Ryan Miller Steals One In Montreal

This is not to discount what Jhonas Enroth did in the previous game by holding the fort in a 3-2 win at Pittsburgh either.

Ryan Miller snares one out of the air in his
40-save performance versus the Habs last night.

The Buffalo News' John Vogl didn't mince any words when he said that the Sabres got off to a "putrid start" versus the Habs, and Thomas Vanek put it plainly afterwards, "Millsie stole us this one, there's no other way of putting it."

The Sabres are now 4-1 on the season, ranked 8th in goals against average for the season at 2.00. And it's a tribute to their goaltending tandem.

Enroth has been playing so well in the back-up role that the calls for him to be the #1 goalie have started already, especially in light of the home loss that Buffalo suffered vs. Carolina. The stat-sheet said that Miller was average in that game, yet no one mentions how he kept the team in the game foiling a Eric Staal short-handed breakaway and a 4-on-1 deep into the third period a mere minute and thirty seconds apart.

It's all fodder for blogs and water cooler conversation. Miller is one of the best in the game who will have clunkers throughout the long NHL season. Enroth instills a sense of confidence as the team's back-up the likes of which we haven't seen since Marty Biron was in Buffalo over four years ago. Miller/Enroth could end up being the best goaltending tandem in the league this season. And after years of inadequacy (that's being very kind) from the Sabres back-ups, it's a real good feeling.

Perhaps Paul Hamilton put it best when he was on WGR's Howard Simon Show two days ago (click here, 15:50-mark,) "Why can't people just enjoy having two good goaltenders on your team and use them correctly to help you have a really good season?"

Maybe people really don't know how to enjoy themselves? Maybe they can't enjoy the fact that this is a really good hockey team that has a really good chance of not only making the playoffs, but have the goaltending, defense and overall depth to make a deep run this season.

'Nuff said.


***

One more point.

Last December, Hamilton was on WGR's Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.

The discussion was, in essence, the worth of Paul Gaustad outside his faceoff prowess. The Sabres were struggling to get to .500 hockey at the time and Gaustad's salary/production lead to the topic of faceoffs and the value of winning them.

Schopp said, "I just think it's really, dramatically overstated how important they are, very few goals are scored from the draw, that's a fact...there are a handful of goals a season that come from the faceoff."

Ironically, the next game vs. the  San Jose' Sharks, two Sabres goals were a direct result of a faceoff win, Gaustad being credited with one of them. (here's a link to a full blog on this "conversation.")

Last night, with the Sabres playing "putrid" for the better part of two periods, the Sabres were looking to escape the malaise with a 1-1 tie heading into the third period thanx to Miller and a goal by Jordan Leopold. The Candians were called for icing with six seconds left and this is what happened (pay attention, it happens really fast):





'Nuff said.

***


Last thing, I promise, Vogl also did an article on Jason Pomiville and how he's working on faceoffs. Said Gaustad, ""We want to be a puck-possession team, and it starts with faceoffs."

Here's the link to the full article:  http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/article599244.ece