Sporadic Sabres Thoughts
4/30/2010 | Posted by
Devin
It's been almost a full week since the Sabres were eliminated in six games to Boston. I can assure all four readers of this site that I haven't been avoiding the topic and I was honestly far too busy with real life work to write anything. Unfortunately, the job that pays the money gets the higher priority. However in the meantime, I do have a few thoughts about Buffalo's demise. I feel awful for Ryan Miller. There were times during the Drury/Briere years and the few that followed where it seemed like he could easily be the captain of this team, even though outside of Vancouver it's not traditional to give the 'C' to the goalie. After this season, I believe that without a doubt. For someone who missed maybe one or two games during the course of the entire regular season and playoffs, I can honestly tell you that Miller was the lone Sabre who seemed to give a crap night in and night out. That isn't to say that he didn't have bad nights (Pittsburgh and Atlanta come to mind), but he still cared on a daily basis. When he got yanked against the Pens he headed towards the tunnel where he was seen throwing his mask and equipment. Right there was more emotion than half the roster has shown during the season. Coincidentally, Buffalo came back and won that game shortly after. After a terrible loss in Carolina, Miller was the one Sabre going off in his post-game interviews. Most of the other players seemed to shrug it off and collect their paycheck.
(Side note: I'll never forget going to Buffalo to catch a Sabres/Leafs game a few years back during the 06-07 season and watching Toronto take a huge lead on Buffalo. After letting in a pretty awful goal, Miller proceeded to whip his stick across the ice and into the boards. Naturally, Buffalo came back and won the game in regulation with an insane onslaught. Again, probably a coincidence. Or is it?)
But anyways, back to my original thought process. This guy has been the heart and soul of the Sabres for the past few years and after his Olympic run, he is now officially the face of the franchise. Of course this means that the team around him will let him down in a deciding game and hang him out to dry in the others. Seriously, besides Game Five, I wasn't impressed at all with the Sabres. When AHL players (Ennis, Gerbe, McCormick) are coming up in the playoffs and immediately paying dividends, there is an issue with your core group of players.
That gets me to another point: Tyler Ennis. I loved just about everything this kid brought to the ice during the playoffs and I really look forward to seeing him all next season. I know Scott and a few others have mentioned how he is similar to an old buddy of mine, Maxim Afinogenov, and I don't totally disagree with that point. I think the biggest difference between those two players is not the style, but the fact that Ennis appears to be going in the right direction at all times. Max had some flashy moments, but was non-existent or turning the puck over the majority of the time. When Max was on his game, I had zero issues with him.
Speaking of turnovers, I've had just about enough of Tim Connolly. There wasn't one player on this team that was as bad as Connolly was over the course of the entire series. Granted, it's been leaked out to the public in recent days that he was recovering from a broken foot (or broken bone in his foot?), so he should have a little leeway, but I'm not giving him much. If the injury affected him that much, you don't play. It's really that simple. But he did play and he played horribly.
These are just a few of the many thoughts swirling through my head right now as the Sabres set their tee time for tomorrow afternoon. I look forward to writing more about the NHL playoffs that are still going on and I look forward to breaking down off-season moves in much greater detail during the summer, along with a bunch of free agency stuff come July.
Till then, see you before the Conference Finals.
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