Daily Links for Friday, March 19
by Andy Boron on Mar 19, 2010 6:00 AM EDT
in Daily Links
6 comments
Happy Friday! After a fantastic sports day that saw the Sabres winning big, and a great opening day to March Madness, what could we possibly do to keep the momentum going? Give you more links than you can shake a stick at, that's what! As if productivity wasn't low enough today already...
Sabres crush Lightning 6-2 - NHL.com
Jason Pominville had his fourth career hat trick, and the Sabres beat the Lightning 6-2 on Thursday to move within four points of New Jersey for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Likelihood of Making the Playoffs in the East - Lighthouse Hockey
I'm sure you've all seen Mirtle's "how many points to the playoffs" posts on From the Rink or the Globe & Mail, but this one uses the Sports Club Stats to also predict each team's most likely finishing spot.
Kennedy happy to see Pirates stay put - The Buffalo News
The odds are good Tim Kennedy will never play in Portland again. That said, Kennedy was thrilled to hear Wednesday that the Buffalo Sabres' minor-league team is staying in Maine.
Ryan Miller "American Made" T-shirt - Shop.NHL.com
Ryan Miller is a real American hero with this shirt.
fanpaper - Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres want fans to send in photos etc. to be used for wallpaper. If you're a creative person, I've been looking for a new Sabres image to use on my computer, so hop to it!
6 comments | 0 recs
Sabres 6 Lightning 2:Pominville's Hat Trick Leads Sabres Victory
by David Oleksy on Mar 18, 2010 11:10 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
7 comments
If you tuned in late to this game, you weren't surprised by the score when you tuned in, but you were surprised the Sabres were winning 3-0. After three consecutive bad starts the Sabres turned things around against the Lightning. Jason Pominville scored twice in the first period, including a power play goal, and Tyler Myers added his 10th goal of the season in the first frame.
The tone of this game was set early for the Buffalo Sabres. Chris Butler was hit hard into the boards by Todd Fedoruk, Craig Rivet played the part of captain and immediately went after Fedoruk. After a spirited bout with no clear cut winner, the Sabres found themselves down two defensemen with Butler down and Rivet receiving an instigator penalty. The team picked up their captain by killing off the ensuing power play and then they went on the offensive.
Despite the Sabres dominating the first 20 minutes, the Lightning would not go quietly. They started to generate some offensive chances in the second period but the Sabres and especially Ryan Miller made sure to keep them of the board. Miller made plenty of good saves and none was more important than stopping Vinny Lecavalier on a breakaway.
The Sabres played well tonight and when you play well you usually get some good bounces. Derek Roy got the best bounce of the night when his pass was deflected right back onto his stick for an easy shorthanded goal. With a four goal lead the Sabres went into a defensive shell and hung on for the victory.
There were some anxious moments late when the Lightning scored a power play goal to cut the lead to 4-2. There was no panic in the Sabres and Vanek iced the game with an empty net goal. Jason Pominville added a late goal for his second career hat trick.
This was the type of the game the Sabres needed to get back some confidence as they head down the stretch. The skeptics will chalk this game up as a game the Sabres "should have won" and they are right. This is a game the Sabres should have won but its a game against the type of team the Sabres have struggled against recently. Its another two points and an opportunity to gain some momentum.
Corsi Ratings | Event Summary | Sabres vs Lightning coverage | Raw Charge
7 comments | 0 recs |
Buffalo Sabres @ Tampa Bay Lightning [Game Thread}
by David Oleksy on Mar 18, 2010 6:30 PM EDT
in Game Threads
206 comments
| Buffalo Sabres(36-22-10, 82pts) |
Game #69 | Tampa Bay Lightning(28-29-12, 68pts) |
|||
 |
@ |  |
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| Date: |
March 18, 2010 |
Location: | Tampa, FL |
| Time: | 7:30 p.m. ET |
Arena: | St. Pete Times Forum |
| TV: | MSG-B |
SB Nation Affiliate | Raw Charge |
| Radio: |
WGR (550AM) |
SB Nation Game Page | Sabres vs Lightning coverage |
| Season Series | Buffalo (2-0-0) - Tampa Bay (0-1-1) |
||
| Buffalo Sabres | Category | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 183 (2.7) | Goals For | 181 (2.6) |
| 168 (2.5) | Goals Against | 204 (3.0) |
| 2153 (31.7) | Shots For | 2010 (29.1) |
| 2146 (31.6) | Shots Against | 2158 (31.3) |
| 44/263 - 16.7% (23) | Power Play | 52/278 - 18.7% (13) |
| 32/227 - 85.9% (1) | Penalty Kill | 55/279 - 80.3% (21) |
| Lost -1 | Home/Road Streak | Lost - 2 |
| Lost -1 | Overall Streak | Lost - 2 |
| 2-2-1 |
Last 5 Games | 1-3-1 |
| 4-4-2 |
Last 10 Games | 2-7-1 |
206 comments | 0 recs
Daily Links for Thursday, March 18
by Andy Boron on Mar 18, 2010 6:00 AM EDT
in Daily Links
4 comments
The US economy will be in the toilet for the next two days thanks to all you slackers watching and following March Madness today and tomorrow. For those of us who work in places that block any sort of fun websites, all we have to look forward to is a bracket that's in the toilet by the end of the night when Kentucky loses to East Tennessee State and a Sabres game tonight at 7:30pm against Tampa Bay.
Kennedy could move up - Sabres Edge
The Ellis-Mair-Kennedy line was hot yesterday, so let's break them up!
Ruff Knows Where The Finger Points For Slow Starts - WGR 550
Spoiler alert: he blames himself.
'Terrible' Torres still trying to fit in - FOX Sports
Raffi Torres is being quite frank about his play since joining the Sabres. I'm not going to go that far, but would it be too much to ask for you to score?
4 comments | 0 recs
Technorati Ranks The Top Hockey Blogs
I don't how official this is or how this website calculates their rankings, but it's at least a good sign. Die By The Blade sits comfortably in the top ten.
1 day ago
Rafal Ladysz
9 comments
0 recs
Kaleta Calls on Sabres Fans to Rock the House
by Dave Davis on Mar 17, 2010 9:32 AM EDT
40 comments
It was a March night in 1996, and the hated Philadelphia Flyers were in town to face the feisty Buffalo Sabres. This rivalry was as heated as ever. You could sense something was going to happen that would set off a firestorm, and it did.
Matthew Barnaby bumped goaltender Garth Snow. Six minutes of intense, entertaining, even comical brawling mayhem ensued. Every player on the ice, including Buffalo's Brad May and Bob Boughner and Philly forward Rod Brind'Amour, stuck up for their respective teammates with a level of energy and determination that would make you believe that they loved the game enough to play for free.
The old Aud in Buffalo was rocking that night. The team wasn't very good but it didn't really matter. Everyone in the building was on their feet, and it wasn't just about fighting - it was about the enjoyment of watching a very tight knit group of determined scrappers who would go through walls for their coach and for each other.
It's 14 years later - a March night in 2010. The Flyers and Sabres are locked 1-1 midway through the second period of a yawnfest at a morbidly silent HSBC Arena. Both teams are skating back and forth and going at it with a level of intensity and passion that could only be found at a September scrimmage. The game is half over and there hasn't been a single penalty. Had vendors been selling No Doze tablets it might have launched the discovery of a new revenue stream.
40 comments | 0 recs |
Daily Links for Wednesday, March 17
by Andy Boron on Mar 17, 2010 6:00 AM EDT
in Daily Links
10 comments
In response to Buffalo's recent struggles, I present to you Coach Boron's sure-fire guide to winning in the NHL:
1. Start the game with the score at 0-0. Spotting the other team two goals might sound like a fun challenge, but will make it more difficult to win later.
2. Don't play your fourth line players in crunch time. Even if their line has scored recently, they're not used to playing in those situations and are more likely to, say, take a tripping penalty than your stars are.
3. Don't rely on crazy bounces and difficult tip-ins for all your goals. Sometimes a well placed shot to an empty part of the net or trying to fake the goalie out can be just as effective.
Follow these tips and you'll be sure to win games against the bottom half of the league!
Another slow start costs Sabres - The Buffalo News
One of these days, the Buffalo Sabres' trend of slow starts might disappear. Maybe when it does, their slump will, too.
A shift in the Battle of Ontario - The Globe and Mail
I'm putting this before the break because it's interesting, the internet has gone bone-dry on Sabres articles, and to thank Toronto for beating Ottawa last night 4-1.
Power Rankings Roundup:
ESPN: #11 (updated 3/15)
The Hockey News: #13 (updated 3/15)
TSN: #10 (updated 3/15)
10 comments | 0 recs
Thrashers 4 Sabres 3: Early Deficit Sends Sabres to Third Consecutive Loss
by David Oleksy on Mar 16, 2010 10:22 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
11 comments
Another bad start and another Buffalo Sabres loss. This time a 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers in a game the Sabres clearly could have won. This trend is starting to become a huge concern for a Sabres team that is leading the Northeast Division.
Last week it was Patrick Lalime that struggled early and tonight it was Ryan Miller's turn look incredibly average. I have a hard time blaming Miller for the loss but there is no question he deserves at least some of it. Miller has had a difficult time early in his last two starts although rebounded for a solid performance in Detroit. Tonight he was not as lucky as he was given the final 54 minutes off.
Once again the Sabres played well after falling behind, and even had a chance to win the game, but the end result is another loss. Buffalo outshot Atlanta 23-13 over the final 40 minutes but a deflection by Jim Slater sealed their fate.
Did the Sabres deserve a better result?
Probably, but you can't spot a team a two goal lead and expect to win hockey games this late in the season. The Sabres won plenty of games like this one in December but they don't have the offensive firepower to win a game like this one. They scored three times tonight but they were mostly hard working goals by the grinder lines.
Where are the Sabres offensive players? They were mostly invisible tonight, outside of a few chances by Derek Roy. I thought Roy did some good things in the offensive zone but it seemed like Patrick Kaleta was always on the receiving end of Roy's passes and he couldn't bury his opportunities.
The good news is there are still 14 games left for them to figure things out and they are not far off. If they play better in the first 10 minutes of this game and the Wild game last Friday, we are talking about earning points in six straight games instead of a three game losing streak.
Corsi Ratings | Event Summary | Sabres vs Thrashers coverage |Bird Watchers Anonymous
11 comments | 0 recs |
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Next 5 Games
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Sat 03/20 | 7:00 PM EDT |
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Carolina
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Sun 03/21 | 5:00 PM EDT |
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Montreal
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Wed 03/24 | 7:30 PM EDT |
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Ottawa
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Fri 03/26 | 7:30 PM EDT |
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Tampa Bay
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Sat 03/27 | 7:00 PM EDT |
Last 5 Games
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Thu 03/18 | W 6 - 2 |
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Atlanta
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Tue 03/16 | L 3 - 4 |
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Detroit
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Sat 03/13 | OT - L 2 - 3 |
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Minnesota
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Fri 03/12 | L 2 - 3 |
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Dallas
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Wed 03/10 | W 5 - 3 |
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