I sat here trying to figure out the best way to describe this game and a few things came to mind...boring, disappointing and even...worse than the Bills Game.  Eventually Lindy Ruff helped me figure it out, it was FRUSTRATING!  I wasn't really surprised at how the first period played out but never did I expect the second to be even worse.  It wasn't until the third period that a goal was scored and that was on a bouncing puck in the Sabres zone.  Jason Arnott was able to get his stick on the bouncing puck and beat Sabres Goalie Ryan Miller.  J.P. Dumont scored the only other goal of the game, unfortunately it is 2008 and not 2006 so J.P. plays for the other team.

The game was as boring a hockey game as you could find and in fact the Sabres managed only eight scoring chances.  I would love to review the tape to find those eight chances because I didn't see them.  The Predators didn't play a great game but they did an outstanding job of keeping the Sabres to the outside and not allowing them any good scoring chances.  It wasn't until they trailed 2-0 that Buffalo turned up the heat on Predators Goalie Pekka Rinne who recorded his first NHL shutout.

After the comeback win on Friday against the Pittsburgh Penguins I was raving about how well the Sabres played in the third period against a team that normally thrives in the third period.  In the last two games it has been the complete opposite.  On Saturday in Montreal the Sabres were outshot 10-8 but had only three shots until they made one final push in the closing minutes.  Tonight it was a 0-0 game heading into the third and the Preds scored twice and were out shooting Buffalo 10-1 until Buffalo made a final push. 

The Sabres will take a couple of days off before heading on a three game road trip that begins on Thursday in Florida.  It will be the Sabres first trip to Florida this season and first game against the Panthers.

Harry Neale Quote of the Game

If you haven't figured it out yet, I am a huge fan of Harry Neale and his one-liners.  After every game that is televised by MSG I try to find a quote from Harry that makes me laugh out loud and post it here for your enjoyment.

Harry Neale in reference to Predators forward Jordan Tootoo skating feet first into Ryan Miller...

"Without a doubt this is a non-approved natural approach to a vasectomy"

Roll Call

Don't be afraid to come and join us in the Game Thread for every Buffalo Sabres game this season.  It's always the same people here but we invite you to join us as well and become a part of what we hope to become the best Buffalo Sabres Community on the web.

Thanks to Joan O. Lion Alum and qdloser for joining us in the thread tonight.

What a difference a day makes.  On Friday night the Sabres erased a one goal deficit heading into the third period but on Saturday they could not solve Carey Price in the third and fell 3-2 to the Montreal Canadiens.Just one night after playing their best game of the season, Buffalo made a couple of costly mistakes in a losing effort.

Patrick Kaleta had the first bad giveaway when he lost the puck in his skates allowing the Habs to capitize and tie the game at one.  Later in the game it was Max Afinogenov that gave the puck away and the puck found it's way into the back of the net.  I would guess that Max will be in the press box again on Monday and his days in Buffalo are numbered after another poor performance.  After his giveaway with just under eight minutes left in the second period, he played only seven more shifts the rest of the evening.

There is no mistaking that Montreal is a great hockey team but this is a gam ethe Sabres had in their grasp and let it slip away.  Buffalo led 1-0 and 2-1 but allowed Montreal to score the games final two goals for the victory.  Like Friday night Buffalo had to kill off a two man advantage and did.  Against Pittsburgh it seemed to turn the momentum of the game and propel the Sabres to victory but tonight it was all Montreal.  Montreal out shot Buffalo 10-8 in the third period but the Sabres had the majority of their shots in the final three minutes.

The Sabres had two great opportunities to to tie the game in the final minute but Carey Price made a huge save and Than Derek Roy fired a shot over the top of the net.  Roy's shot turned out to be the Sabres last good opportunity with about 40 seconds left in the game.

Overall it wasn't a bad game for the Sabres but the result is disappointing.  Beside being disappointed in the loss, they have to be disappointed in the way it happened.  A couple of real bad giveaways and blowing a one goal lead on two different occasions.

Thomas Vanek led the way for the Sabres offensively scoring his 16th goal of the season on the power play and later scoring his 17th goal of the season.  The Sabres have scored six goals in the last two games but the goals were scored by just three different players.  Stafford and Gaustad each scored two on Friday and tonight Vanek netted two for Buffalo.

Patrick Lalime played in place of Miller tonight.  Miller was given the evening off after a great game last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Lalime played fairly well and made 31 saves in the loss.  Lalime was especially good early in the game when Montreal put on plenty of pressure.  Lalime made 13 saves in the first period to allow Buffalo to lead 1-0 after a period.

Harry Neale Quote of the Game

Harry Neale was not on top of his game tonight and didn't really give me much to choose from.  The good news is that I forgot to post the quote last night so here is a little nugget from last nights game...

"Sidney Crosby is so crafty that he goes into a revolving door after you and he comes out before you"

I laughed out loud at that little bit of wisdom.

Roll Call

Another slow night at Die by the Blade but thanks to qdloser, yoman and Tony O. for sharing with us during the game thread.  You too can join the game thread on Monday when the Sabres meet the Nashville Predators at the HSBC Arena.

Tonight was as good of a game as I have seen this team play all season.  Buffalo wasn't necessarily the better team the whole evening but they played really hard against a really good team.  It is something we haven't seen from this team all year, an entire 60 minutes of hockey that seemed to get better as the game wore on.

The turning point of the game was the start of the third period.  Buffalo trailed 3-2 on the scoreboard and Pittsburgh had a 5-on-3 advantage.  Pittsburgh didn't score and didn't even register a shot on goal during that power play.  The momentum immediately turned in the Sabres direction and they scored twice to earn their second consecutive victory.

Pittsburgh has been great in the third period all season but Buffalo outscored them 2-0 in the final frame and out shot them 10-3 in the period.  It seemed like the puck was in the Pittsburgh zone for like 15 minutes in the final period and if not for great goaltending from John Curry, Buffalo may have scored four times in the period.

The list of players that played well tonight is extensive.  It seemed like the best players on the ice for Buffalo were guys that have not played well recently.  Max Afinogenov was the most noticeable guy on the ice and played his best game of the season.  Drew Stafford and Paul Gaustad had two goals each despite their recent struggles.  Thomas Vanek played through an injury he suffered on Wednesday and set up the tying goal with a pretty pass.  The list goes on and on if I wanted to continue.

The post game questions from the media centered around two specific topics.  Is this a game where the Sabres turned the corner on their recent struggles and was it difficult to deal with the suspect officiating?

Continue reading this post »

We did this a little bit last year and Frank at Pensburgh has always been really helpful.  Once again he helped out by giving us a little bit of knowledge on the Pittsburgh Penguins.  I've often thought the best way to find out about a team is to ask their fans and that is exactly what we did.

Things to know about the Pittsburgh Penguins' Offense
The number one thing to remember about this year's Penguins team is that they don't give up.  The Pens, when trailing in the third, have been incredible with comeback wins.  And no, I'm not just referencing the last meeting between the Penguins and Sabres.  In fact, just the other night against the New York Islanders the Penguins entered the third period down 3-1.  They quickly mounted a four-goal third, including an Evgeni Malkin hat trick, to beat the Isles 5-3.  As great as it may seem from the outside looking in, it has been hell on the nerves to watch some of these games.  You never want to get confident that your team will pull off every game like this, but you also don't want to write off an offense with this much promise.

Things to know about the defense
The defensive pairings have received the occasional makeover this season.  Of course, this is all in part with coach Michel Therrien's attempts to find a cohesive group that can perform without Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney.  So far, the latest pick-up Philipe Boucher has done well with rookie Alex Goligoski, while Kris Letang has also received some power play time with Boucher.  I wish I could provide a more definitive analysis of the defense, but honestly your guess is as good as mine.  Overall though, the system is reliant on the boards and keeping the puck out of the middle.  While this may, in theory, limit shots from the opposition, the Pens are basically just looking to keep the puck on the boards in hopes of a turnover that can lead to a breakout pass and rush the other way.  They like to play fast.

Things to know about the goaltending
Here's where it gets a bit tricky.  Right now Marc-Andre Fleury is questionable with one of those "lower body injuries."  Rumors have suggested it's a knee injury, while other hints have suggested a hamstring/groin pull.  In other words, no one knows and everyone speculates.  So the Pens are relying on Dany Sabourin.  Sabu has done a decent job in net, but hardly looked on top of his game Wednesday night against the Islanders.  After giving up three goals by the midway point of the second, Michel Therrien pulled him in favor of rookie goaltender John Curry.  Curry went on to stop all 11 shots faced and may find himself with his first NHL start either against your Buffalo Sabres Friday or Saturday against the Devils.

The saying goes..."A win is a win" but it means a lot more when you break a five game losing streak against the number one team in the conference.  It wasn't a dominating performance but they Sabres did what they needed to do, in order to get the win. 

Like they did last week the Sabres jumped out to the lead against Boston on two first period goals by Derek Roy.  Unlike last week the Sabres kept playing.  Remember last week the Sabres held a two goal lead twice in Boston, before allowing five consecutive goals to Boston in a 7-4 loss. 

Boston did their best to comeback in this game, out-shooting Buffalo 20-11 in the final two periods but they were unable to gain a lead in the game.  The turning point of the game was in the second period.  Boston made the score 2-1 on a goal by Matt Huntwick.  Just 20 seconds later the Bruins went on the power play after a boarding call on Patrick Kaleta (a marginal call at that because the defenseman turned his back).  Instead of the Sabres cracking under the pressure, Jochen Hecht beat Tim Thomas with a slap shot from the top of the face-off circle and the Sabres regained their two goal lead. 

The Bruins did get back within one with plenty of time remaining but the Sabres and Ryan Miller were able to hang on.  The Sabres limited the Bruins scoring chances all night although MSG reported that the scoring chances were 15-15.  The game was in doubt right till the final horn sounded but the Sabres did what they had done all night...blocked a shot with less than five seconds remaining in the game. 

Continue reading this post »

I sat up all night trying to figure out a positive spin on the current situation and I failed miserably.  The Sabres lost 4-2 to the visiting New York Islanders at the HSBC Arena.  It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Sabres and their second in as many nights.  The Sabres are now 9-8-3 and trail the Boston Bruins by 11 points in the Northeast Division.

I would love to give some in depth analysis as to what went wrong but fortunately I wasn't able to see the game.  It was the second consecutive game the Sabres outshot their opponent but failed to earn a victory.  The disturbing part of the loss to the Islanders was the third period.  Buffalo outshot the Islanders 18-2 in the second period and 31-14 through two periods but trailed 2-1.  Instead of continuing to fire shots on Islanders Goalie Joey MacDonald the Sabres spent most of the third period in their own zone and were outshot 12-6 in that period.

I can't sit here and give you answers on what the Sabres need to do to fix this problem.  Even Lindy Ruff is struggling for answers, he called up Mancari and benched Max Afinogenov and Henrik Tallinder.  He started Patrick Lalime to try to shake things up.  He has even tried limiting some players ice time.  Nothing he has tried has worked till this point and he is running out time.

I'm not saying that the ship has sank but it is definitely taking on water.  At this point there are plenty of people bailing the water but it's filling up quickly.  If they don't turn this around soon, we may be looking at a repeat of last season and the Sabres missing the playoffs again.

There was some good news in the game last night...Mark Mancari scored the Sabres first goal in his second game of the season and the general impression is that he played well.

Roll Call

Thanks to everyone who joined us in the Game Thread...It's nice to see LionAlum joining in the conversation the past two games.

[Update by D.O., 11/23/08 8:30 PM EST ]

I was reading the official recap and watching the highlights of the game and I honestly became sick to my stomach.  It wasn't because the game was ugly because from the highlights, it wasn't that bad. 

It was because of this...

"We had no emotion early on," Buffalo forward Jason Pominville said. "We weren't competing and we lost a lot of one-on-one battles."

Seriously?  You lost four games in a row and you had no emotion?  As I mentioned before, I wasn't able to watch the game but this remark coming from a player on the team is disturbing.  If this is indeed true, it is time that Craig Rivet become useful as a Captain and start busting heads.  Yeah I said it, he better start busting heads.

How is it that myself and plenty of other Sabres fans are disturbed by their play lately and the team shows no emotion?  I hope that Pommers was just blowing off some steam and didn't choose his words correctly.  We have continuously heard him talk about the "system" but now he is questioning the desire of the team.

It's just a matter of time before this ship is completely sunk...they better turn it around quickly.

Things have been bad lately for the Buffalo Sabres and they didn't get much better tonight at the HSBC Arena.  I didn't see the game but by all indications the Sabres played a much better game but just failed to convert their opportunities.  It's a step in the right direction for a struggling team but they need to start finishing.

Buffalo has now lost four in a row and have looked mostly bad in the process.  Tonight was different story, they fired 40 shots at ex-Sabre goalie Martin Biron but he turned them all away.  If you counted all the missed open nets and the three goal posts the shots would be close to 50.

Buffalo called up Mark Mancari and playued Nathan Paetsch tonight but they were unable to make a difference as the Sabres losing streak continues.  Mancari had 14:50 of ice time and registered five shots on goal, although none of them beat Biron.  In his first action in quite some time Nathan Paetsch had 15:21 of ice time, blocked three shots and had an even rating.

Sabres Captain Craig Rivet has not seemed to be the same since returning from knee injury.  It was the third consecutive game that he registered a minus rating and he was a minus three in the game.  I don't think Rivet is the next one into the press box but so often you here the saying "as the Captain goes, the team goes"  They have both been on the minus side recently.

The Sabres have an opportunity to get right back at it tomorrow night when the New York Islanders invade the HSBC Arena.  Face-off on Saturday night is set for 7:05 and will be the second game on a four game home stand for Buffalo.

Game #19

Buffalo Sabres (9-6-3, 21PTS) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7-6-4, 18PTS)

7:00 PM EST, HSBC Arena

TV: MSG-B (Buffalo)

Radio: WGR 550 (Buffalo), XM 208 (National)

Listen Here

08-09 Series :0-0-0

Enemy Blogs: Flyers Goal Scored By

It's always interesting when the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers meet and I don't expect this game to be much different.  Last season the games against Philly meant a little bit more because of ex-Sabres Martin Biron and Daniel Briere's presence on the ice.  That has all but worn off now (and Briere isn't even playing) but the game is still very important. 

Buffalo comes into this game searching for answers.  This is a team that began the season by earning at least one point in each of their first eight games but they have lost three in a row and have allowed at least five goals in each of those three games.  In the first couple of weeks of the season it was easy to find Ryan Miller and Patrick Lalime in the goalie leaders...they were one and two.  It's not as easy to find those guys now...Ryan Miller is now 16th in goals against average and Lalime would be near the bottom of the league if he qualified.

The Flyers come from the other end of the spectrum (No pun intended).  They are playing the best they have played all season.  After struggling early in the season Martin Biron and Antero Nittymaki have both been lights out.  Simon Gagne is back in the lineup after missing most of last season and he has really made his presence felt for the Flyers.

Players to Watch

Buffalo Sabres

Philadelphia Flyers

Goalie Matchup

Buffalo Sabres

Philadelphia Flyers

Notes

• Buffalo earned seven out of a possible eight points against Philadelphia last season.
• Danny Briere scored the shootout winner in the only Flyers victory against Buffalo last season.
• Mark Mancari was called up from Portland to replace Max Afinogenov in the lineup.  He has 11 goals and 14 assists in 14 games and is leading the AHL in scoring.
• Nathan Paetsch will be inserted into the lineup to replace Henrik Tallinder who has been ineffective and had a horrible giveaway that ended up as a goal on Wednesday against the Bruins.
• This will be the second game that Thomas Vanek will play on a line with Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht.
• Jason Pominville has scored a goal in four consecutive games.
• Buffalo has allowed 18 goals in last three games played, all losses of course.
• Don't forget to get your SPG picks in and help increase the prize giveaway.

How many times do you score four times in the first period and lose by three?  Answer, not very often.  The Buffalo Sabres managed to accomplish that unbelievable feat tonight.  Buffalo held a two goal lead twice in the first period but the Bruins scored five unanswered goals to beat Buffalo 7-4.

There was a question as to whether Buffalo could score enough goals with Tim Connolly and Ales Kotalik out of the lineup and it was a resounding yes.  The problem is they can't keep teams off the scoreboard.  Buffalo has allowed at least five goals in each of their last three games, all losses of course.

This game was comedy of errors for the Blue & Gold.  Miller has to take some of the blame for allowing seven goals but the team deserves much more.  The defensemen gave the puck away, they were caught standing around on more than one occasion and they basically left Miller out to dry.  The forwards deserve just as much blame for a lackluster effort.  One goal was scored because Thomas Vanek was too slow on the backcheck and another was scored when Daniel Paille failed to get back in time.

In addition to the terrible defensive play, the Sabres took too many bad penalties.  Adam Mair found himself in the box with a couple of dumb penalties that cost his team.  Andrew Peters and Derek Roy can not be absolved for their penalties either.  Patrick Kaleta got away with a hit on Scott Thorton that should have been called as well.  This team is not good enough to give teams opportunities and that is exactly what they did tonight.

The only good thing that came out of this game was the play of the newly formed top line in the offensive zone.  Jason Pomminville started the scoring early in the game on a pretty feed from Thomas Vanek.  Pominville returned the favor for Vanek in front of the net and Vanek added another goal on the power play.  The move seemed to pay off for Roy as well, he had a goal and an assist in his first game after being demoted from the top line. 

I wish I had more to say but this game has me in a really bad mood.  The only good thing is that Buffalo will be back in action on Friday and better yet...they get another shot at Boston next Wednesday.  All we can hope for is that the team is as embarrassed as the fans are and use it as motivation.

Game #18

Buffalo Sabres (9-5-3, 21PTS) vs. Boston Bruins (11-3-4, 26PTS)

7:00 PM EST, TD BankNorth Garden

TV: MSG-B (Buffalo)

Radio: WGR 550 (Buffalo), XM 204 (National)

Listen Here

08-09 Series: 1-1-0

Enemy Blogs:  Ghosts of the Garden, Here come the Bruins

The Sabres will debut new lines tonight with Thomas Vanek playing along side of Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville while Dereek Roy will Center a line with C-Mac and Drew Stafford.  Buffalo beat the Bruins back in October but looked awful in a loss to the Bruins last week.

While Buffalo has been sputtering as of late, the Bruins have been outstanding.  They haven't lost in regulation in what seems like forever and to take it a step further they don't ever allow over two goals in a game.  This is not good for a team that has to play without Tim Connolly and Ales Kotalik.

Previous Matchups

1. October 21 - BUF 3-2 SO
2. November 8 - BOS 3-1

Other Notes

Don't forget to get your SPG picks in and if you haven't signed up yet it is not too late!  Head on over and sign up to be eligible for a prize.