Sabres on right track despite tough loss.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 11-4-2016


We know that the Buffalo Sabres are without forwards Jack Eichel and Evander Kane and perhaps one of them could have solved the puzzle that was Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen last night. Andersen, whom the Leafs traded a 2016 first round pick for (30^th-overall) and a 2017 second-rounder for, was stout in net last night as Toronto edged the Sabres 2-1. The 26 yr. old Dane stopped 42 of the 43 shots Buffalo threw at him, many on redirects and second (or third) chances.

The 6’4” 225 lb. Andersen robbed three different Sabres players last night. He kicked his left leg at the goal line to foil Zemgus Girgensons in the first period, played Superman as he dove across the crease to knick a Marcus Foligno shot that was headed into an wide open net in the second, then flashed some leather on a second rebound that Tyler Ennis sent top-shelf in the third.

 

That was what the Sabres were up against last night.

 

Buffalo could have used Eichel and Kane last night, especially the former. Often times the skill-level of a talent of Eichel can get one past a tough goalie. That's what the great ones do and the 19 yr. old Eichel has shown the capacity approach that level. The penchant for scoring that big goal against a brick wall dressed up as a goalie has been missing in Buffalo since Daniel Briere and Chris Drury left the Sabres in 2007 and Eichel seems to be in that mold.
 

Some positives for Buffalo after letting a point slip away in Calgary

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 10-19-2016


The Buffalo Sabres gave up three one-goal leads last night against the Calgary Flames and eventually lost in overtime 4-3. Although disappointment was the prevailing theme after the game, there were a lot of positives to take away. Sure the Sabres blew three one-goal leads, including two in the third period, only to lose in OT, but they've managed points in back-to-back games on this road trip and now stand 1-1-1 on the season after an ugly opening night loss. There was frustration in the locker room overall for losing a point but the team in general has to like where they are right now.

First off, Buffalo was able to get a point in the second game of a four-game road trip. After grabbing two points on Sunday against the Edmonton Oilers, the Sabres managed to come away with another one with their OT loss against Calgary. Last season on the same western Canada road trip, which will end in Vancouver on Thursday, Buffalo went without a point.

The team in general looks to be at ease with head coach Dan Bylsma's systems. Often times last night we saw an entire group turn in unison and head up ice in what looked like synchronized skating. Even Zemgus Girgensons, who has been struggling for various reasons, which included having trouble with his place in the system, found himself in the right spot twice and scored a goal on the second one. There were lapses and at times, especially on the overtime goal, where the team was caught chasing, but for the most part they played in unison.

Buffalo's special teams are excelling. The penalty kill has yet to allow a goal in three games. They successfully killed off three penalties in the first two games, which is also a tribute to playing in control, then they held the Flames scoreless on six opportunities. And last night with the team down two men for two minutes an errant Calgary high-stick caught Ryan O'Reilly and the players on the ice played keep-away for nearly 30 seconds to burn off time on the delayed penalty. The powerplay has been doing it exactly as diagramed and is 4/16 through the first three games with at least one PP goal in each. Matt Moulson, who had a horrendous season last year may have found a spot in and around the net on the top PP unit. He has two goals on the season, both on the powerplay.

It's not surprising that O'Reilly and the rest of the Sabres on the ice were aware of the delayed penalty situation last night and played keep-away. Most of the team is playing smart hockey especially the O'Reilly and his linemates--Sam Reinhart and Kyle Okposo--on the top line. O'Reilly and Reinhart have innate hockey sense to be able to play with anyone in any situation, as we saw that last season, but what we've seen so far is that Okposo brings those very same traits and the three on a line has been a joy to watch.

Sabres forward Marcus Foligno has been playing quite well since Bylsma reunited him with center Johan Larsson and right-wing Brian Gionta and he may have found out just how far playing angry can take him. After sending a puck off the referee's skate last night that landed on the stick of Calgary Flames forward Michael Ferland, who scored to tie the game, Foligno's rage at the ref turned positive 2:39 later. Foligno got the puck at center ice with a head of steam, pulled off a nifty move against two Flames defenders and sent an angry wrister that smoked Calgary goalie, and former Sabre, Chad Johnson. Ah, vindication.

That said, the players weren't happy with the loser point last night. Captain O'Reilly, who's always hard on himself as he strives for perfection told the gathered media after the game, "We were lucky to get one point really. The way we played was pathetic at times and it starts with myself. I had so many chances, I have to bury them. That was really nothing what we wanted. We could have walked away with a win here and we have to respond now."

Foligno, who yelled at the ref and slammed his stick on the ice after the turnover had a cooler head post-game. "You can yell all you want but the ref has the right to be there," he said. "It's a bad bounce and you just suck it up."

The refs didn't exactly have a great game as evidenced by the OT goal. Reinhart took a cross-check from behind and into the boards behind the Buffalo net in what's normally a penalty. But the refs let it go, Buffalo's players started chasing and Sean Monahan found himself all alone in front of goalie Robin Lehner who had no chance on the play.

Speaking of Lehner, despite his pedestrian stat-line of 1-1-1 with a 3.33 goals against average and .890 save percentage, he has looked good. His off-season work-out plan looks to have made him quicker and he's come up with a big save or two every game thus far.

The Sabres are hurting without forwards Jack Eichel and Evander Kane who accounted for 43 goals last season, but on the positive side of it, the team is sticking to the systems in place and as a whole is coming to the rink with their work boots on. After the stinker in the opener, in general the Sabres have put together two pretty strong games.

Buffalo leaves western Canada after their game with Vancouver tomorrow and will fly home before they head out to Philadephia for a tilt with the Flyers Tuesday, October 25th.

Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster--LW, Marcus Foligno

It's been bantered about in the Buffalo media that Sabres left winger Marcus Foligno could possibly play a scoring role while also seeing some time on the top line. No doubt his powerful debut back in March, 2012 of six goals and seven assists in 14 games made a strong, lingering impression but placing him in that role on a more talented Buffalo club might be a bit of a stretch at this point in time.

There's not a fan in Sabreland who wouldn't want a 6'3" 226 lb. powerforward in a role like that yet it's hard to see the 25 yr. old with too much more upside than the 10 goals and 13 assists from last season. Foligno averaged 13:11 of ice-time with the Sabres last year with very little coming in the form of special teams and unless head coach Dan Bylsma adds to the :34 seconds per game of penalty kill ice-time, that number will probably stay the same at best.

Although the Sabres are thin with natural wingers they do have one bona fide top-six/top-line left-winger in Evander Kane and any number of centers who can and/or already have slid over to the left side. That includes Tyler Ennis who looks to be headed that way this year after missing much of last season because of injuries and Zemgus Girgensons who played most of last season in a top-six, left wing role. Buffalo also needs to squeeze what they can out of a former top-six winger in Matt Moulson who was signed to a $5M, top-six contract but found himself near the bottom of the depth chart nearly all of last season. And the club also has a very talented, natural winger in 18 yr. old Alexander Nylander who they drafted 8th-overall this past June.

Those are the hurdles Foligno is facing if he wants to jump into a scoring role.

Fact is the Sabres will be counting on him to play on a checking line this season and he could very do so on the fourth line while staying with his linemates from late last season--C, Johan Larsson and 37 yr. old RW, Brian Gionta. That line gained traction in late February and was the most consistent line for Bylsma the rest of the way.

Foligno is a big body on the ice and he's thrown in around quite often during his short career but the one thing he hasn't been able to do consistently is use his frame to put himself in a position for a scoring opportunity. It's something he's been working on and he got things moving in the right direction late last year. After a practice session in late March, Foligno told the gathered media that he believes he's figured it out. “I just feel a lot more comfortable out there,” he said at the time. “I’m using my size, playing smarter with moving my feet out there, trying to protect pucks as much as I can. With the confidence up now, I think I’m just trying to hold on to pucks and do things myself down low."

When Foligno came on like a hurricane in his first 14 games many had visions of Cam Neely dancing in their heads but it didn't take Foligno long to make them disappear. The following season he put up a respectable yet inconsistent 18 points (5g + 13a) in a lockout shortened 47 games then hit the sheet for 15 goals and 24 assists in  131 games over the course of the next two seasons. In the meantime his plus/minus rating went from plus-6 in 2011-12 to minus-4, to minus-17 before he pulled it back up to minus-5 two years ago. Last season he was one of only two Sabres players, Girgensons being the other, to be in the positive as he finished the year with a plus-4.

“He’s been much more consistent in playing a big power-forward game, playing a checking game, being a physical guy,” Bylsma said that same afternoon. “That’s what I think has been the best thing about him has been the consistency to it. It’s not just a once-in-a-while type of attributes to his game."

Foligno's immediate success gave way to struggles but looks to have rediscovered the player the Sabres saw when they drafted him in the fourth round in 2009 (104th-overall.) Good on him. He looks to be carving out a nice, bottom-six, defensive role on the Sabres team and it would seem as if he wants to be in Buffalo beyond the one-year extension he just signed. Although fourth line might be a bit below his talent-level right now, if he can relish his role and become a consistent force, having a defensively sound bottom-six winger that can get you 10 goals and 20-25 points bodes well for the Sabres moving forward. It's just hard to see him in a scoring role for Buffalo.



Building the 2016-17 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Evander Kane / C, Ryan O'Reilly / RW, Kyle Okposo
LW, Tyler Ennis / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Matt Moulson / C, Zemgus Girgensons/ RW, Justin Bailey
LW, Marcus Foligno / C, Johan Larsson

D, Rasmus Ristolainen/ Dmitry Kulikov
D, Zach Bogosian/ D, Jake McCabe

G, Robin Lehner

Takeaways from the Vesey vid. On the Foligno signing. Plus...

While Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray isn't losing any sleep knowing that the team made a solid pitch to Jimmy Vesey, the hockey world is still interested in the 23 yr. old who is locked in on an August 15th date with free agency. CSN Boston's Joe Haggerty met with a somewhat uncomfortable Vesey for a nine minute interview yesterday after a workout session in Foxboro.

Haggerty tried to keep it light throughout, but it's a pretty heavy subject for a guy who shunned the team that drafted him (Nashville) and has the most important career decision of his life coming in mid-August. Vesey touched on free agency, his respect for the Buffalo contingent he met with, on Boston definitely being on his short list of teams, and how he's taking advantage of a loophole in the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows him this unique opportunity.

Being in Boston with a Bruins beat writer naturally brought out the homerism as Haggerty asked Vesey if there were any favorite players he'd heard from to, you know,  give Bruins GM Don Sweeney a heads-up on who he might want to attend the eventual meeting. Haggerty even invoked the name Tom Brady, the patron saint of chowdah heads, as a reference point. Vesey could've gone  number of ways from Milan Lucic to Raymond Borque to Team President Cam Neely but none of those were came out.

Vesey mentioned Joe Thornton as his favorite Boston Bruin and that he wears No. 19 because of him. That had to be a bit awkward.

Other than that, the only other thing worth noting is that Vesey likes Italian food. It's a homebody staple.

Just a head's up to the Sabres, should they get another sit-down with Vesey this time in Buffalo, they might want to reserve a table at Chef's in Buffalo or Como in Niagara Falls or a homey spot like Frank's Sunny Italy. You know, just to make Vesey feel at home.


**********

The Sabres signed forward Marcus Foligno to a 1 yr./$2.25M contract yesterday which is the same salary he had last season.

Foligno came on rather strong later in the season while playing on the team's most consistent line with Johan Larsson at center and captain Brian Gionta on the other wing. It's pretty obvious this is a show-me year for Foligno as he'll need to start bringing every facet of his power forward game to the ice night-in/night-out.

As mentioned in his player re-cap for 2015-16, "Foligno is what he is, so there aren't too many questions save for, how far can he take his role? Can he become like a "Mule," ala Detroit's Johan Franson, and up his intensity-level to the point where he and his 6'3" 222lb. frame simply won't be denied? Will his stick-work around the net improve to the point where he can reach and maintain a 15-goal/30-point level? Is he prepared to take on more of the big bruisers in the league like Radko Gudas and Tom Wilson when necessary? "


**********

I'd assumed he'd get a raise, but the contract Murray and assistant GM Mark Jakubowski signed him to is even better as it helps the team with their cap this season. As mentioned before, the Sabres haven't had to keep the NHL's salary cap in mind for quite some time but this year, they'll be butting up against it.

A quick take on their status using various cap-sites put them at just under $60M before the Foligno signing. With him in the fold the Sabres have two more restricted free agents to sign--Rasmus Ristolainen and Zemgus Girgensons--and are now at about $62M, or $11M under the league's $73M salary-cap ceiling.

Which leaves plenty of room to sign Risto, Gus and Vesey and add two depth players at the league minimum.

Buffalo's free agent list. Re-sign or not to re-sign? If so, how much? Pt.2

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Yesterday we went through a large yet rather unimpressive group of unrestricted free agents whom the Buffalo Sabres will need to make decisions on. The nature of the beast at this stage of the rebuild showed a list of UFA's who were amongst the lower-ranked roster players, borderline NHL'ers, AHL'ers with a chance and career AHL'ers.

Today's list gets much more interesting as we go through the restricted free agents GM Tim Murray and AGM Mark Jakubowski will be negotiating with. These are "the youngins," with some regarded as foundational pieces, some organizational pieces with upside and some considered long-term projects.

Here's the list of Buffalo's restricted free agent roster players from the end of last season, their current cap-hit, an opinion as to whether or not Buffalo should re-sign said player and a gander as to how much they might be re-signed for if all sides put ink to paper.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--LW, Marcus Foligno

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Left Wing--Marcus Foligno
DOB:  August 10, 1991 (age, 25)
Draft:  2009, 4th round (104th overall)
How acquired:  Drafted by Buffalo
Last contract signed:  2104--2 yr./$3.75M
Final year of contract:  2015-16, RFA

2015-16 Stats:  75 games played, 10 goals, 13 assists, 23 points, +4


What we wrote preseason:  "Visions of a young Cam Neely danced through Sabreland when Foligno hit the NHL with a vengeance back in March, 2012, [but] that kind of success was rather unfortunate for Foligno as he forgot the type of player he was.

During the last two season "Foligno was trying to find his way in what turned out to be an especially difficult environment. [Former head coach Ted] Nolan had his deficiencies, but he managed to help more than a few players find themselves during a very difficult time for the franchise, and Foligno was one of them. For Foligno, it's no surprise that Nolan, who once coached a Buffalo squad known as "the hardest working team in hockey," got him back to creating opportunities through hard work on the ice."

What we wrote mid-season:  "another one who may have found his home. As a power forward Foligno plays a real strong game. As a scorer? Still needs work. May be settling into his role as a bottom-six player who can contribute offensively.
Impressions on his play this year:  And that's what ended up happening for Foligno. He knew his role and began to thrive in it. He set career highs in both goals and assists and during the latter part of the season he benefitted greatly from being on a line with captain Brian Gionta and Johan Larsson as that two-way line was the most consistent line. His plus-4 plus/minus rating was second on the team.

Foligno eventually settled in rather nicely within new head coach Dan Bylsma's system. As choppy as last season was for the entire team, the Sabres were more about evaluating players strengths and weaknesses and how they responded to their new environment and Foligno seems locked into his role as a bottom-six, muscle forward who plays a solid two-way game.

Questions moving forward:  Foligno is what he is, so there aren't too many questions save for, how far can he take his role? Can he become like a "Mule," ala Detroit's Johan Franson, and up his intensity-level to the point where he and his 6'3" 222lb. frame simply won't be denied? Will his stick-work around the net improve to the point where he can reach and maintain 15-goal/30-point level? Is he prepared to take on more of the big bruisers in the league like Radko Gudas and Tom Wilson when necessary?

2015-16 Individual Stats--March

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


In going over individual Buffalo Sabre stats for a rather successful month of March, aside from the usual suspects hitting the top three in most scoring categories, there are some notables that made their presence known.

Sam Reinhart has been consistently hitting the scoresheet all season long and joins the ranks of "usual suspects" like Ryan O'Reilly, fellow rookie Jack Eichel and Evander Kane after yet another strong month. Reinhart was his usual quite self while amassing a total of 12 points in 15 games for the Sabres in March. He scored four goals and added eight assists (five of them primary) with only one goal and one assist coming on the powerplay. In the past two months Reinhart has double his production and now has 40 points on the season.

O'Reilly still leads the team in points (58) even though he only played eight games in March because of an injury. He augmented his team-leading assist total (38) by adding six of them last month and chipped in his first goal in 24 games as well. Eichel, who leads the team in goals (23) and is second in points (51) had another strong month registering 10 points last month on the power of six goals and four assists. And before his injury, Kane continued his late-season push with three goals and six assists in 13 games. He's been shelved for the rest of the season.

Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, who has cooled off considerably since the first part of the year, remained in the top-five in scoring despite a sub-par month. O'Reilly, Eichel, Ristolainen, Reinhart and Kane lead the team in points so far this season.

Weber to Washington a good fit, plus more on the Sabres roster and pending free agents

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


It's not an earth-shattering move for the league-leading Washington Capitals, but then again, with the team loaded for bear, a big move wasn't necessary.

The Capitals have amassed 92 points already this season and are 17 points ahead of the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference. They lead the league in goals/game (3.29) are second in goals-against/game (2.28) and their +61 goal-differential is 33 better than the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.

They have Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Kuznetsov, Niklas Backstrom, Justin Williams and TJ Oshie up front, one of the top goalies in the league in Braden Holtby and a solid mix of scoring and grit on the blueline lead by Karl Alzner and Matt Niskanen. But, as all good teams do, they needed to add depth and about the only thing they didn't have was a lot cap-space to do so. That's where the Buffalo Sabres and Mike Weber came into play.

Sabres GM Tim Murray's mantra from the time he came on board is that he doesn't want to see an unrestricted free agent leave without getting a return, and true to his word, he did that with Weber. Murray found a nice fit for the 6'2" 212 lb. stay-at-home defenseman who's cap-hit for the season was $1.67M, a figure right in line with Washington's needs.

Almost.

The value of goaltending. Plus Evander Kane, Justin Bailey and more...

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Tell me that goaltending doesn't matter to most teams outside the city of Chicago.

The Buffalo Sabres, or as some would say, "the lowly Buffalo Sabres," have now beaten Montreal Canadiens twice this month by a combined 10-6 score. In their only other meeting which occurred in late October, Les Habitants soundly beat Buffalo 7-2. The difference?

Carey Price, of course.

Since Price went down with an injury in late November and if "speculation" is correct, may be out the rest of the season. Last year he took home a boatload of hardware including the Hart and Vezina Trophies while almost single-handedly advancing the Canadiens to the Conference Semifinals. Price had a remarkable 44-16-6 regular season record in 2014-15 with an incredibly stingy 1.96 goals-against average and a strong .933 save percentage. And he followed that up with an equally strong beginning to this season:  10-2-0;  2.06 gaa; .934 sv%.

Everything was clicking for Montreal to begin this season which included a 9-game win streak in regulation to start the season (one shy of tying the record of 10 straight held by Buffalo.) The small but fast Canadiens looked a little bit bigger and were a little bit quicker as well while backup goalie Mike Condon looked very strong in net. But confidence is a funny thing. When you take away your security blanket, things get messy.

Montreal is now 10-21-2 without price after their 6-4 loss in Buffalo last night. As a whole they still play fast, they don't look bigger than they actually are. Granted, they rang plenty of iron last night and carried the play for most of the third period when down by only a goal, plus they're still dominant against Buffalo on the powerplay (2 for 3 last night, 5 for 8 this season,) but their goaltenders (yes, plural as starter Ben Scrivens was yanked early in the second) didn't get the job done.

Building the 2015-16 Buffalo Sabres roster--The fourth line

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


The cool thing about the Buffalo Sabres adding top-six forwards in Evander Kane, Ryan O’Reilly and Jack Eichel is that not only does it immediately legitimize the Sabres top two lines, but it also pushes the other forwards down to a level more in line with their individual capabilities. And the depth Buffalo is beginning to develop is especially evident on the fourth line.

In the past few years the Sabres lacked true top-line talent and in turn were really thin at the lower levels of the depth chart to the point where the last two seasons, especially the last one, Buffalo relied upon borderline NHL’ers to play fourth-line minutes. Last night's 6-1 shellacking at the hands of the Minnesota Wild was a microcosm of the last two seasons.

While the Buffalo Sabres were dressing a lineup that featured as many as 10 players ticketed for Rochester of the AHL, the Wild were gearing up for the regular season and dressed most of their opening night roster in their final preseason game. "It was two teams at two different levels," said head coach Dan Bylsma after the game.

This huge discrepancy in talent trickled down to the Amerks as well. They opened up their preseason by getting walloped by the Binghamton Senators 8-2. The baby Sens had a team that was also fortified by having a parent club playing most of their opening night roster.

Tonight's home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets will be the Sabres last of the preseason and what hits the ice will constitute much of their opening night roster, injuries not withstanding.

Which brings us to the fourth line.

Prime years: 2009, Where's the beef? Sabres bulk up at draft

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


Worse than finishing outside the playoffs for the second year running was the reputation that the Buffalo Sabres had around the league. And it wasn't a good one. They were considered a soft team that had good amount of talent, but when the heat was turned up and they wilted. It was the season where head coach Lindy Ruff started urging his charges to "play out of character" as the new-NHL had given way to a tougher game and the European style of play was beginning to fade away.

Buffalo finished 10th in the conference once again, only two points behind Montreal in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres also ranked 13th-overall in goals-for, but in the category of scoring goals at a crucial time, they just couldn't get it done. They were a very weak group, unfamiliar with, and/or unwilling to, get to the "bloody nose" areas of the ice where goal-scoring was becoming more and more predominant.

Their leader that season was defenseman Craig Rivet who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks over the summer and was an alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens. Rivet added size and backbone to this soft but skilled group, but it wasn't enough to endure the rigors of the way the NHL was trending and the team would fall short in their quest for the playoffs.

Building the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres roster--C, Marcus Foligno

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


With training camp opening today, the start of the NHL season is not far away. Having the prospects play in Traverse City the last five days was kind of an amuse' for the upcoming season. Now it's time to whet our appetites with some preseason action before the Buffalo Sabres hit the ice for real on October 9th. The opener is versus the Columbus Blue Jackets whose youngins took home the Traverse City Championship this year.

There are seven players up-front who will be in the top-six mix. Six of them have already been profiled with the seventh, RW Chris Stewart, due up in a couple of days.

There are eight more forward spots open and although size is prevalent, there are some differing styles and various ceilings to choose from when filling out the bottom part of the roster.

Of those, forward Marcus Foligno and his progress, will be a focus of the coaching staff throughout the preseason.

Hitting the cap-floor may not be as difficult as many thought

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com


With Sabres GM Tim Murray announcing that defenseman Christian Ehrhoff will be bought out, the team finds itself even farther away from the salary cap floor of roughly $51M than most expected.

Ehrhoff was the second compliance buyout used buy Buffalo this off season, the first was Ville Leino and his $4.5M cap hit.

According to capgeek.com, the Sabres have 14 players on the roster for next season with a total cap hit of roughly $31M.

That gap equals about $20M under the cap floor leaving some work to do for Murray and Co.

Of note:  F, Patrick Kaleta spent last season in Rochester. He has one more year remaining on his contract that pays $1.25M and, according to Murray, he'll be a Buffalo Sabre when training camp opens.

Free agency begins on Tuesday and money will be flowing once the bell rings at noon.

As the preseason gets a bit tougher, spots on the Sabres roster are tougher to come by

Winning the first three games of the preseason basically says that one team's mix of youngins is a little beter than another on a given night. Vets sprinkled in with recent draft picks and second-year AHL'ers in the right combination vs. the right combination of the same doesn't really amount to much in the grand scheme of things.

Which is not to take away anything from the players who are busting their ass to make a good impression on the Sabres brass. Winning, as well as getting on the score sheet, is good for confidence, but as the preseason moves forward the chaff gets separated from the wheat and the competition becomes a little more NHL-like. A little tougher.

The Sabres have lightened the ship. They sent five back to their junior clubs--draft picks Nicholas Baptise, Justin Bailey, Justin Kea, Logan Nelson and free-agent signee Connor Boland--on Monday.

On Friday before this weekend's home-and-home with Toronto, the Sabres really took a chunk out of the training camp roster by cutting 14 players. They assigned 12 players to Rochester:  forwards Colin Jacobs, Eric Locke, free agent signee Jonathan McGuire, Jonathan Parker, Kevin Sundher, Shawn Szydlowski, and Frederick Roy; defenseman Alex Lepkowski, and Matt McKenzie plus goaltenders Connor Knapp, Nathan Lieuwen and Andrey Makarov.

They also announced that defenseman Nick Crawford was sent to Rochester pending waivers while defenseman Brady Austin and free agent forward Peter Trainor were assigned to their junior clubs.

The team just announced that they're down to 35 players after six more were moved off of the roster. Forwards Daniel Catenacci and Phil Varone along with defensemen Jerome Gauthier-LeDuc "of Earl" and Tim Schaller were sent to Rochester.

Jamie Tardiff was also sent to the Amerks, pending waivers.

Former Minnesota 1st-round pick Colton Gillies was released from his pro tryout contract.

The Sabres will need to get down to 23 players by September 30.


***

This is where things get pretty interesting for the Sabres, whittling away 12 players from their roster to get down to the league max.

The Sabres will have one less goalie before they hit the ice for their opener at Detroit on October 2.

Although there's always the possibility that Jhonas Enroth will be moved, odds are that either Matt Hackett will be sent to Rochester or Ryan Miller, who's in the last year of his contract, will be traded.

The battle for the remaining 11 roster spots is mostly on defense and rounding out the bottom-six forwards.

Save for one possibility.

Joel Armia was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2011 draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Since then he's been plying his trade in his native Finland playing in the top league against men.

“You play against grown men that are stronger,” Armia said. “They know how to play hockey. So that’s been a big difference in my development.”

At 20 years old he still has a long way to go in his development despite having played against men. And as he begins his first season in North America, he'll also be acclimating himself to a smaller ice surface.

But one thing that can't be denied is the skill package Armia brings.

Kris Baker of sabres.com and sabresprospects.com has Armia ranked third in his 2013-14 prospects rankings saying, "Armia's size and speed have the look of the Sabres' next scoring line threat off the wing [and] will immediately compete for NHL minutes when he brings his scoring hands to North America in 2013-14."

Baker also mentions Armia's quick release, sense for open space and tip skills as attributes that might allow him to make the jump right to the NHL this season.

Armia has played in two preseason games, has one goal and one assist, both points while playing on the top line with Thomas Vanek and Cody Hodgson.

Vanek had some good things to say about the kid after the game, “You can see that he puts himself in good spots,” he said. “Those are things you can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t, and he seems to have it.”

Armia definitely has the "it" factor. But a willingness to fully engage on a consistent basis in all three zones is what he'll need to show.

If he can do that in the remaining preseason games, there may a chance for him to earn a spot out of camp.


***

That Armia as a talented right-winger should make Vanek happy.

For some reason Vanek seems to have an aversion to playing on the right side despite his right-handed shot. Having Armia on the right while he stays in his comfort zone on the left side certainly would make him happy.

To open preseason, Vanek was on the right with Hodgson in the middle and Marcus Foligno on the left. The trio formed a pretty good line. Foligno scored two goals with that line at Columbus.

Last night Vanek and Hodgson had the night off while Foligno was on the left side of Tyler Ennis, who was playing his first preseason game at center. Drew Stafford was on the right.

The trio almost single-handedly lead the Sabres to a playoff birth in 2011-12, but fell on hard times last season and were split up.

They regained their magic last night as the Sabres top-line. Although being somewhat limited on the score sheet with Foligno scoring a goal and Ennis garnering an assist, they looked real good as a line carrying the play much of the night.

The fate of Armia, as well as which side Vanek plays on, may very well rest on the play of this trio. If they continue to work well, a top-nine could feature Vanek/Hodgson/Armia and Foligno/Ennis/Stafford.


***

The other line should pretty much be etched in stone:  Mikhail Grigorenko centering Steve Ott and Ville Leino.

At 19 years old, Grigorenko will be entering his second NHL season. Because of NHL rules he is ineligible for the AHL. He can either play for the Sabres or be sent back to junior.

Sabres GM Darcy Regier has already said that Grigorenko will be with the big club.

And his best chance for success will be on a line with Ott on his wing.

Grigorenko is big--6'3" 200 lbs.--and his highly skilled. He tops Baker's list of Sabres top prospects. But he is also having a rough time acclimating himself to the NHL game.

His skating is average at best and he looks disinterested at times.

In his first preseason game, he finally kicked it into gear and looked like he could hang with the big boys. That was with Ott and Leino.

He looked good last night playing on that line again.

Sandwiched in between was a stint with Ennis on the left and Brian Flynn on the right. Grigorenko really didn't fare that well.

With Regier's insistence on Grigorenko being with Buffalo, his best chance for success would be with Ott on the left and Leino on the right.


***

There is quality competition at the forward position. But there's even more quality competition on defense.

Locks for the top six are Tyler Myers, Christian Ehrhoff, and Mike Weber.

Rookie Mark Pysyk is coming off of a good 19-game stint with Buffalo last season, and has looked even better this preseason. He looks to be a lock for the top-six as well.

Hank Tallinder was traded for in the off season and should be the veteran mentor of the defense corps. He and Pysyk had some excellent chemistry when paired together in the first game.

Probably the only question in the top-six is Weber's partner.

The Sabres traded for Jamie McBain at the draft and he has shown enough to be a reserve/bottom-pairing d-man. He also has no waiver options.

Chad Ruhwedel came straight from college into a 10-game stint with Buffalo last season. He played well, but can be sent to Rochester without clearing waivers. "Rudy" could also use some seasoning in the AHL.

The Sabres will probably carry eight defensemen like they did last season which essentially leaves three players vying for two spots.

The veteran of the group is Alexander Sulzer. He came over in the Hodgson trade with Vancouver and is a solid bottom-pairing d-man. The Sabres re-signed him to a one year contract this summer.

His veteran presence isn't really needed with the big club, but he could get claimed should he be exposed to waivers.

Rasmus Ristolainen was the teams first round pick (#8 overall) in the 2013 draft. After two years playing in the Swedish Elite League, he was said to be NHL ready. And he sure looks the part.

He looked real strong in the first two preseason games before taking a step back vs. Carolina. Last night vs. Toronto he got that step back.

Despite his "NHL-readiness" a short stint in Rochester may be the best way to go for him as he learns game-to-game management, an area which affected him in that third preseason game.

Brayden McNabb has been playing in Rochester the last two season after four seasons with Kootenay of the WHL.

He has the size, 6'5" 215 lbs and offensive instincts to make the team out of camp. And he's also having a pretty good preseason.

Jon Vogl rightly points out that McNabb is making a strong case to be on the Sabres opening day roster.

"Not long ago," writes Vogl, "McNabb was the Sabres’ hot prospect on defense. Buffalo figured his physical skills would plug a hole on the blue line for years to come. A few drafts, trades and injuries later, McNabb is almost an afterthought."

McNabb is in the middle. He's not a rookie any more, and with only 25 NHL games under his belt he's not a veteran either.

But a one goal, two assist night vs. Carolina certainly garnered some attention for the former 3rd round pick. "McNabb shined in his second game of the exhibition season. He ripped a slap shot home and directed two pucks toward the net that were tipped into the cage." continued Vogl.

If McNabb continues to get noticed for the right reasons, he may earn himself the opportunity to not only make the team, but get some bottom-six minutes as well.

2013 first round draft pick Nikita Zadorov should get one more game to whet his appetite for the NHL. He'll be headed back to junior next week.

The Sabres visit Toronto tonight and a good chunk of players will be playing their last preseason game for the club.

Just a part of the process.

Marcus Foligno channels Bobby Orr's "the goal"

In 1970, Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr scored one of the most famous goals in NHL history.

It was Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals and it was overtime.

Orr collected a pass from Derek Sanderson, slid one by  goalie Glenn Hall and proceed to fly through the air in jubilation courtesy of Blues d-man Noel Picard.

The goal, as well as the 4-0 sweep of the Blues, brought the Bruins the Cup for the first time in 29 years.

Here's the video:





Last night in Columbus Sabres young gun Marcus Foligno found himself flying Orr-like through the air after his second goal of the game:




Special thanks to theoryneutral and the NHL for access to those two videos.

The NFL draft is over, back to the Sabres

The Buffalo Bills made some noise this off-season, and with the Sabres falling short in the standings, and clinging to the status quo, it's not hard to have your attention directed towards the team with the longest playoff drought in the NFL (13 years,) and how they may emerge from an aggressive off-season thus far.

Draft grades will be coming out left and right, but the prevailing theme is that GM Buddy Nix and his group of scouts scored a solid B/B+ in the draft. A solid if unspectacular group of rookies will be headed to Orchard Park to join FA defensive end acquisitions Mario Williams and Mark Anderson. (Click here for The Buffalo News' Mark Gaughan draft re-cap.)

When taken as a whole, the Bills bolstered both lines. On defense the signings of Williams and Anderson gave the Bills one of the best front-four in the league (on paper.) It also allowed them to focus upon other areas in the draft.

Cornerback Stephon Gilmore (#10-overall) was the consensus second-best corner in the draft behind Morris Claibourne. The Bills got him.

The other possibility for the Bills first pick was T Cordy Glenn, a projected first-rounder who dropped to the Bills at #41, much to their delight.

They plucked a speed receiver in TJ Graham with their third-round pick and then set themselves upon building depth.

They picked two linebackers, Nigel Bradham (#105) and Tank Carder (#147,) as well as another DB in Ron Brooks (#124) to shore up the defense. Bradham and Brooks, as with all picks, will have the opportunity to vie for a starting spot, but they're also looked at as big contributors on special teams.

The Bills drafted themselves some football players throughout, and Carder is a tough competitor, maybe because of the obstacles he's faced throughout his short lifetime.

In addition to shoring up the defense, the Bills did not rest on their Cordy Glenn-laurels. They added depth on the offensive line, as well as big bodies--T Zebrie Sanders (#144) and OL Mark Asper (#168.)

In fact, Nix seemed to feel so confident in his work, that when it came to their final pick, they had the luxury to take a kicker, John Potter (#271.) Potter is somewhat of a specialist at this point. His strength is kickoffs as he's looked at to consistently put the kick into the endzone.

All-in-all, Nix and Co. may have produced a solid if unspectacular draft that focused upon areas of need and stretched into less glamorous areas like special teams.

Good work.

**********

What we missed concerning the Sabres



Had he hit the net more often in his first year with the Sabres, perhaps they'd have been talking about a first-round battle with the NY Rangers instead of philosophising over a lost year.

Ville Leino was signed in the off-season for 6yrs./$27M and Sabres management had some expectations for him that, in the end, were simply out of reach for the LW-turned Center-turned LW-turned Center. His eight goals and 17 assists in 71 games certainly attest to that.

Leino was a no-show for almost all of the season, especially the first half, and after the Sabres were eliminated in Philadelphia, he was a no-show preferring, according to WGR beat writer Paul Hamilton, to chat with his pals on the Flyers. At locker clean-out day, Leino once again was a no-show.

Pretty sure everyone expected nothing from him until training camp, but Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News landed an interview with the Finnish forward.

The season was a battle. So went the headline.

And what was he battling?

Pretty much everything.

The Sabres brought Leino to bolster a weak center position, he was a big disappointment.

Not sure where the problems came from, but off season adjustments were sure to play a part.

Leino, though, takes it a bit further.

He inferrs that Lindy Ruff did not use him, as well as other players, properly, "There was a lot of pieces that were kind of out of place," Leino said. " "Coaches do most of the work, and obviously players want to be better, too."

He somewhat defends the coaching staff by saying, "They've got to work with what they were given."

Basically, Leino wasn't thrilled with where he stood on the team. Which is not surprising. He's coming off as a primadonna, which is not unusual.

The offseason should be interesting, with Tyler Ennis emerging as a legitimate top-six center and the addition of Cody Hodgson as a potential top-six center, Leino can now focus upon the wing.

That is if he's not worrying about what the GM, coach and his other players are doing.

---------

Speaking of Hodgson, dude caught some serious flak from his former GM.

Mike Gillis ripped his former #1 pick (#10-overall, 2009,) not long after his team was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, "There clearly were issues that were ongoing," Gillis said of Hodgson. "I spent more time on Cody's issues than every other player combined on our team the last three years."

One must take into account the the Canucks had just been bounced in the first round after making it to Game-7 of the Stanley Cup Finals last season.

The trade that Gillis made to bolster his team--or more specifically, to match up with the Boston Bruins and their toughness--was to send Hodgson to Buffalo for "rugged" right-winger Zach Kassian (#13-overall, 2009.)

Other than the fact that Gillis threw Hodgson under the bus and proceeded to back over him again, it's interesting as to how candid he was concerning the trade and it's evolution. "We made a determination that he didn't want to be here," he said.

"There were six young players that I would have traded him for if any of them were ever made available. One was made available at the trade deadline and it was Zack."

"We put Cody on the ice in every offensive situation we possibly could [to hide defensive deficiencies,]" Gillis said. "I don't think he took more than five or six defensive zone faceoffs and that was by design. And like I said earlier, I don't regret that move. I'd do it again. I'd do it today."

They 'Nucks, actually, had been looking to move Hodgson since last summer. This was said of Coach Allain Vigneault by Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province, "it’s abundantly clear coach Alain Vigneault is not one of his big fans as the youngster was always the last possible option and was repeatedly slotted into situations seemingly designed to make him fail." (original link inaccessible, was directed there via Lyle Richardson. For more visit my piece.)

Hodgson is now out of the tumult that is Vancouver and is ready to start his off-season workout.

Once again he'll be working with hockey guru Gary Roberts, Hodgson's third off-season with him. Roberts, via Jon Vogl of the Buffalo News, thinks his pupil got a bum rap from his former team.

"If anybody knew this kid, this young man, to know what he went through mentally and physically for two summers trying to find out what the heck was wrong with him [back problems] -- of course they dealt with his issues more than anybody else in the organization because he was injured and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with him."

Roberts did not take kindly to what Gillis had to say about Hodgson either, "I listened to Mike Gillis the other day," Roberts said by phone over the weekend, "and my impression was, 'Are you kidding me?' "For me, I'd like to be the guy that looks at Mike Gillis and says, 'You're a moron.' It doesn't really do anybody any good other than the fact that Mike Gillis looks like, as they say on TSN, a dud."

Alas, life begins anew in Buffalo for the center. And it's a place that wants and needs him. All he'll need to do is work hard and leave it all on the ice. And according to Roberts, Hodgson has a work ethic that's right up there with Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Steven Stamkos.

----------

Marcus Foligno hit his stride in a rip-roarin', 14-game debut for the Sabres.

It was hard to hide his excitement for next season even as his Rochester Americans were cleaning out after getting swept in the playoffs. "It's tough to say that you're excited for next season, but I'm ready to go," Foligno said last week in Rochester. "It's just tough that the playoffs went the way they did, but I see a great opportunity ahead. I'm excited for it."

Foligno is fired-up, as is the organization, as to what he can accomplish over an 82-game season.

Lots of praise in the above linked article by Jon Vogl from Tyler Ennis to Drew Stafford to Amerks coach Ron Rolston.

Even some praise from Toronto Marlies coach Dallas Eakins who's team swept Rochester in the playoffs, "This will be his last bunch of games in the American League," Eakins said. "That's a guy, if you're building a team for the playoffs, you want him on the ice."

Matthew Coller of WGR also looks forward to Foligno next season and adds in that both he and young defenseman Brayden McNabb "face great expectations."

Coller wonders if Foligno set the bar "too high" and taps into his hockeysfuture bio that projected him as "C-grade" prospect, “Foligno’s role in the future will probably be as an energy winger on the third or fourth line who has enough skill that he can chip in offensively every once in a while.”

As for McNabb, he has the right attitude, “I have to come out and prove myself again,” McNabb said. “I have to just keep coming and try to make a statement. I have to come in ready to camp next year. I'm looking forward to doing that.”

Foligno and McNabb, two bright spots from an otherwise lame season.

Let the new core rise.

There's only one way to look at the Sabres upcoming stretch...

two points by any means necessary.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs going south in a hurry via a 2-12-2 stretch in their last 16 games and Montreal buried at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Buffalo is the only team left in the Northeast Division battling for the eighth playoff spot.

Four teams from the Southeast are battling for the division crown--Florida, Washington, Winnipeg and Tampa Bay--with the second place team presently holding down the eighth and final playoff spot.

One week ago today, the Sabres were four points out of the final spot behind Winnipeg, and trailing Washington and Tampa Bay as well. Today they remain four points out of the eighth spot behind Washington tied with Winnipeg.

Which isn't all that bad considering they went 2-2-0 this past week and considering they lost in regulation to Winnipeg to start the week.

The game in Winnipeg vs. the Jets--a 3-1 loss--was the last of a four game western road trip that saw the team go 3-1-0, an impressive record considering the fact that they played four games in six nights.

A condensed schedule continued as the Sabres came back to the F'n Center for a game against Carolina before heading to Boston the next night. It ended two days later with a trip to Ottawa.

After the Winnipeg loss, the team gutted out an OT win vs. Carolina then showed signs of fatigue in Boston as the Bruins scored three unanswered goals. Jhonas Enroth was in net for that game--his first appearance since Feb. 16--and he played very well, but remained without a win since November.

Hindsight may prove that the Boston game was pretty much conceded in order to give Ryan Miller a rest.

Miller has been on fire lately going 7-1-1 with a 1.74 gaa and a stellar .947 save percentage in his last nine games.

The team needed him to be stellar considering the fact that they scored three goals twice and were held to one goal four times (a 1-2-1 record) during that stretch.
Regardless of who the Sabres are chasing for eighth spot, and it has the potential to change almost nightly, they need to get two points nearly every night. Saturday's shootout win at Ottawa was exactly that.

The Sabres never lead in that game while overcoming one-goal deficits three times on their way to a 4-3 SO win. It was one of their best games of the season as they faced 6'7" Sens goalie Ben Bishop.

In a David vs. Goliath scenario the two smallest Sabres players contributed mightily to the Sabres victory. 5'5" Nathan Gerbe used his scoring touch to beat Bishop far side with a shot that hugged the ice. That tied the score at one.

5'9" Tyler Ennis, who was moved back to center, took a diving lunge at a rebound to chop one past Bishop to tie the score at two. Then in the shootout, he deked "Goliath" for the game-winner.

The team still faces a very steep climb with 13 games to go. Once again, it's not so much how many points back of eighth they are, but who they need to jump over to get there. And what makes the task more daunting is the tiebreaker. The Sabres have significantly less regulation/overtime wins (25) than the teams their battling with (Florida and Winnipeg are the closest with 28.)

This week we'll focus upon the Sabres vs. the Southeast (minus Carolina.) With Ottawa nine points ahead of Buffalo and in control of the 7th-seed, right now all that's left is who takes the Southeast Division and who will get the eighth and final playoff spot.

A look at the standings:

• 3rd, Eastern Conference, Florida--77 pts.
• 8th, Washington--76
• 9th, Winnipeg--72
• 10th, Buffalo--72
• 11th, Tampa Bay--69

A look at the schedules for the week:

• Florida--vs. Toronto, vs. Boston, vs. Buffalo
• Washington--@ NY Islanders, @ Winnipeg, @ Chicago
• Winnipeg--vs. Dallas, vs. Washington, vs. Carolina
• Buffalo--vs. Montreal, vs. Colorado, @ Florida
• Tampa Bay--vs. Boston, vs. Toronto, vs. St. Louis

Some quick notes:

• The Sabres could make league history by becoming the first team ever to be at the bottom of the conference in February and make the playoffs in April. Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News also notes that there has been only one team to be 10 points out of a playoff spot in February that made the top-eight--the 1994 NY Islanders. He also noted that they were swept by the NY Rangers that year and were outscored 22-3.
• Winnipeg is a Jekyll and Hyde team when it comes to home and road games. They're 21-10-4 at home and 11-19-4 on the road. It doesn't help the Sabres that all three games for the Jets this week are at home.
• The Florida Panthers are filled with veterans with cup rings and plenty of playoff experience. As of the past six weeks they've been able to beat the teams they should beat, with mixed results vs. playoff calibre teams. Toronto's an important game for them even though they're 3-0 vs. the Leafs this season. They have Boston after that and the Sabres on Saturday night.
• Washington seems to be getting stronger and is making a big push. They're 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and head to the Island on a three-game winning streak. The Islander game is the first of five games on the road where their road record is an unspectacular 12-18-3 though.

The saving grace for Buffalo is the fact that all of the teams they are chasing have flaws, whether it be goaltending (Washington, Tampa Bay,) scoring (Florida, worse than Buffalo) or glaring home/road disparities (Winnipeg.)

The Sabres head into tonight's game vs. Montreal missing their second-leading goal scorer, Thomas Vanek and energy forward Matt Ellis, both felled by injuries the last two games. They also may be without the services of defenseman Andrej Sekera who has missed the last three games due to "flu-like" symptoms. Sekera was replaced by former Vancouver Canuck, and trade-deadline "throw-in," Alexander Sulzer who's acquitted himself very well. In the four games since the trade he's a plus-3 and in the last two games he's logged over 20 minutes.

In the battle for the Southeast Division crown and eighth place in the Eastern Conference, it's wide open right now and the most important thing for the Sabres is to get two points by any means necessary.

The goals should be 94 points which equates to going 11-3-0; 10-1-2; or 9-0-4.



Finally, Marcus Foligno scored his first-ever NHL goal vs. Ottawa on Saturday night, a game-tying tally late in the 3rd period. It was a pure hustle/muscle play that ended up ricocheting off of Sabres nemesis Daniel Alfredsson and into the net.

It's also cool collection of little events surrounding the goal--from Foligno out-muscling aged veteran Sergei Gonchar and making him look like a cardboard cut-out, to the nifty way Foligno pulled the puck between the legs of Gonchar, to the perfect deflection over the shoulder of Ben "Goliath" Bishop, to Drew Stafford inadvertently whacking Bishop in the mask as he tried to smack the puck in.







Foligno post-game: