Jan 10 2009
Shootout Win and Look Out Detroit
The Sabres did the near impossible last night, defeating the New York Rangers in a shootout. The Rangers were 8-1 going into last nights while the Sabres were just 3-2. The game was a goaltenders duel as each goalie made big saves on a good quantity of shots (BUF-33 and NYR-44). The Rangers scored the first goal in the dying seconds of the 1st period as Paul Mara’s wrist shot from the point, found its way through a mass of players in front of the net and into the top corner. The first period had good flow to it, as each team went back and forth without many stoppages in play. The 2nd period saw the Rangers take control and shut down the Sabres offense. It took the Sabres nearly 14 minutes to get their first shot on goal in the period, while Derek Roy made shot number 3 count on a nice passing play by Stafford and Vanek. This left Roy alone in front to get a rebound off of Drew Stafford’s shot and tie the game. The 3rd period can be described as the Sabres waking up finally as Buffalo outshot New York 16-12. An overtime period was required in which no one was still able to score. The Rangers were not able to score a goal in the shootout as Ryan Miller stopped the first attempt, and forced the other shooters to mess up their attempts and shoot wide. The lone goal for Buffalo came from shootout specialist Ales Kotalik. He came down on the goaltender and ripped a quick wrist shot under the glove of Steve Valiquette. The win was Buffalo’s 4th consecutive and puts them in 7th place in the Eastern Conference and makes them undefeated in the New Year. Tim Connolly played his first game since recovering from a broken rib earlier in the season. He logged over 15 minutes of ice time and it looks like he needs to adjust to the intensity of the game. I don’t expect it to take long for Connolly to return to his old self and be able to control the game with his incredible puck control.
The Sabres are in for a tough test tonight, taking on Detriot who sit second on their conference with a 28-7-5 record. They are 8-1-1 in their last ten and are on a 5 game win streak. They lead the league in goals for per game with 3.62 and also have the league’s best power play. The scoring from this team runs deep as they have several superstars that score night in a night out, and also the average players who play beyond their means and get big goals when it matters most. Ty Conklin is expected to start against the Sabres and is 5-0-0 against Buffalo in his career. The keys to tonight’s game:
1. Get shots on Ty Conklin and score early
2. Don’t get caught in the penalty box
3. Play a physical game
If Buffalo can do these things they will have a chance to win, otherwise, they will be the next victim for this strong Detriot team.
-Sabs Hockey Nut
