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

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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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The Morning Skate: Enroth back in net against Sens

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The Sabres will ice the same lineup they went with last Saturday in Ottawa as the Senators visit First Niagara Center for the first time this evening.

That includes the man between the pipes. Jhonas Enroth with get his fifth start of the season for the Sabres, his second-straight against the Senators.

It is a good choice by Lindy Ruff as Ryan Miller has a career 13-15-2 record against Ottawa.

The Senators will have their captain back in the lineup as Daniel Alfredsson will play his first game since suffering a concussion against the Rangers.

Buffalo’s special teams has powered the Sabres recently as the penalty kill unit has been bettered by only one team (Pittsburgh) and the power play has enjoyed a strong run despite not registering goals in every contest.

Buffalo enjoyed a shootout win over Ottawa last Saturday, despite yielding the game’s first goal and a tying goal on a poor defensive change in the second period.

The home woes have been halted for the time being as the Sabres have found a bit of mojo after opening their recent home-stand. This game marks the opening of Buffalo’s fourth set of back-to-back games and three games in four nights. All three games are against Northeast Division foes and will serve as an excellent chance for the Sabres to further cement a spot in the East’s top eight.

Highlighted Matchup
Michalek-Spezza-Alfredsson vs. the Buffalo defense. The Sabres defense was horrendous against Winnipeg, as was the d-zone coverage. Buffalo allowed Michalek to register an early goal last week before shutting down the top line. Still, the Sabres can expect a tougher night than Tuesday if they’re equally irresponsible in zone.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 5GP, 4-0-0, 1.41 GAA, .952 SV%

OTT: Craig Anderson 14GP, 6-5-1, 3.47 GAA, .886 SV%

Last Game

11/5/2011, Scotiabank Place, Sabres 3 – Senators 2 SO

Sabres report card: Grading the first 15

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Depending on which cross-section of Sabres fans you poll there could be varying levels of satisfaction regarding Buffalo’s first 15 games.

Well, first 14 games. Number 15 will be played tomorrow against Ottawa at First Niagara Center. Based on this weekend’s schedule there is little room to include a 15-game report card.

After a tremendous 5-1 run to open the season, the Sabres slid back to the pack with a 1-4 run which brought back many demons the team struggled with at One Seymour H Knox III Plaza last season. It seems as if Buffalo has righted the ship recently. The Sabres have three straight wins – two coming at home – and have pulled back into the top-five in the Eastern Conference.

Hockey is a game of ebbs and flows. In games and throughout the season, teams will have things go well while fighting struggles just a couple nights later. It would seem that the Sabres have experienced both situations through their first 15 contests. They had some worry-free outings in Europe followed by a disappointing home loss to Carolina, a game they probably should have won. The process continued after completing their road trip, the Sabres dropped three of five games on their first extended home stand, but have since found their way back to the win column.

A great many factors can be attributed to Buffalo’s struggles and success; goaltending has been a direct result of both. The same could be said about special teams. There hasn’t been too much flash from the big offseason acquisitions, but familiar faces have been providing quite a spark for the Sabres so far.

Now for the grades: Continue reading →

RJ and Hawerchuk called to the Hall

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There are a host of reasons I grew up to be a hockey nut. Primarily my father is to thank for putting me on the ice early and letting me stay in the game throughout my formative years. The Sabres have a lot to do with that development as well, but there are numerous factors in the larger Sabres cloud which contributed to my upbringing in hockey.

Rick Jeanneret is easily in the top five reasons why I fell in love with hockey from an early age. I wasn’t really old enough to remember May Day, but I caught my fair share of La-La-La-La-LaFontaine’s and saw just about every robbery committed by Dominik Hasek. RJ called them all.

As I grew up RJ provided the play-by-play for plenty of memories, most of them create their fair share of goosebumps. I was lucky enough to spend a year working for the Sabres organization and RJ was as friendly as they come. Even last year I had the privilege to work stats for he and Harry Neale late last season. It may have been one of the easiest nights I had working stats, but it was still memorable. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres 6 – Jets 5 OT

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The Sabres special teams bailed them out after a rough opening on a special night for the organization. Buffalo killed off three of four penalties and converted four power play goals to come back on Winnipeg for a 6-5 overtime win.

We had some great power play puck movement. Lately the puck hasn’t been going in the net for us. Tonight we moved the puck well. For me, it was nice to fight back and win the game. Especially with RJ and Dale being here.

The game certainly didn’t start well for the Sabres, or Ryan Miller, as Winnipeg scored twice in the first six minutes and the contest had the looks of last week’s Philadelphia game. Buffalo answered back with two goals in 11 seconds, one on the power play. Winnipeg found the net again shortly after but Jason Pominville tied the game again with a short handed tally.

After a stirring tribute to the two newest Sabres Hall of Fame members, Corey Tropp made the night more memorable by potting his first career NHL goal. The youngster has at least one more game with the big club as Pat Kaleta continues to serve his suspension.

The Sabres managed to stay close with the Jets for the entire evening, thanks in large part to the poorly disciplined play of Winnipeg and a suddenly potent power play. Buffalo fought off slow starts to all three periods before tying the game and eventually winning it on Thomas Vanek’s 10th of the season.

  • It certainly wasn’t the start Ryan Miller would have wanted. Most of the fans seemed to think it was the same old song and dance after the Jets first two goals and even their third later in the period. However, the Sabres big money goaltender battled back. After making nine saves on 12 shots in the first, Miller turned aside 17 of 19 shots he faced in the second and third period. He was especially good in the third period when he buckled down and shut the Jets out for the final 23:00 of the contest. The win was what Miller needed, now he needs to take the next step and have a truly effective outing. “We all know that Ryan needs to be better. He was fighting it, but you don’t know what to expect after last game. He may be fighting it for a while,” Ruff said.
  • The Tyler Myers/Andrej Sekera pairing was just plain awful tonight. Myers had a few strong plays but was generally average for most of the night. Sekera made two horrendous decisions and vacated his portion of the zone twice on the evening. On both occasions the Jets capitalized with goals.
  • Ville Leino needs to find the score sheet. He is making heady plays with the puck but simply isn’t getting the points to show he is making progress. For the money Buffalo is paying him, it would be nice to seem some tangible results.
  • It was awesome to see Corey Tropp score his first NHL goal. He has given a great effort in his first three games and was rewarded for his efforts. Lindy Ruff gave the rookie a great compliment on his play thus far. “He has supplied real good energy for us,” Ruff said.
  • Paul Gaustad had a whale of a game. He made a brilliant pass on Pominville’s shorthanded goal and made heady plays throughout the night. To that end, Cody McCormick turned the momentum with a hell of a fight in the second period. Despite seeing limited minutes, McCormick filled his role nicely tonight.
  • The Subway Line got back on the board tonight. Vanek potted a pair and Pominville accounted for three points. In addition to the 4/12 power play, the Sabres got contributions from everywhere they needed to get them from.
  • Lindy Ruff may need to make some sort of change to his defensive pairs for Friday. The Myers and Sekera pair have shown flashes before tonight’s tire fire and it seems as if Leopold and Regehr are clicking quite well. Still, it seems like a few games from Mike Weber could offer some serious stability on the back-end.

Three Stars

1. Jason Pominville

2. Derek Roy

3. Bryan Little

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Miller says the F word, shows where he stands moving forward

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Last Wednesday’s debacle against Philadelphia was a multilevel failure that started with the goaltender and went right down to the last forward. It also served as a catalyst for many unhappy, goaltending illiterate – likely hockey illiterate too – to voice their displeasure with the play of Ryan Miller.

I’m here to win. If I’m discouraged, if I’m pissed off, that’s just how it is. I want to win. I don’t want to be out there getting scored on. I don’t want to be pulled out of a game. I want to, you know, I want to [expletive] win the game.”

It is true, Miller had gone on a tough run since his season opening blitz. After racing to the top of the NHL goaltending statistics through his first five outings, Miller has come back to the pack with an 0-4 run that has seen him post a goal against above three and a save percentage below .900 on the run. His season numbers are still quite respectable (2.48 and .922) and he showcased elite talent in each of his four wins to open the season.

It might be due to Buffalo’s lack of familiarity with a true super star, it also has a lot to do with familiarity by contempt. Sabres fans see Miller anywhere from 65-75 nights a season and are treated to some truly remarkable goaltending. They also see him at his worst, so there is a wide body of work to reference. I have said it before, if the same fans were to watch Carey Price, Roberto Luongo, Jonathon Quick or any other top netminder, they would get the same headaches. Continue reading →

The Morning Skate: Reincarnated Jets make return to Buffalo

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Tonight’s game is going to be no different from either of the two visits the Atlanta Thrashers made to Buffalo last season. The only difference will be the color of their jerseys and the name on the scoreboard.

Still, tonight will be monumental for a reason other than the Winnipeg Jets flying back to Buffalo for the first time since the mid-1990s. This evening, Rick Jeanneret and Dale Hawerchuk will be enshrined in the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. It should be a great ceremony as the last HOF induction I was present for (Andreychuk and Ellis) was quite stirring.

It is somewhat ironic that Hawerchuk will be inducted on the night Winnipeg returns to Buffalo. After all, it was with the Jets that Hawerchuk became a star. Of course, this is quite a different Jets team that will roll into First Niagara Center.

The Jets, who have struggled to find much consistency this season, will wrap up a seven-game road trip this evening. Winnipeg has taken seven of twelve points on the roadie despite dropping two of their last three (one in a shootout).

Buffalo is fresh off a back-to-back wins over Calgary and Ottawa over the weekend, two wins that put the Sabres back into the top eight in the Eastern Conference. Of course, the two-day lay off has brought a few teams back up to the Sabres in terms of points.

Jhonas Enroth played a big role in both wins, particularly Friday’s win over Calgary and has been quite good in relief of Ryan Miller as the team’s usual starter finds his way through a tough patch. Perhaps the best part of the two wins is that the rest of the Sabres roster has managed to pick up some slack from the Subway Line. While Thomas Vanek, Luke Adam and Jason Pominville have been held scoreless in the last two contests, the rest of Buffalo’s roster has managed to start finding the net.

Buffalo will certainly lean on their entire roster to find the net this evening. The Jets have had a few barn burners already this season (-10 goal differential on the season) but have tightened up the ship recently.

Highlighted Matchup

Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera vs. Nik Antropov and Alex Burmistrov. Like Saturday in Ottawa, Lindy Ruff will certainly use more than one defensive pairing and one forward line to match Winnipeg’s two big scorers. The pair of Russians have 21 points (7+14) already this season and have been the most consistent offensive players for the Jets. Burmistrov’s agility plays off Antropov’s size nicely and the two seem to be establishing some chemistry. Obviously a sound defensive approach will be necessary to keep the pair quiet.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller 9GP, 4-5-0, 2.48 GAA, .922 SV%

WPG: Chris Mason 4GP, 1-2-0, 2.68 GAA, .893 SV%

Last Meeting

3/19/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 8 – Jets (Thrashers) 2

 

Deskchair Quarterback: Bills 11 – Jets 27

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The Buffalo Bills finally managed to put together a real stinker. It took eight games for someone to truly befuddle Chan Gailey and the Buffalo offense, Rex Ryan certainly did a number on them on Sunday.

Buffalo’s defense wasn’t even close to the weak point against the Jets. In fact, had they received some support from their offense, the defense may have given the Bills a very good chance at a victory. Unfortunately the Bills struggled to throw the ball, run the ball and generally move the chains against one of the NFL’s top defensive units.

It looked as if Gailey was coaching scared on Sunday. He knew the Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromatrie were waiting in the weeds on his outside receivers while the remaining nine players were packed in the box ready to stop the run. Gailey took some shots down the field, but not enough. That allowed the Jets to leave their corners on an island while coming heavy with blitzes and different run packages. It was clear that Gailey wasn’t going to challenge the Jets’ two all-pro corners and he paid for it, the offense never got rolling and the Jets time of possession squeezed any life the Bills may have had. Continue reading →