Gameday - Sabres at Lightning
Jan 29, 2008 NHL
The Sabres’ first game back from the All-Star break is in Tampa against the Lightning. Max and Tim are still on the mend, although Afinogenov is ‘days away’ while Connolly will need a few more practices before Lindy will bring him back. Connolly also has a bone spur in his hip that will require off-season surgery. He can play with it but it’s going to hurt. Michael Ryan should be back after recovering from the eye injury he sustained in the rout against Atlanta. It was a lot worse than I though, he had problems with his sight for a few days, and will be wearing a visor now (possibly permanently). Even with Ryan back, MacArthur and Kaleta are both travelling with the team to Florida.
Mike Harrington at the News has an article on Vanek, detailing the forward’s struggles this season. It does show that Vanek is working hard, and they may have figured out the main problem:
“I look at myself and I blame myself,” Vanek said after the team’s 85-minute practice Monday afternoon in the Amherst Pepsi Center. “I’ve got to be a lot better. I’m trying to be every day in practice, believe me. I’m not trying to slack off. There’s certain areas I need to work on. I’m trying to get better.”
Vanek is notoriously hard on himself and has been upfront about his struggles all season. One thing he needs to do is keep shooting more; he has four shots on goal in three of the last four games and it’s no coincidence he’s totaled a goal and five assists in that span.
The Roy/Vanek/Stafford line was awesome pre-break, so hopefully (me being the official blogosphere Sabres Optimist™) this game will be a continuation of that offensive prowess.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, connolly, Drew Stafford, Hockey, injury, kaleta, lightning, macarthur, Maxim Afinogenov, NHL, roy, ryan, sabres, tampa bay, Thomas Vanek
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