Sabres pull off the 4-2 Victory vs. Columbus

The Sabres managed to overcome sacrificing a 2 goal lead for the second game in a row by scoring to late goals to win 4-2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sabres (6-3-0) got goals from Pominville (3,4), Boyes (2), and Kaleta (1), while Columbus had goals from Prospal (4) and Tyutin (1) in the loss. Columbus has had some real early problems, suffering key injuries. Their season may already be done.

Vanek is on fire right now. As one of the Vs. Commentators said during the Tampa game, he has never seen Vanek look this good. Now, I know it isn't reasonable to expect Vanek to stay on the crazy pace that's he's setting right now. He's not scoring 60 goals this year. But 30+ goals seems very reasonable for the Austrian forward, who already has 7 goals after 9 games. He leads the team in points currently, with 14 (7+7).

Pominville is another guy who is on a hot streak. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not Pominville's greatest fan. I didn't like him being named Captain, I've never really liked his game. But there is no disputing he is having great success, currently second in points behind Vanek with 13 (4+9). The Pominville-Adam-Vanek line has been out of this world, far better than anyone would have expected. I'm very excited to see Adam playing so well, he has a ton of potential. Every time he's on the ice I notice how big he is. If he can learn to use that big frame, we are set.

It appears people are already jumping off the Ville Leino train. After nine games he has 1 goal and 1 assist, and with the big contract we gave him this offseason he needs to produce much more. Maybe its because he was at Center, maybe he doesn't have chemistry with his linemates yet. No matter what, he needs to get back on track if this team is going anywhere.

I'd like to say sorry for being gone for so long, things have been crazy busy. I'll be back as often as I can. In other hockey news, the Panthers traded Cal O'Reilly to Phoenix for a 4th round pick in next year's draft.

Sabres shutout Panthers, Tampa returns the favor.

Sorry for the lateness of this post, I've been busy as of late.
Thomas Vanek scored twice and Ryan Miller stopped 22 shots for his first shutout of the season on Thursday as the Sabres phased Florida 3 nothing. Jason Pominville added the other goal, deflecting in a beautiful pass from Ville Leino. Miller looked good, but Thomas Vanek deserves the "Star of the game" title for his hard work which resulted in his tying for the league lead in goals.

I'm not sure if Tampa and Florida have an alliance, but the Lightning went vice-versa, Saturday, shutting out the Sabres by the same score. Martin St.Louis scored a goal on a semi-breakaway, which I was disappointed in from Miller. All he had to do was poke-check the puck right off St.Louis' stick, but instead he tried to stay with him and got embarrassed as a result. The Sabres looked very out of tune in the game, missing many passes and not doing well with team coordination. But on the bright-side, they have a chance to pay the Lightning right back on Tuesday in Buffalo. With 2 days rest going into the game, the Sabres should be better. Be sure to tune in on Tuesday at 7:30!

10/18/11 Miller shuts down Montreal.

Ryan Miller did not shut out Montreal last night, but boy did he look a sharp. I am not the biggest Miller fan, but I will admit that he looked as good as I have ever seen him on Tuesday. He single-handedly kept Buffalo alive in the 1st, when the Sabres were out-shot by the Canadians, 14-3. Miller's lone error on the night was a lone goal to Montreal's Raphael Diaz, his first of his NHL career. Montreal took the lead on Diaz' goal early in the 2nd. After that, it was ALL Sabres. Buffalo tied it with Jordan Leopold snapping in a rebound after a beautiful 2 man play with Drew Stafford and Tyler Ennis. Stafford carried the puck in and fired a sharp angle shot whilst Ennis rushed to the front taking the 2 Montreal D-men with him, allowing Leopold to sneak in for the rebound. Late in the 2nd Montreal iced the puck. Sabres play by play man, Rick Jeanneret, said that would come back to haunt Montreal. He was right. Thomas Vanek faked and then scored on a slapper to put Buffalo up for good, with 2.8 seconds left! Miller continued to keep Buffalo alive in the 3rd. He finished with 40 saves in total. Christian Ehrhoff scored on an 180 feet empty net shot to keep Montreal out of reach. It was Ehrhoff's first as a Sabre. Buffalo takes on Florida tomorrow night. be sure to watch!
Star of the Game: Ryan Miller

(Sorry for the late post. I was very busy!)

Young Guns propel Sabres to win over Pittsburgh.

Nathan Gerbe and Luke Adam's combined 4 points, and Jhonas Enroth's 29 saves propelled Buffalo past Pittsburgh for the first time since 12/29/09. Gerbe and Adam both chipped in 1 goal and assist, and Enroth stopped 29 of 31 from a stark Penguin offense. The game itself was very entertaining, with only 3 penalties in the entire game. Both teams took turns peppering the opposing goaltender. Enroth and Pittsburgh's M.A. Fleury faced a combined 59 shots, 31 from Pittsburgh. Enroth won the duel with great help from his defense. Pittsburgh's first goal from James Neal wouldn't have even gone in if it hadn't bounced in off Robyn Regehr. Not that I mean to malice Robyn, he has been phenomenal thus far. Jordan Staal added Pittsburgh's last tally with a late 3rd Period goal. Buffalo all around looked very good and played very disciplined. Drew Stafford scored the winner, with Christian Ehrhoff adding 2 helpers. Buffalo's next game will be on Tuesday at Montreal at 7:30.
Star of the Game: Nathan Gerbe.

Goodnight and thanks for the read!

Cam Ward spoils innaguaral game at the FNC.

Cam Ward. Enough said. The Sabres just could not crack that man tonight. Jeff Skinner (who should NOT have won Calder last year, not at all) took advantage of a very dumb penalty on Thomas Vanek's part.  For the second straight year, it looks like we will be shaping up to be more happy to see our penalty kill than the Power play. Roy and Stafford provided Buffalo's goal. But the "sensational" "18 year old phenom" "Next Sid the Squid" Skinner ruined Buffalo's hopes. But Carolina is on way worse a hot seat than the Sabres. Carolina, yes, did defeat the Sabres in 2005-06 in route to cheaply defeating Edmonton for the Cup. Carolina's problem since then? They have made the playoffs once since!(Thank You to Josh Edwards for pointing that out). If Carolina doesn't make the playoffs this year, then who knows, maybe we'll see THEM on the road to a knew home.  Tim Gleason got his (expletive) handed to him tonight, trying to engage Paul Gaustad and paying for it dearly. About 10 seconds after that, Gleason was down on the ice with a fairly large gash over his left eye. It's good to at least see that Buffalo isn't a pansy-filled team anymore. Never loose hope Sabres fans, Sheep-Skinner won't be so lucky next time. Buffalo takes on Pittsburgh tomorrow.

10/8/2011 Sabres finish European Trip with a victory over LA.

Rookie Luke Adam didn't let the 2 hour layover in Helsinki crush his playing spirits in Berlin. Adam continued his impressive start by scoring 2 times in the span of just 2 minutes and 20 seconds as the Sabres defeated LA 4-2. Adam now has 4 points and is a +3 in 2 games. Thomas Vanek(2) and Jason Pominiville also chipped on assists, further proving that they are the Sabres' most lethal trio in this young season. In just 2 games, the 26-72-29 line has contributed 11 of the 23 points the Sabres have scored. Talk about chemistry!! Also scoring for the Sabres in the win were Paul Gaustad, on a perfect deflection of a Nathan Gerbe shot, and Drew Stafford. Gerbe had 2 assists, and Derek Roy and Marc-Andre Gragnani also chipped in assists, rounding out the score sheet for the Sabres. Ryan Miller looked sharp once again, going 31-33. Anze Kopitar scored both goals for the Kings. The Sabres have looked very good so far, scoring 8 goals combined in 2 games while only giving up 3 goals against. It was also very remarkable to see the support that the Sabres got from the German crowd. During the game, chants such as "Let's go Sabres!!" and "Here we go, Buffalo!" were heard. That undoubtedly helped the team in the win. Both the Sabres and the Kings had to battle with the ice in O2 arena, which was perfect other than that. The puck looked like it was bouncing an awful lot, not to mention the players looked to be exerting a lot of energy just to skate a few yards. But never the less, the Sabres played well and won. Good night and thanks for reading! Be sure to tune in on MSG this Friday at 7:30 as the Sabres will play their first ever game in the newly named First Niagara Center against the Hurricanes.

10/7/11 Sabres coast past the Ducks in Helsinki.

Thomas Vanek's 2 goals and 1 assist, along with Ville Leino's first as a Sabre, proved to be the difference maker as the Sabres beat Anaheim 4-1 on Friday. It was a great way for the Sabres to open their season. Though I did not see the game on television, listening to it on the radio was enough to tell that they looked good.  Jason Pominville chipped in the last goal for Sabres. Rookie Luke Adam wouldn't be denied the score sheet, tacking on 2 assists. Jason Pominiville added 2 assists, and Christian Ehrhoff added a helper, giving him his first point as a Buffalo Sabre. Ryan Miller looked very sharp in net, only allowing one goal to Anaheim Nate Guenin. As a team the Sabres played very well. It looks like it's shaping up to be a season of promise.
Star of the Game: Thomas Vanek.

Goodnight and thanks for reading!

The "C" is back.

This morning in Helsinki, Lindy Ruff announced that Jason Pominiville will wear the Captain's "C" this year. This is a move that I, in all honesty, do not think very high of. Pominiville is a good leader, but I think as far as his play goes, over the last 3 seasons he has been a major let-down. in 2007-08, it looked like Pominville turned into an essential cog in the Sabres. He had 27 goals, 53 assists, 80 points, and +/- +16. He was the captain that year too for the last month and half (Buffalo rotated the captaincy that year). But his numbers have decreased drastically since then. In 2008-09 he went 24-38-66, and was a -4. In 2009-10 he went 24-38-62 with a +13, and last season he 22-30-52 and was +1. Now yes you can argue that Pominiville was out for 10 games last season, but that still doesn't cover for his drop in points in the 2 seasons prior. So you can argue that he is a defensive forward. That is no excuse. Every player on the team needs to contribute on offense and defense.
Also named alternate Captains were Paul Gaustad, Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek, and Drew Stafford. Here's to hoping that Pominiville will be right for the team. They have the guns, now all they need is a good leader,