Daily Links for Saturday, Nov. 28

by Andy Boron on Nov 28, 2009 6:00 AM EST in Daily Links Comment 6 comments

Buffalo Sabres' Mike Grier, top, and Philadelphia Flyers' Mike Richards vie for a loose puck in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Matt Slocum - AP

3 months ago: Buffalo Sabres' Mike Grier, top, and Philadelphia Flyers' Mike Richards vie for a loose puck in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Nov. 27, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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Oh happy day! The Sabres four game losing streak has finally come to an end thanks to the scoring of Tim Connolly and the tenacity of "O Captain My Captain" Craig Rivet. Let's hope Buffalo can put the hurt on Carolina and start themselves on a winning streak tonight and begin their climb back to the top of the Eastern conference.

Hobbled Flyers drop another to Sabres 4-2 | Broad Street Hockey
Travis over at Broad Street Hockey recaps the game from the other side.

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Buffalo Sabres Preview | ESPN
The AP preview of the game tonight, courtesy of the folks in Bristol.

Patrick Kaleta can't avoid being part of controversial hits | Puck Daddy
Puck daddy talks about Kaleta's busy week in the taking/giving hits department.

Epic Fail: Thrashers 6, Canes 4 | Canes Country
Here's how tonight opponent, Carolina, played on Friday. They should be demoralized, and Buffalo should be able to pick on one player in particular. Read on to find out who!

These Toronto Maple Leafs Need Your Patience | Bleacher Report
Our division rivals need your patience. Why? Bleacher Report explains what it takes to build a winner.

Why the Maple Leafs Matter | THN
For some reason we've got a lot of Leafs coverage today. The Leafs are the Yankees of the hockey world though, so I suppose it makes sense.

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“The Leafs are the Yankees of the hockey world though, so I suppose it makes sense.”

Unless you look for a comparison since more than the original six were in the mix. I think they are more like the Cubs of thehockey world.

by dfderie on Nov 28, 2009 6:36 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Annoying that its the Flyer’s announcers on the Kaleta replay. Hey anyone else think that someone should have gone “Cote” (replay reference) on the guy who caused Rivet to lose his edge.

by bluecollarbuffalo on Nov 28, 2009 7:41 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Disagree about Rivet, he lost his own edge. I watched it so many times trying to find blame on the guy but his stick tapped Rivet, it didn’t cause that. However, I’m with you on the Flyer’s announcers. What a bunch of homers. First of all, Kaleta does not have a reputation for hitting from behind. He hits late, sometimes high, and always like a freight train, but no more from behind than any other player in the league. Ross saw him coming, and not only turned his shoulder away, didn’t even brace himself for a hit. In fact, if you watch it, he actually lowers his head. I mean talk about the worst possible thing to do when a forechecker is bearing down on you.
For the record, I’m not only defending Kaleta, I think all hits like that one get an over-reaction these days. Kaleta did the same thing Ross did Wednesday when Ovie hit him. I tried long and hard to find Ovie at fault for that hit, but couldn’t. Kaleta tried to draw the penalty by turning his back. He succeeded though and didn’t get seriously hurt so good for him.

B-B-B-Byrd Byrd Byrd, Byrd is the Wyrd!"

by willgarr15 on Nov 28, 2009 12:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

caused Rivet to lose his edge

The way I saw it, Rivet lost that edge all on his own. I just hope nothing’s broken.

by The Burl 8 on Nov 28, 2009 10:29 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I disagree, he poked his stick in there and hit his ankle at the exact moment Rivet started to go down. It was questionable enough that I would have liked to see a Sabres at least facewash the guy and give him a hard time. When in doubt, stick up for a teamate.

by bluecollarbuffalo on Nov 28, 2009 11:52 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

My own comment on Puck Daddy regarding Kaleta/Ovechkin

Wysh at Puck Daddy has been at times vehemently anti-Sabre and pro-big market, so I know posting there is often pointless. Nevertheless, I had to try…

The two incidents are not about league discipline, they are about marketing and league finance.

Ovechkin will never, ever be suspended, regardless of what he does. The league simply will not take a player of that caliber, in a large market that has finally started coming around after more than three decades of being one of the worst supported teams in the league. off the ice. They simply cannot economically justify it. Ovechkin could highstick someone to the back of the head and put him in a coma and he’d still not get suspended more than one game. The league has simply invested too much marketing and merchandising capital in him to take him off the ice. Whereas Kaleta is a relatively common type of player, playing in a small market that is extremely well supported. The league isn’t going to lose anything by suspending a relatively ordinary Sabre because Sabres fans will still pack the arena. They could potentially lose millions by suspending Ovechkin and risk the fans in a poor-quality large market returning to their usual apathetic selves.

Yes, Kaleta will be suspended thus giving the league a small amount of credibility that “something is being done” while they show preferential treatment towards their star players. That has been the way Colin Campbell has operated for 15 years. I can’t see him changing his stripes now.

The NHL will be a far more credible league if Colin Campbell is not allowed to work in sports ever again. If there is anyone who deserves a suspension, it is him.

"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England

by Calvert on Nov 28, 2009 2:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs