For their part, the Buffalo Sabres are considered improved to the point where nearly all of the "experts" picked them to be a #3-#6 seed for the playoffs this season. Some picked them to go as far as the Eastern Conference Finals, which doesn't seem to be that far of a reach at all.
Yesterday in their opener versus Anaheim in Helsinki, Finland, the Sabres kicked in the after-burners for a good portion of two periods en route to a 4-1 win.
The team jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than halfway through the first period, answered a Ducks goal in the second with a goal of their own :73 later, grabbed a three-goal lead with a little less than half the second period left and then went into a defensive mode for the remainder of the game. In fact the Sabres did not register a shot in the final period.
It's pretty impressive when a team can go full throttle for the better part of two periods, then switch to shutdown mode for the remainder of the game. Usually the latter will get a team into trouble, but Ryan Miller, his defense and a back-checking group of collapsing forwards did not yield a goal during that stretch.
The Offense and the Afterburners
The forwards on Buffalo are highly reminiscent of the 2006/07 team which Jaromir Jagr, at the time, called a "Ferrari." When they are in attack mode, they swarm the opposition with speed and quickness.
Ville Leino got his first goal as a Sabre due to a swarming forcheck, a pinching d-man and some pretty impressive hand-eye coordination (see video below.)
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| The Sabres 1st-unit power play got off on the right foot scoring two goals on four pp opportunities. Vanek, Pominville, Stafford, Gragnani and Ehrhoff |
Christian Ehrhoff was brought in to, among other things, help with the power play. Marc-Andre Gragnani was inserted into the line-up to, among other things, help with the power play. With those two on the point, Jason Pominville is now working down low. That group, along with Drew Stafford working the wall and Thomas Vanek in front of the net, scored two power play goals as the team went 2/4 with the man advantage.
The New Captain, Pominville, Nets One For "The Core"
Over the last four seasons, there have been a core group of Sabres that management and the coaching staff have put a lot of faith in to win. When Terry Pegula took over he had the opportunity to dismantle, or even tweak, that group. But, just like his retaining both Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff, he did not.
In fact, Pegula, upper management and the coaches went the in the opposite direction, they gave "the core" even more responsibility by awarding them letters.
Pominville, who has worn a letter for years, including the rotating "C" in 2007/08, had that letter permanently sewn to his jersey. Derek Roy, who has also worn a letter for four years, continues as an alternate captain.
Two seasons ago, Paul Gaustad got the "A," and during that time the team made the playoffs. He's back in that role.
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| New Sabres Alternate Captain, Drew Stafford, and his "Stafford-Scowl." |
Vanek was awarded an "A" last season when Roy was lost for the season, he retained that. And Drew Stafford, coming of of a career year and a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract extension, was chosen to be the final alternate.
Of the core as captains, Ruff said, "We talked with, obviously Darcy and management and even Terry was involved, we felt it was the right move for this group that has grown up together (see this from the Rochester Americans website We kept it to that same core, that it's their time."
Pominville, the captain, answered the Ducks lone goal with the third for the Sabres cycling in the circle down low with Vanek providing a screen. He also had a wicked shot stopped the Ducks' Jonas Hiller low, glove-side. "Pommer" continued to do what he's always done--a solid, if unspectacular game through and through. Both he and Vanek flanked rookie Luke Adam, who did not look out of place.
Robyn Regehr Does His Thing
Much will be made about the toughness Regehr brings to the table, and he showed it versus Anaheim by roughing it up with the league's toughest tough-guy, George Parros.
Regehr also did some pounding in the corners as well, which is typical of his game. For the Sabres, they haven't had Western Conference toughness in a top-pairing role and I'm sure that Miller and the rest of the team really appreciate Regehr having their backs.
But one play that really sets the tone for the season on the back-end, one that was mentioned by the media post-game, was Regehr breaking up a two-on-one by the Ducks. It was fundamental, Defense-101 as Regehr played the pass and Miller squared up to the shooter. Such a little thing like that was missing on most occasions last season, and frustrated Miller to the point that he couldn't figure out what he should do. The eventual lack of trust in his young d-men contributed to his less than stellar performance in goal.
Simple plays like that, and with Regehr leading the defense back to basics in their own zone, should contribute to a lower goals against average for the team and allow Miller to challenge more, which is something seen repeatedly, when he's on his game.
What the Opposition Media Said After the Game
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| Fellow Finn and Ducks Legend Teemu Selanne may have the mural, but new Sabres forward and Finland native, Ville Leino, netted a goal and his Sabres' team got the win. |
From Lisa Dillman of the L.A. Times, this headline: Ducks Buffaloed in Helsinki as teams put their best Finns forward. Not much to the article and not surprising considering the game's outcome. She did lead off with this, "The celebratory homecoming for one Finn could not have gone better or more smoothly." The Finn she was referring to was the one without a mural on the wall of the Helsinki arena but of a Finn who happened to play for the Buffalo Sabres--Ville Leino.
From the Orange County Register, writer Jeff Miller lead off an after-game notes article talking about the Ducks' big line of Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan and Ryan Getzlaf getting big minutes yet getting shut out. He had this quote from Coach Randy Carlyle, "I think our big line dominated the puck control down low for good stretches but didn't score, obviously" Carlyle said. "I think the frustration level built in that group."
It's an excellent start to the season for the Buffalo Sabres, but as Ruff has said on many occasions, it's a marathon not a sprint. Except on the ice where the Sabres will be going full-throttle.
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