Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
As of tomorrow there will be only 21 shopping days left until trade deadline day.
Word on the street is that the press box at First Niagara Center was overflowing last night with scouts from various teams doing a little window shopping. The Sabres have a number of unrestricted free agents and some guy named Tyler Myers, whom a lot of teams seem to covet, that may be of interest. Although Myers isn't a pending UFA, GM Tim Murray has stated that anyone can be moved on a last place team.
Before we get to that, the Sabres are coming off of three strong performances that have resulted in them grabbing four of a possible six points. No worries, y'all. The Sabres are still in last place and still have yet to make any deals.
Showing posts with label jhonas enroth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jhonas enroth. Show all posts
Monday, February 9, 2015
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Oh what a relief it is. Plus other notes.
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
N-ole' for you, Les Habitants. And thanks for doing your little part in allowing the Buffalo Sabres a reprieve from a franchise low-point.
For posterity's sake, the Sabres were on a 14-game losing streak, obliterating the previous losing streak of eight games set in the 2002-03 season as they hit Bell Centre Ice in Montreal. On the road they'd lost 10 in a row before the win last night and were winless in 14 road games (0-13-1.) Their last road victory occurred on November 29, 2014 when they beat the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout.
One final note on that bout with futility, the 3-2 win in Montreal was their first regulation win since a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames at the First Niagara Center on December 11, 2014. A span of 21 games.
N-ole' for you, Les Habitants. And thanks for doing your little part in allowing the Buffalo Sabres a reprieve from a franchise low-point.
For posterity's sake, the Sabres were on a 14-game losing streak, obliterating the previous losing streak of eight games set in the 2002-03 season as they hit Bell Centre Ice in Montreal. On the road they'd lost 10 in a row before the win last night and were winless in 14 road games (0-13-1.) Their last road victory occurred on November 29, 2014 when they beat the Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout.
One final note on that bout with futility, the 3-2 win in Montreal was their first regulation win since a 4-3 victory over the Calgary Flames at the First Niagara Center on December 11, 2014. A span of 21 games.
Friday, January 2, 2015
2014-15 Individual Stats--December
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Jhonas Enroth took a two-hander to the post after Nikita Kucherov scored Tampa's final goal in the Lightning's 5-1 win at Buffalo on New Year's Eve. The tire fire that has been the Sabres' defensive zone work in front of Enroth (and Michal Neuvirth as well) for 10 games finally got to the normally cool Ewok and he had to let it out.
The Sabres started out the month of December really well going 5-2-0 on the back of Enroth's stellar play, sound defensive work and timely scoring. It gave us the illusion that they might be on the precipice of a playoff run. But over the last seven game it was back down to earth. Buffalo finished the month 1-5-1 while allowing 33 goals against and unfortunately for Enroth, he was in net for five of those games.
Enroth could not overcome the mess that was in front and watched his individual numbers drop, albeit only slightly, because of it. His goals against average rose from to 3.16 from 3.11 while his save percentage fell to .908% from .914%.
Jhonas Enroth took a two-hander to the post after Nikita Kucherov scored Tampa's final goal in the Lightning's 5-1 win at Buffalo on New Year's Eve. The tire fire that has been the Sabres' defensive zone work in front of Enroth (and Michal Neuvirth as well) for 10 games finally got to the normally cool Ewok and he had to let it out.
The Sabres started out the month of December really well going 5-2-0 on the back of Enroth's stellar play, sound defensive work and timely scoring. It gave us the illusion that they might be on the precipice of a playoff run. But over the last seven game it was back down to earth. Buffalo finished the month 1-5-1 while allowing 33 goals against and unfortunately for Enroth, he was in net for five of those games.
Enroth could not overcome the mess that was in front and watched his individual numbers drop, albeit only slightly, because of it. His goals against average rose from to 3.16 from 3.11 while his save percentage fell to .908% from .914%.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
If you're gonna have a "soft night," it might as well be on the road
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Perhaps the best way for the 2014-15 regular season to ultimately unfold is for a young, inconsistent Buffalo Sabres team to have strong, entertaining home games balanced by lackluster performances on the road.
On Saturday night Buffalo entered the third period down 3-0 at home to the NY Islanders. For the only the third time in franchise history they were able to come back and win the game (4-3 SO) and they left the ice as a raucous First Niagara Center crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Last night on the road in Ottawa, the Senators scored three unanswered goals, including an empty-netter to take down the Sabres 5-2 in a game that was punctuated by soft, "fly-by" play from the Sabres. Buffalo is now 4-12-1 on the road this season. Only the Edmonton Oilers (what a surprise) have less wins (2) than the Sabres on the road.
For a team that simply doesn't have the firepower to even make a playoff run, a win at home/lose on the road mentality offers up a modicum success in what would otherwise be another bad season.
Perhaps the best way for the 2014-15 regular season to ultimately unfold is for a young, inconsistent Buffalo Sabres team to have strong, entertaining home games balanced by lackluster performances on the road.
On Saturday night Buffalo entered the third period down 3-0 at home to the NY Islanders. For the only the third time in franchise history they were able to come back and win the game (4-3 SO) and they left the ice as a raucous First Niagara Center crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Last night on the road in Ottawa, the Senators scored three unanswered goals, including an empty-netter to take down the Sabres 5-2 in a game that was punctuated by soft, "fly-by" play from the Sabres. Buffalo is now 4-12-1 on the road this season. Only the Edmonton Oilers (what a surprise) have less wins (2) than the Sabres on the road.
For a team that simply doesn't have the firepower to even make a playoff run, a win at home/lose on the road mentality offers up a modicum success in what would otherwise be another bad season.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Enroth and the Sabres pull out the "rope-a-dope" in 1-0 win against Kings
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
No one will ever be able to draw a parallel between the skill level of the Buffalo Sabres and Muhammad Ali. They don't "float like a butterfly" nor do they "sting like a bee." Nor are they "the greatest."
In fact the Sabres of the first two months may be more akin to Jerry Quarry, who was an average size fighter with a couple of good punches, a sturdy chin and decent footwork in the ring. But at every turn, Quarry was no match for the likes of Ali and his lightening fast punches, "Smokin" Joe Frazier and his relentless attack or George Forman and his devastating right hook.
Although Quarry was a gamer he inevitably came up short. In the hockey world he was basically a bottom-six hockey player, who gave it everything he had, but just didn't have the natural ability to hang with the best of his era.
No one will ever be able to draw a parallel between the skill level of the Buffalo Sabres and Muhammad Ali. They don't "float like a butterfly" nor do they "sting like a bee." Nor are they "the greatest."
In fact the Sabres of the first two months may be more akin to Jerry Quarry, who was an average size fighter with a couple of good punches, a sturdy chin and decent footwork in the ring. But at every turn, Quarry was no match for the likes of Ali and his lightening fast punches, "Smokin" Joe Frazier and his relentless attack or George Forman and his devastating right hook.
Although Quarry was a gamer he inevitably came up short. In the hockey world he was basically a bottom-six hockey player, who gave it everything he had, but just didn't have the natural ability to hang with the best of his era.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Sabres gut out another win against Habs
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
For the better part of six periods this weekend (plus an overtime,) the Buffalo Sabres had their butts pinned in their own zone by the Montreal Canadiens. Yet the end result of the home-and-home was two wins for the Sabres and a loser point for the Habs. The Canadiens are a good team. They're fast, strong on the forecheck and can finish. They have a well-balanced group of defensemen that can contribute offensively and some pretty solid goaltending as well. Even with the lone point this weekend, they're still tied for the league lead in points with 34.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the ice in Buffalo on Friday and Montreal on Saturday was decidedly tilted in the Habs favor over most of those two games. Simple stats will show it. The Canadiens won 92 of 132 draws over the weekend, an astounding 70% and Sabres' netminder Jhonas Enroth faced 75 shots on goal while his counterparts faced only 51.
For the better part of six periods this weekend (plus an overtime,) the Buffalo Sabres had their butts pinned in their own zone by the Montreal Canadiens. Yet the end result of the home-and-home was two wins for the Sabres and a loser point for the Habs. The Canadiens are a good team. They're fast, strong on the forecheck and can finish. They have a well-balanced group of defensemen that can contribute offensively and some pretty solid goaltending as well. Even with the lone point this weekend, they're still tied for the league lead in points with 34.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the ice in Buffalo on Friday and Montreal on Saturday was decidedly tilted in the Habs favor over most of those two games. Simple stats will show it. The Canadiens won 92 of 132 draws over the weekend, an astounding 70% and Sabres' netminder Jhonas Enroth faced 75 shots on goal while his counterparts faced only 51.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Building the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres roster--The goalies
Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth made sure he let the coaching staff know that he's ready for the challenge that lies before him. Enroth shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in his first preseason action. He tracked the puck well, moved well and had the puck sticking to him throughout the night. It should also serve notice to Michal Neuvirth, the Sabres other goalie, that he better bring his A-game.
Enroth is a 2006 draft pick, chosen in the second round with the 46th pick overall. He and Mike Weber (57th) are the only two players to make it from that Buffalo draft class.
It's been a long road for Enroth to get to this point. After getting drafted he spent two more years in his native Sweden then began his North American pro career with the Portland Pirates, who were then the AHL affiliate of Buffalo. In 58 games that season he went 26-23-6 with a 2.75 gaa and a .910 sv%. The Pirates made it into the playoffs that year but were bounced in the first round.
The following year he would get better lowering his goals against average to 2.37 and upping his save percentage to .919 while finishing 20-17-2. The Pirates would make the Calder Cup playoffs once again and, once again, get bounced in the first round.
Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth made sure he let the coaching staff know that he's ready for the challenge that lies before him. Enroth shut out the Carolina Hurricanes in his first preseason action. He tracked the puck well, moved well and had the puck sticking to him throughout the night. It should also serve notice to Michal Neuvirth, the Sabres other goalie, that he better bring his A-game.
Enroth is a 2006 draft pick, chosen in the second round with the 46th pick overall. He and Mike Weber (57th) are the only two players to make it from that Buffalo draft class.
It's been a long road for Enroth to get to this point. After getting drafted he spent two more years in his native Sweden then began his North American pro career with the Portland Pirates, who were then the AHL affiliate of Buffalo. In 58 games that season he went 26-23-6 with a 2.75 gaa and a .910 sv%. The Pirates made it into the playoffs that year but were bounced in the first round.
The following year he would get better lowering his goals against average to 2.37 and upping his save percentage to .919 while finishing 20-17-2. The Pirates would make the Calder Cup playoffs once again and, once again, get bounced in the first round.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Should the Sabres draft a goaltender in 2014?
Absolutely.
Where in the draft should they take one?
That's a little tricky.
The Sabres' goalie pipeline is set up nicely right now. Although they don't have the luxury of a young prospect like St. Louis' Jake Allen (2008, #34 overall) that could step in and be a #1 in the very near future, Buffalo does have quality amidst the quantity while the ages and contact status' of the pipeline stretch to seven years. (Of note, Allen, the 2014 AHL Outstanding Goaltender and his Chicago Wolves travel to Rochester on Friday to face off against the Amerks in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.)
Where in the draft should they take one?
That's a little tricky.
The Sabres' goalie pipeline is set up nicely right now. Although they don't have the luxury of a young prospect like St. Louis' Jake Allen (2008, #34 overall) that could step in and be a #1 in the very near future, Buffalo does have quality amidst the quantity while the ages and contact status' of the pipeline stretch to seven years. (Of note, Allen, the 2014 AHL Outstanding Goaltender and his Chicago Wolves travel to Rochester on Friday to face off against the Amerks in the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.)
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Darcy Regier on team-building plus John Scott and other tidbits
It took a while.
Sabres GM Darcy Regier is finally of the mind-set that his group of soft-but-skilled, New-NHL core players can't compete in today's NHL.
Better late than never, I guess.
"I think what we're seeing in the game is it's shifting again to a bigger man's game," said Regier on WGR's Hockey Hotline. "I do generally think the game is getting bigger and you [need] to have people who are willing to compete and you [need] to have size in your lineup. There's a shift in that general direction over what we saw coming out of the [2004-05] lockout."
"We're headed to a very hard-working team and a very hard-working-game being," Regier continued in the interview, "I still think you need a blend. First of all you need competitors, but you need a blend of skill and you need a blend of work and the signature for us is to revolve around work."
It took Regier years to realize that the New-NHL came and went. He's been talking about "tougher to play against" for years and now he would like everyone to believe that the man who dismantled the hardest working team in hockey will rebuild a bigger version of that.
I'll believe it when I see it.
This off-season will give Sabres fans a clue as to whether Regier's really intent upon building like that or if it's lip service.
Looking back at past drafts, one must wonder if he's even capable of finding a player with those assets. When faced with a choice of skill or compete, he nearly always goes with the skill aspect:
Mike Weber (#57, 2006,) Corey Tropp (#89, 2007,) Brayden McNabb (#66, 2009,) and Zemgus Girgensons (#14, 2012) are the only ones in the top 100 picks during Regier's tenure that fit the compete aspect of the equation.
Does Regier have it within him to find those types of players?
He may recognize the need for bringing in players with size, grit and compete, but based upon his history, it's doubtful.
************
John Scott was re-signed for another year this week.
The knock on Scott has been that, outside of his enforcer/protector role, he was not worthy of playing a regular shift.
The big guy did his job as enforcer. Regier summed it up rather nicely on GR saying, "[Scott] created a safe work environment" for the team.
What surprised the organization, though, was his ability to log fourth-line minutes without being a detriment to the team.
Coach Ron Rolston used Scott up to 10 minutes for a few games later in the year based upon the solid work the he did when he played a regular shift.
That's a good thing for Buffalo.
Scott is also good in the locker room and his goofy antics have lightened things up a bit.
************
With the NY Rangers down 3-0 in their playoff series with Boston, head coach John Tortorella benched C Brad Richards for tonight's do or die game at the Garden.
Richards is having a horrendous playoff with only one goal. His play has been so bad in the eyes of "Torts" that before his scratch he was relegated to fourth-line duties.
Two years ago, Richards was the premier free agent on the market and Buffalo was amongst the teams ready to pony up the cash and term to sign the former Conn Smythe winner.
The Olean-Times Herald's Bill Hoppe briefly recounts that time.
"Not surprisingly," Hoppe writes, "the Sabres, then at the height of their spending frenzy, wanted Richards. The brain trust planned to go up and meet with Richards as free agency opened."
Regier and Co. decided they didn't have a chance and turned their attention to FA Ville Leino, whom they signed to a 6 yr./$27M contract.
Safe to say that neither of those two signings have worked out all that well and Hoppe surmises that both may end up being an amnesty buyout this off-season.
It should be noted, though, that Leino may not be an amnesty buyout candidate due to his injury which caused him to miss the final 13 games of this shortened season.
Perhaps that's part of the reason why the Rags scratched Richards rather then use him on the fourth line. He's healthy and eligible for the buyout, which would remove his $6.66M cap-hit from their books.
If he is bought out, some team will be able to land a quality center at a very reasonable price.
His precipitous drop from franchise-like #1 center to healthy scratch is curious to say the least. Teams will need to decide if his skill-level is in serious decline or if there were mitigating factors like Torts and/or possibly the addition of Rick Nash.
Something's not right.
I've often felt Richards was overrated and that he was able to ride that playoff MVP for far too long and for far too much money.
But, he's not that bad, is he?
He's still a top-line center and if he's available this summer, the Sabres might want to take a look at signing him.
I don't care what this year's playoff numbers say.
*************
Sabres back-up goaltender Jhonas Enroth is full of confidence after leading Team Sweden to the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship.
"I'm ready [to start]," he told Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News. "I've been growing a lot," he continued. "I learned a lot from this season. And last season too. My goal is to be a starter one year in the NHL."
That one full year is, presumably, to prove that he can be a full-time #1 goalie.
There seems to be a pretty good chance that he'll have that opportunity this coming season.
Ryan Miller is in the last year of his contract. The team has Enroth on the big club already, and their trade-deadline acquisition, Matt Hackett, is out of waiver options.
*************
Speaking of Miller, if he is on the move, no one knows where he might end up.
He has a limited no-trade clause where he can list eight teams that he doesn't want to be traded to. Unfortunately for the Sabres, teams like the NY Islanders, Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, all of whom could use a #1 goalie, are probably on his no-trade list.
There are other teams who would make for an interesting trade partner, most notably the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and possibly the Washington Capitals or the Colorado Avalanche.
This could be a defining moment for the Sabres organization.
I have no idea what Regier is thinking or what the return would be, but one would guess that he'd love to be able to use Miller as a spring-board to a top-3 pick this season--read a trade with Colorado, Florida or Tampa Bay.
It's highly doubtful that the 'Lanche, who have the #1 overall pick in the draft, would trade that for Miller or even some package from the Sabres.
************
Colorado has a new head coach and VP of hockey operations in Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy.
Roy is a legend in Colorado after leading the team to two Stanley Cups. He was brought in by another Avalanche legend, Joe Sakic, who was also a key cog on those Cup winning teams.
Colorado and Buffalo should not be dismissed as trade partners this summer.
Miller is in a similar situation in Buffalo that Roy was in Montreal before the latter demanded a trade. The Sabres #1 goalie has been derided in Buffalo for sub-par performances over the last couple of seasons and he even gave a booing home crowd a mock-wave.
Roy was humiliated in Montreal by his coach in an 11-1 loss. After finally getting pulled by Mario Trembley he said it would be his last game in Montreal.
He was traded to Colorado, won the Cup that same season and the rest is history.
When Miller was asked about similarities between his game and Roy's he said, "It doesn't mean I want to leave, but if that's what you're getting at, the guy won two Stanley Cups. So, hey, why not?"
The guy he's talking about is now in Colorado with questionable goaltending in Semion Varlamov and one would think that he'd rather have a true #1 goalie manning the crease.
Another connection with Roy and the Sabres is that concerning Mikhail Grigorenko.
Grigorenko played under Roy for the Quebec Remparts and had a stellar season before joining the Sabres after the lockout ended.
I'd asked Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com about the possibility of Roy being highly interested in Grigorenko but Bakes said that the Russian center wasn't a good fit in the locker room after his return to junior.
Even so, it wouldn't be all that surprising if the Sabres an Avalanche hooked up. What the pieces would be is the interesting part.
Sabres GM Darcy Regier is finally of the mind-set that his group of soft-but-skilled, New-NHL core players can't compete in today's NHL.
Better late than never, I guess.
"I think what we're seeing in the game is it's shifting again to a bigger man's game," said Regier on WGR's Hockey Hotline. "I do generally think the game is getting bigger and you [need] to have people who are willing to compete and you [need] to have size in your lineup. There's a shift in that general direction over what we saw coming out of the [2004-05] lockout."
"We're headed to a very hard-working team and a very hard-working-game being," Regier continued in the interview, "I still think you need a blend. First of all you need competitors, but you need a blend of skill and you need a blend of work and the signature for us is to revolve around work."
It took Regier years to realize that the New-NHL came and went. He's been talking about "tougher to play against" for years and now he would like everyone to believe that the man who dismantled the hardest working team in hockey will rebuild a bigger version of that.
I'll believe it when I see it.
This off-season will give Sabres fans a clue as to whether Regier's really intent upon building like that or if it's lip service.
Looking back at past drafts, one must wonder if he's even capable of finding a player with those assets. When faced with a choice of skill or compete, he nearly always goes with the skill aspect:
- 1998--D Dmitri Kalinin (#18 overall) over D Robyn Regehr (#19)
- Slick forwards Artem Kryukov (#15, 2000,) Jiri Novotny (#22, 2001,) Marek Zagrapan (#13, 2005,) Joel Armia (#16, 2011) and Mikhail Grigorenko (#12, 2012.)
- Puck-moving defensemen--Henrik Tallinder (#48, 1998,) Keith Ballard (#11, 2002,) Dennis Persson, (#24, 2006) TJ Brennan (#31, 2007,) Tyler Myers (#12, 2008) and Mark Pysyk (#23, 2010) plus Brian Campbell, Doug Janik, Andrej Sekera, Drew Schiestel, and Jerome Gauthier-Leduc.
- Small, but skilled forwards--Derek Roy, Jason Pominville, Tyler Ennis and Daniel Catenacci
- Big forwards and defensemen who play/played small--Ales Kotalik, Drew Stafford, Michael Funk, Mike Card, Luke Adam and Zack Kassian.
Mike Weber (#57, 2006,) Corey Tropp (#89, 2007,) Brayden McNabb (#66, 2009,) and Zemgus Girgensons (#14, 2012) are the only ones in the top 100 picks during Regier's tenure that fit the compete aspect of the equation.
Does Regier have it within him to find those types of players?
He may recognize the need for bringing in players with size, grit and compete, but based upon his history, it's doubtful.
************
John Scott was re-signed for another year this week.
The knock on Scott has been that, outside of his enforcer/protector role, he was not worthy of playing a regular shift.
The big guy did his job as enforcer. Regier summed it up rather nicely on GR saying, "[Scott] created a safe work environment" for the team.
What surprised the organization, though, was his ability to log fourth-line minutes without being a detriment to the team.
Coach Ron Rolston used Scott up to 10 minutes for a few games later in the year based upon the solid work the he did when he played a regular shift.
That's a good thing for Buffalo.
Scott is also good in the locker room and his goofy antics have lightened things up a bit.
************
With the NY Rangers down 3-0 in their playoff series with Boston, head coach John Tortorella benched C Brad Richards for tonight's do or die game at the Garden.
Richards is having a horrendous playoff with only one goal. His play has been so bad in the eyes of "Torts" that before his scratch he was relegated to fourth-line duties.
Two years ago, Richards was the premier free agent on the market and Buffalo was amongst the teams ready to pony up the cash and term to sign the former Conn Smythe winner.
The Olean-Times Herald's Bill Hoppe briefly recounts that time.
"Not surprisingly," Hoppe writes, "the Sabres, then at the height of their spending frenzy, wanted Richards. The brain trust planned to go up and meet with Richards as free agency opened."
Regier and Co. decided they didn't have a chance and turned their attention to FA Ville Leino, whom they signed to a 6 yr./$27M contract.
Safe to say that neither of those two signings have worked out all that well and Hoppe surmises that both may end up being an amnesty buyout this off-season.
It should be noted, though, that Leino may not be an amnesty buyout candidate due to his injury which caused him to miss the final 13 games of this shortened season.
Perhaps that's part of the reason why the Rags scratched Richards rather then use him on the fourth line. He's healthy and eligible for the buyout, which would remove his $6.66M cap-hit from their books.
If he is bought out, some team will be able to land a quality center at a very reasonable price.
His precipitous drop from franchise-like #1 center to healthy scratch is curious to say the least. Teams will need to decide if his skill-level is in serious decline or if there were mitigating factors like Torts and/or possibly the addition of Rick Nash.
Something's not right.
I've often felt Richards was overrated and that he was able to ride that playoff MVP for far too long and for far too much money.
But, he's not that bad, is he?
He's still a top-line center and if he's available this summer, the Sabres might want to take a look at signing him.
I don't care what this year's playoff numbers say.
*************
Sabres back-up goaltender Jhonas Enroth is full of confidence after leading Team Sweden to the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship.
"I'm ready [to start]," he told Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News. "I've been growing a lot," he continued. "I learned a lot from this season. And last season too. My goal is to be a starter one year in the NHL."
That one full year is, presumably, to prove that he can be a full-time #1 goalie.
There seems to be a pretty good chance that he'll have that opportunity this coming season.
Ryan Miller is in the last year of his contract. The team has Enroth on the big club already, and their trade-deadline acquisition, Matt Hackett, is out of waiver options.
*************
Speaking of Miller, if he is on the move, no one knows where he might end up.
He has a limited no-trade clause where he can list eight teams that he doesn't want to be traded to. Unfortunately for the Sabres, teams like the NY Islanders, Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, all of whom could use a #1 goalie, are probably on his no-trade list.
There are other teams who would make for an interesting trade partner, most notably the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and possibly the Washington Capitals or the Colorado Avalanche.
This could be a defining moment for the Sabres organization.
I have no idea what Regier is thinking or what the return would be, but one would guess that he'd love to be able to use Miller as a spring-board to a top-3 pick this season--read a trade with Colorado, Florida or Tampa Bay.
It's highly doubtful that the 'Lanche, who have the #1 overall pick in the draft, would trade that for Miller or even some package from the Sabres.
************
Colorado has a new head coach and VP of hockey operations in Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy.
Roy is a legend in Colorado after leading the team to two Stanley Cups. He was brought in by another Avalanche legend, Joe Sakic, who was also a key cog on those Cup winning teams.
Colorado and Buffalo should not be dismissed as trade partners this summer.
Miller is in a similar situation in Buffalo that Roy was in Montreal before the latter demanded a trade. The Sabres #1 goalie has been derided in Buffalo for sub-par performances over the last couple of seasons and he even gave a booing home crowd a mock-wave.
Roy was humiliated in Montreal by his coach in an 11-1 loss. After finally getting pulled by Mario Trembley he said it would be his last game in Montreal.
He was traded to Colorado, won the Cup that same season and the rest is history.
When Miller was asked about similarities between his game and Roy's he said, "It doesn't mean I want to leave, but if that's what you're getting at, the guy won two Stanley Cups. So, hey, why not?"
The guy he's talking about is now in Colorado with questionable goaltending in Semion Varlamov and one would think that he'd rather have a true #1 goalie manning the crease.
Another connection with Roy and the Sabres is that concerning Mikhail Grigorenko.
Grigorenko played under Roy for the Quebec Remparts and had a stellar season before joining the Sabres after the lockout ended.
I'd asked Kris Baker of sabresprospects.com about the possibility of Roy being highly interested in Grigorenko but Bakes said that the Russian center wasn't a good fit in the locker room after his return to junior.
Even so, it wouldn't be all that surprising if the Sabres an Avalanche hooked up. What the pieces would be is the interesting part.
Friday, May 17, 2013
From the IIHF to the Sharks/Kings plus Lupul and the Leafs collapse
It was a good hockey day yesterday. Was able to catch the most of the Slovakia/Finland game and the Canada/Sweden game yesterday afternoon at the Worlds. Plus, later that night I caught a good portion of the San Jose' Sharks/LA Kings playoff matchup.
A few things about the IIHF games:
--Jhonas Enroth was stout in net for Team Sweden, and as shown when he stifled Canada's Steven Stamkos on a breakaway, he's tough to beat mano-y-mano. Therefore the shootout win. He's done that in Buffalo often over the last couple of seasons with the Sabres. Gotta love his competitive fire.
--Former Sabres' head coach Lindy Ruff was behind the bench for Team Canada. They played a tight defensive game, clogging up the neutral zone and generally playing a cautious game. Enroth's stop on Stamkos was a game-changer as Team Canada could have gone up 2-0 had he connected. Kinda sounds familiar to Sabres fans.
--Team Canada goalie Mike Smith played a solid game. Should the Sabres end up trading Ryan Miller, Smith may be a viable alternative in net. He's coming off a contract that paid him $2M last season. Smith is a solid goalie who has kicked up his game in the playoffs. There are signs of a Tim Thomas like future ahead of him should he land on a Cup-quality team. Wouldn't mind tandem of Enroth and Smith heading into 2013-14. Might be pretty solid. And it won't break the bank either.
--Andrej Sekera scored Slovakia's second goal last night to help them claw back from a 3-0 deficit vs. Finland. The Sabres' defensman playing for his homeland team moved to the center of the ice on the play and blasted a rising shot through a crowd from near the blueline. With a much larger ice-surface in international play, Sekera had plenty of room to skate all through the game. There's a marked difference between his international game and the one he plays on a smaller NHL rink. Which isn't good for the Sabres.
*************
While watching the Sharks/Kings game last night, I couldn't help but notice the smaller ice surface in the NHL and was left to wonder why the biggest players in the world play on a smaller rink.
If the NHL really wanted to improve the game they'd make the ice-surfact bigger. Right?
Of course that would mean hundreds of high dollar seats eliminated and no owner would want that.
Perhaps Commish Gary Bettman and Co. should devise a plan to widen the rinks in the future. Maybe they could use that as a premise for the next lockout when the owners will want to add more to their share of hockey related revenue.
*************
The Kings are a team that knows how to navigate a smaller ice surface, know how to play the North American game, have oodles of talent and sandpaper and are the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
The Sharks had them on the hook last night, but two penalties late in the game allowed the Kings to pull out a victory.
Los Angeles looks primed to hoist the Cup once again.
They're hitting their stride having won six in a row and look very tough to beat.
*************
When the Toronto Maple Leafs blew a three-goal lead in Game-7 at Boston, the anguish that Leafs fans felt should not be wished upon anyone.
But...
if it's gonna happen to any team and fan-base, gotta love that it happened to Toronto (with Vancouver being a very close second.)
Speaking of the Maple Leafs collapse, forward Joffery Lupul was quoted as saying, "that hockey game will haunt me until the day I die."
Karma's a bitch there, Jof.
Better heed the warning signs, buddy. If you screw up in this life, Satan has it all lined up for you in hell: locked in a hotel room in Buffalo with a continuous loop of your Leafs' third period/overtime, Game-7 collapse.
A few things about the IIHF games:
--Jhonas Enroth was stout in net for Team Sweden, and as shown when he stifled Canada's Steven Stamkos on a breakaway, he's tough to beat mano-y-mano. Therefore the shootout win. He's done that in Buffalo often over the last couple of seasons with the Sabres. Gotta love his competitive fire.
--Former Sabres' head coach Lindy Ruff was behind the bench for Team Canada. They played a tight defensive game, clogging up the neutral zone and generally playing a cautious game. Enroth's stop on Stamkos was a game-changer as Team Canada could have gone up 2-0 had he connected. Kinda sounds familiar to Sabres fans.
--Team Canada goalie Mike Smith played a solid game. Should the Sabres end up trading Ryan Miller, Smith may be a viable alternative in net. He's coming off a contract that paid him $2M last season. Smith is a solid goalie who has kicked up his game in the playoffs. There are signs of a Tim Thomas like future ahead of him should he land on a Cup-quality team. Wouldn't mind tandem of Enroth and Smith heading into 2013-14. Might be pretty solid. And it won't break the bank either.
--Andrej Sekera scored Slovakia's second goal last night to help them claw back from a 3-0 deficit vs. Finland. The Sabres' defensman playing for his homeland team moved to the center of the ice on the play and blasted a rising shot through a crowd from near the blueline. With a much larger ice-surface in international play, Sekera had plenty of room to skate all through the game. There's a marked difference between his international game and the one he plays on a smaller NHL rink. Which isn't good for the Sabres.
*************
While watching the Sharks/Kings game last night, I couldn't help but notice the smaller ice surface in the NHL and was left to wonder why the biggest players in the world play on a smaller rink.
If the NHL really wanted to improve the game they'd make the ice-surfact bigger. Right?
Of course that would mean hundreds of high dollar seats eliminated and no owner would want that.
Perhaps Commish Gary Bettman and Co. should devise a plan to widen the rinks in the future. Maybe they could use that as a premise for the next lockout when the owners will want to add more to their share of hockey related revenue.
*************
The Kings are a team that knows how to navigate a smaller ice surface, know how to play the North American game, have oodles of talent and sandpaper and are the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
The Sharks had them on the hook last night, but two penalties late in the game allowed the Kings to pull out a victory.
Los Angeles looks primed to hoist the Cup once again.
They're hitting their stride having won six in a row and look very tough to beat.
*************
When the Toronto Maple Leafs blew a three-goal lead in Game-7 at Boston, the anguish that Leafs fans felt should not be wished upon anyone.
But...
if it's gonna happen to any team and fan-base, gotta love that it happened to Toronto (with Vancouver being a very close second.)
Speaking of the Maple Leafs collapse, forward Joffery Lupul was quoted as saying, "that hockey game will haunt me until the day I die."
Karma's a bitch there, Jof.
Better heed the warning signs, buddy. If you screw up in this life, Satan has it all lined up for you in hell: locked in a hotel room in Buffalo with a continuous loop of your Leafs' third period/overtime, Game-7 collapse.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sabres without pilot--figuratively and literally
You're Terry Pegula and the Buffalo Sabres.
The team that once came back from a triumphant opening in Europe to an upgraded locker room with high expectations soon goes into a downward spiral.
Your franchise goaltender got run by a hated rival and the entire team is called out for being wussies.
There have been an number of embarrassments, including one in Pittsburgh where Pegula calls out the goaltending in an 8-3 loss.
That particular loss begins a franchise-record, road losing streak, which sends the team plummeting in the standings.
The streak hit 12 games after last night (the previous record was seven games) as the Sabres dropped a 4-2 decision in St. Louis.
The plan was for the team to board their charter jet and head back to Buffalo before travelling to New Jersey for their final game before the All-Star break.
But...
Jhonas Enroth @JEnroth125
This road trip just got even worst and longer. We don't have a pilot that can fly us home. #ugh
The team that once came back from a triumphant opening in Europe to an upgraded locker room with high expectations soon goes into a downward spiral.
Your franchise goaltender got run by a hated rival and the entire team is called out for being wussies.
There have been an number of embarrassments, including one in Pittsburgh where Pegula calls out the goaltending in an 8-3 loss.
That particular loss begins a franchise-record, road losing streak, which sends the team plummeting in the standings.
The streak hit 12 games after last night (the previous record was seven games) as the Sabres dropped a 4-2 decision in St. Louis.
The plan was for the team to board their charter jet and head back to Buffalo before travelling to New Jersey for their final game before the All-Star break.
But...
Jhonas Enroth @JEnroth125
This road trip just got even worst and longer. We don't have a pilot that can fly us home. #ugh
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Lindy Ruff Needs To Take This Goalie "Controversy" Upon His Shoulders
The numbers:
Ryan Miller--4 wins, 5 losses, 2.48 gaa, .922 sv%
Jhonas Enroth--3 wins, zero losses, 1.29 gaa, .958 sv%
The rumblings have been going on for nearly a year, and an impatient, unsympathetic fan base is fast approaching a mob mentality with pitchforks in hand and a match to the torches.
Not that this all really matters to the Buffalo Sabres brain-trust. Can they really afford to have their #1 goalie face a hostile environment on home ice, though? This is something that happens in Montreal, but at the foot of Washington Street?
Whoda thunk it?
For years the fan-base, not to mention everyone within the Sabres organization, has been clamoring for a dependable back-up goalie. We know the names of Enroth's predecessors post Martin Biron and what they did not do for the team, and how the Sabres missed the playoffs two out of three seasons.
The Sabres finally have a capable--outstanding--back up and within 20 game span, Enroth is being anointed starter and Miller is being shipped out by fans.
Not that the fans pointing out various flaws are baseless. What's baseless is anointing Enroth the starter, shipping out Miller and bringing in the Rochester Americans David Leggio or Drew MacIntyre as a back-up.
Regardless, fact of the matter is, this is getting way out of hand and Lindy Ruff needs to place this one squarely upon his shoulders and work it out.
And he needs to do this through his skaters.
As evidenced by the Philly game where the team tightened up after Miller was pulled, the players must take care of their own end while cutting back on the "high-risk" part of the equation.
When Miller has been in net, dating back to the days of Drury and Briere--save for the 2009/10 season and the second half of last season--the team has had a "high-risk, high-reward" approach to the game. Too many mistakes and too much cheating have ended up in odd-man rushes the other way and pucks ending up in their own net.
That approach stretched into the early part of last season, especially at home, and reared it's ugly head this season, at home
There's no reason for this team to play that loose, especially when they still have trouble finishing.
The whole team plays different on the road, in fact it plays different when Enroth is in net. They keep it simple, play good team defense, get the puck up ice in transition and generally work hard at both ends of the ice.
Lindy Ruff needs pull back on his d-men joining the rush and have his players be more conscious of playing a complete game. And he needs them to do it consistently for a prolonged period. They will eventually return to that high-risk, high-reward style, but they'll do it smarter.
That should help Miller get out of his home funk and it should keep Enroth and his numbers where they presently are.
Secondly, Ruff said that he gave each goalie their games at the beginning of the week and that he would not alter it. As far as we know, he did not. But it would make sense that he'd have Enroth vs. the western Conference and Miller vs. a division foe.
He should do the same thing for this upcoming stretch of games which, starting with Winnipeg on Nov. 8, will end up being seven games in 12 nights.
He doesn't need to reveal the starter before the actual game, no matter how much the media and/or fans want to know. If things get unravelled on a particular night, then he should shoulder the blame and stick to his guns.
My guess is that there won't be a lot to worry about if the skaters play a smart game, play sound defense and continue to work their butts off for a goal.
Should this occur, the entire team should be able to get into a rhythm, including one particular goalie.
Just for fun, I'd like to play the "Guess What Lindy Will Do" game.
Goalies for the seven games after tonight:
Ryan Miller--4 wins, 5 losses, 2.48 gaa, .922 sv%
Jhonas Enroth--3 wins, zero losses, 1.29 gaa, .958 sv%
The rumblings have been going on for nearly a year, and an impatient, unsympathetic fan base is fast approaching a mob mentality with pitchforks in hand and a match to the torches.
Not that this all really matters to the Buffalo Sabres brain-trust. Can they really afford to have their #1 goalie face a hostile environment on home ice, though? This is something that happens in Montreal, but at the foot of Washington Street?
Whoda thunk it?
For years the fan-base, not to mention everyone within the Sabres organization, has been clamoring for a dependable back-up goalie. We know the names of Enroth's predecessors post Martin Biron and what they did not do for the team, and how the Sabres missed the playoffs two out of three seasons.
The Sabres finally have a capable--outstanding--back up and within 20 game span, Enroth is being anointed starter and Miller is being shipped out by fans.
Not that the fans pointing out various flaws are baseless. What's baseless is anointing Enroth the starter, shipping out Miller and bringing in the Rochester Americans David Leggio or Drew MacIntyre as a back-up.
Regardless, fact of the matter is, this is getting way out of hand and Lindy Ruff needs to place this one squarely upon his shoulders and work it out.
And he needs to do this through his skaters.
As evidenced by the Philly game where the team tightened up after Miller was pulled, the players must take care of their own end while cutting back on the "high-risk" part of the equation.
When Miller has been in net, dating back to the days of Drury and Briere--save for the 2009/10 season and the second half of last season--the team has had a "high-risk, high-reward" approach to the game. Too many mistakes and too much cheating have ended up in odd-man rushes the other way and pucks ending up in their own net.
That approach stretched into the early part of last season, especially at home, and reared it's ugly head this season, at home
There's no reason for this team to play that loose, especially when they still have trouble finishing.
The whole team plays different on the road, in fact it plays different when Enroth is in net. They keep it simple, play good team defense, get the puck up ice in transition and generally work hard at both ends of the ice.
Lindy Ruff needs pull back on his d-men joining the rush and have his players be more conscious of playing a complete game. And he needs them to do it consistently for a prolonged period. They will eventually return to that high-risk, high-reward style, but they'll do it smarter.
That should help Miller get out of his home funk and it should keep Enroth and his numbers where they presently are.
Secondly, Ruff said that he gave each goalie their games at the beginning of the week and that he would not alter it. As far as we know, he did not. But it would make sense that he'd have Enroth vs. the western Conference and Miller vs. a division foe.
He should do the same thing for this upcoming stretch of games which, starting with Winnipeg on Nov. 8, will end up being seven games in 12 nights.
He doesn't need to reveal the starter before the actual game, no matter how much the media and/or fans want to know. If things get unravelled on a particular night, then he should shoulder the blame and stick to his guns.
My guess is that there won't be a lot to worry about if the skaters play a smart game, play sound defense and continue to work their butts off for a goal.
Should this occur, the entire team should be able to get into a rhythm, including one particular goalie.
Just for fun, I'd like to play the "Guess What Lindy Will Do" game.
Goalies for the seven games after tonight:
- Nov. 8 vs. Winnipeg--Miller
- Nov. 11 vs. Ottawa--Enroth
- Nov. 12 @ Boston--Miller
- Nov. 14 @ Montreal--Miller
- Nov. 16 vs. Devils--Miller
- Nov. 18 @ Carolina--Enroth
- Nov. 19 vs. Phoenix--Miller
Monday, June 6, 2011
Jhonas Enroth, You're Next Up For the RFA Challenge
The challenge will simply be this: how many years--at around $1.5M-per--will he sign for? Will it be two or four?
See?...Starting goalie Ryan Miller has three more years on his contract. There are only two definitives right now when it comes to the on-ice Sabres: 1. Lindy Ruff "ain't goin' nowhere" 2. Ryan Miller is his #1 goalie. (Yes, Tyler Myers could be #3, but we'll save that for another time, like when he's signed to a very-long-term, lucrative contract.)
A two-year deal should give him ample time to prove himself as a legitimate NHL-calibre goalie with #1 potential. A four-year deal would give him more time and could be looked upon as an eventual replacement for Miller should the latter end up not re-signing with the Sabres. A three-year deal is pretty much out of the question. Why would the Sabres want both goalies to hit UFA status at the same time?
The Terry Pegula edict, "I wanna keep not only statistically good players, but winners, gritty players," definitely applies in the case of Enroth. See following video:
Back at the trade deadline in 2006, the Sabres has a three-headed monster in goal--Miller, Martin Biron and Mika Noronen. Of the three Noronen, who was the first pick (#21 overall, 1997) of GM Darcy Regier and the only Dudley "Red" Garrett Award winner for AHL Rookie of the Year before Nate Gerbe in 2009, was the odd man out.
And off to Vancouver went Noronen for a 2nd round pick in the upcoming 2006 draft. With that pick, the Sabres drafted Enroth. The Swedish net minder was the 45th-overall pick that year.
From there, the slow process from prospect to the NHL began. While Eroth was developing overseas in the Swedish Elite League and then with the Portland Pirates, the following is a quick overview of the Sabres back-up goaltending debacle:
Ruff pulls a surprise move by starting the kid against the Boston Bruins on Nov 3rd. In an inauspicious start, Enroth was pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots.
In a "lesser of two evils decision," Ruff starts Lalime again on Nov. 5th and proceeds to give up three goals on 32 shots in the loss.
By now you may be bored, ticked off or basically looking at the knot on your forehead, you know, the one caused by constantly beating your head against the wall in disbelief.
At this point the Sabres are 3-9-2 on the season and at the bottom of the standings. They are winless in their last five starts (0-4-1) and have yet to win at home (0-6-1.)
Off to Toronto they go and Enroth gets the call. He makes 23 saves in regulation and overtime and stops four of five in the shootout win for the Sabres.
Next the team heads to New Jersey. Although he allows four goals against, the team bails him out with four of their own and the two teams eventually settle the game via the shootout. Enroth prevails once again.
Next up, the second-half of a back-to-back in Madison Square Garden vs. the Rangers.
Enroth gets the call again. The teams head to the shootout, again. And, you guessed it, Enroth prevails yet again.
He is the only goalie in the shootout era to win his first three games via the skills competition.
Enroth heads back to Portland with the return of Miller but is called up to start vs. Pittsburgh and loses 1-0.
At this point he's 2-2-1 and has solidified himself as Ruff's go-to back-up goalie in a scenario that had him continue to work in Portland during Miller's starts then hopping on a plane to start a game when Miller needed a break.
When asked by WGR's Paul Hamilton about preparing for an opponent on such short notice, Enroth said that he didn't watch tapes, he winged it.
That loss vs. Pittsburgh would be his only regulation loss the rest of the season. He finishes the season 9-2-2 and definitively helps the Sabres stage a somewhat miraculous playoff push into the 7th-seed in the Eastern Conference.
It will be difficult for Enroth to reproduce what he accomplished last season, but if he can pull off 10-12 wins in 15-20 games for the team, he'll be doing exactly what's needed.
Like allowing for the knot on my forehead to heal.
The Pegula Rewards Program buffalosabresnow list:
GM, Darcy Regier--No
Head Coach Lindy Ruff--Yes
Director of Amateur Scouting Kevin Devine--Yes
UFA Players:
Tim Connolly--No Steve Montador--No
Mike Grier--Yes, in a front office role
Rob Niedermayer--Yes, if the Sabres are contenders
Cody McCormick--Yes
Matt Ellis--Yes, in two-way contract
Patrick Lalime--No
Mark Mancari--No
RFA Players:
Drew Stafford--Yes
Andrej Sekera--No
Mike Weber--Yes
Marc-Andre Gragnani--Yes
Chris Butler--Yes
Jhonas Enroth--Yes
See?...Starting goalie Ryan Miller has three more years on his contract. There are only two definitives right now when it comes to the on-ice Sabres: 1. Lindy Ruff "ain't goin' nowhere" 2. Ryan Miller is his #1 goalie. (Yes, Tyler Myers could be #3, but we'll save that for another time, like when he's signed to a very-long-term, lucrative contract.)
A two-year deal should give him ample time to prove himself as a legitimate NHL-calibre goalie with #1 potential. A four-year deal would give him more time and could be looked upon as an eventual replacement for Miller should the latter end up not re-signing with the Sabres. A three-year deal is pretty much out of the question. Why would the Sabres want both goalies to hit UFA status at the same time?
The Terry Pegula edict, "I wanna keep not only statistically good players, but winners, gritty players," definitely applies in the case of Enroth. See following video:
Back at the trade deadline in 2006, the Sabres has a three-headed monster in goal--Miller, Martin Biron and Mika Noronen. Of the three Noronen, who was the first pick (#21 overall, 1997) of GM Darcy Regier and the only Dudley "Red" Garrett Award winner for AHL Rookie of the Year before Nate Gerbe in 2009, was the odd man out.
 |
| Jhonas Enroth, "This is my mask, sometimes I'll even take it off during a game!" |
From there, the slow process from prospect to the NHL began. While Eroth was developing overseas in the Swedish Elite League and then with the Portland Pirates, the following is a quick overview of the Sabres back-up goaltending debacle:
- In 2007 Martin Biron is a cap-casualty and heads to Philly in a trade. He's replaced by Ty Conklin.
- Conklin is replaced by Jocelyn Thibault in the 2007 off-season.
- Thibault is run out of town in the 2008 off-season and replaced by Patrick Lalime who signs a two-year contract.
- During the 2008/09 season Miller is injured and Mikael Tellqvist is brought on board to back up back-up Lalime. He records a 2-1-0 record with a 2.35 gaa and a .928 sv. %.
- Tellqvist is allowed to walk (ending up overseas) and Lalime resumes his back-up role.
- Despite his poor stat-line, Lalime is mentioned by Miller as the latter accepts his Vezina Trophy for the 2009/10 season. As incredulous as it was to the fan-base, Lalime is re-signed for another year.
- Lalime gets his first start of the 2010/11 season on October 16th and proceeds to give up four goals on 21 shots in the loss.
- Ryan Miller goes down to injury and Lalime is called into duty on Oct. 30th. He proceeds to give up four goals on 41 shots in the loss.
Ruff pulls a surprise move by starting the kid against the Boston Bruins on Nov 3rd. In an inauspicious start, Enroth was pulled after giving up three goals on 12 shots.
In a "lesser of two evils decision," Ruff starts Lalime again on Nov. 5th and proceeds to give up three goals on 32 shots in the loss.
By now you may be bored, ticked off or basically looking at the knot on your forehead, you know, the one caused by constantly beating your head against the wall in disbelief.
 |
| 5'10" 165 lb. goalie Jhonas Enroth shows his form. |
But, this is where it begins to get good.
At this point the Sabres are 3-9-2 on the season and at the bottom of the standings. They are winless in their last five starts (0-4-1) and have yet to win at home (0-6-1.)
Off to Toronto they go and Enroth gets the call. He makes 23 saves in regulation and overtime and stops four of five in the shootout win for the Sabres.
Next the team heads to New Jersey. Although he allows four goals against, the team bails him out with four of their own and the two teams eventually settle the game via the shootout. Enroth prevails once again.
Next up, the second-half of a back-to-back in Madison Square Garden vs. the Rangers.
Enroth gets the call again. The teams head to the shootout, again. And, you guessed it, Enroth prevails yet again.
He is the only goalie in the shootout era to win his first three games via the skills competition.
Enroth heads back to Portland with the return of Miller but is called up to start vs. Pittsburgh and loses 1-0.
At this point he's 2-2-1 and has solidified himself as Ruff's go-to back-up goalie in a scenario that had him continue to work in Portland during Miller's starts then hopping on a plane to start a game when Miller needed a break.
When asked by WGR's Paul Hamilton about preparing for an opponent on such short notice, Enroth said that he didn't watch tapes, he winged it.
That loss vs. Pittsburgh would be his only regulation loss the rest of the season. He finishes the season 9-2-2 and definitively helps the Sabres stage a somewhat miraculous playoff push into the 7th-seed in the Eastern Conference.
It will be difficult for Enroth to reproduce what he accomplished last season, but if he can pull off 10-12 wins in 15-20 games for the team, he'll be doing exactly what's needed.
Like allowing for the knot on my forehead to heal.
The Pegula Rewards Program buffalosabresnow list:
GM, Darcy Regier--No
Head Coach Lindy Ruff--Yes
Director of Amateur Scouting Kevin Devine--Yes
UFA Players:
Tim Connolly--No Steve Montador--No
Mike Grier--Yes, in a front office role
Rob Niedermayer--Yes, if the Sabres are contenders
Cody McCormick--Yes
Matt Ellis--Yes, in two-way contract
Patrick Lalime--No
Mark Mancari--No
RFA Players:
Drew Stafford--Yes
Andrej Sekera--No
Mike Weber--Yes
Marc-Andre Gragnani--Yes
Chris Butler--Yes
Jhonas Enroth--Yes
Monday, April 4, 2011
Check Your Egos At the Door, Boys
"I think that there isn't any doubt that Ryan is the number one, at the same time we're going to play the guys that are going to help us win games and when Ryan comes back he has to be on top of his game. We're just in the business of winning games and Jhonas knows that stepping in too, but there's no doubt that Ryan is our number one."--Buffalo Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff.
There you have it. Plain and simple, Ryan Miller, when healthy, is the #1 goalie on the Buffalo Sabres. Give your keyboards a rest, take your finger off the WGR Whinerline number and by all means do not tune into Schopp and the Bulldog. Mike Schoppsie is an entertainer who's consistently shot down by hockey people for this thoughts.
The Buffalo Sabres have two rock-solid goalies right now. Jhonas Enroth won the NHL's 3rd star of the week this past week while filling in for the injured Ryan Miller. Miller was the NHL's 1st star of the week prior.
There should be no controversy what so ever.
Simply put, Jhonas Enroth, play your ass off, 'cause the Buffalo Sabres are "in the business of winning." Right now you are the back-up goalie--a helluva goalie thus-far in your short career--but back-up at this point in time. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ryan Miller, when you return from your deep shoulder bruise, and can play to help the team win, you are the #1 goalie. The Buffalo Sabres are "in the business of winning" and complacency is not an option. When you get back in, you better play your ass off if you want to stay in.
Check your ego's in at the door, boys, the Buffalo Sabres are "in the business of winning" (please insert Charlie Sheen jokes)
That is all.
There you have it. Plain and simple, Ryan Miller, when healthy, is the #1 goalie on the Buffalo Sabres. Give your keyboards a rest, take your finger off the WGR Whinerline number and by all means do not tune into Schopp and the Bulldog. Mike Schoppsie is an entertainer who's consistently shot down by hockey people for this thoughts.
The Buffalo Sabres have two rock-solid goalies right now. Jhonas Enroth won the NHL's 3rd star of the week this past week while filling in for the injured Ryan Miller. Miller was the NHL's 1st star of the week prior.
There should be no controversy what so ever.
Simply put, Jhonas Enroth, play your ass off, 'cause the Buffalo Sabres are "in the business of winning." Right now you are the back-up goalie--a helluva goalie thus-far in your short career--but back-up at this point in time. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ryan Miller, when you return from your deep shoulder bruise, and can play to help the team win, you are the #1 goalie. The Buffalo Sabres are "in the business of winning" and complacency is not an option. When you get back in, you better play your ass off if you want to stay in.
Check your ego's in at the door, boys, the Buffalo Sabres are "in the business of winning" (please insert Charlie Sheen jokes)
That is all.
Two Plays From Last Nights Big Win
Jhonas Enroth came up big once again for the Sabres in last night's 2-1 OT win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
At one point, Enroth was troubled by his mask to the point where he just threw it off so he could see. The right-pad save he made on the Hurricanes, Jussi Joikinen, was solid as he held his ground. With Jokinen pounding at the pad in comes Sabres forward Cody McCormick to just level the 'Cane's forward. McCormick blasted him so hard he was driven right into Hurricanes defenseman, Joni Pitkanen, who also went down on the play. (Rick Jeannerete's call on the play is priceless)
That was one of many big saves by Enroth, and it came at a point with the Sabres up 1-0. The player who scored the goal for the Sabres was much maligned defenseman, Chris Butler.
The goal actually began with him taking a big hit into the boards from Jokinen. He bounces back into the play after that, even giving a pretty stiff cross-check to Hurricanes Captain, Eric Staal who was at the side of the crease, then joins the rush.
With the three Canes forwards caught deep, Butler fills the right wing and positions himself for a pass. Drew Stafford whips it cross-ice, a little behind Butler and he corrals it sending a wicked wrister that just blew by goalie, Cam Ward and blasted the water bottle:
At one point, Enroth was troubled by his mask to the point where he just threw it off so he could see. The right-pad save he made on the Hurricanes, Jussi Joikinen, was solid as he held his ground. With Jokinen pounding at the pad in comes Sabres forward Cody McCormick to just level the 'Cane's forward. McCormick blasted him so hard he was driven right into Hurricanes defenseman, Joni Pitkanen, who also went down on the play. (Rick Jeannerete's call on the play is priceless)
That was one of many big saves by Enroth, and it came at a point with the Sabres up 1-0. The player who scored the goal for the Sabres was much maligned defenseman, Chris Butler.
The goal actually began with him taking a big hit into the boards from Jokinen. He bounces back into the play after that, even giving a pretty stiff cross-check to Hurricanes Captain, Eric Staal who was at the side of the crease, then joins the rush.
With the three Canes forwards caught deep, Butler fills the right wing and positions himself for a pass. Drew Stafford whips it cross-ice, a little behind Butler and he corrals it sending a wicked wrister that just blew by goalie, Cam Ward and blasted the water bottle:
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Why Ryan Miller Is Disliked By Some Sabres Fans
Nothing earth-shattering, but in a classic, "what have you done for me lately/the grass is greener"-scenario, the play of Sabres back-up, Jhonas Enroth, has given fuel to the ever-present, "Ryan Miller is average and not worth his salary" contingency.
Sabres fans and the media tend to get a little overzealous, at times, and there's talk of Enroth supplanting Miller. WGR's, Mike Schopp, tried to get Sabres beat-reporter Paul Hamilton to commit to the concept, but Hamilton shot him down (the same thing happened when Schopp wanted Lindy Ruff to be held accountable [read: fired] earlier in the year) without giving the matter a second thought.
The internet's where the fun is as fans chime in on everything. The Enroth/Miller "debate" is interesting, if not amusing at this point, at least in my opinion.
Sports fans usually have a short memory. Before the Toronto game, Miller had two shutouts--both 1-0--at Montreal and vs. New Jersey. Sandwiched in between was a 4-2 victory against Florida. But it was the loss to Toronto that pulled out the pitch-forks and torches.
Meh, whatever. So we delve into the morass with a composite of posts concerning Ryan Miller taken from a hockey-rumor site Wednesday, March 31:
Again.....Miller is so way overrated by many on here Indy......... You know Pairo...For 6.3 million I expect Hasek like performances every night and Vezina trophies every year...
i have hasek/Roy expectations for a goalie making over 6 mil a year.. i don't expect him to save them all (i am realistic) but for what he is supposed to be valued as i don't feel he fills his end of the bargain... All that being said at this point if i had to chose i would probably pick him over Ewok (Enroth).. for now
And I would too but I only base that on Ewok's limited body of work. God forbid Miller DID get hurt for the better part of a full season and Ewok put up a 2.5 GAA and a .910 save percentage while he played, If I'm GM I seriously consider making the change permanent and taking what I can in trade for Miller.
I actually have that mindset now. If Darcy could get a couple top 6 forwards and a pick/prospect (obviously it would depend on which top 6's are coming back) I think long and hard on that deal...
my reason for keeping miller at this point is also based upon the body of work only.. However if you can move miller for a top 6 forward or top 2 D i would do it... go get another back up goalie or young up and comer at a low cost (maybe JSG or Lindback) split the time in goal. As you said solid D and timely scoring seems to mean more..
(out come the stats):
Year GP W L GAA SV%
2002-03 15 6 8 2.63 .902
2003-04 3 0 3 5.06 .795
2005-06 48 30 14 2.60 .914
2006-07 63 40 16 2.73 .911
2007-08 76 36 27 2.64 .906
2008-09 59 34 18 2.53 .918
2009-10 47 29 12 2.10 .932
2010-11 32 21 8 2.62 .914
Which one is least like the rest? when will people start to understand last year was the OFF year.. the Stats do not LIE..
aside from the start of last season til the all star break, every year for miller is an off year
i do not understand how so many people are blind to the truth.. him looking good before was smoke and mirrors because they were scoring at will and winning when they had briere and drury.. then last year he stood on his head and now he is back to what he was before but our offense is not.. He has always been a slightly above average goalie that some how is the face of the american hockey.
I don't know how easy it would be to get rid of him, so i think we will have to get used to seeing him back there
Conspiracy Theory Alert!
Ryan Miller faked the injury against the Rangers because he is afraid of making this year his worst loss percentage of his career.
http://sports.yahoo.com/n...K_D8vtqAvHNomVFI3UHVivLYF
A loss last night would have put him on par with his record during the 2007-08 season - the worst of is career and the year the Sabres finished 10th in the conference.
He opted to play against TO to play for the "easy" win. He played poorly, realized he wouldn't be able to play his best against the Rangers, and instead of taking a likely loss, let Enroth play to not make this the worst season of his career.
My take on Ryan Miller:
http://buffalosabresnow.blogspot.com/2011/01/trade-ryan-miller.html
http://buffalosabresnow.blogspot.com/2011/02/despite-trend-ryan-miller-stays.html
Big thanx to my buzzard friends, though...Solid!!!
 |
| Ryan Miller |
This is nothing new, it's been going on all year. The Miller-hate/dislike always peaks after a Sabres loss. This time it grew after Enroth shut out the NY Rangers 1-0 Wednesday night while Miller was out with an injury (or if you go to the end, a "fake injury").
 |
| Jhonas Enroth |
All the talk is about Enroth, and it should be, because of him the Sabres are presently in a playoff position and could end up as high as 6th in the conference. He's been playing very well.
Sabres fans and the media tend to get a little overzealous, at times, and there's talk of Enroth supplanting Miller. WGR's, Mike Schopp, tried to get Sabres beat-reporter Paul Hamilton to commit to the concept, but Hamilton shot him down (the same thing happened when Schopp wanted Lindy Ruff to be held accountable [read: fired] earlier in the year) without giving the matter a second thought.
The internet's where the fun is as fans chime in on everything. The Enroth/Miller "debate" is interesting, if not amusing at this point, at least in my opinion.
Sports fans usually have a short memory. Before the Toronto game, Miller had two shutouts--both 1-0--at Montreal and vs. New Jersey. Sandwiched in between was a 4-2 victory against Florida. But it was the loss to Toronto that pulled out the pitch-forks and torches.
Meh, whatever. So we delve into the morass with a composite of posts concerning Ryan Miller taken from a hockey-rumor site Wednesday, March 31:
Again.....Miller is so way overrated by many on here Indy......... You know Pairo...For 6.3 million I expect Hasek like performances every night and Vezina trophies every year...
i have hasek/Roy expectations for a goalie making over 6 mil a year.. i don't expect him to save them all (i am realistic) but for what he is supposed to be valued as i don't feel he fills his end of the bargain... All that being said at this point if i had to chose i would probably pick him over Ewok (Enroth).. for now
And I would too but I only base that on Ewok's limited body of work. God forbid Miller DID get hurt for the better part of a full season and Ewok put up a 2.5 GAA and a .910 save percentage while he played, If I'm GM I seriously consider making the change permanent and taking what I can in trade for Miller.
I actually have that mindset now. If Darcy could get a couple top 6 forwards and a pick/prospect (obviously it would depend on which top 6's are coming back) I think long and hard on that deal...
my reason for keeping miller at this point is also based upon the body of work only.. However if you can move miller for a top 6 forward or top 2 D i would do it... go get another back up goalie or young up and comer at a low cost (maybe JSG or Lindback) split the time in goal. As you said solid D and timely scoring seems to mean more..
(out come the stats):
Year GP W L GAA SV%
2002-03 15 6 8 2.63 .902
2003-04 3 0 3 5.06 .795
2005-06 48 30 14 2.60 .914
2006-07 63 40 16 2.73 .911
2007-08 76 36 27 2.64 .906
2008-09 59 34 18 2.53 .918
2009-10 47 29 12 2.10 .932
2010-11 32 21 8 2.62 .914
Which one is least like the rest? when will people start to understand last year was the OFF year.. the Stats do not LIE..
aside from the start of last season til the all star break, every year for miller is an off year
i do not understand how so many people are blind to the truth.. him looking good before was smoke and mirrors because they were scoring at will and winning when they had briere and drury.. then last year he stood on his head and now he is back to what he was before but our offense is not.. He has always been a slightly above average goalie that some how is the face of the american hockey.
I don't know how easy it would be to get rid of him, so i think we will have to get used to seeing him back there
Conspiracy Theory Alert!
Ryan Miller faked the injury against the Rangers because he is afraid of making this year his worst loss percentage of his career.
http://sports.yahoo.com/n...K_D8vtqAvHNomVFI3UHVivLYF
A loss last night would have put him on par with his record during the 2007-08 season - the worst of is career and the year the Sabres finished 10th in the conference.
He opted to play against TO to play for the "easy" win. He played poorly, realized he wouldn't be able to play his best against the Rangers, and instead of taking a likely loss, let Enroth play to not make this the worst season of his career.
My take on Ryan Miller:
http://buffalosabresnow.blogspot.com/2011/01/trade-ryan-miller.html
http://buffalosabresnow.blogspot.com/2011/02/despite-trend-ryan-miller-stays.html
Big thanx to my buzzard friends, though...Solid!!!
Monday, March 7, 2011
sabres reach 8th in the eastern conference
indulged in brooklyn local 2 last night while watching the sabres continue to ramble on this road trip...the twoadore thing?...ummm...the joker and i got a good laugh, is all...
clocking in at 9%, local 2 is a big belgian strong ale...w00t!...thoroughly enjoyable, as were the sabres last night...
btw, sabres players, don't forget to tip your doorman...patty lalime is one of the best in the history of the nhl...of course, please do it surreptitiously...
take thomas vanek's overtime goal vs. washington--where he found something extra at the end of his shift--and combine that with jason pomminville's short-handed overtime winner vs. the sens in the '06 playoffs, and you have a reasonable composite of drew stafford's overtime game-winner last night...
 |
| "twoadore" |
indulged in brooklyn local 2 last night while watching the sabres continue to ramble on this road trip...the twoadore thing?...ummm...the joker and i got a good laugh, is all...
clocking in at 9%, local 2 is a big belgian strong ale...w00t!...thoroughly enjoyable, as were the sabres last night...
btw, sabres players, don't forget to tip your doorman...patty lalime is one of the best in the history of the nhl...of course, please do it surreptitiously...
take thomas vanek's overtime goal vs. washington--where he found something extra at the end of his shift--and combine that with jason pomminville's short-handed overtime winner vs. the sens in the '06 playoffs, and you have a reasonable composite of drew stafford's overtime game-winner last night...
~~~~~~~~~~
jhonas enroth got the win last night...have the sabres unwittingly found a transitioning formula for young goalies?
they've got enroth getting plenty of experience in portland, fly him in for his one game, then it's back to portland...it's the second time with this scenario...they did it last back in february after miller's debacle vs. the islanders (7-6 ot loss)...miller got completely away from the game, enroth got the shootout win and lalime took his usual spot on the bench opening and closing the door...
miller came back and did not allow more than three goals during a 10-game stretch and the team went 5-3-2...enroth did his part once again and we'll see what happens this time 'round...
a quick note on enroth...paul hamilton asked him how he prepared for the game, if he watched tape of the team he was about to face...enroth said he didn't watch any tape, he just went in and took the game as it came...
~~~~~~~~~~
seven of eight points on this road-trip...wins vs. philadelphia on saturday and minnesota yesterday, without thier designated #1 center, derek roy...they're without a true #2 as tim connolly seems shot and is more a bottom-six...their #1 utility-man, jochen hecht, was out with an injury...recently acquired forward, brad boyes, has been shifted from wing to center....
~~~~~~~~~~
ROB "FRIGGEN" NIEDERMAYER!!!
how does it feel?...choose a cliche', but the fact is, after 53 games without a goal, he finally broke through...can you see the relief in his face?...
Saturday, March 5, 2011
who gets the start today vs. philly?
the hated philadelphia flyers today and "mum's the word" on who'll be in net...we do know one thing, patrick lalime will NOT be in net this weekend, pretty damn sure he will not see the crease again as a buffalo sabre, barring anything extraordinary happening...
one would think that enroth will get the call today vs. the flyers...ryan miller has been stellar since the 7-6 loss to the islanders, save for last game vs. the canes...a sharper miller would've stopped the ot game-winner by jamie mcbain...even though plenty went wrong with the sabres' skaters on that play, a goal like that should be a huge red-flag for lindy ruff, and probably is a sign that miller needs the game off...
the fly-boys have lost two in a row a 4-1 loss to the ottawa sens on the road and a loss to the surging toronto maple leafs at home...the leafs have gotten points in their last nine games (6-0-3) and are right there on the playoff-bubble one point behind the sabres having played two more games than buffalo...
interesting playoff-bubble note...while all eyes have been on the canes, rangers sabres and now leafs, the nj devils are on an absolutely torrid pace right now...after snapping a four game losing streak to start the new calender year the devils are 19-2-2...yeah, you read that right 40 points out of a possible 46...yet, to show you how pathetic this team was in the first half of the season, they are still nine points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand...jacques lemaire...what more can you say except, it's a good thing the sabres didn't play them at all during that span...
jhonas enroth has been called up and it looks as if the pattern will be this for the rest of the year: he'll get plenty of playing time in portland, will respond to the sabres logo shining in the sky (ala batman,) come in and play his one game then head back to portland...
the fly-boys have lost two in a row a 4-1 loss to the ottawa sens on the road and a loss to the surging toronto maple leafs at home...the leafs have gotten points in their last nine games (6-0-3) and are right there on the playoff-bubble one point behind the sabres having played two more games than buffalo...
interesting playoff-bubble note...while all eyes have been on the canes, rangers sabres and now leafs, the nj devils are on an absolutely torrid pace right now...after snapping a four game losing streak to start the new calender year the devils are 19-2-2...yeah, you read that right 40 points out of a possible 46...yet, to show you how pathetic this team was in the first half of the season, they are still nine points out of a playoff spot with two games in hand...jacques lemaire...what more can you say except, it's a good thing the sabres didn't play them at all during that span...gotta hope that the sabres can snag a point today...maybe enroth, if he is in fact getting the start, can work some magic...sometimes that happens, a clear favorite gets up-ended by a rookie goalie...
edit: word from wgr--ryan miller gets the start...and...mike weber is up in the pressbox for today's game
edit: word from wgr--ryan miller gets the start...and...mike weber is up in the pressbox for today's game
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
up from the ashes
a heckuva run thus-far for the buffalo sabres...five games in a row decided after regulation, four of them ending up in wins for the good guys...
some thanx need to go out...
to fate... for having drew stafford go down to injury and captain craig rivet go down to illness...in wishing no ill will towards any player (including anyone from the ottawa senators, toronto maple leafs and philadelphia flyers) the down-time for these two players seemed to help the team in two areas...
firstly, "la core" of top-six forwards was shaken up for more than just a shift, period or game...as has been mentioned before, the top-six were all of the same ilk--generally speaking, soft-but-skilled and lacking heart...stafford was the embodiment of that...you just can't have two-thirds of your top-six (stafford and tim connolly) wussing out and failing to put it on the line...in addition, thomas vanek was flustered in his attempt to bust through a wall this season, his frustration leading to bouts of coasting, and that's half of your top-six...
stafford going down allowed for young-gun tyler ennis to reclaim a spot next to derek roy on the top-line with vanek taking the other wing...ennis, who has danny gare-like qualities, had been plying his trade in the bottom-six because there was no room at the top...how did ennis respond?...by schooling jean-sebastian giguere for the game-winning/sabres winless streak ending goal:
since that line has been together, the sabres have gone 4-0-1, all games going past regulation moving the team from the bottom of the eastern conference to 10th place...ennis (3 goals, +4,) roy (2 goals, 6 assists +7) and vanek (2 goals, 4 assists +5) combined for 7 goals and 10 assists and are a whopping +16...they also came through in the clutch...ennis vs. toronto (see above,) roy got the game-winning shoot-out goal vs. new jersey and thomas vanek gave the "how-do-you-do" to the capitals in ot on the espn #1 highlight:
then followed it up by harassing vancouver canucks defenseman dan hamhuis into a giveaway that leads to tyler myers' game-winner in overtime:
on the back end, the embattled, oft-injured, recently benched and food poisoned/flu-bit craig rivet has been out of the line-up since the toronto game...kind of a good thing too...
this is nothing against him and his style of play, but with both him and shaone morrison in the line-up, that's two heavy-chevy's in an increasingly faster nhl...his abscence wouldn't be that prevalent vs. the nj devils or the ny rangers (one win and one ot loss,) but the washington capitals and vancouver canucks represented porsche's in the nhl...the defense for the sabres became much more mobile and as a result the team was able to skate with both teams...the result?...the sabres get their first home win of the season vs. the caps in overtime and follow that up with an end-to-end speed-rush-duel victory in overtime vs. the canucks...
other factors in the alignment of the stars for the sabres:
all-in-all, the sabres are out of the cellar, next stop, .500 hockey...
some thanx need to go out...
to fate... for having drew stafford go down to injury and captain craig rivet go down to illness...in wishing no ill will towards any player (including anyone from the ottawa senators, toronto maple leafs and philadelphia flyers) the down-time for these two players seemed to help the team in two areas...
firstly, "la core" of top-six forwards was shaken up for more than just a shift, period or game...as has been mentioned before, the top-six were all of the same ilk--generally speaking, soft-but-skilled and lacking heart...stafford was the embodiment of that...you just can't have two-thirds of your top-six (stafford and tim connolly) wussing out and failing to put it on the line...in addition, thomas vanek was flustered in his attempt to bust through a wall this season, his frustration leading to bouts of coasting, and that's half of your top-six...
stafford going down allowed for young-gun tyler ennis to reclaim a spot next to derek roy on the top-line with vanek taking the other wing...ennis, who has danny gare-like qualities, had been plying his trade in the bottom-six because there was no room at the top...how did ennis respond?...by schooling jean-sebastian giguere for the game-winning/sabres winless streak ending goal:
since that line has been together, the sabres have gone 4-0-1, all games going past regulation moving the team from the bottom of the eastern conference to 10th place...ennis (3 goals, +4,) roy (2 goals, 6 assists +7) and vanek (2 goals, 4 assists +5) combined for 7 goals and 10 assists and are a whopping +16...they also came through in the clutch...ennis vs. toronto (see above,) roy got the game-winning shoot-out goal vs. new jersey and thomas vanek gave the "how-do-you-do" to the capitals in ot on the espn #1 highlight:
then followed it up by harassing vancouver canucks defenseman dan hamhuis into a giveaway that leads to tyler myers' game-winner in overtime:
on the back end, the embattled, oft-injured, recently benched and food poisoned/flu-bit craig rivet has been out of the line-up since the toronto game...kind of a good thing too...
this is nothing against him and his style of play, but with both him and shaone morrison in the line-up, that's two heavy-chevy's in an increasingly faster nhl...his abscence wouldn't be that prevalent vs. the nj devils or the ny rangers (one win and one ot loss,) but the washington capitals and vancouver canucks represented porsche's in the nhl...the defense for the sabres became much more mobile and as a result the team was able to skate with both teams...the result?...the sabres get their first home win of the season vs. the caps in overtime and follow that up with an end-to-end speed-rush-duel victory in overtime vs. the canucks...
other factors in the alignment of the stars for the sabres:
- jason pomminville getting back into game-shape after his bout with a concussion and stabalized an inept pk
- jhonas enroth holding the fort while ryan miller went down, especially vs. toronto in the shoot-out (see above)...his numbers weren't anything to speak of, but the team seemed to "find it's legs" while playing in front of the rookie net-minder and he came up big when it was necessary...
- matt ellis gets the call from portland to add some size and grit on the fourth line and plays really well
all-in-all, the sabres are out of the cellar, next stop, .500 hockey...
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