this is the first of a four-part look at the 40th edition of the buffalo sabres
since darcy regier is a "build-from-the-goal-out" kinda guy and the sabres have the reigning vezina trophy winner, as well as the fact that lindy ruff is a defensive-oriented kinda coach, there's no better place to start with the 40th edition of the buffalo sabres than in goal...
ryan miller: as miller goes, so go the sabres...
could end it right there...could add that miller had the best stats of his career last season--2.22 gaa, .929 sv.%--which lead to his first vezina trophy and the sabres first "post-dominator" vezina...
miller has earned everything he's won thus-far and his progression is worth noting...from his abysmal '03/4, all of three games, and the subsequent emotional/confidence plunge, he worked hard and clawed his way back to the point where he's considered one of the top three goalies in the league...yet, even with him backstopping the back-to-back ecf teams, his mvp/silver medal olympic performance and his vezina trophy last seaon, he's still heckled by some buffalo fans--"mr. softee," "overpaid," "can't win the big one," etc..staunch detractors remain even though miller has proven that he can man the crease no matter what style of team is in front of him, that he can keep his team within striking distance in a game, can hold a lead and, as he proved many times last year, that he can steal a game...the confidence he instills team-wide is unmistakable and with each passing year his confidence seems more and more unshakable...whenever he's in net, the sabres have a good chance of coming out on top
as opposed to...
patrick lalime--it's not that lalime has been horrendous in all his starts, but he's been "beachball horrendous" enough for fans to gasp for air at the mere mention of him in net...to be fair, though, he has played well on numerous occasions, but the team in front of him has let him down...9-21-5 with the sabres over two seasons is enough to make any sabres fan bang their head against the wall at his re-signing...fact is, miller pretty much said he wanted lalime backing him up...(shrugs,) that pretty much seals the deal...if, and it's a big if, lalime can at least hit .500 in 14-16 starts, that would add about 6-8 pts. to the team total and put them in a good postition to aim for a second-straight n.e. division crown
jhonas enroth--goaltenders take years to develop, and it will be no different with enroth...with the reigning vezina winner in net, and a back-up who seems hand-picked by the aforementioned goalie, enroth will continue his develpment in portland where he hopes to improve upon his 2.37gga and .919 sv%...it would be no surprise to see him suit of for a game or two in buffalo, but back to the pirates he'll go to get as much playing-time he can...and that's a good thing
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