Montreal Canadiens 4 - 2 Buffalo Sabres
Despite a decent last week, it was generally expected that the first of the Northeast division games would not go Buffalo's way, and it was Jason Spezza's scoring touch that put the Habs up for good - he scored twice, his fourth and fifth of the season so far, and provided Olli Jokinen with a third for a 3-0 lead. Jay McClement and Martin Legault both opened their accounts this year with their first goals, but the attempted comeback stuttered and stalled completely when Pascal Leclaire was pulled at the end of the third period and Joni Pitkanen sealed the victory with an empty netter. The Amerks had a little better luck, but still fell 3-2 to the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Buffalo Sabres 4 - 2 Phoenix Coyotes
Likewise, this game was over almost before it had begun, with three goals in the first twenty-five minutes doing a lot of damage to the hapless Yotes. Rick Nash opened the game up with a goal in the eleventh minute and set up Martin Havlat to expand the margin to two, while Robert Nilsson waited until the second frame to score his first of the year. Bobby Ryan and Niklas Hagman were on hand for Phoenix to pull the game back in the opening minutes of the third period, but there was to be no love for them here; it wasn't an empty net goal, but Marian Hossa made do by scoring on a late powerplay to send the Sabres fans home happy. The Amerks fell to another defeat, being shut out by Dustin Butler and the Utah Grizzlies 4-0.
Detroit Red Wings 3 - 2 Buffalo Sabres
Once again, one of the teams involved got off to a flying start, and it was Devin Setoguchi's turn - his two goals in the first period gave him six for the season, and he also provided the assist for Ryan Stoa's short-handed goal in the second. Stoa's goal cancelled out Sid Sorensen's, and even though Rick Nash added another, there was never going to be any joy in this game, as the Red Wings came out pissed after being bested by St. Louis earlier in the week. Similarly, the Amerks found themselves facing a Grand Rapids Griffins team that was just different class, and were, unsurprisingly, locked down in a 2-0 defeat.
Current Record: Buffalo - 2-3-0-2, 6 points
Rochester - 1-6-0-0, 2 points
Player of the Sim: Sid Sorensen - 1 goal + 3 assists = 4 points
Wednesday, 19 September 2007
Sunday, 16 September 2007
10/10/11 - 16/10/11
While the loss to Chicago was disappointing, the game against Edmonton looked like one that could - and should - be won, and to that end the Sabres cranked up the offence to outshoot the Oilers 36 to 14. Mattias Thorssel was the first to score, a surprise for the people who originally claimed he shouldn't even be on the main roster and doubling his projected goal totals for the season; Denis Ezhov got the play moving when he took up a loose puck in the Buffalo zone and fed Vladimir Sobotka, another player not believed to be fit to be a Sabre, to move into the neutral zone and past Brian Willems with ease. Tomas Vokoun did well to cover the angles, but Sobotoka's shot eluded him just long enough to let Thorssel in to score on the rebound and put the Sabres up 1-0. It didn't stay that way for too long, Phil Driscoll doing his damndest to justify his five million salary with his third goal on a nifty wrap-around to knot up the scoreline at one apiece. To their credit, the Buffalo players didn't waver as some elements were wont to do last year after going a goal down, and it paid off just over a minute into the second frame. The aforementioned Willems was penalised for a slash into Martin Havlat's gut that forced the winger off - Cam Barker's goal on the resulting powerplay was payback enough, although Branislav Mezei elected to exact a little extra revenge by blasting Willems with a questionable hit that he should be thankful wasn't penalised more harshly than the two minutes in the box he got. Despite the valiant efforts of the Oilers, both goaltenders stood strong in their respective nets from there on out, but more importantly, the victory cut off the Buffalo non-winning streak at 28 games. It may have been an ITC record, but it's no more.
Bouyed by the win, the Sabres continued their foray into West Canada by rolling into General Motors Place to take on the Vancouver Canucks, who'd drawn some interesting remarks for having Robin Fernsworth - the #1 pick in the 2011 Entry Draft - not just play in the big leagues but on the front line, alongside Alex Frolov and Brad Shaindlin. It was generally seen as a bold decision, if not a particularly sensible one; the winger had two points in the previous four games and had been bottled up fairly effectively previously. The game was a typical back-and-forth in the purest sense of word, with no team ever having more than a one goal lead. Rick Nash kicked off the match-up at speed, scoring a goal that was nullified a little after by Dick Tarnstrom that was in turn cancelled out by Martin Havlat, all in the first period. The second was no different, Dainius Zubrus pulling the score to 2-2 but being denied by Michael Ryder. Ryan Malone equalised yet again, Marian Hossa put Buffalo in the lead and finally, the three-point Matt Stajan gave Vancouver something to celebrate about and avoid falling to the same fate as Edmonton.
Current Record: 1-1-0-2, 4 points
Player of the Sim: Denis Ezhov - 0 goals + 2 assists = 2 points
Rick Nash - 1 goal + 1 assist = 2 points
Marian Hossa - 1 goal + 1 assist = 2 points
Bouyed by the win, the Sabres continued their foray into West Canada by rolling into General Motors Place to take on the Vancouver Canucks, who'd drawn some interesting remarks for having Robin Fernsworth - the #1 pick in the 2011 Entry Draft - not just play in the big leagues but on the front line, alongside Alex Frolov and Brad Shaindlin. It was generally seen as a bold decision, if not a particularly sensible one; the winger had two points in the previous four games and had been bottled up fairly effectively previously. The game was a typical back-and-forth in the purest sense of word, with no team ever having more than a one goal lead. Rick Nash kicked off the match-up at speed, scoring a goal that was nullified a little after by Dick Tarnstrom that was in turn cancelled out by Martin Havlat, all in the first period. The second was no different, Dainius Zubrus pulling the score to 2-2 but being denied by Michael Ryder. Ryan Malone equalised yet again, Marian Hossa put Buffalo in the lead and finally, the three-point Matt Stajan gave Vancouver something to celebrate about and avoid falling to the same fate as Edmonton.
Current Record: 1-1-0-2, 4 points
Player of the Sim: Denis Ezhov - 0 goals + 2 assists = 2 points
Rick Nash - 1 goal + 1 assist = 2 points
Marian Hossa - 1 goal + 1 assist = 2 points
Saturday, 15 September 2007
Week One - Still No Luck
With many integral parts of the team having never worn a Sabres jersey before, fans were hoping that the first week would bring with it an end to the colossal losing streak they'd racked up over the last year, going fully twenty-five games without a single win after beating Colorado in February. Hosting Chicago at the HSBC Arena seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so - the Blackhawks, like them, were coming off a poor season and had some significant holes in their line-up. Nobody wanted to say that it was a sure thing, but the odds were quite high of getting the precious two points. Surprisingly, it was former Amerk Mattias Thorssel who started the game off well for Buffalo, putting the puck between Joe Palmer's legs to put Chicago on the back foot; however, the momentum couldn't be kept up and Ralph Rosger equalised a few minutes after, taking advantage of a missed interference call by the referees on Cam Barker. Tomas Kaberle kept protesting after the goal and earned himself two minutes in the box for it.
Despite starting the second period short-handed, Rick Nash made a clear statement why he deserved a bigger, better contract, scoring once to put the Sabres back in the lead then setting up Sid Sorensen just moments after to stretch the lead to two, even if it was for a depressingly short time. Thorssel took a pair of penalties in quick succession, and on the second, Leo Bisaillon cut the scoreline from 3-1 to 3-2, then with just seconds left in the period, Martin Erat sprang up to equalise. From there, it was all downhill- the late goal had taken the wind out of the Sabres' sails, and when Premysl Navara put the Blackhawks up 4-3 right out of the gate,it was game over. Daniel Ryder added a fifth to pad the score when Ryan Miller was pulled, and the Sabres stayed winless.
Unlike the Chicago game, nobody expected Buffalo to do anything but suck and die against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings; while the Sabres had one line of undeniable quality, the Kings had four, and little was expected other than a massacre. Naturally, it came as no surprise to see the Kings come out swingin, with goals from Joe Thornton and Brad Stuart giving Los Angeles a comfortable 2-0 cushion in the first period, both coming from powerplay situations - when offseason acquisition Michael Ryder put away Mike Cammalleri's pass with a few seconds left, it was only seen as a minor irritation by the Kings fans who'd made the trip, and most of the Sabres fans in attendance were jaded enough to see it only as a consolation goal already. These naysayers were quieted through the second period - where the Sabres had been responsible for all five of the penalties in the first, the third and fourth lines were given some time to irritate the Kings where possible, and came away with four penalties on Los Angeles, two of which were on perennial scoring threats Shane Doan and Sidney Crosby. The second period was scoreless, and it looked very much like the Kings would eke out a win solely by restricting the amount of shots Buffalo had - just ten in the first two frames combined.
To this, it came down to former King Cammalleri. With time ticking down on what looked like another Kings victory to join the pile, the man affectionately known as the Dyslexic Squid bulldozed Vincent Lecavalier in the neutral zone, showing surprising strength in the hit, and set up Jay McClement. McClement's shot rebounded off Dan Blackburn, as did Rick Nash's that left the goaltender sprawling. Ben Shutron and Cam Barker fought for the puck, but neither got to it before Cammalleri skated in and blazed his slapshot deep in the net. Thankfully, the score stayed at 2-2 until the end; anyone scoring after that would just bring down the mood.
Current Record: 0-1-0-1 [Wins-Losses-Overtime Losses-Ties]
Player of the Week: Mike Cammalleri - 1 goal + 2 assists = 3 points
Despite starting the second period short-handed, Rick Nash made a clear statement why he deserved a bigger, better contract, scoring once to put the Sabres back in the lead then setting up Sid Sorensen just moments after to stretch the lead to two, even if it was for a depressingly short time. Thorssel took a pair of penalties in quick succession, and on the second, Leo Bisaillon cut the scoreline from 3-1 to 3-2, then with just seconds left in the period, Martin Erat sprang up to equalise. From there, it was all downhill- the late goal had taken the wind out of the Sabres' sails, and when Premysl Navara put the Blackhawks up 4-3 right out of the gate,it was game over. Daniel Ryder added a fifth to pad the score when Ryan Miller was pulled, and the Sabres stayed winless.
Unlike the Chicago game, nobody expected Buffalo to do anything but suck and die against the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Los Angeles Kings; while the Sabres had one line of undeniable quality, the Kings had four, and little was expected other than a massacre. Naturally, it came as no surprise to see the Kings come out swingin, with goals from Joe Thornton and Brad Stuart giving Los Angeles a comfortable 2-0 cushion in the first period, both coming from powerplay situations - when offseason acquisition Michael Ryder put away Mike Cammalleri's pass with a few seconds left, it was only seen as a minor irritation by the Kings fans who'd made the trip, and most of the Sabres fans in attendance were jaded enough to see it only as a consolation goal already. These naysayers were quieted through the second period - where the Sabres had been responsible for all five of the penalties in the first, the third and fourth lines were given some time to irritate the Kings where possible, and came away with four penalties on Los Angeles, two of which were on perennial scoring threats Shane Doan and Sidney Crosby. The second period was scoreless, and it looked very much like the Kings would eke out a win solely by restricting the amount of shots Buffalo had - just ten in the first two frames combined.
To this, it came down to former King Cammalleri. With time ticking down on what looked like another Kings victory to join the pile, the man affectionately known as the Dyslexic Squid bulldozed Vincent Lecavalier in the neutral zone, showing surprising strength in the hit, and set up Jay McClement. McClement's shot rebounded off Dan Blackburn, as did Rick Nash's that left the goaltender sprawling. Ben Shutron and Cam Barker fought for the puck, but neither got to it before Cammalleri skated in and blazed his slapshot deep in the net. Thankfully, the score stayed at 2-2 until the end; anyone scoring after that would just bring down the mood.
Current Record: 0-1-0-1 [Wins-Losses-Overtime Losses-Ties]
Player of the Week: Mike Cammalleri - 1 goal + 2 assists = 3 points
Sunday, 9 September 2007
Sabres Improve In Waiver Draft
Despite frequently receiving criticism from many fronts, the waiver draft proved to be a welcome helping hand to Buffalo. While Vesa Toskala was never claimed, three players became Sabres with only one leaving; Eric Fehr was taken by San Jose in the first round, but they were happy to take advantage of the preceding teams' disdain for goaltenders by snapping up Pascal Leclaire from Nashville. Buffalo was also able to strengthen their defensive line with a pair of blueliners - first, offensive defenseman Johan Fransson from Florida, then hard-hitting enforcer Branislav Mezei from Toronto. Despite missing out on Patrick O'Sullivan, who was confusingly unprotected by the Edmonton Oilers in favour of Tom Kostopolous, the process has been a success this year. Mezei is likely to fit in alongside Trevor Daley or Denis Gauthier on the third defensive pairing, whereas Fransson is expected to join Rochester in the AHL.
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