A hat trick, seven goals, win No. 200 and a clinched playoff spot.
All in all, a good night for the Buffalo Sabres.
With a 7-1 blitzing of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Buffalo clinched a playoff berth for the first time in three seasons. After a tough loss to the Ottawa Senators Friday night, Buffalo roared back Saturday at HSBC Arena.
Buffalo experienced deja vu. Tampa Bay experienced a recurring nightmare.
Reminiscent of the game played just nine days earlier, Buffalo’s offense exploded. A hat trick registered, a goaltender chased.
Derek Roy notched his fourth NHL hat trick, Buffalo scored three goals with the man advantage and Patrick Lalime made 22 saves for his 200th NHL win.
Without points leader Tim Connolly or agitator-extraordinaire Patrick Kaleta in the lineup, Buffalo was forced to dress seven defensemen and 11 forwards, including Portland Pirate Tyler Ennis.
Buffalo didn’t miss a beat.
The Sabres chased Lightning goaltender Antero Nittymaki after he gave up three goals, one coming on even strength and two on the power play. Backup Mike Smith didn’t fare much better. They combined to save just 16 of 23 shots.
Officials tossed Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier in the first period after he speared Tim Kennedy, giving Buffalo five minutes on the man advantage. Unlike Friday night, Buffalo capitalized. Derek Roy and Jochen Hecht scored 50 seconds apart and the onslaught continued.
Over the course of the game, 14 different Sabres registered at least a point. Ennis, playing in his first game since Nov. 14 in Philadelphia, recorded two assists. More importantly, he impressed with his smooth-as-butter stick-handling, explosive speed and slick playmaking.
Lalime has waited for this win since Dec. 29 against Pittsburgh. Going 0-4-1 in that span, some confidence is all he needed.
With his teammates doing their jobs, Lalime did his. He stopped 22 shots, including a few point-blank rips from the slot.
Paul Gaustad, Jochen Hecht, Jason Pominville and Adam Mair each lit the lamp for the Sabres. Hecht and Roy each hit the 20-goal mark and Pominville registered his 300th NHL point.
The march to the playoffs continues. All Buffalo needed was a little confidence booster. With eight games remaining and the playoff opponent still a mystery, the Sabres are flying high.
Perfect timing.
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The Buffalo Sabres better start praying to the hockey gods that they don’t get matched up with the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs.
After a 4-2 loss to the Sens on Friday night, Buffalo dropped to 0-4-1 this season against their Northeast Division rivals.
They have been outscored 18-9 by Ottawa in those five games.
“They’re playing a certain kind of system against us and it goes against our group of forwards,” Sabres goalie Ryan Miller told the Associated Press after the loss. “We’ve got to suck it up and play a better game.”
But the struggles against the Senators are nothing new for the Sabres. Buffalo has not beaten Ottawa in nine straight games dating back to last season and has lost 25 of 35 games since the lockout.
The last time the Sabres won against Ottawa was Jan. 6, 2009.
If the Sabres were to match up with the Sens in the first round, this season’s games wouldn’t be the only thing on their minds.
Anyone remember the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals? I’m sure it’s still fresh on Miller’s mind.
Daniel Alfredsson’s overtime goal in game five put the Senators into the Stanley Cup Finals, upsetting the NHL’s best team at the time in the Sabres.
A big reason for Buffalo’s troubles with the Sens this season lies within the Sabres’ power play. They are just 2-24 with the extra man against Ottawa—and don’t think it hasn’t been noticed.
“Our special-teams players didn’t compete hard enough,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff told the Associated Press after Friday’s loss. “I was angry with the power play in general. That’s where the lack of compete came in.”
For the moment, Buffalo will be playing the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the playoffs. The Sabres are 4-0-1 against the Habs this season.
But there is plenty of time left, and a lot of movement can occur in that time.
If the hockey gods do not favor the Sabres in the closing weeks and Buffalo gets paired up with Ottawa in the first round, it might be an early exit for the boys from Buffalo.
Historically, the hockey gods have not helped the Sabres—see “Brett Hull’s skate” for any further details.
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The Buffalo Sabres continue to showcase late-period heroics. They scored two late goals on Wednesday and beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout.
It gave the Sabres a seven-point lead over the Ottawa Senators heading into Friday’s game against the Sens. Ten games remain in the season and if the Sabres get two points out of the contest, the division title would all but be locked up.
The right players are starting to contribute more. Jochen Hecht is starting to find the net along with his linemates, Tim Connolly and Jason Pominville. Pominville continues to play well towards the end of the season. It’s nice to see the scoring won’t go to waste as the Sabres aren’t fighting for the eighth playoff spot this season.
A big reason for the Sabres success rests with their best player, Ryan Miller. His Olympic performance locked up the Vezina trophy this season. Let’s hope he can stay healthy and help the Sabres hoist the Stanley Cup this season.
He is just that good, and let’s hope that the overworked won’t affect his play this postseason. He’s a workhorse. Miller also expects the same from his teammates and it showed after the poor starts that doomed the team after the Olympic break. He, along with some other locker room leaders, made sure the team starts scoring early and it happened often during their Florida trip.
It’s nice to look at the standings to figure out which team gets the Sabres in the first round. That’s still far from being decided, but it’s interesting to evaluate which team matches up well against the Sabres and see the season series with the potential teams.
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Excuse me, Dr. Frankenstein?
Could you make a trip to HSBC Arena and screw the heads back on every Buffalo Sabre except Ryan Miller?
Right from Andrei Kostitsyn’s goal at 19:19 of the first period, this game looked to be over.
The Montreal Canadiens, in a brutal dog-fight to stay in the playoff picture, came in to HSBC Arena like a pack of hungry wolves.
Buffalo looked like a fat-and-happy grandfather after a Thanksgiving feast.
The Sabres seemed slow and lethargic—not the team that won three in a row on the road. Passes overshot their targets and shots rang wide. To add to the list of woes, Buffalo took four penalties in a row, starting with Derek Roy going to the box for hooking. Montreal enjoyed almost eight minutes of the man advantage in the second period, outshooting Buffalo 8-1 in that span.
Buffalo’s defensemen were caught time and time again rushing into the offensive zone—only to give up the puck and have the Habs break out on numerous 2-on-1’s.
Unfortunately for the Canadiens, Buffalo has the best goaltender in the world protecting the net—Vezina Trophy favorite Ryan Miller.
Miller shut the door with a bang – two brilliant back-to-back saves in the second frame and robbing Brian Gionta on a shorthanded breakaway.
For 58 minutes, Montreal owned the ice. They kept the hometown crowd quiet and frustrated the Sabres with crisp passing and neat plays.
But that was for 58 minutes.
On the power play and with Miller on the bench, Buffalo came roaring back. Tim Connolly ripped a slap shot that put the Sabres on the board with just under two minutes to play.
Then, reminiscent of the 2006-07 season, Buffalo continued the onslaught in the waning moments. Center Paul Guastad fired a wrist shot that beat Price at 19:12 of the third period, sending the game into overtime.
Jason Pominville ripped a shot off the crossbar in the extra frame, but to no avail.
Pominville and Thomas Vanek each lit the lamp in the shootout, scoring on shots accurate enough to make even Buffalo Bill jealous. Miller shut the door on Kostitsyn and Mike Cammalleri to seal the win.
The Sabres should not have won this game—but they played with a resilience that showed that this could be the season Buffalo could boast its first ever Stanley Cup.
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Two steps forward, one step back.
A week ago, we were talking about the Canadiens winning six games in a row. More recently, they have lost three straight.
Tonight’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Sabres was the most traumatic for the players and their fans.
While some will describe this as a colossal collapse for the Habs in the last two minutes of the game after playing a terrific game, I’m not so sure.
Even though the Canadiens looked good at times in the game, the style of play was not similar at all to the formula used during the winning streak.
Tonight, it was back to special teams and goaltending.
While winning, the Canadiens were very effective at limiting shots on goal by the opposition. Since Feb. 4, the Habs have only allowed 40 shots once. That instance occurred on Mar. 4 in a game against San Jose, with Carey Price in goal.
Tonight, Price faced 42 Sabres shots and it was a shooting gallery. From midway through the second period, the Canadiens were out-shot 31 to 12. A very confident-looking Price was turning everything away.
With the Sabres pressing, the Canadiens were on their heels employing a single-man forecheck, with four players dropping back to clog up the neutral zone.
The boost in Buffalo offense came in the second period, after Sabres coach Lindy Ruff made a strategic move. After the Canadiens had been recipients of the game’s first four power plays, Ruff went to work on the officials, berating them at every opportunity.
Ruff’s antics appeared to have worked, as Buffalo was not assessed another penalty the rest of the night. Referees called six straight penalties on the Canadiens, including four minutes to Benoit Pouliot.
Montreal’s penalty-killers very effectively turned away the Buffalo power play on five of six opportunities. But it was on the sixth that Ruff once again made an excellent tactical decision.
With more than three minutes remaining, Ruff pulled goaltender Ryan Miller, giving his team a six-on-four advantage. Josh Gorges was outmatched in front of the net, and a wide-open Tim Connolly gave the Sabres hope.
With the Habs reeling, fans looked to Canadiens’ experienced bench boss to counter with a move or two of his own to preserve the win.
Would Martin call a timeout to settle his team down? No.
Would he send out Andrei Markov and Ryan O’Byrne, his top defensive pair? No.
Would the coach be sure to have his best defensive forwards on the ice? No.
Inexplicably, Coach Martin deployed Andrei Kostitsyn and Mike Cammalleri with Tomas Plekanec. In my opinion, Cammalleri is not strong in his own end when in peak form. This being Cammalleri’s first game back after being on injured reserve, he looked out of gas in the third period.
With Cammalleri failing to clear the puck and both he and Roman Hamrlik struggling with coverage, Paul Gaustad got the tying goal only a short time after Price made a miraculous save on Jason Pominville.
Martin’s coaching blunders and some undisciplined play spoiled many fine performances, most notably, a statement game from Carey Price. He looked big in the net, moved nimbly, and handled the puck well. Price did his job towards earning a shutout.
Andrei Kostitsyn had two goals and proved he can be a sniper with complimentary linemates.
Sergei Kostitsyn and Tom Pyatt were excellent especially when penalty-killing.
Dominic Moore and Jaroslav Spacek both played well against their former team.
Once again, this team is much better without Maxim Lapierre in the lineup.
“Carey gave us a strong game, and you’d like to win that game, but the penalties made it difficult for us,” Coach Martin said. “What you’ve got to learn from that is the penalties cost us.”
Yes, penalties and poor coaching.
The Canadiens must regroup and be ready for their next game on Thursday night when the Florida Panthers visit the Bell Centre.
Rocket’s Three Stars:
1. Tim Connolly
2. Carey Price
3. Andrei Kostitsyn
Special mention: Tom Pyatt, Dominic Moore
Player quotes from wire services were used in this report.
(photo credit: Reuters)
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The Buffalo Sabres have 11 games remaining in the regular season, and hopefully a lot more after that.
The Sabres currently have a five point lead over the Ottawa Senators in the Northeast Division, with three games in hand.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, its 11 remaining games take place over the course of just 19 days. There are also three sets of back-to-back games left for the Sabres.
Six of the 11 games will be played away from HSBC Arena and seven are against Northeast Division opponents.
The Sabres have put themselves in a great position, but they are going to need some big names to step up in the final stretch. Two of those names are Jason Pominville and Derek Roy—and you better believe they will come through.
Over the course of the last three seasons and this season, Pominville and Roy have flourished in the months of March and April.
In the 2006-07 season, the duo combined for 37 points in 19 games. The following season, they combined for 44 points in 17 games. Last season, Pominville and Roy had 33 points in 19 games.
This season has been no different for the two long-time Sabres. In 11 games so far in March, they have combined for 22 points.
Buffalo plays the Montreal Canadiens tonight and the Ottawa Senators on Friday. The Sabres can just about lock up the division if they win the next two games against Montreal and Ottawa at HSBC Arena.
“We definitely don’t want to give them any life,” Jason Pominville told the Buffalo News of the Habs and Sens. “Teams are looking up to us and want to catch us. Our confidence is really high right now. The road trip helped us in every way: offense, defense, special teams, starts, everything.”
Even though the Sabres are on a three-game win streak and have created some big distance between them and the rest of the division, there is still a lot of time left.
“[These games are] just as important as last week,” coach Lindy Ruff told the Buffalo News on Tuesday. “We went on the road and we wanted to look to create a little bit of space. Now we’re back home and don’t want to take last week for granted. We worked hard to get a little bit of distance between us.”
If Pominville and Roy continue to do their job, the Sabres could have the division wrapped up by the weekend.
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As this excellent NHL season winds down, it’s time to consider who will take home what every rookie dreams about – the prestigious Calder Trophy. Awarded to the League’s top rookie, the Calder can range from forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders. Columbus Blue Jacket Steve Mason (G) currently holds the title. Previous Calder winners have included Patrick Kane, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin – so it’s safe to say the award is a good indicator of future League stars.
These are my Top-5 Calder Trophy Candidates.
It has been a while since a Buffalo Sabre won the Vezina Trophy.
In fact, it’s been almost a decade since Dominik “The Dominator” Hasek took home the trophy awarded to the league’s best goaltender. Since then, the award has avoided Buffalo like the plague.
Ryan Miller, you’re up.
Miller’s outstanding play for Buffalo this season could have him hoisting his first ever Vezina in Las Vegas come June.
Miller, taken 138th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, is a favorite to win—and with good reason.
He has posted a league-leading .929 save percentage and 2.20 goals against average this season. Although closely followed by Florida‘s Tomas Vokoun (.928), a primary reason Buffalo sits atop the Northeast Division is because of the Michigan State product.
He sits second in GAA to the Boston Bruin’s Tuukka Rask (2.08)—but Rask has played in just 36 games. Miller has given up four or more goals just seven times this season, but has never let in more than five.
He boasts a career-best five shutouts this season, one against Alexander Ovechkin and the red-hot offense of the Washington Capitals. To put it in perspective, the ‘Caps have lit the lamp a whopping 279 times.
When Ryan Miller is hurt or doesn’t play well, the Sabres don’t make the playoffs. Last season, Miller got hurt and the team struggled. In 2007-08, a lack of a good backup made Miller play in 76 games, exhausting him.
This season, things are different.
He has been, by far, Buffalo’s best player, winning 36 of the 61 games he’s played. When Buffalo’s defense gets beaten, count on Miller to bail them out. When the clock strikes 0:00 of the third period and the game goes into overtime, Miller has eight victories.
With a good grip on the Northeast Division, Head Coach Lindy Ruff can rest Miller more often, letting backup Patrick Lalime get some playing time.
Miller’s stats this season are good—very good. He has become one of the league’s superstars and an American hero after his stellar play for Team USA in the Olympics.
Keep up the good work, Ryan Miller.
You can lead your team to its first ever Stanley Cup victory.
As for the Vezina? You’ve got it locked up.
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Love to play with him, hate to play against him.
When the Buffalo Sabres drafted Patrick Kaleta with the 176th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, they knew that they were getting a hard-hitting grinder who may put up 10 points a season, but they didn’t know they were drafting the league’s best agitator.
From Kaleta’s bone-crushing hits to his overly elaborate goal celebrations (see picture), he knows just how to get under the opposing team’s skin.
He’ll line another player up from the other side of the ice and knock them through the boards. Once he collects his first hit, then the first part of his job is done—he has let the other team know that he’s on the ice.
Once an opposing player takes exception to one of Kaleta’s hits, or one of his goalie poke-checks, or one of taunts, then the second part of his job is done—he has begun to agitate the other team.
Here, have a look at such an instance .
Once an opposing player takes a penalty on Kaleta’s behalf, then his job is complete.
In his first three seasons in the NHL, Kaleta has done something very special for the Northeast-leading Sabres. He has led the league in penalties drawn in all three seasons.
In the 2007-08 season, Kaleta led the NHL with an average of 5.0 penalties drawn per 60 minutes. Last season, Kaleta led the same category again, averaging 4.9 penalties drawn per 60 minutes.
This season has been no different for the 23-year-old native of Angola, New York. Kaleta currently leads the NHL averaging 4.0 penalties drawn per 60 minutes.
Kaleta was thrown right into his role as an agitator in his very first NHL game, back on Feb. 22, 2007—an historic game in Buffalo Sabres’ history.
The February game happens to be the same night Ottawa Senators’ forward Chris Neil took out then Sabres’ captain, Chris Drury, with a late hit that knocked Drury out of the game.
After a couple of smaller scuffles, Head Coach Lindy Ruff put out Kaleta, along with Andre Peters and Adam Mair, to mix it up with Ottawa’s top line.
You really have to see for yourself .
Kaleta got to drop the gloves with Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips in a night that he will never forget.
Whether he’s just throwing a hit or finding a way to get entirely too close to the opposing goaltender, well after the whistle has blown, Kaleta has quickly become the league’s top agitator.
From his first night in a Sabres’ uniform, Kaleta has become a fan favorite in Buffalo—and he is hated by fans everywhere else he goes.
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It’s not a secret that if the Buffalo Sabres want to make any kind of playoff run, certain players are going to have to step their game up—Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, and Craig Rivet just to name a few.
But there is one name that seems to be escaping a lot of criticism: Lindy Ruff.
Buffalo’s head coach, in his 12th season with the Sabres, has made some highly questionable decisions in the last month of play—the most recent has Sabres’ fans scratching their heads.
In light of the Sabres’ recent scoring slump, Ruff called up Mark Mancari from the AHL to provide an offensive spark—which the young Sabre did.
In three games with the big club, Mancari had two points, an incredible 15 shots, and was a plus-three. He also averaged just under 18 minutes of ice-time per game.
It seemed that the Sabres had finally found the offense it was looking for, thanks to the hard-nosed effort of Mancari—until Ruff returned the 24-year-old forward back to the Portland Pirates before Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
There is a combination of things that has made Sabres’ fans wonder what Ruff was thinking.
Forget Mancari’s great numbers with the team in three games, but take a look at another player on the team that could have been sent down.
Tim Kennedy’s rookie year has progressively gone downhill as the season has worn on.
Kennedy does not have a point in his last 12 games. He also only has six shots during that stretch and is an abysmal minus-nine—showing that he is slacking on both sides of the puck.
Mancari had seven shots in Friday night’s 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild alone.
Kennedy’s ice-time is also down significantly from the beginning of the season. He hit a season-low on Friday night after playing just 6:47.
Kennedy’s lack of offense coupled with his lazy defensive play makes me wonder what Ruff is trying to do with the 23-year-old Buffalo native.
With plenty of talent waiting in the AHL—Mancari, Tyler Ennis, and Nathan Gerbe—what could Ruff possibly be waiting for?
This is not the first questionable decision that the former Jack Adams’ Award-winner and longest tenured coach in the NHL has made this season. I understand that I almost contradict myself with that previous statement, but it would appear from this season that Ruff’s best coaching days may be behind him.
Either way, it might be time for the Sabres to look for a new head coach—playoffs pending, that is.
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