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
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
Stanley Cup Playoffs Start Tonight!
Apr 9, 2008 NHL
Dave posted a good breakdown of the matchups over at BfloBlog, but I thought I’d put my two cents in. I pretty much agree with all of his ‘wants’ - I want the Sens to get owned, I like the Flames and Iginla, and the NYR/NJ series should end in a bus accident where both teams are incapacitated. Montreal’s postseason hinges on Carey Price staying hot, if that happens, they’ve got a great shot. It’ll be nice to see some hockey again.
Tags: calgary, Canadiens, devils, flames, Hockey, iginla, Montreal, new jersey, new york, NHL, ottawa, playoffs, price, rangers, senators
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
Gameday - Sabres at Canadiens
Apr 3, 2008 NHL
Jaroslav Spacek will be back in the lineup after missing 10 games tonight, as Buffalo faces off against Montreal for their playoff lives. Dan Paille is banged up but said he would play. Carey Price will be the Montreal netminder for the 7:30pm start. No info on who will be scratched to make room for Jaro.
Working on a What Would Jaro Do? T-shirt. We’ll see if I get something worthwhile out of it. I’ll have some time to work once the baby comes…
Tags: B-Lo Sports, Canadiens, Hockey, Montreal, NHL, paille, price, sabres, Spacek
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: angry eyebrows, B-Lo Sports, campbell, Canadiens, Drew Stafford, hecht, Hockey, injury, macarthur, mair, Maxim Afinogenov, Montreal, NHL, price, sabres, Steve Bernier
Sabres Beat Habs Again, Can You Say Winning Streak?
Nov 24, 2007 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres won yet again over the Montreal Canadiens last night 4-2 for their third straight. Ryan Miller was strong in net yet again, it’s clear he shook off whatever was bothering him earlier in the year and is back in top form. Buffalo got the lead first again when Derek Roy redirected Max’s point shot past Carey Price. Goals were traded in the second with Tim Connolly scoring even strength and Christopher Higgins notching a power play goal. It was the Habs’ only PP marker of the night in six tries, which I’ll take against the best PP in the league. Plekanaec tied it for the Canadiens five minutes in to the third period. Thomas Vanek busted out of his goal scoring slump with the eventual game-winner, slapping home a rebound just outside the blue ice. Max stuck the dagger in with Price on the bench, beating Montreal to the puck behind the net to stave off icing and dishing to Paille for the empty-netter.
Special recognition to the special teams units tonight, 2 for 3 on the power play and I already mentioned the strong PK, though I didn’t mention that one of the penalties killed was a 4 minute minor. Max was a beast tonight, busting in to the Montreal end numerous times and generally causing havoc. Don’t look now, but Vanek and Roy are heating up as well and this may well be looked upon at the end of the season as the turning point.
I guess it was a mite early to press the panic button, eh? The Sabres tripped up to Montreal last night to do it all again at the Bell Centre, though we may get another Thibault sighting since it’s two games in less than 24.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, Canadiens, connolly, higgins, Hockey, Maxim Afinogenov, Montreal, NHL, paille, price, roy, Ryan Miller, sabres, thibault, Thomas Vanek
