Gameday - Sabres at Bruins
Nov 19, 2008 NHL
Buffalo travels to Boston to take on the Bruins tonight at 7pm, and will do so with a lineup that is shaken (not stirred) yet again. Tim Connolly is out again, with an ‘upper body musculoskeletal’ injury, which sounds more interesting than it really is. Kotalik is out as well, so Peters and Kaleta are both in.
The boys really need a win tonight, and it’ll be tough sledding against the Bruins, who are first in the Northeast division, and second overall in the conference. Tim Thomas has been playing very well for them in goal, with a sound defense in front. Buffalo needs to get out in front early and play their SYSTEM™. Make sure you Vote for Teppo before puck drop!
edit: Game is available online at Yahoo if you are out of market and don’t get it normally.
Tags: boston, bruins, buffalo, connolly, Hockey, kaleta, kotalik, NHL, peters, sabres, the kaleta, thomas
SHUTOUT
Nov 2, 2008 NHL
I can’t jinx it now, Ryan Miller stopped 29 shots as the Buffalo Sabres blew past the Ovechkin-less Capitals 5-0. Thomas Vanek stayed hot, scoring the first goal just over a minute into the game. Vanek got a fantastic breakout pass from Andrej Sekera that sent him in behind Mike Green, and Jose Theodore was overmatched. Tim Connolly played a solid first game back, picking up an assist and drawing a penalty to help put Buffalo on a 5 on 3 power play in the first period, leading to a Derek Roy goal off the back of Theodore. It didn’t get any better for the Caps from there, as there were several shifts (including one from the Gaustad/Kaleta/Paille line) where it almost looked as if the Sabres were on the power play, despite no one occupying the box. Pominville rounds out the scoring in the first, Clarke MacArthur gloved down a high ricochet and sent it over to Pominville, who deked Theodore down and out. 3-0 after one.
The second period saw a bit of a rally by the Capitals, getting some power play time (including a 5 on 3) but Miller was great. His team (and the post) helped a bit, with guys like Pominville and Kaleta throwing their bodies in front of shots. Those are situations when Buffalo would normally lose the shutout for Miller, but not this time. Vanek stuck the dagger in with 3 seconds left in the second period, scoring his 11th goal of the year on a breakaway pass from Ales Kotalik (who had just missed doing the same thing for TV 30 seconds before).
The third period saw a sweet give-and-go between Paille and Kaleta for Key Lime’s second goal of the year. What I loved: Lindy Ruff told his team that for the last seven minutes of the game, they were playing for their goaltender. They kept Miller’s shutout intact, and it ends 5-0.
Additional recognition goes to…Patrick Kaleta. Not for his agitation, or the huge hits that sometimes take him out of the play, but he showed some offensive skill tonight. He had that great play on Paille’s goal, but I also noticed some nice passes in the first. Good job, kid. That’s why you’re in the lineup and Peters is in street clothes.
Next game is Monday, 7pm against the Devils in New Jersey. Brodeur left with an elbow injury tonight, so we’ll have to see who the goaltender will be. Obviously a big dropoff from number one to number two there.
Tags: alexander ovechkin, buffalo, capitals, connolly, gaustad, green, Hockey, kaleta, kotalik, macarthur, NHL, paille, pominville, ruff, Ryan Miller, sabres, sekera, the kaleta, theodore, Thomas Vanek, washington
Did Rivet Make That Big Of A Difference?
Oct 31, 2008 NHL
A terrible, terrible effort all around last night. Nobody to move the Lightning players out from in front of the net, bad passing, and general lazy skating. Ruff held a meeting before practice today, according to WGR, and after which it appeared he had juggled the lines. Mike Weber was out, not surprising considering Tallinder was back last night. That also may be explained by the fact that Connolly practiced, centering Pominville and MacArthur. Vanek and Roy were with Kotalik (which has worked for short stretches in the past), Goose had Paille and Kaleta and Mair was with Stafford and Afinogenov. Hecht, Ellis and Peters all practiced but you may have your forward scratches for Saturday right there if Hecht isn’t ready yet.
Speaking of Saturday, Ovechkin is still out for the Caps, back home visiting his ailing Grandfather. Alexander Semin has picked up the scoring so far this year, though, so you can’t discount the Capitals. 7pm start time at HSBC Arena…if they begin the game the way they have for the past few, expect the natives to be restless.
Tags: alexander ovechkin, Alexander Semin, buffalo, connolly, Drew Stafford, ellis, gaustad, hecht, Hockey, kaleta, kotalik, lightning, macarthur, mair, Maxim Afinogenov, NHL, ovechkin, paille, peters, pominville, roy, ruff, sabres, tallinder, tampa bay, the kaleta, Thomas Vanek, weber
Gameday - Sabres at Thrashers
Oct 18, 2008 NHL
Quick post today as I may not be home tonight…first, I am just as much in love with this video as the rest of you:
Buffalo is in Atlanta to square off against the Thrashers, who lost on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils. One interesting side note is the fact that longtime Amerks coach Randy Cunneyworth is an assistant with Atlanta. He was interviewed about the Sabres at the Blueland Blog.
Do you have any tips for Ilya on how to beat Ryan Miller?
Great goal scorers always find ways to score, no matter who they’re facing. I haven’t talked to him yet but I can probably share some tendencies with him. I’m not sure Miller has particular weaknesses, because he’s such a talented young goalie, but there may be tendencies- ways he reacts in certain situations.
We’ll see, Randy. That might make it a VERY good night for Lalime to get his second start, beyond that fact that it’s the 3rd game in 4 nights for the Sabres.
Tags: atlanta, buffalo, Hockey, kotalik, lalime, NHL, Ryan Miller, sabres, Thomas Vanek, thrashers
Vanek And Sabres Beat Rangers
Oct 16, 2008 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres handed the New York Rangers their first loss of the year, winning 3-1 at MSG. Scott Gomez got the blueshirts on the board first with a deflected goal in the first period, but the Rangers couldn’t generate many more chances in the first two periods.
Ales Kotalik had the first Sabre goal early in the second period, when Lundqvist stopped a shot but Al found the puck and slid it in under the pads. It marked the first goal given up on the power play by New York this season. Vanek would give the Sabres the lead for good on another power play midway through the period, on the rebound of a Derek Roy shot. Paul Mara got hit by Patrick Kaleta, and immediately dropped his gloves and started swinging. Mara was injured by a The Kaleta! hit last year, which required facial surgery. Mara was given a game misconduct and a 5 minute major for fighting.
Seconds into the third period, Craig Rivet took a 4 minute double-minor for high-sticking, giving the Rangers a chance on a long power play of their own to tie it up. However, Vanek came through again, with he and Paille streaking into the Rangers zone. Key Lime drove hard to the net, pulling Lundqvist out of position, setting up yet another short-handed goal for Vanek with a nice pass across. The Rangers continued to pepper Miller with shots in the third, but he was up to the task.
Beyond Vanek and Paille, I would like to give some recognition to Teppo Numminen. He was top 5 in ice time, had his third assist and has been overall very steady. So great to see him out there.
Buffalo plays next at home on Friday night, against the Vancouver Canucks at 7:30pm EDT. There are still some seats available to so get in now if you want to see the Sedin twins, Steve Bernier and Roberto Luongo.
Tags: buffalo, gomez, Hockey, kaleta, kotalik, lundqvist, mara, new york, NHL, numminen, paille, rangers, rivet, roy, Ryan Miller, sabres, the kaleta, Thomas Vanek
Gameday - Sabres at Rangers
Oct 15, 2008 NHL
It’s a battle of unbeaten teams as the Buffalo Sabres hop over to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers tonight at 7pm. Buffalo is down another center, as Jochen Hecht had surgery on a broken finger and is out approximately 2 weeks. Clarke MacArthur moves up to center Pominville and Paille, while Mair will have Kotalik and Afinogenov. Matt Ellis will get his first start as the fourth line center.
The Rangers have jumped out to a hot start, 5-0-0 and needing one win to have their best start ever. Both teams are winning in part due to excellent penalty kill performance (Buffalo is 12 for 12 on the kill, New York 21 for 21). We should see Ryan Miller back in the net, and most likely Lundqvist at the other end. This could be a tough one.
Tags: buffalo, hecht, Hockey, injury, kotalik, lundqvist, macarthur, mair, Maxim Afinogenov, new york, NHL, paille, pominville, rangers, sabres
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
Sabres Win In OOOOOOOVERTIME
Sep 28, 2008 NHL
Thanks to the AP.
Ales Kotalik scored a minute into the overtime period to complete the rally, as the Sabres beat the Leafs. Toronto scored 2 power-play goals in the third period, but Buffalo responded with two of their own to tie it with 5 seconds to go (Gaustad!). I missed all of that, or course, after Thomas got tired an wanted to leave after the second period. :) Kids! Oh, and of course, we forgot the camera.
I thought Ryan Miller had a great game. Both he and Pogge (the Leafs rookie) were standing tall, Pogge in particular in the first as Buffalo came out firing. Speaking of firing, Craig Rivet will very quickly become a fan favorite if he continues to fire punches the way he did last night in his scrap with Ryan Hollweg. The RAV line had a good night, Max had assists on all 3 goals, Roy scored the Sabres first goal, in part due to he and Vanek working in tight to the net.
You could tell that Lindy was trying to get a feel for some of the youngsters, especially the ones the team will be relying on this year. It seemed like Sekera was on the ice all night, one second short of 30 minutes of ice time. Part of that might’ve been Mike Weber getting a game misconduct for a cross-check to the back of the head on a Leafs player. Gogulla and and Zagrapan also had a good number of shifts. Tyler Myers played well, he had maybe one play that was bad, and was very solid the rest of the time. Seeing him work up close, he skates VERY well for a guy his size. I like his game.
The Sabres play at home again tonight, against the Minnesota Wild. I’ll probably have the radio on as I watch football tonight.
edit: I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention The Kaleta! and one monster shift in particular, he nailed 3 Leafs players and drew a penalty when someone came over to him and retaliated.
Tags: buffalo, gaustad, gogulla, Hockey, hollweg, kaleta, kotalik, maple leafs, myers, NHL, pogge, rivet, roy, Ryan Miller, sabres, sekera, the kaleta, Thomas Vanek, toronto, weber, zagrapan
Lines
Jul 7, 2008 NHL
Now that things have settled a bit, I thought I’d look at the potential line combinations for this year. Keep in mind I’m not 100% sure who can be sent to Roches…er…Portland to start the season. Anyway, what the lines will most likely look like:
Hecht - Connolly - Pominville
Vanek - Roy - Afinogenov
Paille - Gaustad - Stafford
Peters - Mair - KotalikTallinder - Lydman
Spacek - Rivet
Paetsch - SekeraMiller
Lalime
That 4th line left wing is fluid, but with all the forwards that will still be on the team (barring other deals) I can’t see Kaleta or MacArthur starting the season with the big show. I’d like MacArthur in that spot, though, with Kaleta as the first injury call-up. Heck, I’d have Kaleta up and playing just for his agitation and energy though I know not everyone agrees with that. Any better ideas?
Tags: buffalo, connolly, Drew Stafford, gaustad, hecht, Hockey, kaleta, kotalik, lalime, lines, lydman, macarthur, mair, Maxim Afinogenov, NHL, paetsch, paille, peters, pominville, rivet, roy, Ryan Miller, sabres, sekera, Spacek, tallinder, Thomas Vanek
No Playoffs for the Sabres
Apr 4, 2008 NHL
Buffalo was beaten 3-1 by the Montreal Canadiens last night, thus ending all hopes of sneaking in to the playoffs. The Sabres (as has happened numerous times this year) did not play a complete 60 minute game and it cost them. Ales Kotalik scored the only Sabre goal on the power play with 8 minutes left in the game. Miller was on the bench also for that, a gamble that paid off but they couldn’t get anything before or after. Habs goalie Carey Price was excellent, it really looks like they picked the right guy to put their hopes in.
Buffalo has one more game left to close out the season, facing off against the Boston Bruins. Wonder if we’ll see Thibault or Numminen for that one.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, Canadiens, Hockey, kotalik, Montreal, NHL, numminen, price, Ryan Miller, sabres, thibault
