Buffalo Sabres

Breaking down the Sabres goaltending schedule

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The general consensus among the fans and media is that Ryan Miller had a down year in 2010-11. His 2.59 GAA and .916 save percentage paled in comparison to his Vezina winning season in 2009-10.

A decreased workload should mean an improved Ryan Miller in 2011-12.

Miller did notch his sixth-straight 30-win season and was named team MVP for his work. A major culprit in his performance last year was the schedule he played. For the second time in his career, Miller shoulder the workload for over 30-straight games. That is 30-straight starts without any time off. Miller was forced to do the same in 2007-08 and his play was markedly worse in that season as well. There are two glaring reasons for these massive games played streaks. The Sabres needed Miller in net to make up ground in the playoff race; and Miller’s backup was so weak the coaching staff wouldn’t play him.

So, thank Jocelyn Thibault and Patrick Lalime for being better cheerleaders than goaltenders. Had Miller gotten a fair amount of rest, like he did early in 2009-10, his numbers would have been much better. The performance of the team in front of him also had a negative impact on his play. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres 3 – Capitals 4 SO

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The Buffalo Sabres dropped their final NHL preseason contest to the Washington Capitals 4-3 in a shootout.

Buffalo led 3-2 in the third, only to surrender the tying goal to Matt Hendricks with just under seven minutes to go. Thomas Vanek scored twice and Jason Pominville added a first period tally for the Sabres. Ryan Miller went the distance and made 29 saves. Jhonas Enroth was expected to see at least one period, but Lindy Ruff opted to get Miller another complete game. I would expect Enroth to play 60 minutes against Alder Mannheim on Tuesday.

Since this contest was sans television there isn’t too much I can offer in terms of analysis. However, losing a third period lead with most of the ‘A’ team playing isn’t very encouraging. Continue reading →

The Morning Skate: Sabres vs. Capitals

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The Buffalo Sabres play in their final state-side preseason contest tonight before departing for Germany and the NHL Premiere.

With the roster set for the season, this will be the closest to a regular season contest that anyone has seen to date. Luke Adam is probably the only player who will end up in Rochester; he is filling in for Derek Roy for the time being.

The lines should look something like this:

Vanek – Adam – Pominville

Ennis – Leino – Stafford

Gerbe – Gaustad – Kaleta

Ellis – McCormick – Boyes

Regehr – Myers

Ehrhoff – Leopold

Weber – Sekera

Continue reading →

Ryan Fitzpatrick saved Buffalo from becoming a hockey town

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Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills resurgence has captivated Buffalo sports fans and kept the city from thinking hockey-first. While the Sabres will lose top billing for the time being, they will benefit from a shared spotlight.

Just six and a half short months ago Terry Pegula looked down at Gilbert Perreault and cried. That action galvanized nearly every sports fan in Buffalo. It was an act that began to turn Buffalo into a true hockey town.

Under the guidance of Terry Pegula the Sabres fan base has continued to explode.

Pegula immediately put his plan into action to create Hockey Heaven. As the season wore down his team clawed their way into the playoffs and pushed the defending Eastern Conference Champions to the brink of elimination.

Once the summer hit, Pegula kept rolling. He unleashed Darcy Regier, who quickly brought in high-priced troops to improve the Sabres roster. Pegula’s team began a massive remodeling of the locker facilities in the First Niagara Center. Renovations were made to the concession areas and every slug logo, short of the ones on the banners, were stripped from the arena. Life in Pegulaville was in full swing.

All of this action swept Sabres fans off their feet while the NFL lockout was in full effect. Now, the “lockout” was a complete sham and only a few pieces of the NFL offseason were lost. There was never a threat of games being missed. However, the exasperated Buffalo fan base was just about ready to push the Bills aside, as a roster of undrafted free agents and no-names opened training camp. Continue reading →

Europe approaches with one move to make

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It has been a summer full of new faces, surprises and salary cap calculations. The situation surrounding the Buffalo Sabres roster finally became clear on Monday afternoon.

After waiving Ales Kotalik and Shaone Morrisonn over the weekend, Buffalo was on their way to unloading the money they needed to get under the cap. Meanwhile, Darcy Regier also sent down the remaining batch of prospects and veterans who had been searching for a roster spot.

While the organization waited to see if Kotalik or Morrisonn were claimed, the roster in Rochester got the remaining pieces they will use this season. Only Luke Adam and Matt Ellis remained in Buffalo after the cuts. Paul Szczechura also is with the Sabres, but The Buffalo News reports that he is injured as hasn’t been skating. Continue reading →

Double Minors: Sabres weekend wrap

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The Sabres finished their three-game weekend 2-1 as they were handed their first preseason defeat on Sunday in Columbus.

Buffalo, finishing a five game in seven nights stretch of hockey, weren’t very competitive against the Blue Jackets. The Sabres dressed what may have been their greenest line up of the preseason with only a handful of regulars playing in Columbus. Robyn Regehr wore the ‘C’ while Ville Leino and Andrej Sekera each wore an ‘A’. A look at the roster shows 10 regulars in the line up and that is fairly generous in my eyes.

Ryan Miller wasn’t spectacular, but he was Friday against Toronto, so I really don’t care too much. Tyler Myers scored on a great individual effort, but there wasn’t much else to like, or care about in this game.

Continue reading →

Sabres bubble battle

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As the Rochester Americans prepare to open training camp, and the Buffalo Sabres pare down their roster, the battle for the remaining roster spots is becoming clearer.

Ales Kotalik's prowess in the shootout may earn him a spot on the final roster.

 

With the 11 prospects sent to Rochester this morning, there are only 41 players left in camp, and only 24 or 25 will be seriously fighting to avoid a drive up the 90. On the bubble are; Brad Boyes, Matt Ellis, Ales Kotalik, Shaone Morrisonn, Mike Ryan, Colin Stuart and Paul Szczechura. On the outside looking in are; Luke Adam, T.J. Brennan, Dennis Persson, Zack Kassian and Drew Schiestel. Corey Tropp earned a couple looks through the preseason, but I feel like he is still floating below guys like Adam, Kassian and the NHL veterans as well. Continue reading →

Roster picture clears up as 11 are sent to Rochester

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In a move most knew was inevitable, the Buffalo Sabres sent 11 players to Rochester, this afternoon.

Alex Biega was the only player sent to Rochester to see time in the preseason.

Buffalo sent forwards Riley Boychuk, Jacob Lagace, Maxime Legault, Shawn Szydlowski, Travis Turnbull and Mark Voakes; defensemen Alex Beiga, Nick Crawford, Corey Fienhage and Matt MacKenzie and goalie Jeff Jakaitis to the Americans. Rochester’s training camp will begin on Monday. A large number of the 41 players remaining with the Sabres will likely join these 11 once this weekend’s three-game set is complete.

Goaltenders David Leggio and Drew MacIntrye will certainly be sent to Rochester after backing up this weekend and young prospects like Marcus Foligno, Zack Kassian and Brayden McNabb will also join the Amerks.

Alex Biega was the only one of this group to see time in a preseason game, however the inclusion of Boychuk and MacKenzie intrigue me the most. Both are products of the 2010 draft and share a 1991 birth year. While each have played four seasons in the WHL, neither entered training camp with a contract. Boychuk has shown some growing pains to the pro game so far, but MacKenzie has some potential to blossom into an offensive threat a la Brian Campbell.

It remains to be seen if these two will end up in Rochester for the season. If that is the case if would add two more names to an already crowded roster battle. As more players appear to be destined for the minors, the new affiliation with Gwinnett makes more sense every day.

The Morning Skate – Weekend series

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Ryan Miller will play the full game against Toronto on Friday.

The Buffalo Sabres enter this weekend’s trio of games with 19 skaters who have yet to see action this preseason. As Rochester is set to open their camp on Monday, there is a chance some of these players may remain in the press box before heading up the 90.

Notable names among the group are Ales Kotalik, Shaone Morrisonn and Jordan Leopold. Brayden McNabb has also been held out thus far, but I would expect him to see action at some point this weekend. In fact, the three veterans listed above are all certain to see time before the team heads to Europe.

The complete list is as follows: Forwards; Riley Boychuk, Jochen Hecht (injured), Kotalik, Jacob Lagace, Maxime Legault, Jonathon Parker, Mike Ryan, Colin Stuart, Paul Szczechura, Shawn Sydlowski, Travis Turnbull and Phil Varone, defensemen; Nick Crawford, Corey Fienhage, Joe Finley, Leopold, Matt Mackenzie, McNabb and Morrisonn, goaltenders; Jeff Jakaitis and David Leggio. Continue reading →

Double Minors – Sabres 3 – Canadiens 1

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It may have been against most of the Hamilton Bulldogs’ roster, but Christian Ehrhoff had his coming-out party for the Buffalo Sabres.

Ehrhoff made a pretty pass to Jason Pominville to open the Buffalo scoring in the second period and scored the game winning goal on a twisted wrister early in the third period. To go along with his +2 and two-point night, Ehrhoff skated for 22 minutes for the Sabres.

Clearly Ehrhoff is a multi-talented defenseman and will be utilized in every situation by Lindy Ruff this season. While Tyler Myers and Robyn Regehr skated together tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ehrhoff and Myers paired up as the regular season draws closer.

– Ryan Miller was, well, Ryan Miller. He was calm and collected and had a number of sparkling saves among the 11 shots he turned away. Jhonas Enroth allowed a power play goal to P.K. Subban, but made 11 saves on 12 shots. Another confident performance off the bench for the new backup. This is an encouraging sign since I have had some doubts about how Enroth will rebound from his strong debut in 2010-11. Continue reading →