Three Stars: Buffalo vs Ottawa
3/27/2010 | Posted by
Devin
Trust me; there is a very good reason as to why this posting is delayed. I needed some time to cool down and gather my thoughts before writing about the eighth straight loss to the Ottawa Senators. If I were to have written it last night immediately after the game, I'm sure it would've been semi-incoherent and filled with numerous expletives.
First Star – Brian Elliot (OTT)
There were times last night when Elliot essentially stood on his head and he should receive most of the credit for the win. Buffalo outshot Ottawa 43-30 and Elliot only yielded two goals. It does help that for almost the entire game he played with the lead, but that shouldn't diminish how well he played. Considering the near playoff atmosphere of the game last night, Ottawa fans should be feeling pretty good about entering the post-season with Elliot between the pipes. Just in case Ottawa faces Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs, I feel the need to mention that Elliot is now 8-0-0 in his career against the Sabres.
Second Star – Jason Spezza (OTT)
Spezza has been a Sabre killer in the past and he continued that last night with two points, including what turned out to be the game winning goal on the power play. Daniel Alfredsson also contributed two points but I refuse to acknowledge his empty net goal.
Third Star – Jason Pominville (BUF)
I've been pretty hard on Pommers this season but he has showed up to play for the tail end of the season and that is great news as Buffalo gears up for the playoffs. Pominville netted his 22nd goal of the season just 1:34 into the third period and cut the Ottawa lead to 3-2, but unfortunately the Sabres were never able to tie it up. Pominville now has 12 points in his last nine games. First Minus – Thomas Vanek (BUF)
This guy has yet to earn his gigantic paycheck and he is bordering on Afinogenov Territory for me. For those who haven't been around very long, that was the territory I named after former Sabre Maxim Afinogenov last season when I was officially done with him and decided the only way he could win me back was by scoring the game winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals.
I spent the better part of two periods complaining up and down about Vanek and trying to figure out if he even dressed for the game. He then proceeded to take the puck on a clean breakaway with Buffalo trailing 3-2 but instead of scoring, he rung the puck off the goalpost and the Sabres lost. Normally I wouldn't fault the player for hitting the post, but I have to wonder if his chances of scoring would've been better with a normal deke or wrist shot, instead of the 217 mph slap shot he unleaded from 10 feet out. I don't know, maybe his accuracy was a little off with that one.
Second Minus – Sabres fans
Unless MSG has the microphones turned waaaaaay down last night, HSBC arena sounded like the 18th green at Augusta last night. How does that happen for such a huge game? I already know it wasn't the TV broadcast because I've been to two games in person and it was the same way. I went back and watched some highlights from the two conference championship years and the difference in mind blowing. No wonder the team lacks energy sometimes. They are probably trying to figure out if the crowd is awake (or alive) for most of the game. The Sabres officially have the quietest sell-out crowds in the NHL. It's sad.
On a positive note, Buffalo can still officially clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight against Tampa Bay. Their magic number for the Northeast Division still sits at nine points as they hold a five point lead on Ottawa with two games in hand. That lead can be cut to seven with a win and Ottawa win tonight or five if Ottawa trips up against Florida.
But before you get too excited, Patrick Lalime is expected to play in net tonight (still trying for his 200th career victory). Also, it is rumored that both Tim Connolly and Patrick Kaleta will be out with injuries as Tyler Ennis has been recalled from Portland.
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Some Thoughts on the Bills
3/26/2010 | Posted by
Devin
While trying to settle my nerves down for what will be the biggest game of the 2009-10 season for the Buffalo Sabres (so far), I thought it would be good to completely switch gears and discuss the happenings (or lack thereof) at One Bills Drive.
The Bills have actually been in the news lately, mostly being mentioned in conjunction with the trade talks involving Donovan McNabb. Let me get straight to the point. This would be a fantastic move for the Bills to make. This wouldn't just be another ticket grab signing like Terrell Owens was (yes it would), this would also solidify a position that has been in flux for the better part of the decade. Ever since Drew Bledsoe's three year tenure ended in Buffalo, the QB position has been a complete mess. Losman, Holcomb, Edwards, Fitzpatrick, and Brohm. What a lineup. If I missed a QB along the way, I don't care.
Yes, McNabb is getting older and nearing the end of his career. But please realize, he is only 33 years old and has plenty of gas left in the tank. Last season he threw for 22 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions. The year before it was 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and the year prior it was 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. I would also like to note that while a Buffalo Bills QB hasn't thrown for more than 300 yards in over 50+ games, McNabb did it three times. In fact, he threw for 450 yards against the Chargers last season. That stat along should seal the deal.Most detractors point out that along with age, he is also injury prone. Really? I just don't see it. He has no doubt had his fair share of injuries, but he has also missed only four games in the past three seasons. Last time I checked, Trent Edwards has had his fair share of injuries too. In fact, Edwards has yet to play even one full NFL season. Awesome.
I say all of this with a heavy heart though because there is no way McNabb is coming to Buffalo.
This is mostly due to the fact that he is entering the final year of his contract. I would be livid if the Bills gave up a second round draft pick or more for a one year rental. The only way I'd accept this deal is if an extension with McNabb was put into place before the trade was finalized. So with that being said, he isn't going to want to sign an extension with Buffalo and I don't blame the Bills one bit for not pulling the trigger on the deal without an extension.
McNabb has publicly said that Minnesota is his choice destination. I also don't that happening because Brett Favre is still under contract for one more season and until the Vikings lineup to kick the ball off in Week One, I believe Favre will be back for another season. Although, this does open up the very real possibility of McNabb refusing an extension with any team and simply walking over to Minnesota after next season.
That leads us to Oakland. Oakland is dumb enough to toss away draft picks for a player entering the final year of his contract. They proved that much to us last season when they traded a first round pick for Richard Seymour. Why wouldn't they do a similar deal this season?
The franchise tag possibility would put a serious dent in the Minnesota plan above coming to fruition, but anything can happen in Oakland. This is the Raiders we're talking about. Again, Oakland is dumb enough to pull this off. And again, I would be irate if the Bills even thought twice about this.
So while I would love a deal for McNabb in Buffalo, it isn't happening without an extension, and he isn't signing one in Buffalo.
In other news, I was reminded by ESPN (again and again and again) that the draft is only 27 days away. I'm actually very excited for the draft this year. And to be honest, part of the reason is the fact that it's a three day event. Instead of spending my entire Saturday parked in front of the television, I get to space out the event and really enjoy it. Let's be honest, I'm probably not doing much on a Thursday night anyways, so why not watch the first round of the draft. Of course, there will be an issue if the Sabres happen to play that night, but we'll cross that bridge when (if) we get there.
I've read plenty of mock drafts and I've seen far too many with Buffalo picking Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen. This is the one player I don't want the Bills to draft and honestly, I'm strictly going on a hunch. I haven't watched countless hours of footage to come up with this opinion and I really haven't done a ton of research on it. I watched just enough Notre Dame games in the past few seasons to know that I don't want him as the QB of my team. It's really that simple.
So what if they draft him? I'll probably throw something across the living room and complain about it for the following 72 hours. But then I'll be forced to cheer for him and support him. I am, of course, a Buffalo Bills fan. I cheer for the logo, city, and uniforms above any one player. And who knows, maybe I'll even learn to like him. Terrell Owens was able to pull it up so it's definitely within the realm of possibility.
I'll leave the rest of the draft talk alone because I don't want to spoil our second annual mock draft.
P.S. I still really HATE the Ottawa Senators. More on this game later tonight or tomorrow.
Struggling
3/17/2010 | Posted by
Devin
As you can see by the lack of content lately, the Sabres aren't the only ones struggling. I have to admit, I never thought I would suffer from this much writer's block when it came to writing about my two favorite teams. I partially blame the NFL offseason and I partially blame the Sabres for their lackluster effort lately.
However, the Bills actually decided to jump into the free agency mix yesterday. Both Andra Davis and Dwan Edwards made a visit to One Bills Drive and both came to an agreement with Buffalo yesterday. I'm rather excited for both signings because both players should play a significant role on defense. Plus it showed me that Buddy Nix wasn't sleeping in his office and actually has a plan in place to make the Bills better…I hope. For now, it's a start. We'll have more on the Bills as draft time comes closer, including our second annual mock draft.
Now, let's discuss the Sabres, who dropped yet another game against an inferior Atlanta team on the road. Let me just say this about the Thrashers, I hate them. I hate that my local OHL team draws more of a crowd. I hate their blue uniforms. I hate the entire idea of hockey in Atlanta. I hate the fact that they always give Buffalo fits at the worst possible times.
Knowing all of this in advance, you would think I expected a road loss, but no, I didn't. I expected a win, 2-0 to be exact. Of course this means Ryan Miller lets up three goals in the first six minutes and gets chased from the net. Patrick Lalime came in and played well, holding it at three goals until it was tied with six minutes remaining and then he promptly let up the game winning goal. But I'm not going to bash Lalime for this; he played well under less than ideal circumstances. I still don't like him as a backup and I'm still angry that I paid hundreds of dollars to watch him last Friday night against Minnesota, but I won't hang this game on him. The entire Sabres team hasn't been playing well lately, minus Miller, who seems to be the only consistent one of the bunch. They regularly sleepwalk through at least half of the first period and often times find themselves trailing by multiple goals at the end of the first period. Then they decide to start playing, try to make a furious comeback, and often times come up just short (like last night, last Saturday night, last Friday night, etc…)
It is beyond frustrating. And yet somehow they still hold a three point lead over Ottawa in the Northeast with two games in hand. Amazing. I'd like to be happy about this but I'm not. Ottawa has fallen back down to Earth since the Olympic break losing their last three and going 3-6-1 in their last 10. If Buffalo were actually able to take advantage of this situation, they could have at least an eight point lead right now. Instead they have lost to three straight teams that might not even make the playoffs.
I was going to make a little chart to keep track of their magic number for the division, but I'm too irritated right now with the team. I often times find myself thinking that they don't even deserve to win the division playing like this. However, I haven't lost all hope. They have 14 games remaining in the regular season to figure it out or they will be facing an early exit for sure.
(Just for the record, Ottawa can finish with a maximum of 103 points if they go 12-0-0 in their remaining games, which would put Buffalo's magic number at 22 points.)
Just so this blog post isn't entirely all doom and gloom, according to SportsClubStats.com, the Sabres currently have a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs.
Here's to hoping that I lose my writer's block by Thursday and that the Sabres left their struggling ways in Atlanta.
Cheers.
Just What the Doctor Ordered
3/05/2010 | Posted by
Devin
If you asked me before the trade deadline what the Sabres needed to acquire to improve their chances for a deep playoff run, here is how I would've answered the question.
Grit. Toughness. Scoring. Competent backup goaltender.
Ok, so the Sabres didn't get their competent backup goaltender. The only thing that means is that Lindy Ruff will either drill Ryan Miller into the ground so that he is completely worn out by the time the playoffs start, or the Sabres will toss away a handful of games by starting Patrick Lalime. Awesome.
But I didn't write this blog to complain about that. No, I want to actually applaud the Sabres for making the right move on the deadline.
Before the deadline I had written several times that the Sabres were in need of a serious shakeup. I still feel that way, but it wasn't realistic. This isn't a video game where the GM can pull off lopsided trades with the computer and make everything better. This is real life where good trades are sometimes hard to make.
The Sabres wanted to keep their basic core together but they obviously had to make a move to improve their grit, toughness, and scoring. Luckily for them, they did the job with one trade. Of course, I'm talking about trading Clarke MacArthur to the Thrashers for a 3rd and 4th round pick. Ok, I'm kidding, but I did like this trade. The Sabres flipped an upcoming restricted free agent that had worn out his welcome in Buffalo for two draft picks. This helped make up for the loss of their second round draft pick, which went to Columbus along with Nathan Paetsch for Raffi Torres, a potential rental player.
Prior to the deadline, Torres was one of the names being talked about the most. At one point, there was word that at least 10 teams had made contact and inquired about Torres. While I don't know the validity of this statement, I had read that Columbus was asking for a first round pick in return. That is relatively high for a potential rental, but seems about right considering what rentals have cost before.
So knowing that information, I think the Sabres got a great deal in giving up a second round pick and Paetsch. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Nathan Paetsch and always liked him in Buffalo, but he needed to play and that playing time obviously wasn't coming to him in Buffalo. I'm sure he appreciates the opportunity to move on and hopefully get playing time in Columbus.
So as I said in the beginning, the Sabres needed to improve their grit, toughness, and scoring. Torres obviously fills the first two needs as he is known as one of the harder nose players in the league and should greatly improve those areas on a rather soft team. But surprisingly enough, he also greatly improves their scoring. Most of this can be attributed to the team's overall lack of scoring, but Torres comes to Buffalo and is now their leading goal scorer with 19. Yes, you read that correctly.
Right off the bat, I want to say that I hope he isn't a rental player and that something can be worked out in the offseason. Of course, I haven't seen Torres play very often since watching him in the OHL so I need to take in these final 20 regular season games and get a more solid evaluation of his play.
As it stands, he is skating with two of the softer players in Buffalo, Derek Roy and Jason Pominville. It's been over a full day since the trade has been announced and I'm still very upbeat about it. Time will tell whether or not that will last, but I'm excited to find out starting with tonight's game against Philadelphia.
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