Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-5-2019
When all was said and done Thrusday night after the Buffalo Sabres disposed of the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1, the general feeling from head coach Ralph Krueger on down was that the win was great, but there's a long hard road to hoe. "We haven't achieved anything yet with this win," the coach said to the gathered media post-game. We're just at the beginning of a long, long, difficult challenge to go where we want to go."
Where the want to go is the post-season, a place the Sabres haven't been since 2011 with their eight-season playoff drought being the longest current drought in the NHL. Since then there's been a full turnover of executives, management, the coaching staff and the roster. Terry Pegula had bought the team in February, 2011 and had been their owner only three months before his Sabres made a late-season run to get to the playoffs before they lost in seven games to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Since then. Nothing. Nada. Nyet, Zilch, when it came to playoff appearance. Heck, since then their highest point total and highest finish was 2012-13 when they had 89 points and finished third in the division. They eclipsed 80 points only one other time ('15/16,) had a couple of seasons with mid-70's point totals, hit 62 points once and tanked for 52 and 54 points in 2013-14 and 2015-16, respectively (or disrespectfully, if you choose to describe those two seasons.)
Showing posts with label 2017 World Hockey Championships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2017 World Hockey Championships. Show all posts
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Monday, September 9, 2019
Hockey's back. Quick notes from the Prospects Challenge
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-7-2019
When you look at the starting lineup for last night's Buffalo Sabres/New Jersey Devils Prospects Challenge game, one of the things that stands out for Buffalo is the number of mid to lower-round picks and free agents on the roster. It was a pleasant surprise to see 2019 first round pick (7th-overall) Dylan Cozens on the ice after undergoing thumb surgery just after development camp and Sabres fans got their first taste of defenseman Henri Jokiharju (2017, 10th, CHI) in the Blue and Gold. Jokiharju was obtained by Buffalo in July for former first rounder, Alexander Nylander.
The next highest draft pick was center Rasmus Asplund who was picked in the second round (33rd) of the 2016 NHL Draft after the Sabres traded up for him. After that Buffalo's roster consisted of three third-rounders, five fourth-rounders, one sixth round pick, one seventh round pick and six undrafted players.
A 6-4 win, after jumping out to a 6-0 lead is pretty good for a group with so little top-end draft picks.
When you look at the starting lineup for last night's Buffalo Sabres/New Jersey Devils Prospects Challenge game, one of the things that stands out for Buffalo is the number of mid to lower-round picks and free agents on the roster. It was a pleasant surprise to see 2019 first round pick (7th-overall) Dylan Cozens on the ice after undergoing thumb surgery just after development camp and Sabres fans got their first taste of defenseman Henri Jokiharju (2017, 10th, CHI) in the Blue and Gold. Jokiharju was obtained by Buffalo in July for former first rounder, Alexander Nylander.
The next highest draft pick was center Rasmus Asplund who was picked in the second round (33rd) of the 2016 NHL Draft after the Sabres traded up for him. After that Buffalo's roster consisted of three third-rounders, five fourth-rounders, one sixth round pick, one seventh round pick and six undrafted players.
A 6-4 win, after jumping out to a 6-0 lead is pretty good for a group with so little top-end draft picks.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Impressions of, and questions concerning--F, Justin Bailey
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-22-2018
Forward--Justin Bailey
DOB: July 1, 1995 (Age, 22)
Draft: 2013, 2nd round (52nd-overall)
How acquired: Drafted by Buffalo
Last contract signed: November 2, 2014, 3yrs./$2,682,500 (1 yr. entry-level slide)
Final year of contract: 2017-18
2017-18 Stats: 12 games played | 3 goals | 1 assist | 4 points | -2 | 11:17 ATOI
Buffalo Career Stats: 52 games | 5 goals | 3 assists | 8 points | -4 | 10:56 ATOI
What we wrote preseason: Although only 22 yrs. old, the big powerforward with impressive skating ability he seems to have learned about all he can from the minors with 81 points (43+38) in 122 AHL games.
[Bailey] made an impression on the penalty kill during preseason which is something that helped separate him from other roster-bubble players. It's a change in philosophy short-handed that may have given him an in to the Sabres roster. According to Bailey, the coaches want more aggressiveness on the kill. "I'm a big guy and I have a long reach with my stick," he told the gathered media this weekend, "and one of my best assets is my legs, so whether it's a loose puck or a rebound or anything like that they want us to be going hard and physical at the guy."
He's smart enough to realize that if the PK is his ticket to the big club, than so be it.
What we wrote mid-season: Bailey impressed early in his call-up but faded. He has all the tools which includes size and speed, and he's shown he can score at the AHL-level, but he hasn't been able to do it consistently at the NHL-level. The 22-yr. old Bailey will probably have outgrown the AHL come next season and it's time for him to put up or shut up. Would make for a very interesting addition in a trade for an upper-level player.
Impressions on his play this year: Bailey was drafted as a right winger out of Kitchener in the OHL but was eventually moved to the left side as the Sabres organization found themselves bereft of left wingers. He was also looked at as a potential top-six/top-nine powerforward but as he's plied his trade at the pro level, expectations have been pared back for him as his production-level hasn't hit those parameters.
Bailey has mad speed and at 6'3" 210 lbs. has intimidating size that he uses, somewhat. And there's the rub. He, like Hudson Fasching and Nicholas Baptiste, among others, has the tendency to come on strong when called up but fade a couple games later as they depart from the qualities they were drafted for. Why that's been happening frequently with Sabres players is hard to say. Players have the tendency to show their strengths when called up as they're full of adrenaline, but perhaps it's not all their fault for the drop off. The Sabres of the past five seasons have struggled even when they weren't tanking and perhaps the atmosphere isn't conducive to bringing out the best in their prospects on a consistent basis.
Regardless of the possible reasons above, Bailey needs to get the job done this season. It's assumed that Buffalo will offer him a bridge deal of one maybe two years and direct Bailey's focus in a bottom-six/fourth line defense/penalty kill role. His days as a scoring prospect are waning and he'll need to do something with the big club as he's out of waiver options. That said, he still has a solid set of skills and that speed/quickness will get him to open areas but in order to move up from what looks like a designated defensive role, Bailey will need to produce, something he hasn't done to the fullest as of yet.
Questions moving forward: What kind of term are we looking at? How much will he embrace that defensive role? Can he contribute offensively in that role, say 10 goals 10 assists? Will he use his speed and strength more often? Who's going to guide him at the NHL-level?
Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.
Forward--Justin Bailey
DOB: July 1, 1995 (Age, 22)
Draft: 2013, 2nd round (52nd-overall)
How acquired: Drafted by Buffalo
Last contract signed: November 2, 2014, 3yrs./$2,682,500 (1 yr. entry-level slide)
Final year of contract: 2017-18
2017-18 Stats: 12 games played | 3 goals | 1 assist | 4 points | -2 | 11:17 ATOI
Buffalo Career Stats: 52 games | 5 goals | 3 assists | 8 points | -4 | 10:56 ATOI
What we wrote preseason: Although only 22 yrs. old, the big powerforward with impressive skating ability he seems to have learned about all he can from the minors with 81 points (43+38) in 122 AHL games.
[Bailey] made an impression on the penalty kill during preseason which is something that helped separate him from other roster-bubble players. It's a change in philosophy short-handed that may have given him an in to the Sabres roster. According to Bailey, the coaches want more aggressiveness on the kill. "I'm a big guy and I have a long reach with my stick," he told the gathered media this weekend, "and one of my best assets is my legs, so whether it's a loose puck or a rebound or anything like that they want us to be going hard and physical at the guy."
He's smart enough to realize that if the PK is his ticket to the big club, than so be it.
What we wrote mid-season: Bailey impressed early in his call-up but faded. He has all the tools which includes size and speed, and he's shown he can score at the AHL-level, but he hasn't been able to do it consistently at the NHL-level. The 22-yr. old Bailey will probably have outgrown the AHL come next season and it's time for him to put up or shut up. Would make for a very interesting addition in a trade for an upper-level player.
Impressions on his play this year: Bailey was drafted as a right winger out of Kitchener in the OHL but was eventually moved to the left side as the Sabres organization found themselves bereft of left wingers. He was also looked at as a potential top-six/top-nine powerforward but as he's plied his trade at the pro level, expectations have been pared back for him as his production-level hasn't hit those parameters.
Bailey has mad speed and at 6'3" 210 lbs. has intimidating size that he uses, somewhat. And there's the rub. He, like Hudson Fasching and Nicholas Baptiste, among others, has the tendency to come on strong when called up but fade a couple games later as they depart from the qualities they were drafted for. Why that's been happening frequently with Sabres players is hard to say. Players have the tendency to show their strengths when called up as they're full of adrenaline, but perhaps it's not all their fault for the drop off. The Sabres of the past five seasons have struggled even when they weren't tanking and perhaps the atmosphere isn't conducive to bringing out the best in their prospects on a consistent basis.
Regardless of the possible reasons above, Bailey needs to get the job done this season. It's assumed that Buffalo will offer him a bridge deal of one maybe two years and direct Bailey's focus in a bottom-six/fourth line defense/penalty kill role. His days as a scoring prospect are waning and he'll need to do something with the big club as he's out of waiver options. That said, he still has a solid set of skills and that speed/quickness will get him to open areas but in order to move up from what looks like a designated defensive role, Bailey will need to produce, something he hasn't done to the fullest as of yet.
Questions moving forward: What kind of term are we looking at? How much will he embrace that defensive role? Can he contribute offensively in that role, say 10 goals 10 assists? Will he use his speed and strength more often? Who's going to guide him at the NHL-level?
Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.
Friday, February 9, 2018
Some lineup changes for tonight's Buffalo/NY Islanders matchup
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-8-2018
According to reports from the rink this morning, Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley made some lineup changes after falling to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at home in overtime. With that overtime loss the Sabres still have only six wins at KeyBank Center (6-15-4) all season and they're still stuck on 999 home wins for the franchise.
The Anaheim game represented some extreme emotional swings that began with Zemgus Girgensons' shorthanded goal to open the scoring and finished with a long shot from just inside the blueline that beat Sabres goalie Robin Lehner in overtime. In between we saw Lehner tip a clearing pass from Ryan O'Reilly into his own goal and saw O'Reilly score the game-tying goal with just 14.5 seconds left in regulation and Lehner pulled for the extra attacker. In addition to Girgensons' shortie, his second in three games, Buffalo scored on the powerplay in textbook fashion as Sam Reinhart sent a tip-pass across the crease to Jack Eichel who buried the puck into a yawning cage.
The Sabres lost defenseman Jake McCabe in the Anaheim game as he left with an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. Having McCabe out meant more minutes for the five other defensemen with workhorse Rasmus Ristolainen skating 32:39 in the game. Ristolainen became somewhat of a goat as his pass to a streaking Eichel was way off course giving all important overtime, 3-on-3 puck-possession to Anaheim. The Ducks held the puck for :51 seconds before Adam Henrique buried a long-snap shot over the shoulder of what looked like a surprised Lehner.
After the game Housley talked about his teams woes to the gathered media, “Execution. We did have possession of the puck. We don’t make a pass, it’s not on the tape," while also critiquing Ristolainen's overall game. “Rasmus didn’t have a very good game tonight overall," said Housley, "not just because of that pass. He wasn’t making the usual tape-to-tape passes for him."
John Vogl of The Buffalo News tweeted out this from Ristolainen post-game, "They scored one more, so they won the game."
Reports from the rink today have McCabe out 3-4 weeks with a broken thumb. That makes two Sabres defenseman out long-term as McCabe joins Zach Bogosian on the sidelines. Buffalo is riding with seven defensemen and Victor Antipin looks to be McCabe's replacement for tonight's game. On the heels of the disappointing loss and with injuries hitting the defense corps, according to those at practice today, Housley really juggled his defense pairings:
Marco Scandella-Casey Nelson
Nathan Beaulieu-Ristolainen
Josh Gorges-Victor Antipin
Apparently Housley didn't like what he saw from his d-corps, especially with Ristolainen. Nelson, who has been playing some very good hockey as of late, takes Ristolainen's spot on the top pairing. Beaulieu who'd been on the third pairing with Nelson the last two games will have even more of an opportunity for egregious turnovers while skating second-pairing minutes and Antipin gets back into the lineup with veteran, stay-at-home d-man, Gorges.
With the Sabres in the midst of a four-game losing streak (0-3-1,) at home no less, lineup changes seems to be Housley's preferred method for trying to get his team out of their funk and he mixed things up a little bit in the forward ranks as well.
Girgensons, who was in former head coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse for two seasons, continues being moved up and down the lineup by Housley. He drops down to the third line to make room for forward Evan Rodrigues on the Eichel/Reinhart line. Both Housley and Eichel had talked about execution problems following the Ducks loss and apparently Girgensons was the problem on Eichel's line.
Rodrigues had skated on Eichel's wing at Boston University in 2014-15 and the duo tore up D-1 NCAA Men's Hockey. Eichel was first in scoring with 61 points (20+41) while Rodrigues was second with 54 points (18+36.) Eichel went immediately to the NHL after being selected second-overall in the 2015 NHL Draft while Rodrigues has spent the last 2 1/2 seasons working his way up the ranks after signing a free agent contract on July 27, 2015.
Johan Larsson is back in the lineup after serving his two-game suspension for a high sticking incident that resulted in a match penalty. He'll be back in his third line center role with Girgensons and Jason Pominville on the wings. Scott Wilson looks to be the odd man out tonight.
The projected lines for tonight:
Rodrigues-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Girgensons-Larsson-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Nolan
Robin Lehner looks to get the nod for the Sabres. The 26 yr. old has been hot for the Sabres lately allowing only six goals on 155 shots in his last five games which includes back-to-back shutouts on the road prior to the All-Star break. He's 2-2-1 in that stretch.
The Islanders are just outside the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the same amount of points as the Columbus Blue Jackets but having played one more game. Last season they missed the playoffs after making them in three of the previous four years.
Franchise center John Tavares and his pending free agency is the big news coming out of the Burroughs of New York City. Another piece to that puzzle, however, is news that the Islanders will be playing up to half their home games at their old Nassau Coliseum home for the next three seasons while their new arena in Belmont, NY is being built. It's something that certainly adds some intrigue to the Tavares negotiations.
This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Islanders this season with Buffalo coming out on the wrong end twice (0-1-1) so far. The Islanders trounced the Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo's second game of the season 6-3 which included two shorthanded goals by NY in 50 seconds amongst a three-goal in 1:47 barrage. The third Islanders goal was seconds away from another shortie. The two teams met again at the Barclay Center in late December with the Islanders pulling out a 3-2 overtime win as Matthew Barzal connected just 1:08 into the extra session.
This is the final game of Buffalo's five-game homestand and their four-game losing streak is the fifth such streak of four games or more this season. Twice the Sabres have gone on five-game losing streaks, one to begin the season (0-4-1) and another one to start the 2018 calendar year (0-4-1.) The other four-game losing streak straddled October and November (0-4-0.)
Buffalo's longest winning streak in 2017-18 is three games, which they did once, and they've managed only one additional two-game winning streak all season.
According to reports from the rink this morning, Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley made some lineup changes after falling to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at home in overtime. With that overtime loss the Sabres still have only six wins at KeyBank Center (6-15-4) all season and they're still stuck on 999 home wins for the franchise.
The Anaheim game represented some extreme emotional swings that began with Zemgus Girgensons' shorthanded goal to open the scoring and finished with a long shot from just inside the blueline that beat Sabres goalie Robin Lehner in overtime. In between we saw Lehner tip a clearing pass from Ryan O'Reilly into his own goal and saw O'Reilly score the game-tying goal with just 14.5 seconds left in regulation and Lehner pulled for the extra attacker. In addition to Girgensons' shortie, his second in three games, Buffalo scored on the powerplay in textbook fashion as Sam Reinhart sent a tip-pass across the crease to Jack Eichel who buried the puck into a yawning cage.
The Sabres lost defenseman Jake McCabe in the Anaheim game as he left with an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. Having McCabe out meant more minutes for the five other defensemen with workhorse Rasmus Ristolainen skating 32:39 in the game. Ristolainen became somewhat of a goat as his pass to a streaking Eichel was way off course giving all important overtime, 3-on-3 puck-possession to Anaheim. The Ducks held the puck for :51 seconds before Adam Henrique buried a long-snap shot over the shoulder of what looked like a surprised Lehner.
After the game Housley talked about his teams woes to the gathered media, “Execution. We did have possession of the puck. We don’t make a pass, it’s not on the tape," while also critiquing Ristolainen's overall game. “Rasmus didn’t have a very good game tonight overall," said Housley, "not just because of that pass. He wasn’t making the usual tape-to-tape passes for him."
John Vogl of The Buffalo News tweeted out this from Ristolainen post-game, "They scored one more, so they won the game."
Reports from the rink today have McCabe out 3-4 weeks with a broken thumb. That makes two Sabres defenseman out long-term as McCabe joins Zach Bogosian on the sidelines. Buffalo is riding with seven defensemen and Victor Antipin looks to be McCabe's replacement for tonight's game. On the heels of the disappointing loss and with injuries hitting the defense corps, according to those at practice today, Housley really juggled his defense pairings:
Marco Scandella-Casey Nelson
Nathan Beaulieu-Ristolainen
Josh Gorges-Victor Antipin
Apparently Housley didn't like what he saw from his d-corps, especially with Ristolainen. Nelson, who has been playing some very good hockey as of late, takes Ristolainen's spot on the top pairing. Beaulieu who'd been on the third pairing with Nelson the last two games will have even more of an opportunity for egregious turnovers while skating second-pairing minutes and Antipin gets back into the lineup with veteran, stay-at-home d-man, Gorges.
With the Sabres in the midst of a four-game losing streak (0-3-1,) at home no less, lineup changes seems to be Housley's preferred method for trying to get his team out of their funk and he mixed things up a little bit in the forward ranks as well.
Girgensons, who was in former head coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse for two seasons, continues being moved up and down the lineup by Housley. He drops down to the third line to make room for forward Evan Rodrigues on the Eichel/Reinhart line. Both Housley and Eichel had talked about execution problems following the Ducks loss and apparently Girgensons was the problem on Eichel's line.
Rodrigues had skated on Eichel's wing at Boston University in 2014-15 and the duo tore up D-1 NCAA Men's Hockey. Eichel was first in scoring with 61 points (20+41) while Rodrigues was second with 54 points (18+36.) Eichel went immediately to the NHL after being selected second-overall in the 2015 NHL Draft while Rodrigues has spent the last 2 1/2 seasons working his way up the ranks after signing a free agent contract on July 27, 2015.
Johan Larsson is back in the lineup after serving his two-game suspension for a high sticking incident that resulted in a match penalty. He'll be back in his third line center role with Girgensons and Jason Pominville on the wings. Scott Wilson looks to be the odd man out tonight.
The projected lines for tonight:
Rodrigues-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Girgensons-Larsson-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Nolan
Robin Lehner looks to get the nod for the Sabres. The 26 yr. old has been hot for the Sabres lately allowing only six goals on 155 shots in his last five games which includes back-to-back shutouts on the road prior to the All-Star break. He's 2-2-1 in that stretch.
The Islanders are just outside the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the same amount of points as the Columbus Blue Jackets but having played one more game. Last season they missed the playoffs after making them in three of the previous four years.
Franchise center John Tavares and his pending free agency is the big news coming out of the Burroughs of New York City. Another piece to that puzzle, however, is news that the Islanders will be playing up to half their home games at their old Nassau Coliseum home for the next three seasons while their new arena in Belmont, NY is being built. It's something that certainly adds some intrigue to the Tavares negotiations.
This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Islanders this season with Buffalo coming out on the wrong end twice (0-1-1) so far. The Islanders trounced the Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo's second game of the season 6-3 which included two shorthanded goals by NY in 50 seconds amongst a three-goal in 1:47 barrage. The third Islanders goal was seconds away from another shortie. The two teams met again at the Barclay Center in late December with the Islanders pulling out a 3-2 overtime win as Matthew Barzal connected just 1:08 into the extra session.
This is the final game of Buffalo's five-game homestand and their four-game losing streak is the fifth such streak of four games or more this season. Twice the Sabres have gone on five-game losing streaks, one to begin the season (0-4-1) and another one to start the 2018 calendar year (0-4-1.) The other four-game losing streak straddled October and November (0-4-0.)
Buffalo's longest winning streak in 2017-18 is three games, which they did once, and they've managed only one additional two-game winning streak all season.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Which Sabres players like the bright lights of National Television?
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-24-2017
The Buffalo Sabres hit the ice tonight for the first of seven nationally televised games this year. Two years ago, after coming out of the tank, NBC had them scheduled for five games on their networks and last season they were on for eight, which means that the network's confidence in Buffalo was growing.
Apparently NBC is not convinced that the Sabres would take a step forward this season and as of right now, their reservations are warranted as Buffalo heads into tonight's matchup at home against the Detroit Red Wings with a 2-5-2 record. So seven games seems appropriate, although the Sabres will appear in the 10th anniversary of the Winter Classic, the brainchild of then team president Larry Quinn.
The first "Classic" was on January 1, 2008 at then named Ralph Wilson Stadium against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This year the Sabres travel to the Big Apple to take on the NY Rangers at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets. And in a head-scratching move, Buffalo will be the "home team."
Here's the full Sabres national TV schedule this season, which is subject to change:
Tuesday, Oct. 24 vs. Detroit, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Columbus, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, Nov. 7 vs. Washington, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, Dec. 19 vs Boston, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Sunday, Jan. 1 vs. New York Rangers, 1 p.m. (2018 Winter Classic on NBC)
Thursday, Jan. 18 at New York Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monday, March 5 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Over the last two seasons, under then coach Dan Bylsma, the Sabres finished with an overall record of 4-5-4 in games that were scheduled to be televised nationally. That includes a March 1, 2016 matchup featuring the two prizes of the 2015 NHL Draft--Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Buffalo's Jack Eichel. It was included in the overall record despite the fact that NBC switched to a Washington Capitals/Pittsburgh Penguins matchup, as if the hockey world hadn't seen enough of the battle between Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.
Although the Oilers/Sabres matchup left much to be desired, NBC missed a golden opportunity to showcase the first-ever matchup between McDavid and Eichel, the duo formerly known as "McEichel" with McDavid scoring both Edmonton goals, the second in overtime of a 2-1 Oilers victory. Then again, Bylsma himself didn't grasp the significance of the moment as he trotted out Johan Larsson and his line to take the opening faceoff against McDavid and his line leaving fans scratching their heads.
So including the "McEichel" matchup that ended up not being televised, Buffalo went 1-3-1 on NBC in 2015-16 and bettered that record to 3-2-3 last season. In all the games combined the Sabres scored 32 goals-for and allowed 38 goals against. Most notable for the Sabres was their powerplay acumen those two seasons in the national spotlight. In '15-'16 they went 3/11 (27.2%) and last year it was even better at 10/28 (35.7%.)
This is rather significant as we know that the Sabres relied heavily upon their first-ranked powerplay last season as did some individuals as well.
Over the course of the last two seasons on NBC Eichel lead all Sabres players with 12 points (6+6) and in an interesting twist, five of his six goals came on the powerplay while five of his six assists came at even strength. That propensity for setting up his linemates 5v5 helped Zemgus Girgensons become second on the team with four goals in the national spotlight. Eichel set up Girgensons twice in a 1:13 span in New York vs. the Rangers.
Matt Moulson turned into a powerplay specialist over the course of the last two seasons, as two of his three goals and two of his three assists on NBC came on the powerplay during that span. Rasmus Ristolainen also took advantage of the powerplay registering five of his eight assists while Ryan O'Reilly collected six of his eight assists with the man advantage. However, of the two, only Ristolainen was able to light the lamp, and he did it only one time.
Kyle Okposo, Sam Reinhart and Zach Bogosian also used the powerplay to their advantage while Evander Kane only scored one of his four goals with the man advantage.
Here's your scoring leaders for the current Sabers only over the last two seasons on national TV.
Points
Eichel--12
Ristolainen--9
O'Reilly-8
Moulson--6
Kane--5
Girgensons--5
Reinhart--5
Goals
Eichel--6
Kane--4
Girgensons--4
Moulson--3
Reinhart--2
Bogosian--2
Assists
Ristolainen--8
O'Reilly--8
Eichel--6
Moulson--3
Reinhart--3
Okposo--3
And your powerplay leaders.
Points
Eichel--6
O'Reilly--6
Ristolainen--5
Moulson--4
Okposo--3
Goals
Eichel--5
Moulson--2
Kane--1
Bogosian--1
Reinhart--1
Okposo--1
Assists
O'Reilly--6
Ristolainen--5
Moulson--2
Okposo--2
Buffalo had a trio of goalies in the spotlight beginning with Chad Johnson, who took over the starters role after No. 1 Robin Lehner went down with an injury in the second period of the season opener.
Johnson had a 1-2-0 record on national TV allowing eight goals on 91 shots (.912 Sv%.)
Lehner went 2-3-2 with one shutout and allowed 20 goals on 241 shots (.917 Sv%.)
Anders Nilsson backed up Lehner last season and started the first three games for Buffalo on NBC. He had a 1-0-2 record allowing 8 goals on 109 shots for a .926 Sv%.
The Sabres hit the ice tonight with points in three of their last four games (2-1-1) after coming off of a four-game losing streak. They're still getting hit by the injury bug although Girgensons and defenseman Justin Falk skated with the team at today's game-day skate. Neither will probably play tonight and according to reports from the rink, head coach Phil Housley mixed up the lines and d-pairings a bit again.
Here's what the local media reported the lines and pairings to be:
Kane - Eichel - Okposo
Reinhart - O’Reilly - Pominville
Nolan - Pouliot - Bailey
Moulson - Larsson - Griffith
Benoit Pouliot at center is very interesting as the Reinhart experiment there seems to be losing steam.
On defense:
Scandella - Ristolainen
McCabe - Fedun
Antipin - Tennyson
Lehner looks to get the nod in net for Buffalo and it was noted by John Vogl of the Buffalo News that Lehner went back to Vaughn equipment after starting out the season using Brian's.
Will it help?
Hopefully as he's 1-3-1 this season with a bloated 3.29 GAA and a very sub-par .894 Sv%.
Gametime is at 7:30 pm.
The Buffalo Sabres hit the ice tonight for the first of seven nationally televised games this year. Two years ago, after coming out of the tank, NBC had them scheduled for five games on their networks and last season they were on for eight, which means that the network's confidence in Buffalo was growing.
Apparently NBC is not convinced that the Sabres would take a step forward this season and as of right now, their reservations are warranted as Buffalo heads into tonight's matchup at home against the Detroit Red Wings with a 2-5-2 record. So seven games seems appropriate, although the Sabres will appear in the 10th anniversary of the Winter Classic, the brainchild of then team president Larry Quinn.
The first "Classic" was on January 1, 2008 at then named Ralph Wilson Stadium against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This year the Sabres travel to the Big Apple to take on the NY Rangers at Citi Field, home of the NY Mets. And in a head-scratching move, Buffalo will be the "home team."
Here's the full Sabres national TV schedule this season, which is subject to change:
Tuesday, Oct. 24 vs. Detroit, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Columbus, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, Nov. 7 vs. Washington, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
Tuesday, Dec. 19 vs Boston, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Sunday, Jan. 1 vs. New York Rangers, 1 p.m. (2018 Winter Classic on NBC)
Thursday, Jan. 18 at New York Rangers, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monday, March 5 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)
Over the last two seasons, under then coach Dan Bylsma, the Sabres finished with an overall record of 4-5-4 in games that were scheduled to be televised nationally. That includes a March 1, 2016 matchup featuring the two prizes of the 2015 NHL Draft--Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Buffalo's Jack Eichel. It was included in the overall record despite the fact that NBC switched to a Washington Capitals/Pittsburgh Penguins matchup, as if the hockey world hadn't seen enough of the battle between Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby.
Although the Oilers/Sabres matchup left much to be desired, NBC missed a golden opportunity to showcase the first-ever matchup between McDavid and Eichel, the duo formerly known as "McEichel" with McDavid scoring both Edmonton goals, the second in overtime of a 2-1 Oilers victory. Then again, Bylsma himself didn't grasp the significance of the moment as he trotted out Johan Larsson and his line to take the opening faceoff against McDavid and his line leaving fans scratching their heads.
So including the "McEichel" matchup that ended up not being televised, Buffalo went 1-3-1 on NBC in 2015-16 and bettered that record to 3-2-3 last season. In all the games combined the Sabres scored 32 goals-for and allowed 38 goals against. Most notable for the Sabres was their powerplay acumen those two seasons in the national spotlight. In '15-'16 they went 3/11 (27.2%) and last year it was even better at 10/28 (35.7%.)
This is rather significant as we know that the Sabres relied heavily upon their first-ranked powerplay last season as did some individuals as well.
Over the course of the last two seasons on NBC Eichel lead all Sabres players with 12 points (6+6) and in an interesting twist, five of his six goals came on the powerplay while five of his six assists came at even strength. That propensity for setting up his linemates 5v5 helped Zemgus Girgensons become second on the team with four goals in the national spotlight. Eichel set up Girgensons twice in a 1:13 span in New York vs. the Rangers.
Matt Moulson turned into a powerplay specialist over the course of the last two seasons, as two of his three goals and two of his three assists on NBC came on the powerplay during that span. Rasmus Ristolainen also took advantage of the powerplay registering five of his eight assists while Ryan O'Reilly collected six of his eight assists with the man advantage. However, of the two, only Ristolainen was able to light the lamp, and he did it only one time.
Kyle Okposo, Sam Reinhart and Zach Bogosian also used the powerplay to their advantage while Evander Kane only scored one of his four goals with the man advantage.
Here's your scoring leaders for the current Sabers only over the last two seasons on national TV.
Points
Eichel--12
Ristolainen--9
O'Reilly-8
Moulson--6
Kane--5
Girgensons--5
Reinhart--5
Goals
Eichel--6
Kane--4
Girgensons--4
Moulson--3
Reinhart--2
Bogosian--2
Assists
Ristolainen--8
O'Reilly--8
Eichel--6
Moulson--3
Reinhart--3
Okposo--3
And your powerplay leaders.
Points
Eichel--6
O'Reilly--6
Ristolainen--5
Moulson--4
Okposo--3
Goals
Eichel--5
Moulson--2
Kane--1
Bogosian--1
Reinhart--1
Okposo--1
Assists
O'Reilly--6
Ristolainen--5
Moulson--2
Okposo--2
Buffalo had a trio of goalies in the spotlight beginning with Chad Johnson, who took over the starters role after No. 1 Robin Lehner went down with an injury in the second period of the season opener.
Johnson had a 1-2-0 record on national TV allowing eight goals on 91 shots (.912 Sv%.)
Lehner went 2-3-2 with one shutout and allowed 20 goals on 241 shots (.917 Sv%.)
Anders Nilsson backed up Lehner last season and started the first three games for Buffalo on NBC. He had a 1-0-2 record allowing 8 goals on 109 shots for a .926 Sv%.
The Sabres hit the ice tonight with points in three of their last four games (2-1-1) after coming off of a four-game losing streak. They're still getting hit by the injury bug although Girgensons and defenseman Justin Falk skated with the team at today's game-day skate. Neither will probably play tonight and according to reports from the rink, head coach Phil Housley mixed up the lines and d-pairings a bit again.
Here's what the local media reported the lines and pairings to be:
Kane - Eichel - Okposo
Reinhart - O’Reilly - Pominville
Nolan - Pouliot - Bailey
Moulson - Larsson - Griffith
Benoit Pouliot at center is very interesting as the Reinhart experiment there seems to be losing steam.
On defense:
Scandella - Ristolainen
McCabe - Fedun
Antipin - Tennyson
Lehner looks to get the nod in net for Buffalo and it was noted by John Vogl of the Buffalo News that Lehner went back to Vaughn equipment after starting out the season using Brian's.
Will it help?
Hopefully as he's 1-3-1 this season with a bloated 3.29 GAA and a very sub-par .894 Sv%.
Gametime is at 7:30 pm.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Anticipation? Leaks may give us muc of Vegas' roster before tonight
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-21-2017
The NHL offices wanted to keep the lid tight on anything expansion draft related as they want to put on a good show at their awards ceremony tonight. With that in mind very little has been leaked lately but as we gear up to the 8 p.m. show live from Las Vegas, some things are leaking out concerning moves that the Golden Knights may be making. Remember, nothing is finalized.
Pierre LeBrun tweets Knights taking Ottawa d-man Mark Methot
Frank Seravalli hearing that VGK is interested in Montreal defenseman Alexie Emelin
Bob McKenzie tweets that those two d-men could be flipped to 3rd team
Both of those defensemen may be of interest to the Buffalo Sabres as they try to enhance their blueline although both are more top-four, shutdown d-men that may not fit into how new coach Phil Housley wants to build his defense.
Darren Dreger is hearing that the Toronto Maple Leafs might lose left wing prospect Brendan Leipsic who had 51 points (18+33) in 45 games for the Marlies last season.
Also mentioned amongst the Golden Knights picks are David Perron (STL) and James Neal (DAL.)
None of those three would seem to be of immediate interest to Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, but you never know. The Sabres maybe losing young left-winger William Carrier in the expansion draft and the rumors of left wing Evander Kane being traded continue, albeit they've subsided quite a bit as of late.
Also of interest, Mike Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes that sources are saying that Vegas signed restricted free agent center Erik Haula which counts as the one player taken from Minnesota. That signing keeps key defensemen Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella in Minnesota but will cost the Wild 2014 first round pick (18th-overall) Alex Tuch. The Golden Knights will be sending a conditional draft pick Minnesota's way.
At one time the Sabres may have been in the running for a direct deal with Minnesota to land one of their defensemen who could've been left unprotected or they could've been in on a deal to trade with Vegas after the selection ceremony. Any thought of landing Wild d-men Jonas Brodin (protected,) Dumba or Scandella have been effectively squashed.
The rumor in Southern California is that the Anaheim Ducks have swung a deal with Las Vegas to keep them away from Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson. Reportedly heading to Vegas is defenseman Shea Theodore. Up the I-5 to Los Angeles, rumor has it that the Kings will be losing defenseman Brayden McNabb to the Golden Knights.
Both would be possibilities in a Sabres deal with Vegas save for the fact the McNabb was a Sabres draft pick before being traded to the Kings. While in Los Angeles McNabb found time on the top-pairing but slowly fell down the depth chart. Sounds a lot like recently acquired Buffalo d-man Nathan Beaulieu and his time in Montreal. Pretty sure the Sabres don't need another reclamation project.
As for Theodore?
Hmmmm...
The Knights are said to be loading up on defensemen with their picks with the hopes that they'll be able to flip some of them for more picks. Many of the headliners will not be chosen because of the deals Las Vegas has made with teams trying to keep their best players.
Knight's GM George McPhee is getting himself an unprecedented haul this expansion draft which is the return on Las Vegas $500 million expansion fee.
Will the Sabres be in on any of this?
One would think they will if there's something they deem necessary and if the price is right. Word on the street is that Vegas will announce their roster tonight, along with a few trades but that much more will be revealed tomorrow. The NHL expansion draft trade freeze ends at 5 a.m. tomorrow and fireworks are expected.
The NHL offices wanted to keep the lid tight on anything expansion draft related as they want to put on a good show at their awards ceremony tonight. With that in mind very little has been leaked lately but as we gear up to the 8 p.m. show live from Las Vegas, some things are leaking out concerning moves that the Golden Knights may be making. Remember, nothing is finalized.
Pierre LeBrun tweets Knights taking Ottawa d-man Mark Methot
Frank Seravalli hearing that VGK is interested in Montreal defenseman Alexie Emelin
Bob McKenzie tweets that those two d-men could be flipped to 3rd team
Both of those defensemen may be of interest to the Buffalo Sabres as they try to enhance their blueline although both are more top-four, shutdown d-men that may not fit into how new coach Phil Housley wants to build his defense.
Darren Dreger is hearing that the Toronto Maple Leafs might lose left wing prospect Brendan Leipsic who had 51 points (18+33) in 45 games for the Marlies last season.
Also mentioned amongst the Golden Knights picks are David Perron (STL) and James Neal (DAL.)
None of those three would seem to be of immediate interest to Buffalo GM Jason Botterill, but you never know. The Sabres maybe losing young left-winger William Carrier in the expansion draft and the rumors of left wing Evander Kane being traded continue, albeit they've subsided quite a bit as of late.
Also of interest, Mike Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes that sources are saying that Vegas signed restricted free agent center Erik Haula which counts as the one player taken from Minnesota. That signing keeps key defensemen Matt Dumba and Marco Scandella in Minnesota but will cost the Wild 2014 first round pick (18th-overall) Alex Tuch. The Golden Knights will be sending a conditional draft pick Minnesota's way.
At one time the Sabres may have been in the running for a direct deal with Minnesota to land one of their defensemen who could've been left unprotected or they could've been in on a deal to trade with Vegas after the selection ceremony. Any thought of landing Wild d-men Jonas Brodin (protected,) Dumba or Scandella have been effectively squashed.
The rumor in Southern California is that the Anaheim Ducks have swung a deal with Las Vegas to keep them away from Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson. Reportedly heading to Vegas is defenseman Shea Theodore. Up the I-5 to Los Angeles, rumor has it that the Kings will be losing defenseman Brayden McNabb to the Golden Knights.
Both would be possibilities in a Sabres deal with Vegas save for the fact the McNabb was a Sabres draft pick before being traded to the Kings. While in Los Angeles McNabb found time on the top-pairing but slowly fell down the depth chart. Sounds a lot like recently acquired Buffalo d-man Nathan Beaulieu and his time in Montreal. Pretty sure the Sabres don't need another reclamation project.
As for Theodore?
Hmmmm...
The Knights are said to be loading up on defensemen with their picks with the hopes that they'll be able to flip some of them for more picks. Many of the headliners will not be chosen because of the deals Las Vegas has made with teams trying to keep their best players.
Knight's GM George McPhee is getting himself an unprecedented haul this expansion draft which is the return on Las Vegas $500 million expansion fee.
Will the Sabres be in on any of this?
One would think they will if there's something they deem necessary and if the price is right. Word on the street is that Vegas will announce their roster tonight, along with a few trades but that much more will be revealed tomorrow. The NHL expansion draft trade freeze ends at 5 a.m. tomorrow and fireworks are expected.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
A quick look at the status of Sabres 2014 draft class
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-31-2017
General manger Tim Murray is gone. The career scout and former Ottawa AGM came to with a plan to finish deconstructing the Sabres and rebuilding them. He did an outstanding job with the former but left plenty of unfinished business for new GM Jason Botterill with the latter as his plans to speed the rebuild hit some speed bumps that caused some damage. The extent of the damage is still being debated as the jury's still out on the draft picks and prospects he traded away.
It will be a few years until we see the impact but here's the status of his first draft class as Buffalo's GM:
2014
C, Sam Reinhart (2nd overall)--167 NHL games, 40 goals, 50 assists. Reinhart increased his assists and point-total year-over-year but many felt that his overall game was worse than in his rookie season.
LW, Brendan Lemieux (31st)--Was part of the Tyler Myers/Evander Kane trade with Winnipeg. In 66 AHL games has 12 goals and 17 assists.
C, Eric Cornel (44th)--In 79 AHL games for the Rochester Americans has five goals and 11 assists. Two-way forward, falling down the depth chart.
RW, Vaclav Karabacek (49th)--The Czech winger began with the ECHL's Elmira Jackals (9 games, 5 g, 6a) and played in 23 games for Rochester registering eight points (5+3.) Still a project, won't give up after a rough rookie season.
G, Jonas Johansson (61st)--Taken at the top of the third round, the 6'3" 198 lb. Swede made his pro debut with the Amerks last year. Went 3-3-1 with a 2.85 GAA and .892 Sv%. Pedestrian numbers for an import goalie who was solid overseas.
D, Brycen Martin (74th)--Also split time between Rochester and Elmira. 20 games for the Amerks, zero points, minus-4 rating. Was also a minus-13 in Elmira. Possible reclamation project for Botterill as the Sabres organization needs defensemen.
C, Max Willman (121st)--Just finished his junior season at Brown University. In 90 games the 6'0" 183 lb. Willman has 15 goals and 25 assists. One more year in college before Buffalo needs to make a decision on him.
C, Christopher Brown (151st)--Just finished his sophomore season at Hockey East powerhouse Boston College. Made great strides with 26 points (9+17) last season.
RW, Victor Olofsson (161st)--Slick right-winger did some damage in the playoffs last season for his new Frolunda team in the Swedish Elite League with 12 points (4+8) in 14 games. The 21 yr. old would be a real good addition to an organization in need of upper-level forward talent on the wing.
General manger Tim Murray is gone. The career scout and former Ottawa AGM came to with a plan to finish deconstructing the Sabres and rebuilding them. He did an outstanding job with the former but left plenty of unfinished business for new GM Jason Botterill with the latter as his plans to speed the rebuild hit some speed bumps that caused some damage. The extent of the damage is still being debated as the jury's still out on the draft picks and prospects he traded away.
It will be a few years until we see the impact but here's the status of his first draft class as Buffalo's GM:
2014
C, Sam Reinhart (2nd overall)--167 NHL games, 40 goals, 50 assists. Reinhart increased his assists and point-total year-over-year but many felt that his overall game was worse than in his rookie season.
LW, Brendan Lemieux (31st)--Was part of the Tyler Myers/Evander Kane trade with Winnipeg. In 66 AHL games has 12 goals and 17 assists.
C, Eric Cornel (44th)--In 79 AHL games for the Rochester Americans has five goals and 11 assists. Two-way forward, falling down the depth chart.
RW, Vaclav Karabacek (49th)--The Czech winger began with the ECHL's Elmira Jackals (9 games, 5 g, 6a) and played in 23 games for Rochester registering eight points (5+3.) Still a project, won't give up after a rough rookie season.
G, Jonas Johansson (61st)--Taken at the top of the third round, the 6'3" 198 lb. Swede made his pro debut with the Amerks last year. Went 3-3-1 with a 2.85 GAA and .892 Sv%. Pedestrian numbers for an import goalie who was solid overseas.
D, Brycen Martin (74th)--Also split time between Rochester and Elmira. 20 games for the Amerks, zero points, minus-4 rating. Was also a minus-13 in Elmira. Possible reclamation project for Botterill as the Sabres organization needs defensemen.
C, Max Willman (121st)--Just finished his junior season at Brown University. In 90 games the 6'0" 183 lb. Willman has 15 goals and 25 assists. One more year in college before Buffalo needs to make a decision on him.
C, Christopher Brown (151st)--Just finished his sophomore season at Hockey East powerhouse Boston College. Made great strides with 26 points (9+17) last season.
RW, Victor Olofsson (161st)--Slick right-winger did some damage in the playoffs last season for his new Frolunda team in the Swedish Elite League with 12 points (4+8) in 14 games. The 21 yr. old would be a real good addition to an organization in need of upper-level forward talent on the wing.
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Awaiting Antipin and...on Ryan O'Reilly
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-22-2017
Although he's only 5'9" 176 lbs. Russian defenseman Viktor Antipin will be welcome with open arms on the Buffalo blueline as the Sabres defense-corps is ripe for change.
KHL insider and European hockeybuzz colleague Aivis Kalnins has been on the story and tweeted yesterday that he's "hearing Viktor Antipin is set to sign with the Buffalo Sabres. Player also told ''Sport Express'' that he is arriving in Buffalo next week."
Also of interest, Kalnins reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins were in the mix for Antipin's services. "[Present Sabres GM Jason Botterill comes from an organization that also wanted to get Antipin, that should tell the story," he tweeted yesterday. We'd heard that a number of teams were in on him but this is the first team to be named.
The story is that Antipin, despite his size has managed to do some real good things during his six seasons with the KHL's Magnitogorsk Metallurg. The 24 yr. old broke into the league with a two-game taste in 2010-11 then followed with a robust rookie campaign of 10 goals and 11 assists in 50 games for Metallurg. Last season he finished with 24 points (6+18) in 59 games and during his five full seasons with the team he was never minus player. Antipin was on two Gagarin Cup-winning teams, was a 2013 All-Star and now has two silver and two bronze medals on his international resume thanks to Russia's bronze medal performance at the 2017 IIHF World Hockey Championships.
For those of us who were able to catch some of the Worlds this year, Antipin saw plenty of ice-time in all situations with the left-hander playing both sides of the ice. He has excellent recovery time on defense and can find open ice in the offensive zone, especially deep in the slot. Antipin, like seemingly every Russian defenseman knows how to get up ice and into the play.
The Sabres presently have two players who are almost assured to be on the blueline next season--Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe. After that it's somewhat of a crap shoot. No. 3 on the depth chart is Zack Bogosian who has a hefty contract that's difficult to live up to, especially when injuries are starting to take their toll on the soon to be 27 yr. old. After that there's 32 yr. old Josh Gorges, who's role was drastically reduced last season, and Justin Falk who was re-signed by former Sabres GM Tim Murray as a depth defenseman.
It's a situation that leaves the door wide open for Antipin and one of the main reasons he'll reportedly be joining the Sabres instead of some other NHL club. God knows that Buffalo defense-corps can use a jolt.
*****
Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly and Team Canada took home the silver medal at the World's after Henrik Lundqvist backstopped Team Sweden to a shootout win in the Gold Medal Game. O'Reilly scored the only goal for Canada yesterday and nicked the crossbar on his shootout attempt. He finished the tournament with six goals and three assists in 10 games including an overtime winner against Team Russia in the semi-finals.
O'Reilly was a workhorse for Canada coach Jon Cooper much like he's been for Buffalo since coming over in a trade from Colorado in June, 2015. He logged huge minutes for the Canadians throughout the tourney and was on the ice in all situations taking huge faceoffs at critical times. But for him, the 2016-17 hockey season is over and after some down time O'Reilly will begin to focus on next season in Buffalo.
O'Reilly's two-way acumen would be welcome on any team and in he'll be sharing top-two center duties on the Sabres with 20 yr. old Jack Eichel. There's a lot up in the air in Buffalo including the coach and the captaincy and you can bet that O'Reilly and Eichel will be the focus for the new coach on the captaincy.
Murray was generally lauded for bringing O'Reilly to the club via trade although he gave up some pretty good young players in the process, notably left-handed defenseman Nikita Zadorov and center prospect JT Compher who could end up being a player like O'Reilly. It was the contract extension Murray re-signed O'Reilly to that seems to be on the minds of most Sabres fans.
O'Reilly signed a seven year extension in 2015 that will keep him as a Sabres until the end of the 2022-23 season and his cap-hit of $7.5 million is beginning to draw the ire of stat-watchers. Although he lead the team in scoring two years ago and was second last season, his 41 goals and 74 assists doesn't seem befitting of a contract like that. Other stats like his team-leading time on ice and face off percentage as well as a year-over-year 15 point gain in plus/minus won't move the needle for stat-watchers either.
That said, there have been a lot of problems in Buffalo, most notably last season, which may have hampered players from reaching their potential. Where those problems stemmed from will soon be revealed as there will be a new coach this season and hopefully a revamped defense and I'm starting to think that the last two seasons should be viewed rather skeptically. And that goes for a lot of the roster last season.
The new Sabres coach will have the task of getting O'Reilly and Eichel into their proper roles and it will be paramount to driving the offense up-front. There are two big egos at play in those two and if they can align properly, the Sabres won't need to worry too much about the forwards because they'll have their top-two centers--a goal-scorer and two-way player--in place.
It's been 10 years since the organization could make that latter claim and other than a true No. 1 defensemen getting a top center is very difficult to do in today's NHL.
Regardless of how it all plays out, one thing we can count on is O'Reilly carrying a huge load in all situations for the club, just like he did the past two season in Buffalo and for Team Canada at the Worlds.
Although he's only 5'9" 176 lbs. Russian defenseman Viktor Antipin will be welcome with open arms on the Buffalo blueline as the Sabres defense-corps is ripe for change.
KHL insider and European hockeybuzz colleague Aivis Kalnins has been on the story and tweeted yesterday that he's "hearing Viktor Antipin is set to sign with the Buffalo Sabres. Player also told ''Sport Express'' that he is arriving in Buffalo next week."
Also of interest, Kalnins reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins were in the mix for Antipin's services. "[Present Sabres GM Jason Botterill comes from an organization that also wanted to get Antipin, that should tell the story," he tweeted yesterday. We'd heard that a number of teams were in on him but this is the first team to be named.
The story is that Antipin, despite his size has managed to do some real good things during his six seasons with the KHL's Magnitogorsk Metallurg. The 24 yr. old broke into the league with a two-game taste in 2010-11 then followed with a robust rookie campaign of 10 goals and 11 assists in 50 games for Metallurg. Last season he finished with 24 points (6+18) in 59 games and during his five full seasons with the team he was never minus player. Antipin was on two Gagarin Cup-winning teams, was a 2013 All-Star and now has two silver and two bronze medals on his international resume thanks to Russia's bronze medal performance at the 2017 IIHF World Hockey Championships.
For those of us who were able to catch some of the Worlds this year, Antipin saw plenty of ice-time in all situations with the left-hander playing both sides of the ice. He has excellent recovery time on defense and can find open ice in the offensive zone, especially deep in the slot. Antipin, like seemingly every Russian defenseman knows how to get up ice and into the play.
The Sabres presently have two players who are almost assured to be on the blueline next season--Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe. After that it's somewhat of a crap shoot. No. 3 on the depth chart is Zack Bogosian who has a hefty contract that's difficult to live up to, especially when injuries are starting to take their toll on the soon to be 27 yr. old. After that there's 32 yr. old Josh Gorges, who's role was drastically reduced last season, and Justin Falk who was re-signed by former Sabres GM Tim Murray as a depth defenseman.
It's a situation that leaves the door wide open for Antipin and one of the main reasons he'll reportedly be joining the Sabres instead of some other NHL club. God knows that Buffalo defense-corps can use a jolt.
*****
Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly and Team Canada took home the silver medal at the World's after Henrik Lundqvist backstopped Team Sweden to a shootout win in the Gold Medal Game. O'Reilly scored the only goal for Canada yesterday and nicked the crossbar on his shootout attempt. He finished the tournament with six goals and three assists in 10 games including an overtime winner against Team Russia in the semi-finals.
O'Reilly was a workhorse for Canada coach Jon Cooper much like he's been for Buffalo since coming over in a trade from Colorado in June, 2015. He logged huge minutes for the Canadians throughout the tourney and was on the ice in all situations taking huge faceoffs at critical times. But for him, the 2016-17 hockey season is over and after some down time O'Reilly will begin to focus on next season in Buffalo.
O'Reilly's two-way acumen would be welcome on any team and in he'll be sharing top-two center duties on the Sabres with 20 yr. old Jack Eichel. There's a lot up in the air in Buffalo including the coach and the captaincy and you can bet that O'Reilly and Eichel will be the focus for the new coach on the captaincy.
Murray was generally lauded for bringing O'Reilly to the club via trade although he gave up some pretty good young players in the process, notably left-handed defenseman Nikita Zadorov and center prospect JT Compher who could end up being a player like O'Reilly. It was the contract extension Murray re-signed O'Reilly to that seems to be on the minds of most Sabres fans.
O'Reilly signed a seven year extension in 2015 that will keep him as a Sabres until the end of the 2022-23 season and his cap-hit of $7.5 million is beginning to draw the ire of stat-watchers. Although he lead the team in scoring two years ago and was second last season, his 41 goals and 74 assists doesn't seem befitting of a contract like that. Other stats like his team-leading time on ice and face off percentage as well as a year-over-year 15 point gain in plus/minus won't move the needle for stat-watchers either.
That said, there have been a lot of problems in Buffalo, most notably last season, which may have hampered players from reaching their potential. Where those problems stemmed from will soon be revealed as there will be a new coach this season and hopefully a revamped defense and I'm starting to think that the last two seasons should be viewed rather skeptically. And that goes for a lot of the roster last season.
The new Sabres coach will have the task of getting O'Reilly and Eichel into their proper roles and it will be paramount to driving the offense up-front. There are two big egos at play in those two and if they can align properly, the Sabres won't need to worry too much about the forwards because they'll have their top-two centers--a goal-scorer and two-way player--in place.
It's been 10 years since the organization could make that latter claim and other than a true No. 1 defensemen getting a top center is very difficult to do in today's NHL.
Regardless of how it all plays out, one thing we can count on is O'Reilly carrying a huge load in all situations for the club, just like he did the past two season in Buffalo and for Team Canada at the Worlds.
Monday, May 22, 2017
O'Reilly leads Team Canada to win over Russia. Antipin ready to ink?
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-20-2017
Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly scored the game-winning goal and added a primary assist on an empty-netter in helping Team Canada rally for a 4-2 victory over Team Russia at the IIHF World Championships in Cologne, Germany. Much like he did in Buffalo, O'Reilly was a workhorse for the Canadians as he skated 21:21 which was second only to defenseman Colton Parayko (STL.) He was recognized as the Player of the Game for Team Canada.
O'Reilly has eight points (5+3) in nine game for the tournament and will have the opportunity to add to that as Team Canada will face off against the winner of today's Sweden-Finland matchup for the right to play for the gold medal.
Meanwhile, Russian defenseman Viktor Antipin, whom the Sabres are said to be signing very soon, will play in tomorrow's bronze medal game against the loser of Sweden-Finland. The 5'9" 176 lb. Antipin left the Canada/Russia matchup with a plus-1 rating and one shot on goal. For the tournament Antipin has three assists in nine games and has a plus-4 rating.
Antipin's name has been associated with the Sabres for weeks now with hockeybuzz.com's Aivis Kalnins tweeting yesterday that "Antipin and Sabres talked recently and nothing has changed, expect him to sign with the Sabres." That the Antipin signing was still moving in that direction was confirmed when Russian hockey writer Igor Eronko talked with hosts Howard Simon and Jeremy White on WGR550 Radio yesterday.
"I heard this months ago that [Antipin's] definitely leaving [the KHL]," Eronko told the hosts. "I can confirm that he will sign exactly with Buffalo."
The hosts were curious as to why Antipin chose Buffalo and, as Sabres fans know, there was an obvious reason. "Because there's a place for him," he said. "The Sabres don't have the best defense in the NHL, obviously, and they have a spot for a guy like him." He continued on giving us a little insight into the player that is Viktor Antipin. "He's small in stature but very strong on the puck. [He's] a good puck-moving defensemen and that's exactly what may be needed for Buffalo in the top-four.
"He's wins a lot of battles, he plays penalty kill and powerplay and in all key situations he's on the ice. He's a defenseman that's quite reliable."
Anyone who's had the opportunity to watch Russia in this tournament can see that their transition game is top-notch and their defense is very active. Antipin is definitely of that ilk and oft-times one can find him in the slot in the offensive zone.
On the negative side, Eronko thinks Antipin will need to add speed and strength.
If all works out, perhaps sometime early next week we will have Antipin's signature on a Sabres contract which constitutes a step in the right direction for the team as they try to fix a broken defense-corps.
Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O'Reilly scored the game-winning goal and added a primary assist on an empty-netter in helping Team Canada rally for a 4-2 victory over Team Russia at the IIHF World Championships in Cologne, Germany. Much like he did in Buffalo, O'Reilly was a workhorse for the Canadians as he skated 21:21 which was second only to defenseman Colton Parayko (STL.) He was recognized as the Player of the Game for Team Canada.
O'Reilly has eight points (5+3) in nine game for the tournament and will have the opportunity to add to that as Team Canada will face off against the winner of today's Sweden-Finland matchup for the right to play for the gold medal.
Meanwhile, Russian defenseman Viktor Antipin, whom the Sabres are said to be signing very soon, will play in tomorrow's bronze medal game against the loser of Sweden-Finland. The 5'9" 176 lb. Antipin left the Canada/Russia matchup with a plus-1 rating and one shot on goal. For the tournament Antipin has three assists in nine games and has a plus-4 rating.
Antipin's name has been associated with the Sabres for weeks now with hockeybuzz.com's Aivis Kalnins tweeting yesterday that "Antipin and Sabres talked recently and nothing has changed, expect him to sign with the Sabres." That the Antipin signing was still moving in that direction was confirmed when Russian hockey writer Igor Eronko talked with hosts Howard Simon and Jeremy White on WGR550 Radio yesterday.
"I heard this months ago that [Antipin's] definitely leaving [the KHL]," Eronko told the hosts. "I can confirm that he will sign exactly with Buffalo."
The hosts were curious as to why Antipin chose Buffalo and, as Sabres fans know, there was an obvious reason. "Because there's a place for him," he said. "The Sabres don't have the best defense in the NHL, obviously, and they have a spot for a guy like him." He continued on giving us a little insight into the player that is Viktor Antipin. "He's small in stature but very strong on the puck. [He's] a good puck-moving defensemen and that's exactly what may be needed for Buffalo in the top-four.
"He's wins a lot of battles, he plays penalty kill and powerplay and in all key situations he's on the ice. He's a defenseman that's quite reliable."
Anyone who's had the opportunity to watch Russia in this tournament can see that their transition game is top-notch and their defense is very active. Antipin is definitely of that ilk and oft-times one can find him in the slot in the offensive zone.
On the negative side, Eronko thinks Antipin will need to add speed and strength.
If all works out, perhaps sometime early next week we will have Antipin's signature on a Sabres contract which constitutes a step in the right direction for the team as they try to fix a broken defense-corps.
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Eichel/USA take down Russia/Antipin at Worlds as PP finally breaks through
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-16-2017
It took a while for Team USA to finally figure out how to break through on the powerplay and thanks to Team Russia's penchant for aggressive stick penalties, the Americans had themselves plenty of chances. Russia committed eight minor penalties with seven being either slashing or high-sticking.
Team Russia came out wielding the stick 3:51 into the first period and by the end, Team USA was on their fifth powerplay, which included a double-minor for drawing blood on a high-stick. Unfortunately USA couldn't get one past Russia netminder Andrei Vasilevsky as his penalty killers clogged the middle with a tight box. However two unsuccessful powerplays did forshadow how the Americans could finally break through.
On one powerplay mid-way through the first, Team USA got a shot through and crashed the net on one of the few rebounds Vasilevsky left. Although it didn't work, early in the second period with a carryover powerplay Clayton Keller (ARI) got a shot through from the point that handcuffed Vasilevsky and he left a rebound in the crease. Brock Nelson (NYI) found the puck and found a wide open Jimmy Hayes (NYR) on the weak-side and Hayes buried it to knot the score at 1-1.
The second period was about as good a period of hockey you'll ever see as two long-time hockey adversaries traded hits, skating and scoring chances. When all was said and done Team USA overcame two more one-goal deficits and headed into the intermission with a 3-3 tie.
With just under eight minutes to play and the game knotted still knotted, the Americans took their first lead of the game by converting on the powerplay again. Buffalo's Jack Eichel, who'd been trying time and time again to get a cross-ice pass through the tight Russian defense finally did as he sent a bullet to Johnny Gaudreau (CGY) on the weak side. Gaudreau wasted no time sending it to Anders Lee (NYI) on the far side of the crease for the tap in.
USA would add an empty net goal for the 5-3 final score. It was Team USA's sixth win in a row after dropping their first preliminary round game to Germany. With the win USA wins Group A.
Potential Buffalo Sabres free agent signee Viktor Antipin was patrolling the Russian blueline and finished the game with 17:28 of ice-time while registering a shot and an even plus/minus rating. He was on the weak side when Eichel made his pass to Gaudreau but couldn't do much on the play. Antipin played both sides of the ice and looked very solid. For the seven preliminary round games he's played in Antipin registered one assist, had five shots on goal and was a plus-2.
Word on the street is that Antipin will be signing with the Sabres after the World Championships.
It took a while for Team USA to finally figure out how to break through on the powerplay and thanks to Team Russia's penchant for aggressive stick penalties, the Americans had themselves plenty of chances. Russia committed eight minor penalties with seven being either slashing or high-sticking.
Team Russia came out wielding the stick 3:51 into the first period and by the end, Team USA was on their fifth powerplay, which included a double-minor for drawing blood on a high-stick. Unfortunately USA couldn't get one past Russia netminder Andrei Vasilevsky as his penalty killers clogged the middle with a tight box. However two unsuccessful powerplays did forshadow how the Americans could finally break through.
On one powerplay mid-way through the first, Team USA got a shot through and crashed the net on one of the few rebounds Vasilevsky left. Although it didn't work, early in the second period with a carryover powerplay Clayton Keller (ARI) got a shot through from the point that handcuffed Vasilevsky and he left a rebound in the crease. Brock Nelson (NYI) found the puck and found a wide open Jimmy Hayes (NYR) on the weak-side and Hayes buried it to knot the score at 1-1.
The second period was about as good a period of hockey you'll ever see as two long-time hockey adversaries traded hits, skating and scoring chances. When all was said and done Team USA overcame two more one-goal deficits and headed into the intermission with a 3-3 tie.
With just under eight minutes to play and the game knotted still knotted, the Americans took their first lead of the game by converting on the powerplay again. Buffalo's Jack Eichel, who'd been trying time and time again to get a cross-ice pass through the tight Russian defense finally did as he sent a bullet to Johnny Gaudreau (CGY) on the weak side. Gaudreau wasted no time sending it to Anders Lee (NYI) on the far side of the crease for the tap in.
USA would add an empty net goal for the 5-3 final score. It was Team USA's sixth win in a row after dropping their first preliminary round game to Germany. With the win USA wins Group A.
Potential Buffalo Sabres free agent signee Viktor Antipin was patrolling the Russian blueline and finished the game with 17:28 of ice-time while registering a shot and an even plus/minus rating. He was on the weak side when Eichel made his pass to Gaudreau but couldn't do much on the play. Antipin played both sides of the ice and looked very solid. For the seven preliminary round games he's played in Antipin registered one assist, had five shots on goal and was a plus-2.
Word on the street is that Antipin will be signing with the Sabres after the World Championships.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)