Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Yes, the saga continues tonight in Vancouver as the Canucks host the Arizona Coyotes at 10:00pm EST.
From a 'Yote's/Buffalo Sabres perspective, we all know what's at stake. A win by Arizona and it's over. A regulation loss and Howard Simon starts losing hair on his face and ears, security on the Peace Bridge goes orange and fans start gathering fuel for their Ted Nolan effigy.
Just a thought before we move on, were Nolan to get fired at anytime before the end of the season, methinks the team would rally. Whether the rally would be successful or not is another story, but as Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times' Buffalo Hockeybeat pointed out today, he's well thought of by the players as he's managed to keep things upbeat, according to Hoppe, despite the team losing 57 games (including overtime/shootout losses) to date. "Players clearly enjoy playing under Nolan," wrote Hoppe. "They mention the way he communicates, his motivational skills and the freedom he gives them."
Friday, April 10, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Notes to chaw on as the end draws nearer
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
To say it's been a strange season would be like saying Sidney Crosby is a pretty good hockey player. With five days to go in the 2014-15 regular season and the Buffalo Sabres off until Friday, there are many fans who are left to manically watch the scoreboard while squirming in "apocalyptic fear," as WGR's Howard Simon put it yesterday. As if the very essence of their existence and every strand of their being hangs in the balance of last place finish. Just the thought of a 30th place finish having that much weight in life is strange.
A colleague asked me if I'm on twitter, and I said no. Although a lack of a social media presence isn't helpful when it comes to professional exposure, I take in enough psychosis just browsing the comment sections throughout the interweb or listening to the reactions of Buffalo fans as well as personalities on GR. Twitter is in direct contrast the old adage, "Think before you speak," and often times tweets and comments, as well as calling in on talk radio, are end up being totally against a common refrain I'd been taught growing up, "If you can't say something nice, say nothing at all."
To say it's been a strange season would be like saying Sidney Crosby is a pretty good hockey player. With five days to go in the 2014-15 regular season and the Buffalo Sabres off until Friday, there are many fans who are left to manically watch the scoreboard while squirming in "apocalyptic fear," as WGR's Howard Simon put it yesterday. As if the very essence of their existence and every strand of their being hangs in the balance of last place finish. Just the thought of a 30th place finish having that much weight in life is strange.
A colleague asked me if I'm on twitter, and I said no. Although a lack of a social media presence isn't helpful when it comes to professional exposure, I take in enough psychosis just browsing the comment sections throughout the interweb or listening to the reactions of Buffalo fans as well as personalities on GR. Twitter is in direct contrast the old adage, "Think before you speak," and often times tweets and comments, as well as calling in on talk radio, are end up being totally against a common refrain I'd been taught growing up, "If you can't say something nice, say nothing at all."
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Time to finish the job
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
There's not a Sabres fan that I know of that would want the team to go into Fan Appreciation Weekend with the possibility of Arizona finishing behind Buffalo in the standings. The Sabres would need to snare five of a possible six points and the Coyotes would need to lose out for the Sabres to finish 29th. The odds of that happening are slim to none but Buffalo fans know all to well that anything's possible.
As the 2014-15 is coming to a close, fans can't help but feel that there's been enough anguish especially over the course of the last three months or so. Regardless of all that, the job is not finished.
This is a very winnable game for Buffalo versus the Carolina Hurricanes and one that could give fans heartburn. The season series is split 1-1 right now and it should be noted that the Canes are sporting a 11-24-3 road record and are presently on a three-game losing streak. Yet, for their part, the Sabres haven't won consecutive home games vs. Carolina since a five-game streak from 10-20-2006 to 1-17-2009.
There's not a Sabres fan that I know of that would want the team to go into Fan Appreciation Weekend with the possibility of Arizona finishing behind Buffalo in the standings. The Sabres would need to snare five of a possible six points and the Coyotes would need to lose out for the Sabres to finish 29th. The odds of that happening are slim to none but Buffalo fans know all to well that anything's possible.
As the 2014-15 is coming to a close, fans can't help but feel that there's been enough anguish especially over the course of the last three months or so. Regardless of all that, the job is not finished.
This is a very winnable game for Buffalo versus the Carolina Hurricanes and one that could give fans heartburn. The season series is split 1-1 right now and it should be noted that the Canes are sporting a 11-24-3 road record and are presently on a three-game losing streak. Yet, for their part, the Sabres haven't won consecutive home games vs. Carolina since a five-game streak from 10-20-2006 to 1-17-2009.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Of Connor McDavid, Nick Baptiste and the light at the end of the tunnel.
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
When leaving Erie Insurance Arena last night after the Erie Otters dismantled the Sarnia Sting 7-0 in the OHL playoffs, the first thing I did when getting into the car was turn on the radio to catch the final five minutes of the Buffalo/Chicago Blackhawks game. I was aware that the Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and had left the arena knowing that the game was knotted 2-2.
Barely had the car started when I heard the voice of Rick Jeanneret call Marcus Foligno's third period goal that put the Sabres up 3-2. A sharp pang of anxiety quickly rippled through and some nervousness settled in until Hawks captain Jonathan Toews scored two goals in 47 seconds to pull out the victory for Chicago. As a Sabres fan on Interstate 90, I was part of a collective sigh as the final horn sounded.
There was plenty of Sabres regalia for the Otters/Sting game, probably second only to the number of Connor McDavid jerseys in the crowd as plenty of Sabres fans made it down for the game. Next to me was a young couple from Cheektowaga and the next row up behind them was a gentleman named Ted with his two teenaged sons. They were from Buffalo as well.
When leaving Erie Insurance Arena last night after the Erie Otters dismantled the Sarnia Sting 7-0 in the OHL playoffs, the first thing I did when getting into the car was turn on the radio to catch the final five minutes of the Buffalo/Chicago Blackhawks game. I was aware that the Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and had left the arena knowing that the game was knotted 2-2.
Barely had the car started when I heard the voice of Rick Jeanneret call Marcus Foligno's third period goal that put the Sabres up 3-2. A sharp pang of anxiety quickly rippled through and some nervousness settled in until Hawks captain Jonathan Toews scored two goals in 47 seconds to pull out the victory for Chicago. As a Sabres fan on Interstate 90, I was part of a collective sigh as the final horn sounded.
There was plenty of Sabres regalia for the Otters/Sting game, probably second only to the number of Connor McDavid jerseys in the crowd as plenty of Sabres fans made it down for the game. Next to me was a young couple from Cheektowaga and the next row up behind them was a gentleman named Ted with his two teenaged sons. They were from Buffalo as well.
Saturday, April 4, 2015
Ted Nolan, "Agree to disagree"
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Sabres head coach Ted Nolan was on WGR's Howard Simon Show for his weekly appearance. As is par for the course in the Buffalo media these days, the host and co-host spent the majority of the segment trying in many ways to get his thoughts on what's transpired over the course of the last week. Nolan was asked about the home fans cheering the opposition, the players being annoyed by it, the wins vs. Arizona and Toronto, the value of positioning amongst the bottom-dwelling teams and how he's handling it all.
Host Simon and his co-host Jeremy Whiter were sneaky, which is typical, because if one hopes to get an answer, that's the way one must be when asking a question on a touchy subject. And Nolan didn't just fall off the turnip truck. After one question thrown his way, the coach came right out and said, "That's a loaded question."
What we're witnessing, and have been witnessing, throughout this long, tedious and rather exhausting process, is a simple case of people doing their jobs. The boys on the air and in print, in essence, are speaking for many fans (or think they are) and are trying to get some information and/or sound bites. The players on the ice are doing their jobs as they're trying to win and make an impression so that they may continue their careers. Nolan and his staff are doing their jobs in trying to get the best out of each player on an individual basis while GM Tim Murray is keeping in mind the long-term best interests of the franchise.
Add it all up and you have the Sabres tenuous hold on 30th place and a fan-base getting more and more nervous with every point Buffalo gets. But "Tank-nation" needn't fret all that much as the level of competition coming up is sharply greater than what Arizona and Toronto have to offer.
Sabres head coach Ted Nolan was on WGR's Howard Simon Show for his weekly appearance. As is par for the course in the Buffalo media these days, the host and co-host spent the majority of the segment trying in many ways to get his thoughts on what's transpired over the course of the last week. Nolan was asked about the home fans cheering the opposition, the players being annoyed by it, the wins vs. Arizona and Toronto, the value of positioning amongst the bottom-dwelling teams and how he's handling it all.
Host Simon and his co-host Jeremy Whiter were sneaky, which is typical, because if one hopes to get an answer, that's the way one must be when asking a question on a touchy subject. And Nolan didn't just fall off the turnip truck. After one question thrown his way, the coach came right out and said, "That's a loaded question."
What we're witnessing, and have been witnessing, throughout this long, tedious and rather exhausting process, is a simple case of people doing their jobs. The boys on the air and in print, in essence, are speaking for many fans (or think they are) and are trying to get some information and/or sound bites. The players on the ice are doing their jobs as they're trying to win and make an impression so that they may continue their careers. Nolan and his staff are doing their jobs in trying to get the best out of each player on an individual basis while GM Tim Murray is keeping in mind the long-term best interests of the franchise.
Add it all up and you have the Sabres tenuous hold on 30th place and a fan-base getting more and more nervous with every point Buffalo gets. But "Tank-nation" needn't fret all that much as the level of competition coming up is sharply greater than what Arizona and Toronto have to offer.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
2014-15 Team Stats--March
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Before we get to the team stats for March, the Sabres organization signed RIT senior forward Matt Garbowsky to an amateur tryout contract with the Rochester Americans, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's Kevin Oklobzija.
The 5'10" 190 lb. center captained the Tigers to an Atlantic Hockey Conference championship this season and a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they upset #1-seed Minnesota State University-Mankato 2-1. Garbowsky had an assist on RIT's first goal when he took on a hard check along the boards but got the puck to teammate Alexander Kuqali who took it to the front of the net and scored on the backhand. With just under six minutes left in the third he barreled to the front of the net causing an MSU-Mankato defenseman to take out his own goalie. Linemate Josh Mitchell scored the game-winner on the play.
According to Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com/sabres.com, Garbowsky is a "jack of all trades, great on draws and diligent in the defensive zone." Although he was one of the top scorers in the NCAA with 26 goals and 54 points, Atlantic Hockey isn't quite on par with some of the other big-name colleges. Baker says that "teams want to see more high-end play before fully committing" to a pro contract.
The Sabres still have their eyes on one more college player, Boston University goalie, Matt O'Connor. Unlike Garbowsky who had only one other offer, O'Connor has many teams interested in his services. BU will be in the Frozen Four April 9-11. Should they make it to the finals, that game will coincide with the Sabres last game of the season. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and how the Sabres plan to lure him to Buffalo.
Before we get to the team stats for March, the Sabres organization signed RIT senior forward Matt Garbowsky to an amateur tryout contract with the Rochester Americans, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle's Kevin Oklobzija.
The 5'10" 190 lb. center captained the Tigers to an Atlantic Hockey Conference championship this season and a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they upset #1-seed Minnesota State University-Mankato 2-1. Garbowsky had an assist on RIT's first goal when he took on a hard check along the boards but got the puck to teammate Alexander Kuqali who took it to the front of the net and scored on the backhand. With just under six minutes left in the third he barreled to the front of the net causing an MSU-Mankato defenseman to take out his own goalie. Linemate Josh Mitchell scored the game-winner on the play.
According to Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com/sabres.com, Garbowsky is a "jack of all trades, great on draws and diligent in the defensive zone." Although he was one of the top scorers in the NCAA with 26 goals and 54 points, Atlantic Hockey isn't quite on par with some of the other big-name colleges. Baker says that "teams want to see more high-end play before fully committing" to a pro contract.
The Sabres still have their eyes on one more college player, Boston University goalie, Matt O'Connor. Unlike Garbowsky who had only one other offer, O'Connor has many teams interested in his services. BU will be in the Frozen Four April 9-11. Should they make it to the finals, that game will coincide with the Sabres last game of the season. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and how the Sabres plan to lure him to Buffalo.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
2014-15 Individual Stats--March
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Normally we do team stats before individual stats, but with the Sabres finishing up their month yesterday and a game kicking off April on the 1st, individual stats for the month are complete, so we'll begin with them.
Sometimes it takes a while for the older folk to get themselves going. Two of the elder statesman on the Sabres, Brian Gionta (35 yrs. old) and Matt Moulson (31) are really beginning to roll.
Moulson started picking it up last month as he lead the team in assists (7) and and points (9.) He followed that up with another seven assists and 10 more points in the month of march. Joining him in the scoring department was Gionta. The veteran winger had four goals and totaled nine points for the month which represents about a third of his point total for the entire season.
Normally we do team stats before individual stats, but with the Sabres finishing up their month yesterday and a game kicking off April on the 1st, individual stats for the month are complete, so we'll begin with them.
Sometimes it takes a while for the older folk to get themselves going. Two of the elder statesman on the Sabres, Brian Gionta (35 yrs. old) and Matt Moulson (31) are really beginning to roll.
Moulson started picking it up last month as he lead the team in assists (7) and and points (9.) He followed that up with another seven assists and 10 more points in the month of march. Joining him in the scoring department was Gionta. The veteran winger had four goals and totaled nine points for the month which represents about a third of his point total for the entire season.
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