Tag Archives: Jordan Leopold

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 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 17 2012

Overreactions, 45th Edition: Detroit Rock Bottom

Things didn’t look too promising coming in to Monday’s game at Joe Louis Arena.

Riding an eight-game losing streak on the road, Buffalo was about to run into a buzzsaw. Detroit was ready to extend their home winning streak to a franchise record 15. The numbers indicated it could be trouble for the Sabres.

Surprise, surprise.

While they held them off the board for just over five minutes, there wasn’t much reason to think the Sabres had any chance to get out of there with points, and they dropped a 5-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings presented by Amway.

“We’ve got to wake up,” Buffalo forward Jason Pominville said.

Ryan Miller got chased after allowing five goals on 14 shots in the first 24:32 of action. He expressed his frustration after the game, and, just like many of us have been saying, there’s no magical cure in his eyes.

“If you want to just destroy a team and go out and be reckless and do something, yeah. Then there’s going to be new guys in here. But other than that, this locker room is going to be pretty much the same, if not completely the same and we gotta find it from in here [points to chest]. You can’t sit and wait for somebody else to fucking do it.”

The nine game losing streak shows no signs of stopping, with the team unable to put together a good road game and visits to Chicago, Winnipeg and St. Louis, all arenas where the home team has dominated, awaiting them.

This is what a season slipping away looks like.

  • Lindy Ruff decided to mix up the defense pairings and forward lines after seeing the team fail to beat the last place Islanders on Saturday. With Andrej Sekera returning in place of Robyn Regehr and T.J. Brennan replacing Joe Finley, there wasn’t going to be much continuity on the blueline anyways. It turned out to be a disaster. Jordan Leopold and Mike Weber looked lost playing together, both being on the ice for four of the five Detroit goals.
  • One of the changes Ruff made was putting Derek Roy between Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek. Defensively not withstanding, that line looked alright in the offensive zone, especially Roy, who I thought looked good in the attacking zone. The trio had 10 of the Sabres’ 27 shots on Detroit’s Jimmy Howard.
  • Oddly enough, Marc-Andre Gragnani was even on the night. He’s been one of the team’s shakiest defenseman. Somehow his plus-minus doesn’t reflect that. 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 →
Dec 10 2011

Overreactions, 28th Edition: Is it over yet? Cool. Wait, they won?

There are plenty of games throughout the year where the Sabres might come out and play a strong game, or it might be a fun game to watch, but at the end of the night, they just can’t get it done.

Scratch that, reverse it.

In one of the more tedious stretches of 60 minutes we’ll see this season, the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers couldn’t determine a winner. Thankfully, it didn’t last much longer than that.

Jason Pominville‘s breakaway goal 2:19 into overtime gave the Sabres their second home win in the last four weeks as they defeated Florida 2-1.

“It wasn’t a pretty one, but we got it done against a team that was going really well,” Pominville said. “We talked about trying not to hand them opportunities by giving pucks away, and we were better with the puck. You want to generate more, but at the same time I thought we stuck with it.”

Ryan Miller made 22 saves for Buffalo, who also got a goal from Derek Roy in the first period.

The two points were surely worth a game that the NHL marketing department would probably love to burn the tape of. The teams combined for nine shots in the third period.

Buffalo, despite the win, took a couple losses on the night. Jochen Hecht got hurt blocking a shot in the third, while rookie Corey Tropp should miss some time after being rocked by Florida’s Dmitry Kulikov in the first period.

But still, a win’s a win.

  • Paul Szczechura has been really good in each game he’s played for the Sabres. Showing to be a phenomenal depth signing this offseason. That pass to Pominville? Szczweet.
  • Speaking of sweet, the effort all around on Buffalo’s first goal was beautiful. Brayden McNabb with the great effort to get the puck out. Tyler Ennis with the nice play to push it up ice, and Drew Stafford threading a perfect pass to Derek Roy, who made no mistake. Pretty.
  • Jordan Leopold’s return to the lineup was noticeably good for the defense. Leo had an assist on the winner and was solid in 20 minutes of ice time. Sabres should get a big boost if he keeps up his play from before the injury.
  • Ryan Miller had a really good night. Can’t fault him on a five-on-three. Made the saves he needed to. Continue reading →
Nov 30 2011

Overreactions, 24th Edition: Sabres teach new class, call it “Losing To Shitty Teams 101″

Tonight, the New York Islanders moved two points of the struggling Anaheim Ducks for sole possession of the 28th best record in the NHL. They have one team to thank for it: the Buffalo Sabres.

For the second time in five days, the Sabres lost to a team in 15th place in their conference. Blame the injuries. Blame the bounces. Blame the bad luck. Doesn’t matter what you want to blame it on, it all ends in a 2-1 loss.

Jochen Hecht scored Buffalo’s only goal in the third period, as Islanders goaltending Al Montoya was the star of the night, stopping 30 shots in the win.

“He was sound in the net and he made sure there were no good second opportunities,” Roy said. “That’s partly our fault. We have to get to the net a little better.”

Buffalo looked a combination of listless and disjointed, depending on when you were jolted from the slumber induced by the frequently uneventful play. There were brief moments of intrigue, one being Zack Kassian’s first scrap in the NHL with Matt Martin of the Islanders.

Unfortunately, there was more cringeworthy moments to consider than glimmers of quality. Jordan Leopold, arguably Buffalo’s best defenseman over the last few weeks, left with an upper body injury and did not return. An extended five-on-three late in the third yielded nothing. Ville Leino blew a slam-dunk goal that could’ve tied it with just minutes left. A poor effort all around.

Jhonas Enroth finished with 28 saves for Buffalo.

  • The potential loss of Leopold could be devastating. He’s been superb for weeks. While the strong performance of all Amerks being recalled is encouraging, this is a loss from the top of the barrel, not the bottom.
  • Christian Ehrhoff has been playing his best hockey of the season lately. He was on the ice for 32:48 Tuesday night. That’s more than half the game. The guy is a horse. Andrej Sekera was really good too, and made a nice play that led to the Sabres goal.
  • The First Niagara Center continues to be a place where the Sabres don’t play well. The atmosphere is awful on a regular basis, and it seems little effort is being done to change that. The crowd is always dead. The music is habitually awful. Seriously, in a tie game, midway through the third period, what moron thinks “Oh, you know what would get this crowd rocking? The fucking Chicken Dance!” Is this a joke? Seriously. If I would’ve actually paid for my ticket in, I might be even more disgusted with that. Completely embarassing, and in no way should that idiotic behavior be allowed to happen.
  • At some point, can Nathan Gerbe get called out for doing nothing? Hasn’t scored a goal in almost a month, and other than an inspiring effort against Boston last week, hasn’t brought much energy. He was flat out awful Tuesday night.
  • The Ville Leino signing looks worse by the day. The idea of Leino being here for another five seasons after this one is borderline vomit-inducing. He’s been better, but his style is frustrating and the results aren’t there. This guy is supposed to be a key cog. He’s been anything but.
  • Jhonas Enroth made the saves he needed to. Like with any goaltender, it’s all about goal support. If you can rely on a goalie to hold the other team to two goals, you should be able to win a lot of games. Not when the offense is M.I.A. Continue reading →
Nov 26 2011

Overreactions, 22nd Edition: Yikes.

When you go play a team that’s in 30th place out of 30 in the league, usually it helps to put forth a little effort.

Coming off one of the more emotional efforts of the season before the holiday, the Sabres came out lifeless and allowed the last-place Columbus Blue Jackets lay a beat-down on them, taking a 5-1 loss.

Jordan Leopold scored for Buffalo.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen it this bad before,” said Buffalo’s Lindy Ruff, the league’s longest-tenured coach. “I think we’ve got seven regulars out of the lineup. We need to make better plays than we did tonight. Obviously when you’re short-handed you’ve got to be good with the puck.”

And make that eight regulars, as defenseman Robyn Regehr left the game with an upper body injury.

Jhonas Enroth took the loss, allowing four goals on 18 shots before giving way to Drew MacIntyre, who stopped 15 of 16 he faced.

  • Buffalo had a good number of opportunities early in the game to take the lead and it bit them in the ass. Jochen Hecht had a glorious opportunity that he decided to pass on. They left the door open for Columbus, and by the time they finally beat Columbus goalie Curtis Sanford, it was too late.
  • Lindy Ruff waiting a long time to shuffle lines, as there wasn’t major shuffling until midway through the third period. With the Vanek-Hecht-Pominville line being ineffective, Ruff decided to break up the scoring duo who’ve carried the team through the first quarter of the season instead of just getting them away from Hecht. Not quite sure why. Derek Roy was having a decent game at the dot, you’d think the logical move would be to put Roy in the middle there as he was a few games ago. Guess not.
  • Zack Kassian picked up an assist in his NHL debut, but exhibited the play that will disappoint many fans who see him as a physical presence. He registered one hit on the night. Continue reading →