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Stupid ref was RIGHT THERE, and he couldn't see the puck?? Huet was no where NEAR covering that and it was plain as day from the angle where the ref was. ugh.
Vanek to Novotny for the first Buffalo goal of the game, a sick backhand pass from behind the net...great assist from new guy Spacek as well.
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Awww yeah, never give up, not when Vanek and Afinogenov are on the ice with 15 seconds left! They cemented the win by both scoring in the shootout. You fantasy players would do well to grab Vanek if he's available. He got in coach's doghouse last year for not holding his own in the defensive end, but he's been light years better this year. He's even been seeing some PK minutes. Vanek worked out more this off-season, dropping 10 lbs and getting stronger.
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Tomorrow night, Lyrhawn. Hasek will be left weeping in the crease, assuming he plays. He's never liked facing the Sabres since he left here.
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We're coming off a 9-2 victory pal. I don't care if they fill the rink with Hasek's tears then freeze them to skate on, we're still going to beat the pants off you. Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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You might find the Sabres just a bit tougher than the Coyotes, dude. They ARE unbeaten with a struggling powerplay...guess what they are working leading up to this game?
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I know the feeling, we're 2 for 13 I think for the season, after having one of the most feared power plays last season. Guess we're missing Shanahan and Stevie Y as much as we feared we would.
Still, I have faith in the youngsters. We're turning into a younger team, more raw talent, less refined, swifter, but we have maybe a year or two of struggling before we get back up with the elite teams. I think we're still the best in our division at least.
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The Penguins are 0-8 on the power play so far, but they have also killed all 12 penalties against them.
Only two games so far though.
I'm hoping for a good game tonight against the Rangers. Wait, no, actually I'm hoping for another Philadelphia style blow-out, but whatever .
I didn't get to see the Pens/Red Wings game, but I hear it was a snoozefest. I ended up getting a DVR so that I can catch the Saturday night games without becoming a hermit. So in order to see the pengiuns as I wanted to, I had to purchase digital cable, NHL center ice, and now a DVR. Yikes.
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What a comeback for the Oilers! I didn't get to see the game but I watched the highlights this morning. Smyth breaks Gretzkys hat-trick record* of 2 minutes 18 seconds by 17 seconds. He also got his 500th point. Now if only the Oil can stop putting themselves behind the 8 ball with all the penalties...
* - Oilers team record. The all time record is an astonishing 21 seconds.
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quote:Originally posted by solo: What a comeback for the Oilers! I didn't get to see the game but I watched the highlights this morning. Smyth breaks Gretzkys hat-trick record* of 2 minutes 18 seconds by 17 seconds. He also got his 500th point. Now if only the Oil can stop putting themselves behind the 8 ball with all the penalties...
* - Oilers team record. The all time record is an astonishing 21 seconds.
That was awesome*2^35bajillion. What a comeback.
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Stupid snowstorm. Didn't get to watch the game, nor could I get online to GLOAT! Go Sabres! First time they've won 5 straight to start a season in 31 years. Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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I almost feel sorry for the Flyers. They were completely outclassed in pretty much every facet of the 9-1 Sabres win last night. Maxim Afinogenov skated around Hatcher like a pylon for his goal, and added 4 assists. Thomas Vanek had 2 goals and 2 assists (+5 on the night), Derek Roy had his first 2 goals of the year, and in all 13 players had points. Ryan Miller made 37 saves including a penalty shot in the first period.
I'll probably have more thoughts later. Wow.
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Friday's game (here vs. the Canes) will be even better than the first one. Both teams are playing much better, and that's saying a lot as the season opener was great.
Now if they wouldn't just have 3 games in 4 days and then none for a week, we'd be doing all right.
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Congrats to the Buffaslugs, they appear to be the consensus best team in the league right now. I wish I had watched that game, especially because it was the Flyers getting creamed.
I'm looking forward to Malkin playing in his first game tonight. I'm also hoping they don't let LeClair anywhere near him. He's projected to be paired with Recchi and Malone tonight, two players who've been just awful this year. I wouldn't be surprised if they drag Evgeni's play down, but I hope it is Malkin who makes them better players.
I'm really excited in the projected power play of Crosby - Malkin - Armstrong - Gonchar - Whitney, if Malkin is near 100% it should be fun to watch.
So far the Pens season has been a very mixed bag, with a terrible game played last Saturday. They've beaten the two division rivals they've played, so hopefully they can do so again tonight and tomorrow night. If they win them both they will be on top of their division, which while it is early in the season, is far far better than they did last year. (I believe they went 0-9)
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Beating the Flyers is definitely special, the only way it could be better is if they could beat the Leafs the same way.
Looks like Malkin will do just fine with whatever linemates he gets stuck with. With his size and skills, he can create his own chances. He'll be a tough matchup for teams, no question.
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Yeah, he played pretty well last night. Better than Crosby plays some nights (including last night). I hope he keeps it up (game again tonight!).
I think the Pens may have played their best game of the year for them last night, they just got stoned by Brodeur every chance they had, and had a couple of costly defensive mistakes.
Brodeur is unstoppable when he's having a good game. If an average goalie (say Esche from the Flyers) was in net for the Devils, I think the score would have been 5-2 at the end of the night.
Oh well, hopefully Crosby can have a break-out game against the Islanders tonight, to bring them back to .500.
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And the Sabres are now the only undefeated team after chasing Hannu Toivonen and the Bruins off the ice with a 6-2 win. A somewhat slow start gave way to yet another offensive explosion. There's not a better line in the league right now than Vanek/Roy/Afinogenov. Vanek has 5 goals, 7 assists, and most surprising is +10 to lead the league. Max has 5 goals and 9 assists, Roy 2 goals and 6 assists.
Oh yeah, and that is the THIRD LINE. You have to get past the captains Danny Briere (11 points) and Chris Drury (leading the league in goals). Add in production from the D (3 assists from Campbell tonight, Spacek scoring goals) and, as Rick Jeanneret says, they are scary good.
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I think they left with Shanahan. He's been tearing it up on NY. I have to think your division improved, really most of the teams couldn't get much worse. I still think Detroit will end up at the top, but it'll be a LOT tighter than last year.
The Sabres (on Versus tonight) can break the franchise record for consecutive wins to start a season tonight, as they go to Montreal to face the Canadiens. It would be the 14th straight regular season win. The NHL record for wins to start a season is 10, which would require the Sabres to then beat the Islanders to tie it, and the Thrashers to set the new record. Wish my cable was back so I could watch the game at home tonight. Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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Yeah the division did get better. Chicago and St. Louis are still dead weight, but Nashville is good and getting better, despite the loss of their star goalie last year.
Shanahan wasn't the only reason we took a bit of a nosedive, but it certainly hit us hard. And his performance in NY is annoying, but I wish him well. I understood his reasons for leaving and I don't have any ill will for him. But we can't rest our offense on Datsyuk and Zetterber, despite Datstuyk's sick sick goal the other night.
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I thought Chicago was going to bring something this year, but now that Havlat and Khabibulin are both down that's a bit more problematic (until they are both back).
It certainly is fun to look at stats so far, and all the Sabres up at the top. Max tied for the lead in points (Drury and Vanek 3rd), Drury for goals, Max and Briere tied for 3rd in assists, Vanek leading +/- with a +10, Ryan Miller with 6 wins (tied to lead). It sure is nice after last year, with no one in the top 40 in scoring or whatever it was.
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The Oilers are doing amazingly well considering that nearly none of their veterans (other than Smyth) are doing any scoring. I really like what I've seen from Lupul so far and Sykora has been a great addition. There is a lot of depth to the Oilers offence and the defence hasn't been looking too bad considering the loss of Pronger.
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Heck, you're doing pretty well considering you've only scored 20 goals, 10 of them by Sykora and Smyth. The D has to be solid to survive that.
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Very true. Roloson has been great so far. We have to watch the penalties and get some scoring from our top lines if we want things to last though.
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When Guillame Latendresse stepped on the ice for the first time for Montreal (against the Sabres) he was the first player ever to wear the number 84 in an NHL regular season game. 84 was also the last number never to be used in an NHL game. Just a bit of trivia from the radio broadcast for the Habs/Sabres game.
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10-0! Solid 3-0 win over the Islanders, Ryan Miller was amazing in his first shutout of the season. 15 year man DiPietro got beat by Maxim Afinogenov on a break. The rickety old building proved to be Miller's worst enemy, as some wacky bounces nearly caused a goal right at the start.
Stat update: Max is tied for the league lead in points, Drury and Vanek not far behind. Drury still tied for league lead in goals. Vanek and Tallinder are 1-2 for +/- at +12 and +10. Miller has the most wins of any goalie with 8, his GAA is down to 2.19 with the shutout and his save percentage is .925.
The Atlanta Thrashers are in town for the record-breaking game this Saturday. I have to get to a TV with cable for that one!
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So close! The boys didn't play their best game, but fought back 4 times, including a tying goal with less than 2 minutes to play. Lehtonen was tough in the shootout, stopping 3 of Buffalo's best (Briere, Afinogenov and Vanek). Afterwards, the fans gave the Sabres a standing ovation, and the players raised their sticks in salute.
One major loss is Henrik Tallinder, who has been the Sabres' best defenseman this year. He broke his arm against the Isles and could miss two months. The same arm was broken last year against the Hurricanes in the ECF. Rookie Nathan Paetsch steps in to play, one of his two previous starts was in that ECF, game seven. Talk about jumping in with both feet.
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I *almost* turned off the game last night, after Boston scored the fourth goal. Ryan Miller held them together in the first period, weather a barrage of 16 shots, but it just looked like the boys didn't have it. Then Maxim Afinogenov showed why you don't ever leave a Sabres game early, scoring twice after the hard work of Vanek and Roy got him the puck in the slot. Drury and Gaustad worked around the net and set Kotalik up for the game-tying goal with less than 2 minutes to play. It went to a shootout, and Briere and Kotalik were too much for Tim Thomas.
Oh, and to add injury to insult, Paul Gaustad popped Zdeno Chara in the face, cutting him over his eye. Great warmup for that jerk Darcy Tucker and the Leafs this weekend.
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Sabres took their time recovering from their first loss in regulation, having to come from behind to defeat the Ranges in OT. Top scorer Max Afinogenov is out for at least 10 days with what is most likely a seperated, so the Sabres called up Drew Stafford to fill in on the Roy/Vanek line. Briere kicked it up a notch in Max's absence, with 2 goals and an assist, including the game winner. Vanek scored his eighth goal on a wraparound, and Pominville picked up his ninth.
They get 4 days off before facing the Panthers back at HSBC Arena.
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Oilers on Friday night were robbed not once but twice! Lindros interfered with Roloson on the first Stars goal and then, with seconds to go, McGeough calls a hand pass from across the ice through traffic! The Oilers scored on the play but it didn't count as the whistle had blown. Apparently the Stars players stopped playing when the whistle blew but it didn't look like it to me. What really sucks is that in this division a single game can really affect a playoff spot.
Craig MacTavich has been fined $10000 for his comments after the game regarding the reffing. A local radio station has been set up around town taking donations to pay the fine.
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Good. Coaches should have a RIGHT to complain about officiating like that. It's not like the refs get fined, something had to happen.
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WOOHOO! Sabres are 14-1-1 despite the first run of injuries on the season. For the second straight game, they won in the first 20 seconds of OT after tying it late. Tonight's hero was Daniel Briere, who both tied the game and won it. Ryan Miller is battling a muscle strain so Marty Biron has been in net. Henrik Tallinder is still out long term after breaking his arm, and Toni Lydman missed the game tonight to further thin the defense corps. A few times tonight Buffalo had one of the youngest lineups in the league on the ice, with Derek Roy (23) centering Vanek (22) and Drew Stafford (21), and the rookie defense pairing of Mike Card (20) and Nathan Paetsch (23).
As a side note, there were THREE fights in this game, to be expected after the bad blood from the playoffs (and the 9-1 drubbing from earlier in the year). Barry Melrose's mullet is going to grow an inch just watching the highlights. Too bad Ken Hitchcock is no longer the Philly coach, the mouthing off between he and Lindy Ruff after the game would be priceless.
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My 11-4-1 Red Wings are making a comeback! 8-2 in our last 10 games, and on an eight game win streak right now.
Too bad Jason Williams is out for probably a half dozen games with a concussion, but we'll wina few for him.
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This last one we won with Holmstrom, Kronwall, Williams, and Osgood (who would have started) all on the IR. They'll all be back soon, but it'll be tough going in to play red hot Calgary next.
Great comeback after a rough start to the season!
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Sabres kicked the poor Hurricanes while they were down, letting them back in to tie it at 3 before shutting them back down with a score on the faceoff, leading to a 7-4 win. Vanek and Pominville each picked up their 11th goals, Hecht had two, and Gaustad scored in his third straight game. My son's favorite player Teppo Numminen broke Jari Kurri's record for most games played by a European born/trained player at 1,252. The reeling Senators are up next to get steamrolled.
All Star Balloting starts today! Vote early and vote often (write in votes for Thomas Vanek much appreciated).
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Sabres had a couple of rough games against the Sens recently (beating the Pens in between). They got RIGHT tonight agains the Tampa Bay Lightning, a game which I ATTENDED!!!!! The Sabre-guys came out a bit listless in the first, letting the bolts dictate play. Ryan Miller kept it close with some spectacular plays, 1-0 after the first period. Paul Gausted opened the Sabres scoring in the second with hard work in front of the net, followed quickly by youngster Jiri Novotny to make it 2-1 2 minutes in. Vanek scored next on a rebound slapped home at the side of the net, which was reviewed for what seemed like half an hour. I guess they were driving the footage here from Toronto, stupid Peace Bridge. Anyhoo, Gaustad scored again, followed immediately by Jaroslav Spacek. Vanek netted his 15th of the season after that (thankfully not reviewed this time or I'd still be at the arena). Co-captain Chris Drury finished the scoring for the good guys. The Sabres were beating them so bad they ended the period early! Well, OK, they had to fix the boards at the Lightning end but still. Crazy fun.
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quote:Sabres had a couple of rough games against the Sens recently (beating the Pens in between).
While the Pens lost, I thought they did pretty well. In their last four games, they've won three, and only lost in what I thought was a good effort against what is clearly one of the best teams in the NHL.
They handled the Flyers again tonight, 4-0 so far against them this year. They have been dominating their division, going 8-1 right now.
The next handful of games are mostly against other division rivals, so I hope that can continue.
They have the Bruins on Wednesday (only out of division game in the next 5), the Islanders on Friday (1-0) Rangers on Saturday (2-0) and then the Islanders again. If they can get at least five points out of those four games, then when they play the Devils, it will probably be to determine who is first place in their division at that point. Then they play the Islanders again (three times in five games!) and back to the Rangers.
I hope they can keep their momentum up, because every single one of those games is winnable. If they can do well in this stretch, it will be great for their standings.
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At least the Flyers are making a game of it now, even if they still aren't winning after the shake-up. And I would say it was more like Crosby, Malkin and Staal kept you in that game. Hopefully you can build up some depth in the next year or two and take the division back from the NY/NJ teams.
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The Sabres bounced back from the loss in Washington with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Poor Lightning goalie Marc Denis has ceded 11 goals in the last two games against the good guys. Danny Briere peeled himself off the boards/ice in Washington in time to get his first career Hat Trick. Sabres are 1-1 to start a five game road trip.
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WTF!!! Okay, Jaroslav Spacek nails Scott Nichol of the Nashville Predators (not so much tonight) into the net. Ref was already going to call a penalty on Spacek, but what does that chicken **** Nichol do? He gets up, and even though it is PLAIN as DAY that Jaro is looking up ice, Nichol punches him in the NECK. Spacek goes down in a heap, and only Martin Biron leaping to his defense (and battering Nichol with the butt end of his blocker pad, thanks for teaching him that one Dom!) saves Jaro from getting completely Bertuzzi'd. This was NOT a fight, it was assault plain and simple. The NHL needs to take care of these shots from behind or teams will start to carry a goon squad again.
Reposted from the other river. The Nashville media today called what happened a scrap. Doesn't a scrap sort of entail the other guy involved not be motionless on the ice for several minutes?
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9 games. Not enough. If Carmelo Anthony gets 15 games for a punch and run, Nichol should get at LEAST that.
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Good to see they at least did something about it.
But then, they have been a lot harsher on crackdowns. For all the talk of making the game go faster (and it really does), they call penalties on even the most minor of offenses.
I think the punishment is less because there's an inherent level of physical contact in hockey that is absent from basketball. Do you have a video of the event I could look at? I haven't even seen it yet.
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I missed your reply! This clip has the hit on Spacek. Jaro was damn lucky he was able to keep his head from hitting the ice, helmet or no.
The Sabres got a bit of revenge on the Capitals for the big loss in Washington. They took a 6 goal lead in the first 11 minutes and cruised the rest of the way. Andrew Peters and Donald Brashear went at it also, one of the matchups hockey fight fans love to see. Brashear was trying to rally his team. Perhaps Nichol was home watching during his suspension and learned a thing or two about how to bring it face to face next time.
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This Picture pretty much describes what the Sabres did to the Canes tonight. After a scoreless (and darn near shotless) first, the good guys ripped into the defending 'champs'. Pominville netted his 17th, thanks to quick thinking from Jochen Hecht. Drury and Vanek both scored their 20th goals on hard work in front of the net. Ales Kotalik handed John Grahame his jock on a penalty shot to round out the Sabres scoring. Miller stopped 29 shots (dude is just allergic to shutouts I guess).
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Spacek did drive Nichols into the post away from the play. He should've been expecting retaliation. That's how hockey works. Not that Nichols' hit wasn't a cheap shot, but "I'm just sayin'"...
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No way, dude. If Nichol felt wronged, he should face Jaro like a man, turn him around FIRST, drop the gloves and challenge. A punch from out of nowhere is at best classless, and at its worst, life threatening for Spacek. JS's mistake was keeping his back turned on a known cheap-shot artist, but it's a play that happens several times a night, the officials had ALREADY penalized it, it should've ended there.
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