That first seven minutes at First Niagara Center was about as ugly as it gets.
You could tell that it was gonna be that way. Lindy Ruff trotted out Luke Adam flanked by Nathan Gerbe and Drew Stafford and for 1:13 seconds they, along with defensemen Tyler Myers and Andrej Sekera represented the Keystone Cops. Although Philly didn't score, they certainly set the tone.
Thirty seconds later Ryan Miller serves up a juicy rebound which Flyer rookie Sean Couturier buries. On the play, Patrick Kaleta loses his man on he back-check, and Brad Boyes is caught cheating a bit up-ice on the weak side leaving Couturier wide open.
OK, fine. It was not a very good way to start. You can trust that vets Paul Gaustad, Cody McCormick and Matt Ellis will at least hold the fort for a shift. Right?
Ummm. Well...no.
Couturier is still on the ice, so is young stud James van Riemsdyk. The duo end up with a two on one a mere seconds later and van Riemsdyk rifles one top-shelf, glove-side. Christian Ehrhoff was back on the play and was in no-man's land as he neither played the shooter or the pass definitively. Miller was stuck back deeper in his net than he shoulda been. Pow! 2-0 Philly.
It doesn't get better over the next five minutes either as the Flyers completely dominate and score their third goal as Scott Hartnell blasts one past Miller with just 6:23 gone in the game.
The damage card? Philadelphia-3, Buffalo-0. Shots on goal, Philadelpia-11, Buffalo-2. Miller out, back-up Jhonas Enroth in.
The Sabres settled down and got back to basics the rest of the game to make it interesting scoring two goals, but, as they say, the damage was done.
Everything was a complete disaster from the get-go. From Ruff's line combinations, to his defense pairings, to his match-ups, to his goalie. Everything imploded.
Probably the best thing to happen to this team. The Flyers blew the fairy dust off of Pegulaville and left it standing there naked and exposed.
I've heard the term "Sabres-hockey" thrown around often. Just what is, "Sabres-hockey?" What defines this team?
Well it's changed over the last 14 years under Ruff. In '99 it was "the hardest working team in hockey." In 2006 it was "the team built for the new NHL."
Since the summer of 2007 this core of players has yet to define itself, except for the second half of last season. That was a hard-working bunch who battled hard to get into the playoffs after an atrocious start. They played solid d, and although they had some trouble finishing, they still made it work. They were relatively young, especially on the back end which was ultimately exposed in their hard-fought playoff loss to the same Flyers.
This new group started off strong looking fast and focused. Wednesday night at the F'N Center they looked like crap for the first seven minutes and failed in their comeback bid.
So now what?
Drop back ten yards and punt and play defense.
It's back to basics and this team from the coach on down should have learned a few things.
Lindy Ruff needs to realize that no matter how much firepower, either perceived or real, he has on the wings, the center position still has holes. And centers drive the team. He can't open things up like he did back in 2006.
As much as he wants his d to pinch and join the rush, they can't. They're giving up way too many odd man rushes with ill-advised pinches. And they're leaving Ryan Miller hung out to dry too much. High-risk, high-reward is a good concept, if you have three lines like they once did, but they don't. They cannot comeback from any deficit at any time like they did in 2006.
Miller is not a Dominic Hasek or Martin Brodeur. When he's in his zone, like many goalies, nothin' will get by him. But more often than not, his positional, butterfly style is more suited to a team concept where the defense limits angles and he's out there challenging shooters.
All-in-all this team needs to get back to basics. Play good, solid defense, collapse, get the puck and move it up ice. Each player must take responsibility for that. No cheating.
It was a humbling game vs. Philly the other night. Lindy Ruff chastised himself for juggling the lines unnecessarily and hopefully he had an epiphany. One of his weaknesses has been line-juggling. Maybe he'll chill on that and allow players to develop chemistry.
Sometimes a humbling experience that leaves you exposed is a good thing.
We'll see what happens.
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