SB Nation - Buffalo Sabres

Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Buffalo Sabres

Rafal Ladysz — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:31:27 -0000

about 20 hours ago: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Andrej Sekera, of Slovakia, left, congratulates Sabres left winger Thomas Vanek, of Austria, center, after his goal as Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Jason Blake skates past during the third period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. Buffalo won 5-2. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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Winning isn't achieved by the deserving side sometimes and the Buffalo Sabres found momentum at the hands of both goaltenders Friday. Ryan Miller made the ~~big~~ routine saves and Vesa Toskala fumbled a Toni Lydman shot that would have went wide of the net leading to a second period onslaught. Toronto was intense, quick and the better squad but succumbed to Buffalo much like they in turn do to the Ottawa Senators. With the Senators and Bruins both losing, the Sabres have extra breathing space in the Northeast Division.

Food poisoning or not, the Sabres need to have a sophisticated plan for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury isn't going to gift wrap a goal and he can steal a result too. And where Niklas Hagman and Jamal Mayers missed prime scoring chances, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin won't. These two teams split the season series in 2009 with both winning once on the road.

Ten thoughts on the game below.

First and foremost, Paul Gaustad made his much appreciated return to the line-up yesterday racking up 19:36 in ice time, a plus-one rating and went 12-for-15 in the face-off circle. It was really evident how much he was missed in the last department during his absence. Gaustad's presence is assuring because you always know what you'll get from him and that's a lot if I may say so.
Crosby is having some year with 22 goals and 20 assists in 34 games. On pace for 52 goals, he's added another dimension to his game by firing the puck 128 times on target or 13 less than Alexander Ovechkin albeit he competed in seven more matches. Regardless, Crosby is staggeringly threatening with this new approach.
Miller was brilliant in fending off Toronto so Patrick Lalime will start for Buffalo. In his last game, he stopped 39 Chicago Blackhawk shots for his first victory of the season and has to be looking forward to a second large task in the span of eight days.
Sergei Gonchar has 19 points in 23 games but the Penguins have another exciting offensive defenseman. Alex Goligoski has an impressive 17 points in 25 games along with a plus-12 rating bringing excellent offensive instincts and knowledge. When Gonchar retires, look for this kid to quarterback the Pittsburgh powerplay for years. Sorry Kris Letang.
Buffalo's closest forward to consistent production has been Derek Roy who has ten points in the last 11 games. He had a goal against the Maple Leafs as did Thomas Vanek and the Sabres could use their top levels if they're to one-up the Penguins.
Pittsburgh welcomed Chris Kunitz back last weekend after a one-month layoff and he has two points in three games since. Playing with Crosby and Bill Guerin, the winger is a gritty individual who can hit hard and provide some offense.
Suffering a concussion from a dirty Jarkko Ruutu check, Patrick Kaleta is out again. Nathan Gerbe remains questionable with groin issues. Pittsburgh has a clean bill of health throughout the roster.
Jordan Staal has 14 points in 16 games, Malkin has 17 in 14 and Guerin has 12 in 16. Pittsburgh thrives on the powerplay usually and the Sabres must keep their feet moving to avoid any lazy infractions.
The line of Gaustad, Adam Mair and Matt Ellis was flying yesterday with their fore-checking, cycling and work along the boards. Ellis scored his second marker of the year and for a guy that works as hard as he does, it was well earned.
Pittsburgh and Buffalo are close in a few categories like points, wins, special teams, shots on goal per game and face-off percentage. A back and forth affair is expected between two quick squads that can counter-attack in a heartbeat.

Buffalo hasn't shown worry to facing the more gifted NHL clubs because after all, they are in that position themselves currently. Lalime will look to prove that he can take the reigns in Miller's days off and that would make the season more comfortable for all. Easier said than done when Pittsburgh has no injuries at all.

Up next: Ryan Miller, Derek Roy and the Buffalo Sabres

FrankD — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:00:22 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

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[SBN Buffalo Sabres blog - Die by the Blade]

If you look check out the stats page on NHL.com, you'll see Buffalo's Ryan Miller owns three of the four top goaltender stats in the league right now - save percentage, goals against average and shutouts. The Team USA netminder is having one hell of a year so far:

	GP	MIN	W	L	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Ryan Miller	29	1718	20	7		54	1.89	862	808	.937	4

Last night Miller put together a solid game between the pipes, stopping 40 of Toronto's 42 shots en route to his MAF-tying 20th win on the year. The Sabres were outshot dramatically by the margin of 42 to 27 but it didn't matter. It would appear Lindy Ruff had his guys putting on a show of quality over quantity in the shots department. One thing you can take from last night's game is this - Buffalo can provide plenty of threats in the offensive zone. Five different guys registered goals and assists were scattered throughout the corps as well. Hopefully MAF and the blue line are keeping tabs.

You won't see any member of the Sabres battling for a top spot in the league's scoring leaders department. What you will see, as indicated earlier, is a healthy smattering of points across the roster. Derek Roy (7g, 18a), Tom Connolly (6g, 17a), Jason Pominville (7g, 14a) and Thomas Vanek (9g, 11a) take up the top four spots in the points category for the Sabres. Sure it's not all that overpowering, but whatever the Sabres are doing is good enough to put them first in the Northeast Division and third in the Eastern Conference.

Will Miller start tonight in the second part of Buffalo's back-to-back games? I'm going to go out on a not-so-weak limb and say yes. He's single-handily taking on the role of workhorse for the Sabres, starting between the pipes in 29 of Buff's 33 games. However, in the event he doesn't start, then an old name from past Pens glory may make an appearance: Patrick Lalime.

As a kid I didn't quite understand the Lalime situation, and to be honest felt somewhat let down by a guy who didn't want to stay with the Pens. At least that was my perception at the time, before I knew anything about contracts, how they worked and the oh-so-dreaded sports agent.

Lalime still holds the NHL record for longest unbeaten streak for a rookie goaltender at 14-0-2, a milestone he set when he debuted with the Pens in 1996. Then I guess the short-lived glory got to his head and he and Pittsburgh couldn't agree on a contract. So, mainly because of that, he spent the next three years with three different teams in the now-defunct IHL before reappearing in the NHL with the Senators in 1999 after having his rights traded from Pittsburgh to Anaheim, then Anaheim to Ottawa.

Fun fact about the 1998 midseason Pittsburgh-to-Anaheim trade - the Pens gained the rights to Chris Pronger's brother Sean. (And in case you're wondering, he played seven games and scored a single goal). Later that year they sent him off to New York in a trade that ultimately brought Alexei Kovalev to the black and gold.

Ok, enough about Lalime and my repressed memories. We probably won't even see him. And, if we do, hopefully it's because the Pens are lighting up Miller.

UPDATE 9:20AM - Lalime is the confirmed starter for tonight. (Thanks to SLBD on Twitter)

Puck and thread drop at 7. Come on by and chill for the game.

Sabres 5 Leafs 2: Sabres Lucky to Earn Victory

David Oleksy — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:32:03 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

about 22 hours ago: Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller makes a save on the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period of the NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Friday, Dec. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Don Heupel)

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I believe the saying is..."you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good". The Buffalo Sabres were lucky to come away with a 5-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night. The story of the game was goaltending. Ryan Miller was once again outstanding with 40 saves in the victory and Vesa Toskala had an embarrassing night to earn the loss.

The Leafs were dominant in the first period and thoroughly outplayed Buffalo in every aspect of the game. It took the Sabres almost 13 minutes to get their first shot on goal and they were outshot 10-4 by the visiting Leafs. The only goal of the period came just over three minutes into the game as Viktor Stalberg scored the first goal of his NHL career on a shot that appeared to deflect off of Craig Rivet.

The second period was when the wheels came off for Vesa Toskala and the Toronto Male Leafs. Derek Roy tied the game early in the period on a goal that Toskala argued with the referee. I didn't see interference on the play but it's possible MSG left that replay off the broadcast.

It was the go ahead goal was the one that changed the complexion of the game. Toni Lydman flipped the puck that was headed into the corner but Toskala came out to try to catch it, the puck deflected off of his glove and fell into the net. The game turned at that point and the Sabres added two more before the second period ended.

The Sabres played better in the third period but it didn't make up for the poor play during the first two periods. Lindy Ruff talked about the players that were sick lacking energy but enough is enough. At what point do these guys start feeling better? They need to be a lot better against the Penguins or the score will be reversed on Saturday night.

Game Notes

The defensive miscues in the first two periods were evident. The defense pinched at the wrong time, they were often out of position and chasing the puck. They were lucky the score didn't get out of hand before Toskala handed them the game.
Thomas Vanek was one of the players that seemed to lack energy. He did score his 10th goal of the season on a wrap around in the third period.
Ryan Miller was magnificent once again, making 40 saves with most of the good chances coming in the first period.
Tim Kennedy was one guy that stood out in a positive way. Kennedy was fast and very strong with the puck. He made a great play on the Sabres third goal that deflected off the leg of Mike Grier.
There were a total of three penalties in the game and all of them occurred in the first period. The power play continues to struggle going 0-for-2 tonight. The penalty kill was a perfect 1-for-1.

Corsi Numbers

		Game Stats
#	Player	Pos	TOI	+/-	FO%	Hits	GV	TK	BS
4	Steve Montador	D	19:18	0	-	0	0	0	0
5	Toni Lydman	D	17:09	2	-	3	0	0	0
9	Derek Roy	C	17:00	0	9/19	0	4	0	0
10	Henrik Tallinder	D	19:03	1	-	0	0	0	3
13	Tim Kennedy	C	12:48	1	3/6	2	2	0	1
19	Tim Connolly	C	16:47	2	0/1	0	1	0	1
21	Drew Stafford	RW	14:44	-1	-	0	0	0	0
22	Adam Mair	C	10:53	0	-	0	0	0	1
25	Mike Grier	RW	15:44	1	0/3	1	1	2	0
26	Thomas Vanek	LW	15:34	2	-	0	0	0	1
28	Paul Gaustad	C	19:36	1	12/15	0	1	0	1
29	Jason Pominville	RW	13:59	2	2/4	0	0	1	0
37	Matt Ellis	LW	10:44	0	0/1	0	0	0	0
41	Clarke MacArthur	LW	15:19	1	1/3	1	0	0	0
44	Andrej Sekera	D	21:02	0	-	0	0	0	3
52	Craig Rivet	D	18:41	2	-	0	0	0	0
55	Jochen Hecht	LW	17:15	0	1/1	1	0	0	0
57	Tyler Myers	D	22:24	1	-	1	1	0	0
TOI = Total Time on Ice				GV = Giveaways
FO% = Faceoff percentage				TK = Takeaways
Hits = Total Hits				BS=Blocked Shots

			Even Strength Individual Stats						Even Strength On-Ice Totals
#	Player	Pos	EV TOI	G	A	Shots	S A/B	S Miss	SOGF	SOGA	SOG Diff	Tot SF	Tot SA	Corsi
4	Steve Montador	D	19:48	0	0	3	0	1	12	12	0	19	21	-2
5	Toni Lydman	D	16:01	1	1	1	0	0	7	16	-9	10	17	-7
9	Derek Roy	C	13:31	1	0	2	0	1	8	12	-4	12	13	-1
10	Henrik Tallinder	D	18:11	0	0	0	0	0	5	13	-8	13	21	-8
13	Tim Kennedy	C	12:48	0	1	0	0	1	3	8	-5	7	17	-10
19	Tim Connolly	C	13:02	0	0	2	1	0	8	11	-3	14	15	-1
21	Drew Stafford	RW	13:30	0	1	3	0	1	8	13	-5	13	17	-4
22	Adam Mair	C	10:53	0	0	1	1	0	5	7	-2	9	10	-1
25	Mike Grier		15:36	1	1	2	1	1	4	12	-8	7	18	-11
26	Thomas Vanek	LW	12:30	1	0	2	0	0	4	8	-4	5	12	-7
28	Paul Gaustad	C	18:04	0	0	1	1	0	6	11	-5	14	18	-4
29	Jason Pominville	RW	10:38	0	0	1	0	1	8	9	-1	11	15	-4
37	Matt Ellis	LW	10:44	1	0	2	0	1	5	8	-3	9	12	-3
41	Clarke MacArthur	LW	14:05	0	0	1	1	0	7	11	-4	13	18	-5
44	Andrej Sekera	D	19:48	0	0	2	2	0	13	12	1	20	23	-3
52	Craig Rivet	D	16:49	0	1	0	1	1	8	16	-8	12	18	-6
55	Jochen Hecht	LW	16:16	0	1	1	0	0	9	13	-4	15	18	-3
57	Tyler Myers	D	18:16	0	1	1	1	1	5	13	-8	12	22	-10
EV TOI = Even Strength time on ice								SOGA = Team shots against while on ice
EV TOI = Even Strength time on ice								SOG Diff = Difference shots on ice
S A/B = shots attempted and blocked								Tot SF = Total shots including blocked/missed
S Miss = Shots missed the net								Tot SA = Total Shots Ag. Including blocked/missed
SOGF = Team Shots while on ice								Corsi = Difference in Total Shots

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Next Game

Pittsburgh Penguins
@ Buffalo Sabres

Saturday, Dec 19, 2009, 7:00 PM EST
HSBC Arena

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Inconsistent Pattern of Punishment Frustrating to NHL Players and Fans

Brandon Bibb — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:00:21 -0000

by Tony Gutierrez - AP

David Koci and Jarkko Ruutu were able to do this week what James Neal could not. Escape the Wheel of Justice. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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Last month, James Neal became the first Dallas Stars player to fall victim to the NHL's campaign to eliminate headshots from the game, even though the league saw a few worse hits to make better examples from, but decided to take a pass.

This week, the league had two more chances to make examples out of players the same way Neal was made an example of. To nobody's surprise but to the frustration of many, they decided to pass.

It motivated my good friend, Joe Yerdon, to do a little further investigation over his excellent hockey blog, Gross Misconduct Hockey. I do suggest you check him out on a daily basis, even though he's a Red Wings fan.

Videos of the hits in question come after the jump.

First, let's look at David Koci's hit on Mike Green of the Washington Capitals.

5-0 game. Koci doesn't slow down one bit, and looks like he knows exactly what he's doing as he delivers a debilitating and illegal hit on an unsuspecting opponent.

If ever there was a clear cut case for a suspension, this is it. I mean, afterall, James Neal got two games for hitting Derek Dorsett from behind.

Not to mention, Koci has more of a checkered past, which is something the NHL takes into account EVERY TIME they review a hit.

Did Koci get suspended?

Well, we'll get to that here in a bit.

Because I have another video I want to show you. Specifically, because this hit looks a lot more like the Neal hit on Dorsett. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Jarkko Ruutu of the Ottawa Senators, hitting Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta.

Like Neal's hit on Dorsett, it wasn't really a dirty hit so much as it was a reckless hit on, once again, an unsuspecting player who had no way to defend himself. And the seamless glass in Ottawa probably played as much of a role in the injury to Kaleta as the hit, itself, did. It was, as Brad said about the Neal hit on Dorsett, a 'normal looking hockey play.'

Still, while the NHL never came out and gave a reason behind the suspension of James Neal, it was clear that the league was sending a message that headshots would not be tolerated.

Well, I guess this being a different month, that level of tolerance must have been lowered.

A pair of National Hockey League disciplinary hearings has resulted in fines, but not suspensions.

David Koci of the Colorado Avalanche has been fined for his hit on Washington Capitals defenceman Mike Green, while Ottawa Senators winger Jarkko Ruutu has been fined for his hit on Buffalo Sabres' Patrick Kaleta.

Koci, who averages 3 minutes 7 seconds of ice time per game, lined up Green and delivered a shoulder in between the neck and shoulder blade area of Green's jersey. Green did not see Koci coming and his visor smashed into the seamless glass at Pepsi Center.

Green, who had to be helped off the ice, was knocked woozy and left bleeding above his left eye.

Koci was assessed five minutes for boarding, five minutes for fighting after being engaged by Green's teammate John Erskine, and a game misconduct.

Ruutu received a game misconduct for boarding Kaleta in the opening minute of the second period of Wednesday's contest. Ruutu drove Kaleta's head into the glass and the Sabres pest needed to be helped off the ice.

For comparison sake, let me repost the video of Neal's hit on Dorsett.

Keep in mind as we go back in our DBD Time Machine that Neal's hit came after the league dropped the ball on Mike Richards' hit on David Booth and Rob Scuderi's rather ill-timed hip check that caused Jason Chimera to go awkwardly into the boards. I couldn't help but think that when Neal's suspension was handed down, it was handed down to quiet the league's critics, including Bob McKenzie, Peter Laviolette, and Mike Keenan, who hopped on their soapbox and castigated Neal's hit.

Laviolette and Keenan weren't on TSN's panel last night with Bob McKenzie. But Keith Jones and Craig MacTavish were alongside the veteran TSN journalist. And to their credit, they all said Koci and Ruutu deserved suspensions for almost the same reasons as to why TSN's panel said Neal deserved a suspension. In Koci's case, Jonesy even suggested that two games weren't enough and that he ought to have been hauled to New York for a face to face meeting with at least a 5 game suspension.

So good on them for showing some consistency.

And also laying the foundation for the next suspension to come down from the NHL. Because if we've learned anything this year, the league will seek to atone for their screwups by suspending the next poor sap who lays a headshot on an unsuspecting player.

And this vicious and frustrating cycle will continue until, as Hockey Joe puts it...

The league can’t make everyone happy here but coming up with some sort of concrete method to the madness regarding dirty play and suspensions for committing offenses like these has to come out of all this. There have been too many instances where we the fans and I’m sure the players as well are left scratching our collective heads wondering what is going through the head of Colin Campbell when he goes to his smoky back room to come up with some kind of action against offending players. Every other major sports league has some kind of step-ladder for doling out punishment for breaking the rules like this yet somehow the NHL can’t remove its head from its own ass to create their own.

Since Joe touched on the angle of what other sports leagues do, have you ever noticed how in the NFL, they don't ever fine or suspend a player based on the actions of a particular hit? They literally punish the act itself, irregardless if it results in an injury or not.

Classic examples include hits where a defended leads with the crown of his helmet. Or my favorite, the series of horse collar tackles that Roy Williams got fined for in 2007 before he horse collared Donovan McNabb of the Eagles in Week 15 and was suspended the following week at Carolina.

Sure, they also fine players for stupid crap. Pick any one of the many fines they've handed down to Chad Ochocinco this season. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if they fine him for wearing the jersey of the late Chris Henry to practice.

But I digress.

Point is, you hardly ever hear complaining about a lack of consistency in the NFL's pattern of punishment. That's because they have a level of transparency unlike any other league. Look no further than the fact they make their Director of Officiating available every week on the NFL Network to explain away controversial calls from the prior week's games.

Until the NHL adopts a similar level of transparency, this frustration from fans, players, coaches, and team officials will continue to occur.

Game Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Buffalo Sabres

Rafal Ladysz — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:27:09 -0000

More photos » by Fred Chartrand - AP

2 days ago: Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller (30) looks back as teammate Henrik Tallinder, (10) of Sweden, clears the puck from the net during third-period NHL hockey game action against the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. The Senators won 2-0. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Fred Chartrand)

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It was uncharacteristically depressing Wednesday as the Buffalo Sabres were almost exhausted by the Ottawa Senators leading to defeat. The announcement of several players competing through food poisoning made the lack of fighting spirit comprehensible. With Toronto up next, the Sabres are setting their sights on a return to the win column against the Maple Leafs.

Having already claimed two wins from the blue and white, Buffalo's luck against this Canadian squad contradicts what they receive with Ottawa. Pension Plan Puppets has interesting statistics at the start of their article to share. Ryan Miller, like he's done flawlessly, was the story in the first two matches as Toronto outshot them 73-59 combined. Mentioning how disappointed he became with the team's work two days ago, the Sabres will be determined to make up for it.

Five thoughts on both combatants below.

Vesa Toskala was too deep in his net often on Wednesday and the Phoenix Coyotes jumped out to a 5-1 lead that Toronto couldn't recover from. The Finnish goaltender is 3-3 lifetime with Buffalo and hasn't won on the road yet this season. A 4.77 goals against average and .848 save percentage explain why that's the case.
Tremendous news on the injury front because Paul Gaustad is all healed up and eager to get back into action. Face-offs, energy, a presence in front of the net, Goose's return makes the group much stronger. Patrick Kaleta could be out with a sore neck, Nathan Gerbe is questionable and Chris Butler will not participate.
Toronto's powerplay is clicking at just above 20 per cent and Gaustad will help Buffalo's that is now 1 for 16 in three games. While the Sabres are seventh in penalty killing, their opponents are at the bottom behind 29 teams.
Four points out of a playoff spot, Phil Kessel, Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky have found chemistry as a unit providing the bulk of Toronto's offense in the last week or so. Each member has points in three consecutive contests.
Jason Pominville whose 94 shots lead the team, has seven goals and is witnessing his total drop for the third straight season possibly after posting 34 in 2007. I've lost count of the amount of times he's fanned on a shot, broken his stick or missed the net.
At 7-0-2 when scoring first, the Maple Leafs are a good bet to come out the superior side with that advantage but the problem is they've only been in that position nine times. They're 5-15-5 if they fall behind first and Buffalo is 15-2-2 when striking first. The first goal could be the deciding factor.
Defenseman Tomas Kaberle's 31 points surpass all of Buffalo's forwards in production. Wow.
I did some number crunching like I did for the Ottawa preview. The Sabres are 23-8-1 against Toronto since the lock-out, outscoring them 115-78.
Thomas Vanek has 16 goals and 29 points in 30 tries with Toronto. With one goal in December, he must start finding the net more.
Toronto is one of four Eastern Conference clubs to have hit triple digits in goal-scoring and are part of a seven-team group to have surrendered 100 goals or more.

Rest assured that the Maple Leafs will have strong support in HSBC Arena as they often do. A win for Toronto keeps them in the thick of the postseason scrum. A win for Buffalo extends their Northeast Division conquest. The Maple Leafs have scored massive upset victories already and this would add to that compilation.

Leafs at Sabres

Chemmy — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 18:30:15 -0000

On November 9th, 2007 Andrew Raycroft shut out the Buffalo Sabres. Since then the Leafs are 2-8-1 against Buffalo with their last win coming more than a calendar year ago on December 12th at the HSBC Center. To say Buffalo has our number is a huge understatement.

The Leafs are a team that allow a lot of goals and whose offense is often stymied by hot goaltenders. The Sabres have lots of forwards who can score and the best goaltender in the league right now; Ryan Miller.

Vesa Toskala will get his seventh start in a row tonight. His last showing was piss poor but on the whole he's played almost acceptably and to be honest that's good enough for this team. The Leafs don't need Toskala to be a superstar or even to be league average, and let's face it he won't ever be, they need Toskala to not singlehandedly lose games. Over their past games the Leafs are 4-2-0 with Toskala putting up an 0.899 save percentage over that span. Take out the Phoenix game and the Leafs went 4-1-0 over a five game stretch where Toskala put up a league average save percentage of 0.913.

Luke Schenn is out of the press box tonight and Viktor Stalberg was called up from the Marlies. Jeff Finger was benched for most of the third against Phoenix so I'd expect him to sit, while Rickard Wallin was invisible again and will make room for Vik. I'd like to see Stalberg get some time with Stempniak and Primeau on a checking line that's incredibly quick and drives to the net for goals. Stalberg's goals in the preseason came from hard nosed play in front of the net and it'd be nice to see him get back to that.

Last year I got a great Christmas gift when the night before I flew to the Bahamas the Leafs knocked off Buffalo at home. I'm hoping that at the least this is some sort of weird annual thing. The Leafs have a tough weekend and coming out of it 1-1-1 would be huge. Let's get that started on the right foot tonight.

Remember your SPG picks, check out Die by the Blade for Sabres coverage and go Leafs go!

Is Ryan Miller Being Overworked?

David Oleksy — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:01:37 -0000

by Paul Chiasson - AP

4 days ago: Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller makes a save against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period of an NHL hockey game on Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Paul Chiasson)

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I was thinking about the Buffalo Sabres goalie situation I realized that we have been spoiled by all-world goaltending for more than a decade. We watched in amazement while Dominik Hasek was wowing us with his "slinky for a spine" in the 90's and now we have Ryan Miller bringing us out of our seats and yelling "We're Not Worthy". It's no wonder we are so critical of our backup goalies, who could live up to those standards?

Instead of focusing on the backup goalie, let's talk a little bit about Ryan Miller. As good as Miller has been throughout his career, he is off to the his best start ever. He leads the NHL with a 1.88 goals against average and a .937 save percentage. He is also tied with Ilya Bryzgalov, of the Phoenix Coyotes, for the league lead in shutouts with four.

The Sabres have struggled offensively this season and have relied heavily on the play of Miller. He has played in 28 of the teams 32 games and he was the only goalie to win a game until Patrick Lalime made 39 saves in a 2-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks last Friday. Miller still has all but one of the Sabres wins and his record is now 19-7-2.

Miller has been so good that his name has been mentioned along with the Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie) and even the Hart Trophy (League MVP). While watching Miller play this season has been fun, it is never his play in the beginning of the season that has been criticized; it has always been his durability that has been questioned.

Those questions have been even more prevalent this season because Miller is expected to be the starting goalie for the United States at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver during the month of February. Many people thought Lindy Ruff would do his best to rest Miller early in the season but it has been exactly the opposite. Miller has been the go-to guy for the Sabres and has played in more back-to-back games than I ever remember.

Could the added workload of the Olympics and the inconsistency of the Sabres backup become an issue for Miller and the Sabres?

Fear not Sabres fans because Miller will be fine as the season wears on. While his stats during the month of March have been consistently bad throughout his career, but it had no bearing on how many games he played in a specific season. I have worked the stats from the past couple of seasons to give you a glimpse of his stats by month.

2005-2006 Regular Season								2005-2006 Playoffs
Month	Record	GA	Saves	Shots	MIN	GAA	SV%	Month	Record	GA	Saves	Shots	MIN	GAA	SV%
October	6-4-0	28	284	312	607	2.77	0.910	April	3-2-0	12	125	137	325	2.22	0.912
November	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	May	8-4-0	32	325	357	736	2.61	0.910
December	4-0-0	6	113	119	245	1.47	0.950	June	0-1-0	4	24	28	59	4.07	0.857
January	6-3-0	18	231	249	535	2.02	0.928
February	4-0-2	14	164	178	370	2.27	0.921
March	6-5-1	44	349	393	761	3.47	0.888
April	4-2-0	14	165	179	354	2.37	0.922
	30-14-3	124	1306	1430	2872	2.59	0.913		11-7-0	48	474	522	1120	2.57	0.908

2006-2007								2006-2007 Playoffs
Month	Record	GA	Saves	Shots	MIN	GAA	SV%	Month	Record	GA	Saves	Shots	MIN	GAA	SV%
October	8-0-1	22	255	277	559	2.36	0.921	April	6-2-0	17	230	247	513	1.99	0.931
November	4-2-1	23	216	239	431	3.20	0.904	May	3-5-0	21	221	242	514	2.45	0.913
December	8-3-0	28	331	359	673	2.50	0.922
January	4-5-1	30	270	300	605	2.98	0.900
February	6-2-1	21	238	259	507	2.49	0.919
March	7-4-2	42	351	393	735	3.43	0.893
April	3-0-0	3	68	71	180	1.00	0.958
	40-16-6	169	1729	1898	3690	2.75	0.911		9-7-0	38	451	489	1027	2.22	0.922

2007-2008
Month	Record	GA	Saves	Shots	MIN	GAA	SV%
October	4-5-0	28	242	270	541	3.11	0.896
November	5-5-1	24	284	308	664	2.17	0.922
December	8-4-1	35	345	380	826	2.54	0.908
January	4-3-3	21	269	290	641	1.97	0.928
February	8-4-2	38	387	425	839	2.72	0.911
March	6-5-3	45	339	384	844	3.20	0.883
April	1-1-0	6	41	47	123	2.93	0.872
	36-27-10	197	1907	2104	4478	2.64	0.906

2008-2009
Month	Record	GA	Saves	Shots	MIN	GAA	SV%
October	5-1-1	15	192	207	436	2.06	0.928
November	5-4-1	29	252	281	597	2.91	0.897
December	5-5-2	33	338	371	725	2.73	0.911
January	9-3-0	28	382	410	730	2.30	0.932
February	5-3-1	19	234	253	489	2.33	0.925
March	2-0-0	6	65	71	125	2.88	0.915
April	3-2-1	15	165	180	345	2.61	0.917
	34-18-6	145	1628	1773	3447	2.52	0.918

2009-2010
Month	Record	GA	Saves	Shots	MIN	GAA	SV%
October	8-1-2	18	264	282	580	1.86	0.936
November	7-3-0	20	301	321	663	1.81	0.938
December	4-3-0	14	203	217	416	2.02	0.935
January						#DIV/0!	#DIV/0!
February						#DIV/0!	#DIV/0!
March						#DIV/0!	#DIV/0!
April						#DIV/0!	#DIV/0!
	19-7-2	52	768	820	1659	1.88	0.937

When you factor in his playoff performances you can see that his statistical decline does not reflect the number of games played. The above stats are not perfect because they don't factor in his quality of competition. Although there are many factors that affect the stats of a goalie, I think the above chart will give you an indication of how games played do not affect Miller.

I mentioned my surprise with how many games Miller has played in the early part of the season but the strategy makes sense. Last season the Sabres thought they would coast into the playoffs but after Miller was injured they crumbled. Lindy Ruff wants to get as many points as possible before the Olympic break so the team ca coast if they need to. The strategy makes sense, Miller should be rested after the Olympics instead of before.

Senators shut down Sabres in 2-0 victory

PeterR — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 04:25:37 -0000

More photos » by Fred Chartrand - AP

Judging by the expression I can read from Jonathan Cheechoo's eye, he's thinking, "How did that go in?" while Alex Picard is saying, "Yeah! I totally planned it that way!" Ryan Miller is thinking the same thing as Cheechoo.

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The Ottawa Senators' 2-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres may look like it was a boring game if you're just peering at the scoresheet, but anyone watching the game would certainly disagree with that. There were big hits--and controversial ones--and plenty of scoring chances, with the vast majority of them stymied by either Brian Elliott or Ryan Miller, probably the first and second stars, respectively, for most people who watched the game. It was certainly one of Ottawa's most impressive start-to-finish efforts of the season, and it paid off on the scoresheet--all it took was a significant injury to the team's top centre for the Senators to find their rallying cry.

Sens heroes: Brian Elliott, Peter Regin
Elliott the pendulum was back on the favourable side tonight, and was outstanding for the most part. His glove was right on, his rebound control was strong, his reaction time was light-speed, and his luck was there when those assets failed him. He may have only faced 22 shots, but he stopped them all, and you can't ask for much more from your goaltender.

I'm going to give Regin some love here, too, in part because I've been hard on him recently, and also in part because he looked like the force he'd been earlier in the season. He had one assist on the night, and could very well have had two goals against most other goalies in the league. He finished with a game-high five shots (tied with Tim Connolly) in 13:21 TOI, and it`s a pretty good bet he'll play a few more games as a winger rather than a centremen in the near future.

Sens killers: Ryan Miller
People have been saying Miller's been the best goaltender in the league so far, and I didn't realize just how good he was playing until I saw him tonight. He may have only made 26 saves on 28 shots, but there were plenty of good chances in Ottawa--especially early in the game, and Miller gave the Sabres every chance to take the lead and win the game.

Sens zeros: Jarkko Ruutu
I'll let Mark take care of this one, because he obviously feels strongly about it.

Mark's take: Ruutu has to play smarter. There's no other way to say it. On his own, he accounted for nine of Ottawa's thirteen penalty minutes on the night. Think about that. Almost seventy percent of Ottawa's penalty kill time tonight was Ruutu's fault. One a night where the team was so depleted that a defenseman was playing as a forward, that kind of sloppy play is flat out unacceptable. We have repeatedly seen this team outwork more skilled opponents and then give away hard-earned leads with untimely, sloppy penalties. Thanks to Ruutu, Buffalo had a great opportunity to continue that trend tonight. That they weren't able to (with a big assist from Connolly in the middle of Ruutu's major) is a testament to the effort of his teammates. He should be made juice boy for the month with the way he forced everyone else to bail him out.

Ruutu can be a good player, and I realize his game is playing on the edge, but he has to play intelligently, and that means being aware of his reputation. Just like we've seen Carkner reign in the fists as he becomes more integral to the team, Ruutu must also be aware of when to push the envelope and when not to -- and a one-goal game against the division leaders is not the time to.

The bottom line: This depleted roster cannot afford to take stupid penalties at any point. Ruutu took three tonight. I hope Cory Clouston tells him to shape up.

Plenty of credit to: Chris Campoli, Jesse Winchester
I'm not sure whether or not Campoli was excited at the prospect of playing as a forward, or just at the prospect of playing at all, but he sure made the best of his chance. He finished with 7:26 in ice time, more than many expected, and he looked like he was excited at the chance to punish opposing defenders as unforgivingly as he's often been punished when backchecking himself; he was tied for the team-lead with three hits on the night. No shots credited, but he created an amazing scoring chance for Ryan Shannon in the second.

As for Winchester, it was a strong statement that--although he's no replacement for Jason Spezza--he's not going to look too out of place in an increased role, especially if he's with any of Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, or Milan Michalek. His faceoff dominance continued tonight (he won 11 of 17 faceoffs), so now we know it wasn't just because he was against weaker opponents--a lot of his wins tonight came against Derek Roy. Winch won third star from NHL.com, despite registering no points and no shots in his 18:55 TOI; that ought to say something about how effective he was at what he was asked to do.

Not a bad start: Josh Hennessy
Hennessy only had 6:47 TOI, but he was strong--especially in the first period, in between Campoli and Shannon. I'm actually a little surprised Cory Clouston didn't give Hennessy and Shannon more of a chance to get something going, considering how strong they were for him in Binghamton, but the guy's got his game plan, and he's sticking to it. In his limited ice time, Hennessy had a shot on net and two hits.

First big hit: Erik Karlsson
Karlsson took what, if memory serves, was his first big NHL hit when he was plastered by Tim Kennedy in the first period. It looked like he was labouring at first, but Special K bounced back and finished off with a pretty solid game. Not as impressive, in my opinion, as the last two games, but he's really appearing to be more confident now--especially in asserting himself in front of the net.

Unnoticed greatness: Ottawa's defensive support
I'll once again refer to the CBSSports.com shot chart to demonstrate a pretty telling trend for the Ottawa Senators; this time, look at where the Sabres took most of their shots from on the night:

Compare Buffalo's shots to Ottawa's, and you'll notice the defensive support Ottawa offered Elliott, and the lack of defensive support the Sabres offered Miller. There's but one shot within the Senators crease, and five or six in the immediate area of Buffalo's. It's especially impressive on the left side of the Senators' end, covered mostly by Matt Carkner, Filip Kuba, and Chris Phillips--Ottawa's strongest positional defencemen on most nights.

Senators 2 Sabres 0: Sabres Win Streak Stopped in Ottawa

David Oleksy — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:28:58 -0000

More photos » by Fred Chartrand - AP

2 days ago: Ottawa Senators' Alexandre Picard (45) celebrates his first-period goal as Buffalo Sabres' Andrej Sekera, (44), of Slovakia, and goalie Ryan Miller (30) look on during NHL hockey game action in Ottawa on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Fred Chartrand)

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Why do the Sabres always look like an AHL team when playing the Ottawa Senators? I wish I could tell you the Ottawa Senators played a great game tonight and the Sabres should hold their heads high in defeat. I wish I could, but I won't lie to you.

Sure the Senators outplayed the Sabres in every facet of the game but that is easy to do when only one team shows up to play. The Sabres looked tired and uninterested tonight. Not even seeing their teammate Patrick Kaleta get his head smashed into the boards provided a spark. They followed that hit by failing on the power play and taking a penalty of their own.

I should say one team (Ottawa Senators) and Ryan Miller showed up to play tonight. Ryan Miller was his usual magnificent self tonight, in fact he might have been better than magnificent tonight. If not for the play of Ryan Miller, and a couple of goal posts by the Senators, the final score might have been six or seven to nothing.

Miller kept the Sens off the board for most of the first period but eventually a shot from the point found it's way through traffic and into the Sabres net. Nobody would admit it at the time but you got the feeling that one goal might be enough the way the Sabres were playing. It turns out it was but Mike Fischer scored an insurance goal anyway. The Fischer goal came in the final two minutes of the game and assured the Sabres of another loss in Ottawa.

I am not a professional athlete and therefore I have trouble relating to the players, but I can't figure out how a team that is on a four game winning streak could look so bad?

I might have the answer to my question. The Buffalo News added a post game note that seven players had food poisoning last night.

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said the following after the 2-0 loss to Ottawa: "I knew last night when we got the call at midnight and you’ve got seven guys with food poisoning you don’t have much chance of winning. I’m not going to make an excuse, but we had guys this morning that couldn’t come to the pregame, couldn’t come to the pregame meeting, and it showed. There were guys who typically skate a lot better who couldn’t skate. End of story."

		Game Stats
#	Player	Pos	TOI	+/-	FO%	Hits	GV	TK	BS
4	Steve Montador	D	16:11	-1	-	1	0	0	0
5	Toni Lydman	D	13:41	0	-	2	1	0	1
9	Derek Roy	C	21:28	0	12/21	1	3	2	1
10	Henrik Tallinder	D	21:33	-1	-	0	0	1	1
13	Tim Kennedy	C	13:52	-2	1/5	2	2	1	0
19	Tim Connolly	C	19:41	0	0/1	0	1	1	1
21	Drew Stafford	RW	12:38	0	-	0	0	0	0
22	Adam Mair	C	9:59	0	0/1	0	1	0	0
25	Mike Grier	RW	13:42	0	-	4	0	1	0
26	Thomas Vanek	LW	20:20	-1	-	0	0	0	0
29	Jason Pominville	RW	20:24	-1	3/4	2	0	1	1
36	Patrick Kaleta	RW	5:16	-1	-	1	0	0	1
37	Matt Ellis	LW	8:04	0	1/5	3	0	0	0
41	Clarke MacArthur	LW	18:38	0	3/8	1	0	1	0
44	Andrej Sekera	D	17:37	-1	-	1	2	0	0
52	Craig Rivet	D	16:42	0	-	1	0	0	1
55	Jochen Hecht	LW	15:17	-1	0/3	1	0	0	0
57	Tyler Myers	D	28:32	-1	-	0	1	0	2
TOI = Total Time on Ice				GV = Giveaways
FO% = Faceoff percentage				TK = Takeaways
Hits = Total Hits				BS=Blocked Shots

			Even Strength Individual Stats						Even Strength On-Ice Totals
#	Player	Pos	EV TOI	G	A	Shots	S A/B	S Miss	SOGF	SOGA	SOG Diff	Tot SF	Tot SA	Corsi
4	Steve Montador	D	15:08	0	0	0	0	1	6	7	-1	10	11	-1
5	Toni Lydman	D	11:44	0	0	0	1	0	3	2	1	9	7	2
9	Derek Roy	C	14:48	0	0	0	1	1	3	5	-2	11	13	-2
10	Henrik Tallinder	D	18:53	0	0	0	0	1	2	11	-9	11	18	-7
13	Tim Kennedy	C	12:29	0	0	0	1	1	2	8	-6	8	12	-4
19	Tim Connolly	C	12:50	0	0	1	0	0	6	5	1	10	7	3
21	Drew Stafford	RW	9:57	0	0	2	0	0	2	3	-1	3	10	-7
22	Adam Mair	C	9:34	0	0	2	0	0	2	3	-1	8	4	4
25	Mike Grier		11:15	0	0	0	1	1	4	4	0	10	6	4
26	Thomas Vanek	LW	14:06	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	-8	5	17	-12
29	Jason Pominville	RW	13:47	0	0	2	1	0	4	7	-3	10	10	0
36	Patrick Kaleta	RW	5:16	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	-4	2	7	-5
37	Matt Ellis	LW	8:04	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	-3	2	6	-4
41	Clarke MacArthur	LW	13:41	0	0	2	1	0	6	5	1	11	6	5
44	Andrej Sekera	D	15:14	0	0	0	0	0	6	7	-1	10	10	0
52	Craig Rivet	D	12:08	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0	9	7	2
55	Jochen Hecht	LW	10:11	0	0	2	0	3	3	5	-2	10	11	-1
57	Tyler Myers	D	19:19	0	0	0	2	2	3	11	-8	11	19	-8
EV TOI = Even Strength time on ice								SOGA = Team shots against while on ice
EV TOI = Even Strength time on ice								SOG Diff = Difference shots on ice
S A/B = shots attempted and blocked								Tot SF = Total shots including blocked/missed
S Miss = Shots missed the net								Tot SA = Total Shots Ag. Including blocked/missed
SOGF = Team Shots while on ice								Corsi = Difference in Total Shots

Game Notes

The Sabres were led to just 22 shots on goal in their lackluster effort on Wednesday night. They average over 30 shots a game.
Patrick Kaleta did not return to the game after being hit into the glass by Jarkko Ruutu in the second period. Ruutu received a five minute major but Kaleta might be out of the lineup for quite some time. Keep in mind that Kaleta has a history of head injuries and this was a clear cut head shot. This should be a guaranteed suspension for Ruutu, who has a history of being a dirty player.
The only positive to take away from this game was the play of Ryan Miller. Miller played like himself while the rest of the team took the night off.
Thomas Vanek had been playing some o his best hockey but looked awful tonight against the Sens. He was slow to the puck and didn't battle hard enough to earn his position.
Lindy Ruff was obviously not happy with the play of Drew Stafford tonight and who could blame him? Stafford played only eight shifts over the final two periods and lost ice time to Mike Grier and Tim Kennedy.
Derek Roy was equally as bad tonight. His best passes were actually giveaways to the other team.

Game Preview: Buffalo Sabres @ Ottawa Senators

Rafal Ladysz — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:22:51 -0000

More photos » by Paul Chiasson - AP

4 days ago: Buffalo Sabres' Tim Kennedy, center, celebrates his goal against the Montreal Canadiens with teammates Patrick Kaleta, left, and Tyler Myers during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Dec. 14, 2009 in Montreal. The Sabres beat the Canadiens 4-3. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Paul Chiasson)

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Records, statistics and the standings don't matter, at least not for this match-up. Whether the Ottawa Senators are improving or playing poorly, they seem to have the Buffalo Sabres' number winning every season series in the last four years. Buffalo had a 41-26 shot advantage in the first contest of the season yet fell 5-3 to the Senators showing just how snake bitten they are when it comes to their Division foe.

But the Sabres don't look concerned with the past. Winners of four straight including a hard-fought 4-3 final in Montreal where they've struggled as well, the team believes they can beat anyone, anywhere. That's the mindset Buffalo needs and tonight is their best shot to really take it to the Senators which they undoubtedly would relish.

Five thoughts on each team below.

I dug up some numbers to give you an idea of how dominantly Ottawa has handled Buffalo. Since the lock-out, the Senators are 21-6-4 including this year's first clash. Of those 21 victories, 17 have ended by two or more goals and the Sabres have been outscored 126-88 when you count it all up which I did. Ouch.
Ryan Miller and Brian Elliott are the starting netminders. Patrick Lalime surrendered five goals in the November contest. If anyone can put an end to Buffalo's slump with Ottawa, it's Miller who continues to lead the league in every major category for goaltenders with the exception of wins where he is one shy of the lead held by Martin Brodeur and Jonathan Quick.
Clarke MacArthur banged home the game-winner Monday in Montreal via a five-on-three powerplay. The fourth-year winger passed Thomas Vanek in goals with his tenth by doing so. He put in 17 last season and looks to set a new career-high in the mid-20s.
Out with a torn MCL, Jason Spezza will be on the shelf as long as eight weeks possibly. It's a big break for Buffalo because the former Windsor Spitfire has 47 points in 37 career games with the Sabres. Also out of action for Ottawa is Chris Neil and Shean Donovan.
Three goals in two games including Buffalo's only two shorthanded markers have Patrick Kaleta receiving attention everywhere. Tied for sixth in team scoring with this outburst, the energetic checker has done it in style during and after the goal. A shorthanded goal would surely suck the life out of the Senators.
Spezza may be out but Ottawa still has three major threats up front. Daniel Alfredsson is always a thorn in our side, Mike Fisher is having a superb year and Milan Michalek already has 15 goals. And Alex Kovalev, in terms of work-rate, will be there maybe.
Buffalo's powerplay percentage is down to 21st and their penalty-kill has dropped to eighth which is the result of four of the last five goals they've conceded coming on the man-advantage. New York and Montreal both made two count. Ottawa is 12th on the penalty-kill and 21st when they are a man up so they aren't separated by Buffalo very much.
Against their Division, the Sabres are 4-2-2 as are the Senators strangely enough. Buffalo has won eight of ten and the Senators have lost six of ten.
Elliott is 5-0 lifetime versus Buffalo which shouldn't come as a surprise with their inabilities to close out the Senators. On the flip side, Miller is 8-11 against Ottawa but this will be his first crack at shutting them down this season.
A 15-2-2 record after scoring first is again irrelevant for Buffalo because Ottawa is one of the two squads who have won after allowing the opening goal to the Sabres. Boy have they ever had their way with Lindy Ruff's troops.

This is a must-win situation purely because Buffalo must prove it to the coaches, staff, fans and themselves that they have the ability to defeat Ottawa. With Spezza, Neil and Donovan out and a back-up goaltender standing in their way, this is their most timely opportunity. It's now or never.