SB Nation - Nathan Paetsch

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ Washington Capitals

Rafal Ladysz — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:49:31 -0000

1 day ago: Buffalo Sabres centre Derek Roy, second right, celebrates his game-winning overtime goal with teammates Jochen Hecht, (55) of Germany, Andrej Sekera, (44) of Sloavakia, and Steve Montador, right, during an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. (AP Photo, The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)

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If at first you don't succeed, try again. Buffalo was shutout 2-0 in Washington on Nov.25 and responded with a 3-0 victory two weeks later to even the season series. Beating the Capitals is one thing, holding them off the board totally is another as it was the first time in 11 months and the one instance this year that Washington has been shutout. Ryan Miller made a few unreal saves and Alex Ovechkin wasn't given much time or space.

What sort of feeling does that create for Washington heading into this match-up? With the home crowd on their side, the Capitals will be shooting furiously looking to get a quick goal and then add to it. But the Sabres have been resilient all season making believers out of hockey's elite squads.

Ten thoughts on the contest below.

I know this is becoming common but Ryan Miller deserves a bullet on his own. A 21-7-2 record, .938 save percentage, 1.89 goals against average and four shutouts have the Michigan native hearing talks about a Vezina Trophy and Hart Memorial Award. Can you think of a player who has been more valuable to his club at this point? I didn't think so.
It's hard to be considered a stud among a group like Washington's but Tomas Fleischmann is in his own right. With 14 goals in 25 games, he's registered only 51 shots for a 27.5 shooting percentage; tops in the league. In other words, Alex Ovechkin is the sole Capital he's trailing in goals and he's played less games than guys like Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom. Stud.
Nathan Paetsch scored his first goal in nearly a year at Toronto becoming the 20th Sabre to light the lamp this season. A fourth line forward because of Buffalo`s defensive commodities, he did the simple thing by getting the puck on net and it paid off. It may be the role he has to play but I haven`t heard any complaints.
Both powerplays are struggling with Washington converting three times in their last 23 opportunities and Buffalo falling to 27th in the league altogether. Thankfully, the penalty kill continues to prevail ranked sixth and the Sabres must pressure the Capitals' man-advantage.
Assuming that Jose Theodore starts, his 9-13-1 career record against Buffalo isn't the best of signs for Washington. Their scoring resourcefulness has bailed out poor goaltending on numerous nights however, Theodore must hold his end of the bargain if the team is to get by Miller and the rest of the Sabres.
Derek Roy accumulated his third game-winner of the year against the Maple Leafs tying Clarke MacArthur for the team lead. With 28 points in 35 games, it's become clear who will lead Buffalo offensively as the pint-sized center has gotten increasingly dependable as the season progresses. Roy is moving along noticeably with 12 points in 13 contests.
Alexander Ovechkin has 23 goals in 28 games making you wonder how many more he would have were it not for an eight-game absence. Elsewhere, Mike Green and Semin have both been rather cold recently in their production.
Steve Montador registered two assists Monday which is fitting for a defenseman who works hard providing results in many specific assignments. He scored the first goal the last time these two clubs went toe-to-toe and it turned out to be the deciding tally.
Top scorer Thomas Vanek will sit out his third game because of soreness in the abdomen region. Joining him are Patrick Kaleta, Chris Butler and Nathan Gerbe. Washington will be without Semyon Varlamov, Boyd Gordon and Brian Pothier.
Buffalo is 4-3 through seven games with Southeast Division competition and Washington is 4-3-2 in its Northeast battles. Neither is exactly convincing but one will be two games above .500 once the day is through.

Separated by three points with the Sabres owning a game in hand, this match-up has its value for the playoff positions as both clubs tussle for an upper hand on one another. Points in December are just as crucial as the ones in April.

Sabres 3 Leafs 2 OT: Roy Nets Monster Goal

David Oleksy — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:22:31 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

1 day ago: Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller dives to make a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)

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After a week of playing uninspired hockey the Sabres finally looked like a playoff contender on Saturday night against the defensing champion Pittsburgh Penguins. The problem is they played better and lost the game. With that game nothing more than a memory there were questions as to which Sabres team would show up tonight.

The game started exactly how the Sabres hoped it would start. They survived an early flurry by the Toronto Maple Leafs and eventually Nathan Paetsch scored his first goal of the season to give the Sabres a 1-0 lead. They held that lead into the locker room after 20 minutes and seemed to be in good position with the shots knotted at 13.

The second period was back to the Sabres team we had seen all of last week. The Leafs took control of the game and scored two ~~lucky~~ hard working goals. Toronto tied it on a shot from behind the goal line by Viktor Stalberg. Stalberg shot it towards the front of the net and it deflected off of lanky Sabres Defenseman Tyler Myers and into the net. The second goal would be equally as strange as it deflected off the skate on Ian White who had pinched in from the point and drove hard to the net.

The Leafs did an outstanding job of keeping the Sabres off balance by standing them up at the blueline in the third period. They seemed content to hang on to their one goal lead. Jochen Hecht figured out the defense and beat "The Monster" with a backhand to tie the game with just over seven minutes left. Derek Roy eventually scored the winner and the Sabres came away with an undeserved victory.

Final - 12.21.2009	1	2	3	OT	Total
Buffalo Sabres	1	0	1	1	3
Toronto Maple Leafs	0	2	0	0	2

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Corsi Numbers | Event Summary | Pension Plan Puppets

Explanation of Corsi Numbers chart: There are four categories at the top of the page. 1 - Goals, 2 - saved shots, 3 - missed shots and 4 - blocked shots. There are two columns under each of the top headings. They represent for and against. This is a little bit different than the previous chart we used. There is also a category called Fenwick +/- and that represents the Corsi number minus blocked shots. It is believed by some people that the Fenwick number is a better representation of production.

Game Highlights

Quitting is for Losers

After a poor second period and a slow moving third period the Sabres could have easily folded their tent and looked ahead to Wednesday night. Instead they battled hard and some how found a way to get inside the Leafs defense to tie the game on a goal by Jochen Hecht. It looked like they might be playing for a point but in overtime Derek Roy was left all alone in front for the game winning goal.

Waiting in the Wings

Nathan Paetsch has one of the hardest jobs on the entire Sabres team. He is a natural defenseman who spends most of his time watching games from the press box. He has been called into duty to play forward on occasion and tonight was one of those occasions.

The Sabres were without the services of Thomas Vanek (abdominal injury) and Patrick Kaleta (neck injury) and therefore they dressed Nathan Paetsch as a fourth line forward. Paetsch scored his first goal of the season just over six minutes into the game. There was nothing spectacular about the goal but proved that good things happen when you shoot the puck.

Some Slumps End and Some Continue

Derek Roy has not been too bad as of late but it was still a confidence boosting goal when he scored the overtime winner after being left all alone in front Of Gustavsson. Roy made a nice move and waited until Gustavsson was down and out of position to score the goal. This could possibly be the goal that lifts Roy back to the player he was a season ago.
It's no surprise that Jochen Hecht is in a slump after watching him play last season. Still it was nice to see him end his slump with a good goal to tie the game. Hecht had not scored a goal since November 30 against the Leafs.
Tyler Myers continues to be inconsistent. I stop short of saying he is in a slump because he still amazes me with some of the things he does on the ice. He is so fast that he is never out of position and he is calm when he has the puck. It is that calmness however that leads to some nonchalant passes that end up becoming turnovers that head in the other direction.
The Sabres offense continues to struggle. They scored three goals tonight but most of the night was spent with players shooting wide or directly into the chest of Gustavsson. There are some talented players on the team and they are trying too hard to make the perfect play. They need to score more goals like the Leafs did tonight.

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Game 9: Sabres vs. Devils Preview

Zachary Zielonka — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:15:18 -0000

More photos » by Lynne Sladky - AP

2 months ago: Buffalo Sabres center Derek Roy (9) and right wing Mike Grier (25) skates off the ice after the Sabres defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2 during an NHL hockey game in Sunrise, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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Game nine is decision time for the Sabres. Decisions will be need to made about their rookie phenomenon Tyler Myers. Myers has impressed Sabres fans and players alike. Henrik Tallinder had this to say about Myers' play this season:

"He should play here," Tallinder said after practice Tuesday. "I'm really amazed with his poise with the puck. It's unbelievable for his age, 19. You don't see veteran guys have that."

The Sabres are going to be without Toni Lydman again as he suffered a setback with his groin injury. Nathan Paetsch will fill in for Lydman. In Paetsch's first game, he played 13:09 and was a -1 with five shots on goal. The team as a whole played well against the Lightning and was able to sweep the points out of the Florida road trip. The main difference between this season and last season is that last season's team doesn't score that goal in the last six seconds to tie the game up.

The Devils are going to be without Paul Martin and Jay Pandolfo both of who suffered injuries this weekend. Martin Brodeur will be in net for the Devils as their last game was on Saturday.

Keys To The Game

Sabres: Continue to play well in front of Miller. Ryan Miller has been playing really well this season and the defense that has been playing in front of him has been a large part of that. If the defense continues to play as well as it has, Miller should continue to play well and the team should be able compete for a win.

New Jersey: Try to stymie the Sabres offense. If the Devils can get the Sabres to panic, they should be able to get the win. Getting the Sabres to panic is going to be the difficult part because the Sabres as a team keeps composed even if they are down by two goals.

Decision on Myers is Drawing Closer

David Oleksy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:01:25 -0000

More photos » by Gerald Herbert - AP

3 months ago: Buffalo Sabres' Tyler Myers (57) checks Washington Capitals' Jay Beagle in the second period of an NHL preseason hockey game in Washington, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

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This is a post that I wrote last week but it still holds relative today because there are key decisions to be made by the Sabres coaching staff. Before the season we talked in depth about the difficult decisions they would need to make in regards to the roster. They made the decision to keep Tim Kennedy and Tyler Myers to start the season and both guys have made them look like geniuses.

The decisions that were made were obviously correct decisions. It is almost decision time again because the Sabres have eight defensemen on the roster and Myers has played six games. Remember Myers can only play nine games before his contract will kick in and make him a free agent a year earlier.

The Sabres have not been forced to make a decision on the blueline because of injuries to key players on that unit. Toni Lydman began the season on the injured list and now Andrej Sekera is out of the lineup with an injury. The injuries have delayed the need for decision but a decision is inevitable at some point.

I don't expect the Sabres to carry eight defensemen all season, especially with 14 NHL caliber forwards on the team as well. There are plenty of options for the Sabres to explore when the need arises.

The easiest option would be to send Myers back to juniors before he plays 10 games and freeing up a roster spot while avoiding his contract kicking in. If that is the decision it will be made before the Sabres take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday October 30.

Myers has been one of, if not the best Sabres blueliner this season. He is playing around 20 minutes a game and has a goal, three assists and a plus-5 rating. He has accomplished this as a 19 year-old rookie that figures to become even better with experience.

Another option for the Sabres would be to do something with Henrik Tallinder. Before the season started he appeared to be the odd man out on the Sabres blueline. He had gone from the Sabres best defenseman to their worst in just two seasons. He has been laying alongside Myers this season and is as close as we have sen to the old Tallinder.

Tallinder has also played around 20 minutes a game and he leads the team with a plus-6 rating. He was an amazing plus-5 in the Sabres 6-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings last Tuesday. His confidence is very evident in his play on the ice, especially the way he is playing the puck.

Nathan Paetsch looks like the obvious man out regarding a roster spot. He has not even gotten a sniff of the lineup although his name was mentioned as a replacement when Vanek was injured. I'm sure it was never a consideration but it was mentioned by Lindy Ruff.

If the Sabres waive Paetsch after Sekera returns they would still have seven defensemen that can play everyday in the NHL. They could decide to go with a reward system and make the decision daily based on the player that has the worst game. The positive would be the incentive for the players to play well but the negative would be developing a chemistry with the players in the lineup.

If I were the one making the decision, Myers would stay in Buffalo and in the lineup. Paetsch would be waived and sent to Portland if he clears, although I think some team would be in the market for a versatile seventh defenseman. It would be Andrej Sekera that would remain in the press box until another player gets injured or regresses. Sekera was struggling before he went out with injury and he has regressed considerably since his start last season.

Poll

Should the Sabres Keep Tyler Myers past the nine games

Yes...he has played well enough to stay

529 votes

No...he needs more time to develop

6 votes

No...he is good enough but his contract is more important

28 votes

563 votes | Poll has closed

Nathan Paetsch: 2008-2009 Report Card

David Oleksy — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:00:19 -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.

Nathan Paetsch

#38 / Defenseman / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 198

Born: Mar 30, 1983

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Nathan Paetsch	23	2	4	6	3	25	0	0	0	0	21	9.5

Key Stat:

Interesting Stat: The Buffalo Sabres allowed seven goals while Nathan Paetsch was on the ice this season. Six of those goals were scored while he was on the ice with Teppo Numminen. He played a total of 136:20 with Numminen and a total of 101:48 without Numminen this season.

Fun Fact: Nathan Paetsch was actually drafted twice in the NHL. He was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals in the second round of the 2001 draft. He remained unsigned and went back in the draft in 2003. The Sabres selected him in the seventh round.

The Good: There is no denying that Paetsch is a versatile player that can fill any role. He is a defenseman by trade but he has played forward when called upon, including this season. Paetsch not only held his own but looked rather comfortable as a forward.

He finished the season as a plus three which was tied for seventh on the team. He obviously did it with limited playing time but still proved to be solid in his own end.

He also proved that he could play a physical game. He wasn't afraid to deliver a hit and he even had a fight against Steve Goertzen on January 31. Ironically enough he had fought Goertsen in a 2005 pre-season game when Goertzen was with the Blue Jackets.

The Bad: Paetsch finished the season as a plus three but he was protected by the Sabres coaching staff. It may be coincidence or it may have been by design but Paetsch had the worst quality of competition rating (-0.10) on the entire team.

His total games played were only 23, the lowest since playing only one game in 2005. Instead of seeing progress in his game we have seen him regress in the eyes of the coaching staff.

2008-2009 Salary: $800,000

2009-2010 Status: signed for $1,050,000

Vote: It's time to grade Paetsch for his play in Buffalo during 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 Paetsch make the move to forward permanatley, ala Dustin Byfuglien? Statistcally Paetsch had a pretty good season, do you think he should have been given more of an opportunity to play? Should the Sabres try to move Paetsch to free up some cap space?

Up Next: Daniel Paille

Poll

Grade Nathan Paetsch for his play in the 2008-2009 season

A

3 votes

B

29 votes

C

76 votes

D

29 votes

F

1 votes

138 votes | Poll has closed

Sabres Get the Point

David Oleksy — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 03:41:54 -0000

It took 40 minutes of hockey and a two goal deficit to make the Sabres play but they roared back before falling in a shootout. It's never good to leave a point on the table against one of the worst teams in the league but they were lucky to get that.

When you are in a playoff race, every point matters. Ottawa had a 2-0 lead and seemed to be in complete control after two periods. Ottawa fired 30 shots on Miller through 40 minutes and held a 2-0 lead. Nobody in their right mind, thought the Sabres would have a chance to win the game and yet it came down to the eighth shooter in the shootout before the game was decided.

Miller Time Again

We have come to expect Miller to be a story of the game and tonight was no different. Miller made 28 saves through two periods and a total of 40 saves in the game. Much like last night, the Sabres would have earned no points if Miller was not spectacular.

We have seen Miller be good in the past but I'm not sure we have ever seen a stretch like we have recently. Miller has been outstanding since the beginning of 2009 and is as confident as I have ever seen him.

I hate to rain on the Miller parade but I have to mention the negatives as well. As good as Miller was in the game, he was equally as bad in the shootout. In fairness to Miller, the Sens put a couple of nice moves on him but we have seen Miller make better saves before.

Tired Legs

It was pretty clear that this team was extremely tired. They just came back from a long Western Conference road trip and played three games in four nights. For 40 minutes they looked effortless but through the third period and overtime, they looked slow and tired. It looked like they were skating but they weren't really moving anywhere...at least not fast.

To make matters worse...they played most of the game without Thomas Vanek and at least half the game without Mike Weber. Vanek took a puck to the face in the first period and was never able to return and Weber suffered an injury as well. Paetsch had been playing forward but moved back to defense and that left the Sabres with only 10 healthy forwrads. It was basically nine because Kaleta didn't play much in the later stages of the game.

Power Play Converts

Last night I mentioned the Sabres power play struggles and tonight they responded. They were awarded only one power play all night and they made it count. Drew Stafford scored on the power play to tie the score 2-2 for the Sabres.

Harry Neale Quote of the Game

My apologies that I did not hear the exact quote but even paraphrasing...it's still funny. Edited with the help of ccthemovieman

Most players sharpen their skates before the game, Jarkko Ruutu sharpens his teeth.

This was obviously in reference to the incident when Ruutu bit the hand of Sabres tough guy Andrew Peters.

Roll Call

Thanks to everyone that contributed to game thread tonight. We set a new Die by the Blade record with a total of 222 comments. It was J2 leading the way with 88 comments by himself.

Roll Call: dfderie, D.O., ccthemovieman, BenAllen, qdloser, J2
Total Users: 6
Total Posts: 222
Total Threads: 1

Up Next

Buffalo will get a much needed rest. The next time they take the ice will be Wednesday night at the HSBC Arena against the Ottawa Senators. They probably don't need much motivation against Ottawa but with some fresh legs...I expect a much different game.

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.

Sabres Butler called up and other Sabres Stuff

David Oleksy — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:35:20 -0000

After the game on Wednesday night the Buffalo Sabres felt it was time to make a few changes and they called up Chris Butler and recalled Matt Ellis. As I mentioned in the previous post...I would expect to see Butler playing in the place of Nathan Paetsch while Ellis will likely replace MacArthur. C-Mac didn't have his best game on Wednesday and he also blocked a shot with his leg during that game. The likely scenario is they will list C-Mac out with a leg injury although they have made the move regardless of injury.

Chris Butler

#34 / Defenseman / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-1

Weight: 195

Born: Oct 27, 1986

As you can see above, Butler is big guy and an all around defenseman. He has scored two goals and has 10 assists in Portland this season in 27 games played. Butler has never been known as a tough guy but he won't shy away from physical play either. He played three seasons at the University of Denver before signing with Buffalo this season.

Matt Ellis

#37 / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-0

Weight: 207

Born: Aug 31, 1981

We already know what Matt Ellis is going to bring to the lineup and it's nothing flashy. Ellis is not flashy but he doesn't make a lot of mistakes either. Turnovers have been killing this team lately and Ellis is usually a smart player. If you are wondering why they would call up Ellis and not Mancari or even Tim Kennedy that is the reason, less mistakes.

Rehashing Wednesday Night

I'll try not to be so negative this time around but that game was ugly. If you didn't watch the game and thought I was upset for no reason, read what Ryan had to say at the Goose's Roost and what Pete said at The Ultimate Sports Road Trip.

As bad as the team was on Wednesday it was game that you can not absolve Ryan Miller. He allowed plenty of juicy rebounds, especially on the games first goal.
The Sabres outstanding penalty killing allowed a power play goal against last night but it came on a 5-on-3. The Devils had a 5-on-3 because of a questionable hooking call on Henrik Tallinder. Not the reason they lost but certainly worth bringing up.
Patrick Kaleta was back in the lineup for the Sabres and may have been the best player on the ice. He was able to draw a couple of penalties and scored his second goal of the season.
Surprisingly enough, especially in a game like Wednesday night, Max Afinogenov was pretty good for the Sabres. It may have been his best game of the season.
Right move or wrong move? I'm not sure, but Thomas Vanek (the leagues leading scorer) spent plenty of time on the bench because Lindy Ruff was not pleased with his play. He wasn't the only guy to find the bench but he is the most notable.

Sabres continue free fall

David Oleksy — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 05:11:10 -0000

Things have been bad lately for the Buffalo Sabres and they didn't get much better tonight at the HSBC Arena. I didn't see the game but by all indications the Sabres played a much better game but just failed to convert their opportunities. It's a step in the right direction for a struggling team but they need to start finishing.

Buffalo has now lost four in a row and have looked mostly bad in the process. Tonight was different story, they fired 40 shots at ex-Sabre goalie Martin Biron but he turned them all away. If you counted all the missed open nets and the three goal posts the shots would be close to 50.

Buffalo called up Mark Mancari and playued Nathan Paetsch tonight but they were unable to make a difference as the Sabres losing streak continues. Mancari had 14:50 of ice time and registered five shots on goal, although none of them beat Biron. In his first action in quite some time Nathan Paetsch had 15:21 of ice time, blocked three shots and had an even rating.

Sabres Captain Craig Rivet has not seemed to be the same since returning from knee injury. It was the third consecutive game that he registered a minus rating and he was a minus three in the game. I don't think Rivet is the next one into the press box but so often you here the saying "as the Captain goes, the team goes" They have both been on the minus side recently.

The Sabres have an opportunity to get right back at it tomorrow night when the New York Islanders invade the HSBC Arena. Face-off on Saturday night is set for 7:05 and will be the second game on a four game home stand for Buffalo.