New York Islanders

The Morning Skate: Sabres stuck in the middle as deadline nears

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The bottom of the Eastern Conference is little more than a cluster of teams trying not to make playoffs.  Seven points separate eighth place from fifteenth and even the Southeast Division leading Panthers are a point better than eighth at this point.

Buffalo are still well within striking distance of a playoff spot, as are the Islanders. New York sits six points behind Toronto and Buffalo is seven back of the Leafs. There is still plenty of hockey to be played, but with the deadline looming you have to wonder how some teams in the East will move forward based on their current roster.

The Sabres are stuck in the middle. They’re only seven points out of a playoff spot and could conceivably push that gap to one point if they were to sweep this week’s games and get some help. While that isn’t the most realistic scenario, the ability for the Sabres to snag six points is well within reach. This team did cobble together a short streak of points recently. A strong week would likely set the team up to try and make one final push for the playoffs. Dropping three or more points could potentially set the table for a trade deadline of selling.

Personally, I just want to see this team play some strong, consistent hockey. Their last six-goal performance on national television was followed with two average efforts. If this team is serious about making a run, they need to prove their capable of being dominant for a number of games.

Highlighted Matchup

The Gaustad line vs. the Tavares line. Buffalo made Frans Nielsen look like Gretzky last time these two teams met. His success was mostly thanks to some poor defensive efforts. Buffalo has three points in their last two games, a big part of that has been the success the team has had in shutting down their opponent’s top line. Paul Gaustad is quickly making himself a commodity many teams will want at the deadline and Pat Kaleta and Nathan Gerbe have been effective in their roles. If this line is capable of another shut-down effort there is a good chance of grabbing two points.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Ryan Miller

NYI: Al Montoya

Last meeting

Sabres 4 – Islanders 3 SO, Nassau Veterans Coliseum, 2/4/2012

*no stats today*

Double Minors: Miller makes team history with win over Isles

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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 Morning Skate: Healthy Sabres still searching for goals

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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 →

Double Minors: Sabres fall to East’s cellar dwellers

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Another day, another loss to a last place team. Make that another loss to a last place team while only scoring once. Obviously something isn’t going right down at First Niagara Center.

Last night’s catastrophe was a value game on the Sabres ticket pricing system, thank goodness for those who bought tickets. The first two periods were a snoozefest and only once did either team score – a NYI power play goal in the first.

The Sabres didn’t seem to have too much giddyup, despite being off since Saturday. Brayden McNabb continued to kill people, he and Robyn Regehr combined for six hits on the night. Once again, McNabb probably had more hits than the two allotted to him, but six is a good number for a nasty, mean defensive pairing.

This wasn’t one of those games where you could point to one or two moments and say “that is why the Sabres lost.” However, it was one of those games where the team was so flat you had to wonder if they cared to play the game at all. Certainly this group of players is professional enough to know each game in the NHL will be a battle, there really aren’t any throw away games. Maybe they’re not, I could be dead wrong.

Still, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville found their way to the scoresheet – even though it was by a goofy, bouncing pass to Jochen Hecht. Hecht did score his second of the season and Zack Kassian had a pretty decent fight in his third NHL game. Aside from that, and Jhonas Enroth, this team was bland, passionless and deserved to lose the game.

  • About that Zack Kassian fight, it was a pretty good one. Not sure who actually landed the most punches, but give Kassian credit for standing up for Nathan Gerbe and proving that he is going to be a capable fighter in this league. Kassian has shown a nice brand of tough hockey in these first three games, it certainly shows a lot of promise for the future. Oddly, this wasn’t the first time these two guys have fought.
  • Enroth was strong in net for Buffalo. It seemed like one of those games where he wasn’t quite in control, but made the saves he needed to make. I fear that will be one of his downfalls, his size will force him to play a reckless style at times, which may hurt him in the long haul. Still, he let his team hang around in a game where most didn’t seem to care about playing. It was another god effort from the young Swede as he has shown a bit of moxie since being yanked on Friday.
  • Brayden McNabb is a beast and he was a +1. Even though plus/minus is a ridiculous stat, the kid has been good in these first two games. Keep him up here as long as you like, dude has got game.
  • Ville Leino pretty much alienated any fans he had left with a brutal neutral zone giveaway and a subsequent miss on a yawning net. Yeah, the pass came at him quick and was in his feet. But for $4m+ on the cap, he needs to corral that one. It was nice to see him get back to the scoresheet Saturday, but we are getting to the point where you need to see more from him. If only he wasn’t stashed on the fourth line…
  • Derek Roy was kind of wasted between Kassian and Nathan Gerbe, just as Hecht is a waste on the top line with Vanek and Pominville. Lindy Ruff has been far too impatient with his lines this season. He has to be partly to blame for Leino’s struggles, he is handcuffing other productive forwards and now the goal scoring has all but evaporated.
  • Christian Ehrhoff’s adjustment period is officially over. He has come on in recent weeks and has come on hard. It reminds me of Brian Campbell’s coming-out party in the 2006 playoffs. Campbell was called upon to play big minutes and it turned him into an elite defenseman. It seems as if the same is true of Ehrhoff.

Three Stars

1. Al Montoya

2. Brian Rolston

3. Jochen Hecht

NHL Links

Game Summary

Event Summary

The Morning Skate: Injured Sabres return against Isles

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The Sabres are expected to have three of their nine injured regulars back in the lineup when they face the New York Islanders tonight.

Patrick Kaleta, Robyn Regehr and Drew Stafford are all expected to return from injury this evening. Regehr is a definite, he was paired with Brayden McNabb at the morning skate and those two will form a physical pair on the blue line. According to the News, Ruff didn’t confirm if Kaleta and Stafford would be back. However, considering T.J. Brennan, Corey Tropp and Paul Szczechura were all returned to Rochester, it would seem as if those three will be back.

So it will be a slightly more familiar lineup tonight compared to the roster from Saturday. The Islanders have hit a rough patch which has forced them to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Their three headed goaltender situation has muddied the water a bit but it seems Al Montoya has come out for the better, his numbers are the most impressive compared to Nabokov and DiPietro.

It is good to see Zack Kassian and McNabb stay with the big club until the rest of the Sabres’ injuries are resolved. Kassian has shown a physical side to his game and McNabb is just mean on the ice. With that pair continuing that type of play, fans have to be excited for what is in store a year or two down the road.

Highlighted Matchup

Brayden McNabb/Robyn Regehr pairing. These two have the potential to be a prototypical shutdown pairing. McNabb showed significant puck skills in junior and with the Amerks. That skill set, plus his willingness to hit anyone around him, makes him a very attractive prospect. Obviously Regehr comes as advertised. I’m interested to see them together this evening.

Projected Goaltenders

BUF: Jhonas Enroth 14GP 8-3-1, 2.29 GAA, .9225 SV%

NYI: Al Montoya 8GP 3-3-1, 2.20 GAA, .929 SV%

Last Game

2/13/2011, HSBC Arena, Sabres 6 – Islanders 7 OT

2ITB NHL preview: The East

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Another NHL season is upon us after a summer that was filled with more Buffalo hockey news than you could shake a stick at. The entire Eastern Conference saw a shake up over the summer and the conference could see a similar playoff race, with seeds 7-12 all within shouting distance of each other. I think the same playoff cast will return this season, but with a few minor changes: Continue reading →

Sabres acquire Ehrhoff’s rights

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It was 12 short hours ago that the New York Islanders traded their fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks in order to get the exclusive negotiating rights to Christian Erhoff. After those talks fell apart Darcy Regier flew in and picked up the rights for the German-born defenseman. Now he has about 28 hours to convince Ehrhoff to sign with the Sabres.

Numerous accounts explained how the talks with the Isles fell apart, despite an offer “well above” the Canucks’ original. While no number had been hammered down concerning how much the Isles offered, I think it is safe to say it was in the $5 to $5.5 million neighborhood.

One quote, from a previous ESPN rumor, provided some insight as to why Ehrhoff declined to sign with the Islanders. It provides some hope to Sabres fans who hope to see him reach an agreement before Friday.

The defenseman has stated on several occasions that he wants to sign with a contender.

While I am not a fan of trading for exclusive negotiating rights, this is just another piece of the puzzle that is the Pegula Era. Obviously Darcy Regier feels free to go out and get whatever players he wants. In this case, he knows that the UFA crop is dwindling and he sprung to action.

Now Regier needs to sign him. This deal really means nothing if Ehrhoff hits the open market and signs elsewhere. Sure, it is a sign of the times. Obviously Darcy is willing to do whatever it takes, but without signing him there isn’t much hope to be had.

There are a few things working in Buffalo’s favor. The Sabres are certainly more of a winner than the Islanders are currently, score one for the good guys. The Sabres also have an incredible owner willing to go above and beyond to get his players, including meeting their quotes, score two. However, there are 27 other teams out there who may be willing to hit the $6 million mark, or more. That is where things get fishy. I don’t think this young man is worth that much money. If the Sabres hope to land Brad Richards and a few other players, a $6 million hit will be tough to deal with.

The ball is in Darcy’s court. He has just over one day to get things done, hopefully the situation in Buffalo is more attractive to Ehrhoff than it was on the Island. If that is the case there might just be a new number five in town come Friday.

Looking back at my conference predictions

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A prognosticator I am not. My mock NFL Draft senior year was about 15% correct. When I went about predicting the NHL’s playoff picture back in October, I didn’t have high hopes. Let us see how 2ITB did:

East

Prediction – 1. WAS, 2. PIT, 3. BOS, 4. NJD, 5. BUF, 6. OTT, 7. MTL, 8. PHI, 9. NYR, 10. CAR, 11. TOR, 12. TBL, 13. NYI, 14. ATL, 15. FLA

Actual – 1. WAS, 2. PHI, 3. BOS, 4. PIT, 5. TBL, 6. MTL, 7. BUF, 8. NYR, 9. CAR, 10. TOR, 11. NJD, 12. ATL, 13. OTT, 14. NYI, 15. FLA

So I was a bit off in the middle. Not too many people would have bet on that epic collapse by New Jersey and I, admittedly put far too much stock in Brian Elliott and Pascal Leclaire. Philadelphia overachieved (according to my original calculation) and I vastly underestimated Tampa Bay.

Washington was a pretty easy choice to make, as was keeping Atlanta, Florida and the Islanders at the bottom. Otherwise it was a hodgepodge of close calls and near misses.

West

Prediction – 1. LA, 2. VAN, 3. CHI, 4. SJ, 5. DET, 6. NSH, 7. ANA, 8. CGY, 9. COL, 10. PHX, 11. STL, 12. DAL, 13. MIN, 14. CBJ, 15. EDM

Actual – 1. VAN, 2. SJ, 3. DET, 4. ANA, 5. NSH, 6. PHX, 7. LA, 8. CHI, 9. DAL, 10. CGY, 11. STL, 12. MIN, 13. CBJ, 14. COL, 15. EDM

Since the West is such a crap shoot it would have been pretty hard to predict either way. I gave LA too much credit and it turns out the Hawks didn’t have close to enough depth to compete at the level they did last year.

My biggest oversight was with Colorado at nine, turns out they really stink. The Western playoff picture is extremely interesting this season, with the amount of parity out there it isn’t a stretch to say that any team can advance and any team could have finished two to four places higher.