SB Nation - Adam Mair

Adam Mair Placed on Waivers

David Oleksy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:37:44 -0000

More photos » by Graham Hughes - AP

8 months ago: Montreal Canadiens' Roman Hamrlik, left, checks Buffalo Sabres' Adam Mair during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal on Saturday, March 28, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Graham Hughes)

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The first reaction to hearing the news of Adam Mair being placed on waivers was a simple wow. It came as a bit of a surprise to me. Mair is a well liked player from what we know and he is a fan favorite. He plays the role of a fourth line grinder who always plays with energy which helps him be a favorite of the fans and his teammates.

After the initial shock wore off, it is not really a surprising move. Mair has played in only 3 games this season and was not going to crack the top four lines anytime soon. I have said it on a couple of occasions "the Sabres have the best fourth line in hockey" unfortunately that line didn't include Mair.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Adam Mair	3	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.0

Mair is a veteran of the Buffalo Sabres and the National Hockey League. The Sabres are trying to give him an opportunity to play with another team because he was not getting the playing time in Buffalo. The move would also effectively eliminate some payroll, although Mair was not making a large amount of money.

"We’ve just got extra forwards. He’s not playing, he’s in a contract year and it’s an opportunity to hopefully get a chance elsewhere."

Follow the jump for video of the Darcy Regier press conference.

The move is easy to make because the Sabres have some players that can step into his role if there is injury. The Sabres signed Cody McCormick and Jeff Cowan in the off-season and either player would be capable of adding the grit and energy that Mair brings to the ice. McCormick would obviously be the most likely choice because he is younger and could develop into the role with the squad while Cowan is more of a veteran player.

Game 7: Sabres vs. Panthers Preview

Zachary Zielonka — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:00:33 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

2 months ago: Buffalo Sabres right wing Mike Grier (25) leads his teammates, including left wing Tim Kennedy (13) to the bench after Grier scored a goal against the Nashville Predators in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009. Grier's goal gave the Sabres a 1-0 win. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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How the Sabres come out and react to this game will be telling in how this season will go. The team is coming off their worst performance of the season against the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night and they need to respond with an effort against a Florida Panther team that has been struggling since they have come back to North America.

The Sabres seem to be getting healthier with Thomas Vanek looking to be close to 100% after suffering what appeared to be a rib injury against the Red Wings. Matt Ellis should also be in the lineup after missing the game against the Thrashers. That means that Adam Mair is going to be the odd man out to be a healthy scratch again this season. The second man out would have been Paille before we sent him to Boston.

In the case of the Panthers, Scott Clemmensen is going to get the start after impressing in Florida's last win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Clemmensen stopped 25 of 27 shots in the win and appears to jump start the Panthers better than Tomas Vokoun had. In terms of scorers, Stephen Weiss and Micheal Frolik are leading the Panthers in scoring with four points a piece.

Keys to the Game:

Sabres: Jump out early. This team needs to regain the swagger they had in the first few games and the Panthers are the team for that to happen against. If the Sabres can get an early lead and continue to pressure the Panthers, they should be able to control the pace of the game.

Panthers: Strike first. If the Panthers can strike first and quickly, it will be interesting to see how the Sabres react. After the Sabres fell into a two goal deficit against the Thrashers, they tightened up their game and outplayed the Thrashers for the rest of the game, they just could not overcome the early deficit. The Panthers can do the same thing especially if Clemmensen plays as well as he did against the Flyers.

The Week Ahead: October 19th

Zachary Zielonka — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:50:39 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

2 months ago: Buffalo Sabres right winger Patrick Kaleta, right, congratulates Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller after defeating the New York Islanders in the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Oct. 16, 2009. Buffalo won 6-3. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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The Sabres are coming off of their first regulation loss of the season and head out on the first of two Florida road trips this week:

Games: Wednesday @ Florida, Saturday @ Tampa Bay

While the Sabres still cannot seem to beat the Atlanta Thrashers, their record last season against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning is a little more respectable. They were 3-1 against the Panthers with the only loss coming on the road and they were 2-2 against the Lightning splitting the home and road series.

The Panthers haven't changed much but did trade Jay Bouwmeester before the free agent period started. Stephen Weiss and Micheal Frolik are the leading scorers on the team with 4 points apiece. Starting goalie Tomas Vokoun has struggled this season, going 1-4 in his first five starts. He has a 3.80 GAA and .903 SV% while backup Scott Clemmensen has looked good in his only appearance stopping 25 of 27 in his only start.

The Lightning are struggling out of the gate as well going 2-3-2 in their first seven games. Martin St. Louis is leading the team with 11 points and 8 assists while second year player Steven Stamkos is off to a much better start than his rookie campaign with four goals and four assists in the first seven games. Starting goaltender Mike Smith has yet to win in his first four starts, going 0-2-2 with a 4.08 GAA and .864 SV% while backup Antero Nittimaki has fared much better going 2-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .913 SV%.

Storylines For The Week

1. Will Thomas Vanek return from injury this week? Vanek left Tuesday's game with an upper body injury and missed both games over the weekend. He is supposed to return for the game against the Panthers and is a key component to this offense. The next question is what happens with the roster when Vanek returns. The Sabres will not have to make any cuts yet due to the Sekera injury but both Adam Mair and Daniel Paille played their first games of the season and are most likely going to both sit when Vanek comes back.

2. Can Tyler Myers continue to impress the Sabres and media? Besides last night's miscues, Tyler Myers has impressed pretty much everyone with his play in the first six games this season. He should have already convinced Sabres management to keep him around after his nine games ends. He is also going to struggle in games like he did against the Thrashers, it is part of the learning process. That being said, there is no reason to send him to back to juniors.

Predictions For The Week

The Sabres should be able to take at least two points this week against both Florida teams. Vanek will also return to the lineup with a bang and score three goals in the two games.

Sabres Send Gerbe and Weber to Portland, Roster at 23

David Oleksy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:38:44 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

2 months ago: Buffalo Sabres forward Tim Kennedy (58) watches as his shot goes wide of the goal behind Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Vesa Toskala during the first period of an NHL preseason hockey game in Toronto on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)

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The Buffalo Sabres made a couple of roster moves to get the roster to 23 players. There was plenty of speculation of who might go and who would stay. As of now Tim Kennedy and Tyler Myers made the Buffalo Sabres roster. I would guess that Myers will be here for the long haul but he can play nine games before the Sabres have to make a decision. Kennedy will probably only be here until Adam Mair comes back from injury.

While Myers and Kennedy celebrate making the roster, Nathan Gerbe and Mike Weber suffered the disappointment of being the last cuts. Both players figure in the Sabres future plans and should not look at this as a demotion. Instead they should look at it as an opportunity to play.

The Sabres roster is set for Saturday, now it is time to speculate on possible line combinations. Drew Stafford has a mild concussion and might not be able to play, that will have a large effect on who plays and who doesn't. I am leaning towards Stafford not being ready because if he was, Kennedy would probably be in Portland.

Possible lines after the jump

It will be interesting to see what lines Lindy Ruff decides to go with. When Stafford was in the lineup it was easy to predict the lines but his injury makes it more interesting. Kennedy is currently listed as a Center but he was Wing before switching positions last season. He is a candidate to play either position. Here is my crack at predicting the Sabres lines.

Line 1 - Thomas Vanek - Tim Connolly - Jason Pominville

Line 2 - Clarke MacArthur - Tim Kennedy - Derek Roy

Line 3 - Jochen Hecht - Paul Gaustad - Mike Grier

Line 4 - Daniel Paille - Matt Ellis - Patrick Kaleta

I find it interesting that Daniel Paille is on the fourth line. I think he is better than a fourth line player. I do like that this fourth line will bring energy but is not necessarily a fighting line. It is the type of line that can contribute on occasion. Paille is perfect where he is because he is a two-way player and could fill in on any of the top three lines if called upon.

The Defense is also difficult to predict but only because of the injury to Toni Lydman. It doesn't look like Lydman will be ready for Saturday and that makes things a little easier.

Pair 1 - Craig Rivet - Chris Butler

Pair 2 - Steve Montador - Andrej Sekera

Pair 3 - Tyler Myers - Henrik Tallinder

It would be interesting to see Myers and Sekera play together but I'm not sure Lindy is ready to live dangerously yet. Nathan Paestch would be the only healthy scratch in this scenario with Stafford and Lydman out with injuries.

Training Camp Profile: Adam Mair

Zachary Zielonka — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Graham Hughes - AP

8 months ago: Buffalo Sabres' Adam Mair, left, celebrates after scoring a goal against the Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) as Josh Gorges (26) looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, March 28, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Graham Hughes)

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From now until the season starts on October 3rd, we will take a look at the players making the squad and try to answer the main question that is going to be asked about them this season. For now, we look at center Adam Mair.

Adam Mair has always played the same role for the Sabres since he started in the 2002-03 season, a fourth line grinder. Mair is the physical type center that a team likes to have to grind down and wear out an opposing team and along with Patrick Kaleta and Matt Ellis, they did a fairly adequate job in doing so. The main question Mair faces this season is whether his hip injury is going to affect his performance during the season?

Mair missed most of training camp last season with a hip injury and went under the knife shortly before the season started to correct the problem. This now means that he will miss at least the first couple of weeks of the season. When Mair comes back, how will his repaired hip affect his play and will he practically be the same player he was before the injury?

The physical nature of Mair's game leads to injuries and will most likely affect the way he plays the game. That being said, if Mair can top his eight goals and 19 points from last season, which would be a career high, the loss of physicality could be overlooked. Mair has average 104 PIM over the past six seasons with the Sabres and another 80-90 penalty minute season would certainly not be out of the question. Injuries are unpredictable and ultimately we are not going to know how this will affect Mair, but as of now it seems as it shouldn't. Besides injuries can't change things like this:

Looking Ahead to Sabres 2010 Free Agents

David Oleksy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:00:11 -0000

The job of being a General Manager in the NHL is not an easy one despite how easy way make it look when he say "sign this guy" or "trade that guy". When trying to build a team a GM has to look at the big picture and not just this season. There is no doubt that Darcy Regier is looking at next season when he is negotiating with Drew Stafford and Mark Mancari. I'm sure he is looking beyond this season when he is dealing with the trade market as well.

This has been a relatively quiet off-season for the Sabres but next season may not be as quiet. The Sabres currently have six forwards, four defensemen and one goalie signed for the 2010-2011 season. That is a total of 11 players that are set to make aroun $39.5 million in 2010-2011.

Based on natural progression and the need to add some cheap players into the lineup, we can assume that Tyler Myers, Nathan Gerbe and possibly Jhonas Enroth will be regulars in the Sabres lineup by 2010. When adding those three players to the roster the Sabres would have 14 players signed for around $42 million. We could also be adding Drew Stafford and Mark Mancari to the list above depending if they sign and for how many years.

We have plenty of time to speculate on who will or won't be here next season but for arguments sake we'll just show you who will looking for a new contract next off-season. Follow the jump to see the list of players.

Unrestricted Free Agents

Adam Mair - 2009 Salary: $775,000

Mair is gritty player that has become a fan favorite because of his style of play. Before signing is last contract he professed his love for Buffalo and said "he wouldn't play anywhere else". His feelings may have changed because the team has not enjoyed the same success that they had before he signed his last contract. His role is that of a fourth liner and can probably be signed for a relatively cheap price.

Matt Ellis - 2009 salary: $500,000

Ellis is another gritty player that gives 100% on every shift. He is another role player that can be replaced easily by someone else but will likely be a candidate to be re-signed by the Sabres once again. The luxury of him signing a one year contract is that the Sabres have options with him.

Toni Lydman - 2009 Salary: $3,150,000

Lydman is a solid defensemen that is the but of criticism from many Sabres fans. Some of the criticism is warranted but he is possibly the Sabres best defenseman in his own zone. There is a possibility that the Sabres would try to bring him back next season but he would have to take a hefty pay cut from his current salary.

Henrik Tallinder - 2009 Salary: $3,250,000

I really don't need to say much about Hank. He is nowhere near the player that he was a couple of seasons ago and he is likely to leave the team unceremoniously, much like Dmitri Kalinin did.

Nathan Paetsch - 2009 salary: $1,050,000

Paetsch is a versatile player that has played both defense and forward for the Sabres. Every team loves to have a player that is as versatile as Paetsch but he will likely leave the team for an opportunity to play everyday with another team.

Joe Dipenta - 2009 Salary: $550,000

Dipenta was signed to add a veteran presence in Portland for this season. Nobody knows what the future will hold for Dipenta and would be unfair to speculate before he plays this season.

Patrick Lalime - 2009 Salary: $1,000,000

He makes too much money for a marginal backup goalie. He wasn't as good as needed to be when the Sabres needed him the most but his hip injury could have played a role in his play last season. With Jhonas Enroth pushing for a roster spot he will likely not be a member of this team beyond next season.

Restricted Free Agents

Clarke MacArthur - 2009 Salary: $1,400,000

MacArthur signed a one-year contract last week just one season after netting 17 goals last season. This will be a big season for MacArthur and will probably determine how hard the Sabres will try to re-sign him next year. There has been plenty of debate on this site about just how good C-Mac is and whether he was worth the money he signed for this season.

Daniel Paille - 2009 Salary: $1,350,000

Paille had a career high 19 goals two seasons ago but scored only 12 last season. He has been criticized for his lack of consistency but will be playing for a contract this season. He has shown at times that he can be a dominate player and a true power forward despite his size.

Patrick Kaleta - 2009 Salary: $522,500

Kaleta plays every shift like he is a bull in a china shop. He will be back after last season and will still come at a cheap price tag for the Sabres. He is possibly the most fearless player I have ever seen but he has suffered some head injuries that make him a concern for the team to sign.

Tim Kennedy - 2009 Salary: $635,000

Kennedy has some potential but has played in only one NHL game. He is likely to get an opportunity to prove what he can do at the NHL level this season. The Sabres like to keep the players they have developed and they will try to re-sign him after next season.

Other RFA's Next Season

In addition to the players listed above the Sabres have other minor league players that will be restricted free agents next season. The list includes Phillip Gogulla, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Mike Weber, Matt Generous, Derek Whitmore and Mike Kostka.

Adam Mair: 2008-2009 Report Card

David Oleksy — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:00:14 -0000

It's time to put the finishing touches on the 2008-2009 season for the Buffalo Sabres. Here is a complete report card of every single player that played a significant amount of time with the Sabres this season. Thanks to Japers Rink and Mile High Hockey for the inspiration.

Adam Mair

#22 / Center / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 208

Born: Feb 15, 1979

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Adam Mair	75	8	11	19	4	95	0	0	1	0	75	10.7

Key Stat: Mair finished the season with 107 hits. His 107 were good enough to be fourth on the team despite his limited playing time. The Sabres are known for being a soft team and guys like Mair are around to be enforcers.

Interesting stat: Mair was among the lowest on the team in ice time. Mair averaged only 10:35 of ice time per game. Only Patrick Kaleta (8:55), Matt Ellis (8:50) and Andrew Peters (4:01) had less ice time per game than Mair did.

Line Combos

Max Afinogenov - Ales Kotalik (534 shifts - 3 points)
Ales Kotalik - Daniel Paille (180 shifts - 3 points)
Matt Ellis - Daniel Paille (147 shifts - 0 points)
Paul Gaustad - Daniel Paille (144 shifts - 3 points)
Paul Gaustad - Dominic Moore (137 shifts - 2 points)

The Good: Mair is known as a tough hard hitting player but his defensive play is seriously under-rated. The Sabres allowed 2.44 goals/60 minutes when Mair is off the ice. That number drops to an incredible 1.73 goals/60 minutes when he is on the ice. Mair was also third on the team with a plus four in the more common plus/minus stat.

He was fourth on the team with a total of 107 hits and he was third with a total of 95 penalty minutes. As one of the physical leaders of the team, he is asked to sometimes get involved in fights. He had a total of five fights this season and was 4-0 with one draw according to hockeyfights.com.

The Bad: Mair is naturally a Center although he does play some wing as well. He should be used more often on the wing because winning face-offs is not one of his strengths. Mair took a total of 414 face-offs this season and won only 48.3% of his draws. That was good for fourth on the team behind Roy, Gaustad and Moore.

As a physical player he is expected to take more penalties than a skill player. Although his penalty minutes are expected to be higher is penalty plus minus should not. Mair is ranked along with the worst in the league as minus 16. He drew a total of 14 penalties but was called for 30.

Some of his defensive totals might be on the rise because of the quality competition he faces. His -0.07 quality of competition was the worst on the team among the regulars. Only Tim Kennedy, Mark Mancari and Nathan Paetsch played against lower quality competition.

2008-2009 Salary: $750,000

2009-2010 Status: signed for $775,000

Vote: It's time to grade Mair for his play in the 2008-2009 season. Every player has expectations so vote based on those expectations. If a player played to their potential they should receive a "C" if they exceeded expectations they would receive a "B" or an "A".

Discuss: Should Mair be used more as a defensive Forward or are is totals due to the competition he faces? Should Mair be kept after he becomes an unrestricted free agent next season? Should Mair be moved to the Wing instead of his natural position of Center?

Up Next: Ryan Miller

Poll

Give a grade to Adam Mair

A

5 votes

B

53 votes

C

80 votes

D

11 votes

F

1 votes

150 votes | Poll has closed

The 2009 Alternative NHL Awards

Dirk Hoag — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 00:47:49 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

If you can't beat 'em, hold 'em: the Columbus Blue Jackets' Mike Commodore led the NHL with 10 Holding penalties this season. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

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Yes, hockey fans, I know most of you are gearing up for the Stanley Cup playoffs (either that or Googling John Tavares), but before the postseason begins, it's worth recognizing some of the outstanding achievements in the NHL this year that would otherwise be overlooked. After all, before every game-changing power play goal, there has to be a penalty that made that man-advantage possible, right?

So let's celebrate hockey's parade of villains with the 2009 Alternative NHL Awards. If you're interested in the history of this aspect of the game, be sure to check out the winners from 2008, 2007, and 2006 as well.

Boarding: Derek Dorsett of the Columbus Blue Jackets burst onto the NHL scene this year with a dominating rookie performance in terms of Boarding, leading the league with 5 such calls in just 52 games. This was just good enough to top San Jose's Milan Michalek and Carolina's Tuomo Ruutu, with four each.

Charging: Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta led the NHL with 3 Charging penalties, ahead of nine players tied with 2 apiece. Kaleta's aggressive play is no doubt a factor in his 5th-place finish in the Penalty Plus/Minus rankings.

Cross-Checking: A hockey stick, in the hands of a virtuoso scorer, can be a delicate instrument, but in the hands of a defenseman it can also be used as a "persuasive device" to assist opposing forwards in their departure from prime scoring areas. Anaheim's Chris Pronger got whistled for Cross-Checking 7 times this season, just ahead of Edmonton's Ethan Moreau and Carolina's Joni Pitkanen with 6 each. This is Pitkanen's second appearance on the leaderboard in this category, having finished 3rd in 2007.

Delay of Game/Puck Over Glass: In these troubled economic times, the NHL has to try a number of method to reach out to fans, and for Atlanta's Ron Hainsey, apparently that means sending free pucks into the crowd. He was called for 5 Delay of Game penalties for firing the puck over the glass, beating out a five-way tie for second place.

Diving: There were five players tied with 2 Diving calls, but in terms of team production, the Vancouver Canucks lead the way with 5, followed by Buffalo's 4.

Elbowing: Buffalo's Adam Mair led the way with 3 Elbowing calls, ahead of nine players with 2 apiece.

Fighting: Edmonton's Zack Stortini (25) dropped the gloves most often this season, followed by last year's champ, Columbus' Jared Boll (24), and two-time leader (in 2006 and 2007) Anaheim's George Parros (23).

Goaltender Interference: Nobody, but nobody, charges the crease like Anaheim's Corey Perry, who took a penalty for interfering with a goalie 7 times. New Jersey's Bobby Holik came close, however, with 5 such calls.

High-Sticking: You may have seen the famous video of Alex Kovalev doing stickhandling tricks, but apparently he gets a little too slap-happy out there, and led the NHL with 9 penalties for High-Sticking this season, ahead of several players tied with 7.

Holding: Columbus' Mike Commodore led all clutchers with 10 calls, barely beating out Atlanta's Boris Valabik with 9. Commodore finally breaks through with a victory here, after coming close in 2007.

Hooking: Dallas Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas takes the title in Hooking with 19 calls, a whisker ahead of Florida Panthers free-agent-to-be Jay Bouwmeester.

Interference: It was a tie this year atop the Interference leaderboard, with Chicago's Brent Seabrook and Montreal's Roman Hamrlik taking 10 calls each.

Roughing: It will come as no surprise to Northwest Division opponent that Vancouver's Alex Burrows (who took 1st in 2007 and was 2nd last year) led the league with 21 Roughing penalties. Montreal's Mike Komisarek and Los Angeles' Raitis Ivanans tied for second with 17.

Slashing: Surely, over time, the "Saw" film producers will make this a hallmark of play in Tampa, but until then, Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf is your reigning Slasher King, with 9 penalties this season. He topped Philadelphia's Scott Hartnell (8) and Florida's Greg Campbell (7).

Too Many Men: Vancouver, Philadelphia, and Chicago all had difficulty with having the proper number of players on the ice, with 13 penalties apiece. The Rangers were next with 12, all the way down the most mathematically gifted team, the Montreal Canadiens, taking just 2.

Tripping: Hey, at least Toronto had someone lead the league in something! Pavel Kubina of the Maple Leafs committed 10 Tripping fouls over the course of the season to lead all players, followed by Minnesota's Mikko Koivu and Los Angeles' Drew Doughty with 9.

Sabres Escape With Shootout Victory

David Oleksy — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:15:50 -0000

When all is said and done this was nothing more than a hockey game. As it turned out, it was a really exciting hockey game but today was about a lot more than a hockey game for the people in Buffalo and throughout the country. The game played second fiddle to the tragic plane crash near the Buffalo Airport on Thursday night. As Kevin from Bflo Blog pointed out earlier today, most people in Buffalo were either directly or indirectly affected by the tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those that were affected by this tragedy.

This game had everything you could ask for in a hockey game. The emotional swings that went on this game were incredible. The Sabres built an early 3-0 lead and seemed to be in complete control of the game. At that point the emotion was jubilation. The thought was WOW...we are dominating the best team in the league. Mair, Spacek and Roy scored first period goals but Patrick Marleau scored a late first period goal to put the Sharks right back in the game.

The emotions quickly turned to nervousness as San Jose took control of the game in the second period and everything seemed to be crumbling down for the Sabres. Despite getting thoroughly outplayed in the second period the Sabres still led 4-3 giving us fans hope that they could hang on for the victory.

It was with tempered enthusiasm that the third period began but those thoughts quickly turned to anger. Craig Rivet was called for a high sticking penalty, although replays clearly showed that Thorton was struck by the stick of his teammate and not Craig Rivet. The Sharks capitalized on the opportunity and just like that the game was 4-4. About four minutes later the Sharks took the lead and the disappointment set in.

The Sabres had been outplayed for over 30 minutes and there was no reason to believe that they could come back and tie the game. With four seconds left the Sabres proved me and everyone else wrong when Jason Pominville tipped a Craig Rivet shot by Evgeni Nabakov and into the net.

Both teams had chances in overtime but neither converted their opportunities. Ales Kotalik and Drew Stafford are the Sabres best two scorers in the shootout and both were stopped by Nabakov. Once again things looked bleak for the Sabres but big goals by Pominville and Roy and a big save by Miller gave the Sabres a 6-5 shootout victory.

Rivet Haunts his Ex-Teammates

Rivet is a veteran player that has played many games in his NHL career yet it was tonight that he had his best offensive game in the NHL. Rivet had three assists on the night and none was more important than Pominville tipping his shot with four seconds left. It was easy to see his emotion in the locker room after the game and rightfully so.

Rivet was named captain by his teammates before the season and tonight he proved why he is the captain of this team. Not only for his three assists but he was solid in his own zone as well.

Special Teams a Factor

The Sabres 1-for-12 power play performance on Wednesday night was well chronicled. They rebounded tonight by scoring on their first three power play opportunities. They cooled off a bit as the game went on and finished the game 3-for-6. On Wednesday it seemed nobody was willing to go in front of the net but that was not the case tonight. They seemed willing to pay the price and Stafford did his best Thomas Vanek impersonation in front on the Spacek goal.

As good as the power play was, the penalty kill was equally as bad. The Sharks had only two opportunities with the man-advantage and they converted on both. The Sabres penalty kill has not been good in recent games after having one of the best penalty kill units in the league early in the season.

A Big Two Points

After the game on Wednesday, it was important for Buffalo to get two points tonight. That importance was magnified when the Florida Panthers beat the New York Rangers in a shootout. Sabres fans were hoping that game would be won in regulation to avoid the extra point but it wasn't to be. The Panthers earned two and the Rangers earned the loser point. Buffalo is currently tied with the Panthers at 64 points and the Rangers improved to 66 points.

Roll Call

Still not near the 222 we had on Saturday night but an impressive 170 comments from four users in this exciting game.

Roll Call: Joan O., D.O., dfderie, qdloser
Total Users: 4
Total Posts: 170

Up Next

The Sabres have a huge game on Sunday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Everyone is pretty familiar with my hate for the Canes and nothing would be more sweet than a victory on Sunday. The Canes are currently five points behind the Sabres but play against Columbus on Saturday night.

Sabres Stay Hot at Home

David Oleksy — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:13:13 -0000

It wasn't pretty, it wasn't flashy, it wasn't brilliant but it was a win. It took a gutsy effort and more great goaltending for the Sabres to earn the 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens. It's tough to say that Buffalo was the better team tonight because that wasn't always the case but they battled hard all night. They took advanatge of their chances and once again they relied on Ryan Miller to make big saves.

This was the Sabres fifth consecutive home win dating all the way back to January 6. Early in the season they struggled at home but they seem to thrive on home ice lately. Buffalo plays three of their next four at home including games against Western Conference power San Jose and a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It has been fun watching this team as of late. They haven't won all of their games but they have battled in every single one of them. This team isn't the same team that won the Presidents Trophy but they are finally creating an identity. Consistency has plagued this team in the past so only time will tell if they continue to play at this level.

Living the High Life

Ryan Miller seen his shutout streak end tonight but not before it reached a career best 157 minutes and 13 seconds. After two consecutive shutouts, Miller allowed the Canadiens to score two goals in the victory. That doesn't tell the story as to how good Miller was. He made 35 saves including 15 saves in the first period. Without Miller's spectacular play in the first period, we may be talking about a Sabres loss instead of a 3-2 victory.

Welcome Back Spacek

The Sabres depleted blue line received good news when Jaro Spacek came back in the lineup but nobody could have predicted how good that news was. Spacek not only played tonight but he led all Sabres in ice time with 24 minutes and 45 seconds.

His most important play came early in the second period. Spacek rifled a slap shot by Carey Price just 27 seconds into the period and helped Buffalo to take control of the game. It was only the the third goal of the season for Spacek but it was an important one.

With Spacek back in the lineup it allowed Mike Weber and Chris Butler to be relied upon less and put the youngsters in a more comfortable position. Butler had slumped recently but was solid again tonight.

Secondary Scoring

The Sabres secondary scoring is something I have been very critical of. Tonight they received a goals from unlikely sources. In addition to Spacek lighting the lamp, Nathan Paetsch played the game at forward and was rewarded with a goal of his own.

Peatch played on a line with Matt Ellis and Adam Mair and although they played sparingly, they were probably the Sabres best line. They generated numerous scoring chances and had six of the Sabres 22 shots. Everytime the Sabres needed a spark it seemed these guys were on the ice and creating chances.

Power "less" Play

If there was one negative to the game, it was the Sabres power play. This is an area that the Sabres need to improve on to be a real contender. They were 0-for-4 tonight and have struggled with the man advantage. They scored twice against the Leafs on Wednesday night but they had nine opportunities in that game.

Harry Neale Quote of the Game

I'm sure it wasn't another off night for Harry but unfortuantely i didn't catch any one-liners. Feel free to add your Harry Neale quote in the comments.

Roll Call

Thanks to everyone that contributed to the game thread tonight and hopefully we'll see you again tomorrow night.

Roll Call: ccthemovieman, D.O., dfderie, qdloser, chargerman73se, Joan O.
Total Users: 6
Total Posts: 111
Total Threads: 1

Name	# of Posts
dfderie	50
D.O.	29
Joan O.	15
qdloser	11
ccthemovieman	5
chargerman73se

Up Next

There is no rest for the Sabres. They are right back in action tomorrow night in Ottawa. Face-off is 7:00 PM on Saturday night.