A Rough Start
10/20/2010 | Posted by
Devin
Normally, I'd be writing this weekly as a recap of the week that was in Sabres hockey. Since I got a late start, we'll pretend the last week and a half has really only been one week. Honestly, it's felt like 10 years. I can't remember the last time the Sabres got off to such an awful start. They are completely frustrating to watch. But allow me to put on my homer glasses for a second as I tell you why they will eventually be okay.
Right now, nobody on the team is scoring besides Derek Roy. He has five goals in the first six games and I honestly can't remember the last time I've seen Roy play this way. Unlike Tim Connolly, it looks like Derek Roy took his playoff criticism to heart and working that much harder when he's on the ice. Obviously he isn't going to keep this pace up all year (and finish with 68 goals), but I would gladly take a 30 goal season from Roy. His career high is 32, so I don't think it's out of the question one bit.
And on that note, nobody else on this team can score to save their lives. Drew Stafford, Jordan Leopold, Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad and Cody McCormick are the only other Sabres to have scored; which is a combined seven goals. So if you're keeping count at home, the score is the Buffalo Sabres 7, Derek Roy 5.
But on that note, that means the goals are going to eventually come. Ennis, Hecht, Pominville (when healthy), Connolly (?), Gerbe (?); they all have some sort of goal scoring ability. At some point the goals are going to come. I'm not being unrealistic in thinking that. I honestly feel like once a few more start to hit the net, the flood gates will break. I know, it's some real hard hitting analysis here. Just trust me on this. The Sabres didn't win their division on accident last year. They aren't going to finish 1-80-1 this season. They will figure things out and get going. Honestly, I'd rather him them slump in the beginning rather than the end.
Three Stars:
1. Derek Roy – Not much more I can say about Roy that I didn't say above. He's been on fire so far this
season and it's about time. I have no doubt that he'll hit a slump at some point, but hopefully this year it isn't prolonged. He seems to have a knack for the net this year, which is welcome surprise to start the season.
2. Ryan Miller – It almost seems crazy to list Miller as the second star when he's posted a 1-3-1 record to start the season, but that isn't entirely fault. There isn't much I can to defend Miller in the games against Chicago and New York. He allowed nine goals combined in the two. However, in the other three games he's allowed four goals total. This includes a season opening win at Ottawa and a 1-0 defeat to New Jersey in overtime. For anybody that faults Miller in that game, get real. In those three games, he's had a whopping total of three goals to support him. THREE GOALS. Buffalo scored that many against Chicago Saturday night, unfortunately Patrick Lalime was in net and he apparently needs at least five for the win.
For anybody new to the blog or anybody needing a refresher course; I figure I should get this out of the way now as a quick disclaimer. Ryan Miller is one of my all-time favorite Buffalo athletes. He was long before his Olympic fame. He was when I was forced to defend him against people who had nicknamed him Mr. Softie. We can pretty much expect Miller to make the weekly list of three stars each week when I write this, barring the news that he robbed one of Buffalo's homeless shelters or something of the sort. Just figured I'd mention it now.
3. Tyler Ennis – I mentioned this in my Sabres preview, but Ennis played the last 10 games of the regular season last year and finished with nine points. He then chipped in four more in six playoff games. Not quite a point per game player, but pretty close. Well so far this season he's kept that pace up, with four assists in six games. Eventually it would be nice to see him score some goals, but assists are just as good in my book. Last season only four players finished with 50 or more points: Roy, Connolly, Pominville and Vanek. With that in mind, getting 50 or more from Ennis would be fantastic. In fact, that's my benchmark for the rookie. I know it seems like a lot, but I've got a feeling about this kid.
Three Duds:
1. Thomas Vanek – I feel bad when I'm hard on Thomas Vanek, mostly because I do think he's a good player and has a great amount of skill. I think what his problem is and has been for years is that he tries too hard, presses himself and ends up blowing multiple opportunities. Then he sits on the bench, beats himself up about it and presses even more. It's a vicious cycle and has been going on since the Sabres handed him his mega-deal and unfortunately for Thomas, it's going to continue.
So far in six games, Vanek has 2 points and a -3 rating. To put it nicely, that is garbage. If people are wondering why the Sabres are struggling to start out the season, lots of fingers can be pointed at #26. When you're the highest paid player on the team, yes he makes more than Miller, he needs to deliver. I don't expect Ovechkin or Crosby type numbers from Vanek, but he should be a point per game player at the very least. Anything less is underperforming in relation to the amount of money he makes. It's sad but true.
2. Tim Connolly – By the time the playoffs ended last season, I pretty much wanted to drop the gloves and beat the living crap out of Tim Connolly. Nobody exemplified more what was wrong with the Sabres. But then I figured having the summer off would be a nice way of refreshing my mindset and I'd be able to give him a solid 10 games to prove himself to me again.
(Keep in mind I was all for his contract extension at the time, now I would cut my own hand off to get rid of him)
So let's flash forward to this season. We're six games in and I was sick of Connolly five games ago. He does nothing for me and even worse, he does even less for the Sabres. I don't want to totally put this on him because he used to be a dynamic player, but the concussion he sustained in Ottawa was his downfall. I know he's physically healthy, but he will never the same player he was. I highly doubt the Sabres can unload him on any other team (although the Rangers were somehow able to rid themselves of Scott Gomez and Ales Kotalik), so it looks like we're stuck with Connolly for the rest of this year at the very least. At that point I fully expect the Sabres to walk away from him and let him sign elsewhere.
3. Tyler Myers – Everyone in Buffalo dreaded the potential sophomore slump and it appears to be strangling our Calder Trophy winner right now. Through the first six games, Myers has one assist and a -6 rating. I won't beat him up too much because I think he's still a very good player and will be for a very long time. This is only natural for second year players of almost any professional sport. I just hope be breaks out of the slump soon or the Sabres are in trouble. If this means making him a healthy scratch for a night, so be it.
The Week Ahead:
At Atlanta (10/20), vs Ottawa (10/22), at New Jersey (10/23), at Philadelphia (10/26)
See ya next week, where hopefully the Sabres aren't occupying the basement in the Northeast.
Right now, nobody on the team is scoring besides Derek Roy. He has five goals in the first six games and I honestly can't remember the last time I've seen Roy play this way. Unlike Tim Connolly, it looks like Derek Roy took his playoff criticism to heart and working that much harder when he's on the ice. Obviously he isn't going to keep this pace up all year (and finish with 68 goals), but I would gladly take a 30 goal season from Roy. His career high is 32, so I don't think it's out of the question one bit.
And on that note, nobody else on this team can score to save their lives. Drew Stafford, Jordan Leopold, Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad and Cody McCormick are the only other Sabres to have scored; which is a combined seven goals. So if you're keeping count at home, the score is the Buffalo Sabres 7, Derek Roy 5.
But on that note, that means the goals are going to eventually come. Ennis, Hecht, Pominville (when healthy), Connolly (?), Gerbe (?); they all have some sort of goal scoring ability. At some point the goals are going to come. I'm not being unrealistic in thinking that. I honestly feel like once a few more start to hit the net, the flood gates will break. I know, it's some real hard hitting analysis here. Just trust me on this. The Sabres didn't win their division on accident last year. They aren't going to finish 1-80-1 this season. They will figure things out and get going. Honestly, I'd rather him them slump in the beginning rather than the end.
Three Stars:
1. Derek Roy – Not much more I can say about Roy that I didn't say above. He's been on fire so far this
season and it's about time. I have no doubt that he'll hit a slump at some point, but hopefully this year it isn't prolonged. He seems to have a knack for the net this year, which is welcome surprise to start the season.2. Ryan Miller – It almost seems crazy to list Miller as the second star when he's posted a 1-3-1 record to start the season, but that isn't entirely fault. There isn't much I can to defend Miller in the games against Chicago and New York. He allowed nine goals combined in the two. However, in the other three games he's allowed four goals total. This includes a season opening win at Ottawa and a 1-0 defeat to New Jersey in overtime. For anybody that faults Miller in that game, get real. In those three games, he's had a whopping total of three goals to support him. THREE GOALS. Buffalo scored that many against Chicago Saturday night, unfortunately Patrick Lalime was in net and he apparently needs at least five for the win.
For anybody new to the blog or anybody needing a refresher course; I figure I should get this out of the way now as a quick disclaimer. Ryan Miller is one of my all-time favorite Buffalo athletes. He was long before his Olympic fame. He was when I was forced to defend him against people who had nicknamed him Mr. Softie. We can pretty much expect Miller to make the weekly list of three stars each week when I write this, barring the news that he robbed one of Buffalo's homeless shelters or something of the sort. Just figured I'd mention it now.
3. Tyler Ennis – I mentioned this in my Sabres preview, but Ennis played the last 10 games of the regular season last year and finished with nine points. He then chipped in four more in six playoff games. Not quite a point per game player, but pretty close. Well so far this season he's kept that pace up, with four assists in six games. Eventually it would be nice to see him score some goals, but assists are just as good in my book. Last season only four players finished with 50 or more points: Roy, Connolly, Pominville and Vanek. With that in mind, getting 50 or more from Ennis would be fantastic. In fact, that's my benchmark for the rookie. I know it seems like a lot, but I've got a feeling about this kid.
Three Duds:
1. Thomas Vanek – I feel bad when I'm hard on Thomas Vanek, mostly because I do think he's a good player and has a great amount of skill. I think what his problem is and has been for years is that he tries too hard, presses himself and ends up blowing multiple opportunities. Then he sits on the bench, beats himself up about it and presses even more. It's a vicious cycle and has been going on since the Sabres handed him his mega-deal and unfortunately for Thomas, it's going to continue.
So far in six games, Vanek has 2 points and a -3 rating. To put it nicely, that is garbage. If people are wondering why the Sabres are struggling to start out the season, lots of fingers can be pointed at #26. When you're the highest paid player on the team, yes he makes more than Miller, he needs to deliver. I don't expect Ovechkin or Crosby type numbers from Vanek, but he should be a point per game player at the very least. Anything less is underperforming in relation to the amount of money he makes. It's sad but true.
2. Tim Connolly – By the time the playoffs ended last season, I pretty much wanted to drop the gloves and beat the living crap out of Tim Connolly. Nobody exemplified more what was wrong with the Sabres. But then I figured having the summer off would be a nice way of refreshing my mindset and I'd be able to give him a solid 10 games to prove himself to me again.
(Keep in mind I was all for his contract extension at the time, now I would cut my own hand off to get rid of him)
So let's flash forward to this season. We're six games in and I was sick of Connolly five games ago. He does nothing for me and even worse, he does even less for the Sabres. I don't want to totally put this on him because he used to be a dynamic player, but the concussion he sustained in Ottawa was his downfall. I know he's physically healthy, but he will never the same player he was. I highly doubt the Sabres can unload him on any other team (although the Rangers were somehow able to rid themselves of Scott Gomez and Ales Kotalik), so it looks like we're stuck with Connolly for the rest of this year at the very least. At that point I fully expect the Sabres to walk away from him and let him sign elsewhere.
3. Tyler Myers – Everyone in Buffalo dreaded the potential sophomore slump and it appears to be strangling our Calder Trophy winner right now. Through the first six games, Myers has one assist and a -6 rating. I won't beat him up too much because I think he's still a very good player and will be for a very long time. This is only natural for second year players of almost any professional sport. I just hope be breaks out of the slump soon or the Sabres are in trouble. If this means making him a healthy scratch for a night, so be it.
The Week Ahead:
At Atlanta (10/20), vs Ottawa (10/22), at New Jersey (10/23), at Philadelphia (10/26)
See ya next week, where hopefully the Sabres aren't occupying the basement in the Northeast.
Labels:
Buffalo Sabres,
Derek Roy,
Ryan Miller,
Thomas Vanek,
Tim Connolly,
Tyler Ennis,
Tyler Myers
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