A Thought on Winning

by Ryan


Over the past few months this blog has been around I've slowly slipped into the local blogosphere. It's been a heck of a ride to say the least. Looking around I've found a lot of people have opinions that I don't agree with, or even ones that make me dislike the idea of blogging in general.

Even so, I've found that many have strong opinions that open new areas of thought for me as a hockey fan. No matter how many awful sites or mediocre posts I've stumbled across, that one comment or thought is worth scanning so many others for.

As most of you are aware, the Sabres are struggling. All of us have wondered why this is, why they can't seem to put forth a consistent effort and win the games they should. The perfect example was Monday night against Boston. The Sabres put up 45 shots against a goaltender who was 50-50 lifetime and they scored just one goal.

That game left me downright dumbstruck. Aside from the crippling defensive errors that directly resulted in goals, the Sabres didn't put forth an awful effort. One thing a commenter in the BfloBlog game thread said really got me thinking.

vtTom said: "Everybody has their “A” game on against “last years” Pres trophy winner - farm team hands pull nickles out of their butts to show they can stand up against last year’s measure."

It was something I honestly hadn't considered before. This Sabres team did win the President's Trophy last year, the best team in regular season play. So much is said of the "Stanley Cup Hangover" that plagues so many championship teams in hockey, when every team sees you on the schedule and wants to match up against the champs. I know I certainly was eager to play Anaheim for that very reason last week.

So does that same target get applied to the President's Trophy winner?

I certainly didn't think so. I really never have looked at the team with the best regular season record with any real disdain because in reality it doesn't matter. Sure, it's a heck of a nice banner, but postseason performance is what really counts. Before last year I always assumed the Red Wings or some other Western Conference team won it because they seem to finish with more points. It's just a trophy, nothing more, and it will never have the glory and legacy of the Cup and a championship.

However, his theory may hold some water after all. It would certainly explain why Alex Auld played his balls off on Monday, and why we can't seem to win games even with a solid effort.

One problem we may have is our perception of the team. Whether we realize it or not, we became a feared offensive force last season. The national media that actually covers hockey recognizes the Sabres as this machine, and I think that translates into the way other teams look at us. The Sabres are expected to score goals. Lots of goals, and in an explosive fashion.

Last night Benanati mentioned Afinogenov's "familiar skating style", which was surprising because I wasn't aware Max was really that well known. Maybe the rest of the league knows more about us then we think, and that knowledge adds a pressure to perform well against the team that was so dangerous last year.

It is only a thought, but one that is worth considering. We are playing teams that we rarely see, and they may peg their match up as a test much like the "test" we thought a game against Anaheim would be. It is more then possible that the other 29 teams and their fans place this team on a pedestal, with the goal to knock the regular season king from atop the mountain.

If that's the case, they are doing a heck of a job so far.

Them? Again? Really?

by Ryan


After a trip out West to face teams they haven't seen in two years, the Sabres come back home to a familiar opponent.



At this point, what don't we know about the Bruins?

Savard is a beast, and averages over a point a game against us. If he scores tonight I wouldn't be shocked.

Phil Kessel has one testicle and is also shaping into a very good hockey player. He and Savard make me pretty weary of a shootout scenario. (Not that we've had one at all this year, but you never know...)

I like Glen Metropolit, and I heard someone else say the same thing over the weekend. I feel vindicated by this.

Since we last played them they have a new goaltender, Raask or something. I don't feel like looking it up, but I remember his name kind of sounds like he is a Tuscan Raider from Star Wars. Whatever, we barely score goals anymore as it is, why not throw a mythical creature out there?

Jon and I were talking about this earlier, but this is the first year we've really hated playing our division rivals eight times per year, and it's because of the Bruins. I dislike them, they play us tough, and when it comes down to it, I'd rather play a few more teams out West because they are more fun to play.

I know that problem is fixed come next year, but there are only so many times you can play a team before you know everything there is to know about them. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but I will say I doubt I am surpised by anything that happens tonight.

A Bad Bounce at the Hub

by Ryan


What a way to start off November with an "eh." 4-3 OT Final.

A few things worth noting:

- I am absolutely terrified of Phil Kessel. The One Testicle Wonderboy is getting near Sabre-killer status, and is off to a great start overall. I remember him scoring his first NHL goal against us last year when he literally took the puck off a teammate's stick and gunned it by Biron.

- However, the real Sabre-killer has to be Marc Savard. 24 points in 25 games prior, and he picked up two more points tonight. A great shot on Miller in the third, even though I think Miller went down a bit early.

- I also enjoyed Glen Metropolit's game tonight. I've always liked him (possibly because his name is just sick), and I was pretty surprised the Thrashers were willing to let him go just to rent out Keith Tkachuk for two months. Then again, he stole Goose's third star. Screw him.

- If I were the GM of the Bruins, I would try pretty hard to avoid having a guy named "Thornton" on my team. Especially if he sucks.

- The ice looked just awful in overtime. The puck was already skipping around a bit throughout, but within the first minute of overtime a puckcarrier for both teams fell with no one around. There was a Van Halen concert there on Tuesday, but I doubt that affected the ice much. However, the forecast shows temperatures in the mid 50s in Boston tonight, and that may explain the bad ice at game's end. One thing's for sure, the Sabres certainly have had bad luck with bad ice recently.

- Goose has been a beast so far this year. He already has four goals, and was involved on all three goals tonight. How Gaustad didn't get at least the third star is beyond me. Maybe Wally was picking them tonight.

- Even though Vanek continues to struggle, you have to appreciate his game tonight. He actually tried to hit the Unfrozen Cave-Defenseman that is Zedeno Chara, and showed some great vision with that pass to Max for the first goal. He still looks a bit tentative, and I miss that arrogance he played with last year. Something happened after Opening Night. He had it then (slap shot on a breakaway), but its been nothing but cute passes and shots wide since. I thought the OT winner on Saturday would break him out of it, but it may take a bit more than that.

- You have to hand it to Love Potion Lydman for that shot block sequence tonight. He may not say much, uh, ever; but coming back from a puck to the face point blank does show some on ice leadership. Also, watching him take that ceremonial faceoff was just great comedy.

- I guess the Sabres did play a pretty decent road game, and a bad bounce cost them an extra point. Special teams looked great, killing off 4/5 (including two back to back thanks to Fat Crosby) and going 2/3 on their man advantages. Puck movement continues to be excellent, but tonight they actually got the puck into shooting lanes on the point.

The Sabres will be back at it tomorrow night against Florida, a team they played less than a week ago. Hopefully being back on home ice will get them in gear a bit quicker than usual. We may have our first look at our new toy as well.

The Storm Before The Draft

I've been told I'm crazy for being excited about the draft.

But since when has being sane helped me as a sports fan? There are actually a few things I love about the NHL Draft that you can't get in other sports. For example, in what other league is it a good idea to brush up on regional dialects before you even scout players?

But aside from player names this year's draft is especially intriguing. With regards to aesthetics, this will be the first chance to see what teams have done with RBK's new sweater. Boston has already revealed theirs (see below) and the Caps have given us a peak of their redesign, but this will be a nice chance to see it on something other than a foam body.

The draft is also unique in regards to it being more so about trades than anything else. With the exceptions of the first round, most players won't see any NHL action for at least a year. That means that for most teams the draft is less about players like Jordan Staal and more about blockbuster trades.

At the time of this posting, Tomas Vokoun, Vesa Toskala, Mark Bell, and Adrian Aucoin all have new homes. Who knows where some star players will land by night's end. Even Maxim Afinogenov has been in some trade rumors over the past few weeks. By Sunday night we may be talking about some major roster moves by the Sabres that most casual fans would have never expected.

Finally, if there is any reason to watch the draft, it may lie in Pat Kane, the Buffalo native that has the chance to go #1 overall to the Blackhawks.

''I can remember in my basement kind of announcing myself getting drafted No. 1. It was to the Buffalo Sabres, but wherever I go, it would be unbelievable to go No. 1.'' -Pat Kane

If a quote like that doesn't make you root for him then you've never been a little kid. Which is impossible.

Everything Plain Can Be Lovely

More proof that this off season will be one of the most interesting in recent history: big news out of Boston.

No, not this, that's just another head coach.

Now that's more like it.

Uniforms are seen as very important in the Goose's Roost, especially when we will see the Hub eight times a year. Personally, I love the new look. It may just be the Bobby Orr card sitting three feet away, but something about the old "B" and matching bear makes me smile. (A nice history of the Bruins logo can be found here.)

The other good sign this brings is a determined effort not to turn the league's uniforms into glorified Rollerball getups.

The Bruins coming out first with a retro look using the new RBK jerseys means that not every team needs to go all sluggaro on us. It's been almost a year now, and while the uniform itself has grown on me, the logo has not. The ability to keep a classic look like Detriot or New York's unchanged will keep most hockey fans from committing murderous acts, while more free-wheeling teams can, um, let their imaginations run wild.

I know that no matter what we say, teams will do what they want with their uniforms. My only request is that the other 29 teams don't get trigger happy and tweak for the sake of tweaking. Some jerseys really do look solid as they stand.

You know what, screw it. Just don't turn these teams into members of the Lollypop Guild and I can deal.