Here is episode number four of The Instigator Podcast. This week we discuss the ever popular Twitter topic of hockey IQ, take Twitter questions regarding direction for the roster and take on plus/minus yet again.
As always, comments and criticism are encouraged. Catch us here: @2ITB_Buffalo or @3rdmanin
On Friday night the Buffalo Sabres managed to claw their way to overtime after trailing the Dallas Stars by a pair. The same script didn’t play out on Saturday as Buffalo fell to Tampa Bay, 2-1.
We didn’t play well enough. I thought the second period, we were terrible. We didn’t play the game quick enough and didn’t make enough plays. ~ Lindy Ruff
The loss, coupled with Montreal’s thrashing of the Leafs will temporarily drop Buffalo to 14th in the East. That alone illustrates the need to get points on a nightly basis for the Sabres. Two points obviously being ideal (and somewhat necessary) but at least getting to overtime is almost a necessity.
Buffalo was hurt by a criminally slow start for the second-straight evening. The Sabres played 40 minutes of flat hockey and paid with a 2-0 deficit entering the third period. Another carry-over from Friday was Buffalo’s spark in the third period. The Sabres fired 14 of their 27 shots in the final frame and threatened to beat Mathieu Garon numerous times. Christian Ehrhoff, Zack Kassian and Jason Pominville had the best looks at a beating the career backup.
Pominville found the net for the 20th time this season, receiving a nice setup from Thomas Vanek. What else is new? Vanek was put back on the left wing with Pominville and Derek Roy after reprising his role with Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford to begin the game.
The success that Pominville and Vanek have enjoyed this season has been compounded on all year, there is no denying the pair’s stellar play. In fact, Pominville nearly provided all the scoring Buffalo needed for a tie but he was robbed by Mathieu Garon. Without help from other forwards, this team will still struggle to win games. That is another statement which has gotten plenty of circulation this year.
Ryan Miller continued his stellar play tonight, stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced. I’ll eat some crow for thinking Jhonas Enroth should have gotten the start, but I’m not mad that Miller has continued to play at an all-world level.
The Sabres are back in action on Valentines Day as they host the Devils. Tuesday’s game becomes a must win after a point was squandered tonight.
The only thing the Buffalo Sabres need to be worried about at this moment is winning hockey games. They started too far out of the playoff hunt to discuss games in hand or how far behind they are from the team’s they’re chasing. Just winning games and getting points is all that should matter.
Tonight’s game against Tampa Bay presents the chance for a clean weekend sweep of four points and to continue the run of good hockey the team has played since the All-Star break.
The Lightning are a rested bunch. They played Thursday in New York, stayed in Buffalo all day yesterday and will have had plenty of time to rest as they prepare for this evening’s tilt. Tampa lost Thursday’s game in overtime 4-3.
While Buffalo did go a full 65 minutes last night, they didn’t do too much work in the opening 40 minutes of play. Hopefully there is some gas in the tank for tonight. Add in the fact that Luke Adam will be inserted in the place of Cody McCormick, which provides a fresh set of legs.
Buffalo has not played Tampa well this season. They were shutout in Florida before dropping a 4-3 loss on the return trip in Buffalo. Tonight’s game has a lot more weight behind it than the previous two meetings. Then the Sabres were still riding the cushion of their strong start. Now they are a desperate bunch in need of a long win streak.
Highlighted Matchup
Buffalo’s forwards vs. Tampa’s trap. The Sabres had trouble engaging offensively last night as Dallas choked out the neutral zone. Tampa will do that, and more tonight. The Sabres were able to dump and chase yesterday but will not have the same luxury tonight with more fatigue weighing them down. The Sabres still need to effectively break the trap to win tonight.
Projected Goaltenders
BUF: Jhonas Enroth
TBL: Mathieu Garon
Last Meeting
Sabres 3 – Lightning 4, First Niagara Center, 10/25/2011
Make it 11 of the last 12 points for the Sabres. After over a month of finding different ways to lose, they have begun finding different ways to win.
Despite playing 40 minutes of disinterested hockey the Sabres managed to tie the game late and earn a shootout win. Buffalo played with edge and passion in the final period and scrapped enough to get the game to overtime. Nathan Gerbe tallied one of the sickest shootout goals I’ve ever seen to win it and Ryan Miller was only beaten once in the skills competition.
The third period effort was nice to see as the Sabres failed to establish any sort of tone against a team that had played on the road the night before. Considering the Stars had to travel after a game on Thursday, I expected to see a similar Sabres team to the one that played on Wednesday. While the first 40 didn’t provide any such result, Buffalo managed to establish an impressive strategy in the third.
Lindy Ruff confirmed in his press conference that Cody McCormick will miss time due to an injury. His absence didn’t seem to hurt the Sabres as James Patrick pretty much rolled three lines for the second and third periods.
Despite giving up a power play goal on a nifty tip by Michael Ryder, the Buffalo special teams units were sound. Thomas Vanek tallied on the power play and the penalty kill came up big when they needed it. Ryan Miller had another solid outing, stopping 24 of 26 shots and remaining capable to the task when Kari Lehtonen turned in numerous big saves.
In my opinion, starting Jhonas Enroth tonight is the right move. Buffalo has five games in the next eight days with Monday, Wednesday and Saturday to rest. Giving Enroth a start tonight would be the conventional wisdom. Hopefully the coaching staff agrees.
The Buffalo Sabres offense was there in October but has been nothing but a face on a milk carton in the months since. Finally, as the team has begun to find some footing, the offense seems to be coming back to life. 
Two late, unanswered goals in New York led the Sabres to a shootout victory and they followed that performance with a six-goal barrage against Boston on Wednesday. If this is the type of offensive attack the team will be coming with for the foreseeable future the likelihood of piecing a run together is much better.
Dallas comes to Buffalo after a 4-2 win in Columbus last night. Kari Lehtonen played against the Blue Jackets yesterday and has played the lion’s share of play for the Stars as of late. A non-conference game on the back half of a road back-to-back series would be a good opportunity to play Richard Bachman. However, Dallas is in a position where they need every point available and I’d expect Lehtonen to be back in net tonight.
The Sabres will get Thomas Vanek back in the lineup tonight but where he will play remains a mystery. I’d be apprehensive to take Ville Leino away from Derek Roy and Jason Pominville. Reuniting Leino and Ennis wouldn’t be all bad, but the production of Leino, Roy and Pominville cannot be broken up.
Highlighted Matchup
Thomas Vanek. Prior to missing time with injury, Vanek was experiencing his first slump of the season. I wonder if his injury had lingered prior to the hit that forced him out of the lineup. If Vanek could find the scoring touch that had been so consistent earlier in the season, the Sabres would have two lines capable of scoring on a regular basis.
Projected Goaltenders
BUF: Ryan Miller
DAL: Kari Lehtonen
Last Meeting
Sabres 0 – Stars 4, American Airlines Arena, 10/30/2011
It would appear re-investing in XM Radio this week came at the right time. I can only imagine what the whiner line (and message boards) are saying about the idea of leaving James Patrick behind the bench permanently. 
News flash, Lindy ain’t going nowhere. Seriously though, the team had begun to turn things around before Ruff’s injury. This game was not a magical cure-all because Ruff was watching from the press box.
The fact of the matter is that the Sabres set the tone out of the gate and maintained that attitude for the entire game. It is something the team has struggled to do this season, but they played 60 good minutes tonight and were rewarded on the scoreboard.
Billy Jaffe may have said it best on NHL Tonight. He acknowledged that Buffalo doesn’t have the DNA to push teams around, but they pushed back this evening and proved they aren’t complete pushovers. Despite the fact the Sabres lost each of the fights they were a part of, I was impressed with the physical side of Buffalo’s game.
Ryan Miller turned in another sparkling performance, making 36 saves for his 25th career shutout. The shutout and his recent run will make it tough for Lindy Ruff to rest his starter this weekend. In fact, a Saturday start for Jhonas Enroth could be a long shot.
The Sabres have ran up an impressive run of nine points of their last ten; they’re still in need of a handful of points from their next games. The four points available on Friday and Saturday will go a long way in determining how for real this run could be.
The Buffalo Sabres have taken seven of their last eight points thanks to some strong shootout play in net and from the forwards. Points nine and ten are on the table tonight.
Of course the Boston Bruins stand in the way of those precious two points. The Bruins remain a team this current Sabres roster is not built to take down. The Bruins are big, physical and tough. The Sabres are small, agile and soft.
Because of the hole Buffalo dug between November and December, this is a must win game. Of course expectations will likely be a bit lower considering the way Boston has played Buffalo this year.
The Bruins’ last visit to First Niagara Center was the “grudge match” game after Ryan Miller was hit by Milan Lucic. The Sabres lost 4-3 in a shootout that night after playing 20 minutes of physically engaging hockey in which they controlled the play. The following 40 were far more passive and the team paid for it with the loss.
Buffalo not only needs to set an early tone, they need to carry it throughout the night. There are players on the roster capable of providing a steady physical presence, the key is making sure it survives beyond the first period.
With the possibility of not having Lindy Ruff on the bench, I’m curious to see how the team responds.
Highlighted Matchup
Nathan Gerbe vs. Brad Marchand. Both have the honey badger moniker following them around. Although, Marchand seems more fond of Nose Face Killah. Both are agitators who can easily stick in their opponent’s craw. Last time Marchand scored a big second period goal and acted like a real professional while taunting the Buffalo bench. Gerbe was the most physically active Sabre that night, but was ineffective on offense. Both have the ability to have an impact on this game. It will be interesting to see who has the better night.
Projected Goaltenders
BUF: Ryan Miller
BOS: Tim Thomas
Last Meeting
Sabres 3 – Bruins 4 SO, First Niagara Center, 11/23/2011
Episode number three of The Instigator takes a look at where the Sabres may be heading as they work towards the trade deadline. This episode also introduces fan Twitter questions in addition to a new segment called “Plus/Minus”.
As always, comments and criticism are welcome and encouraged. You can find me at @2ITB_Buffalo and Eric at @3rdmanin. Don’t forget to check out Eric’s work on 3rd Man In as well.
Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres rallied for a 4-3 shootout win over the New York Islanders last night. The win was the 235th of Miller’s career – giving him the Sabres franchise record for victories. 
Miller had a rough first period, allowing three goals on nine shots thanks to a bad redirect and some poor team defense. Mike Weber was the first culprit, making a horrible behind-the-back pass which led to the first of Frans Nielsen’s two goals. Nielsen’s second goal came off Miller’s stick as he attempted to block a clearing pass. Josh Bailey also scored on a rush that was barely defended by all five Sabres on the ice.
However, Miller went on to stop the next 29 shots and two in the shootout to get the victory. Miller’s play in the second and third was strong and he was spectacular in overtime. He was a key to the victory, in the end, making a number of clutch saves in the dying minutes and through a full four-on-three in overtime.
The Sabres have earned seven of their last eight points and points nine and ten will be up for grabs on Wednesday night. Wednesday’s test will be significantly tougher than the previous four as the Bruins come into town. On the bright side, the Sabres seem to be slowly finding some offense in this recent stretch of strong play. Continue reading
The Buffalo Sabres head off to Long Island after two days of rest and a roster that is nearly identical to the one that began the season 10-5.
They’re missing one major piece – Thomas Vanek – which makes matters a bit complicated when considering the Sabres haven’t scored three goals (without the help of an ENG) since January 13. Besides Vanek, the Sabres are finally healthy. If this season has taught Sabres fans one thing, it’s healthy changes everything.
The Sabres lost their first two contests against the Islanders this season, scoring three goals in the pair of games. It is just a microcosm of a season that has spiraled out of control in too many ways. The current lack of offense isn’t without effort. Buffalo threw everything they had at Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist. All they came up with were a few posts and two goals in two games.
Buffalo’s offensive struggles are now front and center. A rejuvenated defensive corps have been playing solid hockey and Ryan Miller appears that he has gotten himself back on track. Only the lack of offense remains the glaring shortfall with the team. I have to say that trading out some of the stale offensive pieces may be the only way to find offense on this roster. Continue reading
Two in the Box 
