Want to talk about a press conference bombshell? Danny Briere saying that the people who didn’t want him there are now gone was a bombshell, a big one.
Now there is more than one person who left during the ownership change, so I wouldn’t dare point a finger at anyone in particular. But how ridiculous is it to hear a player who scored six goals in this series say something like that? Continue reading
This is a hell of a lot farther than anyone expected the Sabres to go. So many have used the phrase, “playing with house money.” I agree with those people.
Now the Sabres have run the defending Eastern Conference Champions to the edge of elimination. The Sabres haven’t looked pretty doing it and they lost a golden opportunity to get this into the barn at home in game six. No matter, they have one more shot. They have an extra shot to achieve a bit of greatness. Continue reading
Game six seemed to be the culmination of everything that the Sabres have been doing poorly in the series with the Flyers.
Since game one Buffalo has been weak along the boards and has been unable to clear their zone with ease. Aside from a few bright spots the defense has been beyond spotty. Lastly, just like in the regular season, the Sabres have not played well with a lead and haven’t been able to finish off the Flyers when they had their foot over their throat. Continue reading
As I have settled down from the game six loss I have decided that breaking up my thoughts may be better than one long, rant-riddled diatribe on what made my blood boil this afternoon.
First topic is Mike Richards. I know that the war of words started between he and Lindy Ruff. I didn’t necessarily see eye-to-eye with either party on their opinions, so I kind of just ignored it. After all, I had been viewing this series as house money either way.
To be fair to the “level-headed” Philly fans, Richards did not deserve a major for his elbow to Pat Kaleta. It should have been a two-minute penalty. However, I think that he might need to sit a game for his hit on Tim Connolly.
Reason being, it is the type of play that the NHL is trying to eliminate. Sorry for the canned reasoning but I couldn’t look at it differently. It was a nasty hit and the shot from the corner shows Richards’ hand up pretty high on Connolly’s back. By my math, having his hands high on Connolly, driving his head into the boards (from behind) and the injury that resulted from the hit makes this a rather cut and dry case.
Of course it seems that the most obvious offenses are the ones the NHL seems to overlook. Also overlooked are big-name players like Richards. Those two factors might work against the Sabres in this situation. If he isn’t suspended it won’t be the end of the world. I don’t think losing Richards would adversely affect the way the Flyers play the Sabres, and vice-versa.
If Richards plays a major role in a Philadelphia victory in-game seven, you may have a case for missing the mark on a suspension.
It is common knowledge that winning the fourth game in a series is the most difficult part of playoff hockey. The Sabres did a fine job of proving that point today.
However, the fact that the Vancouver Canucks can’t get over the hump against the Chicago Blackhawks is astounding.
Drawing the Blackhawks was a worst case scenario for the President’s Trophy winners. Of course, winning the President’s Trophy is a bad omen itself. Chicago has tortured Roberto Luongo and the Canucks for the past two seasons. It certainly seemed as if the Canucks had exorcised some demons after opening up a 3-0 lead with ease. Continue reading
CSNPhilly posted this nugget a little while ago.
So, Jeff Carter screwed up his knee in that collision with Tyler Myers. Too bad for him considering it was a freak play. It could easily have gone the other way and the Sabres could be without Myers.
This punches a small hole in the Flyers’ depth at forward. However they still have a bunch of talented scorers, shouldn’t affect the way Buffalo plays them moving forward.
As for Pronger, I say oh well. They have played without him for four games and there hasn’t been that big of a drop off. Buffalo hasn’t been very good at getting to the net or exploiting the Flyers’ defense. Ultimately this is sort of a moot point. Had the Flyers been struggling to defend Buffalo, maybe this is a big issue moving forward.
The Sabres still need to posses the puck longer and clear the zone better to get out of this series alive. Tonight will tell a lot. Both teams are angry, Buffalo has a bit of momentum and the Flyers are playing in their barn. It is a toss up for the advantage in the series.
Thanks to a largely inconsistent showing and questionable goaltending from Ilya Bryzgalov, the Phoenix Coyotes were dispatched in four games by the Detroit Red Wings.
The bigger story coming out of this series is the fact that many believe that the final NHL game has been played in Glendale. I’m not so sure that is the case.
Since Matthew Hulsizer came forward to purchase the Coyotes about 5,872 stories have been published regarding the pending sale. Some revolve around what Hulsizer needs to complete the purchase, some talk of the major opposition that the Goldwater Institute has posed and some talk about the potential move of the team to Winnipeg.
I have said in this space before that Hulsizer probably shouldn’t be allowed to buy the team with all of this public help. If he can’t leg the deal then so be it. I also think that Winnipeg deserves to have the Jets/Coyotes return. Continue reading
Series squared. Ryan Miller took over from Thomas Vanek for the night and put the Sabres on his back. That was some Olympic MVP goaltending from Miller tonight.
Between robbing Danny Briere blind and making numerous big saves, it is safe to say that Miller earned his first star status. He didn’t have too much time off this evening as Buffalo was fairly weak along the boards and in clearing the zone all night. Lindy Ruff made a good point that the two posts the Sabres hit in the first period could have buried Philly. Unfortunately the hockey gods left it up to Miller. Continue reading
Take a look around the sports sites and blogosphere and you will read that the NHL has made a choice regarding their next television deal.
NBC and Comcast won out in a bidding war that included CBS, ESPN and others. NBC is reported to have bought ten years worth of broadcast rights for $200 million. EDIT: The deal is $2 billion for the next ten years. That equates to $200 million per season. Continue reading
After the Flyers walked out of HSBC Arena with a 4-2 victory tonight, I have to wonder if the first five minutes could have gone differently. 
The arena was electric and certainly had to have some sort of effect on the Flyers. However, Pat Kaleta took a penalty in a post-whistle scrum and Philly converted on the ensuing power play. Whether or not Ryan Miller allowed a weak goal is irrelevant. Personally, I think a deflection warrants a free pass based on the fundamentals of goaltending. Continue reading
