Sabre Rattling

The Big Easy in Ottawa

Link: Buffalo News - Sabres go down effortlessly.

.... for the Ottawa Senators that is... and, well, for the Buffalo Sabres too, because if they continue to show the same lack of intensity, effort, and discipline in every game of this magnitude it'll be easy to predict the outcome come playoff time.

'Collectively sh?%^ing the bed,' as my counterpart at Hockey Country so eloquently put it, the Sabres were out played, hustled, worked, shot, hit, scored and classed in the first half of this game.  Only after Max beat Ray Emery on the short side did the Sabres begin to even look like they belonged in the same building as the Sens.  Up until that point Ryan Miller had been outstanding giving up 3 goals when he could have easily have given up twice that many and no one would have blamed him.  To be honest though, it didn't seem to me that Ottawa was getting a ton of outstanding shots as MSG flashed the Scoring Chances around the time of the Sabres' goal giving Ottawa the edge 9-3 even though they were outshooting the Sabres something like 27-6 at that point. 

The shift that produced Max's goal was the first one where the Sabres looked dangerous, actually getting through the neutral zone with speed and determination.  It was started by a great play by Derek Roy, one of the few people who got off the bus last night with the intention of outworking the Senators.  I've made mention of Roy's strength recently and last night confirmed those thoughts.  He and Danny Briere were the two guys trying to will the Sabres back into this game, and they nearly succeeded. 

To shift gears here for a minute and focus on the Senators, it was obvious to me that Bryan Murray sensed the Sabres' disinterest and sought to put them out of their misery early by feeding them a very steady diet of the Top 2 lines in the first period.  It seemed to me that every time I turned around Spezza and Heatley were on the ice.  Of course, it didn't help matters that the Sabres couldn't stay out of the box (regardless of the quality of the officiating).  The Sabres didn't really have an answer for them and were constantly hemmed in their own end, which was as much a function of the ferocious forechecking of the Sens and the lack of puck support exhibited by our forwards, who repeatedly left the zone before our defensemen even had control of the puck, no less a clear passing lane out of the zone.  So, multiple turnovers came from the D trying to move the puck to no one.   By the time the Sens went up 3-0 I was watching this game only to see how the Sabres responded to the situation, not expecting (or really even wanting) them to win the game, it was now important for them to lift themselves up during this game and try to contend.

Flashing forward to the 3rd period where Daniel Briere proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a star in this league; one of the most talented and tenacious players in all 3 zones.  Watching this game on TV you could see how badly he, personally, wanted this game, even when his teammates were letting him down.  Multiple times I saw him go in deep, challenge for the puck in the corner and foil Ottawa's breakout/turn the puck over to begin a cycle.  The second PP goal was a direct result of Briere's gutsy performance, setting the stage to lift his team on his shoulder's and bodily bring them back into contention.  I would not doubt that he personally apologized to Ryan Miller between periods.  ;)

Once this became a 3-2 game, it also became the Sabres.  Only then did they begin to attack the Sens, not playing with timidity and inordinate respect for the Sans.  And, it is here that Sabres fans can take comfort and Sens fans should be worried because the Sens were given (rightly or wrongly) every opportunity to put this game away and bury the Sabres and they didn't.  After the Sabres PP goal i knew they wouldn't get another one for the rest of the game.  The lengthy 5 on 3 that was gift-wrapped to the Sens which was almost personally killed off by Derek Roy and Ryan Miller to keep the game close may possibly be a turning point for a couple of players in our organization. 

In the end it wasn't our night, and it should not have been... the Senators deserved their two points, but in no way was the outcome of this game indicative of anything other than that the last 3 meetings between these teams should be doozies.  I don't think the Sens have another gear.  They threw everything they had at a Sabres squad playing with a stick in their ass and a quiver in their stomachs and only won 3-2.  My feeling is that if, and this is a HUGE if, the Sabres come out and play their best game against this Ottawa squad that we destroy them in a Big Easy of our own.

The burning question, of course, is are they capable of playing that game?  Until the next meeting my answer to that is "I have no idea."

Ta,

Spring Lawn Care has Started

Link: WGR 550 : Sabres Down Leafs For Eighth Win In A Row.

Last night the boys from Buffalo and the Maple Buds played the first of 5 games on the schedule between now and the end of the regular season.  Completely unlike the 4 previous games where offense was the de rigeur last night defense reigned supreme.  Jim Lorentz noted on multiple occasions that the Leafs were playing a very defensively committed game (and that they should be commended for it).  I'm sure that for the first time in a while the individuals on that squad actually listened to their coach when he told them that the only way they would have a chance at winning this game was to try and shut down the Sabres on the rush.  If Pat Quinn did indeed tell his guys that then the problem in Toronto isn't the coach, as Mike Robitaille pointed out during the 1st intermission, it's the personnel.

From my vantage point, it's a bit of both.  The Leafs, night in and night out, are not a terribly disciplined bunch, and haven't been since Quinn took over.  That said, there are a few guys on that squad who probably don't listen no matter what is being said.  *cough* McCabe *cough*

What was surprising last night was how hard a time the Sabres were having with the Sundin line considering that really none of the other lines made any impression on me whatsoever.  In games past this season it's been Steen, Ponikarovsky and Wellwood who've been the engine driving the Buds. Last night, it all came from Mr. Gold Medal himself Mats Sundin.

But, hell, enough about the Queefs, let's talk about the guys that matter... you know, the ones who've won 8 in a row and who've only lost once in regulation since January 21st against Calgary.  With Props going to Tim Thomas over in Boston, we now sit just one point out of the division lead setting up near frenzied anticipation for the Saturday evening tilt against the Sens.  With 10 out of the last 18 games left against teams named Ottawa, Carolina and Toronto there will be no resting on our laurels coming into the playoffs.  I just hope this team hasn't peaked too early.

Timmah! didn't play last night and that is a function of the depth of this organization.  If we were in Tampa or Montreal's shoes, Connolly dresses last night, just like Miller gets pulled in the game on Tuesday against the Caps.  Hecht re-injured his knee last night.  No one's talking about it being serious but again, there's no real need to rush him back into the lineup, especially if Connolly is ready to go for Saturday.  In great news, Adam Mair has begun skating with the team again,
with a possibility of being cleared for contact soon.  We're going to need his snarl during the playoffs.  It may be necessary to dress an honest-to-god shutdown line at some point, and I nominate Mair-Goose-Pyatt for the job.

Dmitri Kalinin  was excellent last night, it looks like the fire is returning to his belly.  He's moving forward with purpose, taking the body, playing strong along the boards and contributing on offense.  He saw a bunch of Power play time last night, which I can only believe is because of our ignominious short-handed goals against statistic.  Come playoff time the use of guys like JPom and Big Al on the points of the PP may cost us a game/series.  Having Tri man the left point with Numminen (his current partner) allows us to put out an effective unit with no loss of defensive responsibility.  As far as his work on the power play, well, his decision making will improve with his confidence.  Multiple times last night Drury and Numminen set him up for a big one-timer and he didn't take it, instead corralling the puck and faking the slapper only to move the puck around to set someone else up.  I'd like to see him take that shot once in a while, and I'm sure Lindy Ruff would too. Tri played nearly 20 minutes last night and it's obvious that Ruff is giving him every opportunity to regain his 2003-04 form, and surpass it.  So far, so good.

The game-winner by Mike Griere was both a thing of beauty and incredibly ugly.  The ugly comes from the horrible defensive 'effort' by Aki Berg an d Tellqvist's rebound control while the beauty-thing was Griere's sticking with the play to pot biscuit. 

Chris Drury's 3-point effort was much needed as well, and on a rare occasion, Mr Clutch was a plus player tonight (+2).  On a night where we got killed in the faceoff circle (Wellwood was an eye-popping 7-1 on draws) Drury's 9 of 19 stands out as exemplary.

That's all for now... except to say that there are some changes in the works around here including a makeover, move and addition to the staff (staff... now that's comedy!).  All will be revealed at the proper time, and suffice it to say that I expect these changes to be for the better so that this site can provide better coverage of the stretch run and the playoffs.

Ta,

A Couple of Barn Burners

Between Thursday's annual "No Defense Here" Classic against the Lightning and this afternoon's apparent (and I say apparent as I forgot the game was a 2pm start time and was out with the wife) stinker from Ryan Miller the Sabres are certainly giving the fans in the seats something to get excited about.... The coaches, on the other hand, have got to be wondering just how many times they're going to have to repeat the mantra about how games leading up to the playoffs will get more and more tightly played.

I'm sorry I missed the game against the Flyers this afternoon.  As apparently three different Sabres teams showed up.  In the first period the sloppy, overly-cute Sabres-Peeps had their chance to strut their stuff and did their level best to spot the Flyers to a 2-0 lead.  In the 2nd the Edmonton Sabres showed up, outscoring the Flyers 4-3 with Ryan Miller doing his best Grant Fuhr impression... unfortunately that would be the 1998 Grant Fuhr and not the one that actually played with the Oilers back in the 80's.  In the 3rd the same team that beat Philly earlier in the year showed up (minus Rya Miller), apparently outskating and outworking the Flyers, drawing penalties, outshooting them 13-1 and outscoring them 2-0, with Mike Gri-ere potting the game-winner with just 4 seconds left.  In my mind that's karmic payback for tying the 'Canes the other night with 0.4 secs left and eventually beating them in the shootout.

Points of interest:

• Derek Roy has 2 hat tricks in as many weeks.  He's been playing with tenacity and fire.  He's had a hard look to him recently.  You can see it in his eyes. 
• Dmitri Kalinin and Tim Connolly both returned from their injuries.  Tri was paired with Teppo Numminen against Tampa the other night, and didn't look too bad.  He's comfortable on the left side and Numminen's game is simple and direct, which should help to ease Tri back into the lineup while he rebuilds his confidence
• Speaking of Teppo, he finally bulged the twine for the Sabres, having compiled an NHL record 32 assists before finally doing so.  Props to the Repo Man.
• Ryan Miller has finally showed a couple of cracks in his game.  According to the boys on HF, Philly victimized him a few times today glove-side high. He was replaced in the 3rd by Marty Biron, who got no real work, seeing only 1 shot.
• Maxim Afinogenov was benched in the 2nd half of the Tampa game.  He was notably brutal with the puck in his own zone.  I have no idea how bad he played today but with the return of everyone from the M.A.S.H. unit, his ice-time is going to decrease, especially if he isn't going to put out the effort or use his linemates.
• The Briere/Hecht/Dumont line has been simply amazing.  They scored a couple of goals on the rush against Tampa on Thursday that could best described as 'too easy.'  4 points for Hecht today. 

As much as I love the flurry of goals for, more defensive efforts like the 3rd period need to be forthcoming if the boys are going to be serious in their chasing Ottawa for the division title.

Ta,

Anything but Killer B's

Well,  this is becoming a habit around here.  The Sabres are now 5-0 against Boston this season and if the Bruins miss the playoffs they can look back on the two leads they blew in the past two games as the final nails in the coffin of a misguided, mispent season. 

These were two teams that took radically diffrerent approaches in preparing for the lockout.  The Sabres chose to have as many of their guys under contract or own their rights as possible.  Showing faith in the rebuilding plan that was started with the forced trade of Dominik Hasek.  The B's, on the other hand, chose to leave the 03-04 season with only 4 guys under contract and only a handful of free agents.  GM Mike O'Connell then had to assemble a team in a similar manner to your average fantasy hockey pool during the free agent shark tank period of last summer. 

Going into the season Bostons' free agents signings like Brian Leetch, Dave Scatchard and Alexei Zhamnov were met with praise and huzzahs, while the Sabres' signing of Teppo Numminen was met with indifference bordering on sonambulation.  All the attention was spent on the loss of Zhitnik and Satan, even within Buffalo. 

Hmph. 

The difference between these two teams was in evidence tonight.  The Sabres were clearly the better team in nearly all areas of the ice and all phases of the game.  The Bruins squad that was iced tonight was far more engaged in interested than the ones who took the ice back in October and November.  The 3 guys acquired from San Jose for Joe Thornton practically guarantee that.   But, that said, if not for some unbelievable goaltending by Tim Thomas my flippant pre-game prediction over on HF (5-2 Sabres) would have been virtually prescient. 

Briere/Hecht/Dumont were outstanding again tonight.  Thought there was a little bit of a stink put up by Jack Edwards and the other guy in the Boston TV Booth over Danny's repeated running of the goalie.  And, I hate to say it, but, I agree with them.  This is something that has really gotten me angry during games this year.. the lack of protection of the goalies by the officials, and the classic over-reaction by them in penalizing the retaliation by the defending team.  While all of the incidents tonight involving Briere were definitely interference, there's little doubt in my mind that he intended any injury or malice, unlike many of the ones that have gotten me out of my chair screaming at the TV over the course of the season.  I'm all for limiting the goalies wandering around acting like defensemen, but, that said, then their crease should be close to inviolate and any attempts to run them gratuitously should be dealt with severly, both by the league and the team on the ice.   For all of the NHL's talk about enforcing the rulebook with respect to obstruction and hooking why can't they enforce their own rules on crashing the crease? 

Rory Fitzpatrick continues to make me worried about him being our #6 guy going into the playoffs.  With Dmitri Kalinin having a terrible season and rapidly running out of time to turn it around it truly is incumbent upon Darth Regier to make some kind of move to acquire some depth for the blueline.  That help needs to be a right-hand shot as well.  Having another guy to pair up with Kalinin on the 3rd pair would be huge for us. 

While I'm sure that Regier is trying to get a maximal deal for Marty Biron, tyring to land someone like Matt Greene or Derek Morris.  It is more likely that he's going to get a guy who we over at HF have been talking about for a long time now, namely Willie Mitchell from Minnesota.  While not a right-hander, he does play the right side, is big, mobile and responsible in his own zone.  With Kalinin's game a basket-case right now, getting a guy like Mitchell might just be thing to get Tri back into a comfort zone.  And allow us to keep Numminen's minutes under 15 a night going into the playoffs.

My predictions for the trade deadline are now as follows:

1. Noronen will be moved to a team out of the playoffs (after they move their high-profile guy... i.e. CuJo or Luongo)for a pick 2nd or 3rd rounder, possibly being packaged with a surplus forward for a higher pick or swap thereof.   
2. A lesser light defenseman, like Mitchell, will come our way for either a pick or a prospect not named Zagrapan, Paille or Stafford.  Yes, Jiri Novotny is probably not long for this organization.

Ta,

Sabre-Toothless Tiger Slayers

Well, for the first time this year the boys from Buffalo managed to find a way to beat the Florida Panthers with a 5-3 victory tonight at the HSBC arena.  I'm not sure what it is but the Panthers seem to have our number.  There are certain teams that other teams just can't beat and it's troublesome to me that a team like Florida, who on most nights look like also-rans, always plays like world-beaters against the Sabres. 

To their credit they always attempt to out-work and frustrate the Buffalo breakout, constantly pressuring our defense into coughing up the puck, and for the most part it seems to work like a champ, that coupled with Luongo's normally stellar goaltending usually means we walk off the ice with our heads down wondering what we have to do to beat these guys.   Tonight's game for the most part was no exception to this.  For the first 10 minutes it looked like a carbon copy of every other Florida game this year... sticks everywhere, the Panthers trapping, the Sabres frustrated and jittery putting weak shots into Luongo's mid-section and we're one mistake away from the wheels coming off.

But, unlike the other games we've played against the Cats this season the bounces seemed to go our way early and little things that normally hurt us didn't.  Van Ryn cranking one off the pipe and Dumont's lacrosse-style goal in the 1st period set the tone for the evening.  Though, to me, Ryan Miller looked a little uncomfortable in net and that was a concern for most of the evening until the Sabres put the game out of reach with Vanek's wrap-around that made it 4-2 in the 3rd.

Once we got the Panthers to open up a little bit after Dumont's goal we started to take the game to them and a very pretty play by Max and Roy to set up Jiri Novotny's 1st NHL goal made it feel as if we'd finally solved the Florida trap/jinx.  But, still the Cats are well-coached and are spunky (at least against Buffalo) and clawed their way back to a 2-2 tie with some old-fashioned hard work
by, of all people, Chris Gratton and John Sim. 

There were way too many turnovers and bad neutral zone decisions for a game that, on paper and on the scoreboard, we seemed to dominate.  It took a determined effort by Thomas Vanek on two separate occasions to turn nothing plays into seeing-eye goals to get us this win.  In both cases Vanek made the puck do things it shouldn't have.  He played the 2nd half of this game like a guy with a mission and if he can ring that kind of intensity on a greater percentage of shifts...? Wow!

Notes from the Marginal Underground:

• Jiri Novotny is a well-coached player.  He always has his stick in a place to make a play, both offensively or defensively.  He's always ready to receive a pass or break one up.  I like what I've seen from him so far in the past two games. 
• Roy, Max and Vanek were excellent tonight as they attacked the Florida neutral zone with speed and determination, mixing up their entries and coming at the Florida defense in waves.
• Pyatt's tussle with Montador was great as well.  Pyatt went out of his way to avoid Luongo while driving the net and paid for it by having Montador ride him off face-washing and being stupid.  Pyatt dropped the gloves and very quickly ended the altercation Montador started.  In Chainshot's words from the other day on HF, "Pyatt's a BEAST!"
• Tallinder and Lydman were having a tough night moving the puck out of the zone.  The Panther fore check was giving them both fits all night.   Neither was comfortable with how little time they were being given to make decisions.  It didn't help matters that too often our forwards were cheating away from them reducing their safe options.
• Florida's penalty killing was the most aggressive I've seen this year and lacking our top talent on the PP (Briere, Connolly, Hecht) our response wasn't strong enough to counter it.  Good job by the Cats to not be awed by the Sabres PP and skate aggressively.

All in all, a solid win but also a toothless one as well.  Even while up by 2 goals late in the 3rd the Panthers still seemed to be able to take control of the game at will, which is, of course, a credit to them, but frustrating for us.

Tomorrow's game against Carolina has all the potential to be unbelievably ugly.  No rest, travel, early start, 3rd game in 4 nights, major injuries, an excellent opponent.  I'll be shocked if we skate with the Canes for more than 20 minutes.

Ta,

Underdogs No Longer: Sabres Knock off Sens in Shootout

Link: ESPN.com - NHL - Screen Shots: Sabres Biggest Underdogs.

This is a game we needed to play the way we played it.  It was a tough, physical, end-to-end game.  From the Peters/McGrattan tilt early in the first to Vanek's sick move to freeze Hasek and go... where else(?)...glove-gide high, this was a preview of the playoffs-to-come and I don't care what anyone else says, I'm looking forward to it with all of my being.

Buffalo vs. Ottawa, Saturday February 4th:

Coming into this game there were a lot of lingering questions about the Sabres in my mind.  I wanted to believe that they could skate with the Sens, they did.  As well, I wanted to believe we finally had a collection of shooters who could put a puck past Hasek.  Kotalik's one-timer was other-worldly.  Lastly, I wanted to believe that we could match whatever level the Sens took the game to and best it.  There were times in the 1st and 3rd period where I thought that the Sabres completely dictated the play.

What I believe now is that this Sabres squad is capable of all of those things and a few more.  With the return of Pyatt and Dumont this team has more edge, more sand.  With every game he plays Ryan MIller is solidifying his stranglehold on the Buffalo crease, and beginning to erase the disappointments of the past seasons and purge the ghost of Dom, with no biger step taken towards doing so than out dueling him in tonight's shootout. 

From the middle of the third period on, I knew this game was going to the shootout, I just felt it in my bones.  I didn't think either team would be able to break through the other's committment to not allowing another goal.  The Ottawa penalty killers were amazing in the third.  I've lost none of my respect for the club John Muckler has given Brian Murray to coach.  I've only gained respect for the squad that wears the sweaters I love to root for. 

Points of Interest:

• Jason Pominville and Paul Gaustad have truly arrived as NHL'ers.  Both were all over the ice tonight doing all the things that were expected of them and som that weren't.  Remember, I haven't seen a game in nearly amonth, and the difference for me was striking.
• Taylor Pyatt is beginning to show bits of being the power forward he was drafted to be.  And, he is a lot faster skater than I remember him being. 
• Ryan Miller has developed ice water in his veins.  At the beginning of the season I was still very worried about his mental toughness.  I don't worry about that anymore.  He has become nigh-unflappable. 
• The Sens ability to counterpunch is downright scary.  I noticed a lot fewer drop-passes and cute moves at their blueline late in the game than there were earlier.  It was trying to be fancy that got us into trouble against them earlier in the season and after a couple of attempts by Roy and, I think, Max early in the game I didn't see much of that after that stuff almost landed the puck in the back of our net.
• Our Power Play could survive the loss of Briere, but it can't survive losing Timmah! as well.  Connolly brings that rare combination of strength along the boards to control the puck and make the great pass to settle the power play down to set plays up. 
• This was Andrew Peters best game as a Sabre, and it was a great move by him to take mercy on McGrattan after breaking his nose and drawing blood.  Maybe we should send a tape of that to The Kaspar-fish, he might learn something.
• My heart couldn't take a 7 game series between these two teams.

That's two huge victories in the past 2 games, thoroughly out-skating the Flyers and playing Ottawa to a stand-still. For this effort we'll probably drop in the TSN standings because Kalinin got injured. 

Ta,

p.s. Don't just take my word for this, check out The Mirtle's thoughts on seeing the game live here.   Pay close attention to his praise for Goose and JPom.  My eyes misted over... :)

Quotes from the Gutless Fish Market

Link: Buffalo News - Connolly injury taints win for Sabres.

Link: Buffalo Sabres.

Last night's game vs. the Rags was a fine response to the non-showing the boys put up in Calgary.  But, overshadowing a solid outplaying of every Ranger not named Lundqvist was the hit that the Kaspar-fish sidelined Tim Connolly with.  I didn't see the game or the hit myself so I can't really pass judgment on it.  I will say though, that there are plenty of 'clean' or 'legal' hits that are obvious intents to injure.  Scott Stevens made a career of dishing those out.  Nothing will happen to Kaspar, nothing ever does.. but I'll say this the boys sure had their Quote on after the game:

"... and I was upset at the way he responded.  When challenged, he flopped around the ice like a half-dead fish."  -- Lindy Ruff

"When I see a 240-lb guy diving around like a Squirt after taking one of our guy's knees out... "  -- Chris Drury

"For every four good hits he dishes out, he gives three of those cheap shots.  It was pretty obvious that he was going for the knees and not a hip-check."  J.P. Dumont

Personally, I've never liked anything about Kasparaitis.  Not his hitting, offense, defense or attitude.  He's not one of those guys that you hate when he plays for the opposition but love when he's on your team... guys like him are just worthless.  Add him to the list with Peca, Tucker, Hatcher, Marchment and Brashear.  I've got no patience for guys that target knees or heads.  Period.

The above quotes are good but Mike Grier sums it up in a word... "gutless." 

"He's a heartless, gutless player," Grier said. "He has no respect for anyone else in the league. He cheap-shots guys and then won't stand up for himself. He tells me he wants to fight and then skates away and takes a dive when I barely even touch him.

"Probably the dirtiest player in the league. No one likes him. We got a game against these guys again (March 27), we'll see what happens. It's disgusting what he did to Timmy. He hurts guys with no shame. It doesn't faze him one bit. He could have hit him just as easily with his shoulder as he did with his hip."

Kaspar saw an opportunity to weaken an opponent fighting for the same playoff spot and he took it.  We all know he did, that's been his game for 10+ years in this league.  It's because of him that I love the new rule about defensemen getting a delay of game for shooting the puck over the glass.  Mario's miracle goal would have never happened had he not flung the puck into the stands to stop the clock before that.  It was an obvious delay of game tactic and should have been penalized.  The years of knocking the net off, icing, and putting the puck out of play instead of playing defense are over.  Maybe that's why he still feels the need to target the knees of the opposition's best players.  Yes, there, I said it.  Connolly had become the best player for us, night in, night out and he's gone until after the break because some sociopath enjoys hurting people.

First the non-goal in Calgary and now this.  I said the other day they would have to dig down deep to see what they were made of... well, I guess it's begun.

Ta,

Sabre Rattling: On Vacation

This entry is to let my regular readers (all 3 of you) that I am leaving my apt this morning to board a plane to Houston.  After that lands I board a boat for 5.5 days of rest and drunken relaxation aboard The Rock Boat.

  I will be returning late on Thursday the 19th and will be sans internet access (unless Carnival has dropped their per hour usage rates) until then.

That said and in reference to last night's game against Phoenix, 1 goal on the Power Play is not the mark of a First Tier NHL Team.  It sounded like Boucher stood on his head at times last night, but so did Biron.  Worse than that, the Power Play couldn't bail them out during OT.  This is the second (or is it third) time this season where the Sabres had extended stretches of 5 on 3 in OT and couldn't score.  To give up a point at home like that is going to come back and bite them. 

Connolly's trying too hard.  On multiple occasions last night Jim Lorentz commented that he made the wrong play with the puck, i.e. over stick-handling.  He can't revert back to the old Timmah!  We need the one who showed up for the first 40 games of the season now more than ever.

The good news from last night is that Biron was very sharp, especially in the first half of the third period where it seemed the Dogs were all over the Sabres, at one point outshooting them 11-4, man y of them quality shots, i.e. deflections, screens etc.  Quality goaltending got us a point last night.  Good thing we have two.

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,