nate's last stand?

sabres forward nathan gerbe has been getting his shot to...ummmmm, get shots and bury chances, which is what's expected of the 5'6, 180 lb, former 2008/09 ahl rookie of the year...since he's considered more of a creative offensive threat than a defensive stalwart, his stat-line for the year is cause for concern:  17 games, 0 goals, 3 assists...his +1 rating, on a team that's heavy in the minus-column, is a glimmer of hope, but the sabres have scored one goal or less in four of their past six games and they need scoring...

after shuffling from the press-box to the fourth line for the early part of the season, gerbe was afforded the opportunity to play on the top-line with team-leading producers derek roy and thomas vanek...the results after two games?...zero's including zero shots on goal in 19 minutes of ice-time vs. the ottawa senators on saturday...

yikes...

it's not that anyone really expected gerbe to put up martin st. louis-type numbers, but contributing, even on his rookie pace of 2 goals, 2 assists in 10 games, would be welcome to an offensively challenged sabres team...and it seems as if he's got one last shot vs. the bruins tonight in boston...

lindy ruff on the howard simon show this morning draped his disappointment in coach-speak when it came to answering a question about gerbe, "we've given him a real hard look on that top-line...the opportunity and the ice-time has been there...he's a player who's falling into that category where he's made some real tough decisions and he's taken himself out of some real good offensive situations...he's struggled"...

when asked whether gerbe, a hero in boston for leading boston college to an ncaa championship in 2008 (and garnering the tournament mvp,) will continue on the top-line...ruff said that he doesn't expect any changes saying "initially we'd like to start with a couple of lines intact"...for a team that's struggling to get to .500 after a horrendous start, there's really not much room for error or for a player on the top-line to go o'fer with no shots on goal...

being some of the staunchest supporters of the underdog in sports, buffalonians will be rooting for gerbe to finally break through this season with a goal, or even a significant helper or two...

based upon recent history, it seems that the odds are still stacked against gerbe and it will take a herculean effort for him to even stay in the line-up if he puts up another o'fer...in fact, they may even consider sending him to portland to rebuild his confidence...

i, for one, won't give up on gerbe...he's faced tough odds in the past and overcome them...the leap from the minors and juniors to the nhl is huge and it's a much bigger adjustment for him...the kids got drive, spunk and determination plus loads of hockey-sense...so i wouldn't count him out in the future...but right now, he needs to bring it all together tonight, or it could be back to square one in portland...