The End of the Road

The Sabres finish up their six game road trip with a mini-trip to Atlanta. Having been able to come home to Buffalo for a few days between games really makes it hard to describe this is a true 6 game road trip. Semantics aside, the Thrashers are struggling right now. Losers of their last 5, the Sabres should expect a desperate team with lots of offensive firepower.

Which goalie will start in net? Miller has been the go-to guy and I foresee him starting the teams next two games against Atlanta and Philadelphia. Against ATL he will be motivated to show Don Waddell he made a mistake in leaving him off the olympic roster and against Philly he can show up an American goalie that actually made it on the team, Robert Esche. The same Esche, who earlier in the year stated that either Miller or Grahame shouldn't even be in the league. I don't know how he can say something like. He hasn't won a Stanley Cup (like Grahame has) and he isn't healthy (bad groin). Miller will be a monster in these two games, bouncing back from a rough outing against TO. Philly may sneak out of Buffalo with a win but it won't be Miller's fault. First home game after a long road trip is always tough. (See San Jose game).

Until next time, stay cool

The best is yet to come

The Sabres have returned to .500 on this, their longest road-trip of the season, with a strong 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers. The offensively dangerous Ales Kotalik returned to the lineup with an assist and a gamewinning goal. Even more importantly J.P. Dumont was healthy. Unfortunately Tim Connolly suffered a hurt.
Win one Lose on. One player gets healthy, another gets hurt. It's the nature of life and sports. The season goes in cycles. The fans of the Sabres should be assured that the back to back losses out West are really just a historical trend and not the mark of a bad team. The season is more than half the way over and the Sabres have a healthy cushion in the standings for a playoff spot.
Another reason not to be too down on the lack of scoring is that our number one offensive weopen is hurt. Once Daniel Briere comes back it will be just like a trade. The Sabres can be better. Once Darcy Reigeir finally pulls the trigger on a trade at the deadline the Sabres will be one goalie lighter and hopefully one defenceman heavier. This reminds of 1999 when Rhett Warrener joined the club at the deadline and was a driving force behind the cup run. The Sabres are not playing that great right now but things will only get better.

Burned

Not as heartbreaking as the Stanley Cup No-Goal or the Phantom Goal of the following playoffs against the Flyers, the Sabres were once again on the losing end of a controversial goal call. This time it was the Flames Robyn Regehr that earned a place in Buffalo Sabres history. His Pele move past Martin Biron gave the Flames a lead they would never relinquish.
The issue with this goal is that the play was never reviewed. For a referee to ignore the pleas for a review from either team is a diservice to the fans and the sport.
To give the NHL credit they were quick to apologize to the Sabres organization. Unlike the No-Goal controversy where an apology has never been given and a rule quickly changed, the NHL was quick to admit fault.
I hope this is part of the New NHL. That along with the new rules the league will be quicker to admit a mistake. This transparency can foster more trust between the fans and the league and even the players and the league.
For the Sabres they can't use the bad goal call as an excuse for a loss. To their credit they have not. They traditionally have trouble out West and this road trip was no different hopefully they can turn it around against, NYR, ATL, and TO.

'Yotes Spell Trouble for Struggling Sabres

Wayne Gretzky's first trip to Buffalo as the Great Coach was a marvelous execution of how a road game should be played. As intelligent as Gretzky is, he still has not been given enough credit for the job he has done adapting to his players and his new job. Far from the high-flying offense of his days with the Edmonton Oilers, the current Phoenix squad is led by the talented Ladislav Nagy, Mike Comrie and journeyman and former Sabre Geoff Sanderson. None of these players strikes fear in the hearts of opposing defenses. Instead Gretzky's troops rely on steady goaltending and a trap type style defense. Some would call them Sabre like. Gretzky's coaching so far this season has shown he understands all hockey players and can embrace all types of hockey.

First half look back

It has been a while since my last post and I have not commented on the Sabres sterling December or Marty Biron's consecutive win streak. This is an exciting time to be a fan and there is a lot to like about this year's model.

What's Gone Right:1. Goaltending: Long the bane of the post-Hasek era, Ryan Miller, Marty Biron and occasionally Mika Noronen have provided the type of goaltending that inspires confidence in the team in front of them. Miller has been able to carry over his AHL success to the NHL level and Biron has been able to sustain consistency in the level of his play. Miller still needs to prove himself over a full season before he can be anointed a legitimate starter (eg Andrew Raycroft) but the foundation is there. Biron has never been this hot in the middle of a season before and usually suffers a let down at the start of the season. We will wait and see what happens down the stretch but right now improving the goaltending is not a concern of Darcy Reiger.

2.Special Teams: Being in the top ten in PK is old hat for the Sabres but having a top notch power play unit is something new. Having a wealth of players on the roster that can contribute in some role on special teams keeps the units fresher and avoids some of the mistakes that occur when fatigue sets in. The bounty of power play goals has propelled the Sabres to an elite team. Hopefully they can keep it up.

3. Emergence of Tim Connolly: No one ever said the kid lacked skill. That was apparent in his early seasons in the NHL. At 24 TC has finally brought some heart to the table and is making strides in all areas of his play. It would be nice to see him shoot more often and not think pass first but these are small qualms for a player that many felt (myself included) should have been sent packing. Reiger made the right call.

Things I am concerned about:
1.Relying on the Power Play too much: The NJ game was a perfect example of the problems that Sabres have while playing at even-strength. While the powerplay scored on it's only opportunity the rest of the offense didn't seem to generate any real sparks until the last 5 minutes when desperation set in. That desperation needs to be carried over the the first 55 minutes and used not just when the team is on the power play.

2. Goaltending: Somebody needs to go. It's not fair to any of these guys to put their NHL careers on hold while fighting for playing time. There are only two nets at practice and somebody is always going to miss out on a full workout. This one area that Darcy needs to address in the second half.

3. Injuries: Daniel Briere, Toni Lydman, JP Dumont, and Chris Drury all missed the recent NJ Devils game due to injury. No offense to the Rochester call-ups but these are players the Sabres can not replace. They have the experience and skill that only comes with playing and suceeding in the NHL. Briere and Drury are the emotional backbone of the team. Briere is a goal scorer and Drury is big on faceoffs. Come playoff time there contributions will be key.