Sabre Rattling

WJC Update: Slovakian Ups and Downs

Link: Hockey Rants.

Thanks to Jes Golbez who's been doing a great job, including a live blog of the US/Can game, of covering the World Junior Championships.  Seeing as the tourney's being held in his neck of the woods (Vancouver and surroundings) it only makes sense.

What's important to note is an update on Sabres prospects Michael Valent (G) and Marek Zagrapan... here's Mr. Golbez (emphasis mine):

Oh, damn Czechs beat the Slovaks 5-3. Poor Michal Valent (my boy) has a save percentage of 75% and has probably lost the starting job for the rest of the tourney...on the other hand, the 1-2 Slovaks have the #1 and #2 scoring leaders in Marek Zagrapan and Stanislav Lascek.

Conventional hockey wisdom states that you can never have too many goalies in the pipeline and the Sabres diligently draft at least one every year.  Given the current logjam in net and a solid guy in the AHL, Leighton, there's little pressure to hurry Valent along, but he projects to be a good one. 

Zagrapan we have high hopes for and this news is especially good.

Ta,

Clement Rattles his Sabres over Buffalo

Link: Sabres rattling their way to success - - MSNBC.com.

Bill Clement's got a lengthy and complimentary overview of the Sabres season to date over on MSN.com. I really want to complain about their proof-reader, but that would be cheeky considering the spottiness of the spelling observed here.  Suffice it to say, Changing Satan's name to Satin is accurate considering that's about how hard he plays night to night.

Clement's thoughts on the patience of Ruff and Regier in the face of hostility at home and indifference around the league are especially noteworthy:

   

For the first 14 games of this season, Vanek did not score a goal. The Sabres weren't winning a lot of games early in the season, and the easiest thing for Ruff to do would have been to demote Vanek to a fourth line, and not even bother putting him on the power play.

...

I yawned when the Sabres signed defenseman Teppo Numminen, but Numminen has helped the Sabres produce the third-ranked power play in the league. ...

For those who actually read this space you'll remember me calling (not strenuously, mind you) for Vanek to be sent back to Rochester around game 10 or so.  Well, all I can say is that I'm glad that I'm not the guy behind the bench right now, especially considering the beuaty of a goal Vanek scored last night (6 goals in 10 games).  Ruff did reduce his ice-time and move him around a bit, a delicate balancing act between having patience and not hurting the team while doing so.

To me, it's a fine thing to wake up in the morning and find a couple of complimentary articles about an organization that has navigated the lockout well as opposed to being Pittsburgh and Chicago.   Clement's next article should be about the great job Jim Rutherford and Peter Laviolette have done in Carolina.... Wait, D-Lee and the Acid Queen already do that daily.

If somebody would have told me that on the day after Christmas the only team with more points than the Ottawa Senators would be the Buffalo Sabres, I would have told them they were crazy.

There are still some non-believers out there, waiting still for Buffalo to fall flat on their faces, and that may happen.  Every team gets out of synch every so often.  Signs of that are beginning to creep into their overall game.  Gaustad's effectiveness has dropped off recently and Kotalik's head looks to not be screwed on tight enough.  Briere's out until the playoffs with a sports hernia that may put some pressure on Darth Regier to make a move with one of his goalies. They're coming out flat early too often for my tastes.  Then again, as long as we're winning there's little need to change things right now.

The complaint at the beginning of the season among the fans I hang out with was (and still is) that there was a surfeit of guys at forward and goaltending and not enough defense.  That's not quite the case right now.  We've had to deal with significant injury issues to key personnel and that depth has paid us great dividends.  This team has great leadership (just look at how well the rookies are playing as a testament to that) and coaching that listen to each other. The players told management they could go without Satan and Z and management trusted them to do so.  Sure, Regier was motivated by cost issues as well, but I think that was more happy coincidence than plan.  He's said repeatedly that there were certain guys they had targetted to bring in here based on a number of factors, but character was one of the important ones. 

So, things keep rolling along in Buffalo.  Last night they beat up on one of my pre-season picks to be a powerhouse, Atlanta.  And, they did so in very convincing style.  For all of Atlanta's talent, they aren't a team.  Dumb penalties and selfish goonery are the difference for that team.  But, that's a Bob Hartley-coached squad for you.

Ta,

P.S. BTW, Don Waddell... you made a huge mistake in choosing your goalies.  But, you knew that.  Dumbass.

Big Night for Small Salaries

Link: Buffalo News - Sabres feeling good despite defeat.

Last night's tilt between the boys from Buffalo and thier rivals at the other end of the QEW was an object lesson in how the NHL is changing right before our eyes.  The best players on the ice last night were not Mats Sundin, Eddie Belfour, Chris Drury, Teppo Numminen or Brian McCabe.  They were Kyle Wellwood, Tim Connolly, Martin Biron, Tomas Kaberle, Henrik Tallinder and Alexei Ponikarovsky.  These are not the names that immediately spring to mind when one thinks of either of these teams, but from here forward we should. 

Buffalo vs. Toronto, Thursday, Dec. 29th.

Edit: Mark over at Bfloblog has a nice post highlighting the game here.

I love the Sabres and despise the Leafs (Hiss! Boo!) and was ecstatic at the heart showed by the Sabres to come out after a fairly awful 1st period and dictate the game in terms of pace and physicality.  But, I have to give the Buds some credit, they skated hard for most of the night, frustrating our defense with a strong forecheck and solid positioning in the neutral zone.  Props need to go to Alexander Steen and, to a lesser extent, Matt Stajan, for their hard work as well.  I even have to hand it to Sideshow Bob (Tucker), he had a couple of actual honest shifts last night where he wasn't trying to kneecap someone while on the forecheck.  Though, him scoring against us is almost as painful as Satan getting one the other night. 

This game could have been remarkably different had Belfour been sharp and Marty Biron not.  Biron bailed us out in a first period that could have easily seen 4 or 5 go past him, that's how much stronger, meaner and faster the Leafs were from about the 4:00 mark until Tim Connolly's huge goal at 17:14. 

On one of Thomas Vanek's few good shifts last night (not one of the younglings on display) Tim Connolly showed just how far he's come in outworking Ken Klee to reach around him and bang a rebound past The Eagle.  That's 2 Leaf games in a row that Timmah! has put on a show. I keep pointing it out, but it's important.  Connolly's game is improving every night and no one is more surprised/impressed than me.

Overtime was nearly unreal, it felt like a movie script, to be honest.  How many scoring chances can you pack into 5 minutes anyway?   Those were the only really effective shift by Mats Sundin I thought.  Good in the 1st period, but so was everyone else. 

Points of Interest:

•  If Kaberle had not saved a sure tap-in by Drury in OT, I'd have to say that Tallinder was the best defenseman on the ice last night.  Not just the shortie he scored, either.  His poise and breakouts were astounding.  Very Ohlund-esque. 
• This was not one of Gaustad's better games.  That line in general had a tough night as they never really developed any sustained pressure and Goose was just 2 of 8 in the FO circle.
• Brian Campbell and Teppo Numminen are becoming as solid defensively as they are on the PP.  Campbell made a couple of very nice plays along the boards to seal off a forechecker hard and make a simple outlet pass to spring the Sabres in transition.  It's something I've not seen him do much before.
• Biron was wandering and playing the puck all over... that means he was in the game and sharp.  None of the goals scored against him were stoppable, IMO.
• Kyle Wellwood and Alex Steen are damn fine hockey players.  Too bad they play for the Queefs.  They had me nervous everytime they were on the ice.
• Brian McCabe may be putting up the points but, man, is he a stupid hockey player.  He's all yours Leaf-fans, I don't want him anywhere near an AGH sweater.
• This edition of the Leafs is a typical Pat Quinn-coached team.... all emotion.  When they are initiating contact they are winning.  When they aren't?  Brutality incarnate. 
• Rory Fitzpatrick is really struggling.  Twice he took the puck behind his own net last night, slowed things down and tehn put the outlet pass in the feet of the forward, allowing the Leaf forecheck to cause a turnover.  We need Tri back, and soon.

All in all, a very solid effort from both teams.  Buffalo is obviously the superior hockey club but this was a game the Leafs wanted and they got it.  Props to them for bending but not breaking, as Buffalo could have put this thing away in the 3rd period a few times.

Ta,

HF: Q&A with Marek Zagrapan

Link: Hockey's Future: The #1 Online Prospects Magazine - Covering the WHL, QMJHL, AHL, OHL, College, The NHL Entry Draft, and All Junior Hockey.

Thanks to Chainshot for posting this up in the Buffalo Forum on HFboards. I sometimes forget that Hockey's Future is more than a message board system.  Zagrapan was our 1st round pick this past year and HF caught up with him after Slovakia's first game at the WJC. 

Things of note for Sabres fans:

Zagrapan is currently playing in the QMJHL, which bodes well for his NHL development.
The Sabres Staff has told him to improve his skating.  No shock there, if you don't skate hard you don't play in Lindy Ruff's high pressure system.

As well, HF, is covering the contributions of a couple of lower round draft picks to Team USA, Chris Butler (D) and Nathan Gerbe (C).  Gerbe's battles are noteworthy as he's only 5'5", 160lbs, we'd love for him to be the next Theo Fleury, without all the extra-curricular activity.   Butler is in need of some upper body strength at 6'1" 185lbs.

Ta,

Big Al Kotalik Watch

Link: WIVB TV4 Buffalo, NY - Ales Kotalik.

Here's a little fluff piece from a local Buffalo TV station.  Normally these things are odious but the final Q&A is so telling:

Adams: "Do you have a Jacob watch like 50 Cent does?"

Kotalik: "No, I'm not making that kind of money to buy a 300 thousand dollar watch."

After taxes, union dues and his agen't's cut, that watch is probably close to a year's salary (Base salary according to TSN is $837,900 US).  And, so far, with his performance this year he's making a strong case for a good sized raise.

In some ways, the whole team is.  Another win last night keeps them right on the heels of the Sens for the Northeast Title.

Ta,

Twas the Night Before Christmas Eve

And all I wanted for Christmas at this point was a win for the Buffalo Sabres... well, okay, that and a return to a sound currency, the dissolution of most governmental power structures and news that someone picked up Arrested Development and Firefly.  Waking up this morning my first desire had been fulfilled after a rousing performance by the boys in the AGH sweaters... one out of four isn't bad, I guess, and there may be movement on the AD pickup front.

Going to the Ice Palace twice a year to catch the Sabres has become nearly a tradition.  Last night was my Christmas present from Capt. Charity Vain (for non-readers of my old blog, she's my wife), two tickets, section 102, Row G, Seats 1 and 2.  These seats were exactly 5 rows right behind where Lindy Ruff stands (mostly motionless, btw) for the entire game.  We got to the arena early and hung out with the other Sabres faithful next to the tunnel to the locker room.  Nearly everyone I meet is shocked to hear that I'm not from Buffalo originally, and that the Sabres are my adopted team.  So, I happily recount the moments that irrevocably changed my allegiance from the Isles to the Sabres and they are almost always very patient and considerate. 

But, enough setting the scene.  Thursday night's loss to the Panthers was a predictably flat performance.  And it's becoming a habit for us.  Florida always seems to play us well at home, just like we always seem to be able to go into Tampa and walk away with points.  So, my outlook for this game was confident and my gut feeling was that Miller was going to have a little extra going on tonight knowing that the guy in the other crease was going to Turin in February and he wasn't.  And, no, that wasn't the nachos from the night before talking either!

In the spirit of the season here are my choices for Christmas wish lists:

• Ryan Miller: His job back. Two starts, 2 goals allowed,  2 wins. 
• Max Afinogenov: slightly better hands.  Another 1/4 inch and he had a good, garbage goal last night.
• Danny Paille: His first goal.  Seeing as he got his first assist last night.
• Paul Gaustad: A New Sweater.  Because I'm going to steal the one he's wearing.
• Danny Briere: A Faith Healer.  Can't do any worse than the team doctors at this point.
• John Grahame: One unit of Stick Um.
• Martin St. Louis: The respect he got from Defensemen in 2003-04.
• Toni Lydman: A raise
• Jay McKee: a new contract
• Adam Mair: See Gaustad. Because I might get to him first.
• John Tortarella: A new chalkboard.  Because the one that drew up pulling your goalie with 2:41 to go is defective.
• Nolan Pratt, Tim Taylor and Dave Andreychuk: Applications for retirement.
• Don Koharski: A donut.  Eh, it was just that easy.  Actually, Don K. wasn't the problem last night, the other referee was.
• Jay Feaster: Brad Lukowich, Nikolai Khabibulin, Cory Stillman, Pavel Kubina
• Lindy Ruff: The Jack Adams Trophy.
• Chris Drury: A mouthpiece endorsement... no wonder we have to pay him so much.
• Tim Connolly: Hair.
• Mika Noronen: A fresh start somewhere else.
• Martin Biron: a donut.  No make that two.  By god, that boy is skinny.

That pretty much sums up last night's game for me.  It was a solid game in all three zones.  Tallinder played his best game of the season.  He and Lydman have really grown together into a confident and efficient defense pair.  Mair got to play with Roy and Afinogenov last night and they created a buncha havoc.  Mair took a lot of abuse during the 3rd period last night and then sent a message later on with a definite boarding penalty that the boys took a little extra enjoyment killing off. 

Miller made a few stops last night that were flat-out fantastic.  Deflections, re-directs from in close.  He looked confident and secure, no rebounds to speak of.  Grahame (GRAY-HAME, YOU SUCK!) let out enough for any three goalies, so I guess Miller was just trying to balance things out.

Top to bottom, this was another team effort and the contrast between the Lightning and the Sabres is stark.  Tamps is a one-line team right now, this may be skewed with Vinny out for a game, but that just speaks to the utter lack of depth on their roster.  At this point in time, they don't scare me at all, even healthy.

Ta,

p.s. No BY-RON, YOU SUCK guy last night.  I think he haunts the other end of the rink from where we sat.  I was so keyed up to be within 15 feet of the boys that I forgot about him until after the game. 

p.p.s. For Mr. Golbez, I had my un-named Sabres sweater on and the wife wore my Russian Larionov one.  I wasn't even all that obnoxious. 

Turin the East: 9 in a Row on the Road

Link: James Mirtle: Team USA names Olympic hockey roster - A hockey journalist's blog.

Thanks to James Mirtle for posting up a good set of comparisons between the actual Olympic Roster for the US and a couple of different projections of what the team should have looked like. 

What I find fascinating is the performances put in last night by the two Sabres in contention who weren't picked for the team, namely Ryan Miller and Tim Connolly.  Miller, in his first start since October 28th, stopped 32 of 33 shots and out-dueled Antero Nittimaki in the SO to earn the Angry Goat Boys their 9th straight road victory.  While Timmah!, with all the pressure on him to score after Floppa put the B. Street Bullies ahead, came up enormous with a sweet back-hander to send the game into the regualr-season equivalent of Double OT allowing Max the opportunity to be the hero.  So, in the end last night's game was a big "Screw you" to Don Waddell et.al. over at US Olympic Central from the boys from Western NY and boy howdy, was it loud and clear.  Good job guys.

If injury was the reason why Miller was left off the squad then why take Robert Esche?  No slight to him, he's a fine goalie and I'm sure the decision was a tough one, but if performance was to be the ultimate arbiter, as Waddell has said, then Miller's 11 games should have been more than enough to warrant a better appraisal :

"Ryan's season started off very well as we all know, and then unfortunately he suffered the injury. Injuries are something that nobody can control. We felt that the three goaltenders we named are all starters with their hockey clubs and have had success with their hockey clubs."

How's that for double-speaking the situation.  Esche has had to fight off Nittimaki all season, John Grahame hasn't exactly set the world ablaze in Tampa and was soundly out-played by Miller in their one meeting in Grahame's barn earlier in the season (another SO win... where Miller stoned both Richards and St. Louis).  If anything Miller can only not be considered the starter in Buffalo because Marty Biron is only the hottest goalie in the friggin' league. 

As for Connolly, his inability to effectively play the wing probably hurt his chances more than anything, he's a centerman on a squad with too many already.  Couple that with his playing in the media black hole of Buffalo and it's an easy excuse for Waddell and Lavalamp to use.  Truth to tell he's more valuable as a penalty killer to that squad than Mark Parrish is as a reserve Right Wing, but hey, what do I know?  I mean, if Keith Tkachuk actually skates what are the chances of his taking a bunch of dumb penalties? 

Props to the Co-Captain, My Captain, Chris Drury for making the squad... not that there was any real doubt.  I will take some umbrage with Mr. Mirtle's line combinations though.  If Drury isn't centering the 4th line then he should be on Weight's Left Wing, not his right.  That's where he was in Colorado and that's the side he plays on the Sabres PP.  His normal linemates are Hecht and Grier.  He and Hecht flip-flop positions regualrly, while Grier is a RW and nothing else. 

There will be plenty of other Sabres in attendance during those two weeks in Italy as Teppo Numminen and Toni Lydman will certainly skate for Finland, Jochen Hecht for Germany.  Afinogenov will probably skate for the Russians along with maybe Kalinin.

As for the game itself, I listened to the radio feed and it seemed like a tight contest.  The Flyers seemed to have problems containing the Sabres once the boys found their legs in the second period, but Nittimaki came up huge a bunch of times.  Considering this was the 4th game in 6 nights for us, getting anything from the game was a plus.  I'm not going to read too much into this though, the Flyers are banged up right now so, any win is a good win but in no way am I convinced this team won't give us more trouble in the future. 

Ta,

Carnie #16: The Tragically Hip Parade

Link: Japers' Rink: Carnival Of The NHL #16.

Polish up your Doc Martens and pull out those old, faded dungarees; take a pull off your flask of fine (or at least passable) Canadian Whiskey and let's stroll on down the backways and the alley-ways.  It's Carnie Time again, hipster-style.  Your mac-daddy host this week is the eponymous J.P. over at Japer's Rink, fresh from a tour of the City of SIn with music in his heart and a spring in his fingers.

Give it a whirl wouldja please...

Ta,

FH.com -- The Angry Goats of Winter

Link: FantasyHockey.com - wfsection-Buffalo Sabres Team Report - December.

Just a quick note to say that my Team Report for Fantasyhockey.com is up, warts and all.  It's been such a hactic couple of weeks I had to start this before leaving for work one morning and finish just before leaving with the wife (who I hadn't seen in nearly two weeks) to catch the Sabres on TV at a local sports pub. 

Personally, not one of my better efforts.  But, it's a good site.  Check it out.

Ta,

13 in a Row? .... BYE-RON, YOU SUCK!

Link: Buffalo News - Regier in no hurry to move a goaltender.

Between this article and Bucky Gleason's plea to trade Biron, it looks like my desire to see the Sabres investigate just how much they could get for Ryan Miller on the open market is going to remain unfulfilled.

To me the calculus is very simple.  Keep the goalie the team plays the best for.  A point I made in the Game Recap of Saturday's game is a paraphrasing of my wife's observation about intangibles.:'

We gave Chris Drury a pass early in the season for his lack of production and horrendous +/- because of all of the intangibles he supposedly brought to the table.  Well, let's see, what kind of intangible quality does Biron bring to a team that has won 13 times in a row when he begins the game between the pipes?  Many of those wins were gritty, come-from-behind nail-biters.

While I hate to quote myself on this subject it's hard to argue with my wife here.  This team has grown up with Biron in between the pipes.  With the rash of injuries we've sustained and the amount of time guys like Miller, Dumont and Pyatt have spent on IR there is little worry about us going over our self-imposed, mid-point, Ensure-all-3-Phases-of-Revenue-Sharing-Salary Cap.  Therefore, Marty's salary is not the same kind of issue it was at the beginning of the season.

I know Miller is the 'goalie of the future' but, honestly, the future may be right now.  I'm not trying to get ahead of myself or anything.  This team is in need of a couple of things (a studly #1 d-man at a minimum), but chemistry and camaraderie are not one of them.  Miller is the most valuable of the three goalies.  A true blue-chipper ready to lead a team to a playoff berth or more.  Biron has paid his dues, stuck by this organization and his teammates during the worst of working conditions and for the most part has given them competent to near god-like performance.  Repaying that with a trade after he's been instrumental in the emergence of this team as a potential NHL powerhouse is the height of arrogance.  Not only arrogant, but stupid as well.  This situation is reminding me of why I no longer watch the NFL, a league who's decisions are based more on what a player projects to be and not on what he is.  So many 'superstars' who have the better 'tools' get chance (*cough* Jeff George *cough*) after chance while real, talented, hard-working winners fall through the cracks or are never allowed to get comfortable as 'The Man." 

Do not get me wrong.  I watched, first-hand, Ryan Miller steal 2 points from us on a Thursday night in Tampa early in the season.  He was enormous in the shootout and had me screaming at the top of my lungs in appreciation.  I'm a big fan of the kid and am confident that he is and will be a top goalie in this league for a few years to come.   I just have to wonder if the timing means that he goes to make his fortune and win his Cups with someone else.

But, I'm also a big fan of results.  Concrete examples of that which a person or group has accomplished.  The Sabres current streak is no fluke.  As one of the guys on HF pointed out last night (a notorious Biron-hater ironically enough), the Sabres are 15-2-1 in their past 18 games.  In the end I've come right back around to where I was at the beginning of the season, trading Miller for the best return package maximizes the ability of this team to win right here, right now.  Again, it's not that I don't have confidence that Miller can't produce those results... just that he hasn't. 

Every day this organization gets a little bit closer to 'having arrived' as opposed to 'is arriving.'  They are 2nd in the conference in points, 3rd in the league and have proven that they can beat everyone except Ottawa.  What more needs to be proven before some confidence is shown those who've put in the effort, made the highlight-reel plays or the win-preserving saves (or near saves) ?  There is a time when you have to look and see that not only has someone arrived, but maybe, just maybe, he's been there all along and now the team is worthy of him.

Year after year we bitch that Martin Biron is, at best, an average to above-average goalie, and yet, every year he does something truly amazing, in the process putting his name in the team, if not NHL, record books with jaw-dropping strings of performances (3 straight shutouts, 13 consecutive victories).  In the end, all I can figure is that his biggest fault is he wasn't Dominik Hasek.  I keep hearing that he's not the goalie to lead us to a cup.  Well, if he isn't, why would a Stanley Cup contender trade for him?  And if he is, then why trade him?  He's proven he can handle a full season's work, even getting stronger as the season gets longer.  He's played for bad teams and worse.  What more does he need to do?  And, more importantly, why does anyone have any more confidence in Miller being able to do those things when he hasn't done so either?  As has been pointed out in our myriad discussions on HF about this, if he'd had competent backups in the past 2 seasons we would have made the playoffs at least once.  Asking a goalie to have a 75% winning percentage is a little too much to ask.

It's easy to blame the goalie when the team sucks.  It's easy to get spoiled when your team sucked but you had the best goalie who ever played the game in his prime bailing them out most nights fresh in your memory.  It's easy to look away from the uncomfortable and disheartening present and see salvation in the future.  It's easy to fall back on the 'wisdom of the scouts and GM's.'  What is hard is to appreciate what you've have currently, and what it can give you in the future.

The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence and memories are always better than the experience itself.  Biron's legacy, if he is traded before the March 9th deadline, will be to bear the burden of the sins of the Buffalo Sabres rebuilding, the cheerful Scapegoat of the Angry Goat Heads.  We rarely like to be reminded of our sins and our mistakes and so, for that and Miller's 2 more years of Restricted FA status Biron's days as a Sabre are limited.  I'll cheer for Ryan Miller in the future as hard as I cheered for him back in October, but I'll do so knowing that the crease he occupies will have been paved with all of the pain and sweat of someone who deserved better from all of us.

Ta,