Tag / Sabres

by Greg

Time For a Shave?

From all appearances, my playoff beard is not long for this world.

But appearances can be deceiving…

We missed the first period of the game last night, but from the report my brother-in-law gave, the Sabres played very well, and they did finish period one with a 2-1 lead. I heard a brief interview with Jochen Hecht, and he said they “felt pretty good about the way they were skating out there.” So, the Sabres were poised to tie up the series after a surprising loss in Game 1.

Until special teams came into play.

Tied 2-2 late in the second period, the Sabres were on the receiving end of two questionable calls, which put them in a precarious 5 on 3 situation. Ottawa has been lethal on the power play, and the Sabres anemic penalty killing is just no match. So, the Sens took a 3-2 lead into the third period. (At least they didn’t get two PP goals!)

Fast forward to the last minute of play in the third period. Score is still 3-2 Ottawa. You figure for at least the last 10 minutes they were playing to preserve the lead. The Sabres have this sense though of when it’s “time to turn it on”, and as they did against the Rangers, they scored with less than 10 seconds to go to tie the game. This time, it was 5.7 seconds I believe. Daniel Briere tossed one into a wide open net. Lucky bounce. Good timing. Whatever it was, we were headed to oooooovertime.

First overtime was (from my viewpoint) dominated by the Senators. I don’t have an internet connection here, so I can’t look up the stats, but it just felt like they were getting 2 or 3 shots or at least opportunities to our one. Don’t get me wrong, the Sabres did have some great chances. Emery made some good saves, to be sure, and their defense blocked about fifty-seven shots I think. But, Milsy made some great saves, and we went to a second overtime.

Shortly into 2OT, the puck bounced the wrong way and the Senators won. Now they lead the series two games to none, and the Sabres are in quite a hole. The win was also the first time this season – in 47 tries – that the Sabres have had a two-goal lead… and lost. So now, the Sabres are 46-0-1 when they get a 2-goal lead. Still not too shabby…

But it’s 2-0. Headed back to Ottawa. The Sabres do appear to be in dire straits.

But maybe that’s how they like it.

All year long the Sabres have been a comeback team. Some say that is to their detrement. They wait too long to “turn it on”, instead of playing a complete game. And indeed, playing that way from the start – a complete game – would be preferred. But maybe they just want to have the ultimate comeback. To give the Sens not only 2-game lead, but also super home-ice advantage. Three of the possible five remaining games will be played in Ottawa. The Sabres will have to win at least twice on their ice to take the series.

Again, maybe that’s just where they need to be.

Time to turn it on boys. I kinda like not shaving. So, let’s see a desperation game on Monday, like it’s the last minute of play.

Do it for the playoff beards.

by Greg

You’re Gonna Have To Do Better Than That…

Sabres vs Senators - 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
The studio guys said the Sabres were outskated. “The Senators were the better team,” they said. And who can argue with a 5-2 loss on home ice in Game One on Thursday night? Not exactly the way you want to start off the series!

I’m not sure overall the Sens were better, but man, our special teams is either off-the-charts bad, or those guys are fantastic. Two power play goals and a short handed goal (two breakaway chances on the Sabres first power play, with one of those resulting the in the SH goal.) That really set the tone for the rest of the game.

Ottawa did look like they wanted it just a little bit more. The Sabres came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie it in the second period. But on an unfortunate play where a routine clear-out went right to an Ottawa player who threw it toward a teammate rushing toward the net, the Sabres found themselves down 3-2.

And that’s where it all fell apart. Passes were being missed, hustle was just not there… That’s when the Senators were the better team. They netted one more power play goal to make it 4-2 and ended the game by out-racing our defenseman to a puck and scoring an empty netter.

1-0 Ottawa.

The Sabres get their second chance on Saturday. I actually expected Ottawa to get one of these first two games, just not the first one. Sabres have shown all year they are not afraid of adversity. For a brief moment I actually thought they could still win Game one, down only 2 goals with 2 minutes left. With this team, you never know!

It’s a long series… but not if they don’t (1) improve the special teams… they just have to, or it will be over fast! And (2) want it more. They have to want it more. Leave everything on the ice, as they say. They’ve done it before, and if they do it again, we’ll advance to the finals.

But we’re a long way from that tonight.

Game 2 – 8pm Saturday May 12th on Versus.

by Greg

Hockey Update

The Final Four are set. Sabres vs Senators in the East, and Red Wings vs Ducks in the West. 1 vs 4 and 1 vs 2. I would love to see Sabres/Red Wings… just for the Dominik Hasek angle. But the Ducks are FAST (like the Sabres) and can score… would be an exciting Stanley Cup Final.

But wait… we have to beat the SENATORS first. 🙂

The Sens have been playing great. Great goaltending, great defense and they’ve been scoring. That’s about all you can ask. The Sabres will need to play at least at the same level they did since the last 10 minutes of Game 4 in round two. I think they know that now… so they just need to do it. They’ll need to improve their special teams as well. They showed flashes of great penalty killing but the power play was horrendous. (Save for a couple clutch goals in the last two games.)

Here’s the schedule for the Sabres series vs their hated division rival, Ottawa:

  • May 10 – Ott at Buf – 7pm
  • May 12 – Ott at Buf – 8pm
  • May 14 – Buf at Ott – 7pm
  • May 16 – Buf at Ott – 7pm
  • May 19 – Ott at Buf – 2pm*
  • May 21 – Buf at Ott – 7pm*
  • May 23 – Ott at Buf – 7pm*

* – if necessary.

I see the series going at least 6 games… though it wouldn’t surprise me if the Sabres won in less. It would shock me if the Sabres were beaten in less than 6.

They have had one goal since losing in game 7 to Carolina last year. They’re almost there. Four wins to the Stanley Cup Finals. Eight wins to Stanley Cup Champs.

Go Buffalo!!

by Greg

Controversial Call in Game 4

You may have heard (I forget if I might have said here on this blog) that the Sabres lost game 4 in NY and are now tied with NY at 2 games a piece. But perhaps it might have been different had the video review guys been a bit braver, and made the call that every human eye could see… it was definitely a goal. The goal was not allowed on the technicality that there was no video shot of “white” behind the puck (meaning it completely crossed the line).

Well, thanks to YouTube (so, not 100% credible, I suppose) I found a video that shows the shot we saw on TV where “spacially” you can tell that the puck is over the line, even though covered by the goalie’s pad. And then, a view I had not yet seen… a shot from the front. It appears to be taken by a still camera. The puck is visible on its side against the goalie’s pad. That would explain why we couldn’t see it…

And it would make it clearly a goal.

Oh well. 🙂

Game 5 is tomorrow night! Go Sabres!

Here’s the photo/video evidence.
For a comical video, visit the articles page at BuffaloBillsReview.com.

Game 4 Briere No Goal - Aerial View
Game 4 Briere No Goal - Front of Goal View

by Greg

Sabres Series Tied

Sabres vs Rangers in Round 2

The Sabres unfortunately did not read my blog yesterday. The Rangers just “wanted it more” for 2.5 periods. The second Rangers’ goal lit a fire underneath the Sabres, and they played “like they were on the power play for the last 10 minutes”, said a Rangers announcer, but… as they say, “too little, too late”.

Now the series is tied, albeit due to a couple VERY close games that could have gone either way… but it is tied. And, the end was tarnished by a GOAL – very clearly a goal – that was not allowed due to a technical interpretation of the rules, I suppose. That would have tied it with 13 seconds left. But, the Sabres still could have lost. (Just, not likely with how they played the last 10 minutes.)

Now we’ll see if the Sabres really want the Cup, or not.

Game 5 is Friday in Buffalo, Game 6 is Sunday back in NY. It has turned out to be a better series that I first expected!

Go Sabres!! 🙂

by Greg

What It Takes To Win

Sabres vs Rangers in Round 2
I was watching the second hockey game last night, featuring #5 seed San Jose vs the #1 seed Detroit Red Wings. And I noticed what I think the Sabres might be lacking so far in the playoffs.

Yes, they won the first round in 5 games over the Islanders, and have a 2-1 advantage in this series – only because of a 2OT victory where the Rangers played the best they could, and just barely beat us. But, they have not been impressive in most of the games they have played. They don’t look hungry.

The thing our Sabres are missing is the hunger to win. The drive. Whatever you want to call it, I saw “it” in the Sharks last night. The Red Wings might have better players, but the Sharks wanted it more. And they got it.

I’m not sure how (or if?) the Sabres can get that. I have seen them have it this year. People talked about them being able to “flip a switch”. It’s true. They’re scary like that. But the playoffs are for real. If you wait too long, you might not get a chance to flip it “on”.

What I have noticed is that when you finish first there are expectations. From without and from within. The Sabres seem to be playing a little tentative at times – you know, to “not lose”. They have been winning their games, but have been unable to put games away when they have the lead. (One game the Islanders came back when the Sabres had a 4-1 lead… and I think that was more on their effort than on the Sabres tentativeness… they were great that game.)

It’s strange to complain about the #1 team, who has a 6-2 record in the post-season thus far. But… I just notice that they look different than San Jose. And perhaps some other teams. Ottawa really wants it right now too. And they’re up 2-1 in their series. That would be a tough, tough series for Buffalo.

But first we have to win this one.

Game four is tonight in NY. Should be tough, but if the Sabres remember what they have been playing for all season… I’d say you’ll see the Sabres control and win this game tonight. I won’t say easily, but I do think they will control the game tonight.

We’ll see if they have what it takes to win!

by Greg

Tuesday Tidbits

  • NFL Draft
    This past weekend was the NFL draft, as I mentioned here previously. This year, the crazy part was the Bills drafted pretty much as they were expected to! How crazy is that? Last year everyone was flipping out over the insane picks the Bills made… this year, everyone is much happier. (Last year, all the picks made the team, and made significant contributions to the team… what does that mean for this year?) 🙂 Anyhoo… I wrote an overview of it yesterday at my Buffalo Bills Review site. (It’s also on the Bills website, but that’s a crazier link… you can get there from the BBR site…) (PLUS, there are some fun videos on the BBR site…) 🙂
  • Sabres Update
    The Buffalo Sabres lost in double overtime on Sunday. We almost missed it due to the confusing side of TiVo. Long story. But, thankfully we did not. 🙂 Well, sorta thankfully… Game four is tonight… look for the Sabres to take a commanding 3-1 lead heading back to Buffalo for Game 5 Friday night.
  • Macs
    Lots of interest in Macs lately. Been seeing lots of folks who previously have had no interest in the Mac OS switching over to the wonderful world of Apple. If you’re tired of spyware, virus protection, strange error messages, and would like to just enjoy using your computer – Apple has a great section of their site you can check out: apple.com/getamac. It has tons of reasons to buy a Mac, and answers to questions about switching. AND, all those fun commercials with Justin Long and John Hodgman. 🙂

    If you’re interested, I would love to help you pick out the best computer for you. I can even get some discounts too, so definitely let me know if you’re interested. If you don’t need discounts, just click here: bwd-graphics.com/apple. Just enter my Agent ID at checkout. Thanks! 🙂

  • BEAUTIFUL weather
    I don’t really like summer… at all. But, I am loving the recent couple days. Beautiful blue sky, sunny days, green grass, budding flowers… and only in the 60s!! That’s perfect, if you ask me. 🙂
  • Visits
    Grammy & Grandpa are coming to visit this weekend (that would be my parents). We’re looking forward to it. Have lots planned for the short three day visit. Grandma & Grandpa W (Jen’s parents) might be joining us for Friday night too. The boys play baseball on Friday. That would be so fun to have both grandparents there! 🙂 We’re looking forward to seeing them again…
  • Busy…
    I’m feeling busy, but not seeing the return in $$$ at the moment. That is a frustrating place to be. Hopefully that will change in the month of May. Lots of new business on the horizon… perhaps I’ll have to start nudging this week. 🙂
  • Vacation!
    One more thing on my mind of late… VACATION! We already have a week of vacation planned in California in late October – JUST ME AND JEN! But my parents have graciously offered to help us have a family vacation also this year, and the only time we can do that is THIS MONTH. 🙂 I’m not complaining! We’ll be vacating to a favorite vacation destination in the Poconos two weeks from Saturday! Can’t wait! 🙂
  • We’re Still Singing…
    Because of that newly scheduled vacation… we had to REschedule a concert we are doing this month. They were gracious enough to move the date out one week, and we’re looking forward to our evening with them. Now you can hear us at Impact Theater here in Palmyra on May 25th, at 7:30pm. It’s free, but you have to make reservations.

    So…. we’ll see ya out there! 🙂

by Greg

Miller & The Sabres Grab 2-0 Lead

Ryan Miller Makes Another Big Save
The Sabres have Ryan Miller to thank for another playoff victory. That, and some timely scoring from guys who have been doing just that all year long.

We missed the game again last night due to strange TV scheduling, but we managed to catch the final 5 or 6 minutes, and Miller looked as great as they were making him sound. He preserved the 3-2 win for the Sabres several times over… just in the final minutes!

The Sabres apparently had fallen behind 2-1 after two great periods of play from the NY Rangers, but the Sabres scored two quick goals in the third to take their first lead of that game. That has been their modus operandi this season. I don’t have the stats here, but it has been quite typical for the Sabres to come back from a 1 or 2 (or more!) goal deficit to grab the victory.

And now, the Sabres have a two-games-to-none lead in the Conference Semifinal. That’s not insurmountable for the Rangers, but Lindy Ruff is 6-0 in series where he has a 2 game lead, including two sweeps. Let’s hope that trend continues.

Next game is tomorrow afternoon at 2pm on NBC! I have felt like we’re watching history this entire season. And the history making continues on Sunday. Don’t miss it! 🙂

by Greg

Sabres Win Game One

Sabres vs Rangers in Round 2
Unfortunately we did not get to watch game one of round two last night as we were previously scheduled at a Pampered Chef party at a friend’s house… (I had tried to TiVo the game, but later found out that somehow I had scheduled it to record TONIGHT’s game!!! NOT the SABRES!!!!) So, we got home just in time to see them signing off, with lots of cheering Sabres.

We watched the postgame show on MSG (who carry the Sabres, but whose real team is the Rangers) and it was interesting. I guess the Rangers hung in there (scorless past the midway point of the game) until Vanek scored a beautiful re-direct goal. And then it all came apart. The Sabres scored 3 goals in 4:05 and that about did it. Well, technically… it did. They won 5-2.

🙂

So, the Sabres lead their series 1-0, which doesn’t really mean a lot, except.. only 3 more to go. They are now 5-1 in the post-season, and I’m hoping they continue in that pattern of greatness.

Game 2 is tomorrow night at 7pm on Versus. We’ll be TiVo-ing that one as well as Friday night is the boys’ first night of BASEBALL! Alex is playing his first year of tee ball, and Ian is moving up to coach pitch… with the big boys! 🙂 Should be fun. But… I hope the TiVo works this time!!!! 🙂

FURTHER READING (game review articles from…)
NHL.com || Sabres.com || The Buffalo News (many articles here)