Buffalo Sabres Zone

First of all let me apologize for no Sabres Game Night post, I went back to college today and was unpacking and getting re-settled.  I would like to congratulate Canada on winning their 5th consecutive World Junior tournament by a score of 5-1.  I must say they did so in convincing fashion as Sweden never appeared to have the upper hand at all during the game.  The win has shown the world that Canada coach Pat Quinn still has it in him and perhaps could award him with future NHL job offers.

Buffalo got off to a quick start tonight as Matt Ellis stayed hot scoring 15 seconds into the game for his 4th of the season.   The Sabres would make the score 2-0 on a nice hustle play by Derek Roy which resulted in a goal by Drew Stafford.  One other thing to point out in this first period is Sabre enforcer Andrew Peters had his thumb bitten by chatter box Jarko Ruutu.  After the game, Ruutu denied biting Peters but video replay clearly shows him chomping down.  The NHL should review the situation and penalize Ruutu accordingly.

Derek Roy would score his 14th goal of the season on a scramble in front of the net.   Ottawa would storm back however, as center Jason Spezza would score 32 seconds apart, just 2 minutes after Roy’s goal.  This would make the score 3-2, but Ryan Miller would not let Spezza or the Senators get back into the game as he would go on to stop every shot from that point forward.  The 31 save effort was Miller’s 18th of the season and gave Buffalo its 20th win of the year, giving them 45 points which is good enough for 8th place in the Eastern Conference.  Thomas Vanek scored an empty net goal late in the game for his league leading 27th of the season.  The next game is Friday night at home against the New York Rangers.

Now that I am back at school, I’ll get some Winter Classic pictures and have my friend do a celebrity post on his experience, in which he was able to speak with Montreal Canadien Robert Lang.

-Sabs Hockey Nut

Well the tournament that showcases the future stars of the NHL is finally coming to an end.  Canada will face-off against Sweden tonight in the gold medal game at 7:30 pm at Scotiabank Place.  Canada’s Jordan Eberle is the reason they have a chance to go for the gold as it was he who scored with 5 seconds remaining to send the semi-final game against Russia to overtime.  If Canada can win tonight, it will be their 5th consective gold medal in the tournament.  John Tavares leads the tournament in scoring with 8 goals and 6 assists, while team mate Cody Hodgson has 3 goals and 10 assists.  The leading scorer for Sweden is Erik Karlsson who has 2 goals and 7 assists.  Team Canada is beatable, and I feel Sweden will not only put up a fight, but could also upset them.  The key to stopping Canada is stopping their potent offense because they are so talented up front.  My key for Sweden winning, is scoring early, and playing sound defensive hockey but not sit back and play the trap.  I predict a great game tonight and think everyone that tunes in will enjoy it.

-Sabs Hockey Nut

Sure Boston was undefeated in its last 10 games, and sure they have won their last 14 home games, but all those numbers and streaks were meaningless as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Bruins by a score of 4-2.  The player of the game was Matt Ellis, who was recently called up by Buffalo.  Ellis scored 2 goals and recorded an assist and played every shift like it was his last.  The effort shown by Ellis paid off and was a big factor in the win.  Great goaltending by Ryan Miller was also key, as he turned away 29 of 31 shots, including a few spectacular saves late in the game which made Rick Jeanneret nearly wet himself.  It’s clear that the locker room changes, and lines being altered has sparked this team.  I felt that the Pominville-Gaustad-Ellis line was the best today, they played sound defensively, and fore-checked which is what allowed their scoring opportunities.  This does not take anything away from the rest of the team though, who also played well.  Every line played good hockey, and it was definitely a team victory.  Thomas Vanek scored his 26th goal of the season as he tipped in a shot by Jason Pominville.  Paul Gaustad also scored to make the score 4-2 and give the team some insurance.  The Sabres were 1/3 on the power play and 4/5 on the penalty kill against a very productive Bruins special teams.  I was very pleased watching the game today.  It gives me hope that they can continue this good play for an extended period of time and hopefully ensure a playoff spot.  There is still a lot of work to do for this team, but it finally seems like we are headed in the right direction.  The next game for Buffalo is Tuesday against the struggling Senators.

On a side note, the NFL playoffs have begun and the World Juniors is coming to an end.  Slovakian goaltender Jaroslav Janus did all he could to help his team beat Sweden in the semi-finals today, stopping 46 shots en route to a 5-3 loss (the 5th goal scored on the empty net).  Sweden advances to the gold medal game and awaits the winner of the Russia and Canada game on Sunday.

-Sabs Hockey Nut

A 1pm start for today’s game against the Bruins.  The Bruins are arguably one of the top 2 teams in the league, having a 29-5-4 record which is good for first place in the East.  They also lead the league in goals for with 141, and goals against with 84.  This high scoring team is lead by Marc Savard and Phil Kessel.  The key to beating the Bruins is not only stopping these two, but the rest of their team, whose depth and balanced scoring rivals that of the Sabres team of 2006-2007.  You then have to get past their goaltenders who put up solid games night in and night out.  The Bruins have won 10 games in a row and are 14-1-1 at home while Buffalo is 8-6-3 on the road.  It is definitely going to be a tough game today and will require the Sabres to play almost perfect, for their are very few flaws in this Boston team.

On a sad note, team USA was upset by Slovakia last afternoon, falling by a score of 5-3.  The story of the game was Slovakia capitalizing on their chances, while the US could not beat goaltender Jaroslav Janus.  Janus, of the Erie Otters in the OHL, played probably his best game of his career, turning away 46 of 49 shots on goal.  A good percentage of these saves were not routine either, there were breakaways, a penalty shot, and several saves made on the 2nd and 3rd rebound.  It is an unfortunate turn of events for team USA, who have made it to the medal round the past 6 years.  The Slovaks got a quick start, taking a 3-1 lead, and the US could never recover after that, playing catchup the rest of the game.  The US was the better team overall, but just could not score, and that was the ultimate factor in their defeat.

-Sabs Hockey Nut

The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs last night by a score of 4-1.  After a very boring and scoreless first period, the players called out by Lindy Ruff earlier in the week stepped up their game.  Jason Pominville opened the scoring with a power play goal on a shot from the point.  It was Pominville’s 11th goal of the year with assists by Roy and Spacek.  Less than 3 minutes later, Derek Roy batted the puck out of Curtis Joseph’s glove and into the net, after a shot by Thomas Vanek caught him off guard.  It was Roy’s 12th of the season and gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead.  The Sabres would score again a little over 2 minutes later, when Pominville won a 1 on 1 battle in the corner with 6ft 6 Nik Antropov.  Pominville stole the puck from Antropov in the corner, and shot the puck between Joseph’s arm and body to put the Sabres up 3-0.  The Sabres would take a 4-0 lead on a 2nd power play goal on 4 opportunities, when Roy slid in the puck on a nice feed from Vanek.  The Leafs would score halfway through the 3rd period to make the score 4-1, but any attempts at a comeback were thwarted by solid defensive play by the Sabres.  I feel the score should have been 5-1, as Drew Stafford got a goal disallowed with no explanation.  The play was reviewed but no announcement was made as to why the goal did not count.  Ryan Miller made 28 saves for his 16th win of the season.  The win put Buffalo in 8th place in the Eastern Conference while sharing an identical record with the Hurricanes who sit in 9th place.

I felt that the Sabres played a whole lot better tonight, but keep in mind it was against the Leafs.  I would like to see how they fare against a proven and solid team.  They will get that chance Saturday afternoon as they face the Bruins.  The Bruins have shown they are one of the Elite teams in the league this year, with balanced scoring, tons of depth in their lineup, and probably the best goaltending corps in the league this year.  If they play like they did against the Leafs, it will be a good game, speed is the Sabres best weapon, and they need to utilize that night in and night out consistently, or it will be a long up and down season.

In other news, team USA is playing Slovakia in the World Junior Quarter Final Round.  The winner will go on to play Sweden in the semi-finals.  Currently the score is 3-1 in favor of Slovakia.  The goalie for Slovakia is playing spectacular at the moment, and the US will need to dig deep to come back in this game, with 5 minutes remaining in the second period.  I’ll do a writeup on this game, and also give a preview to the Sabres game tomorrow morning.

-Sabs Hockey Nut

Happy New Year everyone, what a night.  First let’s start with the US vs. Canada game.  I left you with the score tied 3-3, and after intermission, Canada showed that it is indeed a powerhouse, as they continued their intense quick pace style of game.  With the score 5-4 in favor of Canada, the US pulled its goaltender with a little over a minute remaining.  John Tavares scored on the empty net soon after this, completing his hat trick and putting the fans in Ottawa in a frenzy.  Another meaningless empty net goal by Canada would make the final score 7-4 and give them a bye in the first round of the playoffs.  The US will play Slovakia tomorrow night to see who will face Sweden in the semi finals.

Now onto the Winter Classic.  It was exactly one year ago today, when I bundled myself up and went down to Ralph Wilson Stadium…ticketless.  After several failed attempts of buying tickets, I had to turn to scalpers, and boy did I ever pay for it.  I still cannot believe how much I spent for those tickets but it was definitely worth it in my mind.  I was right at center ice sporting my Thomas Vanek jersey, I saw Doc Emerick, and enjoyed an amazing game with my brother.  The atmostphere inside Ralph Wilson Stadium that day was indescribable, I caught myself at times just looking around and saying to myself, “Wow.”  It sent chills down my spine when the Sabres came onto the ice.  That moment will be embedded into my brain forever because it was incredible to see 70000+ people get to their feet and began to cheer.  Unfortunately, Sydney Crosby thought it best to ruin the perfect game for Buffalo and score in the shootout to beat us, but that doesn’t change the fact that everyone walked away from that game in a buzz and not completely disappointed.   I was a part of history, just like all those people in Chicago are today.  My college roommate is now at Wrigley Field for the game and if possible, I will show pictures he brings back from the game and perhaps let him do a celebrity post and share his experience with everyone.   On a side note, Buffalo native Patrick Kane is expected to play in today’s game, despite being injured the other night in Detroit.  Kane is leading the Hawks in points with 16 goals, 25 assists for 41 points in just 34 games.  I’ll tell another story about Pat Kane at some point in the future, but for now, I’m rooting for Chicago and wishing for some snow.  As far as I know, the game will be broadcast on NBC and CBC, as well as online streams.

Now for a preview of the Sabres and Leafs.  A bit of drama this week, as coach Lindy Ruff called out Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht.  He said that if there are players that do not want to give effort night in and night out, he will bench them, regardless of what line they are on.  Buffalo boasts a 17-15-5 record, and sit 3rd in the Northeast Division, while the Leafs are 4th with a 15-16-6 record. Connolly and Kaleta are both out due to injury, while Rivet is now listed as day to day.  If we are going to win tonight, we need to play a quick pace game, something we haven’t done in a while, and play some solid defense.  Playing in Toronto will be no picnic, and getting the crowd out of this game is half the battle.  Let’s go Buffalo, I’ll do another post either late tonight or tomorrow morning.

-Sabs Hockey Nut

One period down and the game is tied 3-3.  The US got out to a great start, scoring 3 goals early on and controlling the pace of the game.  However, Canada’s star, John Tavares showed why he will probably be the top pick in the 2009 NHL draft, scoring once on a tap in goal, and again on a nice wrist shot high glove side.  After this goal, the game got chippy immediately, as during the Canadians celebration, a Canadian player inadvertently skated into a high stick over hanging the US bench causing a scrum and US player James van Riemsdyk got suckered punched by Stefan Della Rovere.  No penalties were dished out after this, but the intensity remained the same, and Canada would go on to tie the game.  A few minutes later, Rovere continued his antics, as he received a 2 and 10 minute misconduct penalty for hitting US defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk from behind.  I just had to post something regarding the first period, as it was very exciting to watch.  I’m sure the game will only continue to get better.  I will do a writeup on the game tomorrow morning so stay tuned and enjoy the rest of the night.  So long 2008, Happy New Year.

-Sabs Hockey Nut

Team USA hockey remained undefeated last night in the World Junior Tournament in Ottawa, shutting out Kazakhstan 12-0!  10 players had multi-point efforts, with forward Aaron Palushaj leading all players with 2 goals and 2 assists.  Local Buffalonian and good friend of mine, Tom Mccollum, earned the shutout for team USA, turning away all 10 shots he faced.  Kazakhstan, behind their goalie Andrei Yankov, kept the game close, until the floodgates were opened with 3 minutes left in the 1st period, at which point, the US never turned back.  Kazakhstan has been shutout in each of its 3 contests so far, and their only bright spot has been their goaltender Yankov.  He has faced an enormous amount of shots in this tournament and ended up making 49 saves on 61 shots last night.  Tonight will be the Marquee matchup of the tournament, as the US will face undefeated Canada.  It will be interesting to see if the US can contain the likes of John Tavares, Cody Hodgson and the rest of the Canadian boys.  One thing is certain, tonight’s game will be one of the best you will see in the tournament, so tune in on TSN, the NHL Network, or some online stream of the game, it will not disappoint before you go out and enjoy the coming of the New Year.

-Sabs Hockey Nut