Rebuttal Stuff
Aug 18, 2008 NHL
The Washington Times is doing a series of those ‘30 teams in 30 days’ articles, and the Buffalo Sabres’ number came up. It’s good to get some insight on how others see your favorite teams, but there’s a few things to take issue with (starting the the silly stuff and getting more serious):
- As pointed out in the comments, it’s Connolly. To be fair, I always have to repeat ‘two Ns, two Ls’ to make sure I get it right.
the Sabres were no longer one of the most feared offensive teams in the league
- They WERE still fourth in the league in scoring (whether you like goals per game or total goals for that measure). The scoring is still there, despite the lack of Drury and Briere.
- For a guy who went from being a threat on the third line to being expected to lead the team in scoring, Vanek did OK. Bonus points to the Times writer for not calling it a $10 million year and using the overall cap hit for Vanek.
Things I agree with:
- Roy and Pominville did indeed step it up. I expect great things from them this year.
- Yeah guys, which Max WILL show up? I’m hoping for the one that brings the crowd to their feet and then actually finishes with a goal (or at least an assist for someone else).
- The D-men could be ’sneaky good’.
Beyond that, it could be Paille and not Stafford that steps up, though both playing well would be HUGE. And yes, Miller was a workhorse and showed he could shoulder that load for a time if needed, I’ll be more comfortable with Lalime getting sprinkled in a bit more. We want training camp!
Tags: angry eyebrows, briere, buffalo, connolly, Drew Stafford, drury, Hockey, lalime, Maxim Afinogenov, NHL, paille, pominville, roy, sabres, Thomas Vanek
Thomas Vanek
Jul 31, 2008 NHL
Thanks to valorfaerie at flickr
Sabres.com put up a feature on TV’s stats from this past year, and it got me thinking about him again. I’ve defended him in this space before, and I must’ve inspired him as the next month he ripped it up big time. Here’s a few key things for the sourpusses out there to consider this season:
- Thomas Vanek was credited with 9 game-winning goals, 2 of which were OT winners. Remember that the Sabres only won 39 games last year…so he had the winning tally in nearly 25% of games. Chris Drury had 5 last year, and 9 in his last Sabres season BTW. Briere had 3 last season and 4 in his final season in Buffalo. By the way, check out the sponsor for Danny at Hockey-Reference.
- 19 goals on the power play, behind only Alexander Ovechkin.
- 20 points in February, when the Sabres really needed to make up ground in the standings. Everybody mentions how he struggled early in the year, but you don’t hear much about that.
- 36 goals, in a season when he had that rough start (and the eyes of every fan and media member drilling into him).
- He’s missed only 1 game since making the big show after the lockout. He works in front of the net a lot, and still manages to stay in the mix night after night.
I’ll be accused of fanboyism, or of having a mancrush, but whatever. I like the guy, and I’ll be very happy when he scores 40+ goals this season.
Tags: alexander ovechkin, briere, buffalo, drury, Hockey, hockey-reference, NHL, ovechkin, sabres, Thomas Vanek
Random NHL Thoughts
Apr 14, 2008 NHL
I watched a fair bit of the games last night, except for the part of the Calgary/San Jose game where I fell asleep (stupid late games). The Rangers/Devils game helped me come to a decision on which team I want to win…the Devils, as I don’t ever want Sean Avery to win another game in his life. His little stick waving dance in front of Brodeur was very bush league. I was watching on CBC, and Ron MacLean and Kelly Hrudey pointed out a rule about inciting a penalty where the ref (who did warn Avery) could’ve given him a 10 minute misconduct. You also saw Chris Drury skate over to Avery and say something to him after the warning, maybe to tell him to cut that out? I’d love to know.
Calgary/San Jose was CRAZY. San Jose gets a PP 30 seconds in, and within minutes it’s 3-0 and Kipper is storming off the ice. Curtis Joseph came off the bench and slammed the door…and the momentum shifted back to Calgary after Cory Sarich slammed Patrick Marleau to the ice on a monster hit along the boards. Marleau had already been bloodied once by Dion Phaneuf so he was having a rough night. Brian Campbell was instrumental in the Calgary win, as he didn’t take anybody on the winning goal, just kinda standing between Owen Nolan and Nabokov, being a great screen for the Calgary vet.
Montreal and Boston had quite a goaltending duel, as Carey Price was great, Tim Thomas outdid him though. Martin Biron got his first playoff win to get Philly back into things there, and he is going to be a dad again today, congratulations Marty!
Tags: boston, brodeur, bruins, calgary, campbell, cbc, devils, drury, flames, flyers, hnic, Hockey, joseph, kiprusoff, marleau, Martin Biron, nabokov, new jersey, new york, NHL, nolan, phaneuf, philadelphia, price, rangers, san jose, sarich, Sean Avery, sharks, thomas
Daniel Alfredsson Blindsided by Mark Bell
Apr 4, 2008 NHL
The Ottawa Senators kept pace in their playoff race last night with an 8-2 drubbing of the Maple Leafs, but their chances at winning may have taken a huge (and dirty?) hit. Captain Daniel Alfredsson was hit in the head by Mark Bell is a play very similar to the one made by Neil on Drury (though not quite as late). Alfie crumpled to the ice and tried to crawl off, and took only one more shift. Coach Bryan Murray’s comments were a stark contrast to the ones he made when the shoe was on the other foot last season. They lost Mike Fisher too, it’s really starting to look ugly for the Sens.
Tags: Daniel Alfredsson, drury, Hockey, injury, maple leafs, neil, NHL, ottawa, senators, toronto
Gameday - Sabres at Rangers
Jan 16, 2008 NHL
Sweet, it’s not the Devils or Senators! The Sabres are in New York tonight to face Jagr, Drury and the Rangers. It’s the first meeting against the former Sabres Captain. Drury had this to say about the situation:
It’s almost February now. I’ve moved on. Danny [Briere] has moved on. The Sabres have moved on. And I think that’s how it should be. There’s not much of a story there anymore and no reason for me to bring up the past.
His Rangers are struggling almost as much as the Sabres right now, with Lundqvist looking beatable, and Shanny and Avery potentially out. For Buffalo, Connolly and Afinogenov are definitely still out (Spacek too I believe), Roy could be back but I haven’t heard yet. It’s a 7pm start at MSG.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, drury, Hockey, jagr, lundqvist, Maxim Afinogenov, new york, NHL, rangers, roy connolly, sabres, Sean Avery, shanahan, Spacek
