After the Sabres took the Capitals will on Tuesday night, they put themselves in the driver's seat to make the playoffs. Today, the odds are up to 68.1% that the Sabres make the playoffs. The Sabres have the best record in the NHL over the past 10 games.
But, now they have to finish the deal.
Up next is a Pittsburgh Penguins team that has the second best record in the NHL over the past 10 games. Then the Sabres have a home & home with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Given that the Leafs have been eliminated from playoff contention, it will be interesting to see if they pack it in or if they play hard and try and spoil the Sabres' party. Then they close out the regular season with road games in Philadelphia and Boston against two teams that could be resting guys to prepare for the playoffs.
So, the Sabres have to keep their focus and complete the epic comeback from 10 points out of a playoff spot in mid-February to making the playoffs. While the team is rolling, it won't be easy.
Christian Ehrhoff is on the shelf with a knee injury suffered early in the Capitals game.
The Sabres have used a ton of energy to get to this spot.
The schedule isn't the easiest to close out the season.
But, after they have come back this far, they have to finish the job.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monster Game Night
Robyn Regehr says it's an understatement to say tonight's Sabres-Capitals game is a big one.
The stats back it up as the Sabres have a tad under 40% chance of making the playoffs right now. The odds good up north of 60% if they win tonight and drop below 20% if they lose.
That is a huge swing either way and it spells out the fact that neither the Sabres nor the Capitals will get eliminated from playoff competition if they lose tonight. But, it will make their job a lot harder, especially if the game doesn't go to OT and the loser comes out of tonight's game with nothing.
The fact that the Winnipeg Jets couldn't complete the comeback last night as they hosted the Ottawa Senators makes tonight's game even more important as the Senators lead the Sabres and Capitals by 4 points. Given that the Jets have been much better at home, I was a bit surprised to see that result when I watched the highlights this morning. But, it's not like the Sabres have gotten a ton of help on the out of town scoreboard the past few days.
So, tonight they have to help themselves.
Other stuff:
- Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog has an interesting look at Ryan Miller's role in the Sabres climb back into playoff contention.
- Travis Turnbull has been returned to Buffalo and it looks like Patrick Kaleta will replace him on the 4th line with McCormick and Boyes.
- I find it interesting that NBC has dropped the April 7th Sabres vs Bruins game. That could be a game that the Sabres need to win to make the playoffs.
The stats back it up as the Sabres have a tad under 40% chance of making the playoffs right now. The odds good up north of 60% if they win tonight and drop below 20% if they lose.
That is a huge swing either way and it spells out the fact that neither the Sabres nor the Capitals will get eliminated from playoff competition if they lose tonight. But, it will make their job a lot harder, especially if the game doesn't go to OT and the loser comes out of tonight's game with nothing.
The fact that the Winnipeg Jets couldn't complete the comeback last night as they hosted the Ottawa Senators makes tonight's game even more important as the Senators lead the Sabres and Capitals by 4 points. Given that the Jets have been much better at home, I was a bit surprised to see that result when I watched the highlights this morning. But, it's not like the Sabres have gotten a ton of help on the out of town scoreboard the past few days.
So, tonight they have to help themselves.
Other stuff:
- Greg Wyshynski at Yahoo's Puck Daddy blog has an interesting look at Ryan Miller's role in the Sabres climb back into playoff contention.
- Travis Turnbull has been returned to Buffalo and it looks like Patrick Kaleta will replace him on the 4th line with McCormick and Boyes.
- I find it interesting that NBC has dropped the April 7th Sabres vs Bruins game. That could be a game that the Sabres need to win to make the playoffs.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Oh no, CoHo is hot
Cody Hodgson was without a point in his first 10 games as a Sabre.
He now has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last two games as a Sabre.
With the Sabres having 8 games left and the team needing to get 2 more points than the Washington Capitals over those final 8 games, it's nice to see Hodgson starting to contribute offensively.
The next week is going to be really interesting. Tonight, the Sabres are in NY to play the Rangers. Tomorrow night, they host the Minnesota Wild that are pretty much playing out the string as they are 13 points out of 8th place in the West. Tuesday is the big show down against the Capitals in DC. And a week from tonight they host arguably the hottest team in the NHL in the Pittsburgh Penguins.
To get six or more points in this four game stretch, the Sabres are going to need everyone on the roster, except for maybe Jhonas Enroth, to pull their weight. And then some.
But, this team is playing well with only 2 regulation losses in their last 16 games played.
Are you ready to believe?
He now has 2 goals and 2 assists in his last two games as a Sabre.
With the Sabres having 8 games left and the team needing to get 2 more points than the Washington Capitals over those final 8 games, it's nice to see Hodgson starting to contribute offensively.
The next week is going to be really interesting. Tonight, the Sabres are in NY to play the Rangers. Tomorrow night, they host the Minnesota Wild that are pretty much playing out the string as they are 13 points out of 8th place in the West. Tuesday is the big show down against the Capitals in DC. And a week from tonight they host arguably the hottest team in the NHL in the Pittsburgh Penguins.
To get six or more points in this four game stretch, the Sabres are going to need everyone on the roster, except for maybe Jhonas Enroth, to pull their weight. And then some.
But, this team is playing well with only 2 regulation losses in their last 16 games played.
Are you ready to believe?
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
4 points in 3 games
So, the Sabres did a pretty good job in the three games with Tyler Myers in the press box for hitting Scott Gomez from behind.
And he returns just in time to face........Scott Gomez and the Habs, of course!
It should make for an interesting plot line tonight.
Some random takes from the past few games:
- the SOL to Colorado suffered.
- not getting Miller the SO win versus Florida suffered just slightly less.
- the blowout win against the Lightning was awesome to watch.
- Thank goodness Hodgson finally got on the scoresheet with a couple of assists against Tampa Bay.
- The Foligno-Ennis-Stafford line is en fuego.
- Foligno just might end up being a better pro than Zack Kassian.
- Why couldn't Detroit have helped the Sabres out on Monday night?
- Hopefully the Flyers can win tomorrow night.
- Next Tuesday's Sabres-Capitals games is going to be HUGE!
And he returns just in time to face........Scott Gomez and the Habs, of course!
It should make for an interesting plot line tonight.
Some random takes from the past few games:
- the SOL to Colorado suffered.
- not getting Miller the SO win versus Florida suffered just slightly less.
- the blowout win against the Lightning was awesome to watch.
- Thank goodness Hodgson finally got on the scoresheet with a couple of assists against Tampa Bay.
- The Foligno-Ennis-Stafford line is en fuego.
- Foligno just might end up being a better pro than Zack Kassian.
- Why couldn't Detroit have helped the Sabres out on Monday night?
- Hopefully the Flyers can win tomorrow night.
- Next Tuesday's Sabres-Capitals games is going to be HUGE!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
The Test
In case you missed it, Tyler Myers was suspended 3 games yesterday for his hit from behind on Scott Gomez.
While much of Sabres Nation is complaining of the continuation of the Wheel of Justice under Brendan Shanahan where similar looking plays get very different punishments, I'm past that. I'm on to wondering what effect the suspension will have as the Sabres enter their last 12 games of the regular season 4 points behind the Washington Capitals for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Tonight the Sabres host the Colorado Avalanche that are currently in a four-way tie for 8th in the Western Conference with San Jose, Calgary, and LA. Colorado is currently listed in 11th place as they have the fewest games remaining among the four teams.
So, you know that the Avs are viewing this as a "must win" game, just like the Sabres are.
The Test is what will the Sabres' response be to missing Tyler Myers? Will they respond in the lackluster fashion that they did when the injury bug hit earlier in the year? Or, will it be a similar response as Ryan Miller had after his post-trade deadline rant against the deal that sent Paul Gaustad to Nashville?
If this team doesn't respond to the loss of Myers with inspired play and they go into a fetal position and see their chance at making the playoffs fade away, it should be another signal to management that the core of the team needs to be reshaped.
If they view this as just another bump in the road and they push through to make the playoffs, then maybe they'll remain committed to this core.
I can never root against the Sabres winning games and making the playoffs. But, this season has been an unusual one where losing has had the potential of being a cloud with a silver lining.
Two teams to watch out West
San Jose and LA are in a dog fight for a playoff spot. Both teams are deep at the center position. The same can be said of Colorado, as well.
If Calgary is the team that makes the playoffs out of that group, it will be interesting to see what changes the Sharks and Kings, and to a lesser extent the Avalanche, make this off season.
There have been rumors that LA GM Dean Lombardi could be let go if the Kings fail to make the playoffs. If a new GM comes in, you could see major changes on the roster.
The Sharks jettisoned Dany Heatley last summer after flaming out early in the playoffs. Could they move Patrick Marleau or Joe Thornton if they miss the playoffs entirely this year?
Colorado's issues will likely be about the salary cap as they have a ton of free agents this summer with 8 pending RFAs and 6 pending UFAs on their roster. 4th line center Cody McLeod (UFA) is a guy that might interest the Sabres, as would RFA centers Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene. Although, it's doubtful that Darcy Regier would sign either of those two to a RFA Offer Sheet, nor is Colorado likely to shop either guy right now.
But, if players like Erik Johnson and O'Reilly get larger raises than the Avalanche expect, it will be interesting to see if they shop Paul Stastny to save money. There are a lot of questions of how close to the cap the Avs will get next year as they were around $15 million under the cap this year. Nobody seems to know what the Avs budget will be next year. That could really be a game changer.
While much of Sabres Nation is complaining of the continuation of the Wheel of Justice under Brendan Shanahan where similar looking plays get very different punishments, I'm past that. I'm on to wondering what effect the suspension will have as the Sabres enter their last 12 games of the regular season 4 points behind the Washington Capitals for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Tonight the Sabres host the Colorado Avalanche that are currently in a four-way tie for 8th in the Western Conference with San Jose, Calgary, and LA. Colorado is currently listed in 11th place as they have the fewest games remaining among the four teams.
So, you know that the Avs are viewing this as a "must win" game, just like the Sabres are.
The Test is what will the Sabres' response be to missing Tyler Myers? Will they respond in the lackluster fashion that they did when the injury bug hit earlier in the year? Or, will it be a similar response as Ryan Miller had after his post-trade deadline rant against the deal that sent Paul Gaustad to Nashville?
If this team doesn't respond to the loss of Myers with inspired play and they go into a fetal position and see their chance at making the playoffs fade away, it should be another signal to management that the core of the team needs to be reshaped.
If they view this as just another bump in the road and they push through to make the playoffs, then maybe they'll remain committed to this core.
I can never root against the Sabres winning games and making the playoffs. But, this season has been an unusual one where losing has had the potential of being a cloud with a silver lining.
Two teams to watch out West
San Jose and LA are in a dog fight for a playoff spot. Both teams are deep at the center position. The same can be said of Colorado, as well.
If Calgary is the team that makes the playoffs out of that group, it will be interesting to see what changes the Sharks and Kings, and to a lesser extent the Avalanche, make this off season.
There have been rumors that LA GM Dean Lombardi could be let go if the Kings fail to make the playoffs. If a new GM comes in, you could see major changes on the roster.
The Sharks jettisoned Dany Heatley last summer after flaming out early in the playoffs. Could they move Patrick Marleau or Joe Thornton if they miss the playoffs entirely this year?
Colorado's issues will likely be about the salary cap as they have a ton of free agents this summer with 8 pending RFAs and 6 pending UFAs on their roster. 4th line center Cody McLeod (UFA) is a guy that might interest the Sabres, as would RFA centers Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene. Although, it's doubtful that Darcy Regier would sign either of those two to a RFA Offer Sheet, nor is Colorado likely to shop either guy right now.
But, if players like Erik Johnson and O'Reilly get larger raises than the Avalanche expect, it will be interesting to see if they shop Paul Stastny to save money. There are a lot of questions of how close to the cap the Avs will get next year as they were around $15 million under the cap this year. Nobody seems to know what the Avs budget will be next year. That could really be a game changer.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
He's ALIVE!!!!!!!!
So, Thomas Vanek isn't dead after all. And neither is the Sabres PP that went 2 for 7 and had the last two goals for the Sabres including Pominville's OT GWG.
The Sabres also took advantage of a tired Hurricanes team that was in the back end of back-to-back games in the form of outshooting the Canes by a 42 to 24 margin.
Now it's onto Boston that has the advantage of having Wednesday off after beating Toronto on Tuesday night.
Staring at the standings & the out of town scores
Good News: The Sabres are two points behind Winnipeg for 8th place. Although, since the Jets own the tiebreaker over the Sabres, they are really 3 points out of a playoff spot with 15 games to play for each team.
Bad News: The Sabres are tied at 70 points with the Capitals and Washington has a game in hand. So, not only do they need to jump over the Jets, they need to pass the Capitals as well.
Praying for a two point game: Tampa Bay (68 pts) and Washington (70 pts) play in Washington tonight. So, the best case scenario is Tampa Bay winning in regulation. But, the Sabres are really hoping that they don't go to OT and both teams get at least a point.
Other games of note:
Winnipeg @ Vancouver - Go Canucks!
Florida @ Philly - Go Flyers!
NYR @ Ottawa - Go Rangers!
The Sabres also took advantage of a tired Hurricanes team that was in the back end of back-to-back games in the form of outshooting the Canes by a 42 to 24 margin.
Now it's onto Boston that has the advantage of having Wednesday off after beating Toronto on Tuesday night.
Staring at the standings & the out of town scores
Good News: The Sabres are two points behind Winnipeg for 8th place. Although, since the Jets own the tiebreaker over the Sabres, they are really 3 points out of a playoff spot with 15 games to play for each team.
Bad News: The Sabres are tied at 70 points with the Capitals and Washington has a game in hand. So, not only do they need to jump over the Jets, they need to pass the Capitals as well.
Praying for a two point game: Tampa Bay (68 pts) and Washington (70 pts) play in Washington tonight. So, the best case scenario is Tampa Bay winning in regulation. But, the Sabres are really hoping that they don't go to OT and both teams get at least a point.
Other games of note:
Winnipeg @ Vancouver - Go Canucks!
Florida @ Philly - Go Flyers!
NYR @ Ottawa - Go Rangers!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Missed opportunity
The Sabres had a chance to pull into a tie with the Winnipeg Jets last night.
But, the Jets outplayed the Sabres last night and now the Sabres are 4 points out with 16 games to play. It was far from a "must win" game and the Sabres still have a chance to make the playoffs. But, that was a huge loss and it never really felt like the Sabres were going to win.
Where does the team go from here?
The Vanek, Roy, Pominville line is slumping right now. Horribly. And while Lindy Ruff usually changes lines at a drop of a hat, he keeps throwing VRP over the boards hoping that they will figure things out. Personally, I'm ready to see Hodgson and Roy flipped and have Roy between Ennis and Stafford and have Hodgson with Vanek and Pominville. Or, just put Vanek on the 4th line for a game or two and have Boyes up with Roy and Pominville.
On defense, I hope that Robyn Regehr heals up. Quick. He was a turnstile on one of the goals last night and the lower body injury that kept him out of the Vancouver game had to have been a factor. If it wasn't, we could be seeing the LH version of the Craig Rivet drop off happening in front of our eyes all over again.
Another issue was that Ryan Miller's rebound control was less than stellar. The question is when can they fit Jhonas Enroth in over the foreseeable future? Can they play him versus Carolina tomorrow night? Do you wait until Monday versus Montreal or next Wednesday versus Colorado? Personally, if you can't play him tomorrow night versus the Canes, then you can't play him the rest of the season and Miller needs to get a lot of rest on non-game days.
All that being said, going 3-1-1 over the 5 game road trip is really good. It was the first time in the team's history that they won 3 straight road games in the Pacific timezone. And all three were in regulation, so no asterisks required for that record.
And the glimmer of hope moving forward is that Winnipeg has 9 of their remaining 15 games on the road and they are 11-17-4 away from home so far this season.
But, the Jets outplayed the Sabres last night and now the Sabres are 4 points out with 16 games to play. It was far from a "must win" game and the Sabres still have a chance to make the playoffs. But, that was a huge loss and it never really felt like the Sabres were going to win.
Where does the team go from here?
The Vanek, Roy, Pominville line is slumping right now. Horribly. And while Lindy Ruff usually changes lines at a drop of a hat, he keeps throwing VRP over the boards hoping that they will figure things out. Personally, I'm ready to see Hodgson and Roy flipped and have Roy between Ennis and Stafford and have Hodgson with Vanek and Pominville. Or, just put Vanek on the 4th line for a game or two and have Boyes up with Roy and Pominville.
On defense, I hope that Robyn Regehr heals up. Quick. He was a turnstile on one of the goals last night and the lower body injury that kept him out of the Vancouver game had to have been a factor. If it wasn't, we could be seeing the LH version of the Craig Rivet drop off happening in front of our eyes all over again.
Another issue was that Ryan Miller's rebound control was less than stellar. The question is when can they fit Jhonas Enroth in over the foreseeable future? Can they play him versus Carolina tomorrow night? Do you wait until Monday versus Montreal or next Wednesday versus Colorado? Personally, if you can't play him tomorrow night versus the Canes, then you can't play him the rest of the season and Miller needs to get a lot of rest on non-game days.
All that being said, going 3-1-1 over the 5 game road trip is really good. It was the first time in the team's history that they won 3 straight road games in the Pacific timezone. And all three were in regulation, so no asterisks required for that record.
And the glimmer of hope moving forward is that Winnipeg has 9 of their remaining 15 games on the road and they are 11-17-4 away from home so far this season.
Friday, March 2, 2012
82 saves
Ryan Miller had 43 saves on Wednesday night in the Sabres 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks. On Thursday night, he made 39 saves in a 1-0 win over the San Jose Sharks. Two days. 82 saves. Two wins. Two shutouts.
So, I guess Miller's dismay at his best buddy Paul Gaustad getting traded hasn't affected his play on the ice negatively.
And for all those Sabres fans that were dreaming of a top 5 draft pick, don't look now, but the Sabres playoff chances are looking a heck of a lot better now than they did a month ago.
Starting with the Sabres game on January 24th, Miller is 10-2-3 with a 1.62 GAA and .946 Save%. He is in a zone like he was a few years ago when he won the Vezina Trophy.
The team is struggling to consistently score goals as they have scored more than two goals in only 5 out of the 16 games since January 24th. But, it seems like they are back to the Hasek Formula where a couple of goals and strong goaltending wins them more games than they lose.
Notes:
Robyn Regehr could miss some time after picking up an injury in the second period last night. If he's out, it would appear that Alexander Sulzer will be making his Sabres debut against his former team tomorrow night.
Cody Hodgson hasn't registered a point for the Sabres in two games, but he's a +2 and has looked pretty good. Although, all the travel and the back-to-back games did show a bit last night in San Jose. But, you'd have to think that he'll have plenty of jump when the Sabres take on the Canucks tomorrow night.
So, I guess Miller's dismay at his best buddy Paul Gaustad getting traded hasn't affected his play on the ice negatively.
And for all those Sabres fans that were dreaming of a top 5 draft pick, don't look now, but the Sabres playoff chances are looking a heck of a lot better now than they did a month ago.
Starting with the Sabres game on January 24th, Miller is 10-2-3 with a 1.62 GAA and .946 Save%. He is in a zone like he was a few years ago when he won the Vezina Trophy.
The team is struggling to consistently score goals as they have scored more than two goals in only 5 out of the 16 games since January 24th. But, it seems like they are back to the Hasek Formula where a couple of goals and strong goaltending wins them more games than they lose.
Notes:
Robyn Regehr could miss some time after picking up an injury in the second period last night. If he's out, it would appear that Alexander Sulzer will be making his Sabres debut against his former team tomorrow night.
Cody Hodgson hasn't registered a point for the Sabres in two games, but he's a +2 and has looked pretty good. Although, all the travel and the back-to-back games did show a bit last night in San Jose. But, you'd have to think that he'll have plenty of jump when the Sabres take on the Canucks tomorrow night.
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