Sabres Beat Penguins For Second Straight Win
Nov 29, 2008 NHL
It was a high-energy affair at HSBC Arena tonight as the Buffalo Sabres get past the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. Drew Stafford and Paul Gaustad had 2 goals each, with Tyler Kennedy scoring one and Sidney Crosby getting the other 2 for the Pens. Buffalo came out hitting and carried that through the entire game, hearkening back to their play in the first half-dozen games of the season. I would like to point out Toni Lydman tonight, who is credited with 6 hits and 7 blocked shots to lead all skaters in both categories. Thomas Vanek did end up playing, and manned up with 19:30 of ice time in all phases.
As for the Penguins, their backup/callup goalie John Curry played as well as you might hope for a guy in only his second NHL game and first start. He robbed a few guys, but was playing with Sabres in front of the net all night. Sounds like what Buffalo was dealing with during their recent skid. Every Penguins rush or chance was covered, and it seemed like Buffalo went hard to the puck all night and worked. A great regulation win for the boys, who turn it around and play again on Saturday against Montreal.
edit: Fixed who they play next as the holiday has me all screwed up. Also, I’d like to give Maxim Afinogenov some love, as he was a beast with the puck tonight, AND he actually had dangerous chances after possessing it. That’s the point-per-game Max we all remember from a few years ago.
Tags: buffalo, crosby, Drew Stafford, gaustad, Hockey, John Curry, kennedy, lydman, Maxim Afinogenov, NHL, penguins, pittsburgh, sabres, sidney crosby, Thomas Vanek
Roster Cleanup
Oct 3, 2008 NHL
Eight more players were sent down to the Portland Pirates, including Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe. Here’s the note from Sabres.com:
Heading to Portland are: forwards Mathieu Darche (pending waivers), Mark Mancari (pending waivers), Nathan Gerbe, Tim Kennedy, Dylan Hunter and Marek Zagrapan; and defensemen Chris Butler and Michael Funk.
That leaves 24 players on the roster, if you assume that Goose starts the year on IR. So there is one more move to be made. John Vogl over at the Buffalo News noted that Connolly was not on the ice today, but there’s time for him to get healthy yet.
Gerbe could probably be playing now, but there just isn’t roster room as of yet. I’m imagining him as the first forward recalled though, so with Timmy C still on the roster there’s a good shot at him seeing more than just a cup of coffee at some point.
Tags: buffalo, butler, connolly, darche, funk, gerbe, Hockey, hunter, kennedy, mancari, NHL, pirates, portland, sabres, zagrapan
Buffalo Sports Recovery Day
The Bills trailed the Rams 14-6 at one point, but came back to win 31-14. After struggling through the first half, the Bills showed their skill at second half adjustments, driving down for a Fred Jackson TD midway through the third quarter. It should’ve been tied, but there was a penalty on a successful 2 point try. Buffalo took the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, with Jabari Greer returning an interception for a TD. A Bills field goal and a Lee Evans TD pass rounded out the scoring. Most troubling was Terrence McGee going down with a sprained MCL. However, as has been the norm for the Bills of the past 2 seasons, the next guy stepped in and played well. In this case, it was Leodis McKelvin, who had a forced fumble when he crushed Dane Looker. The Bills are now 4-0, with the Buzzsaw coming in, a team that just gave up 56 to Favre and the Jets.
Jochen Hecht has the Sabres’ only goal as the Wild beat Buffalo 2-1 in the shootout. Patrick Lalime was solid in the start, stopping 18 of 19 in regulation and OT. By the way, what happened with Gaustad/Paille/Bergeron? I only heard that part on the radio so I’m not sure how bad the hit on Key Lime was, but I’m glad Goose and Rivet are stepping up to protect their teammates. I wish Tim Kennedy had been able to score a shootout winner for the home crowd, but what can you do?
Tags: bills, buffalo, evans, football, gaustad, greer, hecht, Hockey, jackson, kennedy, lalime, looker, mcgee, mckelvin, minnesota, NFL, NHL, paille, Patrice Bergeron, rivet, sabres, wild
Pre-Season Gameday - Wild at Sabres
Sep 28, 2008 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres have their second and last home pre-season game tonight, facing off with the Minnesota Wild. According to Mike Harrington at the Buffalo News, there will be quite a bit of lineup turnover as the teams get some different folks in. Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe are both in, I’m definitely interested to see how well they do. Hecht, Pommers and Paille get in, with the RAV line getting a break.
Tickets are still available (just able to check out a pair of them in the 300s) so if you are on the fence and want to see Gerbe and Kennedy, make it happen!
Tags: buffalo, gerbe, hecht, Hockey, kennedy, minnesota, NHL, paille, pominville, sabres, wild
Sabres Summer Development Camp
Jun 17, 2008 NHL
30 Buffalo Sabres prospects will be on hand for the Summer Development Camp June 25th to July 1st at Niagara University. Nathan Gerbe, Tim Kennedy and Jhonas Enroth will be there among others. I noticed the Sabres.com article mentions Angry Eyebrows will be there as well…perhaps they want him to get a little extra practice after a somewhat disappointing season?
Tim Kennedy Signed
Jun 2, 2008 NHL
Tim Kennedy signed a two year entry-level deal with the Sabres, adding yet another talent to the new potential AHL team, with a shot to make the big show. The Buffalo native was a 6th round pick of the Caps that the Sabres acquired in a draft day trade.
Tags: buffalo, capitals, Hockey, kennedy, NHL, sabres, signing, washington
Sabres Sign Butler
Apr 14, 2008 NHL
Buffalo signed D Chris Butler, a 2005 4th round pick out of the University of Denver, on Sunday. He had 3 goals and 14 assists this season, which was his junior year. He quarterbacked their number one power play, and blocked 110 shots. His college point totals were 20 goals, 46 assists in 115 games. Those are numbers I like.
Buffalo is also looking to sign diminutive BC forward Nathan Gerbe (5th rounder of 2005), who came up HUGE in the Frozen Four, and Tim Kennedy (a 6th round pick), who led the Spartans to the title last year. Guess who’s filling their own AHL team this year?
Tags: B-Lo Sports, butler, gerbe, Hockey, kennedy, NHL, sabres
