Sabres Win A Shootout
Oct 10, 2008 NHL
From the AP - That's my boy, Vanek!
No, not a high scoring game, but they win in the skills competition against the Montreal Canadiens, something they didn’t do too much in the shootout last year. After Montreal newcomer Robert Lang put the Habs up 1-0, Thomas Vanek tied the game a few minutes later on a very good individual play in front of the net, where he held the puck and let the shot-blocker slide past him. After that, it was all about Miller and Jesus Price, with Buffalo piling on the shots (36 to 28). Neither team could score on the power play, combining to go 0 for 11. Hopefully that means the PK is good and not that the PP is bad. The other big news was Tim Connolly sitting out with continuing back issues, which will bear watching as the season goes forward. For now, both Andrew Peters and Clarke MacArthur are in the lineup. Kotalik (of course) and Drew Stafford both got the puck behind Carey Price in the shootout, on basically the same move, a fake shot/backhand to the top shelf.
Special Recognition tonight goes to Ryan Miller, who made numerous outstanding saves, after letting in the first goal of the game. Dan Paille deserves it too, as he had 2 thunderous hits and several scoring opportunities. Thomas Vanek should be recognized for a particular shift where he made some excellent plays forechecking on the PK. Patrick Kaleta also had some chances and threw his body around as usual, drawing a penalty.
The Sabres are off until Monday, when they travel to face the New York Islanders.
Tags: buffalo, Canadiens, Drew Stafford, Hockey, kaleta, kotalik, lang, macarthur, Montreal, NHL, paille, peters, price, Ryan Miller, sabres, the kaleta, Thomas Vanek
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