Sabre Rattling

eBay - That's Mr. Jersey to you

Link: eBay - buffalo sabres sweater items on eBay.com.

On the heels of a great post by the inimicable Jes Golbez about the Rules of Sweater Wearing (I pass muster with my Russian Larionov sweater), I went trolling on ebay for some bargains.

Normally I search "Buffalo Sabres Jersey" and get pages of responses. No shock there, these are Americans after all. But, color me surprised and saddened when I search for "Buffalo Sabres sweater" and get no results (see link above). Zero. Zilch. Otts. Nothing.

Btw, I've been forbidden by Jes, lest I want to be the Ultimate in "Dorky", from having LUONGO put on the back of an AGH. Have to agree with him there.

Ta,

4th Period:Oilers & Biron

Link: The Fourth Period :: Edmonton Oilers :: Oilers interested in Biron.

Oilers interested in Biron

No shock here. But what is interesting is the fact the Lowe is shopping Steve Staios. I'd love to get him in an AGH. At $1.6 mill/year this is a good fit for both teams. I would think that Lowe knows he's gotta send some salary out to bring anyone of quality in return and Biron's $2.1 million salary keeps him out of cap trouble while shaking up a squad that hasn't played up to it's potential.

Staios would bring some grit and a little more leadership to the Buffalo blueline as well as having a decent offensive game. More depth on D would be a great thing. It would allow us to send Campbell back to Rochester and use Fitzie as our depth #7 guy, which is a role he's perfectly suited for.

If Lowe has offered a package that includes Biron for Staios, he should take it.... now!

Ta,

Halloween Weekend : A Mixed Bag of Treats

Link: Buffalo News - Biron earns victory in return.

Link: Buffalo News - Buffalo News - Sabres Bedeviled in New Jersey.

First off, I'm skipping the game in Rochester against the Caps on Wednesday.  I mean, why not?  The Sabres did.

Buffalo vs. New Jersey, Friday 10/28

Speaking of skipping games, they almost took the entire night off against the Devils on Friday.  It was only a solid 3rd period that got them close to getting a point they didn't deserve.  For 2 periods I couldn't tell that Marty Brodeur wasn't in net.  The Sabres had only 12 shots on goal and Scott Clemmensen barely broke a sweat.  The kid finally had to earn his paycheck in the 3rd.  Unfortunately, Ryan Miller didn't and the boys couldn't get one more agains the New Jersey 1-2-2... because there's no way they were playing the trap in the swamp.

High points for this game include the Official Return of Jochen Hecht.  For the first 8 games this season there was someone else inhabiting #55's sweater, because the disinterested guy on the ice certainly couldn't have been the Hecht I know.  Since being moved to the top line with Briere and Dumont he's re-kindled the chemistry they had in 2003-04 before Mike Grier was acquired.  Tough along the boards, taking smart shots to create rebounds and making up for Briere's lack of defensive awareness.  Having Hecht out there allows Danny to gamble a bit more.  The camera guy for FSN caught him skating around after a whistle and there was an intensity in his eyes that wasn't there 2 weeks ago.  More determined, more focused. 

Our $3 million/year facoff specialist/Co-Captain (Chris Drury) scored a huge goal to tie the game.  Glad to see him get off the schnide.  He was 10-7 in the Faceoff Cirlce against the tough NJ centermen.  Though he did lose a crucial draw on the 5 on 3 the Devils had early on, but the PK was outstanding nonetheless. 

Low points include the the complete vanishment of Thomas Vanek.  This game marked his arrival in Chateau Bow-Wow where he took a regular shift on the 4th line with Goose and Adam Mair, none of whom have looked particularly good recently.  I'm sure the kid's frustrated, but he's got to work when he's on the ice and he hasn't been doing it.  Hopefully, he'll respond to this by putting his head down and getting to work, but right now he looks a little lost out there.

Tri is still struggling past his own blue line.  He's having a hard time getting pucks through the neutral zone and getting his shot through from the point.  His defensive zone play has been much improved since the beginning of the season.  He's using his stick and his body very effectively, taking good angles to cut guys off and smoothly moving the puck out of harm's way. 

Lastly, I have to say that the cameraman for FSN was horrible.  Not once did this guy actually put the camera on the puck itself.  He was zoomed in too far and couldn't get the camera to the corners.  To me it looked like he'd never watched a hockey game before.  Unbelievably amatuerish.  He was moving at one speed and the game was moving twice as fast as he was.  This only accentuated how unutterably annoying and homerish Chico Resch is.  He keeps stepping on Mike Emrick trying to call the game, and Emrick has spent too much time calling national games recently (where he's supposed to talk about everything except the game being shown) and his normally solid Play-by-Play was sporadic and uninspired. 

Buffalo vs. New York Isles, Saturday 10/29

 

Rayzor's -- LETTERS TO "HULLY"

Link: Dallas Stars Blog:: LETTERS TO "HULLY".

Check out the love letters from Lindy Ruff and Dom. I'm still laughing at the letter from Wade Belak. Dood!

Great stuff Darryl Reaugh.

Ta,

HockeyDirt.com: Sabres Looking Sharp

Link: HockeyDirt.com: Sabres Looking Sharp.

MT over at Hockeydirt.com has a write-up about the Sabres quick start.  Check it out. 

In addition to the things he mentions, notably the Top Line and Ryan Miller, I'd like to point out that it is the play of all of those guys who had huge qustion marks above their heads before the season's start that has contributed to their early success.

Guys like Tim Connolly, Henrik Tallinder, Ales Kotalik and Jay McKee have all performed better than expected, creating opportunities for the top guys to shine.  They are a team, with a capital T, much like the 03-04 Sharks.  That's why they're winning right now, while so many other newly-formed squads like the Pens and the Broons are struggling.

Ta,

Miller Beginning to get Notice

Link: USATODAY.com - Rookie goaltender Miller helps Sabres to fast start.

Between this article at USA Today and the Rookie Watch over at TSN.ca it's nice to see that the great effort being put forth by Ryan Miller so far is getting some notice by the Hockey pundits.  Playing in Buffalo can sometimes be a gifted player's curse as it's so far from the hockey media centers.  But, Miller has been good enough to overcome that. 

I'm sure the OLN coverage against Pittsburgh, and Sidney Crosby, didn't hurt either. 

My heart goes out to Cam Ward and Eric Staal in Carolina (even further from the centers of the hockey world) for similar reasons to Miller.  I caught the 2nd half of the game last night in Ottawa and was really impressed with the Canes tenacity.  I'd seen them against weaker opponents up to that point and didn't place much stock in their effort at the time.  But, last night, they took a game away from Ottawa that the Sens had well in hand after the first.  Staal is a complete bull.  Wow!  And, with a goaltending tandem of Gerber and Ward.... this is a very dangerous hockey club. 

Edit: for a more in-depth look, check out James Mirtle's piece on the 'Canes this morning.

But, back to Ryan Miller.  While he's had a couple of lapses in attention, he's consistently made the big save when his team needed him to, and frankly, that's the difference between this Buffalo club with Miller and the 03-04 club with Biron/Noronen.  Neither of those guys could consistently make the win-preserving/comeback-sparking save.

In some ways, I think, the conventional wisdom concerning goalies may not apply to the current situation in Buffalo.  I'm beginning to think that the 3-Headed Hydra has become a positive thing for Miller.  It looks to me like he's using this situation to get the very best from himself and keep his focus on winning hockey games and not anything else.

"Last season gave me the opportunity to work on some things," Miller said. "But it also gave me a chance to work with a team all season toward a common goal. Your goals at the AHL are usually to make the NHL instead of focusing on the team goals. But last year I was able to focus on the Rochester team goals and I think that helped me. I wasn't thinking about whether I was going to get called up. I was thinking about just winning games and having team success."

While this quote isn't discussing the goalie situation in Buffalo directly it does point to a very healthy attitude about what his role is and how well prepared he is to have success, regardless of who's on the roster.

"I'm not going to believe that eight games make a season."

But, we very well may look back on these first eight games as the beginning of putting the past 4 painful years behind us.  That, in and of itself, may be what this season is all about.

Ta,

Weekend Roundup: The Good and The Better Than Good

Buffalo Vs. Boston, thursday 10/20/05

After an extended break last week where it was obvious that the Sabres needed to work on two things, conditioning and the Power Play, the boys in the AGH's returned to the ice against division rival Boston for a dreaded game on the road.  The worries that had crept into my mind during the 4 days off between the loss in Florida and the game in Boston were pretty well dismissed afterwards.

• Could Ryan Miller rebound after that horrible goal in Florida?  Yes. 30 saves on 33 shots, and big ones in the 3rd period when Boston pressed for the tying goal.
• Would someone not named Daniel Briere show up to play offense?  Yes.  Timmah! had a goal and an assist, while Big Al Kotalik got what would be the Game Winner.
• Would the Power Play continue to look like a bad game of Hot Potato?  No.  2 for 8 and a lot of zone time.  Better puck movement and better entries.
• Would Adam Mair make a difference on the 4th line?  Oh yeah!  Pyatt-Gaustad-Mair is going to be a truly frightening 4th line for a long time.  Mair and Goose are great forechekers.

All in all a solid road victory.  J.P. Dumont is beginning to look like the guy who got under everyone's skin in 03-04, which is key to his game.  If he's trying to just play a finesse game we are in trouble.  DmirTRI Kalinin (1 assist) looked closer to being in game shape than at any point so far this season, logging 22:32 for most ice time by anyone in a Buffalo sweater. 

Flash Forward to Saturday...

The End of an Era for Me

Link: Off Wing Opinion.

This great article by Eric at Off Wing Opinion neatly summarizes why I no longer can consider myself even a casual fan of the Isles, even though they are the team I cheered for as a youngling. Mike Milbury is such a loathesome and inept GM that he's assembled a team of non-hackers (minus Zhitink, of course) so un-befitting the team that made a hockey fan out of me in the first place.
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This conversion is so complete that last night I found myself pulling for the Rangers!!! Must be a Sith Lord that Milbury... Darth GoalieKiller.

Thank the schedule-makers that the Wild and the Sharks were on at 8pm and I could turn the sound off while playing World of Warcrack.

Ta,

Sabres Morning Skates Open to Public

Link: Buffalo Sabres.

The morning of every home game will now feature a free-of-charge glimpse of the Sabres morning skate/practice. While the early returns on the variable pricing plan have been mixed with the Buffalo faithful staying away from the early Silver and Gold games, this seems like a great way to build stronger ties between the community and the team.

With the team off to its best start in 20 years but struggling to put fannies in seats any move towards increasing their exposure is a good thing. I believe Mr. Golisano heard the NHL loud and clear when they said the franchises needed to be more open with the local fanbase.

Speaking of Tom G. he was at the Tampa game last thursday and our troop just missed him as we were walking around the arena to our section. I started up a conversation with some other Sabres-faithful and was informed that Mr. G had just been there talking with them and left to go to his box to watch the game.

It's a shame, really, I would have liked to thank him for the job he's done so far as owner and hit him up on a few political questions as well. I understand he's a fairly Libertarian kinda guy, always a good thing in my book. No wonder he can't become Governor.

Ta,

USATODAY.com -Ted M. on the Sabres

Link: USATODAY.com - One-timers from the slot on the young NHL season.

he Sabres' spirited early-season play is causing a buzz in Buffalo. Daniel Briere is off to a great start and the Sabres have handed the No. 1 goaltending job to Ryan Miller, which is a smart move. They'll be lucky to finish at .500, but at least they're headed in the right direction. The team's move to sign coach Lindy Ruff to a contract extension is proof that management believes the Sabres are on the right track.

Here's hoping he's wrong on the .500 thing, but unless they get the powerplay going, he's probably right.

As well it may be time to really shake up the lines. Dumont looks half a step behind both Briere and Vanek now, while Drury looks like he's gripping the stick too tight.

One thing I wouldn't change is the pairing of Pyatt and Gaustad. Adam Mair should be back for the game on thursday against the B's and those three together should create quite a row whenever they're on the ice.

It was smart to leave Mair on the sidelines for the Florida game with 4 days off afterwards. That time can be used to help get Adam back into game shape along with Tri.

As they are currently +17 in power play chances, if the PP wasn't absolutely brutal they'd probably be 6-0. A couple of early PP goals against Ottawa and that game could have been completely different.

Ta,