TWO STRAIGHT SHUTOUTS
Nov 3, 2008 NHL
I’m going to keep up these titles as long as Ryan Miller keeps throwing down shutouts. The Buffalo Sabres blazed a fiery trail through the Devils in the first period, but it was strong goaltending and a fantastic PK that ultimately won them the game, 2-0. Kevin Weekes played out of his mind for the first 19 minutes as Buffalo took shot after shot, until Jason Pominville finally roofed one on the power play on a tic-tac-toe play. Buffalo had 20 shots to New Jersey’s 3.
The second period had the Devils rebound a bit, though an assist does go to the zebras for putting Wyshynski’s team on the power play a few times. ;) Miller and the defensemen were equal to the task however, and the Sabres survived being outshot 12-5 in the second with the score still 1-0.
The parade to the penalty box continued for the Sabres in the third, but they managed to extend the league on a booming shot from Andrej Sekera that Patrick Kaleta redirected at the net. There were some tense moments at the end, but Ryan Miller clamped it down and got his second consecutive shutout, the first time he has done that in the NHL.
The Gaustad-Kaleta-Paille line deserves some praise, as they carried the physical play all night. Patrick Kaleta, in particular, continued to show that he can contribute even when he’s not pissing someone off to the point that they try and fight him or kick him while he’s down. Rivet was a surprise addition to the lineup, and looked very good in playing just under 17 minutes.
For negatives, well, Max continues to frustrate. He just doesn’t have the finish he had from two years ago…he skates into the zone, past defenders, behind the net, and just backhands a weak shot in the general vicinity of the goaltender. He and Stafford both appeared to ride the pine toward the end of the game. (edit: Stafford seemed to be taking a regular (albeit infrequent) shift, but Max only had 2 in the third) Also, the official attendance according to NHL.com was 10,567. What the hell NJ.
The next game is Friday, as the Thrashers come to Buffalo for a 7:30pm game. They play at the Bruins the next night, so look for Lalime to get one of these games (I’d keep Miller in for Friday myself, let’s see how far that shutout streak can roll).
Tags: buffalo, devils, Hockey, kaleta, new jersey, NHL, pominville, Ryan Miller, sabres, sekera, the kaleta, weekes, wyshynski
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
NOBODY PANIC
The Bills lost to the Miami Dolphins yesterday, but to hear some people talk about it, you’d think the season were over after that game. I rechecked the standings just to be safe, but yep, that’s two losses now in 7 games. I realize things didn’t look great today, but they seldom do for every game of the year. Remember the Giants last year…early in the season they wanted Coughlin’s head on a platter and the other Manning out on a rail. Now there are people who think Eli is better than Peyton.
Switching to hockey, yesterday, every team in the league played. I only caught the OT and shootout of the Sabres loss to the Avalanche, but it was still a solid game. Tallinder suffered a bad cut on his leg, however, and his status for the Monday night game against the Sens is in question. Ross McKeon at Yahoo! Sports has some stats from Saturday’s games, everything from attendance (go away Islanders) to this bit on Andrej Sekera:
The biggest minute-muncher on Saturday was Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom with 32:01 of ice time. Buffalo’s young defenseman Andrej Sekera was the only other skater in the league to log more than 30 minutes (30:44).
In part due to Hank’s injury, but still. They trust him, and it (for the most part) has paid off. I’ll have an abbreviated Gameday thread up tomorrow, until then, get well Sabres!
Tags: avalanche, bills, buffalo, colorado, dolphins, football, Hockey, injury, manning, miami, NFL, NHL, sabres, sekera, tallinder
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
Top 10 Sabres Goals from 07-08
Jul 10, 2008 NHL
Sabres.com has the Top 10 Sabres goals from last year featured right now. There are some fun ones, including MacArthur’s sick one-timer, a reminder of why we have kept Max for so long, and a game-winner from Andrej Sekera. Just hearing Rick’s excitable calls makes me want to go to a game TOMORROW!
Tags: buffalo, Hockey, macarthur, Maxim Afinogenov, NHL, sabres, sekera
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
Day Two: Bye-Bye Orpik
Jul 2, 2008 NHL
Orpik the elder has signed back with the Penguins for the surprisingly reasonable price of $3.75 million a year for 6 years. Sabres GM Darcy Regier spoke about the situation today:
“We are looking both short-term needs and we’re looking long-term because we’ve got a number of players that we want to sign and we want to keep here,” he said. “Players that are big contributors now to our hockey club and there are also players down the road… It’s a combination of the short-term picture, the immediate needs and then the long-term. We want to make sure we address both sides of that.
“I remain hopeful.”
This may not be right, but I read that as “We like the potential of the guys in our system more than we like Brooks Orpik for 5+ years.”
By the way, the most disturbing thing from that article is the fact that Sekera goes by ‘Reggie’. WTF?
Tags: buffalo, Hockey, NHL, orpik, penguins, pittsburgh, sabres, sekera, signing
Orpik: Forget I said anything…
Jul 1, 2008 NHL
From John Vogl at the Buffalo News:
I just got off the phone with Darcy Regier. The Sabres will not be in the final running for the services of Brooks Orpik.
“We did have conversations,” Regier told me. “I don’t expect to be a part of that going forward.”
Uh, I guess that leaves a trade still out there…or seeing how Weber/Sekera/Paetsch/Numminen maybe can fill the final two spots on the blueline.
Tags: buffalo, Hockey, NHL, numminen, orpik, paetsch, sabres, sekera, weber
Sabres and NHL News
Jun 3, 2008 NHL
Most of this was heard on WGR on the way home.
Buffalo will NOT be offering Dmitri Kalinin a contract this offseason, according to Darcy Regier. Not too surprising, considering the minutes Weber and Sekera were getting.
The announcement for the new AHL affiliate will be coming within “days”, and is thought to be Portland (last I heard).
Barry Melrose may be taking John Tortorella’s coaching job with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Who will ESPN roll out every few nights during the NHL regular season now?
Tags: buffalo, Hockey, kalinin, lightning, melrose, NHL, sabres, sekera, tampa bay, tortorella, weber
Sekera Staves Off Elimination
Mar 31, 2008 NHL
For at least one more day. Buffalo got the win in OT, but the loser point for Boston takes some of the margin for error that the Sabres have. They HAVE to win all their games, and hope that the teams ahead of them start losing in regulation. For the full playoff scenario, go here.
I was a little disappointed, I didn’t get to see the whole game, but I was really expecting something that more resembled the Calgary/Vancouver game of last night. Those teams were so amped up that there was rough stuff after every whistle it seemed like (and the litany of roughing penalties and 10 minute misconducts bears that out). I wish I hadn’t felt so sick and could’ve stayed up to see that whole game.
Tags: B-Lo Sports, boston, bruins, calgary, canucks, flames, Hockey, NHL, sabres, sekera, vancouver
