Tag Archives: Drew Stafford

Feb 19 2012

Overreactions, 59th Edition: Sabres get a win for America

With a national audience watching at home, one could’ve easily argued before the game that the Sabres didn’t deserve the attention. Sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference, Buffalo is far from a marquee attraction, and being a part of NBC’s Hockey Day In America may have seemed unreasonable.

In the end, they knew how to impress a crowd.

The Buffalo Sabres, winless in their last four, jumped on the Penguins early and led for over 59 minutes of the game en route to a 6-2 win in Sunday matinee action.

Early goals by American immigrant hero Jason Pominville and Derek Roy gave the Sabres a lead they would never surrender in the opening minutes. Fargo, North Dakota native Paul Gaustad’s early second period goal, assisted by Oxford, Michigan’s own Nathan Gerbe and Jordan Leopold of Golden Valley, Minnesota, would prove to be the game winner.

Pittsburgh cut the lead to 3-2 before Milwaukee’s best Drew Stafford added an insurance goal. Buffalo pulled away on goals by Derek Roy and a highlight-reel score by Tyler Ennis.

Roy had his first three point night since November, tallying two goals and an assist. Pominville added two assists with his goal, giving him a team leading 57 points.

Ryan Miller, the East Lansing, Michigan product, stopped 24 of 26 shots to get the win.

Buffalo, thanks to a superb effort by the line of Gaustad, Gerbe, and Angola, New York’s Patrick Kaleta, kept Evgeni Malkin, the league’s leading scorer, in check. Malkin had just one assist and won only 2-of-11 faceoffs.

  • Tyler Ennis is a restricted free agent this summer. Sign him for as long as you can. Sign him for life. The kid is gonna be a star. That goal was the kind of goal that John Tavares would score and people would drool. He’s got skill, tenacity and is one of the most exciting players to watch.
  • Sure, Derek Roy made a great play driving to the net for his shorthanded goal, but holy crap Jason Pominville had an incredible shift. Pominville twice collected passes from the defense and brought them into the zone, only to clear them back to the awaiting defense to kill time. On the rush with the goal, he called for the puck, brought it into the zone and drew two defenders before threading an unbelievably perfect pass to Roy.
  • Paul Gaustad had the kind of game that makes contenders drool. A hard working goal, great defensive game, and 16/23 on faceoffs. Sabres can collect quite a haul for this guy. Continue reading →
Feb 9 2012

3MI Roadtrip Recap: University of Sabres Doubleheader

In place of a traditional “Overreactions” post, which would be extremely tardy, this is 3MI Roadtrip Recap. A mix of what the postgame blogs usually look like and a look into the trip. Hope you like it. If you don’t, feel free to move to the Congo.)

Preamble

Not often that you get opportunities to see your team play twice in one day. Well, sort of.

Couple weeks ago a buddy of mine alerted me that the Rochester Americans were playing a weekday morning game in Toronto. He suggested we go for the 11am start. Oh, and the Sabres were hosting the Bruins the same night. What are the odds? Luckily, getting a day off work was feasible, and it worked out great. Easy drive Sabres game didn’t start until 7:30. Plenty of time.

So we hit the road early and headed up the QEW to Toronto to see the Sabres’ minor-league affiliate play the Leafs affiliate to start one hell of a day.

Rochester Americans @ Toronto Marlies
Viewed at: Ricoh Coliseum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Amerks have had their struggles with injuries. With Joe Finley out with a lower body injury, facing a Toronto team they’ve had tough games against this season, things didn’t get much better.

Getting an early start in front of thousands of school kids, the Rochester Americans lost 4-3 to the Marlies at Ricoh Coliseum.

Rookie Zack Kassian scored twice for Rochester, who now sits 9th in the AHL’s Western Conference.

Max Legault scored the other goal for the Amerks. David Leggio made 21 saves in the loss.

Rochester struggled offensively for much of the game, generating just ten shots through two periods. Kassian’s second goal came with under four seconds left.

  • Kassian looked like the Kassian we know. Wasn’t throwing his weight around, but strong physically and good around the net. He’s not going to be the player everyone wants him to be. He’ll be good though.
  • Made an effort to watch Dennis Persson as much as I could. Seems like he’s slowly becoming a bit steadier. His selection was always assumed to be under the intention that he’d grow into a Henrik Tallinder-type, and I can see it. Tallinder took his sweet time developing. Persson is progressing slowly as well. Not ready to say “bust” yet. He was -2 on Wednesday.
  • If you’re into roadtrips, I highly recommend heading up to Ricoh for a game. Beautiful little AHL arena. Very intimate environment.
  • Travis Turnbull is a guy that can be a mainstay on the Amerks for a few years. A joy to watch. Plays with a lot of intensity and spunk. Had a nice scrap with Toronto’s Kelsey Wilson. Continue reading →
Jan 25 2012

Overreactions, 49th Edition: It could happen!

Approaching this game, the most feasible explanation for how the Sabres could end their 12-game losing streak on the road against a goaltender they’ve had trouble with would be simple: Don’t let the other team score.

(Ed note: The least feasible would be a team of angels assisting them in exceeding their capabilities.)

For the most part, Buffalo took care of that. And it worked.

Riding a horrible stretch of play into the final game before the NHL All-Star break, the Sabres found a way to get it done, stealing a 2-1 shootout victory in New Jersey.

“This is huge for us,” said Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold, who scored in regulation. “The past few week have been tough and challenging and we capped off a long, long road trip with a win. It was not a perfect game. We got outshot and outchanced but in the end we got a couple of big saves from Ryan. He kept us in the game and we were able to win in the shootout.”

Leopold’s fluky goal late in the first period was all the cushion Ryan Miller needed to get them a point, as he stopped 27 of 28 shots through 65 minutes. Jason Pominville scored in the third round of the shootout to extend it, and Nathan Gerbe scored the walk-off winner in round 4.

Buffalo pulled out two points despite registering a mere 14 shots on goal through regulation and overtime.

The Sabres hit the mid-season siesta sitting 14th place in the Eastern Conference, ten points out of a playoff spot with 33 games remaining.

  • Ryan Miller, when he plays like this, is worth every penny. He needs to be surrounded with talent. I truly think, as bad as this team is, that he can be part of the solution instead of being considered a problem.
  • In the talk about what’s wrong with the team, and how injuries can’t be an excuse, the one valid argument in this recent run of horrible play is how much the absence of Christian Ehrhoff hurt. Tyler Myers is clearly not in a position to carry this team as a #1 defenseman, and without Ehrhoff, the team suffered. Ehrhoff played a team high 24:27 in his first game back. Having him in the lineup makes this team remarkably better defensively.
  • Thomas Vanek’s pressing hard and the results aren’t there. The team’s going nowhere if he can’t start getting the results.
  • Robyn Regehr’s return was also a big help. He was incredibly solid. Having the veteran presence on the back end was missed.
  • With 33 games remaining, the indispensable Sports Club Stats has the Sabres with a 0.6% chance of making the playoffs. To earn a playoff spot, they’ll need to get approximately 95 points. They have 45. It’s going to take at least 23 wins in 33 games. Pack it in, guys. No need for a heroic run to 10th. Continue reading →
Jan 21 2012

Delayed Overreactions, 47th Edition: They can’t even beat Winnipeg!

In a shocking development, the Buffalo Sabres lost another road game. The streak of futility outside the 716 area code has now reached 11 in a row.

Yes, 11.

This time, it’s a 4-1 defeat to the team formerly known as the Atlanta Thrashers at an AHL arena somewhere in Canada.

Drew Stafford scored the lone goal for Buffalo. Failing to beat goaltending icon Ondrej Pavelec more than once isn’t going to get anyone very far.

Special teams wasn’t an area of strength on this night either, with the powerplay leaving empty handed after two opportunities and the penalty kill allowing two goals on four chances.

“You’ve got to win that battle,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said about the special teams. “We had a tough time getting shots through. They got theirs.”

The solution to the team’s problems getting points continues to elude the roster and coaching staff, and the season continues to slip past the point of saving. Ryan Miller, who started extremely strong in this game, stopping 18 of 19 shots in the first period and making key stops on many of the 30 shots he faced through two periods, couldn’t have stolen this one.

Another game, another search for answers.

  • His play of late hasn’t been stellar, and his name keeps popping up when talking trades, but Derek Roy made a subtle and crucial play on Buffalo’s only goal. With Nathan Gerbe and Drew Stafford charging ahead with a two-on-one break, Roy made a nice positional play that prevented a second Jets player from getting back into the play. Roy cut right in front of the defender to open up the passing lane that Gerbe was able to use to get the puck over. If Roy doesn’t make that play, that puck doesn’t get through, and there’s no goal. Watch the replay. Didn’t seem like anyone else noticed it.
  • Ryan Miller did play extremely well early, but without any offense, he’s not going to be able to sit back and weather the storm the whole game. The inability to carry offensive pressure is putting more on him to do everything to keep the game close. He faced 19 shots in the first period. That’s on the team defensively to limit that number. 19 is embarrassing. Continue reading →
Jan 19 2012

Overreactions, 46th Edition: Another Day, Another Dagger

After a gritty and admirable performance Monday night in a tough loss to Detroit, hopes were sky-high Wednesday night for the Buffalo Sabres.

Alright, it’s not even worth trying at this point.

In a game where few objective fans could convince themselves that the end result would be in doubt, it proved to be another nail in the coffin for the Sabres’ 2011-2012 season. Chicago, battling for the top spot in the West coming in, now sits atop the heap after handing the floundering Sabres a 6-2 defeat.

All-star captain Jason Pominville scored both goals for Buffalo, who have lost ten straight road games.

“We’re not dealing well with adversity,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “Until we learn to win again, you won’t win on the road.

“We’ve got some players that are way away from their game, and we’ve got some guys that I thought were good tonight, but we didn’t have enough of them.”

Pominville’s second goal tied the game at 2-2 minutes into the second period, but the Blackhawks scored four unanswered goals to coast away with two points.

Jhonas Enroth, who has been strong lately despite not finding wins, allowed six goals and stopped 29 of 35 shots. Enroth hasn’t picked up a winning decision since November 26.

The team flies to Winnipeg to face the Thrashers on Thursday night.

  • With the need for some roster changes obvious, it’s a common topic of discussion to consider what players should be considered untouchable. Obviously, Thomas Vanek is the top name on the list. Many would throw in Tyler Myers as well. (I wouldn’t.) But Jason Pominville has been everything we could’ve hoped for when he was given the “C”. He’s having a phenomonal year, contributes in all areas. He’s part of the solution, not part of the problem.
  • The NBC Sports crew calling the game were quite critical of the Sabres throughout the broadcast. Some on twitter seemed taken aback by it. It’s nice to get an objective opinion once in a while, isn’t it?
  • Jochen Hecht’s pass to Pominville on the opening goal was absolutely sublime. Continue reading →
Jan 11 2012

3MI Roadtrip Recap: Toronto

(In place of a traditional “Overreactions” post, which would be extremely tardy, this is 3MI Roadtrip Recap. A mix of what the postgame blogs usually look like and a look into the trip. Hope you like it. If you don’t, well, go find a bridge.)

Preamble

It really is the center of the hockey universe. Whether we like it or not.

Living in Buffalo, you get used to Toronto being “right there.” Honestly, it’s a nice perk. I hate Canada in general with a passion, but, to be truthful, I love going to Toronto. It’s beautiful.

I’ve made a habit of heading north to catch Sabres games since the lockout. Thanks to the Sabres’ ownership of the Leafs on the scoreboard since then, it’s been a habitually great trip. Heading into Tuesday, I had attended 15 Sabres/Leafs games at Air Canada Centre, with Buffalo winning 13 of them. Really. When you can leave an opposing arena on a winning note, it makes the trip much more enjoyable.

A couple weeks ago, I found a few standing room only tickets on StubHub for a reasonable $49.99 each. You read that right. Those damn fees turned into $60 each, but I’m a huge fan of the SRO areas at the ACC. You basically stand right at the top of the 300 level, with a birds-eye view of the ice and some space to breathe. Some would look at a $60 ticket that doesn’t include a seat and question it, but I don’t. It’s Toronto. It’s a different world.

So I headed north with some friends eager to see another win. Um, well…

Sabres @ Maple Leafs
Viewed at: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

You can’t win if you don’t score.

Thanks to an impotent offense and 60 minutes without a single powerplay, the Sabres had no chance to win in a 2-0 loss to the Maple Leafs.

First period goals by Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski were plenty of cushion as Jonas Gustavsson got the shutout for Toronto. Ryan Miller made 26 saves in the loss.

Buffalo was in rough shape early, as Thomas Vanek played just four minutes due to illness and left the game during the first period. Without their leading scorer, the Sabres struggled.

“We need to get one and it will make the boys in here feel good and hopefully we can string them on from there,” Sabres forward Drew Stafford said. “We’ve got a great opportunity in the rematch in a couple days.”

Opportunities are only useful if they’re converted.

  • The officiating was horrendous both ways. The only penalties called, save for the Patrick Kaleta charging penalty, all required tangible evidence to prompt a call. Stafford put the puck in the crowd. Then Stafford pushed a guy into the net and knocked it off. Then Mike Weber put the puck over the glass. That’s weak.
  • Love the atmosphere at Air Canada Centre, but honestly, that was the weakest vibe I’ve experienced there. Crowd was absolutely dead. If I ranked all the games I’ve gone to there in order of quality of atmosphere, that one was 16 out of 16. Shitty intro video doesn’t help get the crowd going either. Continue reading →
Jan 4 2012

Overreactions, 39th Edition: Secondary scoring shows up in Sabres win

In the Sabres’ recent struggles, it’s been the absence of the team’s second line on the scoresheet than would appear to be the difference between getting two points, one point or none on any given night.

For once, they showed up and got two.

Third period goals by Drew Stafford and Nathan Gerbe broke a 2-2 tie and provided the margin of victory in Buffalo’s 4-3 win over Edmonton.

“We’ve talked about it enough. Bottom line is guys knew we just needed to go out there and get it done,” Stafford said. “It feels good to get those two points. Now, hopefully we can string a few together.”

Even after falling behind 1-0, it was the usual suspects that got the Sabres back in it. Jason Pominville tied it up with his 13th of the year late in the first period. Jordan Leopold’s 7th on the season made it 2-1 before the Oilers tied it back up.

In the third, it was Stafford and Gerbe putting the game away. Edmonton closed it to a one-goal game late, but it didn’t change the outcome. Stafford was in on the last three Sabres goals, and finished with a goal and two assists.

Ryan Miller won for the fourth time in his last five starts at home, making 23 saves.

  • Zack Kassian needs to go back to Rochester. He’s having issues playing well enough to stay in the lineup, and he’s earning ice time by default. Another passive effort from someone who’s supposed to be earning a spot as a physical presence. Don’t damage his development by letting this poor play go unpunished.
  • Mike Weber was really good. He’s settling in very well after starting the year as a scratch. With the defense decimated by injuries, Weber is being relied upon right now. Good to see a solid effort.
  • Jordan Leopold has seven goals this season. The rest of the defense combined has ten on the year. Even after scoring 13 in 71 games last year, Uncle Leo is on pace for a similiar total. Guy has been a stud. Continue reading →
Jan 1 2012

Overreactions, 38th Edition: Sabres drop the ball on NYE

Jhonas Enroth was as good as he needed to be.

The rookie, getting his first start in three weeks, was solid for the Sabres, stopping 44 of 46 shots through regulation and overtime. Unfortunately, the goal support didn’t do quite enough to get the effort into the win column.

In a spirited affair at First Niagara Center, the celebrations were muted despite Enroth’s big night, as Ottawa’s Bobby Butler scored in the fifth round of the shootout to hand Buffalo a 3-2 shootout loss.

“I felt good out there tonight,” Enroth said. “I was a little bit nervous before the game, but I told myself to relax and compete. Usually when I do that, it works out well for me.”

Shootout markers by Brad Boyes and Jason Pominville were cancelled by Ottawa, and extra rounds shooters Derek Roy and Drew Stafford failed to beat Sens goalie Craig Anderson.

Buffalo falls to 17-17-4 on the year, good for 11th place in the East.

The Sabres twice jumped into the lead in the first 60 minutes on goals by Brad Boyes and Paul Gaustad, the third of the season for each. Both leads were eventually answered by Ottawa.

  • The bottom six has been taking a lot of flak here lately for not putting the puck in the net. Tonight, they chipped one in. But with the top line not producing like they have been, they didn’t get that third goal that would’ve been the difference. Three goals should win you a lot of hockey games. Top line gets one, secondary scoring gets one, depth gets one. If all three groups chip in, you’re in really good shape.
  • For fuck’s sake, you’re really gonna play the Chicken Dance between regulation and overtime? No wonder the place is so passive. Holy shit, it’s the most intense part of the game. The game is on the line and you think it’s a good time to dance? How the fuck is this shit allowed? Fuck.
  • Hopefully this strong performance is enough to convince Lindy Ruff to keep going back to Jhonas more often. When the backup isn’t playing lights out, he’s too tempted to stick with Miller. The team has three back-to-backs in the next 19 days. He shouldn’t even think about not splitting them. Continue reading →
Dec 27 2011

Overreactions, 35th Edition: Sabres bust a cap on Washington

That was a hell of a start.

The previous statement isn’t facetiousness, as one would expect with the way the Buffalo Sabres have been playing, especially at home. No, that’s legit.

Opening the scoring just 51 seconds into the game on a Jason Pominville powerplay goal, Buffalo stormed out to an early lead with four first period goals en route to a 4-2 win over Washington.

The returns of forwards Jochen Hecht and Brad Boyes from injury proved to be of great benefit, as the team’s persistent attack in the opening 20 minutes made the difference.

The Sabres chased Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth after Christian Ehrhoff made it 3-0 just eleven minutes into the game with a snipe to the top corner. Brayden McNabb tallied his first NHL goal to close the scoring in possibly the best period of hockey Buffalo has played all season.

“We got everybody going early, we got the fans into it, and we got the bench going,” Pominville said of the early spurt. “You always want to get that first goal, and for us to get it that early was huge for the team. To generate more chances and score more goals after that was big. We limited their chances, and probably could have put a few more away.”

Ryan Miller made 20 saves in the win. Matt Ellis also scored for Buffalo.

  • One of the team’s biggest problems since they’ve been struggling has been the lack of scoring outside of the top line. Tonight, it was two defenseman and a fourth-liner providing the margin. But even with them chipping in, look at the scoresheet: all the top offensive players made an appearance. Pominville got the goal, but Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Jochen Hecht and Brad Boyes all picked up assists. When the guys you rely on come through, good things happen.
  • Boyes was really good in his return to the lineup. That additional firepower outside of the first line has been desperately lacking of late. He picked up an assist on the McNabb goal.
  • He was named the second star, but I would still like to point out that Jordan Leopold had another phenomenal game.  Continue reading →
Dec 21 2011

Overreactions, 33rd Edition: Alright… okay…

Tuesday night’s game was one of those nights where maybe you’re not quite sure how to react anymore. Maybe you just laugh. Maybe you snap. Who knows at this point.

In an effort to reassert themselves after Saturday’s debacle in Pittsburgh, the Sabres came out and worked hard early. Unfortunately, the goals never came,  bad mistakes did them in, and they walked away from another game on the wrong end of the result.

With Marcus Foligno and Derek Whitmore making their NHL debuts, a depleted Buffalo squad just didn’t do enough to get it done, falling to the Ottawa Senators, taking a 4-1 loss at Scotiabank Place.

Jordan Leopold scored for Buffalo, who now sits in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with the loss.

Ryan Miller, who attracted some deserved criticism after being chased twice against the Penguins, rebounded with a strong game in which he seemed to make the saves he needed to, but didn’t get enough help from his teammates offensively. Miller finished with 35 saves on 38 shots, as the Sens outshot Buffalo 39-23.

“I thought the first 40 was a pretty even game,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We knew we couldn’t play run and gun with them, but I thought we created some good opportunities, but didn’t take advantage of them.”

The Sabres now head to Toronto, where they’ll play their last game before the holiday break.

  • Derek Whitmore, under the circumstances, was outstanding. After a full travel day Monday coming off three games in three nights, he was energetic and created good pressure offensively. With that performance, he’s definitely not first on the list to go back to Rochester. Or shouldn’t be, at least.
  • Now that we’re getting that far the depth chart, you’re finally seeing a guy get called up and just show he’s not ready yet. Marcus Foligno is going to be a good NHL player. He’s got natural talent and a good game. But he’s not gonna earn a spot for a year or two. It showed tonight.
  • Thank god Jordan Leopold’s chipping in goals, because no one else on the blueline is. Leopold now has six goals on the year. Every other defenseman that’s suited up this season have combined for eight goals. That’s not good. Continue reading →