Buffalo Sabres Fail Jhonas Enroth

by Rafal Ladysz on Nov 8, 2009 1:12 PM EST Comment 11 comments

Jhonas Enroth's first career NHL start wasn't a bad one on any level. While he did get beaten four times, the Swede faced 37 shots and made a string of key saves to give his team a chance after falling behind early.

Buffalo was taking part in the second of back-to-back contests but appeared just as unenergetic and flat as the previous night hosting Philadelphia. You can't fault Enroth for any of the pucks that went past him; two came on the powerplay with the goaltender screened and a sloppy give-away combined with lazy back-checking provided numbers three and four.

Meanwhile, the Sabres man-advantage was ineffective as the greatest opportunity came for the Bruins when Daniel Paille found himself on a shorthanded break-away in the first period that Enroth stopped impressively.

Derek Roy's goal in the second period was the only glimmer of hope that a comeback would ensue cutting the deficit to 3-1 and Jason Pominville scored a late marker which only served as consolation. For a Boston squad that had just one goal in the last three matches combined, Buffalo was the perfect prey and the Bruins were the better of the two sides winning 4-2.

Whether it be Ryan Miller backstopping them or the rookie, the Sabres can ill-afford to approach games with such a laid-back attitude. Were it not for Miller's constant heroics this year already, the number in the loss column would certainly be above four.

Next, the Edmonton Oilers visit HSBC Arena on Wednesday and the club has a few days off to look at the multiple errors that were made over the weekend.

As for Enroth, he needs to hold his head high because his work kept things respectable last night and gave Buffalo a possibility to win. The first one is always the hardest.

This is a fanpost written by a member of the community, it doesn't necessarily express the views or opinions of Die by the Blade

1 recs | Comment 11 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

I agree totally

Enroth played well, but as always was let out to dry by his teammates.

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

by willgarr15 on Nov 9, 2009 12:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Exactly

I read a few game recaps saying he had a bad night. I thought to myself, what game were they watching? Thanks for the comment and input.

by Rafal Ladysz on Nov 9, 2009 1:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yea, you if he makes 33 saves on a bad night, what does he do on a good night?

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

by willgarr15 on Nov 9, 2009 3:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t agree… Enroth looked, well, inexperienced. I’m pretty sure he was barking at the ref about goaltender interference WHILE the game was being played… and while he was busy doing that the Bruins popped one in. That is a very green mistake. His head was turned towards the ref in the corner after he though the puck was cleared, but it wasn’t cleared. He wasn’t just screened, he was actually focusing on something else. I would actually put the blame for the first two goals on him. Now, I’m not saying the rest of the team looked awesome on Saturday but the goal tending looked, well, NOT GOOD. So many juicy rebounds. I know, Miller spoils us with awesome tending and not giving up rebounds… but Enroth, as expected, made many rookie mistakes. I think Lallime probably would have gotten us into OT in that game, and Miller probably would have won it for us. Oh well… It wasn’t a bad time to see what Enroth could do… but he is clearly not ready for the NHL yet.

by clownfat on Nov 9, 2009 4:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

That’s a fair assessment but for the most part, you have to agree that the team altogether was responsible. He did give up some rebounds but more than made up for it with great saves (dan paille’s breakaway in particular). Bottom line: the team can’t depend on their goaltender so much or else it’ll turn into last year when Miller was out with an injury and our playoff hopes went out the door too.

by Rafal Ladysz on Nov 9, 2009 4:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

You win as a team and lose as a team

And since Enroth was on the ice, he was part of the reason they lost.

(1) He let up way too many rebounds. One in fact almost went off (I think) Roy’s saktes and barely missed going into the net in the first period.

(2) His save off Paille’s break was good – but not much more than that.

Both of these are a result of TWO things:

(1) Enroth played his first NHL game in his life. And yes, it was a decent start and will get better.

(2) His teammates didn’t play much better either. You’d expect them to step it up a notch… coming off a loss and playing in front of a true rookie… and didn’t. You can also expect that to get better.

Was it a lazy game? No. Way too many long passes though. But they controlled the puck in their zone quite a bit too.

by dfderie on Nov 9, 2009 6:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The bounces weren’t going their way too much either. As far back-up goaltending goes, I like Enroth’s potential in the long run.

by Rafal Ladysz on Nov 9, 2009 7:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I like his potential as well. I also can’t stand Lalime’s record with the Sabres. Back-up Goaltending is my biggest fear for this team.

Delightfully Ignoring The Truth since 1995.

by NeverendingOptimism on Nov 9, 2009 8:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Back-up Goaltending is my biggest fear for this team.

I think you’re right. I was thinking about their lack up depth for the top two lines. That pales in importance to a Miller injury.

by krytime on Nov 9, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This team can amaze you like they did in that 6-2 win over detroit but they can also make you scratch your head (match against toronto that the leafs deserved to win). I understand that an 82-game schedule is rough on the body but they should have made the playoffs the last two years and easily could have if they didn’t blow some matches that looked like easy pickings.

by Rafal Ladysz on Nov 9, 2009 11:39 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

I was at the game, and he looked decent, especially for his first game. The defense made some terrible passes right in front of the net leading to goals which probably wouldn’t have even been stopped by Miller. The thing that concerned me in that game was the powerplay, which looked awful besides that one meaningless goal at the end.

by youkk20 on Nov 10, 2009 8:38 PM EST via mobile reply actions 0 recs