Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-14-2017
Although a four-game points streak won't strike fear into the hearts of teams like...make that any team...it's a positive step for the Buffalo Sabres and head coach Phil Housley isn't about to change that formula. Reports from the rink have Housley sticking with the same lineup he used in Tuesday's win vs. Ottawa as Buffalo hits the ice tonight in Philadelphia for a tilt tonight against the Flyers.
The Sabres finished a three-game road-trip on Sunday and came away with four of a possible six points while going 1-0-2. Had they been able to hold on against the Chicago Blackhawks they could have added a point and conversely, had they not been able to pull off a third-period comeback in St. Louis to overcome a two-goal deficit, they could have lost that one in regulation and lost a point. Buffalo started out their trip with a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
The Sabres came home from their trip to face a reeling Ottawa Senators team that was 1-9-2 in their last 12 games, a streak of futility that coincided with their return to North America. Ottawa played in and won two games in Stockholm, Sweden vs. the Colorado Avalanche as part of the NHL's, Global Series. The Senator's stop in Buffalo was the final leg of a seven-game/15-day road trip and the Sabres lead 3-0 heading into the third period and hung on to win 3-2.
The lineup for that game will be the same as they face the Flyers:
Pouliot, Eichel, Pominville
Girgensons, O'Reilly, Okposo
Kane, Rodrigues, Reinhart
Nolan, Larsson, Wilson
Scandella-Ristolainen
McCabe-Bogosian
Gorges-Falk
Robin Lehner looks to be in net for the Sabres tonight. According to Sabres PR, Lehner is 2-0-2 while stopping 149 of 159 shots (.937 Sv%.)
The Sabres are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Flyers, 3-6-1 on the road.
Buffalo has not had a point-streak longer than four games since 2012.
*****
The Sabres were a part of the first-ever Winter Classic outdoor game on January 1, 2008. Former team president Larry Quinn came up with the idea and over 71,000 hockey fans poured into what was then Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, NY to watch hockey get back to it's outdoor roots. Although it wasn't the first outdoor game in modern NHL history, snow fell lightly giving the stadium a snow-globe effect and the Pittsburgh Penguins went on to win the game 3-2 in a shootout over the Sabres.
The success of that game has made the Winter Classic an annual event and has spawned more annual outdoor games.
Buffalo is back in the annual event to mark the 10th anniversary of it's inception. Which they should be. And there's nothing wrong with holding it in The Big Apple either, as the Sabres will take on the NY Rangers at Citi Field, home of baseball's NY Mets. Having Buffalo playing on the road as the "home team" is rather ridiculous, but it should be a good matchup.
NHL cameras have been following both the Sabres and the Rangers as they film for a weekly series called The Road to the Winter Classic with the cameras rolling nearly two weeks ago. Unfortunately for the Sabres, they put up back-to-back clunkers in a home-and-home vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins when cameras started rolling. How much of that footage will make it in and how it will be used is yet to be determined and they may not use any of it unless the Sabres make a remarkable turnaround and get themselves on a roll heading into the Classic.
*in a Classic, old-school announcers voice*
"When the Buffalo Sabres lost back-to-back games against the Pittsburgh Penguins (show long faces of Sabres fans) and left KeyBank Center Ice to a chorus of boos (show fans booing,) not many thought they'd be able to summon the courage to bounce back from those infamous two games..."
After that inauspicious start, the Sabres seem to have come to life and have at least given the NHL cameras a couple of victories to work in as well as some highlights. It will be center-stage in The Big Apple and the last thing they want to do is embarrass themselves. The best way to assure they won't do that is to play their assses off come hell or highwater. Which is what they've been doing for the most part, the past four games.
The cameras have been rolling and the first installment of The Road to the Winter Classic aired last night.
It's showtime.
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Thursday, December 14, 2017
More depth helping Sabres pull out of a deep rut
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-13-2017
After pulling off a 3-2 win last night against the Ottawa Senators, the Buffalo Sabres have now picked up points in four straight games (2-0-2.) It's the first time this season that they've done so. Granted, the Sabres beat a Senators team that was on the last leg of a 7-game/15-day road trip and were 1-9-2 since returning from Stockholm, Sweden back in early November. But it was a solid two points for Buffalo after taking four of six points on their own road trip.
Although this may be nothing more than a last place horse closing the gap on a group that's far off the pace in the conference, that they managed to put together a four-game point-streak for the first time this season is a sign that there might be some light at the end of the tunnel.
Last season the Sabres had a three-game point-streak five times and a four-game point-streak twice. From December 13-20, 2016 Buffalo secured 6 points in four games (2-0-2) and from January 3-10, 2017 they went 3-0-1 for seven points. In between, however, was a bad 1-4-0 stretch against Eastern Conference teams that was punctuated by back-to-back losses to the Boston Bruins to finish the calendar year.
Up next for the Sabres is a Thursday night game at Philadelphia against the Flyers as they try to extend their point-streak to five games. Buffalo hasn't gone on a point streak of five games or more since a nine-game streak (7-0-2) from March 3-27, 2012.
Sabres bench boss Phil Housley was on WGR550 this morning talking about an influx of players into the lineup and how that helped the team through increased internal competition. Players like Evan Rodrigues and Scott Wilson, although not top-six players, have contributed with their play and have also caused their teammates to step up their game for fear of being in the press box. "When you add pieces like that and guys that are contributing," said Housley to host Jeremy White, "it puts a little pressure on guys to get up to pace."
Housley was asked specifically about defenseman Zach Bogosian and what he brought to the team upon return from injury. The coach pointed out that in the preseason "you saw the type of player he can be, he's a powerful skater" and that now his defense-corps is falling into place. Bogosian missed the first 25 games of the seaso because of injury and Houlsey said that an argument could be made for him as the team's best defensemen over the six games he's been back.
"Last night [Bogosian] had a really good game just with his poise with the puck," said Housley. "It puts guys in the right seat on the back end. We've got a really good top-four with some good, solid depth in the five, six, seven, eight position with guys in Rochester and guys chomping at the bit to get into the lineup."
Rodrigues, Wilson and Bogosian were all adds to the lineup that pushed depth players back to the AHL. Forwards Seth Griffith and Kyle Criscuolo spent 18 and 17 games with the Sabres, respectively, before the acquisition of Wilson and the call-up of Rodrigues. They were sent them back to the AHL while Matt Moulson was waived. Defenseman Matt Tennyson, who was injured but was back skating, was sent pack to Rochester as well upon Bogosian's return.
The top-four Housley was talking about consists of Rasmus Ristolainen/Marco Scandella up top and Bogosian/Jake McCabe on the second pairing.
Ristolainen has been a Sabres' workhorse on defense for the last two seasons and it carried into this season with the 23 yr. old once again near the top of the NHL average time on ice. In the three games prior to last night, Ristolainen logged over 30 minutes in two consecutive games and came within 43 seconds of hitting the 30-minute mark in the third game, which would have been a franchise record three, 30-plus minute games in a row.
Last night Ristolainen logged 22:31 minutes of ice-time, which was tops on the team while three other defensemen logged 20 minutes or more. The last time the Sabres had four defensemen log 20 or more minutes in a game was on November 14 in a 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Buffalo was without Ristolainen that game and lost Taylor Fedun after he logged just 10:22 of ice-time. The only other time it happened this year was against the San Jose' Sharks in a 3-2 losing effort with Zach Redmond skating just under 12 minutes and rookie Victor Antipin logging 11:14 minutes of ice-time.
Josh Gorges and Justin Falk were the third-pairing last night and logged 15:40 and 15:33 minutes of ice-time, respectively.
The Sabres have been stuck in the muck all season and have been trying to dig themselves out. Points in four straight games helps and having a lineup that's close to what they expected to have at the start of the season helps even more with most everyone in their proper places. Buffalo has four winnable games in front of them as they play Philadelphia twice with Carolina and Boston sandwiched between the Flyers' games. They're playing better overall hockey, are on a four-game point streak and there are some good things happening for the them, which includes some very solid goaltending by Robin Lehner.
Where it leads from here is, as usual, up in the air as you just don't know, but it's nice to see them moving in the right direction.
After pulling off a 3-2 win last night against the Ottawa Senators, the Buffalo Sabres have now picked up points in four straight games (2-0-2.) It's the first time this season that they've done so. Granted, the Sabres beat a Senators team that was on the last leg of a 7-game/15-day road trip and were 1-9-2 since returning from Stockholm, Sweden back in early November. But it was a solid two points for Buffalo after taking four of six points on their own road trip.
Although this may be nothing more than a last place horse closing the gap on a group that's far off the pace in the conference, that they managed to put together a four-game point-streak for the first time this season is a sign that there might be some light at the end of the tunnel.
Last season the Sabres had a three-game point-streak five times and a four-game point-streak twice. From December 13-20, 2016 Buffalo secured 6 points in four games (2-0-2) and from January 3-10, 2017 they went 3-0-1 for seven points. In between, however, was a bad 1-4-0 stretch against Eastern Conference teams that was punctuated by back-to-back losses to the Boston Bruins to finish the calendar year.
Up next for the Sabres is a Thursday night game at Philadelphia against the Flyers as they try to extend their point-streak to five games. Buffalo hasn't gone on a point streak of five games or more since a nine-game streak (7-0-2) from March 3-27, 2012.
Sabres bench boss Phil Housley was on WGR550 this morning talking about an influx of players into the lineup and how that helped the team through increased internal competition. Players like Evan Rodrigues and Scott Wilson, although not top-six players, have contributed with their play and have also caused their teammates to step up their game for fear of being in the press box. "When you add pieces like that and guys that are contributing," said Housley to host Jeremy White, "it puts a little pressure on guys to get up to pace."
Housley was asked specifically about defenseman Zach Bogosian and what he brought to the team upon return from injury. The coach pointed out that in the preseason "you saw the type of player he can be, he's a powerful skater" and that now his defense-corps is falling into place. Bogosian missed the first 25 games of the seaso because of injury and Houlsey said that an argument could be made for him as the team's best defensemen over the six games he's been back.
"Last night [Bogosian] had a really good game just with his poise with the puck," said Housley. "It puts guys in the right seat on the back end. We've got a really good top-four with some good, solid depth in the five, six, seven, eight position with guys in Rochester and guys chomping at the bit to get into the lineup."
Rodrigues, Wilson and Bogosian were all adds to the lineup that pushed depth players back to the AHL. Forwards Seth Griffith and Kyle Criscuolo spent 18 and 17 games with the Sabres, respectively, before the acquisition of Wilson and the call-up of Rodrigues. They were sent them back to the AHL while Matt Moulson was waived. Defenseman Matt Tennyson, who was injured but was back skating, was sent pack to Rochester as well upon Bogosian's return.
The top-four Housley was talking about consists of Rasmus Ristolainen/Marco Scandella up top and Bogosian/Jake McCabe on the second pairing.
Ristolainen has been a Sabres' workhorse on defense for the last two seasons and it carried into this season with the 23 yr. old once again near the top of the NHL average time on ice. In the three games prior to last night, Ristolainen logged over 30 minutes in two consecutive games and came within 43 seconds of hitting the 30-minute mark in the third game, which would have been a franchise record three, 30-plus minute games in a row.
Last night Ristolainen logged 22:31 minutes of ice-time, which was tops on the team while three other defensemen logged 20 minutes or more. The last time the Sabres had four defensemen log 20 or more minutes in a game was on November 14 in a 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Buffalo was without Ristolainen that game and lost Taylor Fedun after he logged just 10:22 of ice-time. The only other time it happened this year was against the San Jose' Sharks in a 3-2 losing effort with Zach Redmond skating just under 12 minutes and rookie Victor Antipin logging 11:14 minutes of ice-time.
Josh Gorges and Justin Falk were the third-pairing last night and logged 15:40 and 15:33 minutes of ice-time, respectively.
The Sabres have been stuck in the muck all season and have been trying to dig themselves out. Points in four straight games helps and having a lineup that's close to what they expected to have at the start of the season helps even more with most everyone in their proper places. Buffalo has four winnable games in front of them as they play Philadelphia twice with Carolina and Boston sandwiched between the Flyers' games. They're playing better overall hockey, are on a four-game point streak and there are some good things happening for the them, which includes some very solid goaltending by Robin Lehner.
Where it leads from here is, as usual, up in the air as you just don't know, but it's nice to see them moving in the right direction.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
OTT @ BUF--Two troubled teams collide at KeyBank
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-12-2017
The Ottawa Senators will play the last game of a seven-game/15-day road trip tonight as they visit KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres. And by the looks of it, they can't wait for it to be over.
Ottawa lost 2-1 at Montreal on November 29th then followed with a 6-5 win in Brooklyn against the NY Islanders. The Sens had a stop in Winnipeg before they made their way to California for three more games and the results have been miserable. The Jets embarrassed Ottawa in a 5-0 shutout and Anaheim shut them out 3-0. They their first goal in 154:46 against Los Angeles, took the Kings to overtime but proceeded to lose on a goal 33 seconds into the extra session. They followed that up by getting shut out 5-0 in San Jose'.
The Senators come into Buffalo tonight limping badly and it wasn't supposed to be that way after acquiring Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche in a three-way deal on November 5. Duchene was thought to be the No. 1 center they'd been lacking and they paid a hefty price which included trading a first and a third round pick, former first round pick Shane Bowers (2017, 28th-overall,) and goalie Andrew Hammond to Colorado as well as sending C, Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators go consummate the deal.
After winning their first two games with Duchene in the fold, it was the Sens who folded as they went winless in their next six (0-5-1) prior to their present road trip. In their last 12 games Ottawa is 1-9-2, have been shut out four times, have scored two or less goals in six of those games and have allowed four or more goals in six of those contests.
Buffalo has had their own woes to deal with as well. From November 10 to December 2, the Sabres went 1-9-2. They scored two or fewer goals in nine of those games and were shut out a franchise record three games in a row spanning 232:09, or almost four full games. The Sabres came out of that morass with a 4-2 win in Colorado and managed loser points at Chicago and St. Louis.
Ottawa is second-last in the Eastern Conference with 25 points in 28 games while the Sabres are dead last with only 20 points in 30 games.
If you read this far and somehow managed not to poke your eyes out, congratulations and thanks for reading.
The Sabres have a quick turnaround after flying home from St. Louis on Sunday. They managed a comeback with two third period goals against the Western Conference-leading Blues but were felled in overtime 3-2 and all-in-all they actually had a pretty good road trip as they managed to get four of a possible six points. Prior to the St. Louis game, the Sabres were close to adding another point on Friday in Chicago but they blew a one-goal lead with 3:22 left in regulation vs. the Blackhawks and lost in overtime.
With both teams in the dregs, the rumor-mill is churning for both clubs. Word from insiders have NHL teams looking at Buffalo is if they're "open for business" with everybody on the team except for Jack Eichel. The Senators, according to Elliotte Friedman, have asked their players with no-trade clauses to submit their lists and that includes defenseman Erik Karlsson, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. Karlsson signed a 7yr.$45.5 million contract in June, 2012 and has a no-trade clause this year and next.
Most felt that the Senators overachieved last season when they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, but apparently management thought differently and pulled off the trade for Duchene. With the team falling apart after acquiring Duchene, it looks as if they want to blow it up and players like Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone are back in the rumor-mill.
With the Sabres coming off a fairly successful road trip, a win over the Senators could help them get on their feet as they're coming into tonight's matchup on a three-game point-streak. According to Sabres PR, the Sabres are 6-2-2 in their last 10 vs. the Senators and have are on an eight-game point-streak (6-0-2.) Buffalo has also won three in a row vs. Ottawa.
Robin Lehner gets the start tonight against his former team. Lehner is 4-0-2 in eight appearances and has a 1.30 goals-against average and .959 Sv%.
*****
Sabres bench boss Phil Housley shook up the lines at the game day skate this morning. Reports have these as the lines:
Pouliot, Eichel, Pominville
Girgensons, O'Reilly, Okposo
Kane, Rodrigues, Reinhart
Nolan, Larsson, Wilson
Housley moved Kane off of the Eichel line and Girgensons up after playing in only one game since being benched. Girgensons was on the ice with the goalie pulled and the Sabres down by one. He provided a screen on Marco Scandella's shot from the point and he rebound kicked out to a wide open Evand Rodrigues who buried the rebound for his second goal of the game.
Rookie Hudson Fasching will be in the press box tonight along with a still-injured Jacob Josefson. Housley said Josefson is week-to-week, but looked good skating today.
*****
The blueline looks to be the same with:
Ristolainen-Scandella
Bogosian-McCabe
Falk-Gorges
The Ottawa Senators will play the last game of a seven-game/15-day road trip tonight as they visit KeyBank Center to take on the Buffalo Sabres. And by the looks of it, they can't wait for it to be over.
Ottawa lost 2-1 at Montreal on November 29th then followed with a 6-5 win in Brooklyn against the NY Islanders. The Sens had a stop in Winnipeg before they made their way to California for three more games and the results have been miserable. The Jets embarrassed Ottawa in a 5-0 shutout and Anaheim shut them out 3-0. They their first goal in 154:46 against Los Angeles, took the Kings to overtime but proceeded to lose on a goal 33 seconds into the extra session. They followed that up by getting shut out 5-0 in San Jose'.
The Senators come into Buffalo tonight limping badly and it wasn't supposed to be that way after acquiring Matt Duchene from the Colorado Avalanche in a three-way deal on November 5. Duchene was thought to be the No. 1 center they'd been lacking and they paid a hefty price which included trading a first and a third round pick, former first round pick Shane Bowers (2017, 28th-overall,) and goalie Andrew Hammond to Colorado as well as sending C, Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators go consummate the deal.
After winning their first two games with Duchene in the fold, it was the Sens who folded as they went winless in their next six (0-5-1) prior to their present road trip. In their last 12 games Ottawa is 1-9-2, have been shut out four times, have scored two or less goals in six of those games and have allowed four or more goals in six of those contests.
Buffalo has had their own woes to deal with as well. From November 10 to December 2, the Sabres went 1-9-2. They scored two or fewer goals in nine of those games and were shut out a franchise record three games in a row spanning 232:09, or almost four full games. The Sabres came out of that morass with a 4-2 win in Colorado and managed loser points at Chicago and St. Louis.
Ottawa is second-last in the Eastern Conference with 25 points in 28 games while the Sabres are dead last with only 20 points in 30 games.
If you read this far and somehow managed not to poke your eyes out, congratulations and thanks for reading.
The Sabres have a quick turnaround after flying home from St. Louis on Sunday. They managed a comeback with two third period goals against the Western Conference-leading Blues but were felled in overtime 3-2 and all-in-all they actually had a pretty good road trip as they managed to get four of a possible six points. Prior to the St. Louis game, the Sabres were close to adding another point on Friday in Chicago but they blew a one-goal lead with 3:22 left in regulation vs. the Blackhawks and lost in overtime.
With both teams in the dregs, the rumor-mill is churning for both clubs. Word from insiders have NHL teams looking at Buffalo is if they're "open for business" with everybody on the team except for Jack Eichel. The Senators, according to Elliotte Friedman, have asked their players with no-trade clauses to submit their lists and that includes defenseman Erik Karlsson, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season. Karlsson signed a 7yr.$45.5 million contract in June, 2012 and has a no-trade clause this year and next.
Most felt that the Senators overachieved last season when they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, but apparently management thought differently and pulled off the trade for Duchene. With the team falling apart after acquiring Duchene, it looks as if they want to blow it up and players like Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone are back in the rumor-mill.
With the Sabres coming off a fairly successful road trip, a win over the Senators could help them get on their feet as they're coming into tonight's matchup on a three-game point-streak. According to Sabres PR, the Sabres are 6-2-2 in their last 10 vs. the Senators and have are on an eight-game point-streak (6-0-2.) Buffalo has also won three in a row vs. Ottawa.
Robin Lehner gets the start tonight against his former team. Lehner is 4-0-2 in eight appearances and has a 1.30 goals-against average and .959 Sv%.
*****
Sabres bench boss Phil Housley shook up the lines at the game day skate this morning. Reports have these as the lines:
Pouliot, Eichel, Pominville
Girgensons, O'Reilly, Okposo
Kane, Rodrigues, Reinhart
Nolan, Larsson, Wilson
Housley moved Kane off of the Eichel line and Girgensons up after playing in only one game since being benched. Girgensons was on the ice with the goalie pulled and the Sabres down by one. He provided a screen on Marco Scandella's shot from the point and he rebound kicked out to a wide open Evand Rodrigues who buried the rebound for his second goal of the game.
Rookie Hudson Fasching will be in the press box tonight along with a still-injured Jacob Josefson. Housley said Josefson is week-to-week, but looked good skating today.
*****
The blueline looks to be the same with:
Ristolainen-Scandella
Bogosian-McCabe
Falk-Gorges
'Gus' returns. It's Buffalo at St. Louis tonight
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-10-2017
Buffalo forward Zemgus Girgensons was benched for the last two games. And rightfully so. It's been 19 games since the 6'2" 207 lb. forward has scored a point. October 14, to be exact when he scored a goal at Los Angeles vs. the Kings. "I wasn’t performing at my best," was how 'Gus' put it to the gathered media yesterday in St. Louis.
Girgensons went on to say that his play "wasn't good enough" and that he could ."work harder."
"Definitely the production isn’t good enough," he continued, "and the work ethic can be harder, I know that and everyone has seen from me that I can be better."
It didn't take a rocket scientist or long-time hockey person to figure out that Girgensons wasn't doing much of anything on the ice during games, or even at practice, and that's why Buffalo coach Phil Housley sent him to the press box for the last two games. “I thought this was one of his best practices in a long time," said Housley yesterday, "so we’ll make that decision tomorrow, but it’s good to see him with a little jump in his step and controlling the play in the small game area and he brought some good energy today.”
Interesting to note that a report pointed out how the team wasn't "down in the dumps" at practice after blowing a late lead and losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime on Friday. "We just talked about our preparation and execution beforehand and everyone being accountable for each other," said the coach.
"I thought there was a lot of life and a lot of energy out there and really quick puck movement," continued Housley, "and we've got to continue work on that as far as the fundamentals go because it's part of our execution up ice."
The Sabres are going to need a lot of energy and execution as they take on the league's second best team in the St. Louis Blues who are coming off a 6-1 pasting of the Detroit Red Wings last night. It's a team that hasn't been to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1970, the season before the Sabres, and the Vancouver Canucks, became a part of the league.
Like the Blackhawks, the Sabres have had nothing but trouble playing St. Louis. Buffalo is 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Blues and 1-6-3 on the road. The Sabres haven't beaten the Blues in St. Louis since December 27, 2009. Buffalo's Tim Connoly and Mike Grier had two goals and an assist each while Patrick Lalime stopped 32 of 35 shots in the Sabres 5-3 win. Jochen Hecht scored the other goal for the Sabres.
The Blues come into tonight's matchup sixth in the league in scoring with 99 goals with a league-leading 24 coming from their defense. Conversely the Sabres have scored a league-low 62 with only one goal coming from the defense corps, which is also dead last in the league.
Housley did a little juggling with his lines yesterday with Girgensons on a line with center Johan Larsson and Hudson Fasching.
Fasching played the last two games with Ryan O'Reilly and Benoit Pouliot but was dropped down while Kyle Okposo was moved up to that line.
According to reports, these were the lines yesterday:
Kane - Eichel - Pominville
Pouliot - O’Reilly - Okposo
Wilson - Rodrigues - Reinhart
Nolan - Larsson - Fasching
Defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Zach Bogosian both sat out practice yesterday for maintenance days. Ristolainen played over 30 minutes for the second consecutive games, the first player to do so since Dmitry Kalinin in 2004, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, and Harrington sites Elias Sports Bureau as saying no Buffalo Sabres player has ever played 30 minutes or more in three consecutive days.
A maintenance day indeed.
Game time is 7 pm.
Buffalo forward Zemgus Girgensons was benched for the last two games. And rightfully so. It's been 19 games since the 6'2" 207 lb. forward has scored a point. October 14, to be exact when he scored a goal at Los Angeles vs. the Kings. "I wasn’t performing at my best," was how 'Gus' put it to the gathered media yesterday in St. Louis.
Girgensons went on to say that his play "wasn't good enough" and that he could ."work harder."
"Definitely the production isn’t good enough," he continued, "and the work ethic can be harder, I know that and everyone has seen from me that I can be better."
It didn't take a rocket scientist or long-time hockey person to figure out that Girgensons wasn't doing much of anything on the ice during games, or even at practice, and that's why Buffalo coach Phil Housley sent him to the press box for the last two games. “I thought this was one of his best practices in a long time," said Housley yesterday, "so we’ll make that decision tomorrow, but it’s good to see him with a little jump in his step and controlling the play in the small game area and he brought some good energy today.”
Interesting to note that a report pointed out how the team wasn't "down in the dumps" at practice after blowing a late lead and losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime on Friday. "We just talked about our preparation and execution beforehand and everyone being accountable for each other," said the coach.
"I thought there was a lot of life and a lot of energy out there and really quick puck movement," continued Housley, "and we've got to continue work on that as far as the fundamentals go because it's part of our execution up ice."
The Sabres are going to need a lot of energy and execution as they take on the league's second best team in the St. Louis Blues who are coming off a 6-1 pasting of the Detroit Red Wings last night. It's a team that hasn't been to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1970, the season before the Sabres, and the Vancouver Canucks, became a part of the league.
Like the Blackhawks, the Sabres have had nothing but trouble playing St. Louis. Buffalo is 1-8-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Blues and 1-6-3 on the road. The Sabres haven't beaten the Blues in St. Louis since December 27, 2009. Buffalo's Tim Connoly and Mike Grier had two goals and an assist each while Patrick Lalime stopped 32 of 35 shots in the Sabres 5-3 win. Jochen Hecht scored the other goal for the Sabres.
The Blues come into tonight's matchup sixth in the league in scoring with 99 goals with a league-leading 24 coming from their defense. Conversely the Sabres have scored a league-low 62 with only one goal coming from the defense corps, which is also dead last in the league.
Housley did a little juggling with his lines yesterday with Girgensons on a line with center Johan Larsson and Hudson Fasching.
Fasching played the last two games with Ryan O'Reilly and Benoit Pouliot but was dropped down while Kyle Okposo was moved up to that line.
According to reports, these were the lines yesterday:
Kane - Eichel - Pominville
Pouliot - O’Reilly - Okposo
Wilson - Rodrigues - Reinhart
Nolan - Larsson - Fasching
Defensemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Zach Bogosian both sat out practice yesterday for maintenance days. Ristolainen played over 30 minutes for the second consecutive games, the first player to do so since Dmitry Kalinin in 2004, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, and Harrington sites Elias Sports Bureau as saying no Buffalo Sabres player has ever played 30 minutes or more in three consecutive days.
A maintenance day indeed.
Game time is 7 pm.
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Sabres toddlin' in Chicago for Game-2 of their roadie
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-8-2017
Chicago, Chicago that toddlin' town
Chicago, Chicago, I'll show you around...
So the song goes.
What the word toddlin' means is up for debate and although it revolves around walking with difficulty, they're not sure if the early 20th Century nomenclature involves inebriation, a leisurely stroll or is a derivative of toddler.
Perhaps toddlin' works for the Sabres in the latter sense as it seems as if they're just beginning to walk. They've had to learn all over again how to play hockey, most notably in today's NHL, and they seemed to have picked it up rather well. Buffalo began a three game Central-U.S. road-trip with a 4-2 win at Colorado on Tuesday and hit the Windy City tonight to take on the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Hawks have been stumbling lately, which is unusual for one of today's marquis hockey franchises. They're on a five-game winless streak (0-3-2) and have been outscored by a 19-10 margin in those games. Chicago is also in an unusual position as their 12-11-5 record places them sixth in the Central Division.
But that's for them to figure out. Once a largely forgotten Original-Six member, the Blackhawks have been on a roll since making the Western Conference Finals in 2009. In that span they've made the playoffs nine consecutive seasons with three Stanley Cups within six years (2010, 2013, 2015) and another Western Conference Final appearance in 2014.
Inebriated may not be the proper word for them. Perhaps it's more like hung over from all the success they've had over the past nine seasons.
If ever there was a time for the league's last place team to steal one on the road, tonight might be the time. The Sabres stopped an awful 1-9-2 skid with that win over the Avalanche and looked good in the process. However, Buffalo is 0-8-2 in their last 10 against Chicago and according to Sabres PR, haven't beaten the Hawks since a 2-1 victory at home December 11, 2009. Buffalo has been slightly better on the road againAst Chicago going 2-7-1 but haven't won there since January 10, 2007.
Just how bad has it been for the Buffalo Sabres this year? This is the list of Sabres players amongst the league leaders:
Evander Kane: 3 SHG (T-1st), 3 SHP (T-1st), 126 S (2nd)(T-4th)
Jack Eichel: 2 SHP
Ryan O'Reilly: 424 FOW (1st), 61.2% FO% (1st), 693 FO (2nd), 2 SHP (T-4th)
Rasmus Ristolainen: 27:00 TOI/GP (2nd)
With the Sabres playoff hopes all but extinguished at this point, word on the street is that the Sabres are "open for business," with the only untouchable being Eichel. Kane has been the hot rumor all season, although it's being said the Buffalo GM Jason Botterill would like to re-sign him. Others like Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart are said to be available, but they won't be given away.
Buffalo is heading to the United Center to face a Blackhawks team that's somewhat in desperation mode right now. They just got spanked in Washington 6-2 by the Capitals and are on their longest losing streak since 2010-11.
Chicago, Chicago
Chicago, Chicago that toddlin' town
Chicago, Chicago, I'll show you around...
So the song goes.
What the word toddlin' means is up for debate and although it revolves around walking with difficulty, they're not sure if the early 20th Century nomenclature involves inebriation, a leisurely stroll or is a derivative of toddler.
Perhaps toddlin' works for the Sabres in the latter sense as it seems as if they're just beginning to walk. They've had to learn all over again how to play hockey, most notably in today's NHL, and they seemed to have picked it up rather well. Buffalo began a three game Central-U.S. road-trip with a 4-2 win at Colorado on Tuesday and hit the Windy City tonight to take on the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Hawks have been stumbling lately, which is unusual for one of today's marquis hockey franchises. They're on a five-game winless streak (0-3-2) and have been outscored by a 19-10 margin in those games. Chicago is also in an unusual position as their 12-11-5 record places them sixth in the Central Division.
But that's for them to figure out. Once a largely forgotten Original-Six member, the Blackhawks have been on a roll since making the Western Conference Finals in 2009. In that span they've made the playoffs nine consecutive seasons with three Stanley Cups within six years (2010, 2013, 2015) and another Western Conference Final appearance in 2014.
Inebriated may not be the proper word for them. Perhaps it's more like hung over from all the success they've had over the past nine seasons.
If ever there was a time for the league's last place team to steal one on the road, tonight might be the time. The Sabres stopped an awful 1-9-2 skid with that win over the Avalanche and looked good in the process. However, Buffalo is 0-8-2 in their last 10 against Chicago and according to Sabres PR, haven't beaten the Hawks since a 2-1 victory at home December 11, 2009. Buffalo has been slightly better on the road againAst Chicago going 2-7-1 but haven't won there since January 10, 2007.
Just how bad has it been for the Buffalo Sabres this year? This is the list of Sabres players amongst the league leaders:
Evander Kane: 3 SHG (T-1st), 3 SHP (T-1st), 126 S (2nd)(T-4th)
Jack Eichel: 2 SHP
Ryan O'Reilly: 424 FOW (1st), 61.2% FO% (1st), 693 FO (2nd), 2 SHP (T-4th)
Rasmus Ristolainen: 27:00 TOI/GP (2nd)
With the Sabres playoff hopes all but extinguished at this point, word on the street is that the Sabres are "open for business," with the only untouchable being Eichel. Kane has been the hot rumor all season, although it's being said the Buffalo GM Jason Botterill would like to re-sign him. Others like Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart are said to be available, but they won't be given away.
Buffalo is heading to the United Center to face a Blackhawks team that's somewhat in desperation mode right now. They just got spanked in Washington 6-2 by the Capitals and are on their longest losing streak since 2010-11.
Chicago, Chicago
Friday, December 8, 2017
Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens talks of culture and confidence in Rochester
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-7-2017
If you noticed a difference in the way the Buffalo Sabres played on Tuesday night in Colorado, you weren't seeing things. Heading into the matchup the Sabres were in a serious 1-9-2 rut that included being shut out three times in a row (a franchise record for futility) and goal-less drought that lasted almost four full games in length.
Frustrated with the way his team was playing, GM Jason Botterill shook things up by waiving veteran forward Matt Moulson and his $5 million salary and trading for forward Scott Wilson, a player he was quite familiar from his time in Pittsburgh. In addition, center Evan Rodrigues got the call from Rochester to join Hudson Fasching who had been called up from the Amerks the prior game.
None of Wilson, Rodrigues or Fasching scored a point in the game, but they had an impact in how the team looked as a whole. Buffalo played a fast, north/south game up and down the lineup and were hard on the puck which eventually lead to a 4-2 victory. Two of the Sabres goals were scored at even strength, compared to zero for the Avalanche, one was scored short-handed and the last was into an empty net. It's the type of game that Botterill and coach Phil Housley had wanted to see their team play more often and it may have been their best 60-minute performance in a winning effort this season.
When Botterill took the job this past April, the Sabres organization was in need of a culture change. He had two problems, one in Buffalo and the other in Rochester. Both teams were flailing and on July 1, the first time GM went to work to stabilize Rochester. He signed five players ticketed for Rochester that day including Kevin Porter, who had spent the previous two seasons with him in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
When Botterill came to Buffalo, he brought in Randy Sexton as his assistant GM, and the general manager of Rochester, as well as Chris Taylor to be his head coach, both of whom came from the Penguins. Sexton followed Botterill's lead with Porter and signed more 'Baby Pens' to the Amerks in an effort to help stop a losing culture in Rochester using an influx of personnel that knew success and what it took to get there.
"[The Sabres] came in with Botterill and Randy Sexton and the rest of the group," long-time Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens told me, "and the number-one focus was to change the culture. As Sexton said," continued Stevens, "it's a lot easier to change the culture here (at the AHL-level) than it is up-top because of salaries and all the different things that go on up above. You can't do it as rapidly (in the NHL) as you can here.
"I think we've seen a pretty good change in culture here.
The results have been very good so far as the culture change is taking hold. The Amerks are 12-5-3-2 on the season and sit in second place in the North Division after finishing near the bottom of the league for the prior three seasons.
Porter, whom Botterill knew well from his time in Pittsburgh and whom he spoke very highly of, is the captain and leads the charge of 'Baby Pens'. Sexton, who was Pittsburgh's director of amateur scouting prior his role in the Sabres organization, continued by bringing in four more former Pens--centers Sahir Gill and Adam Krause, defensemen Stuart Percy and Barry Goers.
In addition, the Amerks brought in players like Kyle Criscuolo, Nathan Paetsch and Connor Allen, all of whom were on last year's Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) team.
It's a good mix of players overall. And when you add in young players and rookies from the Sabres pipeline it creates something the team hasn't had in a while, depth, an aspect that's rather crucial to the success of an AHL team.
The Sabres went through a rash of injuries on the blueline earlier this season and have dressed 11 defensemen so far. Although injuries haven't hit the forward ranks as hard, the Sabres did call up a number of forwards from Rochester including Criscuolo for eight games and Justin Bailey for seven. Seth Griffith looked to be ticketed for Rochester out of camp but stayed in Buffalo and played in 18 games for the Sabres. It's the nature of the beast. "But the difference (for the Amerks,)" said Stevens, "is that there's enough depth here, which we haven't had in the past decade or so, to weather the storm.
The AHL is a tough business in that they're in it to win, but they also have a very important role in developing the youngins. The two aren't mutually exclusive and as we've seen, development without winning may not be development at all (Buffalo,) and that winning is the best form of development (Pittsburgh.)
Every time we've talked, Stevens has mentioned needing an environment that allows prospects and players to develop at their own pace and the need to keep them at the AHL-level until they're ready to make the jump. As our attention moved towards individual players, like 20 yr. old d-prospect Brendan Guhle, the word confidence, "which seems to be an overall theme for the team," according to Stevens, came to the fore.
Guhle is playing all-situations, top-pairing minutes as a rookie in his first full pro season. In 21 games he has 14 points (5+9) and is a plus-8. Those are just the numbers, but what Stevens has been seeing from the young player is "more confidence rushing the puck" and that he "is now one of those who is willing to take chances." However, Guhle's successes circle back to the depth in Rochester. "He's doing things he might have held back on," said Stevens, "and trying more things than he used to because he knows he's got somebody back there who's going to cover up for him."
Coach Taylor seems to have made a lot of good moves in his first stint as a head coach and he has the team in a good place. After Fasching got called up, he told the gathered media about the feel in Rochester. "Guys there are happy," he said. "We're excited to be there every day. There's a lot of energy at the rink. It's fun to be there, fun to play like that.
"We're almost playing more loose, more relaxed."
Earlier in the season it wasn't quite that way as the Amerks had lost three of their prior four games and were down 3-0 vs. the Laval Rocket (MTL) at Blue Cross Arena. They were being booed by the home crowd as they left the ice for the second intermission but came back to tie the score with three unanswered goals in the third and won the game in overtime.
Taylor told his team during the intermission to relax and just play their game. A reporter stated that with his team down 3-0, he had to have a lot of confidence in them. "For sure I have a lot of confidence," said Taylor. "I see them every day. I have confidence in everyone of those guys in the locker room and that's what it's all about. And they have to have the confidence in me. We're all in this together."
That was on October 27th, since then his team has gone 8-2-5 and have gotten points in 13 of their last 14 games (8-1-5.)
Rodrigues and Fasching both seem to have benefitted well from the change in culture, especially Fasching. The 6'3" 204 lb. winger was traded for by the former regime for his size and ability to work the front of the net. The issue with him, other than youthful inconsistencies, has been his skating. Fasching will never have blazing speed but the difference between last season and this year is that he's playing the game faster and it looks as if he's a faster player because of it. Although he still needs to produce at the NHL-level and will need to develop more consistency, which is typical of most young players, he looks like he took a big step forward.
Rodrigues had shown marked improvement last season and looked to be on the Sabres roster until an injury sidelined him in training camp. After being sent to Rochester to start his season and managing one assist through his first three games, Rodrigues used a four-point game and a three-point game to leave Rochester with 10 points (5+5) in eight games. "Again, it's that confidence-level," said Stevens.
Another player playing with a lot of confidence is goaltender Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark took the reigns of the starting goalie position last season and was the Amerks MVP. Back in October, Stevens said that the best thing for Ullmark was that the Sabres got back-up Chad Johnson in the off season which kept the 24 yr. old developing in Rochester.
That may change, however, as Buffalo's goalies are becoming a part of trade rumors. Should one of Robin Lehner or Johnson be moved and the Sabres receive no NHL goalie in return, Ullmark may end up in Buffalo. It's something Stevens doesn't want to see for Ullmark and the Amerks, but something that may happen.
When asked if he thought Ullmark was ready to make the jump, Stevens, who's always been an advocate of keeping young players in the AHL for as long as necessary, said, "yes," but qualified it by saying, "but I would like to have him [finish the year here] so that when he goes into next year, he's just brimming with confidence."
We need to keep in mind that despite the Sabres playing one of their best games of the season on the road and winning on Tuesday, they're still a 7-17-4 team, something that may not be conducive to proper development if they continue down that road.
"[Ullmark's] built up to where he's at now and I would hate to see him go into a situation on a team that's really struggling the way they are, and he plays well but doesn't get the wins and starts to lose that confidence."
Which happens all the time, especially with team trying to rush players.
But Botterill seems to have Rochester on the right track which benefits the Amerks right now and will eventually make it's way up to Buffalo. There are a lot of players who've played under Botterill and they're beginning to make their way onto the Sabres. Players like Wilson, and to an extent Rodrigues and Fasching, know what he and his staff are trying to do and know their roles are in this process.
Rochester is having success right now but by no means are they an AHL juggernaut at this time, as inconstancies still rule. It's something they "really need to develop," according to Stevens, but the foundation seems to be there which is a major step in the right direction.
If you noticed a difference in the way the Buffalo Sabres played on Tuesday night in Colorado, you weren't seeing things. Heading into the matchup the Sabres were in a serious 1-9-2 rut that included being shut out three times in a row (a franchise record for futility) and goal-less drought that lasted almost four full games in length.
Frustrated with the way his team was playing, GM Jason Botterill shook things up by waiving veteran forward Matt Moulson and his $5 million salary and trading for forward Scott Wilson, a player he was quite familiar from his time in Pittsburgh. In addition, center Evan Rodrigues got the call from Rochester to join Hudson Fasching who had been called up from the Amerks the prior game.
None of Wilson, Rodrigues or Fasching scored a point in the game, but they had an impact in how the team looked as a whole. Buffalo played a fast, north/south game up and down the lineup and were hard on the puck which eventually lead to a 4-2 victory. Two of the Sabres goals were scored at even strength, compared to zero for the Avalanche, one was scored short-handed and the last was into an empty net. It's the type of game that Botterill and coach Phil Housley had wanted to see their team play more often and it may have been their best 60-minute performance in a winning effort this season.
When Botterill took the job this past April, the Sabres organization was in need of a culture change. He had two problems, one in Buffalo and the other in Rochester. Both teams were flailing and on July 1, the first time GM went to work to stabilize Rochester. He signed five players ticketed for Rochester that day including Kevin Porter, who had spent the previous two seasons with him in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
When Botterill came to Buffalo, he brought in Randy Sexton as his assistant GM, and the general manager of Rochester, as well as Chris Taylor to be his head coach, both of whom came from the Penguins. Sexton followed Botterill's lead with Porter and signed more 'Baby Pens' to the Amerks in an effort to help stop a losing culture in Rochester using an influx of personnel that knew success and what it took to get there.
"[The Sabres] came in with Botterill and Randy Sexton and the rest of the group," long-time Amerks broadcaster Don Stevens told me, "and the number-one focus was to change the culture. As Sexton said," continued Stevens, "it's a lot easier to change the culture here (at the AHL-level) than it is up-top because of salaries and all the different things that go on up above. You can't do it as rapidly (in the NHL) as you can here.
"I think we've seen a pretty good change in culture here.
The results have been very good so far as the culture change is taking hold. The Amerks are 12-5-3-2 on the season and sit in second place in the North Division after finishing near the bottom of the league for the prior three seasons.
Porter, whom Botterill knew well from his time in Pittsburgh and whom he spoke very highly of, is the captain and leads the charge of 'Baby Pens'. Sexton, who was Pittsburgh's director of amateur scouting prior his role in the Sabres organization, continued by bringing in four more former Pens--centers Sahir Gill and Adam Krause, defensemen Stuart Percy and Barry Goers.
In addition, the Amerks brought in players like Kyle Criscuolo, Nathan Paetsch and Connor Allen, all of whom were on last year's Calder Cup Champion Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) team.
It's a good mix of players overall. And when you add in young players and rookies from the Sabres pipeline it creates something the team hasn't had in a while, depth, an aspect that's rather crucial to the success of an AHL team.
The Sabres went through a rash of injuries on the blueline earlier this season and have dressed 11 defensemen so far. Although injuries haven't hit the forward ranks as hard, the Sabres did call up a number of forwards from Rochester including Criscuolo for eight games and Justin Bailey for seven. Seth Griffith looked to be ticketed for Rochester out of camp but stayed in Buffalo and played in 18 games for the Sabres. It's the nature of the beast. "But the difference (for the Amerks,)" said Stevens, "is that there's enough depth here, which we haven't had in the past decade or so, to weather the storm.
The AHL is a tough business in that they're in it to win, but they also have a very important role in developing the youngins. The two aren't mutually exclusive and as we've seen, development without winning may not be development at all (Buffalo,) and that winning is the best form of development (Pittsburgh.)
Every time we've talked, Stevens has mentioned needing an environment that allows prospects and players to develop at their own pace and the need to keep them at the AHL-level until they're ready to make the jump. As our attention moved towards individual players, like 20 yr. old d-prospect Brendan Guhle, the word confidence, "which seems to be an overall theme for the team," according to Stevens, came to the fore.
Guhle is playing all-situations, top-pairing minutes as a rookie in his first full pro season. In 21 games he has 14 points (5+9) and is a plus-8. Those are just the numbers, but what Stevens has been seeing from the young player is "more confidence rushing the puck" and that he "is now one of those who is willing to take chances." However, Guhle's successes circle back to the depth in Rochester. "He's doing things he might have held back on," said Stevens, "and trying more things than he used to because he knows he's got somebody back there who's going to cover up for him."
Coach Taylor seems to have made a lot of good moves in his first stint as a head coach and he has the team in a good place. After Fasching got called up, he told the gathered media about the feel in Rochester. "Guys there are happy," he said. "We're excited to be there every day. There's a lot of energy at the rink. It's fun to be there, fun to play like that.
"We're almost playing more loose, more relaxed."
Earlier in the season it wasn't quite that way as the Amerks had lost three of their prior four games and were down 3-0 vs. the Laval Rocket (MTL) at Blue Cross Arena. They were being booed by the home crowd as they left the ice for the second intermission but came back to tie the score with three unanswered goals in the third and won the game in overtime.
Taylor told his team during the intermission to relax and just play their game. A reporter stated that with his team down 3-0, he had to have a lot of confidence in them. "For sure I have a lot of confidence," said Taylor. "I see them every day. I have confidence in everyone of those guys in the locker room and that's what it's all about. And they have to have the confidence in me. We're all in this together."
That was on October 27th, since then his team has gone 8-2-5 and have gotten points in 13 of their last 14 games (8-1-5.)
Rodrigues and Fasching both seem to have benefitted well from the change in culture, especially Fasching. The 6'3" 204 lb. winger was traded for by the former regime for his size and ability to work the front of the net. The issue with him, other than youthful inconsistencies, has been his skating. Fasching will never have blazing speed but the difference between last season and this year is that he's playing the game faster and it looks as if he's a faster player because of it. Although he still needs to produce at the NHL-level and will need to develop more consistency, which is typical of most young players, he looks like he took a big step forward.
Rodrigues had shown marked improvement last season and looked to be on the Sabres roster until an injury sidelined him in training camp. After being sent to Rochester to start his season and managing one assist through his first three games, Rodrigues used a four-point game and a three-point game to leave Rochester with 10 points (5+5) in eight games. "Again, it's that confidence-level," said Stevens.
Another player playing with a lot of confidence is goaltender Linus Ullmark.
Ullmark took the reigns of the starting goalie position last season and was the Amerks MVP. Back in October, Stevens said that the best thing for Ullmark was that the Sabres got back-up Chad Johnson in the off season which kept the 24 yr. old developing in Rochester.
That may change, however, as Buffalo's goalies are becoming a part of trade rumors. Should one of Robin Lehner or Johnson be moved and the Sabres receive no NHL goalie in return, Ullmark may end up in Buffalo. It's something Stevens doesn't want to see for Ullmark and the Amerks, but something that may happen.
When asked if he thought Ullmark was ready to make the jump, Stevens, who's always been an advocate of keeping young players in the AHL for as long as necessary, said, "yes," but qualified it by saying, "but I would like to have him [finish the year here] so that when he goes into next year, he's just brimming with confidence."
We need to keep in mind that despite the Sabres playing one of their best games of the season on the road and winning on Tuesday, they're still a 7-17-4 team, something that may not be conducive to proper development if they continue down that road.
"[Ullmark's] built up to where he's at now and I would hate to see him go into a situation on a team that's really struggling the way they are, and he plays well but doesn't get the wins and starts to lose that confidence."
Which happens all the time, especially with team trying to rush players.
But Botterill seems to have Rochester on the right track which benefits the Amerks right now and will eventually make it's way up to Buffalo. There are a lot of players who've played under Botterill and they're beginning to make their way onto the Sabres. Players like Wilson, and to an extent Rodrigues and Fasching, know what he and his staff are trying to do and know their roles are in this process.
Rochester is having success right now but by no means are they an AHL juggernaut at this time, as inconstancies still rule. It's something they "really need to develop," according to Stevens, but the foundation seems to be there which is a major step in the right direction.
Thursday, December 7, 2017
The "Scott Wilson-era" in Buffalo has begun. Kind of.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-6-2017
When the news broke that the Buffalo Sabres had traded a 2019 fifth round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Scott Wilson, the first question on the minds of many in Sabreland was, "who?" followed by, "why?" It wasn't a blockbuster deal by any means but the reasoning behind that trade, and the moves made in concert with it, was made clear as there was a pronounced effect on the Sabres in last night's game at Colorado.
Wilson is a former Pittsburgh Penguin with two Stanley Cup rings to his name and Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, who had spent the previous 10 years in the Pittsburgh organization, knew him well. The seventh-round pick out of UMass-Lowell was selected 209th overall in 2011 and after leaving college Wilson spent parts of two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before moving up to the big club full time last season. He was dealt to the Red Wings on October 21 after playing three games for the Pens.
On Monday after the trade was announced, Botterill addressed the gathered media saying, "We are very happy to add Scott to our roster. [He] is a hard-working, young player that will be a great fit for our club. As a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, his experience will be an asset both on and off the ice."
When the news broke that the Buffalo Sabres had traded a 2019 fifth round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Scott Wilson, the first question on the minds of many in Sabreland was, "who?" followed by, "why?" It wasn't a blockbuster deal by any means but the reasoning behind that trade, and the moves made in concert with it, was made clear as there was a pronounced effect on the Sabres in last night's game at Colorado.
Wilson is a former Pittsburgh Penguin with two Stanley Cup rings to his name and Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, who had spent the previous 10 years in the Pittsburgh organization, knew him well. The seventh-round pick out of UMass-Lowell was selected 209th overall in 2011 and after leaving college Wilson spent parts of two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before moving up to the big club full time last season. He was dealt to the Red Wings on October 21 after playing three games for the Pens.
On Monday after the trade was announced, Botterill addressed the gathered media saying, "We are very happy to add Scott to our roster. [He] is a hard-working, young player that will be a great fit for our club. As a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, his experience will be an asset both on and off the ice."
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