Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad
Nov 30, 2008 NHL
Solid 3 games in 4 nights for the Buffalo Sabres, as they ended the run with a road loss to the Montreal Canadiens. For the most part, though, they showed the same strong effort as they did in the previous two wins, so to lose this one, with the backup goalie in net, isn’t a huge deal to me. Thomas Vanek had two goals, including one on the power play, while stopping all 5 of Montreal’s chances (including some 5 on 3 time). Andrei ‘quicker than the Dow’ Kostitsyn, Steve Begin and Andrei Markov were the goal scorers for Montreal.
Thomas Vanek is back to the form he had early in the year (not that he’s been much of a slouch lately) including some solid defensive plays. Lalime played a very strong game, outright robbing some guys early on, which was great to see. Buffalo next plays Nashville at home, 7pm from the Arena.
Tags: buffalo, Canadiens, Hockey, kostitsyn, lalime, markov, Montreal, NHL, sabres, Steve Begin, Thomas Vanek
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
Gameday - Penguins at Sabres
Nov 28, 2008 NHL
Crosby was head over heels for Thomas Vanek
Gamenight tonight at HSBC Arena, as the Pittsburgh Penguins cruise in to face the Buffalo Sabres at 7:30pm. News from practice today was not good, however, as Thomas Vanek sat out most of it after taking a wicked hit against the Bruins. He came back in the third to finish that game and gave a non-answer about tonight (”I came back and finished the game, so there’s no reason I shouldn’t play tomorrow”). Thanks to John Vogl at the Buffalo News for that. Mike Harrington reports that Paille is feeling better, Patches is still one scratch but the other is not known (although he alludes to the fact that Max did extra on-ice work at practice as a hint that he may sit again).
The Penguins got down 3-0 but Crosby and Malkin helped them storm back to win 5-3 in the last game (against the Isles). Dany Sabourin got pulled (he was starting in place of the injured Marc-Andre Fleury), and some guy named John Curry stoned the Islanders the rest of the way. Curry has the start tonight, against Miller unless I hear different later. A game against the likes of Geno and Bing (as the Pensblog would put it) will be a good (if scary) way to tell if the Sabres defensive play/Miller’s goaltending prowess is back or if the past 2 games were an aberration. Go Sabres!
Tags: buffalo, crosby, Dany Sabourin, fleury, Hockey, John Curry, malkin, Maxim Afinogenov, NHL, paetsch, paille, penguins, pittsburgh, Ryan Miller, sabres, sidney crosby, Thomas Vanek
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
Vote For Teppo - IT HAS BEGUN
Nov 12, 2008 NHL
You can now vote for your NHL All-Stars, at fanballoting.nhl.com. Montreal fans have already been killing it, as all of the Montreal players are up towards the top (even Halak). One note: if you are going to write someone in, capitalization counts (I’m supporting Devin Setoguchi for a write-in as well). Vote early, vote often! If you just want to check the results, go here.
Tags: all-star, allstar, Devin Setoguchi, halak, Hockey, NHL, Thomas Vanek, vote for teppo
Sucktacular Buffalo Sports Weekend
Okay, that sucked. Plain and simple. After the Sabres shuffled through both Friday’s and Saturday’s games, the Bills lose to the stupid Patriots. Some guy named Bryan Little tore up the Sabres in the Thrashers game (Vanek at least got his 12th goal of the season). Tim Connolly was one of the few bright spots last night, getting his first goal in the loss to Boston. The Sabres have until Wednesday to regroup, when St. Louis comes to town for a 7:00 pm start.
The I didn’t get to see the Bills game, but judging by the comments over at the BfloBlog open thread, it’s just as well. McKelvin had a big return to keep help keep them from not even scoring a touchdown. Next week is the Monday Night Football game against Cleveland…maybe a get-right game for them?
Tags: atlanta, bills, blues, boston, bruins, buffalo, connolly, football, Hockey, mckelvin, NFL, NHL, sabres, st. louis, Thomas Vanek, thrashers
