0.250 is All We Need To Go

M. Patton

BMore - Unable to close out the division title and the conference top seed against Montreal tonight, Buffalo now has four chances left to win the one game that will seal it up. There are numerous scenarios involving losses for Ottawa, New Jersey and Pittsburgh that can accomplish the same thing, but if a Buffalo win comes first, those wouldn't even matter.

The game tonight was more of a buzz-kill than a major disappointment. It wasn't a bad effort on Buffalo's part, but it wasn't the best effort. Two Montreal goals came off of bad Buffalo decisions that lead to turnovers, the worst being the eventual game winner by Koivu in the third. Defensively, Buffalo played pretty solid keeping Montreal shots below 20 (19).

Conklin, despite a bad showing on the score sheet, did play a decent game and kept Buffalo in it when he had to. He made some good saves in the second keeping the score reasonable and keeping Buffalo within two goals when the deficit could have grown to three or four just as easily.

Conklin's counter-part just happened to play a better game. Jiroslav Halak made some key saves late in the third to keep the Habs up by a goal, including three very good chances with under 8 minutes to play. He was bailed out by video replay and the on ice ref who waived off the would-be tying goal after Drew Stafford kicked the puck in but in all, he played a very solid game.

The officiating was absolutely awful. Numerous high sticks and slashes were committed in plain site of the refs but no penalties were called. Kotalik took a nasty high stick not 8 feet in front of the ref while trying to play for the puck yet somehow the ref didn't see it. I don't know if they were afraid to make calls against Montreal in their building, but to call only four total penalties in a game that yielded only 44 total shots leads most to believe that in the "new" NHL, the refs make have tried to smuggle the whistles to Mexico. (That is code for put them in their asses)

In all, it wasn't a blowout, or a major disappointment, just a buzz-kill that shot down our hopes of putting the division and the conference away tonight allowing us to enjoy Sunday without thinking about magic numbers or watching scores (like we wouldn't anyways?). Even if Ottawa, New Jersey and Pittsburgh win out, the Sabres only need to win one of their remaining four games to lock up home ice through the conference finals. That being said, Buffalo also has a good opportunity to get some momentum going playing their last three games against teams that are out of the playoffs and most likely won't be playing a desperate style of hockey like the Habs did tonight. We only need 0.250, but it would be nice to bat .1000 going into round 1.

NOTES: Tonight's loss makes 21 regulation losses all year, 12 of which have taken place on Saturday night.

Still Some Work Left To Do, Like Work Itself

by: M. Patton

BMore - I did not watch the game last night, but it appears that I didn't have to watch to know that the Sabres got outworked from start to finish. The box score alone provides some pretty incriminating evidence that the Sabres did not show up to play a game that could have sunk the playoff hopes of a long time cross-border rival. Instead of building off one of the best periods of hockey the Sabres played all year, they started slow and couldn't put together another comeback like Friday night's.

The shots on goal number says it all. The Buffalo players and Lindy Ruff were the firsts to admit last night that 20 shots on goal for an entire game will not get the job done on the road against a team that will be playing every remaining game as if it is their last. In the first period, while on another four minute power play, the Sabres couldn't get a shot on goal which seemed to set the tone for the entire game. Just like Friday, the Leafs put everything they had into the first two periods, ran out of gas in the third, but had done enough damage that the Sabres couldn't take anything out of the third other than the moral victory of out shooting Toronto by one lonesome shot.

As an optimist, I always feel their is always something positive to take away from a game that is otherwise an all around failure. This game's positive outcome would definitely have to be Ryan Miller's post-game comments. In the Buffalo News this morning, Miller respectfully challenged the rest of his team to play like a team that is tied for first in the league. Miller, who kept the Sabres in many games this year, was essentially acting like a starting pitcher asking for some run support. Other players and Ruff must not have disagreed, since they all commented on the topic with the same sentiment. The positive thing about it was not only team's recognition that there is still much work to do before the playoffs start, but also how the guy who leads the team out onto the ice every night didn't refrain from asking for a little bit more from the guys he leads. Although Drury and Briere wear the "C's" on their jerseys, the goalie plays a crucial leadership role on the team as the chief communicator out on the ice and it was good to see Miller assert some that leadership after a loss like last night's.

The Sabres are still in good shape to wrap up the division and the conference, but it is not a certainty as long as Ottawa and New Jersey win games. This will be a good test for the Sabres knowing that they still need to perform night in and night out all the way up to the playoffs. This will force the Sabres to keep working on the things that are still not clicking and will hopefully allow the Sabres to develop good habits leading into game one of the first round of the playoffs. If the players follow their goaltender's lead and accept his challenge, as I feel they will, we should see some good hockey from the Sabres in the final seven games. Let's just hope Miller's message rang loud and clear in the dressing room last night.

Bad Bounce Doesn't Bounce Miller

by: M. Patton

BMore - We have all seen it before. Miller plays a strong game, then a bad bounce or less than stellar goal causes Ryan to visibly become distraught and lose his composure. In New Jersey a month or so ago, it was a goal by John Madden that probably should have been blown dead that caused Miller to lose his composure, his concentration and his edge. He went on to let in two more goals, one just seconds later, in a performance that appeared to have headed south immediately following the Madden goal.

Last night, it was a bounce off the ref that set up a goal by Boyd Devereaux making it 4-1 that sent Ryan off the deep end. There was no thought in any Sabres fan's head other than "Here we go again. It will be 6-1 before this thing is over." The one thing Sabres fans have grown to accept as fact is that if Miller's head is lost, so are the chances of winning the game.

This, of course, was until last night. The fourth Toronto goal, followed by a swift heaving of the goalie stick, turned out to be a catalyst, not a roadblock to a Sabres comeback and eventual victory. As we all saw, the fourth Toronto goal was their last followed by four straight Sabres goals that lead to Buffalo's eventual 5-4 victory.

While the comeback win was the main theme of last night's game, the most compelling sub plot would definitely have to be Miller's comeback from a goal that had shaken him quite a bit. Miller is an emotional player who plays one of the most emotionally taxing positions in all of sports. Even though Miller attributes his break out last season to his ability to put goals against behind him, he still seemed to have trouble doing that for fluky or "bad luck" goals. Watching Miller throw his stick in frustration last night, at first, didn't exactly reassure fans that he was ready to start blocking out those bad goals just yet. However, his play for the next 15 minutes had fans thinking otherwise. There was no meltdown, no soft goals, and no head-hanging. There was, however, great position play, great focus and several victory-preserving saves.

Keeping in mind that Stafford's go ahead goal occurred with more than five minutes left in the game, Miller was the one who had to keep the puck out of his net for those five minutes against a desperate team that didn't forget how to shoot. He did so, and he did so with confidence and composure.

So aside from the scoreboard and the means by which the Sabres achieved that result, Sabres fans should also take away an obvious sign that Ryan Miller continues to mature as a goaltender. His refusal to get down on himself after a fluky goal served as the turning point of last night's spectacular comeback win against a long time rival. If I could have only been watching it in the lower 100's on One Seymour Knox Plaza rather than on my couch in Maryland. That would be the only way it could have been sweeter.

Video Replay Fails Again

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - Once again, video replay has failed the game. In tonight's St. Louis/Ottawa game, St. Louis scored what should have been the go ahead goal. The puck didn't hit the twine, but did cross the line before Martin Gerber covered it up. The overhead shot CLEARLY shows the puck crossing the line, but the play immediately started without sufficient time to review the play. There is NO arguing this one, the puck was in, the refs on the ice missed it and the video judge didn't hold up play to review it and it mostly likely will cost St. Louis the game since Ottawa scored a few minutes later to take the lead in the third.

On a separate note, one of the on ice officials is none other than Mick "Never Saw a Doughnut I Didn't Like" McGeough, which would make this the second game he officiated this year where a potential game winning goal was not counted. Coincidence?

UPDATE (10:32 pm ET): Just when everyone thought the Blind Blob couldn't pull off another game altering pooch screw, McGeough comes through yet again. When it seemed that St. Louis tied the game late in the third period, the Dumb Mick, McGeough, blew his whistle before the puck went in and waived the goal off. Of course, replays show he had no reason to blow the whistle as Gerber did NOT have any type of possession of the puck, but he did, waived off the goal, and cost St. Louis the game, again. Either this brass elephant wanted so bad to get Ottawa two points, or he is an absolute incompetent referee. Either way, he has no business calling an NHL game, as he has proven this year. I just can't wait to hear the no explanation Toronto won't give to anyone regarding both no-goals.

Eastern Race Creates Exciting Weeks For Center Ice Subscribers

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - With a nine point spread between the 8th and 9th spots in the Western Conference, it looks like the West is all but sewn up in terms of what teams will be playing spring hockey. However, with a nine point spread between the 7th and 13th spots in the Eastern Conference, there exists the potential for some great hockey to be played in the days leading up to the first round of the playoffs.

Topping the list of "what ifs" is Carolina. The defending Cup Champs (because of Buffalo injuries last year), are hanging on to the 8th spot with 75 points. As I write this, they are tied 1-1 in the third against the Rangers, who are in 10th place with 74 points and could take over that spot with a win sending Carolina down to 10th spot because Toronto (75 points) would have a game at hand.

The second "what if" is Montreal. The once hot Canadiens have hit a rough patch and find themselves outside looking in, albeit only by one point. Their streaky play has made them the team with the most doubt cast on them to make it back to the postseason, but the Canadiens will have plenty of opportunities playing the Rangers and Leafs twice each.

The dark horse could be Florida. All of a sudden, Florida is above .500 and has gone 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and is only 4 points out of a playoff spot. The one downside for Florida is that the only team they play, who is in the playoff mix, is Carolina so along with winning their own games, they will need help.

The long shot is Boston who still finds themselves with an outside shot at making the postseason with 69 points, and leading Detroit 3-2 as I write this. The good news for Boston is that they play Montreal three times and the Rangers twice. The bad news is that they have not been consistent lately, going 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.

What this all spells out is a great stretch for Center Ice subscribers who want to watch good hockey games leading into the playoffs. What this situation in the East will provide is a plethora of games that matter between teams who will be clawing for that 8th spot with many of the games being between teams who are on the bubble. Whatever happens come the first week of April, it is sure to be a great mid and late March. Thank god of Center Ice.

Simon Hangs Teddy Out To Dry

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - It is almost too tragic. Not just the hit itself but the timing of the hit provides a coincidence that really makes you feel for Ted Nolan.

In this month's episode of HBO's Real Sports With Bryant Gumbal, there is a segment about Ted Nolan, his 9 years away from the NHL and his return with the Islanders this year. One thing the piece also touches upon is Nolan's role in the signing of Chris Simon. Throughout his career, Simon has looked up to Nolan as a mentor and a good friend who helped him get through struggles with alcohol. Nolan believed in Simon and gave him a chance that most other teams were not willing to give.

Although it's probably the furthest thing from Nolan's mind as he continues to push the Islanders toward the playoffs, one cannot ignore the fact that there probably does exist an underlying embarrassment for both men and a subconscious feeling of "you really screwed me, kid" in the mind of Ted Nolan.

Of course, no one can make the argument that Simon did what he did to embarrass Nolan, and thinking otherwise is ridiculous. However, the coincidence of the HBO piece and the incident itself does prove to be another sad outcome of an already ugly situation.

A Weekend To Forget

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - An embarrassing game Friday night, followed up by another loss on Saturday makes for one weekend the Sabres will want to forget. Coming in to Saturday's game only 3 points up in the conference standings on their opponent, the Sabres were hoping for a performance a lot more inspiring than that on Friday against Minnesota. In the end, the effort was much better and the score was closer but the Sabres, once again, found themselves on the losing end of the scoreboard.

The bright spots of the game were much better skating effort and a barrage of shots. Zubrus, the new guy I referred to last night, finally got his first goal wearing the blue and gold which will hopefully open up the gates for many more. The defensive effort was solid, keeping the New Jersey shot total under 30.

The dark spots were the power play and the inability to finish offensively. The Sabres have had no problems getting shots on goal but the quality of the shots leaves much to be desired and they still cannot seem to capitalize when they do get quality scoring opportunities. The worst missed opportunities were the good scoring set ups that didn't even turn into shots on goal. The Sabres had way too many chances where a player would get a good pass in the slot and proceed to mishandle the puck or fan on it.

The inexcusable stat was Rafalski's game winning goal scored shorthanded with less than a minute left in the second. Once again, the Sabres power play has made a habit of producing more goals for the opposing team with this goal and the late goal in last night's game. It's one thing to have a power play that is ineffective, but it's quite another thing to have one that is counter-productive. This needs to improve, especially in close games like tonight's.

In all, the Sabres squandered a great opportunity to pad their lead in the division, in the conference, and build some momentum going into the final push for home ice, by losing three straight games at home. Now, they must forget about the past three games and hope that their mastery on the road, from the earlier this year, can be reinitialized on Tuesday against a very hot Pittsburgh team.

Lastly, this is no time to panic. We must not forget that this team is, for all intents and purposes, following the same path as last year, and is doing it with a depleted roster. It's not an excuse, and shouldn't be considered as an excuse, but it is a fact that when you compare the rosters from this time last year to this year, this year's roster contains many more Rochester call-ups. So, knowing that Buffalo will only get healthier as the regular season comes to a close, it's not time to start letting the emotions talk, like I have done after the past three games. However, the Sabres should feel a sense of urgency because once again, they are behind the eight ball to not allow a season high 4 game losing streak. We all remember how torturous it was last March when they dropped 8 of 10 in the final push, so let's hope we can avoid that this year, for the sake of all of our mental health.

Another Brian Murray Display of Class

This is a clip of Brian Murray blowing up on Fox Sports Network's Jim Fox after a Senators/Kings game. While there are only rumors about what set Murray off, whatever he was mad about must have been bad because Murray goes off pretty good in this clip.


Pretty profane for an old guy.

At Least It Wasn't A Shutout

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - One of the very few positive things to take from the 5-1 beating the Sabres took tonight was that it didn't become the season's first shutout. If it wasn't for Mike Ryan's aggressive fore check followed by his nifty backhand that finally beat Josh Harding late in the third period, this would have become another first that the Sabres did not want to achieve. Another positive thing was that Ty Conklin got his first action a Sabre and played a decent game. Granted, he only played half of a period, but given the situation, he did not look shaky or nerved.

Everything else about the game was awful. Aside from a decent second period where Buffalo put up 14 shots and Ryan Miller stuffed Marian Gaborik on a penalty shot, the Sabres couldn't get anything going. Shots could not find the net and when they did, Harding was not giving up dangerous rebounds. The Sabres could not capitalize on any good scoring chances while Minnesota was able to take advantage of almost every good chance of theirs. Passes were not crisp, quality shots were far and few between and there were way too many defensive breakdowns that lead to odd-man rushes.

Credit must be given to the Wild for playing with the desperation of a team that is trying to hold on the eighth spot. They skated hard and played a solid defensive game allowing no odd-man rushes and shutting down Buffalo's speed game, not to mention, Josh Harding, a third-string backup, made 35 saves on the league's strongest offensive super-power.

The one thing that bothered me about the lineup of this game was starting Ryan Miller. It didn't make much sense to play Miller, who made some great saves to keep the score from becoming ridiculous, since the Sabres will need a solid game from Miller to beat New Jersey tomorrow night. Two of the four goals were pretty fluky while the other two were great shots that would have been tough for most elite goalies to save. He did stop Gaborik on a penalty shot to keep Buffalo alive in the second period and keep the score 2-0 going into the third. It would not have been such a bad loss had it happened on Conklin's watch since the expectations from him are much lower than from Miller.

Any loss is a bad loss, but the Sabres do need to worry about Miller's confidence going into the home stretch into the playoffs. Buffalo needs to move on from Wednesday's and tonight's game quick because the very team that is breathing down their necks comes into HSBC Arena tomorrow night. I have no doubt the Sabres will bounce back, but one can only hope that it will be sooner rather than later.

Lastly, didn't we trade Marty Biron to trade for a 50 point scoring forward? If so, when does he start playing?

Forget The Impasse, Get Back In The Room And Solve It

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - As a longtime Sabres fan, this writer knows a good American hockey town. If the Pens play next year, and many years after, in any city other than Steel Town, it will be nothing short of a tragedy for the game and the league.

After yesterday's report that talks between the Pens and government officials have broken down and the Pens are once again shopping themselves to other cities, one can only hope that it is a political tactic by the Pens to try to get some leverage in the negotiations for a new arena deal.

There is no silver lining should the unthinkable happen and the Pens move to a place like Kansas City. Pittsburgh losing the Pens would represent the league losing one of its most important historical commodities, as well as a team that dresses some the league's most important long term assets. With names like Crosby, Malkin, and Staal, there is too much potential on that team to trust a city that is new to hockey to provide a fan base passionate enough to support a team like that.

The other point is that the league needs to solidify its base in the most passionate hockey towns again before it can even think about continuing it's Southern and Midwestern experiments. Let's face it, there have already been numerous reports about attendance concerns in these southern cities, even in places with good teams like Atlanta and Nashville. It's one thing to hand an expansion team to a new city, but to hand a team with much of hockey's best future talent would be nothing short of betting all your chips on double zero.

The Pens organization, the city of Pittsburgh, and the league need to work together, get back into that room and get this thing done. There is too much at stake for these groups to just step back and say there is an impasse. This isn't just a Pittsburgh concern, it's a concern of all small market, blue-collar hockey towns.

Canadian Hockey Press Changes Its Tune

By: M. Patton

Baltimore, MD - What a difference a change in uniform makes when it comes to the severeness of a late hit on a star player. The entire hockey world has, by now, seen the replays of Cam Janssen's hit on Toronto's Tomas Kaberle and there seems to be a unanimous feeling that the hit was late. Kaberle was defenseless and the hit was to the head. In retrospect, considering that Kaberle hit the boards pretty hard after the head shot, he is lucky it was not much worse.

What is most troubling was the aftermath of the hit. The NHL wasted no time in slapping a well deserved suspension on Janssen, which I actually feel was lenient, and the press wasted no time analyzing the hit as dirty. While I remain on board with this assessment of Janssen's hit, I still must ask where this outrage was when the hit was on Chris Drury.

Before the comments start rolling in that this "damn American" learn the game, let's get it out of the way that Neil's hit on Drury was questionable and Janssen's hit was flat out dirty, so please save the comments. But, the tune that the Canadian hockey press sung two weeks ago was everything from it was Drury's fault because of his helmet to the old "it's a shame, but it's part of the game" bit.

Now, the Canadian press is taking up the cause of questioning the legality of hits to the head. In today's Toronto Sun, there is a terrific article by Steve Simmons about head hits and how they ruin careers. (http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Columnists/Simmons_Steve/2007/03/06/3703535-sun.html) But, why did it take a Toronto star to suffer a hit like this before the cause was taken up? It isn't about dirty hits, but about head hits and both Kaberle and Drury were hit in the head. Suddenly, these hits are not just Buffalo's problem, but the game's problem, as stated in the article.

If Kaberle's hit doesn't happen, does this article get written? Of course not and that is the problem. Tom Golisano, a man with a vested interest in the game and his players, sends an open letter to the league regarding these hits and is mocked. A Leaf sustains an injury by a head shot and the Canadian hockey press now voices the same concerns for which they mocked Golisano.

Last week, they (head shots) were a part of the game. This week, they are now a league wide concern. Isn't it amazing how an incident involving a different uniform can change things?