Sabre Rattling

Giving Thanks for 3 Soild Victories

Link: Buffalo News - Sabres rewrite shootout script.

I'll start this post with the flash back to Wedensday evening when the Buffalo Sabres took on the New York Islanders and got a little karmic payback for the Shootout loss to the Rangers the night before.  I'll then go through the other two games over the weekend and will try and follow up with a post about the state of the team near the 1/4 mark of the season.

Buffalo vs. New York Islanders, Wednesday 11/23

After outplaying the Rangers the evening before but losing in a shootout, the boys in the AGH sweaters came back with a gritty performance to eek out a shootout victory of their own against the Sabres East, er, NY Islanders.  For the most part the Sabres were outworked and out-hustled by a much more determined Islanders squad than had been on the ice for the previous two games between these two clubs.  Both Yashin and Satan were sharp, as was Mark Parrish and most of the defense corps (Brent Sopel notwithstanding).  The Isles were far more disciplined that night, taking only 3 minor penalties and keeping the Sabres 4th ranked power play (1 for 3) off the ice.  The game had flow and speed. 

Points of Interest:

• Martin Biron has finally adjusted to the new NHL.  He's playing more aggressively and is more confident than he was earlier in the season.  He has great patience in the shootout, forcing Yashin to hit the post when he tried to stuff it in the short-side.  Great stuff. 
• Tim Connolly is slowly becoming a really fearful player for the opposition to contain.  He has great vision and puck-handling skills.  This we've always known, but now he's stronger on the puck and making people pay for trying to check him, dishing off to the open man or spot and creating offense with all of that talent.  This, in turn, is beginning to get him more respect at the blue line which is creating even more room for him to set things up.  Oh, all of that and he's the best back-checker on the team. 
• Gaustad/Pyatt/Mair is a monster of a checking/energy line.  Boy are those guys fun to watch.  It's truly a shame that Pyatt broke his wrist in the Friday night game against the Habs.  He was finally beginning to play the kind of game that we knew he had in him.
• Ales Kotalik is playing with a ton more confidence than he ever has before.  The difference with him now, 5 on 5, is that he's constantly moving his legs.  He's shooting from everywhere, which he should, and is having a blast playing on Connolly's left wing.  The game-tying goal late in the third period was all Big Al.  I've never seen him skate that hard around a defender (Sopel) before.  I think he's finally beginning to realize that he's 6'2" 228lbs, and a faster skater than many blueliners in the league. 
• Chris Drury is quietly putting together a solid run of points here.  Now that Al's bomb from the point is being guarded against, it's opening things up down low, and Drury has benefitted from this.
• Kalinin continues to struggle.  He looks completely out of synch with the rest of the team. 

All in all, though, this was a savvy road game played by Buffalo.  They kept the game close until the opportunity presented itself to catch a break.  They did.  Then they poured it on in the OT, playing the best 5 minutes of hockey I've seen them play this year!  This is a game they would have lost in 03-04.

Buffalo vs. Montreal, Friday 11/25

The first two meetings between these two clubs could have easily gone the other way.  The Habs eeked out two wins though they were generally out-played by the Sabres.  This night we would be without both J.P. Dumont (abdominal... on IR for at least two weeks as of this writing) and co-captain Daniel Briere, breaking a 231 Iron Man streak for him.  The injuries have been piling up for Buffalo with those two out, along with Ryan Miller, Taylor Pyatt (wrist, 3-6 weeks) and Mika Noronen (slight groin).  The AGH would be without Dmitri Kalinin as well as Lindy Ruff made him a healthy scratch for the first time in a long time.  Ruff finally decided to go with just 6 defensemen in this game for the first time this year, I think. 

Points of Interest:

• The Habs don't look like an elite team against the Sabres.  It may be that we match up well against them... speed on speed.  I don't know.  But, in this game they never looked like a team the Sabres are trailing in the standings.
• Biron was enormous in this game.  Simply outstanding.  He loves to play the Canadiens, and it shows.  While the Habs had 41 SoG, a great number of them were not of the highest quality, but, of course, a few were, and Marty was there for the team.  This was something that Biron was going to need to go through.  In no way was this game safely played (like the game against NYI).  It was pedal to the metal, fire-wagon hockey and the better goalie won.
• Brian Campbell is playing like a different guy than the one that has inhabited #51 for the past few seasons.  Confident, fast and shooting with authority.  His Power Play goal was a beaut.  I still don't like him being paired with Fitzie as they get hemmed in their own end too much.  But, his offensive game has never looked better... well, except for when he played for the Ottawa 67's.
• Speaking of playing better.  Both Thomas Vanek and Chris Drury have been sharper in the o-zone.  Drury is burying more of the opportunities his hard work creates and Vanek has been dishing the puck well.
• Connolly had another strong game with 1 and 1.  His back-checking has made the the defensemen's job a lot easier.  His goal late in the third had me seeing flashes of Mike Modano out there.  If he keeps this up we'll have two extremely dangerous and mature lines for the playoffs.
• The defense pair of Tallinder and Lydman were extremely efficient as well.  They look very comfortable together.  Henrik's stick has been especially quick in recent games.  Angling his man off along the boards and stripping him of the puck. 

Say Hello to Our 4th Line Brent Johnson

Link: Buffalo News - Taylor Pyatt cap night dooms Caps.

Buffalo vs. Washington, Thursday 11/17

Well, this was certainly different then the game these two teams played in Rochchacha a few weeks ago.  Taylor Pyatt did his best Todd Bertuzzi impression (minus the head-banging and the snarl) finishing off his 2nd career hat trick with a beauty to finally put a fork in a scrappy, if outmatched, Washington Capitals team.  I don't think I've ever witnessed a game where the Buffalo Sabres scored 8, count 'em 8, goals in a single game.  And while it doesn't quite wash away the bile from the 10-4 drubbing the Sens laid on us, it's certainly better than if they had lost.

Who would have ever thought that our 3rd and 4th lines would be the ones to be so dominant in all three zones?  As if on cue Tim Connolly and Brian Campbell turned in strong performances last night, the former getting a goal and assisting on 2 others and the latter with 2 goals, including the opener 37 seconds in.  Another nice surprise was the amount of jump Adam Mair had.  Someone is getting a seat in the press box when Jay McKee returns and if history is any guide Lindy Ruff will dress an extra defenseman over a 12th forward.  Up until last night it was a toss-up between Mair and Pyatt.  But both played with an intensity that hadn't been there in recent games.  Good to see that fear of not playing can be used to motivate them.... let's hope the same thing can be used on Jochen Hecht and Chris Drury.

Believe it or not, despite giving up 8 goals, Brent Johnson can't be blamed all that much, though he does need to work on his covering his short-side better.  Most of the goals went in short-side.  But, if he didn't stand on his head at times the score could have easily been much worse.  In short, the 8-5 score didn't do justice to the number of good-quality scoring chances the Sabres had last night. 

So, all that said... to the Salient Points of the Tilt:

• Chris Drury seems to have switched bodies with Alexei Zhitnik.... his shot selection is terrible and he's developed a bad habit of missing the net. 
• Ovechkin is The Complete Monster.... how I wish we would have truly tanked things in 2002-03 now.  I like Vanek a lot... but I love Alex O.
• Speaking of Vanek, it's a shame he rang that one shot off the post last night.  It would have been a highlight reeler had it went in.  His overall play has improved mightily in the past couple of weeks.  He's started backchecking, and made a couple of very nice defensive plays.
• I shudder to think what the score would have been had we skated hard for 60 minutes last night.  Putting up 8 playing only 30 minutes of hockey is great... let's do that for 60. Lesson for the evening: Never, ever, give any team the opportunity to feel good about themselves. 
• Martin Biron was excellent in the 3rd period.  If he hadn't been I would have shut down this blog in shame.
• Derek Roy is going to be very hard to send back to Rochester. 
• I didn't think Brendan Witt sucked that bad.... I really didn't.  Wow can he not compete in the new NHL(tm).  It's a good thing he blew a gasket in the 2nd period and picked a fight with every Sabre on the ice at the time, getting himself thrown out... I don't think he could have redeemed himself in any other way.
• A 7-minute power play is not an opportunity to give your goalie breakaway practice.
• Gaustad vs. Morrison.  Goose was unreal.  First he clocks Morrison sending him off-balance and falling to the ice... then he picks him back up by his jersey to continue the abuse.  Morrison for his part did much better after that, finally getting Goose off his skates and ending his impression of Gerry Cooney.
• Good to see the guys stick up for Biron after Ovechkin ran him along the boards.  This was a sequence I really have no problem with.  I hate it when goalies wander around playing the puck out around the faceoff circles (especially Marty... Holy Lack of Puck Skills, Batman!) and think they should get a little love from the forecheckers for their trouble.  I hate jobbing the rulebook like that.  Goalies are protected and they use that to help themselves way too much.  Hasek has raised the wander/set-a-pick/flop like a scocer player routine to an art-form.  I hated it when he was in Buffalo, and I despise it now.  Good scrum, nonetheless.
• Boy Howdy, is Tim Connolly a changed man!  Slowly, but surely, as this season progresses he's becoming more and more a mature, smart hockey player.  I've always liked Timmah! and wanted to see him thrive in the NHL, so it's great to finally see him take his raw talent and apply it in a way that is successful at this level. Last night it was a few little plays that caught my eye; short passes to open people up in the offensive zone (something Chainshot calls Hockey 101) and a little bit of a swagger in his demeanor.  Good stuff.
• Teppo Numminen is still the Repo Man.  He can break up a rush with a poke check like no one else.  Toni Lydman is really good with his stick as well.  The next time the Sabres play, watch the sticks of these two guys, it's a reat thing.

That's all for now.  2 wins in a row for the first time this month and 3 of their last 4.  Better.

Ta,