Many Buffalo Sabres season-ticket holders have been frustrated, disappointed and downright disgusted with their team’s play at HSBC Arena.

The Sabres home record currently stands at 0-4-1, with the team being outscored 17-9 in those contests. It is because of this very poor start at home that the Sabres are currently in 12th place in the Eastern Conference.

The team’s play away from home however, has been stellar, earning a 3-1 record. The Sabres have outscored their road opponents 15-7 in those four games.

It is a mystery as to why the Sabres seem to skate to relatively easy wins during these road games, but fail to generate the same type of play and excitement at home.

This week, the Sabres embark on a series of three road games, starting Tuesday night at Philadelphia. The Sabres then round out the mini road trip with games at Atlanta on Friday and then Dallas the night after.

Both Philadelphia and Atlanta are tied with the Sabres in points with seven, so the Sabres could gain some ground in the Eastern Conference race with a good showing this week.

At home, the Sabres have seemed to feel the pressure and the high expectations that have been present since the start of the season.

After all, the team did win the Northeast Division title last year, and their early success in that season was reflected in the standings at the end of the year.

In the first nine games of last season, the Sabres’ record was 7-1-1, compared to 3-5-1 this season. In the long run, a division title means nothing if compared to the lackluster effort in the playoffs shown last season.

If this means that the Sabres will peak come playoff time, then it is easier to swallow these early-season struggles.

However, in order to play in peak condition in the playoffs, they have to claim a top eight spot in the Eastern Conference first.

The Sabres could potentially see the return of winger Jason Pominville, who is recovering very nicely from his concussion. According to WGR 550 in Buffalo, Pominville is hoping to be ready by the weekend.

Defenseman Shaone Morrisonn is still out with a groin injury, but has been going through a full practice. Chris Butler, who has played well in his stead, will continue to patrol the blue line for the near future.

Craig Rivet, who did not play in the 6-1 win over the Devils, looks like he will play against the Flyers.

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Vanek scores twice, Sabres earn two points in 6-1 victory over New Jersey

What a difference 10 days can make. Last Wednesday, the Sabres were shutout 1-0 by the Devils. On Saturday night, Buffalo went into New Jersey and made it look easy, winning 6-1 at the Prudential Center.

Martin Brodeur was expected to get the night off, since the the Devils were playing three games in four nights. Then, shortly before the game, it was announced the Ilya Kovalchuk was a healthy scratch.

The Sabres certainly took advantage of that. Buffalo scored early and continued to pour it on throughout the game, embarrassing the Devils in their own arena.

Johan Hedberg, who made his first start for the Devils, came into the game with 12 wins in 16 career games against Buffalo. After allowing four goals on 15 shots, he was replaced by Brodeur, who allowed two more goals.

The Devils dropped to 0-4-1 on home ice and the Sabres earned their third win on the road.

Craig Rivet did not play after injuring his shoulder in Friday’s game against Ottawa. That allowed Mike Weber to see his first action of the season.

Thomas Vanek scored the final two goals of the game for the Sabres, raising his total to three on the season. Patrick Kaleta found his first of the season after putting home a rebound.

Ryan Miller’s shutout was ended with a goal by Zach Parise in the third period. Miller finished with 26-of-27 saves on the night.

It was hard to notice Weber, especially with all of the scoring going on. He played decent, but there was nothing too impressive. Weber may not get a chance to play next week. Rivet could be back from his shoulder injury.  Shaone Morrisonn and Jason Pominville are both not far from returning either.

It is still weird seeing Henrik Tallinder and Adam Mair on New Jersey. Tallinder had a tough game (as did most of the team), but he turned over the puck a few times, gift-wrapping a couple Sabres goals.

The Sabres played well tonight and the Devils didn’t. It’s as simple as that. New Jersey has been struggling to score goals, and they decide to scratch Kovalchuk? That doesn’t make sense. New Jersey has now only scored two goals against Buffalo this season.

This game should give Buffalo some momentum, but I said the same thing about the win over Atlanta.

Buffalo will head to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Tuesday. That game will be on Versus.

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Friday proved to be just another frustrating night for the Buffalo Sabres and its fans. Ottawa defeated the Sabres 4-2 in front of the HSBC Arena crowd.

Daniel Alfredsson continued his tear against the Buffalo Sabres, scoring three times and earning his 1,000 career point.

Alfredsson came into the game with just one goal and four assists on the season, but had a hat trick and led the Senators to their second victory of the season. He now has 22 points in his last 11 visits to HSBC arena, along with 81 points in 78 career games against Buffalo.

Brian Elliot, who made 34 saves, improved his lifetime record against the Sabres to 9-0.

The Sabres trailed by a goal three different times during the game, but were unable to tie it up in the third period. Despite 20 shots on goal in the third, and 36 overall, Buffalo couldn’t get the tying goal, although they showed a solid effort.

Tim Connolly scored both goals for the Sabres, but Buffalo turned the puck over too many times. The first three Ottawa goals came as a result of direct giveaways by Buffalo.

After Steve Montador failed to get the puck out of the zone while short-handed, the Senators took advantage. Alfredsson tipped a shot that beat Ryan Miller, giving Ottawa a 1-0 lead.

Ottawa’s second goal also came off a Buffalo turnover. Tyler Myers was stripped of the puck behind the net, and Ryan Shannon put the Senators back on top.

Connolly gave the puck away inside the Ottawa zone, and the Senators came down on a two-on-one. Alfredsson blasted the shot past Miller, giving his team its third lead of the night.

The turnovers are what lost this game for Buffalo. If the Sabres would have played the whole game as they did in the third, they probably would have won.

Steve Montador dampened any chance of tying the game in the third by taking an interference penalty. However, there was a good chance he helped save a goal since the Buffalo net was empty.

Now the Sabres have to head to New Jersey to take on the Devils, who are coming off of a 3-0 shutout against Montreal on Thursday.

The Sabres dropped to 0-5 at home this season and last in the Northeast Division. How much longer is this going to last? Or are the Sabres really not that good a team?

Post a comment below with your thoughts.

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The excitement about the Buffalo Sabres that was as high as the clouds at the start of the season is now basically at ground level. Last season’s Northeast division championship and a very impressive preseason had every Sabres‘ fan pumped up. However a 1-4-1 record now has Sabre Nation with its collective finger as close to the panic button as it can get.

Nearly every fan has their reasons for Buffalo’s dreadful start. “The power play is worse than last season”, “their defensive play has been shoddy”, “Tim Connolly’s career is done”, “Regier didn’t add enough new pieces to the roster.” Some of these statements are true and some are definitely not.

Sniper Thomas Vanek and second-year defenseman Tyler Myers are two reason why the Buffalo Sabres have stalled out of the gate. Vanek has scored a total of exactly ZERO goals and Myers is a league worst -7. Both of these players need to get it together quickly.

There is one reason that is being thrown around by not only fans but also by sports writers in Buffalo, that I disagree with 110 percent. That reason being that the players do not listen to head coach Lindy Ruff‘s message. To quote the aforementioned Ruff from an interview earlier this week on WGR 550 in Buffalo, “That is a load of crap.” I couldn’t say it better myself except that I would have used some more colorful language.

The thought that the Buffalo Sabres are not hearing or listening to Lindy Ruff’s message is way off. Ruff, who has been behind the bench in Buffalo since 1997, is the best coach in the NHL and in my opinion, one of the best coaches in sports today. One of the main reasons for this is because Ruff gets his message across every time and therein lies one of the reasons for the Buffalo Sabres sluggish start.

Year after year, season after season, bench boss Lindy Ruff gets his team ready to compete. Ruff has had loads of success as the coach of the Buffalo Sabres. During Ruff’s tenure, which has seen him win 484 games, there have been over 150 coaching changes in the NHL. Ruff has taken the Sabres to four Eastern Conference Finals and one Stanley Cup Final.

The players listen to every word that comes out of Ruff’s mouth. The problem is that sometimes they take him too seriously. In the past when Ruff has spoken about playing better defense the team ends up going through scoring slumps and when he preaches more offense the Sabres seem to forget about their own end of the rink.

Prior the start of this season, Lindy Ruff said over and over again that the Buffalo Sabres were Stanley Cup contenders. This statement is not false. I believe that they were Stanley Cup contenders last season also. I understand that things went wrong and certain players disappeared in the first round loss to the rival Boston Bruins. However, injuries to Jochen Hecht, Tim Connolly and Thomas Vanek were just too much for the Sabres to overcome. Entering this season the Sabres had all of three of those players back, the world’s best goaltender Ryan Miller was returning, Calder Trophy winning phenom Tyler Myers was back, and several new pieces including cup winning veteran Rob Neidermayer were added. So its understandable to see why Ruff thinks that they are Stanley Cup contenders and this group of Sabres understood it also.

However, from their slow start, it seems like the players thought they already had the Cup won. They believed the message that Ruff was feeding them and they rolled into Ottawa on opening night and beat the Senators. That feat has not happened much over the past few seasons. That win got them brimming with confidence as they returned home to HSBC Arena for a four game homestand. They wanted to impress the Buffalo faithful and they got away from the system that Ruff preaches. Things started to go downhill quickly as the Sabres were trounced by the New York Rangers 6-3 in the home opener. The Sabres have not recovered from that loss yet. They looked much better in a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks last Saturday, but a loss is still a loss. It is certainly not time to panic yet but there is reason to be concerned.

This group of Sabres needs to show that they have matured by taking what Lindy Ruff says and watering it down a bit in their minds. When Ruff tells them to tighten up defensively he does not mean to stop creating offense, when Ruff talks about scoring more goals they can not forget that they have their own net that can be scored on as well, and when head coach Lindy Ruff says that the Buffalo Sabres are Stanley Cup contenders it does not at all mean that their names are already on the thing. It means that Ruff believes in them and that if the Sabres put in the hard work each and every night and a little luck accompanies them that the Stanley Cup is a realistic goal.

So wake up Sabres and start playing the way that led you to a division title last season, so that us fans can put the panic button back up on the shelf to collect some more dust.

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The Buffalo Sabres are off to one of the worst starts in recent memory with a 1-4-1 record, with the only win coming in the first game of the season against the Ottawa Senators. In the first six games last season, the Sabres were 4-1-1. One of the main reasons for the poor record has been the substandard play of reigning Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Tyler Myers.

Tyler Myers was by far the Buffalo Sabres’ best defenseman last season. He had 11 goals and 48 points as a rookie while playing all 82 games. The fans and coaches alike were very pleased with his composure and confidence to be able to jump up into the offensive play while locking things down in his own end.

This year has been a different story thus far for Myers. In his first six games as a rookie, he had one goal and four points and was a plus-five. In his first six games he only has one assist and is an NHL-worst minus-seven.

There are many reasons why Myers is performing this poorly. One could say that the departure of his defensive partner Henrik Tallinder last offseason has an effect.  

Another could be that opposing teams have figured out how to play Myers and his long reach while entering the offensive zone and forechecking. Myers has visibly been shaky and indecisive on the ice when handling the puck. Darcy Regier was quoted in an interview on WGR550 in Buffalo that perhaps Myers is “doubting that the first play is the best play.”

Myers has the right mentality to get out of this slump. He has shown that he is a grounded individual throughout last season. Before he turns six games of poor play into an entire season of mediocrity, he needs to simplify his game. The groin injury to his defensive partner to start the year, Shaone Morrisonn, does not help matters however.

As much as it is publicized that the Buffalo Sabres rely on goaltender Ryan Miller too much, the play of Tyler Myers is equally important. Covering in the defensive zone is his first priority, but with the Sabres struggling to score goals and losing one-goal games, Myers’ offensive skills need to translate into points to help him and his team out of this early season rut.

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Prepare for a blood bath Saturday night when the Buffalo Sabres travel to Chicago to play the Blackhawks. Maybe that is what the NHL wanted.

Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Blackhawks was officially suspended for two games by the NHL for a hit on Buffalo’s Jason Pominville during Monday’s game in Buffalo.

Conveniently for the NHL, his two game suspension ends on Saturday when the Buffalo Sabres come to town.

Pominville suffered a concussion and received stitches above his left eye after his head hit the glass. Many of the Sabres feel that the two game suspension is not sufficient to the damage he caused.

”If I had to play commissioner, I would have went more,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told the Buffalo News. ”Two games isn’t a long time sitting in their case. They play a couple games this week and it’s over in three days.”

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller said, “You can’t have a hit like that, it’s dangerous. I’m glad he admitted he didn’t mean to do it. But you’ve got to change the culture some time, and I hope the league wakes up and sets a precedent for the year.”

Patrick Kaleta of the Sabres wants to take it into his own hands, ”It’ll get taken care of either with the league or I think we play them Saturday, so we’ll make a point that you can’t be taking hits like that against one of our leaders and one of the better players on our team.”

There is no doubting the NHL is a dangerous sport, and even as a Sabres fan, looking at the hit I have seen much worse.

The fact is this was a hit Hjalmarsson did not have to take, but that is hockey. Now the Chicago Blackhawks have to deal with the Buffalo Sabres coming to town looking for his or anyone’s head on a platter.

While the Sabres may down play the revenge factor, it is something like this that can bring a team together and create that chemistry that is needed for the season.

More importantly, shame on the NHL for allowing this to happen.

This is not the MMA or Boxing, this is the National Hockey League. For someone not to look and see that they play the Sabres when Hjalmarsson comes back is unforgivable.

It makes it obvious that the NHL wanted this to happen as they continue to struggle for ratings with the NFL season and MLB postseason.

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If the NHL season ended today the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy would not be awarded to Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby or even the Sedin twins, it would be handed to Buffalo‘s Derek Roy.

Now I understand that the season is only a week old, but the speedy Roy has picked up right where the preseason left off. During the preseason Derek Roy registered 10 points, and he did not even dress for all six of the Sabres‘ games. That success has carried over to regular season action for the creative center. Roy is tied for the league lead with five points and leads all players with four goals on the season so far.

Roy, for the most part, singlehandedly won Buffalo’s season opener against the rival Ottawa Senators with two goals. The first coming in highlight fashion.

One of the biggest questions coming into the 2010-2011 campaign was who was going to step up and be the No. 1 center for the Buffalo Sabres? It is safe to say that Derek Roy is answering that question very quickly.

Sabres general manager Darcy Regier has repeatedly said that he thinks that Derek Roy and Tim Connolly are both top-20 centers. The verdict is still out on both of the Sabres pivots but Roy is starting to show that Regier’s opinion may be truth when it comes to No. 9. Roy is showing that he is maturing with age into the top center that Buffalo needs so badly.

The Sabres fell to 1-2 with Monday night’s 4-3 loss to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks. Buffalo got off to a blazing start with two goals, one from Roy, in the first three minutes of the game. However, the blue and gold could not recover from the blindsided hit to forward and fan favorite Jason Pominville in the late stages of the first period. The vicious hit from behind delivered by defenseman Nick Hjalmarson knocked Pominville from the Buffalo lineup indefinitely.

Tonight the understaffed New Jersey Devils roll into HSBC Arena still looking for their first win of the season. It’s time to rally around the Pominville injury and get this season back on track. Derek Roy beat the rest of the Sabres off the starting line. If Miller and Co. can follow his example and catch up to Roy then they will beat the Devils and many other teams this season.

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With 5:46 to go in the first period with the Buffalo Sabres leading the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1, Sabres’ defenseman Andrej Sekera chipped the puck up the boards to Jason Pominville for the winger to clear the zone. Before the puck reached Pominville, Blackhawks’ defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson plastered him against the glass. Pominville’s head snapped against the glass and he crumpled to the ice.

Tim Connolly immediately jumped on Hjalmarsson in retaliation for the hit on his linemate. Pominville was taken off the ice with a stretcher. He did not go to the hospital, but he was diagnosed with a concussion, and he had a cut on his forehead. Hjalmarsson was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct. However, the Sabres did not score on the ensuing five-minute power play. The Sabres seemed to never recover from the shock, as they eventually lost the game 4-3.

In an interview on WGR 550 in Buffalo, Sabres’ head coach Lindy Ruff said that Pominville will miss at least a week, as the protocol on concussions states that a player must be symptom-free for at least seven days before returning to the ice.

Pominville will miss a game for the first time in 336 straight games, which was the fifth-longest active streak in the NHL. He has played all 82 games of the regular season for four straight seasons. Pominville is also one of the leaders in the locker room, and Connolly after the game was visibly shaken when giving a post-game interview. Connolly and Pominville have been teammates for five years, and have often played on the same line.

With Pominville out of the lineup for at least a week, Ruff will most likely insert Nathan Gerbe into the lineup, and will immediately be asked to compensate for Pominville’s lost offensive production. Gerbe definitely has the ability to score goals, but he will not be utilized on the penalty kill due to his suspect defensive game.

The Sabres need some spark to jump-start their lackluster play so far this season. They have lost both of their games at home and have surrendered a total of 10 goals in those two games. The Sabres next play Wednesday at home against the New Jersey Devils, who are still dealing with salary cap issues because of the Ilya Kovalchuk deal. The Sabres round out the week at home against the Montreal Canadiens on Friday night, and then face the Chicago Blackhawks on the road on Saturday.

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The Buffalo Sabres’ season opener was a very positive beginning for the start of the Sabres’ 40th anniversary season. The team picked up from last year’s 5-2 win against Ottawa to defeat the Senators on the road 2-1, with Derek Roy scoring both of the goals and Ryan Miller playing strong in net.

The Sabres’ home opener was a different story. Although the team raised their Northeast Division Champions banner, in the game, they were outplayed by the New York Rangers to a score of 6-3. The Sabres did not look like they were defending a division title, and many fans left for the exits early.

Here are some of my thoughts after watching the two games.

Derek Roy has been the best forward through two games, with three goals. He is playing a smart game, and has also been solid defensively. He has picked up right where he left off in the preseason where he had 10 points in five games. An honorable mention goes to rookie Tyler Ennis, with three assists.

Tyler Myers has played a subpar two games, with the game against the Rangers to be one to forget. Myers is a minus-3, and had a goal go off his skate to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead Saturday night. The low point of Myers’ game was when he fell behind the Sabre net that led directly to another Ranger goal. Myers has one assist in the two games, but if he keeps playing like he has so far this season, a sophomore slump could be on the horizon.

Jordan Leopold had a great offensive game against the Rangers with two goals and three points in the game. However, against Ottawa he was out-muscled for a puck along the wall that set up a two-on-one that led to a tap-in goal for the Senators. He is not a shut down defenseman by any means, but he has a cannon from the point.

Craig Rivet has looked very slow in the two games. It still looks like he is injured, but he and Lindy Ruff claim that he is 100 percent. He almost got beat to the puck on a number of icing calls when he had been in a far better position. It would be a surprise if Ruff strips Rivet of the captaincy if his play continues to regress, but he could see his ice time cut severely if he keeps this up.

The checking line of Jochen Hecht, Rob Niedermayer, and Mike Grier, is really solid. They were matched up against the Daniel Alfredsson line in Ottawa, and shut that line down. They were also on the ice in the final minute defending a lead on a six-on-four advantage. They have also created some great offensive chances.

The Sabres are 2-for-10 on the power play, and perfect on the penalty kill. They have scored on the power play in each game. Through two games the special teams have been pretty good.

If you want more thoughts, as well as updates on the Sabres, follow my Twitter @RichLunghino.

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he Buffalo Sabres will begin the 82-game-long season tonight with an opponent who seemed to have their number for the past five years.  

The Sabres hope to change their fortunes against the Ottawa Senators in game one.

Since the end of the NHL lockout, the Senators are 25-7-4 against the Sabres.  

However, the Sabres won the last time these two teams met. Thomas Vanek, returning from one of many injuries he suffered last season, scorched the Senators for four goals.  

It’s a new season, however, and last season doesn’t really matter.

 

BUFFALO

The Sabres bring back more of the same roster that exited the playoffs in Round One last year.  

This team is certainly hungry for more, and players on the team insist they are ready to make a run for the Cup. With the additions of Jordan Leopold and Shaone Morrisonn to their defense, going along with the veteran addition of Rob Niedermayer, they may be right.  

Ryan Miller hopes to carry his success over from last season into this season. Not surprisingly, the Vezina Trophy winner will start tonight.

OTTAWA

The Senators bring in a new face of their own, signing defenseman Sergei Gonchar on the first day of free agency over the summer.  

The Senators hope that Gonchar will be a capable power-play quarterback. The Senators Twitter feed reports that Pascal LeClaire will be the starting goalie for the Senators.    

 

INJURIES

The Sabres have no injuries to report.  C Jason Spezza will be a game-time decision; D Philip Kuba is out with a broken leg.   

 

SCRATCHES

F Nathan Gerbe, D Chris Butler, and D Mike Weber are scratched for the Sabres.

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