october's horror



forget the classics like halloween, night of the living dead, the shining or nosferatu, tonight as you try to put a little fright into this halloween, watch a replay of last night's shutout loss in dallas...or, you can go back to the 6-3 loss at the hands of philly...or how about the game two clunker vs. the ny rangers...maybe the entire season thusfar can all be encapsulated in one play last night by tyler myers where he got his pocket picked on the pp, got it back, tried to do too much, got his pocket picked again, gave up on the play, and was too late on the back-check as his man scored a short-handed goal...this was not the tyler myers we saw last season...nor is this the team that started out last year on fire, eventually winning the n.e. div...

those who predicted an epic fail by this season's team are prancing with chests puffed full, snarky "i told you so's" bellowing from their proud lungs...those who predicted an extension of last season's team and an equal, if not slightly stronger run this season are choking with embarassment...(shrugs)...fine...

regardless of anyones opinion, these are the facts for the sabres as they gladly say goodbye to october:

wins:  3, tied for last (njd, phx, edm)
points:  8, tied for second last (edm, fla)
eastern conference:  14th
n.e. div:  5th

goals/game:  2.50 (22nd)...(#1, tampa, 3.50)
goals against/game:  3.17 (23rd)...(bos, 1.38)
shots/game:  33.2 (5th)...(sjs, 35.6)
shots against/game:  28.5 (10th)...(stl, 25.8)

powerplay:  13.0% (20th)...(sjs, 31.8)
penalty kill:  74.5% (27th)...(bos, 93.1)

faceoffs:  47.5% (27th)...(sjs, 56.4)

there's plenty of time for analysis the next few days as the sabres return to the ice against boston on wed.

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in the air?...hopefully...part 2

as previously mentioned, the 40th anniversary edition of the buffalo sabres is stuck in limbo with management and coaches in place and a reluctance on the part of general manager darcy regier to move any of the "core," top-six players...since regier has shown a penchant for little change within the core, it's up to managing partner larry quinn to force regier into making a trade of significance...and he's done it before...

back in july, 2003, darcy regier refused to part with 2002 draft pick (#11 overall) keith ballard in order to obtain chris drury...quinn stepped in and forced regier to do it, and it worked out pretty well ...(note:  quinn was also instrumental in drury's departure as well)...

would quinn do it again?...i'm not sure...as of right now he has his own personal problems as he recovers from heart surgery at the cleveland clinic, so it's safe to say that he has other things on his mind...it's expected that he'll be in the hospital for at least a few more days...hopefully, once he regains his faculties and feels well again, he'll have had some sort of epiphany to the effect that stagnation is causing the sabres fans to become restless and that it is beginning to show at the box office...and it will only get worse if things continue as they are...

should quinn do it?...absolutely...it actually shoulda been done this off-season (if not a few years ago)

what should they do?

paul hamilton on wgr's "roundtable" brings up daniel briere's present situation with the flyers...basically briere said that life's easier right now because he's not seeing the likes of zdeno chara very much in the course of a game...when he was in buffalo, he would see chara the whole game...in other words, he was going up against the top d-men in the league...you could also add that he was facing the opposition's top checking line as well...

with those top players tied up for most of the game, production fell to the second and third lines...with briere anchoring the sabres top line, chris drury's line and derek roy's line thrived...thomas vanek had a year worthy of a $50m poach attempt by then oilers gm kevin lowe...

with the departure's of drury and briere, the likes of roy and vanek were asked to step up to the top-line and face the top-defenders in the league while the rest were counted on for secondary scoring...the results were two missed playoff years in a row and question marks as to whether or not they could produce in that situation with that style of play...

last season saw an emphasis on vezina-winner ryan miller and the defense lead by calder-winner tyler myers...production from the top-six forwards was stunted, but defense carried the team to the playoffs...in the playoffs vs. the boston bruins there was no scoring from the sabres top-centers--roy and tim connolly-- vanek looked fully able to handle his top-lw role, pomminville contributed and rookie tyler ennis contributed in a depth role...once again, on the whole, they looked over matched in their roles...but, still, nothing was done...

so now we're 10 games into the season and the sabres are faced with a few areas that are weak:

• ryan miller still has not hit his stride, although much can be attributed to a mediocre (at best) defense
• the defense is off to a rough start with tyler myers going through growing pains, jordan leopold is still adapting to the new climate, but has played very well, and shaone morrisonn had the triple-whammy of adjusting to a new team, a d-partner and dealing with an early season injury
• on offense more adjustments with rob niedermayer, cody mccormick and nathan gerbe coming in and tyler ennis beginning his first full season
• scoring from the forward lines are down, with some players being non-existent

i believe that all of these will work themselves out, save for the last point...which is on the backs of the top-six "core"...

the #1 line that will face the oppositions #1 defenders is vanek/roy/drew stafford...so far, roy started hot and has cooled down, vanek started cold and is heating up, stafford is still inconsistent...i do believe that vanek is a top-line player...roy can produce in a top-line role facing top defenders, but is better suited to the second line...stafford is more like a third-line rw...

nothing new, the sabres are still lacking a true #1 center while #1 rw is, and has been, even more of a major problem area

that could be overcome if the second line produced...it hasn't...and therein lies a major problem...

the line of jochen hecht/connolly/pomminville was the most consistent line the sabres had last season...a line the helped get the team off to a great start...this season, that line started out slow, some would say were "invisible" on a nightly basis...

with the sabres #1 line taking on top-defenders, this line has the opportunity to do some damage...connolly should be able to handle #2 center duties, but looks out of it most nights...pomminville is a solid #2 rw, but has been injured...hecht is a #3 lw, but is capable of playing #2 as long as there's chemistry between him and his linemates, as proven last season...

right now, the invisibility of connolly means the sabres are lacking a player to take on the #2 center position...

what are the sabres options in regards to filling these holes?...regier would say that these players will "grow into them"...on the other end, some sabres fans would say trade everybody except miller, myers and ennis...

maybe quinn could tell regier to address one area...even if the second line starts producing, there's still areas that could use some help on the top line...although i'm not privy to, nor claim to be privy to, any inside information concerning the availability of players, by the looks of, it here are some players that might be available:

• jamie langenbrunner, rw, nj devils--the devils are in worse shape than the sabres and one would have to think that some changes are coming...langenbrunner brings alot to the table--he has two rings, is a leader still capable of top-line duties, and is clutch in the playoffs...potential top-line:  vanek, roy, langenbrunner
• simon gagne, lw, tb lightning--gagne's a goal-scorer...he's been injury-prone lately, but when he's on the ice, he's a top-notch lw...presently he's goalless in six games with his new team and is a minus-8...it should not be a problem moving vanek to rw (i actually think he'd do much better there)...potential top-line:  gagne, roy, vanek
• chris drury, c, ny rangers--(ducks for cover)...i know all the criticisms and hatred for the guy, but he brings a lot to the table, has two years left on his contract with only this one being financially atrocious and would certainly help in the secondary scoring role and top-six leadership role...ny was a bust for him and the team...potential second-line:  hecht, drury, pomminville

these are just examples based upon what might be out there and how they would help fill a few major holes in the sabres top-six...of course, there's always the "internal salary cap" which would need to be addressed if any of these three, or their ilk, were brought in...(ummm...tim connolly makes $4.5m this season...hint, hint)...
the bottom line is this, darcy regier needs to shake-up and strengthen the top-six...larry quinn is his boss...if quinn says do it, it'll get done...if it doesn't happen soon, whether this team turns it around or not in the near future, the bottom line will be adversely affected...and i'm pretty sure that will not please larry quinn

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in the air?...hopefully

a slow start by the buffalo sabres equals widespread panic amongst some fans...(shrugs)...it's not surprising...as for the other extreme, general manager darcy regier stated that the components are there, they just need do redirect their focus and become more passionate...

some fans are calling for major changes, like firing head coach lindy ruff and/or regier, or minor changes like firing assistant coach brian mccutcheon (for an inept powerplay)...some are looking to player movement via trade, waive or buyout (names like tim connolly, craig rivet and jochen hecht are being thown about) as a way to shake things up...some put bags over their avatars heads...and some would like to see this:



then there's the group that still bemoans the loss of chris drury and daniel briere...and max afinogenov...and brian campbell...and hank tallinder...and even tim kennedy...fine...whatever...what's done is done, but if you want to wallow in what-shoulda-beens, go ahead...

simple facts:

• the buffalo sabres got booted from the playoffs last season in the first round
• at the end of season press conference, both larry quinn and darcy regier said significant changes need to be made
• the buffalo sabres are 3-6-1 to start the 2010/11 season, their 40th anniversary season
• larry quinn is part owner/managing partner of the buffalo sabres
• quinn has done a great job with the bottom line
• quinn is likes darcy regier as his general manager
• regier helped stabilize a franchise in turmoil when he came on board
• regier built an exciting team for the post-lockout nhl
• those two teams went far and the excitement remained through two non-playoff years, although it diminished until their playoff appearance last season
• regier also has stated that lindy ruff will remain on as coach as long as he's the gm, and there's no reason not to believe he'll remain true to that
• ruff has also been a stabilizing factor for the buffalo sabres during his tenure and he works with the team that was given him
• there has not been a change to the top-six on this team--save the trade of ales kotalik in 2009--post-drury-briere
• there has not been a impact trade to bring a player in since 2003 (drury)

based upon the above facts, its safe to assume that:

• larry quinn will be with the sabres as managing partner
• darcy regier will remain as general manager at least for this season
• lindy ruff, barring a total collapse, will remain on as coach (his contract also runs out at the end of the season) and with that comes the probability that assistant coaches mccutcheon and james patrick will remain on as well
• because of regier's belief in his core and a myriad of reasons (in his eyes) not to make a significant trade, there (in all probability) will be no movement in the top-six forwards
• because of the turn-over on the back-end with the loss top-four d-men tallinder and toni lydman countered by the additions of jordan leopold and shaone morrisonn, pretty sure that the latter along with captain craig rivet and steve montador will make up the "veteran" part of the d-corps...tyler myers leads they "youth" portion and either andrej sekera, chris butler or mike weber fill the final spot in the line-up while the other two will be in the pressbox...

you're probably asking yourself, "what's the point, boos?"

first off, the extremes are, well....the extremes...this 3-6-1 sabres team is not as talented as regier would think, nor does it have the leadership that he believes...on the other side, there is talent on this team--ryan miller is the reigning vezina winner, there are players like thomas vanek, derek roy and jason pomminville who do produce (although not as much or as consistently as we would like,) the defense--although in a bit of a rut right now--is solid and the bottom-six, veteran role players can--and do--contribute in a significant way to the sabres success both on and off the ice...plus they have two promising rookies in tyler myers and tyler ennis who are contributing...

but, as we all know, a move of significance is needed...since status quo reigns supreme with regier, nothing will probably get done unless this man gets involved:

"yeah, i'm ultimately responsible for the buffalo sabres"

what should he do?...tune in...



deja vu all over again



broken record, stale, deja vu..."if there's an orignial thought, i could use it now," sings bob dylan...


although it's not that original, it is pretty rare to see the gm take the fall for a team instead of a coach...
--some of the hallmarks of the last 3+ seasons were seen last night as the sabres got thumped by the flyers:

• failure to bring it for a full sixty minutes
• failure to capitalize on opportunities
• the inability to cope with physicality
• folding up the tent at the first sign of adversity
• desperation when victory is out of reach

when the going gets tough, the sabers wilt, and they have done so for the past 3+ seasons...
--it's all about "la core," the group that was locked up long term
--it's all about the leadership that was to emerge in the abscence of chris drury and daniel briere...that still hasn't
--it's all about darcy regier's penchant for icing a vanilla team, his slow approach to change, his steadfast belief that his core will magically turn into the islanders dynasty...
--it's all about failure to add any top-half players via trade or free agency to alter "la core" over the past 3+ seasons
--it's the same story, failures acknowledged, excuses made, significant changes promised, no significant changes made..."we tried, but things didn't work out," "it's a tight market," "not much out there," "what we have is better than what was available," "the price was very high," etc, etc, etc...

regier's been a good gm, ardently loyal to his staff of coaches and scouts...from head coach lindy ruff and his assistants brian mccutcheon and james patrick to pro scout jon christiano and amateur scouting director kevin devine...

he's also very loyal to the players that were drafted by former head of amateur scouting, jim benning as well as the work of  former rochester americans head coach randy cunneyworth, two figures who were instrumental in the drafting and development of, "la core"...

more on that later...

until then, please enjoy this musical interlude:

VIVA LA CORE!!!

the bruhaha over tyler ennis on a "checking line"

as alluded to in the 2010/11 sabres season preview, lindy ruff will have a tough time finding a spot for tyler ennis...he's a legit top-six forward who was ahl rookie of the year last season--as a center...he's fast, quick, and "greazzy" (ruffs word,) he creates space for himself and his line mates, has innate on-ice vision, can tinkle the twine when the opportunity arises and he's an excellent set-up man...

problem is, as a center, whether we like it or not, he's behind derek roy and tim connolly...as a left wing he's behind thomas vanek...ideally, he should be on the second line with connolly and whomever logging 16-19 mins. per game while jochen hecht--the sabres #2 lw right now--would seem a natural fit on the "checking line" with rob niedermayer and mike grier...unfortunately, it seems as if connolly's inept with anyone other than hecht on the left side...thus the quandary for ruff...

jason pomminville is still recovering from a concussion and should be back within a week to ten days...hearken back to last season when the only consistent line was hecht/connolly/pomminville...go back to late in the season and into the playoffs where connolly disappeared when hecht was out with injuries...out of sheer necessity, ruff must play hecth with connolly in order to maximize production from his #2 center...which in and of itself is a travesty...

add in the fact that ruff likes balanced scoring and would love to be able to get production from at least three lines, and you have ennis playing left wing with nieds and grier...

we've all learned to dismiss the notion that darcy regier will make moves with his top-six...for the past three seasons "la core" has been untouchable...therefore, what you see is what you'll get up-top...

for his part, ennis has taken it all in stride...he started out the year with derek roy and somehow transformed him from "dipsy-doodle" derek to "drive-to-the-net" derek...the results?...roy sat atop the nhl leaderboard for goals and points...until, of course, roy got full of himself and contracted a severe case of "maxitis"...the individual play increased as did the turnovers, the scoring went down and, as shown in the ot goal by ilya kovalchuk vs. the devils, roy was so full of himself that he felt he was above the team and his coach leaving defense to those without his "skill-set"...in that same time-frame, jason pomminville was injured, shaone morrison was injured and the whole team went into a funk at home...and so did ennis...

ennis was/is going through growing pains both literally and figuratively...he added 5 lbs. to his 5'9" frame during the off-season and the opposition was getting a better handle on his game...things weren't working for himself and the sabres on offense after the first few games...add in the fact that a top-six winger (pomminville) went down thereafter and you have some line juggling...vs. atlanta on the road,  the "reincarnation of adam mair" was consumated as 4th-liner cody mccormick, played top-six minutes along side connolly and hecht...he notched a goal in that game and in the following home loss to ottawa connolly notched his first two of the season and was named the second-star for the game...ennis was relegated to the 3rd line in these new combinations....

in the game vs. atlanta, the first game with these new line combos, ennis notched his first goal of the season and notched his first point in three games as he blew past the thrasher d and walked in on chris mason to open the scoring....that play showed just how much quicker and faster he than his new line mates...the moans and groans and fever-pitch calls for ruff's head had subsided as both mccormick and ennis scored goals in the 4-1 victory, a victory which snapped a five-game losing streak...yet, in many fans' eyes, this was just another case (albeit completely unfounded in this blogger's eyes) of ruff inhibiting the offensive abilities of gifted players through his system...

yes, the ennis/nieds/grier combination is a strange one, but not too strange...ennis' talents are sick, especially when compared to his two line mates, as are his speed and quickness...and you'd think it would destroy him mentally, but it hasn't happened yet as evidenced by his two goals, one assist and plus-three rating in the three games this line has been together...imo, unlike "la core" which came before him, ennis seems to have the intestinal fortitude to overcome obstacles and play the game with the utmost professionalism no matter what his role is...he sticks to the system and makes the most out of his line mates and the time he has on the ice...

it actually may be a plus that ennis is on a line with nieds and grier...these are two vets who have been through the rigors of a long season with one of them winning the cup (nieds, '07, anaheim)...they've pretty much seen it all in their 33 years (combined) in the nhl...they know trends, they study tape, they grasp the nuances of a shift, period, game, month, season and post-season....they have a complete understanding of "ebb and flow" as well as "peaks and valleys"...all of this experience is now imparted upon ennis and it seems as if he's the type of player who will soak it up like a sponge...

now, i pose this question to you, the reading audience:  would you rather have anyone from "la core," meaning roy, drew stafford or connolly, teaching ennis the nuances of the game or would you rather have the veteran influence of nieds and grier?...in this situation, i'd rather have the latter...

in 1974 a small but spunky goal-scorer came into the national hockey league for the buffalo sabres...there really was no room for danny gare in the top-six, even though his skill-set warranted that...he ended up on the "checking line" with two of the best in the business--don luce and craig ramsay...in his first two seasons, gare had 31 goals and 50 goals respectively...being with two of the best checkers in the game did not inhibit gare...neither should ennis be inhibited on a line with nieds and grier

gripes that are not sabres-centric

“We need that line to compete a little bit harder on nights when it’s going to be difficult,” ____ said. “Because they are going to be closely monitored by the other team. Get to the front of the net, get your nose dirty, score an ugly goal. We have to figure out how to do that. We just have to compete harder,” he said. “Be willing to go into dangerous areas and battle when we’re there.” ...

that was not buffalo sabres coach lindy ruff, it was toronto maple leafs coach ron wilson...

in that same article, the globe and mail's james mirtle sums up toronto's top-six group of forwards...[they] are closer to Lady Byng candidates than hardnosed, front-of-the-net types, however, just one sign that personnel may be part of the problem when it comes to winning ugly when necessary...

sounds familiar, doesn't it?

if i were a devils fan, i'd be ticked

if i was a devils fan who attended the game last night, i'd be ticked...ilya kovalchuk was a healthy scratch, martin brodeur was on the bench until johan hedberg (in his first start of the season) got the hook and the devils, outside of the first two minutes, played an incredibly listless game...

on kovalchuk:  it was speculated, according to msg analyst ron duguay, that kovalchuk and devils head coach john mclean had a spat...no further information has been released but this is what mclean had to say, “That’s between him and I,” MacLean said, “That was my decision"...and he did not elaborate on the reasons for scratching the two-time 50-goal scorer...
kovalchuk is an incredible offensive player, an elite sniper in the nhl...perhaps mclean found his defensive play offensive as well...who knows, but one thing for sure, the off-season turbulence is affecting the devils, who are off to a 2-5-1 start...

brodeur was given the night off, until he was summoned half-way through the game...hedberg, who had a 12-2-2 record vs. buffalo and a gaa of 2.25, got the hook after giving up four goals on 15 shots...

the sabres played a totally different team in the devils...basically they had a pretty easy night...some notes:

--mike weber had a solid game after a rough first couple of shifts and looked real confident in his first game of the season patrolling the blueline
--it seems as if tyler myers needs to add an extra inch to his stick, and maybe he should dump the composite stick for a wood one...it's as if the puck is always half-an-inch out of reach (maybe because myers grew an inch since last season) and is bouncing off his stick more often than not...yeah, he's having a rough start, but there will come a time where the game will slow down and it will start making sense again...he's going through some changes--height, weight, opposition, d-partner...kinda like going through puberty all over again
--chris butler seems to be rounding into his'08/9 form, which is a good thing

it'll be interesting to see how these three acquit themselves throughout the season...as of now andrej sekera and butler have had the most ice-time, and of the two, buts has looked much better...it seems as if the game has slowed for him

tyler ennis has been on a line with vets rob niedermayer and mike grier...as mentioned in another blog here, it's a good thing...the gripes from sabredom have been about him wasting his talents on the third line with checkers and defensive-minded players were at a fever-pitch when this line was announced...just to remind everyone, danny gare came into the league as a scorer and spent his rookie campaign with don luce and craig ramsay, two of the best defensive forwards in the league...he had a 50-goal rookie season...

on hank tallinder:  jerry sullivan of the buffalo news brings up the point that maybe tyler myers is having a poor start because of the loss of hank tallinder...the article is more about the loss of tim kennedy, but he ties in hank as well...as part of "the core" hank really didn't do much for me...yes he had a comeback year last season, and that can be attributed more to myers than anything, but he was one of the biggest wusses on the team...two instances where he failed to protect his goalie, the face of the franchise--the scott gomez (nyr) hit on ryan miller and the chris phillips (ott) hit on miller as well...totally inexcusable...

lack of compete was a hallmark of henrik tallinder when he was in buffalo...it seems as if tallinder carried it with him to new jersey as exemplified in a play where 5'6" nathan gerbe out-competes 6'4" tallinder for the puck setting up a bang-bang, derek roy to thomas vanek goal...

myers will shake his heebie-jeebies...as for hank?...so long and thanx for all the fish