks. Does it pass the mirror test? That doesn’t mean a jersey can only have horizontal lines, neck ties and traditional design points; simply put, if the jersey has an attractive, flowing design, I’m probably going to like it quite a bit.

With all that taken into consideration, here is how I rank the third jerseys worn by the Sabres: Continue reading →