Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-10-2018
There's a clip of Sabres defenseman Jim Schoenfeld blasting Boston Bruins forward Wayne Cashman through the boards at the old Memorial Auditorium followed by the two engaging in a fight right where the Zamboni enters the ice. The clip in and of itself is great but thanks to werqa123, we get to see it with some context as the Sabres overcame an early 2-0 deficit to beat the Bruins 7-3 on December 12, 1972 (fight @ :54-mark):
"Rookie defenseman and sometime rock singer Jim Schoenfeld was a commanding figure on the ice," said Sabres play-by-play man Ted Darling in the voice over, "taking on the Bruins single-handily, one by one." In addition to Cashman, Schoenfeld dropped the gloves with Bobby Orr, who was a pretty tough customer, and Carol Vadnais, an able and very willing pugilist.
That was the price the Sabres had to pay to earn respect back then. These were "Big, Bad Bruins" of the early '70's, the defending Stanley Cup Champions with two Cups in the last three years. The Sabres were a fledgling franchise, a mere two years into their existence with, some good players, most notably Gilbert Perreault, who were trying to gain the respect of teams in the league. Safe to say that they pretty much started on that road with that game.
The Bruins were a tough lot back then and you know it's true when a Hall of Fame defenseman known for his skating and offensive prowess, is a willing pugilist. That willingness to mix it up is still true today, even though both the Bruins and the league itself is far removed from the Slapshot 70's.
It took Boston 39 years to win the Stanley Cup again and they did so with many of the same traits they had back in the 70's which included playing a rugged, in-your-face style backed by top-notch goaltending. Boston has struggled a bit since their last 2011 Cup victory and rebooted their club on the fly after a Finals loss to Chicago in 2013.
Backed once again by solid goaltending, Boston a talented, mobile defense and a quick, tenacious, skilled group of forwards that go full bore much in the gritty Bruins tradition, but without all the fanfare that went along with the fights. They finally found their stride this season hand have rolled to an 18-1-4 record that has them knocking on the door of the league's best record. They've won four in a row and are 9-1-0 in their last 10.
That's what's in store for the Sabres tonight when they face off at 7 pm in Boston.
Buffalo is coming off of a 4-3 win at home against a desperate NY Islanders team that's on the precipice of a playoff spot. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead, the Sabres allowed three unanswered goals before Sam Reinhart, the game's first star, scored the game-winner with less than five minutes to go in regulation.
The win finally got the franchise to 1000 home wins after being stuck on 999 during a four-game losing streak (0-3-1.)
Buffalo is 2-6-2 in their last 10 vs. the Bruins, 4-4-2 on the road. It's the third of four meetings between the two clubs this season. Buffalo won the first one in Boston back in October as they over came a 4-1 deficit with three unanswered goals in regulation before Ryan O'Reilly won it for them in overtime. Boston rolled into Buffalo in December and proceeded to shut the Sabres out 3-0 which included two empty net goals with less than two minutes to go in regulation.
Boston goalie Tuuka Rask is on fire with a 19-0-2 in his last 21 games, according to Fox Sports, and has yielded either one or two goals in each of his last seven starts, something that doesn't bode well for a Sabres team that's scoring a league-low 2.30 goals/game. Rask is 13-5-1 all-time against the Sabres, according to Fox, with a 2.06 goals-against average and .934 save percentage.
Sabres' forward Zemgus Girgensons was not the morning skate, according to reports from TD Garden. Buffalo coach Phil Housley told the gathered media Girgensons "was feeling a bit under the weather" and that he'd be a game-time decision.
In his stead was Scott Wilson while defenseman Justin Falk was in for Josh Gorges skating alongside rookie Victor Antipin. Every thing else remained the same at the morning skate save for Chad Johnson manning the net tonight instead of starter Robin Lehner.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Notes while enjoying Buffalo's 1000th home win...finally
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-9-2018
Well, this edition of the Buffalo Sabres finally did it. After losing the first four games (0-3-1) of their five-game homestand, the Sabres 4-3 win over the NY Islanders finally got them to 1000 home wins for the franchise. And they did so while wearing their 2018 Winter Classic sweaters, which brings us to our first note on last night's game.
***
While growing up as a kid, the home team always wore white, for me it was like the good cowboy wore the white hat while the bad cowboy wore black. Simple enough. But the NHL got a stick up their butt and changed it. Why they did it is up for debate, as some think it had to do with finances and/or the use of a third sweater at home. Personally I never liked the idea, but the NHL stuck with it and beginning in 2003-04 the home team wore the dark sweaters.
Last night the Sabres thread here was full of comments in favor of the Sabres making the white Winter Classic their home sweater, and I couldn't agree more. In order to do that, the NHL would need to change their tune concerning the home colors. It's the opinion here that they never should have switched and I'd hazard to guess that a large majority of fans feel they should switch back.
Perhaps it's time.
*****
From the game:
--Sam Reinhart's roll continued last night as he had a 1-goal, 2-assist stat-line for his second multi-point night in a row. For some reason the light went on this calendar year and after an extremely poor 2017 portion of the season (5+6 in 39 games,) Reinhart has scored 15 points (6+9) in 15 games since the beginning of 2018. You could say it's mainly because he's on Jack Eichel's line, which is true, although Reinhart had been there before and didn't get the job done. We might also point to a powerplay that looks like it's back to their No.1 form from last season, and no doubt he's contributed there (3+4) which also helps his stats. But somewhere along the line Reinhart got a kick in the ass and he's playing his best hockey of the season. Perhaps he realizes that it's a contract year and as a restricted free agent, he has no real say in what his next contract will be.
--How many times have we heard recent Sabres coaches say that they need to pare back defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's ice-time? Often, and present coach Phil Housley said it again before last night's game while indicating that Ristolainen, ideally, should be in the 23-24 minute range. Ristolainen, in part because of a weak performance the previous game, was dropped down to the second pairing last night, yet when it came down to it, Ristolainen skated a game-high 27:37 and a game-high 21:30 at even strength. In the third period he skated nine shifts for a total of 10:39 most of it (8:33) at even strength. Just sayin'.
--Defenseman Casey Nelson played a solid game on the top pairing with 21:47 of ice-time, a secondary assist on Eichel's game-opening goal and he finished with an even rating. The 25 yr. old has made great strides in his development since being signed as a free agent in 2015. Nelson and Scandella had the difficult task of manning up against the Islanders John Tavares for much of the game and did a standup job. Said Housley to the gathered media post game about Nelson, "I thought he was one of our better defensemen. He kept the game simple. There's nothing flashy about his game but he get's the job done."
--Housley changed up his lines for yesterday putting forward Evan Rodrigues with Eichel and Reinhart, and boy did that line look good. The trio combined for three goals, four assists and were a combined plus-5. With his goal and assist, Rodrigues increased his career totals to eight goals and nine assists in 57 NHL games. A free agent signee out of Boston University had tore up the NCAA along with fellow Terrier Eichel in 2014-15 and many had wondered how long it would take for a coach to put them on the same line. Although it has happened in the past, it will be interesting to see if they can build upon what they were able to accomplish last night.
--Housley is a rookie coach and he's made many questionable decisions with the lineup and the powerplay as well as in-game decisions this season, something that hasn't helped this 15-29-10 team. His early preference of forcing Reinhart to play center when he clearly was ineffective there probably set the player and the team back. Rodrigues is another forward he (along with, possibly, GM Jason Botterill) tried to force into a center's role. Rodrigues had played, and succeeded at, center in Rochester but was having a difficult time in Buffalo. Reinhart and Rodrigues had separately played on Eichel's wing before bringing a different skill-set to the line and both have shown the ability to play off of Eichel. Which is a good thing.
--Speaking of the franchise center, No. 15 had a two-point night last night. He scored the opener and sent a bank-shot off the back wall on a designed play to get the secondary assist on the game-winner. After a four-game scoring lull, Eichel has managed four points in his last two games (2+2) bringing his season total to 22 goals and 31 assists in 54 games. His 53 points tie him for 18th in the league while his 19 even-strength goals tie him for ninth. Too bad the Sabres powerplay was so atrocious for the first half of the season.
--There's a movement in Sabreland that wants to see Eichel as "Captain Jack," and he definitely looks as if he's ready to take over as team captain. From the moment he was drafted as the face of the franchise, it was going to be his team. What we've seen from him lately on the ice and what we've heard from him in interviews, is sure seems like he's matured to the point where that 'C' should be sewn on his sweater and it will happen next season. I just wish it was the Winter Classic home white sweater beginning next season.
Well, this edition of the Buffalo Sabres finally did it. After losing the first four games (0-3-1) of their five-game homestand, the Sabres 4-3 win over the NY Islanders finally got them to 1000 home wins for the franchise. And they did so while wearing their 2018 Winter Classic sweaters, which brings us to our first note on last night's game.
***
While growing up as a kid, the home team always wore white, for me it was like the good cowboy wore the white hat while the bad cowboy wore black. Simple enough. But the NHL got a stick up their butt and changed it. Why they did it is up for debate, as some think it had to do with finances and/or the use of a third sweater at home. Personally I never liked the idea, but the NHL stuck with it and beginning in 2003-04 the home team wore the dark sweaters.
Last night the Sabres thread here was full of comments in favor of the Sabres making the white Winter Classic their home sweater, and I couldn't agree more. In order to do that, the NHL would need to change their tune concerning the home colors. It's the opinion here that they never should have switched and I'd hazard to guess that a large majority of fans feel they should switch back.
Perhaps it's time.
*****
From the game:
--Sam Reinhart's roll continued last night as he had a 1-goal, 2-assist stat-line for his second multi-point night in a row. For some reason the light went on this calendar year and after an extremely poor 2017 portion of the season (5+6 in 39 games,) Reinhart has scored 15 points (6+9) in 15 games since the beginning of 2018. You could say it's mainly because he's on Jack Eichel's line, which is true, although Reinhart had been there before and didn't get the job done. We might also point to a powerplay that looks like it's back to their No.1 form from last season, and no doubt he's contributed there (3+4) which also helps his stats. But somewhere along the line Reinhart got a kick in the ass and he's playing his best hockey of the season. Perhaps he realizes that it's a contract year and as a restricted free agent, he has no real say in what his next contract will be.
--How many times have we heard recent Sabres coaches say that they need to pare back defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen's ice-time? Often, and present coach Phil Housley said it again before last night's game while indicating that Ristolainen, ideally, should be in the 23-24 minute range. Ristolainen, in part because of a weak performance the previous game, was dropped down to the second pairing last night, yet when it came down to it, Ristolainen skated a game-high 27:37 and a game-high 21:30 at even strength. In the third period he skated nine shifts for a total of 10:39 most of it (8:33) at even strength. Just sayin'.
--Defenseman Casey Nelson played a solid game on the top pairing with 21:47 of ice-time, a secondary assist on Eichel's game-opening goal and he finished with an even rating. The 25 yr. old has made great strides in his development since being signed as a free agent in 2015. Nelson and Scandella had the difficult task of manning up against the Islanders John Tavares for much of the game and did a standup job. Said Housley to the gathered media post game about Nelson, "I thought he was one of our better defensemen. He kept the game simple. There's nothing flashy about his game but he get's the job done."
--Housley changed up his lines for yesterday putting forward Evan Rodrigues with Eichel and Reinhart, and boy did that line look good. The trio combined for three goals, four assists and were a combined plus-5. With his goal and assist, Rodrigues increased his career totals to eight goals and nine assists in 57 NHL games. A free agent signee out of Boston University had tore up the NCAA along with fellow Terrier Eichel in 2014-15 and many had wondered how long it would take for a coach to put them on the same line. Although it has happened in the past, it will be interesting to see if they can build upon what they were able to accomplish last night.
--Housley is a rookie coach and he's made many questionable decisions with the lineup and the powerplay as well as in-game decisions this season, something that hasn't helped this 15-29-10 team. His early preference of forcing Reinhart to play center when he clearly was ineffective there probably set the player and the team back. Rodrigues is another forward he (along with, possibly, GM Jason Botterill) tried to force into a center's role. Rodrigues had played, and succeeded at, center in Rochester but was having a difficult time in Buffalo. Reinhart and Rodrigues had separately played on Eichel's wing before bringing a different skill-set to the line and both have shown the ability to play off of Eichel. Which is a good thing.
--Speaking of the franchise center, No. 15 had a two-point night last night. He scored the opener and sent a bank-shot off the back wall on a designed play to get the secondary assist on the game-winner. After a four-game scoring lull, Eichel has managed four points in his last two games (2+2) bringing his season total to 22 goals and 31 assists in 54 games. His 53 points tie him for 18th in the league while his 19 even-strength goals tie him for ninth. Too bad the Sabres powerplay was so atrocious for the first half of the season.
--There's a movement in Sabreland that wants to see Eichel as "Captain Jack," and he definitely looks as if he's ready to take over as team captain. From the moment he was drafted as the face of the franchise, it was going to be his team. What we've seen from him lately on the ice and what we've heard from him in interviews, is sure seems like he's matured to the point where that 'C' should be sewn on his sweater and it will happen next season. I just wish it was the Winter Classic home white sweater beginning next season.
Friday, February 9, 2018
Some lineup changes for tonight's Buffalo/NY Islanders matchup
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-8-2018
According to reports from the rink this morning, Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley made some lineup changes after falling to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at home in overtime. With that overtime loss the Sabres still have only six wins at KeyBank Center (6-15-4) all season and they're still stuck on 999 home wins for the franchise.
The Anaheim game represented some extreme emotional swings that began with Zemgus Girgensons' shorthanded goal to open the scoring and finished with a long shot from just inside the blueline that beat Sabres goalie Robin Lehner in overtime. In between we saw Lehner tip a clearing pass from Ryan O'Reilly into his own goal and saw O'Reilly score the game-tying goal with just 14.5 seconds left in regulation and Lehner pulled for the extra attacker. In addition to Girgensons' shortie, his second in three games, Buffalo scored on the powerplay in textbook fashion as Sam Reinhart sent a tip-pass across the crease to Jack Eichel who buried the puck into a yawning cage.
The Sabres lost defenseman Jake McCabe in the Anaheim game as he left with an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. Having McCabe out meant more minutes for the five other defensemen with workhorse Rasmus Ristolainen skating 32:39 in the game. Ristolainen became somewhat of a goat as his pass to a streaking Eichel was way off course giving all important overtime, 3-on-3 puck-possession to Anaheim. The Ducks held the puck for :51 seconds before Adam Henrique buried a long-snap shot over the shoulder of what looked like a surprised Lehner.
After the game Housley talked about his teams woes to the gathered media, “Execution. We did have possession of the puck. We don’t make a pass, it’s not on the tape," while also critiquing Ristolainen's overall game. “Rasmus didn’t have a very good game tonight overall," said Housley, "not just because of that pass. He wasn’t making the usual tape-to-tape passes for him."
John Vogl of The Buffalo News tweeted out this from Ristolainen post-game, "They scored one more, so they won the game."
Reports from the rink today have McCabe out 3-4 weeks with a broken thumb. That makes two Sabres defenseman out long-term as McCabe joins Zach Bogosian on the sidelines. Buffalo is riding with seven defensemen and Victor Antipin looks to be McCabe's replacement for tonight's game. On the heels of the disappointing loss and with injuries hitting the defense corps, according to those at practice today, Housley really juggled his defense pairings:
Marco Scandella-Casey Nelson
Nathan Beaulieu-Ristolainen
Josh Gorges-Victor Antipin
Apparently Housley didn't like what he saw from his d-corps, especially with Ristolainen. Nelson, who has been playing some very good hockey as of late, takes Ristolainen's spot on the top pairing. Beaulieu who'd been on the third pairing with Nelson the last two games will have even more of an opportunity for egregious turnovers while skating second-pairing minutes and Antipin gets back into the lineup with veteran, stay-at-home d-man, Gorges.
With the Sabres in the midst of a four-game losing streak (0-3-1,) at home no less, lineup changes seems to be Housley's preferred method for trying to get his team out of their funk and he mixed things up a little bit in the forward ranks as well.
Girgensons, who was in former head coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse for two seasons, continues being moved up and down the lineup by Housley. He drops down to the third line to make room for forward Evan Rodrigues on the Eichel/Reinhart line. Both Housley and Eichel had talked about execution problems following the Ducks loss and apparently Girgensons was the problem on Eichel's line.
Rodrigues had skated on Eichel's wing at Boston University in 2014-15 and the duo tore up D-1 NCAA Men's Hockey. Eichel was first in scoring with 61 points (20+41) while Rodrigues was second with 54 points (18+36.) Eichel went immediately to the NHL after being selected second-overall in the 2015 NHL Draft while Rodrigues has spent the last 2 1/2 seasons working his way up the ranks after signing a free agent contract on July 27, 2015.
Johan Larsson is back in the lineup after serving his two-game suspension for a high sticking incident that resulted in a match penalty. He'll be back in his third line center role with Girgensons and Jason Pominville on the wings. Scott Wilson looks to be the odd man out tonight.
The projected lines for tonight:
Rodrigues-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Girgensons-Larsson-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Nolan
Robin Lehner looks to get the nod for the Sabres. The 26 yr. old has been hot for the Sabres lately allowing only six goals on 155 shots in his last five games which includes back-to-back shutouts on the road prior to the All-Star break. He's 2-2-1 in that stretch.
The Islanders are just outside the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the same amount of points as the Columbus Blue Jackets but having played one more game. Last season they missed the playoffs after making them in three of the previous four years.
Franchise center John Tavares and his pending free agency is the big news coming out of the Burroughs of New York City. Another piece to that puzzle, however, is news that the Islanders will be playing up to half their home games at their old Nassau Coliseum home for the next three seasons while their new arena in Belmont, NY is being built. It's something that certainly adds some intrigue to the Tavares negotiations.
This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Islanders this season with Buffalo coming out on the wrong end twice (0-1-1) so far. The Islanders trounced the Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo's second game of the season 6-3 which included two shorthanded goals by NY in 50 seconds amongst a three-goal in 1:47 barrage. The third Islanders goal was seconds away from another shortie. The two teams met again at the Barclay Center in late December with the Islanders pulling out a 3-2 overtime win as Matthew Barzal connected just 1:08 into the extra session.
This is the final game of Buffalo's five-game homestand and their four-game losing streak is the fifth such streak of four games or more this season. Twice the Sabres have gone on five-game losing streaks, one to begin the season (0-4-1) and another one to start the 2018 calendar year (0-4-1.) The other four-game losing streak straddled October and November (0-4-0.)
Buffalo's longest winning streak in 2017-18 is three games, which they did once, and they've managed only one additional two-game winning streak all season.
According to reports from the rink this morning, Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley made some lineup changes after falling to the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 at home in overtime. With that overtime loss the Sabres still have only six wins at KeyBank Center (6-15-4) all season and they're still stuck on 999 home wins for the franchise.
The Anaheim game represented some extreme emotional swings that began with Zemgus Girgensons' shorthanded goal to open the scoring and finished with a long shot from just inside the blueline that beat Sabres goalie Robin Lehner in overtime. In between we saw Lehner tip a clearing pass from Ryan O'Reilly into his own goal and saw O'Reilly score the game-tying goal with just 14.5 seconds left in regulation and Lehner pulled for the extra attacker. In addition to Girgensons' shortie, his second in three games, Buffalo scored on the powerplay in textbook fashion as Sam Reinhart sent a tip-pass across the crease to Jack Eichel who buried the puck into a yawning cage.
The Sabres lost defenseman Jake McCabe in the Anaheim game as he left with an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. Having McCabe out meant more minutes for the five other defensemen with workhorse Rasmus Ristolainen skating 32:39 in the game. Ristolainen became somewhat of a goat as his pass to a streaking Eichel was way off course giving all important overtime, 3-on-3 puck-possession to Anaheim. The Ducks held the puck for :51 seconds before Adam Henrique buried a long-snap shot over the shoulder of what looked like a surprised Lehner.
After the game Housley talked about his teams woes to the gathered media, “Execution. We did have possession of the puck. We don’t make a pass, it’s not on the tape," while also critiquing Ristolainen's overall game. “Rasmus didn’t have a very good game tonight overall," said Housley, "not just because of that pass. He wasn’t making the usual tape-to-tape passes for him."
John Vogl of The Buffalo News tweeted out this from Ristolainen post-game, "They scored one more, so they won the game."
Reports from the rink today have McCabe out 3-4 weeks with a broken thumb. That makes two Sabres defenseman out long-term as McCabe joins Zach Bogosian on the sidelines. Buffalo is riding with seven defensemen and Victor Antipin looks to be McCabe's replacement for tonight's game. On the heels of the disappointing loss and with injuries hitting the defense corps, according to those at practice today, Housley really juggled his defense pairings:
Marco Scandella-Casey Nelson
Nathan Beaulieu-Ristolainen
Josh Gorges-Victor Antipin
Apparently Housley didn't like what he saw from his d-corps, especially with Ristolainen. Nelson, who has been playing some very good hockey as of late, takes Ristolainen's spot on the top pairing. Beaulieu who'd been on the third pairing with Nelson the last two games will have even more of an opportunity for egregious turnovers while skating second-pairing minutes and Antipin gets back into the lineup with veteran, stay-at-home d-man, Gorges.
With the Sabres in the midst of a four-game losing streak (0-3-1,) at home no less, lineup changes seems to be Housley's preferred method for trying to get his team out of their funk and he mixed things up a little bit in the forward ranks as well.
Girgensons, who was in former head coach Dan Bylsma's doghouse for two seasons, continues being moved up and down the lineup by Housley. He drops down to the third line to make room for forward Evan Rodrigues on the Eichel/Reinhart line. Both Housley and Eichel had talked about execution problems following the Ducks loss and apparently Girgensons was the problem on Eichel's line.
Rodrigues had skated on Eichel's wing at Boston University in 2014-15 and the duo tore up D-1 NCAA Men's Hockey. Eichel was first in scoring with 61 points (20+41) while Rodrigues was second with 54 points (18+36.) Eichel went immediately to the NHL after being selected second-overall in the 2015 NHL Draft while Rodrigues has spent the last 2 1/2 seasons working his way up the ranks after signing a free agent contract on July 27, 2015.
Johan Larsson is back in the lineup after serving his two-game suspension for a high sticking incident that resulted in a match penalty. He'll be back in his third line center role with Girgensons and Jason Pominville on the wings. Scott Wilson looks to be the odd man out tonight.
The projected lines for tonight:
Rodrigues-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Girgensons-Larsson-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Nolan
Robin Lehner looks to get the nod for the Sabres. The 26 yr. old has been hot for the Sabres lately allowing only six goals on 155 shots in his last five games which includes back-to-back shutouts on the road prior to the All-Star break. He's 2-2-1 in that stretch.
The Islanders are just outside the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with the same amount of points as the Columbus Blue Jackets but having played one more game. Last season they missed the playoffs after making them in three of the previous four years.
Franchise center John Tavares and his pending free agency is the big news coming out of the Burroughs of New York City. Another piece to that puzzle, however, is news that the Islanders will be playing up to half their home games at their old Nassau Coliseum home for the next three seasons while their new arena in Belmont, NY is being built. It's something that certainly adds some intrigue to the Tavares negotiations.
This is the third and final meeting between the Sabres and Islanders this season with Buffalo coming out on the wrong end twice (0-1-1) so far. The Islanders trounced the Sabres at KeyBank Center in Buffalo's second game of the season 6-3 which included two shorthanded goals by NY in 50 seconds amongst a three-goal in 1:47 barrage. The third Islanders goal was seconds away from another shortie. The two teams met again at the Barclay Center in late December with the Islanders pulling out a 3-2 overtime win as Matthew Barzal connected just 1:08 into the extra session.
This is the final game of Buffalo's five-game homestand and their four-game losing streak is the fifth such streak of four games or more this season. Twice the Sabres have gone on five-game losing streaks, one to begin the season (0-4-1) and another one to start the 2018 calendar year (0-4-1.) The other four-game losing streak straddled October and November (0-4-0.)
Buffalo's longest winning streak in 2017-18 is three games, which they did once, and they've managed only one additional two-game winning streak all season.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Highs and lows from last night, overtime woes, one-goal games and other notes
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-7-2018
If you're a fan of extreme emotional swings, then last night's Anaheim Ducks/Buffalo Sabres game may have suited your fancy. From the Sabres Zemgus Girgensons scoring a shorthanded goal to open the game to Anaheim's Adam Henrique scoring the winner in overtime, the high's and lows for those in attendance at KeyBank Center and those in Sabreland watching
Girgensons goal was a strong effort that saw him take a shot on goal then drive hard with a follow-up that banked in off of former Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. It was Girgensons' seventh goal of the season and the Sabres sixth shortie of the season, tying them for third in the league. However, the Ducks Rikard Rakell would tie the game early in the second period as his five-hole backhand was initially stopped, but trickled through a sliding Robin Lehner whose right pad pushed it in the net.
The teams traded goals and left the second period tied 2-2.
Then midway through the third period, Lehner scored on a tip off a shot from Ryan O'Reilly. Unfortunately for Buffalo, it was in their own net. With a scramble going on just outside the crease in front of Lehner and the Ducks packed in tight, O'Reilly tried to do what he's done hundreds of times throughout his career, get out of trouble by dumping the puck behind the net. The initial reaction was that his dump went top-shelf behind Lehner. Upon replay, O'Reilly's clearing rode up Lehner's stick and into their own goal.
Yet, redemption was on the horizon as O'Reilly scored the game-tying goal with Lehner pulled and only 14.5 seconds to play sending what was left of the crowd in a frenzy.
The stage was set in overtime for a dramatic win.
At 1:15 into overtime, Sabres d-man Rasmus Ristolainen had the puck in his own zone and had his eyes on a streaking Jack Eichel headed up-ice with tons of open space. But he missed him by 10 feet and the Ducks gained possession. Less than a minute later Henrique whistled a wrister by Lehner from just inside the Sabres blueline.
Such was the night for Buffalo. And such is overtime.
It's amazing that a team with the likes of Eichel and O'Reilly, Ristolainen and Evander Kane are now 3-9 in overtime. Similarly, it was hard to believe that a team that finished first-overall on the powerplay last year would sink to 30th for the majority of this season.
The Sabres powerplay was abhorrent early in the season and may have cost them some valuable points along the way. As of late they've gotten their act together as evidenced by a beautiful play last night with the man advantage. O'Reilly won the draw and the other four Sabres all touched the puck with Sam Reinhart making a tip pass to a wide open Eichel who scored his 21st of the season. Last year Eichel scored 10 of his 24 goals on the powerplay this year he has only three.
The Sabres corrected that as of late. Prior to a road date in Edmonton last month, the Sabres were ranked 30th converting on a paltry 20 of 123 chances (14.0%.) They've scored on seven of 20 opportunities since (35%) and are 26th in the league at 16.6%. Granted, Buffalo is only 2-3-1 since beating Edmonton, but at least it's one aspect of the game that they've improved considerably upon.
In addition to the nine games Buffalo has lost in overtime this season, the Sabres have lost one in the shootout, another eight games by one goal and on nine occasions Buffalo was down by one goal in the third period with the goalie pulled, but allowed at least one empty net goal. In essence the Sabres were in 27 one-goal games when you add in the games they gave up an empty-netter.
They're 14-29-10 on the season with 38 points.
*****
Ristolainen is the goat of the game last night despite the fact that nearly a minute transpired between his missed pass and Anaheim's goal. No doubt Henrique's shot was quick, hard and accurate, and yes the three Sabres surrounding him--Eichel, Reinhart and Ristolainen--could have taken away more space, but that's a shot from far out that normally is stopped and Lehner should have had that one.
Puck possession is key in overtime, but puck retrieval, when the opportunity arises, is even more important. In the :51 between Ristolainen's egregious overshoot of Eichel and Henrique's goal, the Sabres had two opportunities to get the puck back and both involved Reinhart. The first one he lost a battle with Ryan Kessler who fanned on a shot in the circle to the right of Lehner and on the second one he was outsmarted by Jakob Silfverberg along the wall in the Buffalo zone.
Ristolainen's missed pass/turnover was pretty bad, but if you want to bail out your teammate, sometimes ya gotta work a little harder.
*****
Defenseman Casey Nelson continues to impress. He has all the tools--skating, stickwork, hockey sense and puck-moving ability--that Housley wants out of his defensemen. In nine games this year Nelson has an assist and is a minus-3 but doesn't look out of place at all.
With Zach Bogosian out and Jake McCabe's status uncertain after going down to injury last night, Nelson should be up for an extended look which is good for him and good for the team.
*****
Girgensons short-handed goal was his second in three games and his second of the season. The "Latvian Locomotive" had one shortie in 2013-14 and lead the team with three in 2014-15. Under Dan Bylsma the following two seasons, Girgesnsons did not have a shorthanded goal. His six goals on the season in 48 games places him one behind his seven goals in each of the last two seasons (71 and 75 games, respectively.)
If you're a fan of extreme emotional swings, then last night's Anaheim Ducks/Buffalo Sabres game may have suited your fancy. From the Sabres Zemgus Girgensons scoring a shorthanded goal to open the game to Anaheim's Adam Henrique scoring the winner in overtime, the high's and lows for those in attendance at KeyBank Center and those in Sabreland watching
Girgensons goal was a strong effort that saw him take a shot on goal then drive hard with a follow-up that banked in off of former Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. It was Girgensons' seventh goal of the season and the Sabres sixth shortie of the season, tying them for third in the league. However, the Ducks Rikard Rakell would tie the game early in the second period as his five-hole backhand was initially stopped, but trickled through a sliding Robin Lehner whose right pad pushed it in the net.
The teams traded goals and left the second period tied 2-2.
Then midway through the third period, Lehner scored on a tip off a shot from Ryan O'Reilly. Unfortunately for Buffalo, it was in their own net. With a scramble going on just outside the crease in front of Lehner and the Ducks packed in tight, O'Reilly tried to do what he's done hundreds of times throughout his career, get out of trouble by dumping the puck behind the net. The initial reaction was that his dump went top-shelf behind Lehner. Upon replay, O'Reilly's clearing rode up Lehner's stick and into their own goal.
Yet, redemption was on the horizon as O'Reilly scored the game-tying goal with Lehner pulled and only 14.5 seconds to play sending what was left of the crowd in a frenzy.
The stage was set in overtime for a dramatic win.
At 1:15 into overtime, Sabres d-man Rasmus Ristolainen had the puck in his own zone and had his eyes on a streaking Jack Eichel headed up-ice with tons of open space. But he missed him by 10 feet and the Ducks gained possession. Less than a minute later Henrique whistled a wrister by Lehner from just inside the Sabres blueline.
Such was the night for Buffalo. And such is overtime.
It's amazing that a team with the likes of Eichel and O'Reilly, Ristolainen and Evander Kane are now 3-9 in overtime. Similarly, it was hard to believe that a team that finished first-overall on the powerplay last year would sink to 30th for the majority of this season.
The Sabres powerplay was abhorrent early in the season and may have cost them some valuable points along the way. As of late they've gotten their act together as evidenced by a beautiful play last night with the man advantage. O'Reilly won the draw and the other four Sabres all touched the puck with Sam Reinhart making a tip pass to a wide open Eichel who scored his 21st of the season. Last year Eichel scored 10 of his 24 goals on the powerplay this year he has only three.
The Sabres corrected that as of late. Prior to a road date in Edmonton last month, the Sabres were ranked 30th converting on a paltry 20 of 123 chances (14.0%.) They've scored on seven of 20 opportunities since (35%) and are 26th in the league at 16.6%. Granted, Buffalo is only 2-3-1 since beating Edmonton, but at least it's one aspect of the game that they've improved considerably upon.
In addition to the nine games Buffalo has lost in overtime this season, the Sabres have lost one in the shootout, another eight games by one goal and on nine occasions Buffalo was down by one goal in the third period with the goalie pulled, but allowed at least one empty net goal. In essence the Sabres were in 27 one-goal games when you add in the games they gave up an empty-netter.
They're 14-29-10 on the season with 38 points.
*****
Ristolainen is the goat of the game last night despite the fact that nearly a minute transpired between his missed pass and Anaheim's goal. No doubt Henrique's shot was quick, hard and accurate, and yes the three Sabres surrounding him--Eichel, Reinhart and Ristolainen--could have taken away more space, but that's a shot from far out that normally is stopped and Lehner should have had that one.
Puck possession is key in overtime, but puck retrieval, when the opportunity arises, is even more important. In the :51 between Ristolainen's egregious overshoot of Eichel and Henrique's goal, the Sabres had two opportunities to get the puck back and both involved Reinhart. The first one he lost a battle with Ryan Kessler who fanned on a shot in the circle to the right of Lehner and on the second one he was outsmarted by Jakob Silfverberg along the wall in the Buffalo zone.
Ristolainen's missed pass/turnover was pretty bad, but if you want to bail out your teammate, sometimes ya gotta work a little harder.
*****
Defenseman Casey Nelson continues to impress. He has all the tools--skating, stickwork, hockey sense and puck-moving ability--that Housley wants out of his defensemen. In nine games this year Nelson has an assist and is a minus-3 but doesn't look out of place at all.
With Zach Bogosian out and Jake McCabe's status uncertain after going down to injury last night, Nelson should be up for an extended look which is good for him and good for the team.
*****
Girgensons short-handed goal was his second in three games and his second of the season. The "Latvian Locomotive" had one shortie in 2013-14 and lead the team with three in 2014-15. Under Dan Bylsma the following two seasons, Girgesnsons did not have a shorthanded goal. His six goals on the season in 48 games places him one behind his seven goals in each of the last two seasons (71 and 75 games, respectively.)
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Wounded Ducks. Can the Sabres take it to 'em tonight?
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-6-2018
The Anaheim Ducks are going to be in a foul mood when they hit the ice at KeyBank Center tonight. Their matchup with the Buffalo Sabres is the final game of their five-game road trip which started out well, but deteriorated. The Ducks started the trip out with a convincing 3-1 win at Boston against the Bruins then proceeded to drop the next three games in Canada to Ottawa (overtime,) Montreal (5-2) and Toronto (7-4 last night.)
Starting goalie John Gibson has been out since leaving the game against the Bruins in the third period and in his stead 37 yr. old backup Ryan Miller, a name Sabres fans are most familiar with, has been manning the pipes. Unfortunately for Miller, things haven't gone swimmingly since taking over. Outside the overtime loss where he stopped 30 of 32 shots, Miller allowed four goals on seven shots vs. the Canadiens before getting yanked and was on the ice for six of the seven goals-against vs. the Leafs last night (one empty-netter.) Miller's stat-line on the year: 6-4-5, 2.67 GAA, .915 Sv% and it looks as if he'll get the start tonight against his old team.
On another note, in today's Ducks/Sabres preview, the Associated Press called Anaheim's three-game swing through Canada "an abject disaster" while also noting that Corey Perry "was elevated from the fourth line back to the top unit for Monday's loss" against Toronto "and he responded with a season-best four assists."
The Ducks head to Buffalo to face a Sabres team that is not very good at home as they've dropped three straight and have the second-worst home record (Arizona) in the league at 6-15-3. Buffalo has only 14 overall wins this season and their 37 points are only slightly better than the tank teams of 2013-15 at this stage of the season. To say the Sabres have been struggling would be an understatement and the reasons why vary with each passing game.
The latest issue for Buffalo involves accountability, something that's been plaguing them for the better part of a decade. "A lack of player leadership and accountability were among the criticisms which led to the Buffalo Sabres cleaning house in April," wrote the Associated Press' John Wawrow yesterday. "Very little has changed 10 months into the Sabres’ new regime of general manager Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley in overseeing a team that ranks last in the Eastern Conference and 30th overall."
Last April, of course, is when owners Terry and Kim Pegula sat with then GM Tim Murray looking for answers as to why the team had so many disconnects leading to a disappointing season. Apparently Murray had no answers and both he and head coach Dan Bylsma were shown the door.
Things have gotten decidedly worse for the Sabres this season under a rookie GM and rookie coach and although there has been some turnover in the roster, many of the same 'key' players are still on the team in the same roles. Talent and speed, or the lack there of with either, is an obvious problem at this point, but the lack of accountability amongst the players seems to be coming to the fore.
"When you only have 14 wins, there’s a lot of areas that need to be addressed. One of those is culture, and we’ve got to continue to find a way to change it,” said Housley to the gathered media yesterday. "We all have to change. And that’s something I’m continuing to learn throughout the season.”
Goalie Robin Lehner was quite vociferous last season concerning his teammates not buying into what was being preached by Bylsma as was veteran defenseman Josh Gorges. "Collectively, do we have enough guys that say, ’82 games this year, did I do things the right way?’” Gorges told The AP. “Obviously, where we are right now, that answer is no.”
With the trade deadline nearing, changes are in the offing for this team. Both Lehner and Gorges could very well be joining forward Evander Kane as trade pieces for futures. All of them are free agents with Lehner being restricted.
The trade deadline is February 26, less than three weeks away, and the Sabres have 11 games to play before then. Tonight they should be facing a very ornery Ducks squad who come into KeyBank wounded while riding a 37 yr. old goalie playing in back-to-back games. Will they be able to take advantage of it?
We shall see.
Tonight's projected lineup based upon reports from today's morning skate:
Girgensons-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Wilson-Rodrigues-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Nolan
Scandella-Ristolainen
McCabe-Falk
Beaulieu-Nelson
Lehner looks to get the start in net for Buffalo.
The Anaheim Ducks are going to be in a foul mood when they hit the ice at KeyBank Center tonight. Their matchup with the Buffalo Sabres is the final game of their five-game road trip which started out well, but deteriorated. The Ducks started the trip out with a convincing 3-1 win at Boston against the Bruins then proceeded to drop the next three games in Canada to Ottawa (overtime,) Montreal (5-2) and Toronto (7-4 last night.)
Starting goalie John Gibson has been out since leaving the game against the Bruins in the third period and in his stead 37 yr. old backup Ryan Miller, a name Sabres fans are most familiar with, has been manning the pipes. Unfortunately for Miller, things haven't gone swimmingly since taking over. Outside the overtime loss where he stopped 30 of 32 shots, Miller allowed four goals on seven shots vs. the Canadiens before getting yanked and was on the ice for six of the seven goals-against vs. the Leafs last night (one empty-netter.) Miller's stat-line on the year: 6-4-5, 2.67 GAA, .915 Sv% and it looks as if he'll get the start tonight against his old team.
On another note, in today's Ducks/Sabres preview, the Associated Press called Anaheim's three-game swing through Canada "an abject disaster" while also noting that Corey Perry "was elevated from the fourth line back to the top unit for Monday's loss" against Toronto "and he responded with a season-best four assists."
The Ducks head to Buffalo to face a Sabres team that is not very good at home as they've dropped three straight and have the second-worst home record (Arizona) in the league at 6-15-3. Buffalo has only 14 overall wins this season and their 37 points are only slightly better than the tank teams of 2013-15 at this stage of the season. To say the Sabres have been struggling would be an understatement and the reasons why vary with each passing game.
The latest issue for Buffalo involves accountability, something that's been plaguing them for the better part of a decade. "A lack of player leadership and accountability were among the criticisms which led to the Buffalo Sabres cleaning house in April," wrote the Associated Press' John Wawrow yesterday. "Very little has changed 10 months into the Sabres’ new regime of general manager Jason Botterill and coach Phil Housley in overseeing a team that ranks last in the Eastern Conference and 30th overall."
Last April, of course, is when owners Terry and Kim Pegula sat with then GM Tim Murray looking for answers as to why the team had so many disconnects leading to a disappointing season. Apparently Murray had no answers and both he and head coach Dan Bylsma were shown the door.
Things have gotten decidedly worse for the Sabres this season under a rookie GM and rookie coach and although there has been some turnover in the roster, many of the same 'key' players are still on the team in the same roles. Talent and speed, or the lack there of with either, is an obvious problem at this point, but the lack of accountability amongst the players seems to be coming to the fore.
"When you only have 14 wins, there’s a lot of areas that need to be addressed. One of those is culture, and we’ve got to continue to find a way to change it,” said Housley to the gathered media yesterday. "We all have to change. And that’s something I’m continuing to learn throughout the season.”
Goalie Robin Lehner was quite vociferous last season concerning his teammates not buying into what was being preached by Bylsma as was veteran defenseman Josh Gorges. "Collectively, do we have enough guys that say, ’82 games this year, did I do things the right way?’” Gorges told The AP. “Obviously, where we are right now, that answer is no.”
With the trade deadline nearing, changes are in the offing for this team. Both Lehner and Gorges could very well be joining forward Evander Kane as trade pieces for futures. All of them are free agents with Lehner being restricted.
The trade deadline is February 26, less than three weeks away, and the Sabres have 11 games to play before then. Tonight they should be facing a very ornery Ducks squad who come into KeyBank wounded while riding a 37 yr. old goalie playing in back-to-back games. Will they be able to take advantage of it?
We shall see.
Tonight's projected lineup based upon reports from today's morning skate:
Girgensons-Eichel-Reinhart
Kane-O'Reilly-Okposo
Wilson-Rodrigues-Pominville
Pouliot-Josefson-Nolan
Scandella-Ristolainen
McCabe-Falk
Beaulieu-Nelson
Lehner looks to get the start in net for Buffalo.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Strike while the iron's hot with Robin Lehner
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-5-2018
Buffalo Sabres starting goaltender Robin Lehner has emerged from a deep slump that hit him hard last month. Lehner was yanked after allowing four goals on 19 shots in the 7-1 Dallas Stars rout over the Sabres back on January 20, his fourth poor outing in five appearances, but since then he's been a wall. In his last four games Lehner has allowed three goals on 123 shots (.976 save percentage) which includes back-to-back shutouts in the midst of going a career-best 145:15 without allowing a goal.
Yet, thanks to the team in front of him, he's only 2-2-0 during that stretch.
Word from our insiders is that Lehner's name has not come up at the foot of Washington St. when it comes to the team moving him. The 26 yr. old veteran of 205 NHL games is a pending restricted free agent who carries a $4 million cap-hit, which is very manageable when prorated for the remainder of the season. Lehner's starting ability and his manageable pro-rated cap-hit might be very appealing to a team looking for a rental goalie.
For a while now, there have been two teams said to be looking at goaltenders for the stretch run and beyond--the Chicago Blackhawks and NY Islanders. The Hawks lost Corey Crawford indefinitely back in December and their backup goalies have struggled with inconsistency as of late. Chicago is 3-5-2 in their last 10 and they're five points out of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference with four teams to jump.
The New York Islanders are right on the precipice of the second wild card spot in the East and are said to be desperate to not only make the playoffs, but also make a deep run to help entice franchise center John Tavares to re-sign this off season. Starter Jaroslav Halak has had a tough go of it this season, and although he seems to have turned it around, they may still have some question marks with him in net while backup Thomas Greiss has seen his numbers take a precipitous drop this season (3.94 goals-against average, .883 Sv%.) Add it all up and the Islanders are on the playoff buble scoring an NHL third-best 3.28 goals/game but giving up an NHL-worst 3.60 goals/game.
NHL.com added another interesting twist to the goalie market when they wrote that the surging Pittsburgh Penguins might want to upgrade their backup goalie situation. Starter Matt Murray is a two-time Cup-winning goalie who has struggled somewhat this season but has established himself as a money goalie come playoff time. The Pens are presently in third place in the Metropolitan Division and are chasing a bit of history as they're trying to become the first team since the 1980-83 NY Islanders to win three straight Stanley Cups.
Twenty-two year old Tristian Jarry has been solid, if somewhat inconsistent, in a backup role for the Pens after getting the call from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back in November and yo-yoing a bit since while Casey DeSmith shows promise (5-3-0 record, 2.23 GAA, .926 Sv%) albeit in a very small sample size. So it does make sense that Pittsburgh might be in the market for a veteran backup.
Two names have consistently been mentioned as goalies who could be on the move between now and the February 26 trade deadline are Lehner and Detroit starter Petr Mrazek. Carolina veteran Cam Ward (a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner) has also been mentioned but has taken back the starting role for a Hurricanes' team with designs on a playoff push.
The case for Lehner to any of these teams is rather simple. In Buffalo he's needed to play a near perfect game to get a win as the Sabres are the lowest scoring team in the league (2.25 g/gm.) Lehner has an 11-20-6 record with those 20 losses being the most in the league and has a 2.80 goals-against average that's 20th in the league amongst goalies playing in 30 or more games. He's faced 1140 shots (14th-most) and his .914 Sv% is 13th in the league amongst goalies playing in 30 or more games.
All three of the Islanders (3rd,) Penguins (11th) and Blackhawks (13th) are in the upper portion of the league in scoring while the Blackhawks have the league's 18th best GAA (2.77.) As mentioned the Islanders are last in team goals-against while the Penguins rank 21st (2.98.)
What does this all mean?
Not much if the Sabres aren't going to move Lehner, but if they are (and I really think they will pull the trigger) then those are three teams who may be interested in his services at this time.
Buffalo won't be asking (or receiving) the moon for Lehner in a trade, but a second rounder or mid-level prospect might not be out of the question either. The Islanders have two firsts and two seconds (courtesy the Calgary Flames) in the upcoming draft so a second-rounder wouldn't kill them. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a second-round pick but are missing a third and their own fourth in the draft. They're also said to be looking for bottom-six center depth, of which the Sabres have some.
The Chicago Blackhawks don't have a second round pick but they might have a couple of mid-level d-prospects in Lucas Carlsson or Carl Dahlstrom that might be of interest to the Sabres.
The trade deadline is inching nearer and as has been the case for a while, Sabres GM Jason Botterill is said to be listening to offers for every one of his NHL player's not named Jack Eichel. So it's safe to assume that includes Lehner.
Buffalo Sabres starting goaltender Robin Lehner has emerged from a deep slump that hit him hard last month. Lehner was yanked after allowing four goals on 19 shots in the 7-1 Dallas Stars rout over the Sabres back on January 20, his fourth poor outing in five appearances, but since then he's been a wall. In his last four games Lehner has allowed three goals on 123 shots (.976 save percentage) which includes back-to-back shutouts in the midst of going a career-best 145:15 without allowing a goal.
Yet, thanks to the team in front of him, he's only 2-2-0 during that stretch.
Word from our insiders is that Lehner's name has not come up at the foot of Washington St. when it comes to the team moving him. The 26 yr. old veteran of 205 NHL games is a pending restricted free agent who carries a $4 million cap-hit, which is very manageable when prorated for the remainder of the season. Lehner's starting ability and his manageable pro-rated cap-hit might be very appealing to a team looking for a rental goalie.
For a while now, there have been two teams said to be looking at goaltenders for the stretch run and beyond--the Chicago Blackhawks and NY Islanders. The Hawks lost Corey Crawford indefinitely back in December and their backup goalies have struggled with inconsistency as of late. Chicago is 3-5-2 in their last 10 and they're five points out of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference with four teams to jump.
The New York Islanders are right on the precipice of the second wild card spot in the East and are said to be desperate to not only make the playoffs, but also make a deep run to help entice franchise center John Tavares to re-sign this off season. Starter Jaroslav Halak has had a tough go of it this season, and although he seems to have turned it around, they may still have some question marks with him in net while backup Thomas Greiss has seen his numbers take a precipitous drop this season (3.94 goals-against average, .883 Sv%.) Add it all up and the Islanders are on the playoff buble scoring an NHL third-best 3.28 goals/game but giving up an NHL-worst 3.60 goals/game.
NHL.com added another interesting twist to the goalie market when they wrote that the surging Pittsburgh Penguins might want to upgrade their backup goalie situation. Starter Matt Murray is a two-time Cup-winning goalie who has struggled somewhat this season but has established himself as a money goalie come playoff time. The Pens are presently in third place in the Metropolitan Division and are chasing a bit of history as they're trying to become the first team since the 1980-83 NY Islanders to win three straight Stanley Cups.
Twenty-two year old Tristian Jarry has been solid, if somewhat inconsistent, in a backup role for the Pens after getting the call from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton back in November and yo-yoing a bit since while Casey DeSmith shows promise (5-3-0 record, 2.23 GAA, .926 Sv%) albeit in a very small sample size. So it does make sense that Pittsburgh might be in the market for a veteran backup.
Two names have consistently been mentioned as goalies who could be on the move between now and the February 26 trade deadline are Lehner and Detroit starter Petr Mrazek. Carolina veteran Cam Ward (a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner) has also been mentioned but has taken back the starting role for a Hurricanes' team with designs on a playoff push.
The case for Lehner to any of these teams is rather simple. In Buffalo he's needed to play a near perfect game to get a win as the Sabres are the lowest scoring team in the league (2.25 g/gm.) Lehner has an 11-20-6 record with those 20 losses being the most in the league and has a 2.80 goals-against average that's 20th in the league amongst goalies playing in 30 or more games. He's faced 1140 shots (14th-most) and his .914 Sv% is 13th in the league amongst goalies playing in 30 or more games.
All three of the Islanders (3rd,) Penguins (11th) and Blackhawks (13th) are in the upper portion of the league in scoring while the Blackhawks have the league's 18th best GAA (2.77.) As mentioned the Islanders are last in team goals-against while the Penguins rank 21st (2.98.)
What does this all mean?
Not much if the Sabres aren't going to move Lehner, but if they are (and I really think they will pull the trigger) then those are three teams who may be interested in his services at this time.
Buffalo won't be asking (or receiving) the moon for Lehner in a trade, but a second rounder or mid-level prospect might not be out of the question either. The Islanders have two firsts and two seconds (courtesy the Calgary Flames) in the upcoming draft so a second-rounder wouldn't kill them. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a second-round pick but are missing a third and their own fourth in the draft. They're also said to be looking for bottom-six center depth, of which the Sabres have some.
The Chicago Blackhawks don't have a second round pick but they might have a couple of mid-level d-prospects in Lucas Carlsson or Carl Dahlstrom that might be of interest to the Sabres.
The trade deadline is inching nearer and as has been the case for a while, Sabres GM Jason Botterill is said to be listening to offers for every one of his NHL player's not named Jack Eichel. So it's safe to assume that includes Lehner.
Monday, February 5, 2018
Zero is no hero. Plus, Botterill's trade deadline plight.
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-4-2018
For those of us old enough to remember Schoolhouse Rock, zero "is a wonderful thing" says the voice-over, "in fact, zero is my hero."
A zero in sports is good if it represents points against, obviously not so good if it's the number of points you score. Last night the Buffalo Sabres put up the big goose egg in a 1-0 lost to the St. Louis Blues. It was they fifth time this season the Sabres have been shutout, which includes scoring zero goals for a franchise record three games in a row from November 25-December 1.
Zero also represents the number of wins they've had in their last four home games, as in the Sabres are on a four-game losing streak at KeyBank Center.
Goalie Robin Lehner, who had back-to-back shutouts in western Canada last month, and has three on the season, was close to sending the game to overtime but Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson broke a 0-0 tie with just over five minutes in the third period. The Sabres came close to tying it late, but in a game of inches, "unfortunately they get a bar and in," said Lehner to the media postgame, "and we get a bar and out."
For those counting, it will be zero playoff appearnces for the club since 2011, a span of six (soon to be seven) seasons and without a playoff appearance, it will soon be zero playoff series wins since 2007, a span of 11 years.
It's no wonder that attendance at KeyBank Center is dwindling dramatically reaching points not seen since the early 2000's when team ownership was in turmoil.
And probably the saddest part of it for this once proud franchise is that the youth, the future fans in Sabreland, are begging to get turned off. I was talking to a coach last night of seven and eight year olds who said that many of those kids have zero interest in the Buffalo Sabres.
Which, speaks for itself.
*****
Perhaps owners Terry and Kim Pegula, along with team president will finally get the message that their plan is in shambles right now with no near-term end in sight.
It's not their fault that they had two general managers fritter away loads of cash on albatross contracts with too much term for overrated players, but they should take the blame for not having a hockey man run the hockey operations. If they want to be in complete control, fine, it's their franchise, but this is the results they've gotten to this point.
The hiring of Jason Botterill to be the general manager looks to be a good hire at this juncture, which is less than a year in to his tenure. Botterill played in the league for years and spent a number of years as an assistant/associate general manager in one of the best organizations in hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, he still is a first time GM and the lifting he'll have to do to get this thing back on track may be more than anyone thought. He did some work in the off season that hasn't gone as planned, and honestly, not much has, but he did do well at the draft last year in jumping on a prime prospect that dropped to him at eighth-overall. We won't see the rest of his 2018 selections for at least a couple of years or so, but Casey Mittelstadt looks like he might make the jump after only one year at the University of Minnesota.
The next big step for Botterill is the upcoming February 26 trade deadline.
Word on the street is that the Sabres have had the 'For Sale' sign up for months with everyone save for Jack Eichel (and possibly Rasmus Ristolainen) available. The big thing for him will be getting a return for his pending unrestricted free agents, the most sought after being winger Evander Kane.
Kane is in the final year of a six year contract with a $5.25 million cap-hit. The 26 yr. old veteran of nearly 550 NHL games has 64 goals in 187 games for the Sabres (.342 goals/game,) with only seven of those goals coming on the powerplay. However, a hot start has turned extremely cold for Kane right now as he has zero goals in his last 12 games, only two in his last 21.
NHL general managers interested in Kane as a rental already know what he brings to the table and streakiness in scorers isn't all that new. But what remains problematic is his off-ice/locker room reputation.
Kane's reputation precedes him. Despite being clean off the ice, the recent spat between Buffalo defenseman Justin Falk and Kane where Falk called him "selfish" may have continued to put him in a bad light in the locker room. While talking with an amateur scout from an Atlantic Division team last night, the first thing that came out of his mouth concerning Kane was off-ice/locker room concerns. Although he conceded that Kane's on-ice play is excellent, that reputation will hurt the Sabres return for him in a trade.
Botterill also has UFA's with very little perceived value as role players on playoff-bound team. Forward Benoit Pouliot and defenseman Josh Gorges may or may not be of interest to other teams while two-time Cup-winner Jordan Nolan (LA Kings) may have lost some of his grinding effectiveness as the speed of the NHL increased.
Oddly enough, Lehner, a restricted free agent this summer, might garner some serious interest from team in or around the playoff mix, but so far rumors have the Sabres not shopping him.
Regardless of whether Botterill can move any or all of his pending free agents, the return, outside of possibly Kane, won't be much. But at least it will be something which is better than nothing.
For those of us old enough to remember Schoolhouse Rock, zero "is a wonderful thing" says the voice-over, "in fact, zero is my hero."
A zero in sports is good if it represents points against, obviously not so good if it's the number of points you score. Last night the Buffalo Sabres put up the big goose egg in a 1-0 lost to the St. Louis Blues. It was they fifth time this season the Sabres have been shutout, which includes scoring zero goals for a franchise record three games in a row from November 25-December 1.
Zero also represents the number of wins they've had in their last four home games, as in the Sabres are on a four-game losing streak at KeyBank Center.
Goalie Robin Lehner, who had back-to-back shutouts in western Canada last month, and has three on the season, was close to sending the game to overtime but Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson broke a 0-0 tie with just over five minutes in the third period. The Sabres came close to tying it late, but in a game of inches, "unfortunately they get a bar and in," said Lehner to the media postgame, "and we get a bar and out."
For those counting, it will be zero playoff appearnces for the club since 2011, a span of six (soon to be seven) seasons and without a playoff appearance, it will soon be zero playoff series wins since 2007, a span of 11 years.
It's no wonder that attendance at KeyBank Center is dwindling dramatically reaching points not seen since the early 2000's when team ownership was in turmoil.
And probably the saddest part of it for this once proud franchise is that the youth, the future fans in Sabreland, are begging to get turned off. I was talking to a coach last night of seven and eight year olds who said that many of those kids have zero interest in the Buffalo Sabres.
Which, speaks for itself.
*****
Perhaps owners Terry and Kim Pegula, along with team president will finally get the message that their plan is in shambles right now with no near-term end in sight.
It's not their fault that they had two general managers fritter away loads of cash on albatross contracts with too much term for overrated players, but they should take the blame for not having a hockey man run the hockey operations. If they want to be in complete control, fine, it's their franchise, but this is the results they've gotten to this point.
The hiring of Jason Botterill to be the general manager looks to be a good hire at this juncture, which is less than a year in to his tenure. Botterill played in the league for years and spent a number of years as an assistant/associate general manager in one of the best organizations in hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, he still is a first time GM and the lifting he'll have to do to get this thing back on track may be more than anyone thought. He did some work in the off season that hasn't gone as planned, and honestly, not much has, but he did do well at the draft last year in jumping on a prime prospect that dropped to him at eighth-overall. We won't see the rest of his 2018 selections for at least a couple of years or so, but Casey Mittelstadt looks like he might make the jump after only one year at the University of Minnesota.
The next big step for Botterill is the upcoming February 26 trade deadline.
Word on the street is that the Sabres have had the 'For Sale' sign up for months with everyone save for Jack Eichel (and possibly Rasmus Ristolainen) available. The big thing for him will be getting a return for his pending unrestricted free agents, the most sought after being winger Evander Kane.
Kane is in the final year of a six year contract with a $5.25 million cap-hit. The 26 yr. old veteran of nearly 550 NHL games has 64 goals in 187 games for the Sabres (.342 goals/game,) with only seven of those goals coming on the powerplay. However, a hot start has turned extremely cold for Kane right now as he has zero goals in his last 12 games, only two in his last 21.
NHL general managers interested in Kane as a rental already know what he brings to the table and streakiness in scorers isn't all that new. But what remains problematic is his off-ice/locker room reputation.
Kane's reputation precedes him. Despite being clean off the ice, the recent spat between Buffalo defenseman Justin Falk and Kane where Falk called him "selfish" may have continued to put him in a bad light in the locker room. While talking with an amateur scout from an Atlantic Division team last night, the first thing that came out of his mouth concerning Kane was off-ice/locker room concerns. Although he conceded that Kane's on-ice play is excellent, that reputation will hurt the Sabres return for him in a trade.
Botterill also has UFA's with very little perceived value as role players on playoff-bound team. Forward Benoit Pouliot and defenseman Josh Gorges may or may not be of interest to other teams while two-time Cup-winner Jordan Nolan (LA Kings) may have lost some of his grinding effectiveness as the speed of the NHL increased.
Oddly enough, Lehner, a restricted free agent this summer, might garner some serious interest from team in or around the playoff mix, but so far rumors have the Sabres not shopping him.
Regardless of whether Botterill can move any or all of his pending free agents, the return, outside of possibly Kane, won't be much. But at least it will be something which is better than nothing.
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