Gameday - Bruins at Sabres
Nov 26, 2008 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres again play the (not a misprint) Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins tonight at home, with a 7pm start time. The Bruins come in on a 4 game tear, including that 7-4 whoopin’ they put on the Sabres a week ago. According to Mike Harrington at the Buffalo news, Max and Hank are back tonight, but no work yet on who sits. I agree that with the toughness that Boston possesses, you shouldn’t be taking out Peters or Kaleta, so it may be a different skilled forward out (Stafford?). Mancari should stay in, as he’s another big body who can stand up to the beating dealt out by the likes of Milan Lucic.
I’ll be recording the game, not sure if I’ll get to watch live as my wife will be home and I’m not sure what family obligations there will be with the holiday. Also, a reminder that tonight and Friday are both third jersey nights. Happy Thanksgiving, Sabres fans!
aside: I’m upset that Kevin Sylvester (or whoever took his dictation and made the blog post) didn’t use Jaro’s picture next to the bit where he mentioned shooting wide of the net.
Tags: boston, bruins, buffalo, Drew Stafford, Hockey, kaleta, mancari, Maxim Afinogenov, Milan Lucic, NHL, peters, sabres, tallinder, the kaleta, third jersey
Gameday - Flyers at Sabres
Nov 21, 2008 NHL
The Buffalo Sabres host the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at the arena, 7:30pm start time. Buffalo is coming off a horrendous performance against the Bruins, where they took a 4-3 lead into the second period but messed around and lost 7-4. Miller’s been ordinary since his back to back shutouts, but some of the blame falls on the defense who are giving up odd-man rushes and letting guys camp the net like Boy Scouts at a Jamboree. Thomas Vanek, at least, is still playing well as he has 3 goals in the last two games.
Philly comes in hot, 3-0-1 in their last 4 despite having quite an injury list (including Danny Briere). Martin Biron has improved, allowing 6 goal in his last 3 games (he’s the 2-0-1 part of that). Riley Cote is out as well, so there goes one potential dance partner for Peters, but being the Flyers, I’m sure there’s someone else. Here’s hoping for a better performance tonight.
edit: Mark Mancari has been called up from Portland, and according to Mike Harrington, was skating with Paille and Gaustad at practice. Mancari has 11 goals and 14 assists on the big line for the Pirates…we’ll see who’s benched for tonight.
edit again: Harrington just updated the above link with lines, and the bombshell that Hank is on the shelf tonight as well. Paetsch, then?
Tags: briere, buffalo, cote, flyers, Hockey, mancari, Martin Biron, NHL, paetsch, philadelphia, Ryan Miller, sabres, tallinder, Thomas Vanek
Sabres Hold On Against The Blues
Nov 13, 2008 NHL
Buffalo chased Manny Legace with 3 goals in the first five and a half minutes, but had to hold on as the St. Louis Blues rallied but fell short, 4-3. The game started with a bang as Andrew Peters and David Koci dropped the gloves 2 minutes in. It was a marathon effort with both combatants landing hard shots. Hockeyfights.com gave the edge to Koci but the crowd was energized. Twenty seconds later, Adam Mair got one past Legace for the first goal of the night. Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville followed up with goals shortly thereafter, both appearing to be stopped but eventually drifting over the goal line or sneaking out from under Manny’s pads. Wasn’t all his fault, as the defense (including Jay McKee) did a great impression of traffic cones for the first 10 minutes. David Perron scored on Miller later in the period to make it 3-1.
By the second period, it was obvious that both teams were going to play a sloppy game. It seemed like every other pass was missing it’s mark, though some of it was the intense physical play that was moving players away from where they wanted to be. There was a LOT of clutching, grabbing and interference that was not being called, as well. Patrik Berglund scored his fifth goal to bring St. Louis back to within one.
All was made right in Heather B.’s world just a few minutes in to the third period, as Henrik Tallinder ripped a shot in past Chris Mason (the only goal Mason allowed in relief of Legace) which ended up being the eventual game-winner. Hank’s celebration was very animated, I’ll have video up later today. ;) West Seneca native Lee Stempniak had the final goal for the Blues.
Positives from the game: Though the Blues’ intent to pound the Sabres into submission was clear, it didn’t work. Having a three goal lead helped, but Lindy may have been right in starting Peters tonight. Tallinder’s goal is a rarity for him but happened at just the right time.
One troubling note, Tim Connolly (who played very well) left the game after a wicked hit that had him laid out. He had one more powerplay shift after it, but didn’t come out for any more shifts. Max had been nailed to the bench up until that point, possibly due to staying late on his shifts (most over 1:10). Next up is Columbus.
Tags: blues, buffalo, Chris Mason, connolly, David Koci, David Perron, Hockey, mair, Manny Legace, Maxim Afinogenov, mckee, NHL, Patrik Berglund, peters, pominville, Ryan Miller, sabres, st. louis, stempniak, tallinder
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 - Senators at Sabres
Oct 27, 2008 NHL
The Ottawa Senators are in town tonight for a 7pm game against the Buffalo Sabres. Patrick Lalime is getting his 3rd start, and was stellar in the first two. Also, Mike Weber is up from Portland in place of Henrik Tallinder, who is day to day with a deep laceration on his leg (ask Jay McKee about that one). I should actually get to see a whole game tonight. Let’s go!
Tags: buffalo, Hockey, lalime, NHL, ottawa, sabres, senators, tallinder, weber
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
Buffalo Escapes Minnesota With OT Win
Oct 23, 2008 NHL
The Sabres coughed up three straight goals after going up 1-0, but managed a late 3rd period comeback to set them up an overtime win. Drew Stafford scored that first goal, streaking in on net and getting a sweet pass from Derek Roy (who really seems to be picking it up lately). That was the only goal of the first period.
The second period was all Wild, as Benoit Pouliot tied the game halfway through. That was followed five minutes later by Stephane Veilleux’s first of the year. Things got a little nutty for the third period, however. The Wild were on a power play to start the period, and Miller went to send the puck behind his net. A Minnesota player seemed to tap Miller’s goal stick and the puck went into the net. Brent Burns was credited with the goal.
Things were looking rough for the Sabres until four minutes to go in the third. Adam Mair scored his second of the year thanks to some hard work by Maxim Afinogenov, who shot the puck for Mairsy to tip in. Thomas Vanek played the role of hero yet again, though, getting a feed from Andrej Sekera and putting it home to tie things up and send it to OT. Derek Roy ensured the extra session was short, stuffing home the loose change in front of Backstrom (the other one) just 44 seconds in to give Buffalo the win.
Max played well tonight I thought, more good Max than bad Max. He shot the puck, not just skating around with it all the time, which helped create the one goal. Stafford obviously had a good night, scoring for the second straight game. Vanek, of course, was clutch (told you so!). The one guy I’m worried about is Tallinder…again it seemed he just wasn’t getting it done. Still bears watching.
Next game is Saturday night against the Avalanche, 9:00 pm start. I wonder if we have another Lalime sighting? I’d want Miller fresh for the Ottawa game that follows up.
Tags: buffalo, Drew Stafford, Hockey, mair, Maxim Afinogenov, minnesota, NHL, Niklas Backstrom, pouliot, roy, Ryan Miller, sabres, tallinder, Thomas Vanek, veilleux, wild
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
Sabres Win The Weekend
Mar 15, 2008 NHL
This was just what the Sabres’ needed to get right with the playoff race, two regulation wins, and both in resounding fashion. First off was a 7-1 smackdown of the Carolina Hurricanes that was owned by the muckers and grinders. Paille, Mair, Gaustad and The Kaleta! all scored for Buffalo, with Derek Roy and Ales Kotalik rounding it out. Once the Canes realized they couldn’t compete on the scoresheet (which was about 11 minutes in down 3-0) they went dirty, amassing 86 penalty minutes.
The offensive renaissance continued tonight with Buffalo beating the Leafs 6-2 at the ACC. Kotalik, Hecht, Stafford, Pominville, Paille and Tallinder had the goals for Buffalo, who got ahead early in a game where fatigue had to be a factor. The Sabres played 3 call-ups on their blue line, and played them a LOT (Weber 19:01, Sekera 21:22 and Funk 14:42). That had to help Hank and Lydman as they didn’t have to play 30min. There were some great passes from the skill players (check Roy to Kotalik out) and more offense generated by The Kaleta!, as he crashed into Colaiacovo which dislodged the puck for a goal. Tallinder’s goal was a 150 footer, as the Leafs pulled Toskala with more than 4 minutes yet to play.
Buffalo next plays on Wednesday against the Lightning. I almost wish they played sooner, although the wounded could use some more time to get right. I just want this energy and scoring to continue for the rest of the season.
Tags: Carolina, colaiacovo, Drew Stafford, gaustad, hecht, Hockey, Hurricanes, kaleta, kotalik, mair, maple leafs, NHL, paille, pominville, roy, sabres, tallinder, the kaleta, toronto, toskala
