Sabres Prospect Camp Report at First Niagara Center

Here at the First Niagara Center where the prospect camp for the Sabres is taking place and 3 players have really caught not just my eye but the entire crowds and those people are, Former First Round Pick Zemgus Girgensons, 2013 second round pick from Buffalo Justin Bailey and 2013 first round pick Nikita Zadorov and for really good reasons. During the scrimmage Girgensons was all over the ice, making some key defensive plays and big hits plus he totally out played and skated fellow first round pick Mikhal Grigorenko as he tallied 1 goal and 2 assists plus a shoot out goal. He was fast, physical, and making plays on both ends of the ice which is why I personally think he is going to be in Buffalo for the entire year this year. Buffalo needs a third line center to go with Steve Ott and Girgensons is the perfect fit. I don't expect him to score a boat load of goals but the grit and smart defensive plays help give him chances in the offensive zone and brings a certain attitude to the team that Buffalo really could use right about now. Going over to first round pick defense men Nikita Zadorov, the dude can just simply hit! He came on the ice like a monster, he rallied 3 monstrous hits that got the crowd crazy! His big size is a great factor for Buffalo taking him but also he led a great offensive scoring play tallying a assist on the night, so his offensive ability is there. He showed unlike fellow first round pick Ristolainen the ability to limit turnovers and play smart, conservative defense but also contributing significantly in the offensive zone. Now lets get to the fan favorite, second round pick from Buffalo New York.....Justin Bailey. He was the best player on the ice, his speed was incredible along with his skating, he can really handle the puck plus he is a pretty big guy. Every time he touched the puck the crowd cheered and for the right reasons. The big play I saw was when Bailey totally destroyed the defense with a through the legs move then pushing the puck back to a wide open Nelson for the goal. The ability to make plays by yourself and with his speed and great touch with the puck might just get him on the roster for the Sabres, and if not this year than for sure next year. The crowd was impressive today here in downtown Buffalo and the Sabres are in good hands with their young prospects.

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Sabres Go Defense in First Round of Draft

Here at the Buffalo Sabres Draft Party at the First Niagara Center for a quick article report. The Buffalo Sabres have made two solid draft picks with the 8th overall pick and the 16th overall pick as they took two big defense men in Finnish Rasmus Ristolainien who is a 6'3 big checking defense men with great potential and will most likely be with Buffalo for the season and adds a great big presence to a smaller defense. With the 16th overall pick the Sabres selected another defense men and with this pick they selected Nikita Zadorov who is a 6'5 defense men with a really underrated offensive ability that will go really well with Ristolainien who is more like former Sabre Regher who is based on conservative defense. Zadrovo averaged around a point every other game before coming to the NHL so he has the ability to become some big with Buffalo. These two picks are going to really help the defense and it shows the Sabres are looking to go young as they also made a trade that just came in here at First Niagara center where they have just traded Andre Sekera for Jamie McBain and a second round pick from the Carolina Hurricanes which is a huge deal for the Sabres and yet very confusing for the Hurricanes as I believe McBain is a better player than Sekera but I guess they could use the more offensive defense men. As for right now the Sabres have taken a defensive approach in the draft which doesn't surprise me as they like what they have in their young prospects such as Mikhal Grigorenko, Zemgus Girgensons, Joel Armorea and many more that are starting the Sabres rebuilding project. For more Sabres and NHL Draft coverage go check out GetRealHockey.com!

Why Sabres Fans should be appreciative of this team

The Buffalo Sabres are marching back into the playoff race only a few points out. There are about 5 teams fighting for 2 spots with Sabres, Rangers, Islanders, Flyers, Jets all battling for the 8th and 7th spot and yet you still have Sabre fans screaming at the T.V. for the Sabres to lose. I don't know if people realize by now that there is pretty much no way the Sabres are going to be with a top 4 pick its just not going to happen with this team Mckinon will not be a Sabre and its about time all fans rally around this late push that has been very impressive. Miller has been playing lights out behind a week defense and our young players look good as well highlighting Defense man Zach Pysk has been solid with Pardy as his partner and Brian Flynn has 4 goals. GetRealHockey writer for the Sabres as well Ryan Womeldorf is on the side that the Sabres should give up on the season and get a higher pick. Not that its a wrong opinion but first off you can't expect the Sabres players to give up on the season with 2 wins away from a playoff spot do you? Buffalo has done this before in 2011 after the Derek Roy injury the Sabres rallied around Thomas Vanek to make a mad rush to seal a playoff seed at #7 in the East after starting off just as slow as the Sabres have now well the difference.....time. The NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to the lockout so the slow start will hurt in the end if the Sabres aren't playing in the post season but it is very impressive what they have been doing as of late. Darcy Regier made a big move at the NHL Trade Deadline dealing Captain Jason Pominville to the Wild for a 2013 1st rd pick, 2014 2nd rd pick, Goaltender Matt Hackett and Forward Johan Larsson who both played very well in their debut with the Rochester Americans, So they got younger and got 2 really good picks for a very good player who did a lot for this organization including the go ahead goal against the Senators in the 2nd round to advance to the eastern conference finals. Back to the fans, I am not attacking the fans but booing the Sabres at FN center right now isn't the best thing and yes they have a right too after the way the season has gone but giving up now does nothing to help this team. The Sabres have 8 games remaining with most teams that are battling with the Sabres for that spot including a game with the Islanders, Jets, and Flyers. To me you have to win 6 of the last 8 in order to make the playoffs with help as well.

Sabres end Penguins streak. What to expect from NHL Trade Deadline.

A good positive thing to look on this miserable season will be ending the Penguins 15 game win streak. Before I get to the game I'd like to just complement Darcy Regier on two good decisions trading D-Man Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regher for draft picks. This is exactly what we need to do to change and that's probably whats going to happen right before the deadline. The Sabres are going to be sellers and with a amazing win against the Penguins where Jason Pominville had a very good game he might be on his way out of Buffalo as well. I expect 2 more moves for the Sabres as they are most likely giving up (Front Office that is) on the playoffs even though they are only 3 points out. I am still hoping that Ott can rally the team to make one final push for the playoffs because if you can man handle the Penguins with Kevin Porter scoring two of the four goals when he hasn't scored a goal all year and having Miller play good can show what this team is capable of. The game started great for the Sabres who came out swinging and after Jason Pomminville stole the puck Kevin Porter sniped a beauty to put the Sabres up 1 well that lead didn't last long as newly traded Winger Jerome Iginla put it past Miller to tie the game. The Sabres would then strike back with Cody Hodgson taking advantage of Vokoun who fell and couldn't recover as CoHo rapped around to score. Buffalo wouldn't look back with Ott and Porter scoring to seal up the game. So the Sabres get some media attention ending the streak to the much hatted rival Penguins but its not the streak that matters its how we man handled the best team in the East this shows what this team is capable of as I already said but it's true and its time all Sabres fans try to look at both sides. You don't honestly believe the Sabres are going to stop trying and fail so they can get the first overall pick do you? At the same time though you know its most likely they are not making the playoffs there just isn't enough time in most peoples eyes (Except for mine). Well the deadline is tomorrow and its going to be very interesting to see what the Sabres do and who is off to another team. My prediction is Pominville is traded for a first rd pick hey if we could manage to get a first for Paul Gaustad then why not Pommers?

The Sabres are hot....Yes you heard that right.

Well that was a very quick turn of events, a couple games really made the difference for this Sabres club that now only stand 3 points behind the New York rangers for the 8th spot in the eastern conference. The Sabres are riding a 3 game win streak all division wins, 2 against the Canadiens and the other was a thriller against the Maple Leafs. What I'm seeing from the Sabres more than before is their will to win. All though that is a obvious thing you need to have in order to win, it just wasn't their with this Sabres team in the past weeks of the season which might be big in if the Sabres get in or not. Another bright spot in their win skid is their goaltender play. Ryan Miller has been having one of the worst seasons of is career but him and backup Jhonas Enroth have stolen a couple games for us including the last game against the Habs where Miller made 38 saves out of 39 saves including a big play on a breakaway robbing the Hab forward. I still can't believe how fast its turned the Sabres went from 15th all the way to 10th and a win behind the playoffs and then dropped to 12th without playing, that just shows how stacked the East is heck even the Islanders are right there (No disrespect Isles). Another thing that has been bugging me is and don't get me wrong I can totally understand this but it really gets to some Sabres fans when some fans have already given up and want the first overall pick. I totally understand that idea but to me the goal for every year is to win a Stanley cup thats why they wake up in the morning and put in all the dedication they do. Ryan Wolmerdof of getrealhockey.com the other Sabres writer made a fascinating point, if the Sabres make the playoffs they will most likely save Regier for another year and how good of a chance do we have at a Stanley cup. My response is all we need is a chance look at the Kings, yes we don't have some of the star power they had as a 8th seed but if we get in I think we can do some serious damage with our grit and toughness that we have shown this year. How bad do we want that 8th seed? Honestly I don't want it we need to go after the 7th and 6th seed because I won't lie, I am scared of the Pittsburgh Penguins but hey bring them on! At this point we are 6 points out of 7th, Not that bad for how we have played so it is a legitimate goal to get that spot or higher. Yes at one point we did have a serious chance at being the #1 pick but at this point already we are not that bad to get that pick so to me its all in for the playoffs, This city deserves some post season action as they have stuck by this team the whole season. I like how Ryan Miller put it in his post game press conference a few weeks back saying all we need is at the end of the season a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup, I loved hearing those two words out of a Sabre mouth (Stanley Cup) because that's the goal and not enough Sabres are looking at that but one that is and is the big reason we are in this is forward Steve Ott who believes in this team more than anyone to get in the playoffs and he has been huge for this organization. Sorry Derek Roy but we ripped Dallas in that trade, Hey I guess they owe us one after 1999....sorry still too soon? The Sabres take on Tampa Bay on Tuesday and will be big for both to stay in the playoff chase.

Sabres win thriller vs Toronto 5-4 in Shootout

What a game! The Sabres won a thriller at First Niagara Center 5-4 in a shootout against the Maple Leafs in a physical, gritty, high scoring game that was one of if not the best of the year. The game started off as it has usually this year for the Sabres. The Maple Leafs quickly got to a 2-0 lead in the first period as Miller was not on his A game really until late in the third period. The Arena was packed full of Sabres and Maple Leaf fans in which many brawls broke out in the arena. That shows the rivalry these two cities have in Hockey. The ice had some brawls as well in the first period John Scott dropped the gloves against Frazer Mclaren and boy was it a awesome fight both getting some huge ones in but Scott got the best of Frazer in the end getting him against the boards and unloading the guns. On the other side of the ice Patrick Kaleta was getting attacked by Colton Orr as Kaleta did not drop the gloves until the Refs came in and it was too late. Well that really got the crowd pumped. Tyler Ennis then made a nice effort goal to put the game within one. So the 2nd period rolls along, yes Sabres fans we all dread the feared second period which has been a nightmare for the Sabres this year and it started off just like that as Mikhail Grabovski scored under Miller to put the game at 3-1. Foligno really impressed me in this game with his puck possession. He threw the puck on net and made a great effort to keep digging and get the puck in to put it back again within one. Ehroff and Porter had the assists on the game and it was one of 3 points for Ehroff who had a great offensive game. More aggressive play came when Steve Ott had a bone crushing hit getting the crowd back into it. He was the big hero in this game but we will talk about that in a bit. Cody Hodgson and Pominville ran the offense into the zone and as Hodgson held the puck behind the net, Pommers drifted to the front of the net being put a perfect pass and put it between the pads of goaltender James Reimer. So now its tied heading into the third and I was very positive on how the Sabres were playing aggressive and disciplined hockey which they need to do more of and last night proved they are a tough team to play against. The Sabres went on the power play early in the third and 22 seconds in, D-man Christian Ehroff rocketed a shot from the point and in to put the Sabres up 4-3. Although the Sabres have been very weak at the defense, Ehroff has been the bright spot with 14 total points on the year which is 6th on the team and a team high +/- of 6. The Sabres went on the penalty kill later in the period, The Sabres were playing good zone D on the PK but after a shot from Franson at the point, Miller who was screened had no chance of seeing the puck and Nazem Kadri made a nice tip to tie up the game. So the game heads into OT and as bad as I wanted the regulation win as Toronto is 4 points ahead of Buffalo, a point is a point but the Sabres have struggled in extra time this year but this time it was different. Nobody could score in OT so it went to a shoot out where it took 3 skaters for the first goal when Tyler Bozak put it behind Miller to put the Leafs up 1. So its all down to the next Sabre skater who in my head I'm thinking either Vanek or Hodgson......Drew Stafford to the center of the ice....What? Well it seemed to pay off but it may have had a post ST. Patrick's  day luck as Stafford took the shot over Reimer who seemed to have made the save but no it trickled down Reimers back and into the net to tie the game. What luck well it got better, Steve Ott was up and came flying into the O-Zone at first I am thinking hes gonna over skate it but just as he is apporaching Reimer, he makes the right turn and puts the backhand in between Reimer's pad and the goal post Goal! Ott was the big player of the game to me with his physical play all game long and then the SO goal to win the game. Why isn't he Captain? No disrespect to Pominville but he doesn't seem like a vocal leader and Ott sure does. Anyway last up is former Buffalo Sabre Clarke Mcarthur who before did not have a goal ever in a shootout, well that continued as Miller made a nice save to end the game. The Sabres won it 5-4 in a shootout and are now only 4 points out of 8th the race for eight is on! Sorry for all you fans who wanted the first overall pick and to select Mikinon....well that's not what the Sabres have in mind. Regier before the game talked about possible trades including Vanek, Pommers, and Ryan Miller who have been with the team for a while. Hey I'm all for trading these guys but at the right price of course. Regier said trading a experienced for a unproven young skater is ideal for Buffalo but I don't wanna rush into getting rid of these guys who will be essential to the Sabres getting into the playoffs. Next up is a rematch between the divison rival Sabres vs Canadiens Saturday  at 7 and will be huge for the Sabres to go within a game of eight possibly.

Sabres fall in another close one 5-3 to the Caps

Well the hole is getting deeper and deeper. The Sabres traveled to the Capital of our country on a nationally televised game on NBC and what could of got worse really didn't get much better either. The Capitals capitalized quickly as Ovechkin scored only 19 seconds in to the game. Well here we go again most Sabres fans thought but the Sabres battled back with a nice goal from Cody Hodgson who notched in his 12th goal of the year. The remainder of the first period was a bit defensive and carried over to the 2nd until midway through the second, Washington's Jason Chimera and Marcus Johannsson scored less than a minute apart. Ugh......too many turnovers and Miller playing lazily out of position caused the Sabres to go down 3-1. The Sabres again battled back as a guy who has impressed me a lot in his short stint Brian Flynn put in his 3rd as a Sabre, His physical play in the offensive zone has really helped out the Sabres third line get some scoring production which really didn't have much before when Flynn was down in Rochester. The Sabres couldn't make the comeback as the Caps scored again and again the defense costly mistakes ends up killing them in the end. Cody Hodgson then again impressed with a nice goal from a Ennis and Pominville pass to get his 13th of the year. Like Flynn, Hodgson has been one of the few bright spots of the Sabres pretty bad season so far to say the least but his face offs last year were just plain awful. The Sabres are now 0-3-2 in their last 5 road games which the ability to not finish on the road in OT has been one of the reasons why they currently stand at 7 points behind the 8th place Hurricanes. Ryan Miller in the post game interview was clearly not happy saying "We knew we had to be ready coming off back to back have to be smart but got caught running around a bit in the second period again". He was agitated behind belief it seemed after every question then calling out Kaleta's comments on not playing in Sunday nights game. Saying he just needs to grow up. The Sabres next take on the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night at 7:30 ET and need to have a desperate type of play in order to turn this last final playoff push around.

Sabres get payback against the Rangers 3-1

Revenge is sweet isn't it? The Sabres get back on track after Tuesday nights win against the Rangers in Buffalo 3-1 which was a high physical tough great effort game for the Sabres. Jhonas Enroth continues his strong play only allowing 1 goal on 33 shots. He was poised and didn't get out of position a lot in the game allowing him to make the plays necessary to win it. The defense played good allowing Enroth to see the puck but still needs to be more physical in their own zone. The surprise hero of this one was Marcus Foligno who scored more goals in this game then he had all season long. Going in Foligno had 1 goal and 8 assists but his effort and play making has been there for the Sabres but just like Drew Stafford, its about finishing. Well Foligno did just that when he crashed the net putting the puck between his legs and putting it between Lunquist's pads. Then again Foligno's hard work in front of the net payed off when he striked a great goal in to get his third of the year. The Sabres now stand at 5 points behind the Rangers for the 8th spot with 21 games to go. Do the Sabres just go for the high draft pick? Do they go all in for the playoffs? Its been a case of hot vs cold this year for the Sabres. If they get on a solid winning streak these next 5 games, they can find themselves in a good position. You just want to be in it when it comes down to it that's all you can ask for right now in this short season and the Sabres are trying hard to do just that. Vanek notched his 14th goal on the year which is in the top 10 in the NHL and although he has cooled down as of late, he is the biggest reason the Sabres are not in dead last in the NHL. Brian Flynn again had a impressive game. He assisted on Foligno's second goal and played great defense applying the pressure on the offense and on Lunquist in the offensive zone. The Sabres get a break for the week until Saturday when they take on division rival Ottawa Senators in what will be a big game for the Sabres who since they won't be playing for a while might fall behind in the standings due to lack of games played. Miller is expected to start but you might see Enroth get some more games in if he continues to have the success he had in New Jersey and against the Rangers. After the game it was very interesting to see Head Coach John Torteralla of the Rangers have his traditional melt down on the press. He gave the Sabres no credit for their strong peformance saying they didn't play harder and "We sucked at the time you can't suck". So with that many Sabres fans are not happy but Torteralla but his comments are not much of a surprise. 

Sabres vs Rangers Preview

The Sabres continue their battle for a playoff spot tonight against the New York Rangers at First Niagara Center which will feature Jhonas Enroth vs Henrik Lunquist in another intense showdown. The last meeting between these two was at MSG which ended in a 3-2 shoot out loss for the Sabres. This time around the standings are quite a bit different, The Rangers now stand at 8th place with 28 points but the Sabres have dropped a lot now down to 21 points and 7 points out of the playoffs. As the Rangers are the competition for the Sabres in order to get to the playoffs tonight will be a huge game which will include hard nosed defense and tough physical play from both sides. Tyler Ennis will not play tonight due to a upper body injury he received against the Flyers last Sunday in Philadelphia. Matt Flynn has continued to impress the Sabres with 2 goals in the last 2 games which was expected as he has 16 goals and 16 assists totaling 32 points. The key matchup for tonight is the red hot Center for the Rangers Brad Richards vs the Sabres defense. Richards has 4 goals in the past week before only having 2 in 15 games. The Sabres defense has struggled this year but if they want to get to the playoffs, they will have to be more disciplined and physical in their own zone. The Sabres will be looking to see more out of winger Drew Stafford tonight who only has 2 goals and 8 assists on the season. Its not that Stafford hasn't had the opportunities to score because he has but the problem is finishing and that's why he only has 2 goals he has been at the net all year but just can't seem to fit the puck behind the goalie. The problem could be that he is taking to long to make a decision on where he wants to put the puck or that he just simply is being robbed by the goaltender but either way, the average 20 goal scorer a year needs to get going if the Sabres want to win and if he wants a job in Buffalo. The game kicks off in Buffalo at 7 PM on MSG Network.

Sabres Week Report

The Sabres have progressed. There are still some major issues with the defense but although the Sabres stand at 14th in the East they currently stand at 5 points out of the 8th and final spot. The Sabres fell to the Hurricanes 4-3 on Tuesday which was a high scoring game where the Sabres battled hard to get back from a 2-0 deffest but couldn't cash in at the end. Miller played solid for what his defense has been giving him which so far have been little to nothing. Hodgson did have a goal of the year candidate goal when he put the puck between his legs then put it under another defender and hit it under the Hurricane net minder. Thursday the Sabres looked to bounce back against the New Jersey Devils and were off to a great start. The first period was like it usually is between these to clubs, slow, defensive, and just plain boring. The bright spot was backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth who got his first action in over 12 games. He played stellar with 27 saves on 29 shots. Vanek scored a snipe from Tyler Ennis to take the lead and then a hard fought goal for rookie Brian Flynn who has played very well in his games with Buffalo this year. Late in the third period the Devils started getting some momentum back on their side when they put it within one from a goal awarded to Adam Henrique. The Sabres played good defense but then got caught in their own zone in the end and Enroth just couldn't hold on anymore allowing a goal to tie the game. Enroth was injured on the play and had to be taken out which was a disappointment as he played great. Miller looked rusty in OT and gave up 2 bad goals in the shoot out. The Sabres did get the hard earned point but of course finishing is the key. the Sabres take on Philly Sunday night and is huge as both are fighting for a playoff spot.

 

Sabres win wild one against Devils in shootout.

The Sabres have looked awful this season to say the least, but there has been some good improvement since Ron Rolston took over as head coach. The Sabres are riding a 3 game winning streak keeping them only 4 points out of the playoffs and as much as some fans want us to end with the #1 overall pick, this is looking like a change of things for this season. The Sabres started off great with a shorthanded goal for Pominville taking the  lead. Hodgson and Pominville played amazing Co Ho notching 2 assists and Pominville with two goals. A very chippy game it was with Ott and Kaleta really getting to the Devils skin. Kaleta drew a penalty when Kovalchuck hit him in the face during the game. The game was all tied up at 3 at the mid point of the third but the Devils were really applying the pressure in the Sabres zone. Miller made some key saves in the end to keep the game tied. The defense again had a sloppy performance but in particular Myers had another bad performance. He was at a -1 on the night and again had sloppy stick handling. In OT the Sabres were on a power play with only 24 seconds left and nearly put it in when Ehroff threw the puck on net having Pominville tipping it wide. Ennis and Henrique were scrapping at the end of OT after Ennis took a slap shot at the end of the period. The Sabres got back at Henrique in the shoot out when Pominville and Ennis scored but what was even more sweet was when Miller robbed Henrique at the end then trash talking when Henrique said "Next Time". The Sabres take on NY Rangers Sunday at MSG which will be a intense and important game for both teams who are fighting to get back into the playoff race.

The Lockout was less stressful than this

Well honestly......I miss Lindy Ruff. The Sabres have dropped both games post Ruff with new head coach Ron Rolston not doing anything different as Ruff if you thought that it couldn't get any worse after the Jets game last Tuesday night.....it did. The Sabres lost to the Maple leafs 3-1 which was again a effortless game for the Sabres who have been showing no effort this season and honestly, Darcy Regier needs to make some serious changes and I mean now. The Sabres should have kept rookie Grigorenko down in Juniors as he clearly has not been used at all this season wasting a year on his rookie contract. The Sabres then came back home looking to start fresh against a struggling Islanders team and got absolutely stomped. As you can see my attitude toward this team is like most fans......very very mad. The defense before the season to me was our strong spot but it has been absolutely awful and other than Vanek this year I have been not impressed with everybody else. Miller was clearly just as upset as us against the Islanders when at the end of the game he dropped the gloves and attacked a Islander forward who hit him in front of the net. I just don't know what this team can do to turn this around, honestly I already think this is a lost cause. The Sabres take on the Lighting Tuesday night and if the same performance as last game occurs, the city of Buffalo will be up in arms.

Era ends in Buffalo. Sabres fire Lindy Ruff

Surprised but not surprised was the thoughts of most Sabres fans. The Sabres have been on the downhill since their Eastern Conference finals appearances and finally the Sabres front office came to their senses and fired head coach Lindy Ruff. Darcy Regier in a emotional press conference said at the end the decision was his and not owner Terry Pegula's. Lindy Ruff was the longest tenured coach in the NHL from 1997-2013 but the Sabres have only made the playoffs 6 of the last 10  years and Ruff's philosophy was not getting to the players anymore, they just weren't buying in anymore. The Sabres stand at 6-10-1 right now so clearly change had to be made but I don't think anyone believed that this day would actually come where Darcy Regier who said as long as he is GM Ruff will be his head coach finally ended a 14 year era in Buffalo. Ron Rolston the head coach for the Rochester Americans will take over as intern head coach for the rest of the year while Darcy looks for his future head coach. Many names have come up perhaps the biggest one is hall of fame goaltender Patrick Roy who coached Sabres rookie Mikhal Grigerenko in juniors where Grigerenko scored 40 goals. Lindy Ruff made his mark on the Sabres brining them to 4 eastern conference finals appearances as well as one Stanley Cup in 1999 where the famous "No Goal" ended the Sabres cup dreams. The Sabres have not won a playoff series since 2007 so the decision was obvious but watching the Sabres growing up as always been listening to Rick Jeanneret and seeing Lindy behind the bench so it will be different to see someone else there but this change was needed and could get the stale taste out of the players mouth and attempt to make a run at the playoffs.

Sabres fall to Flyers on Hockey Day in America

The Sabres took on the Penguins Sunday at noon and it was the most hard working tough fought full 60 minute game I have seen from the Sabres in a while, but the outcome was again the same as it has been for most of this early season....a loss. The Sabres early on looked dreadful giving up 2 goals in the first 2 minutes. The Penguins just got off rolling and the Sabres were not ready to go. They did fight back though later in the first Christian Ehroff fired a rocket shot towards the net and off a juicy rebound Cody Hodgson put it in. The second period was probably the best for the Sabres all year with a ton of chances and Ryan Miller playing lights out like he did all game totaling 31 saves. Another great play by Christian Ehroff off another rocket wrist shot went to the net looking to go wide but Vanek was in the right place in front of the net re directing the puck into the net to tie up the game. The goal put Vanek at 12 which is the most in the league as well as points. Ehroff looked great the whole game finishing with 2 key assists. The third period was just as exciting as the second and in the tied game, the Sabres struck first. Nathan Gerbe made an amazing play skating fast towards the net but then stopping throwing the puck on net which was tipped by Hecht directing the puck to Steve Ott who snapped the shot into the net to put the Sabres up 3-2 with about 14 minutes to go. As the year has gone when the Sabres score it seems not to last very long as the same in this case. 2 minutes later the Sabres couldn't seem to get the puck out of their zone which bit them when Pascal Dupuis took a slap shot which Miller had no chance of seeing or stopping tying the game at 3. The game continued to have their chances including Marcus Foligno storming to the net as well as Ennis who took a close shot that deflected off Fleury's pad then shot again by Foligno who got attacked in front of the net after the play. Who would strike first in this high offensive game well with about 3 minutes left the same problems as before kept hurting the Sabres which was penalty killing when we were not short handed. Paul Martin from the point caught the puck taking a wild shot past Miller who was being screened by about  3 skaters going top shelf to put the Penguins up 4-3 with 3 minutes left and they kept the lead to win the game. The Sabres are now 6-9-1 standing at 13 points 11th in the east, these struggles are not seeming to be fixed but the Sabres are playing with more effort and toughness which eventually will lead to Ws. The Sabres next take on the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg Tuesday night. The high flying offense of the Jets will need to be slowed down by the Sabres defense and take less time in your own zone and more in the offensive zone in order for the Sabres to win this game.

Sabres win a wild one against the Bruins

The Sabres came into first niagara center knowing that a win was desperately needed against the Bruins to hang in the standings. The Sabres did exactly that but it was far from easy. The Sabres struck first in the first period when Tyler Ennis found Drew Stafford in front of the net with a rocket to score his first goal. That was Stafford's first of the year and he needed that. Miller played solid in net all game but the second period was probably the worst period of the season when the Sabres just sat back in their zone almost the entire period giving up 2 goals to go down 2-1 heading into the third period. The Stafford, Foligno, Ennis line played great in the game with Ennis notching 2 points as well as Stafford and Foligno had an assist on the Stafford goal. Earlier in the year Lindy Ruff seperated the 3 as they were not playing as electric as they were in the end of the previous season but boy have they got going. The third period was completely different then the first two as the Sabres came out fast and got a lot of chances. Tyler Myers tied the game up with a great goal off a Hecht shot rebound and Myers put it in to tie it up. Myers had a very good game with 2 points and a plus 2. He played punishing defense including a huge hit on former Sabre Daniel Paille. This is the type of play the Sabres are going to need to see from Myers if they want to have any chance of getting in the playoffs. Christian Ehroff then put in the game winning goal with 11 minutes to go off a great rush ran by Stafford who shot the puck on net bouncing off the goalie back to the middle of the zone where Ehroff took a great off balance wrist shot to put it in. As bad as the Sabres defense has been this year Ehroff has been the one bright spot. He has 8 points this year with 2 goals and 6 assists. The Bruins just couldn't seem to get it going in the third period only shotting the puck on net 3 times. Cody Hodgson then put the game away when Tyler Myers made a great play getting through the defenders throwing the puck on net where Hodgson deflected the shot to put the game on ice. Hodgson has really played well this year with 6 goals and 7 assists, he is really forming into that #1 Center the Sabre have been looking for since Briere and Drury left. The Sabres may not be winning all that many games this year but they really know how to take care of the Bruins who's only two regular season losses are against the Sabres. Sabres take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Hockey day in America Sunday on NBC and this game will be just as important as the Bruins one.

Sabres shut out of Ottawa 2-0

The fans are saying those two big words again that seem to have come up every year lately with the Sabres struggles, "Fire Ruff". The Sabres got shut out 2-0 against the Senators falling to 0-2 on the year against the Sens and 5-8-1 on the year with 11 points which puts them 3 points out of a playoff spot. Another tough outing for the Defense and the Offense which just cannot seem to find scoring outside the Vanek, Pominville, Hodgson line. The first period actually wasn't bad for the Sabres getting a lot of scoring chances but just could not capitilize on Anderson who is playing the best goalie of anybody in the league. Drew Stafford had 2 wide open opportunities to score but fanned on both. Stafford as 0 goals this year and 5 assists which is making fans dissapointed  and angry at the same time. Everyone knows the skill is there and hes been in the right spot but finishing has been his issue this year and is why he has not put one behind the goaltender this year. The Defense did not look all too bad but again too many little mistakes and too much time being spent in their own zone. Miller had another strong performance but the inability to generate offense in the past 3 games is why his strong outings of come up short. The problem to me as well as most fans is Lindy Ruff. He is not fixing the mistakes that keep on occurring game in and game out. His problem is adjustments, switching up the first line is a must as they need to balance out the scoring or else these losses will keep on coming. Tyler Ennis has 5 goals this year the most out of anyone else not on the second line. Behind him is defensman Alex Sulzer with 3. I have been watching rookie center Mikhail Grigerenko very closely this year, he has made a lot of chances with non play makers like Steve Ott and Jochen Hecht but again Ruff is not putting him with high offensive talent and is the reason why he has 1 goal and 2 assists. His ice time has been down lately but yet everytime he is out there he finds great chances to score and thats the problem. Those chances are not becoming goals unless it is MR. Thomas Vanek. If Lindy Ruff does not make adjustments soon and get some Ws for the Sabres, the fans will be calling for a new coach but with Darcy Regeir as GM, it just won't happen.

Sabres defeat Islanders 3-2 thanks to over 40 saves for Ryan Miller

The Sabres played yet another very sloppy game in New York Saturday when they stole a victory against the Islanders 3-2. Thomas Vanek again continued his MVP type performance so far this season notching another goal and a assist. He now has 11 goals and 12 assists on the year putting him first in the NHL in goals and points. Cody Hodgson had another impressive performance putting up 2 assists which puts him at 12 points on the year. When the Sabres made the trade for Hodgson last year sending Kassian to Vancouver as well as Gragnaini for Alex Sulzer I was a bit skeptical on how fast they gave up on Kassian but now that I am watching how well Hodgson has played with Vanek and Pominville, its worked out for both the Sabres and Canucks. Alex Sulzer scored the go ahead game winning goal 7 minutes into the 3rd period when he sniped a shot from the point from a pass from Steve Ott as rookie center Mikhail Grigorenko was perfectly screening goaltender Evgeni Nabakov to put the puck in. The Sabres were totally dominated in shots as the Islanders had 45 shots on goal compared to the Sabres whopping 15 but the difference was Ryan Miller. Miller was outstanding saving 43 shots including two clutch saves on a breakaway from Tavares and an amazing save on a penalty shot with about 4 minutes left in the third period. The Sabres defense was again terrible, Tyler Myers was a healthy scratch and in place of him was Andre Sekera who played pretty well but everyone else was again sloppy. Ehroff had a great goal to put the Sabres up 2-1 but was bad in his own zone causing the penalty shot for tripping as well as a couple penalties. Alex Sulzer played great in the offense zone scoring his third of the year but even he was outmatched physically in the defensive zone. The Sabres have their work cut out for them but for now they will take the 2 points and move on to take on the Boston Bruins Sunday night at First Niagara Center in Buffalo. The Sabres currently stand at 10th in the east with 11 points and a win tonight could put them right back into the playoffs.