Gameday - Canadiens at Sabres
Feb 29, 2008 NHL
Montreal is in town tonight for a 7:30pm game at HSBC Arena. The Sabres are coming off their first win of the post-Soupy era, with a huge contribution from Steve Bernier. Bernier has fallen in love with Buffalo, and after that game, the feeling is mutual. If he can keep the energy up like that more often than not, he will be a great contributor.
Adam Mair has a knee injury and may sit out tonight. Thankfully, Angry Eyebrows (Stafford) and Max return to the lineup tonight, with Clarke MacArthur as a healthy scratch. Hecht left practice early yesterday and is out again. Montreal is now relying on young goalie Carey Price after trading Huet away.
Taking a look at the standings, Montreal can take over second place in the East (and first in the Northeast) with a win, which the Sabres need the points to get back into a playoff spot after Boston, Philly and the Rangers all won last night. Montreal is a sterner test than Nashville was but at least they most likely will not try to sucker-punch our team.
Tags: afinogenov, angry eyebrows, B-Lo Sports, bernier, campbell, Canadiens, hecht, Hockey, injury, macarthur, mair, Montreal, NHL, price, sabres, stafford
The Kaleta - Penalties Drawn
Feb 28, 2008 NHL
Kevin from Buffalo Roots wondered last night in BflBlog’s open thread about The Kaleta’s penalty drawing prowess. Behind the Net tracks that, and the numbers for Patrick are outstanding. He’s the best of any player with at least 20 games, drawing 5.2 penalties per 60 minutes of play after last night. Coincidental minors are not counted. Now, it takes him 10 games to get them since he only averages 6 minutes a night but you can clearly see he is relishing his role as an agitator.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, behind the net, Hockey, kaleta, NHL, penalties, sabres
Sabres Pounce on Predators 8-4
Feb 27, 2008 NHL
Steve Bernier didn’t take long to make an impression on Buffalo Sabres fans, scoring the first two goals of the game and adding an assist as the Sabres pounded the Preds 8 to 4. Bernier’s hard charging play set the tone for the team, as they played one of their most physical games of the year.
Paille had the third goal of the game shortly into the second period after Miller stopped Scott Nichol on a penalty shot, but then a scary play in front of the Sabres net gave the Preds some life. Marek Zidlicky ripped a point shot square off Ryan Miller’s mask, causing part of it to dislodge and smack into his nose. Newly acquired Predator Jan Hlavac put home the rebound before the play was whistled dead. Jocelyn Thibault let two goals in during his time in relief, but to be fair they were both tough shots. Lydman got down to block the first but then inexplicably got back up and let the shot through, eluding T-bo. The Preds then got several chances at a rebound in front of the net and put it home.
Andrew Peters had the next goal for the Sabres, thanks to serious work behind the net by Mair and Kaleta. The Kaleta made a sweet backhand pass to the slot and Peters put it in like he’s done it way more than the 4 times in his career. Arnott scored a PPG to cut the lead back to one, but Pominville and Roy scored to finish off the second period and put things back out of reach. Legwand for the Preds, and Connolly and Kotalik for the Sabres finished the scoring in the third.
There was no love lost between the teams, thanks to their last game wherein Scott Nichol sucker-punched Spacek and earned a suspension. Nichol ran The Kaleta into the boards early, garnering a penalty (and further attention later on). Roy and Fiddler jousted as well, but the true rough stuff came in the third. Andrew Peters took on Darcy Hordichuk, and Adam Mair fought Jordin Tootoo one second later on the next faceoff.
The big scrum came toward the end of the game, as Kaleta and Fiddler got into it well behind the play. Radulov had an elbowing major in there somewhere too. Scott Nichol came in as the third man in and sucker-punched Kaleta in the back of the head. All bets were off then as Kalinin stepped in to pull Nichol out. Gaustad sought Nichol out on the next faceoff where Nichol was on the ice and slammed him to the ice, challenging for the fight but getting separated before it could happen. It was basically insanity out there, but you have to LOVE the boys standing up for themselves all night and pushing back as much as they were pushed. A very well deserved two points.
Tags: arnott, B-Lo Sports, bernier, connolly, fiddler, fight, gaustad, hlavac, Hockey, hordichuk, kaleta, kotalik, legwand, mair, Miller, NHL, nichol, paille, peters, pominville, roy, sabres, thibault, tootoo, zidlicky
The Cougar Ace
Feb 27, 2008 Media
I may be late to the party here, but you MUST read the amazingly cool story of Titan Salvage from Wired. The story is about the Cougar Ace, bound for the US with nearly 5000 Mazdas on board (at a value of more than $100 million) started listing to port while attempting to purge the ship’s ballast tanks. Titan Salvage was called in to try and rescue the ship and cargo, and they do it their way:
Titan’s business plan hinged on the idea that ships could be saved by human ingenuity, not horsepower, and the company’s unconventional approach worked.
Here’s one of their saves:
In 1992, a freighter sank alongside a dock in Dunkirk, France. Again, the Dutch called for cranes, but Titan won the contract by proposing a novel approach: It hired a naval architect to create a computer model of the ship. The model indicated that the vessel would float again if water was pumped out of the holds in a specific sequence. Titan put the plan into action using a few crates of relatively inexpensive pumps; the ship bobbed to the surface as if by magic.
Just awesome.
Tags: capsized, cougar ace, ship, titan salvage, wired
Gameday - Predators at Sabres
Feb 27, 2008 NHL
The Nashville Predators are the first post-deadline opponent for the Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Arena. The newest Sabre, Steve Bernier, will be in the lineup skating alongside Roy and Vanek. I would very much love for this combo to click, as having an ass-kicker on the ice (hopefully while still being able to help out with the scoring) would make teams think twice about taking cheap shots on them. I do wonder what will happen once all the injured players come back.
Nathan Paetsch gets back in with the absence of Campbell, working alongside Nolan Pratt. Kalinin will get his shot next to Spacek (boy, if their heads ever collide it could crack spacetime). 7pm start time, let’s get back in the playoffs tonight, boys!
Tags: afinogenov, B-Lo Sports, bernier, campbell, Hockey, injury, kalinin, nashville, NHL, paetsch, pratt, predators, roy, sabres, vanek
Ball Pit Upgrade!
Feb 27, 2008 Wacky
Randall Munroe (of xkcd infamy) and his friends have chipped in and quintupled the volume of his ball pit (previously mentioned). The blog entry comes complete with an environmentalist complaining about the ‘wastefulness’ of all the plastic. Awesome!
Tags: ball pit, randall munroe, xkcd
So Long, Soupy…
Feb 27, 2008 NHL
…performed to the tune of Southern Rock anthem ’Hold On Loosely’, preferably. By the way, if any of you musically inclined folks want to take that as a challenge, let me know. Kevin at BfloBlog basically summed up my thoughts on Campbell here.
He knows that there is a team out there willing to shell out $6.5 or $7 million per year for his services. I believe he truly hoped it would be the Buffalo Sabres who would value him as such, but they simply didn’t - nor should they have. So a mutually beneficial arrangement was found that gives the Sabres a young asset in return for an expiring asset.
I’ll miss Campbell, but I’m excited to see what Steve Bernier brings to the team. I’m not calling him ‘Big Bear’ though guys, we need a better nickname. Let’s come up with something after a few games (gotta get to know him).
A Few More Stragglers…
Feb 26, 2008 NHL
Nashville gets F Brandon Bochenski (is this guy traded every year or what?), and gives up the ever popular ‘Future Considerations’ (great on the half-wall, let me tell you).
Anaheim also traded for D Jay Leach for Tampa Bay F Brandon Segal and a 7th round pick. Both players are current minor leaguers.
Tags: anaheim, bochenski, ducks, future considerations, Hockey, leach, lightning, nashville, NHL, predators, segal, tampa bay, trade, trade deadline
Deadline Day - Part 2
Feb 26, 2008 NHL
This day has seen the end of Campbell, but will it soon see the end of any other Sabres?
1:01pm: D Adam Foote to the Avalanche, Jackets get a Conditional pick (and another if Foote resigns?).
1:11pm: F Sergei Fedorov to Washington for Blue Jackets D Theo Ruth.
1:30pm: D Rob Davison goes to the Isles for a Sharks 7th round pick.
1:36pm: Canucks get F Matt Pettinger from the Capitals for F Matt Cooke. Caps are the big movers so far today.
2:45pm: So…is this it then?
2:50pm: D Christian Backman of the Blues to the Rangers for a 4th round pick.
2:51pm: D Hal Gill to the Penguins, Leafs get a 2nd and a 5th.
2:56pm: Here’s the boom: F Marian Hossa and F Pascal Dupuis (great name to say) to the Penguins, with the Thrash getting F Colby Armstrong, F Erik Christensen, F Angelo Esposito and a 1st rounder in return.
Deals can still go through after the deadline, sort of like sending mail that has to be postmarked by a certain time: as long as the deal is at the league office now, you are good.
3:11pm: Islanders send jerkwad F Chris Simon to the Wild for a 6th round pick.
3:20ish: Red Wings get D Brad Stuart for the Kings 2nd and 4th rounders.
3:25pm: Rangers get F Fredrik Sjostrom, G David Leneveu and F Josh Gratton, Coyotes get the other Hossa (Marcel, a forward) and goalie superprospect Al Montoya.
3:26pm: Leafs trade F Chad Kilger to the Panthers for a 3rd rounder.
3:30pm: Two deals by the Ducks, trading for Kings G JS Aubin (Miller’s opponent in those AMP commercials), giving up a 7th round pick, and getting D Marc-Andre Bergeron from the Isles for a 3rd.
Cleaning up the late deals…Washington gets F Alexandre Giroux from the Thrash for F Joe Motzko. Nashville gets F Jan Hlavac from the Lightning for a 7th round pick.
Tags: armstrong, atlanta, avalanche, blue jackets, campbell, colorado, columbus, davison, detroit, fedorov, foote, Hockey, hossa, islanders, kings, los angeles, new york, NHL, penguins, pittsburgh, ruth, sabres, san jose, sharks, simon, stuart, thrashers, trade, trade deadline, wings
Deadline Day
Feb 26, 2008 NHL
Today is the NHL’s Trade Deadline, all deals must be consummated by 3pm Eastern time. Rumors are rampant (you can get most of them at TSN’s TradeCentre ‘08. There have been a few moves already, with Prospal going to the Flyers, and a few other guys getting extended (Comrie, Jackman for example). Sabres fans wait to see if Darcy will make a move with Campbell (he has to, right??), and to see if anyone else goes. Oh, and it sounds like the Sharks are going after Soupy.
10:34am: First move of the day, D Bryce Salvador to the Devils, F Cam Janssen to the Blues. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Salvador to be honest.
11:20am: TOR player Belak to the Panthers for a 5th.
11:27am: Here it is…Campbell to the Sharks (edit: with a 7th rounder?). Sabres get Steve Bernier and a 2008 1st rounder.
11:45am: F Brad Richards and G Johan Holmqvist to Dallas for G Mike Smith, F Jeff Halpern and F Jussi Jokinen.
11:55am: G Huet from the Habs to the Caps for a 2nd rounder.
12:24pm: Avalanche get D Ruslan Salei from the Panthers for D Karlis Skratins and a 3rd.
12:25pm: Canes get F Tuomo Ruutu from the Blackhawks for F Andrew Ladd.
12:36pm: Senators acquire F Martin Lapointe from the busy ‘hawks for an ‘08 6th rounder.
Tags: blues, campbell, comrie, devils, flyers, Hockey, jackman, janssen, new jersey, NHL, philadelphia, sabres, salvador, san jose, sharks, st. louis, trade, trade deadline
