Homeric Hymn to Atlas

by Ryan

Everyone knows that Thomas Vanek leads the league in goals thus far, and everyone knows how well he's been playing. Still, when I look back on the past year and see how much has changed I can't help but be blown away by what has happened to him. Since it's pretty evident I've been quite the downer around these parts over the past month, I thought we should all take a moment to gush about our boy Atlas to get back into a cheerful mood.

Let's start with the obvious: Thomas Vanek has been playing some freaking phenomenal hockey as of late, and when he plays like this consistently I look forward to hockey games like a giggling schoolboy looks forward to recess. The clock ticks towards noon and you just know you're going to torch the 4th graders at soccer, so the excitement is palpable amongst your 5th grade brethren.

That's life with Thomas Vanek these days. Vanek is the exchange student from Italy that grew up on pasta and free kicks, and Tampa Bay is the rag-tag group of 4th graders with serious self-confidence issues. Sure, they may get a lead and get excited for a minute or two, but Vanek is going to be there to provide the dagger sooner or later, and those 4th graders won't have the moxy to talk to girls for at least another five years.

Thomas Vanek is one of the only reasons hockey is fun around here these days, but it wasn't always like that. Remember when Thomas Vanek looked like this?



A year ago Thomas Vanek was cold and underachieving with a huge contract and even bigger expectations. Every shift was laced with lazy penalties, profanity, and missed chances. He wasn't having fun, and he certainly wasn't playing well. I openly worried about his future on the team, and we looked at the prior summer as the biggest disaster in Sabres history. It was beginning to look like we had an albatross on the roster, and not the good golfing one, either.



And here were sit now. Vanek has six multigoal games and absolutely no one outside of the 716 seems to notice this. Meanwhile I've been calling him "Atlas" for months and he's morphed into the kind of hockey player you'd commit fratricide for. He plays hard on both ends, backchecks like the opposition kidnapped his only child, and is making plays every single shift. I expect him to score every time he's on the ice, and that's not an exaggeration, nor is it expecting too much.

Let's face it, people, Thomas Vanek is a special, special person right now. His hockey IQ is off the charts, and watching him over the last few months has been an absolute gift. That backhand last night was out of this world. People (myself included) rave about Crosby's backhand and how much power he gets on it, but I've never seen someone operate so close to the net with that much skill.

When did this all happen? I don't remember the exact date, but sometime last year everything came together and he started playing the best hockey of his career. Hat trick against Tampa. Ottawa. Tampa again. Boston. It was as if the summer didn't exist, because he came right out of the gate on fire again this season. He's only had two goal scoring streaks longer than two games this year, but doesn't it feel like he's put one in every night?

To put into perspective how well he has played this year, consider this: Vanek has made Kevin Lowe look smart. That offer sheet is still a disaster, but I'd be hard pressed to find a Sabres fan who would prefer Vanek playing like this for Edmonton while we have Marek Zagrapan as our leading scorer. Exaggeration, I know, but that disaster of an off season sure feels a bit better with Atlas going off.

So in conclusion, Thomas Vanek is playing the best hockey of his life, and I've enjoyed watching every minute of it. Please join me in this lovefest by adding your own accolades in the comments, so I won't feel guilty for loving an awkward-looking Austrian this much.

Also, for 289:

Atlas Analyzed

by Ryan

I really wanted to talk about statistics today because there were some great posts by other bloggers over the weekend. First of all, Die by the Blade had a good summary of Buffalo's struggles against weak teams. This is the kind of analysis I wish we did more often here, and over the next month we are going to try doing more of it. This team is getting more and more frustrating, and maybe the answers lie somewhere inside the numbers.

Another really cool post came from D.O.'s SB Nation cohort James Mirtle. He took a look at how blocked shots correlate with points percentage in an effort to determine if "good teams block shots" after all. Really good work by James, who has picked it up a bit since moving to From the Rink. I'm curious to see how that chart changes as the season matures, but it really is worth looking at to see for yourself how some stats relate to wins.

---

I could have talked in depth about all that, but since Saturday I've been thinking a lot about Thomas Vanek.



I didn't post about the game on Saturday night because I was really depressed over it. After two really good games the team fell short again, and it seems to me more and more that this team is simply mediocre. Vanek was amazing again, scoring two more and he continues to pace the field, but it wasn't enough. This whole Atlas thing has really made me think about Vanek and pretty much everything about him; from his contract to his game as a whole and even his personal life. Sometime today it hit me:

I'm really happy for Thomas Vanek.

There are a lot of times as a sports fan you are happy for the success of a player on your team. They do well for you and you are happy, that's how it works. However, with Vanek I think there is something else there that I take pride in, and it's that he's finally coming into his own.

Let's face it, he had a rough season last year. But as my friend Dave commented sometime back then, who can blame the kid? In the span of a few short months he had a baby, got married, and had a $52 million contract thrown at him. To see him struggle was difficult, but he had all the pressure in the world on his shoulders and performed pretty admirably in hindsight.

This year everything has been different, and certainly for the better. Vanek is playing lights out hockey, earning the nickname I threw on him early and looking like one of the best forwards in the game. It's something we hoped to see out of him from the moment he was drafted, and it looks like we are finally getting our wish.

I don't want to get weepy here but, well, it's just nice to see good things happen for the kid. It's obvious he worked so hard last year and struggled so much, but now everything is falling into place and all that hard work is paying off. I love that good things are happening to one of our boys, and it's about time someone on this team shows they can live up to the pressure of high expectations.

It's just a really cool change of pace not to make fun of a player on our team. No over dramatic f-bombs, no slamming the stick after a giveaway, nothing. Sure he takes the occasional bad penalty these days but when you think about all the times this year he's completely bailed the team out it's hard to get upset. Right now Thomas Vanek is having the season of his life, and I can't help but smile every time he touches the puck.

I'll be in the building tonight expecting more great things from #26. This one could get really, really interesting.

Atlas 'Simplified'

by Ryan



When will they learn?

Take a look around the league and tell me what you see. What teams are defined by one player, one face bobbing above a uniform's crest? What names are thrown around when talk of greatness begins? Crosby. Ovechkin. Lecavalier. Iginla. All of them worthy of the praise and reputation they receive. All at the top of their game. But here's my question:

When does Thomas Vanek enter into this discussion?

We are now an eighth of the way through the season, and Thomas Vanek leads the league in goals. Okay, that could change. But what hasn't changed is his overall game, which sometime last year morphed into an absolute monster. Even when he doesn't hit the scoresheet Thomas Vanek has played the best hockey of his career over the last 30 or so games. When does he get recognition for that play from someone outside of Buffalo?

You saw him in action tonight. He beat the best young defenseman in hockey for his league leading tenth goal 72 seconds into a game his team absolutely needed to win, and scored another after a second effort rush to end the second period. Toss in a few mad dashes to break up plays on defense and another penalty-free night and you have another another great game from a player coming into his own before your very eyes.

Give all the credit in the world to a coaching staff that had their team ready, but even more credit should go to the players for responding in such a stunning way. It only makes Tuesday and Thursday that much more embarrassing to see them play like this against Washington. Miller was excellent, Connolly played well, and a few players got off the hot seat; but who has answered the bell more than Vanek thus far this year?

On a night when the best player in the world was not in the country, Thomas Vanek took over the game in a way you would expect Alexander Ovechkin to do so. He didn't celebrate like AO or skate as fast as him, but he made things happen all night and was the best player on ice at all times.

My question still stands. Just how good is Vanek when you stack him up with the rest of the league? Perhaps it is his cap hit, perhaps his country of origin, or maybe it's just because he plays in Buffalo, but when does this league take notice of what's happening at HSBC Arena when #26 hits the ice? More importantly, do we even want them to notice?

A few other things while I pour libations to our very own Titan:

- I know everyone makes fun of Alexander Semin, but it really is an odd name, right? The NHL is the only league where this is somehow okay for one of its stars. It would be like the NFL having a starting quarterback named Michael Wenis or something. Of course, he would probably play for San Francisco and no one would bat an eye.

- I loved the Kaleta/Paille scoring play. I know I said I'm not going to talk about Kaleta anymore, but I really like giving him some shifts with actual talent. The same goes for Mair. Sometimes a line shuffle works really well, and tonight it did. It will be interesting to see how the lines shake out when everyone else gets healthy.

- Miller's done with his crappy games for the year now, right?

- #19 was pretty okay tonight. He's going to play well, it's just going to be a matter of longevity with him. Then again, we all know this. Good to see him get 19+ in ice time, though, making my prediction wrong. Should we take bets on how many games he plays?



The Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl goes to Thomas Vanek, destroyer of cities, lifter of planets. Yes, we are totally keeping track of these. For the record, Thursday's went to Stamkos, and if we missed another one we will give one out there. Big prizes abound come season's end.

We hope.

A View from the Roost: All Around the World

by Ryan

Thomas Vanek is in a special place right now. It's the kind of place that goal scorers go to every once in a while; where everything is illuminated by red lights and there's always open ice. See, Thomas Vanek really thinks that he should score a goal every time he hits the ice. Every single time. He knows how good he is, he knows he is going to get his chances, and he's going to do whatever it takes to see that red light go off.

That makes him a very, very dangerous person.

Thomas Vanek didn't score in regulation tonight, but he did pretty much everything he could think of trying. He tried to score from behind the net, bouncing it off the goaltender. He tried a backhand he had no business getting that much power behind. Every once in a while he even tried to set up his teammates, drawing the defense away before he effortlessly tossed it out in front.

Vanek was everywhere again tonight, and even though the box score says he had two shots, he contributed to the offense in much bigger ways. Right now he is playing the kind of game where I want him to have the puck at all times when he's on the ice. Like the hot hand in basketball, Thomas Vanek is playing with his hair on fire, and you feed that guy the puck when he's that hot.

After the shootout goal Rich sent me a text that said: "Dude you don't even know how nasty the fake was on Vanek's goal." He's right. I still have no idea how good it was, but I know I'm going to watch it at least 12 times when NHL.com finally puts it up. If you make the trip over there with me, click Vanek's name and just watch his highlight real for a few minutes. This is something pretty special we are watching; a performance from a kid who has a world of pressure on his shoulders.



Thomas Vanek is doing his Atlas thing right now, and it doesn't look like he's going to shrug anytime soon.


Some other thoughts on the game:

- I give the Sabres Style gear a heartfelt "meh". A stylized Slug is still a Slug. Jon said he would quit the blog if I bought one, but let me point out that the stuff looks exactly like something Dan Paille would wear. So yeah, there's that.

- Speaking of Dan Paille, is it just me or does his face morph every season? Sometime tomorrow I'm getting his team photos together and comparing them. This isn't a puberty kind of morph, this is an Amy Winehouse pre/post coke kind of transformation.

- While we're on the subject of Sabres merch, they had the shirt in the store. The jury is still out in it for me, but it looks much more like a shirt than a jersey in person. Still not worth the price tag, though.

- They also had Portland Pirates gear there, including Nate Gerbe and Tim Kennedy shirseys. Don't worry, I can't believe it either.

- Also, if you've ever wanted an authentic (as in game worn) jersey, now's your chance to get one. They have a bunch in the corner where they usually have used sticks. I think they were $144 each, but it may have been $177. Either way, much cheaper than usual and even if it's not your size it would be prime framing material. (Please don't quote me on the price, we get enough angry emails from French people) looking for porn...)

- One more thing about jerseys. We are pretty strict around here with jerseys and what name goes on the back. However, what's the rule when that person literally doesn't exist?



You probably can't see it (he didn't stay still for long), but that's most definitely a Taro Tsujimoto jersey, #74 and everything. Personally I think that's kind of awesome, even if it's on a current jersey. Thoughts?

- The new cups look pretty sweet, but they have some major lid problems. Careful with those now. Also, try not to drop an entire tray of nachos on the person below you. Poor girl a few seats over wound up with a hood full of jalapenos tonight because the person behind her couldn't, I don't know, function normally around cheese, I suppose.

- The person behind me kept calling Dan Paille "Pele." It actually wasn't funny at all. Okay, it totally was.

- Mair's office got a bit of a downgrade this year. I'm a big fan of individual letters, but the picture of City Hall was a nice touch.

- I have a lot of questions about the music they played tonight, but one thing that freaked me out was the Green Day/Oasis mix they played during the second intermission. Somehow they got "Wonderwall" and "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" to turn into one song. That's a new one. How do you search for that on iTunes? Wondervard of Broken Dreams? Wondervard of Brokenwall?

- On an actual hockey note, I love pretty much everything about Craig Rivet. From the little push he gave someone who took a chop at Miller to the bad ass way he didn't react to the MacArthur goal at all. Even when he fell late in overtime, he absolutely flew to get back into the play. Chris better dial up that jersey before I make a bad life decision or two.

- On a down note, I absolutely hated the last power play in regulation. They were tentative and tried the same dump play to Ales in the corner twice, both times he muffed it. I know there's no point in this, but if they pushed the tempo a little harder to end the game they could have stopped Boston from getting the extra point. A few months from now those extra inter-division points could cost them. It sure did last year.

- I lied, the Aud did look pretty depressing tonight.





- Did I even mention Ryan Miller? That's pretty hard to believe I went a few thousand words without mentioning the first star of the game. That save in the third is why we pay him like a top five goaltender. After a game like tonight, Darcy looks pretty smart from up in the press box.



On that note, let's give the Ferrunginous Pygmy-Owl of the Game to Darcy Regier. It was a relatively quiet summer, but so far this fall there's been plenty of noise.

Laletdown Game

by Ryan



Ah, the comfort of the expected. Heading into the game you knew all the factors against the Sabres; the short rest, injury troubles, the likelihood of starting the backup goalie. Throw in the Sabres' record on Saturday nights and you were looking at a good bet for our first loss of the year.

It didn't really feel that way though, did it? Sure, the Sabres "lost" in the skills challenge, but what we saw was a team overcome its flat start and mount a comeback, as well as a pretty strong performance by a backup goaltender. When you consider how badly the Thrashers were outplaying Buffalo in the first period, it actually becomes a pretty impressive game, and a point that may turn out to be big in a few months.

Sure, you could say the Sabres should have won a game against a bad opponent. That's an argument I can't refute, but with all of the above mentioned, a point is a point. I always hate when pundits say the games "matter most" in February and March because they are closer to the season's end. Points always matter, and when it's April and the Sabres are off the pace a few points I always look back to games much earlier in the season as missed chances.

Tonight could have been one of those chances. Instead, it's a point. Sure, we are an Atlas shot wide and a Lalime five hole away from two points, but how much more can you ask for from those two guys? Lalime was shelled in the first and Buffalo was constantly shorthanded but he stood strong. Kovalchuk and Little are the major scorers for Atlanta, and those guys ended up on the score sheet. After 19 shots in the first, the Sabres were lucky they were the only two on it.

And what else can you say about Atlas Vanek? Was there even a doubt in your mind that he was going to make some noise tonight? I mean, I keep saying over and over that he can't keep this up, but, he can't keep this up, can he? Shootouts and breakaways are his most notable weakness, but I'd take another 77 games worth of this Thomas Vanek any season. Is he worth $8 million this year? Hell and yes.

I think after a week like the Sabres had you have to take the positives out of this game and just hope they come back strong on Tuesday. We learned that Patrick Lalime is a reliable backup goaltender, and I don't have to swallow my tongue when he gets the nod in net. We also learned that there isn't much quit in this team, even down two on the road on short rest. Those are good signs, and I'll take nine points five games into the season and run with it.

Oh, and Slava Kozlov blows.

A View From The Roost: Atlas Keeps Rolling

By Chris

Sometimes I look back at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and wonder if the Sabres made the right move. The first round of that draft is arguably the deepest in recent memory as, five years later, nearly every player from that round is an impact player for his respective team.

The Sabres could have gone in a variety of directions with the fifth overall pick. They could have shored up the defense and selected Dion Phaneuf or Braydon Coburn. They could have reached a bit and selected scoring center Jeff Carter or bruising right winger Dustin Brown. But they needed a scoring winger and they went with a face that Buffalonians were familiar with.

That past February, the Minnesota Golden Gophers won the NCAA Championship in Buffalo behind freshman left wing Thomas Vanek.

Vanek struggled his rookie season with the Sabres coming out of the lockout, despite scoring 25 goals. It was his playoff performance that he'll most be remembered for that year as he was benched in favor of Taylor Pyatt.

His sophomore campaign was a great turn around as he developed chemistry with center Derek Roy on the third line and finished 2006-07 with 43 goals, 84 points and an NHL-best +43.

Last year was hit and miss. At times we saw Atlas Vanek, putting the team on his shoulders and winning games on his own. Look back at the rally against Tampa Bay for proof, where Vanek scored a natural hat trick to give the Sabres a come from behind victory.

He guaranteed that his team would make the playoffs and despite scoring 14 goals in the last 14 games, the team fell short.

This year, Vanek has picked up right where he left off. He currently leads the NHL with six goals and is more confident than ever.

The Sabres are off to a 4-0 start. The powerplay is clicking. They're scoring shorthanded goals. They haven't given up a powerplay goal yet. Two goals tonight is the most they've allowed in a single game all year.

As impressive as they have been as a team (the new mindset of the team that Craig Rivet seems to have brought is a whole other discussion), it's Vanek that everyone's talking about.

He's going to the net and isn't afraid to get bumped around. He showed that several times tonight against Vancouver.

The goal he scored was a thing of beauty. He was bumped around in front of the net, an area he's dominated his entire career and was able to roof a back hand into the top corner. He took the hit but was able to finish. He even mixed it up a little with the scuffle at the benches in the first period.

He's been making plays like that goal all year so far. His goal against Montreal was probably the smartest goal he's scored as a pro and his assist on Kotalik's goal was just as nice. The ability to draw a penalty and keep your head in the game to make a pass like that to Kotalik in the slot is invaluable.

Sometimes I wonder if the Sabres were right in picking Vanek in 2003. When you see what he's capable of, as we have in the Sabres last 20 games (going back to last season), it's hard to argue that they were wrong. And as he gets more experience on the penalty kill and in his own zone, it's scary to think that the Austrian Atlas can only get better.



Other thoughts on tonight's game:

--Last night's match against Detroit clearly took a lot out of Vancouver. They started out flat and Curtis Sanford being soft in goal didn't help matters. This was the third game of a five game road trip for Vancouver and it showed.

The Canucks looked like they wanted to get out of the building as soon as possible and head out to Chicago for Sunday's game against a conference opponent.

But Buffalo never really let up in the game and took advantage of a tired hockey club. It was the Sabres' goal to get off to a fast start and they accomplished just that.

--Kaleta. I love that he's an instigator and all that. Really I do. Guys like Darcy Tucker and Sean Avery and Jarkko Ruutuu are guys that I hate to play against but they're also guys that I would take on my team almost every day.

But to see Kaleta just be so unwilling to drop the gloves all the time is sickening. I'm a huge fan of four-minute penalties. Who isn't? But he's earning a bad reputation around the league. That diving call he took tonight? I'd expect to see that called against him more frequently just because of his style.

What he did tonight may have sparked the team but his routine could grow old very fast and if he doesn't start standing up himself by dropping the gloves, his antics could eventually get stars like Vanek or Pominville speared or worse by a bitter opponent.

--On the topic of the agigitators, Peters kind of looked like a hockey player tonight. I think he's a horrible waste of space, but he had a very good game tonight and not just by Peters' usually negative standards. He even took a few shots and had some confidence.

Oh yeah, and there was this. One of the rare times he looked like a real fighter.


--The Sabres are 18-for-18 on the penalty kill this season. As long as the defense stays healthy, I have a feeling that special teams will continue to be successful. With veteran presences that the team didn't have last year like Teppo Numminen and Rivet, there seems to be a quiet confidence on defense.


Henrik Tallinder, Toni Lydman and Jaroslav Spacek have been the Sabres' most reliable defensemen over the last two or three years and adding experience and talent like Numminen and Rivet gives the team the most consistent top five they've had in a long time.

Andrej Sekera can only benefit from being among this corps and he's looked very, very good for a rookie.

--Ryan Miller wasn't particularly busy tonight but he was sharp when called upon. The first goal looked like a typical over the shoulder Miller goal but it looked to me like Kesler's shot was tipped just as he shot it. And I'm willing to forget about the Bernier goal. It looked like a flukey play that didn't go Buffalo's way.

Also, I thought Miller played the puck tonight better tonight than he did all of last season. It's easy to forget that one of Miller's greatest strengths when he first came into the league was that he was a very strong puck handler.

--Speaking of that second goal, outside of that play, the Sedin Twins were virtually invisible. Ruff matched the Roy-Vanek-Stafford line up against them for most of the night and the Sabres were really able to keep Bernier and the twins in check.

The entire Vancouver offense seemed to be in a lull, and perhaps most of that had to do with beating the Red Wings last night. Beyond the two goals, their only other real offensive pressure came when Pavol Demitra hit the crossbar on the powerplay in the second period.

--Who thought MacArthur could be an effective second line center? For a guy who only started playing because (surprise!) Tim Connolly got hurt (again), he's done more than an adequate job filling in for Jochen Hecht (who, once again, is brochen).


Keep crashing the net, Sparky.

--And Kotalik also has four goals in four games. Almost forgot about that one. Somebody told him he's in a contract year. And despite Afinogenov quiet on the stat sheet, he actually is playing well. He's moving the puck and keeping defenders on their toes. As long he stays healthy, the scoring will come.

And if Max can heat up as someone cools down, I'm pretty sure we'll see some more tallies in the Wins column.

--The crowd was pretty tame tonight but I think it mostly had to do to the fact that Buffalo was in the driver's seat all game. Going into the second period up 3-0, you can only do so much chanting. Being ahead I think calmed the crowd and allowed them to enjoy the actual game rather than the T-shirt cannon. Being 200 fans short of a sellout probably made a little bit of a difference as well.

--Granted we're only four games in, but with the way they continue to win and battle despite all the injuries, we may be looking at a Sabres team that's deeper than even the 2005-06 roster. And that's the team that many, myself included, thought should have won the Stanley Cup.

--With a game against Atlanta tomrrow, the worst the Sabres can do is start like Vancouver did tonight. Ruff knows how to avoid that but it will be interesting to see if this team is mature enough to be able to step up to the challenge.

If you were at the game too, we'd love to hear your take on it. That's what the comment boxes and our e-mail address is for.

Atlas in the Apple

by Ryan

To say that last night's game was a big win would be a huge understatement. When you control the flow of a game against a team like the Rangers while Clarke MacArthur is a "top scoring line center", well, things are going well. That's not to say he hasn't played well, he has, but Clarke making a big impact this early wasn't exactly in the game plan from September.

It is still so very early, but once again the Sabres gave us those little things to look for and take hope from. Taking it to the Rangers at home while on a long road trip is so very important. Ryan Miller talked about how a trip to New York City has helped the team bond, but I think going in to MSG and flat out beating the Rangers will do more for this team in the long run. Who is left to fear in this Conference after beating the Habs on opening night and the Rangers at home?



What are we going to do with this version of Thomas Vanek? Do we even have a nice, safe place to put him right now? Like a nice, high shelf far away from Connolly's STDs and Afinogenov's bipolar disease? This Thomas Vanek we have under contract is pretty great, isn't he? Like, I wanna build statues in honor of this Thomas Vanek, and pour libations out to honor his offspring.

He's not going to keep this pace up, he just can't. However, this is the Thomas Vanek that Kevin Lowe tried to give his first born for, and the Vanek we saw at the end of last year claim we would make the playoffs. This is Altas Vanek, and he's a hockey player that can literally put a team on his back for any stretch of time. When was the last time we had a player like that, and when was the last time that player started carrying in October?

To watch Vanek carry over his play from last spring can only bring up the expectations around here. Miller has been good, the penalty kill has been unreal, and the Sabres are scoring goals. All this happening with two centers out is simply stunning. Where did all this defense come from after the abysmal performance they gave last year? Since when does Sekera 1) not suck balls, and 2) log 20+ in ice time per game?

I would like to say I saw this coming. Sure, the signs with Sekera and Vanek were there last year. However, to see it come together so well this fast is pretty impressive, especially with who is out. There are still a number of things that bothered me, and we will get to those later. For right now, we have a busy weekend coming up with another big test on Friday.

Consider the first big test passed.

'What up Atlas'

Oh yeah, it's happening.