Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
For much of the first period of Buffalo's 3-2 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild, Sabres were out of synch. Passes were in skates, or not even close, especially trying to break out of their own zone and they would leave the first period down 1-0. But the light would click on for them as a fortuitous high-sticking call on Nino Niederreiter put the Sabres on the powerplay for four minutes.
Based upon the last few games, drawing any kind of minor would be cause for a declining of the penalty as the Sabres powerplay has been anything but as they were 1/16 in their last five games including going 1/8 with two, two-man advantages against the Calgary Flames on Thursday. Fortunately for the Sabres, the league does not allow a team to decline the penalty and the Sabres responded.
Assistant coach Dan Lambert, who came down from the pressbox to take over for an injured Dave Barr, made a couple of adjustments to the powerplay including distributing a little bit of the talent. Rookies Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart along with defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen were on the top unit, as usual, but they were joined by Johan Larsson and Cal O'Reilly and it paid dividends.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Things we found out about...
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
the game last night:
--Calgary's in a bad way right now. The Flames are a fast, young team that gave the Buffalo Sabres all kinds of trouble when they met earlier in the season. But last night they were in disarray for long stretches and took penalties (three hooking, two tripping and two interference) indicative of a team that was playing the game as step behind. And, for a team that came into the league ranked 30th in the league on the penalty kill (72.8%,) it made a bad situation even worse as they came up on the wrong end of a 6-3 score.
--It would seem as if Buffalo shook off the west coast road trip blues last night. It's been said time and again, most notably by WGR's Paul Hamilton, that coming home from a trip on the opposite coast is a tough task. The Sabres came back to Buffalo after a three-game trip to California and played a sub-par game against the Edmonton Oilers in "McEichel-I." Last night against Calgary was a different story as they came out skating. And, what a surprise, in a normally docile First Niagara Center, there were actually signs of life emanating from the crowd. I see a correlation, fast skating and aggressive play seems to excite the fan-base.
--When the Sabres skate they can be a pretty entertaining team and they played that way last night. Buffalo was particularly aggressive on penalty kill when they managed two short handed shots on goal in the first period including one on a 2-on-1 break where captain Brian Gionta's shot from in tight forced Flames' goalie Jonas Hiller into a very tough save. The crowd loved that then went bonkers as Marcus Foligno scored a shortie to put the Sabres up 2-1.
--Foligno's goal was on a quick snap that beat Hiller top-shelf. It's amazing what a quick snapper or wrister can do--quick off the stick and "Ping!" off the post and in. Bam! Foligno's goal was followed by one from Calgary's Dougie Hamilton :16 seconds later and then another one for Buffalo from Nicolas Deslauriers all three in a 1:17 span and all quick releases that went off the iron and in.
the game last night:
--Calgary's in a bad way right now. The Flames are a fast, young team that gave the Buffalo Sabres all kinds of trouble when they met earlier in the season. But last night they were in disarray for long stretches and took penalties (three hooking, two tripping and two interference) indicative of a team that was playing the game as step behind. And, for a team that came into the league ranked 30th in the league on the penalty kill (72.8%,) it made a bad situation even worse as they came up on the wrong end of a 6-3 score.
--It would seem as if Buffalo shook off the west coast road trip blues last night. It's been said time and again, most notably by WGR's Paul Hamilton, that coming home from a trip on the opposite coast is a tough task. The Sabres came back to Buffalo after a three-game trip to California and played a sub-par game against the Edmonton Oilers in "McEichel-I." Last night against Calgary was a different story as they came out skating. And, what a surprise, in a normally docile First Niagara Center, there were actually signs of life emanating from the crowd. I see a correlation, fast skating and aggressive play seems to excite the fan-base.
--When the Sabres skate they can be a pretty entertaining team and they played that way last night. Buffalo was particularly aggressive on penalty kill when they managed two short handed shots on goal in the first period including one on a 2-on-1 break where captain Brian Gionta's shot from in tight forced Flames' goalie Jonas Hiller into a very tough save. The crowd loved that then went bonkers as Marcus Foligno scored a shortie to put the Sabres up 2-1.
--Foligno's goal was on a quick snap that beat Hiller top-shelf. It's amazing what a quick snapper or wrister can do--quick off the stick and "Ping!" off the post and in. Bam! Foligno's goal was followed by one from Calgary's Dougie Hamilton :16 seconds later and then another one for Buffalo from Nicolas Deslauriers all three in a 1:17 span and all quick releases that went off the iron and in.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Keep an eye on at least two more Sabres for World Cup roster spots
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey preliminary rosters were announced yesterday with 16 players on each of the eight teams being locked in for the tournament that begins September 17 in Toronto, ON.
Although the tournament, which could run as late as October 1, conflicts with NHL training camps, the rosters are packed with the best that the NHL has to offer, many of whom would be minimally involved in their team's early preseason schedule.
Two Buffalo Sabres players have been selected to represent their respective countries/continents thus far--C, Jack Eichel and D, Rasmus Ristolanen.
Eichel will be on the North American team which is comprised of players under 23 yrs. of age with at target cut-off date of September 1. One only need to look at the crop of NHL rookies this year to know that the Youngstars team will be a formidable foe. Eichel will be joining the likes of fellow 2015 top-pick, phenom Connor McDavid and the No.2 rookie goal-scorer in the Detroit Red Wings', Dylan Larkin. Names like Nathan MacKinnon (COL,) Aaron Ekblad (FLA,) Johnny Gaudreau (CGY,) and Brandon Saad (CBJ) are also a part of the preliminary North American roster.
Ristolainen was tabbed to be a part of Team Finland. The Sabres defenseman is no stranger to the world stage as he scored the golden goal for Finland in overtime at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden. Which fans can watch here, thanks to NHLUniverse:
Not surprisingly, Ristolainen was named the tournament's best defenseman.
Although the tournament, which could run as late as October 1, conflicts with NHL training camps, the rosters are packed with the best that the NHL has to offer, many of whom would be minimally involved in their team's early preseason schedule.
Two Buffalo Sabres players have been selected to represent their respective countries/continents thus far--C, Jack Eichel and D, Rasmus Ristolanen.
Eichel will be on the North American team which is comprised of players under 23 yrs. of age with at target cut-off date of September 1. One only need to look at the crop of NHL rookies this year to know that the Youngstars team will be a formidable foe. Eichel will be joining the likes of fellow 2015 top-pick, phenom Connor McDavid and the No.2 rookie goal-scorer in the Detroit Red Wings', Dylan Larkin. Names like Nathan MacKinnon (COL,) Aaron Ekblad (FLA,) Johnny Gaudreau (CGY,) and Brandon Saad (CBJ) are also a part of the preliminary North American roster.
Ristolainen was tabbed to be a part of Team Finland. The Sabres defenseman is no stranger to the world stage as he scored the golden goal for Finland in overtime at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championships in Malmo, Sweden. Which fans can watch here, thanks to NHLUniverse:
Not surprisingly, Ristolainen was named the tournament's best defenseman.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
NBC drops the ball as Connor McDavid steals the show in Buffalo
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
NBC had the opportunity to showcase the future of the NHL last night with the first-ever "McEichel Matchup" as Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visited Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres. It was the first time that the top two picks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft faced off against each other and it was slated for a national U.S. audience on the NBC Sports Network.
But the network decided to bail on that game and show a matchup of a known rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. It didn't matter that hockey fans have seen more than their fair share of Sidney Crosby versus Alexander Ovechkin over the course of the last 10 seasons, nor did it matter that McDavid looks as if he'll surpass both of them in the annals of NHL history. Although it might be jumping the gun a bit, McDavid is the real deal.
Perhaps WGR Sabres' beat writer Paul Hamilton put it best when he said that McDavid could be the best prospect since Mario Lemieux while Eichel could be the best since Crosby.
For all but :22 seconds into the first when McDavid scored the first goal of the game and the ten or so seconds prior to McDavid's overtime winner 3:48 into the overtime session, NBC seemed to have made the right call.
NBC had the opportunity to showcase the future of the NHL last night with the first-ever "McEichel Matchup" as Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visited Jack Eichel and the Buffalo Sabres. It was the first time that the top two picks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft faced off against each other and it was slated for a national U.S. audience on the NBC Sports Network.
But the network decided to bail on that game and show a matchup of a known rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. It didn't matter that hockey fans have seen more than their fair share of Sidney Crosby versus Alexander Ovechkin over the course of the last 10 seasons, nor did it matter that McDavid looks as if he'll surpass both of them in the annals of NHL history. Although it might be jumping the gun a bit, McDavid is the real deal.
Perhaps WGR Sabres' beat writer Paul Hamilton put it best when he said that McDavid could be the best prospect since Mario Lemieux while Eichel could be the best since Crosby.
For all but :22 seconds into the first when McDavid scored the first goal of the game and the ten or so seconds prior to McDavid's overtime winner 3:48 into the overtime session, NBC seemed to have made the right call.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
2015-16 Team Stats--February
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Because of the amount of information that has been rolling through the consciousness of every hockey fan attached to their NHL teams and affiliates, were going to keep this team stats page as brief as possible.
The Buffalo Sabres finished the month of February in 26th place and proceeded to move what players they could at the NHL Trade Deadline yesterday. All-in-all the team is playing well despite their 25-31-7 record and yesterday at the podium GM Tim Murray mentioned that after a reporter prepped a question by saying "the improvement in areas of [the Sabres] has been pretty clear this year."
After the reporter finished, Murray took the opportunity to lay out just how he felt about the team's progression.
"I'm actually happy you said that because I was hoping I wasn't the only one that thought we improved in many different areas other than the standings," began Murray. "I know where we are in the standings. It's frustrating and it pisses me off, but I think we've improved greatly."
Because of the amount of information that has been rolling through the consciousness of every hockey fan attached to their NHL teams and affiliates, were going to keep this team stats page as brief as possible.
The Buffalo Sabres finished the month of February in 26th place and proceeded to move what players they could at the NHL Trade Deadline yesterday. All-in-all the team is playing well despite their 25-31-7 record and yesterday at the podium GM Tim Murray mentioned that after a reporter prepped a question by saying "the improvement in areas of [the Sabres] has been pretty clear this year."
After the reporter finished, Murray took the opportunity to lay out just how he felt about the team's progression.
"I'm actually happy you said that because I was hoping I wasn't the only one that thought we improved in many different areas other than the standings," began Murray. "I know where we are in the standings. It's frustrating and it pisses me off, but I think we've improved greatly."
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Tim Murray makes one move during a weak trade deadline, eyes the off season
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
The Buffalo Sabres head into tonight's matchup with the Edmonton Oilers minus two players who were with the club when the season began--D, Mike Weber and F, Jamie McGinn. Sabres GM Tim Murray started out yesterday's post-trade deadline press conference by thanking both for their services in Buffalo.
"First I'd really like to thank Mike [Weber] and Jamie [McGinn] for their contributions here," said Murray to the gathered press. "Obviously Mike [was here in Buffalo] a long time, [was] a very good Sabre on and off the ice. Very good to me [during] my time here even down the stretch when he knew that he could be leaving town.
"I just spoke to Jamie and he was very gracious too. I want to thank both of those guys. They're character guys that more often than not you're looking for versus trading away but that's the position we're in."
The Buffalo Sabres head into tonight's matchup with the Edmonton Oilers minus two players who were with the club when the season began--D, Mike Weber and F, Jamie McGinn. Sabres GM Tim Murray started out yesterday's post-trade deadline press conference by thanking both for their services in Buffalo.
"First I'd really like to thank Mike [Weber] and Jamie [McGinn] for their contributions here," said Murray to the gathered press. "Obviously Mike [was here in Buffalo] a long time, [was] a very good Sabre on and off the ice. Very good to me [during] my time here even down the stretch when he knew that he could be leaving town.
"I just spoke to Jamie and he was very gracious too. I want to thank both of those guys. They're character guys that more often than not you're looking for versus trading away but that's the position we're in."
2015-16 Individual Stats--February
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Although the attention of the hockey world is focused upon today's 3 P.M. trade deadline, there's usually some time before the West Coast offices wake up and things really heat up in the trade market.
The Sabres played some hockey last month to the tune of an up and down 5-5-3 record. Individually there were the usual suspects hitting the scoresheet with a trade as well as a significant injury thrown in for good measure. The familiar names leading the point procession are there, but how they arrived at them is interesting to note.
For instance, as usual, Ryan O'Reilly always appears in the points-leader category and it's no different this time. But what's different is how the team leader in points got there. For the month of February O'Reilly lead the team in points with nine and all of them came from assists with five of them being primary, which lead the team also. No goals for O'Reilly, who lead the team in that category up until this month was rather unusual and it will be a while until he can rectify that situation as he'll be out at least another week or two with a lower body injury.
Carrying the weight in the goal-scoring department was Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart. Kane in particular is really starting to heat up as his nine goals in the last two months coupled with O'Reilly's drought has the two tied for second on the team with 17, one behind Reinhart.
Although the attention of the hockey world is focused upon today's 3 P.M. trade deadline, there's usually some time before the West Coast offices wake up and things really heat up in the trade market.
The Sabres played some hockey last month to the tune of an up and down 5-5-3 record. Individually there were the usual suspects hitting the scoresheet with a trade as well as a significant injury thrown in for good measure. The familiar names leading the point procession are there, but how they arrived at them is interesting to note.
For instance, as usual, Ryan O'Reilly always appears in the points-leader category and it's no different this time. But what's different is how the team leader in points got there. For the month of February O'Reilly lead the team in points with nine and all of them came from assists with five of them being primary, which lead the team also. No goals for O'Reilly, who lead the team in that category up until this month was rather unusual and it will be a while until he can rectify that situation as he'll be out at least another week or two with a lower body injury.
Carrying the weight in the goal-scoring department was Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart. Kane in particular is really starting to heat up as his nine goals in the last two months coupled with O'Reilly's drought has the two tied for second on the team with 17, one behind Reinhart.
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