swordplay

Random Thoughts Prior to a Shellacking

I probably shouldn't even write that title because my luck it would mean the Sabres win two games in a row since ... forever? I can't even remember. But anyhow, it's a good segue into some random thoughts before tonight's matchup against Les Habitants.

- OK boys, you're basically fully healthy. Let's see whatcha got.

- The fact that Buffalo hasn't fallen assbackward into at least a couple wins in row since I started this blog -- that is, in over two and a half months -- is almost shocking. This team is a train wreck.

- Terry Pegula & Co. have spent a lot of time talking about bringing Stanley Cups to Buffalo, so this is going to sound a bit perverse. But if I were him, my directive to the team for the remainder of the year would be very clear: Every win from here on out will be met with a $25,000 fine. Per person. It's time to play for the first pick next year. On the bright side, it should be an order that's pretty easy to follow.

- There's been a lot of comments by Sabres fans on blogs and chats about how Ville Leino is untradeable because of his salary ($4.5 mil/yr). But these same people say Ryan Miller should be traded. NEWSFLASH: Ryan Miller cannot be traded because there are currently about 30 goalies in the NHL who have better numbers and make about four million less per year. At least Leino would save a team almost two million a year more than Miller would.

- The biggest loss this season could be the retirement of Rick Jeanneret. If the Sabres give us this little to get excited about, what incentive will there be for RJ to stick around?

- I really like Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, but he scolded Tim Thomas during yesterday's chat for not visiting the White House with the rest of his teammates, saying he should "respect the office." Well, fuck that office. Should Thomas respect other criminals like police officers and congressmen too?

Oh, wait. You expected a radical libertarian to just ignore that one?

- Just announced that Luke Adam is a healthy scratch. How much more evidence is needed to illustrate that Lindy Ruff is the biggest reason there's no chemistry on this team? The one good decision he made was to start the year by putting Adam in between two veterans on the top line. So it stands to reason he just couldn't stick with that recipe for success. And you wonder why Adam's confidence is shot?

- Many people figured Drew Stafford would light it up this year after a career year last season. Count me among the people who thought he was, like many players, just turning it up in a contract year.

- Speaking of contracts, sometimes a GM only has one card to play these days if he really wants to land a free agent, such as front-loading contracts that make guys like Christian Ehrhoff the highest paid player on the team (for a particular year, at least). But it's a mistake to think this doesn't have an effect on players who've been there for years. If you're part of the pampered "core" and your GM throws a ton of money at players who haven't proven themselves to the team yet, you might let your pissiness interfere with your performance.

- I'm so tired of watching these guys skate up to players after sucker punches or cross-checks like they're going to retaliate, then do nothing about it. Typical Ruff in his playing days.

Sabres 0-2 Since Return of Tyler Myers

Well, technically they're 0-1-1 but whatever. Looks like the team is going to have to find yet another panacea du jour for getting back to the win column, because anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows the Sabres' injuries have played a very minimal role in their lackluster performance of late.

Obviously injuries aren't irrelevant, but what's pissed off Sabres fans the most over the past month or so is twofold: 1) the club's propensity to place more emphasis on making excuses for losses than on finding ways to win, and 2) the front office's insistence upon pussyfooting around with a GM/head coach tandem that has overstayed its welcome while yet another (potentially salvageable) season washes down the drain.

As I've mentioned several times before, injuries are not the problem. No one wants to be without guys like Tyler Myers and Christian Ehrhoff, but players get hurt; good teams can accommodate short-term injuries.

Take a look at the D right now. The Sabres are absent Christian Ehrhoff and Andrej Sekera. If you plan to argue that Sekera is any sort of significant loss whatsoever, please pass the hooka now because I need some of what you're having. And Ehrhoff wasn't even on the team last year yet it found a way to make the playoffs without him.

So this year -- right now, even without Ehrhoff -- the Sabres' defensive corps has Myers, Leopold, and Weber -- all holdovers from last season -- only they've exchanged guys like Morrisonn, Butler, Montador, and Rivet for Regehr, McNabb, and Gragnani.

Would anyone out there actually take last year's lineup over the one that will take the ice tomorrow night against Toronto, even absent Ehrhoff and Sekera for now? I sure as hell wouldn't.

Injuries are not the problem. Hell, most Sabres fans would tell you that the reason the team got it together last year was because Derek Roy missed most of the season. If that's the case, what's the excuse now? That underachiever Tyler Ennis is still out? Please.

When Lindy Ruff has the luxury of making Zack Kassian a healthy scratch -- which, if you ask me, is just plain stupid -- you can't really bitch about injuries. I love Matt Ellis. Would that even half the team had his fucking heart. But the guy looks like a cat in a bathtub when he stickhandles, and you play him over Kassian? If anything, maybe try playing him in addition to Kassian and benching any forward not named Vanek or Pominville for a game or two. Gee, there's a thought.

Injuries are not the problem. However, Ryan Miller sucks. The forwards making $4 million a year couldn't hit a 25-cent whore with a roll of quarters in their pocket, much less the back of a net. Lindy Ruff allows/encourages soft play and from what I can tell has essentially lost his team. Blah, blah, blah.

So what cosmic events have conspired to cause this perfect storm of shittiness? Who knows? Probably a lot of things, and most likely many intangible ones at that. I've never been the kind of person to advocate change simply for the sake of changing, but you can't fix intangibles without changing the tangibles. It's already 2012. They're long overdue.

There's a reason a team with the third-highest payroll in the league can't win. There's a reason it doesn't retaliate against a team that runs its goaltender. There's a reason it refuses to lay bodychecks on an equally weak team that's obviously travel weary.

There's always a reason for everything. I'd love to get paid to figure it out if the Sabres would like to give me a shot. After all, I'd love the job security.

Leino's Goal (and a whole lot more...)

Leino's 1st period goal was the prettiest play I've seen in ages! As soon as video hits YouTube I'll post it here!

UPDATE: 12/8/11 - So the best I can do for video is a link to NHL.com's video highlights of the game. Wait for the page to load, sit through the commercial, and then click the "play" icon for the Leino goal on the right. It's worth the wait though. Great play. Why can't this team do more of this and less of the whole sucking thing??

OK - So I wasn't planning on live blogging, but couple things...

3-1 Sabres after first? When was the last time THAT happened?

Gerbe should be shot for that turnover while clearing the zone at the end of the period. Inexcusable. Can't blame Miller for that goal.

While I'm on the subject of Miller, he's playing well. That poke check on Jagr's breakaway made Jagr look like an old man. Wait! Jagr IS an old man! Still, great play by Miller on a future Hall of Famer.

Corey Tropp needs to stay up. He adds much needed toughness to the lineup. He absolutely lit up Zac Rinaldo in a fight at the end of the 1st.

2nd Period Highlights

Mller makes save with his face after mask is knocked off by teammate.

Timmonen scores.

Hartnell scores. Cue the home ice collapse... again...

And Jaromir Fucking Jagr scores with his walker. 4-3 Flyers. How quickly things have gotten out of hand! By the way, Jagr's goal? You guessed it, high glove side on Miller. I'm pretty sure I could score on Miller high glove side at this point and I haven't been on skates in 15 years.

Final thoughts on the 2nd period. Turnovers KILLING the Sabres! I can't blame Miller for much of this. He should have had the Jagr goal. By this point, there isn't a hockey player all the way down to mites that doesn't know you go high glove side to beat Miller. But, other than goal, the coming loss is completely attributed to poor defense and AWFUL turnovers. Get ready for an ugly 3rd period...

3rd Period Highlights

5:30 left in 3rd, Sabres have had a couple of chances, most notable was Stafford. Other than that, snoozeville so far.

3:34 Stafford gets absolutely robbed!

2:45 Miller's mask flies off on a save... again. Play stops for repairs. UPDATE: Apparently the save opened the sutures from the cut sustained in the 2nd.

1:35 DREEEEEEEEEWWWW STAAAAAAAAAFOOOOOOOOOOOOORD scores with Miller pulled for the extra skater.

Final thoughts on the 3rd... this period was ALL Drew Stafford. He had at least 4 solid chances on top of his goal. Nice to see him get off the schneid. We're going to OT.

OT Highlights

Miller with big save on Coburn right out of the gate.

3:45 left - Surely the Sabres smell the blood in the water, right? RIGHT?? A home ice win would be huge and they have the momentum right now.

2:58 Miller with nice save on Hartnell knuckleball.

HORRIBLE turnover by Gragnani leads to Giroux breakaway and OT winner.

Final game thoughts... Turnovers were obscene tonight! Every single goal but one came off a bad turnover. I can't knock Miller, he played a solid game. As I said earlier, the only goal I really blame him for is Jagr's in the 2nd. The team in front of him has to play smarter. Gerbe's gaffe at the end of the 1st was inexcusable, and Gragnani can't make that pass in OT. Terrible decision on his part. I hate the Flyers. Thankfully (said with sarcasm), Gary Bettman has reduced them to an afterthought for Sabres fans with the proposed reorg plan. Thanks Sabres for another soul crushing home loss.

I'll Be Dressed for This Funeral

After listening to the WGR post game show for an hour last night, I surprisingly heard the same thing over and over... the attack on Darcy Regier for signing Robyn Regehr, Cristian Ehrhoff and Ville Leino. What? Are these people high? Do they actually think that the root of all evil comes down to these three off-season acquisitions?

First off, don't even try to argue that you're missing Chris Butler and Paul Byron right now. If you seriously would rather have them still lingering around instead of getting a high-quality blue liner like Regehr, then my only advice to you is that you should probably consider laying off the pipe for a few days. Oh yeah, the Sabres got a 2nd round pick out of the deal too.

Next, you need to realize that Ehrhoff is one of the premiere defensemen in the NHL, but don't think that this guy is just going to come in and set the world ablaze right away. Why? Don't you understand that the numbers he put up over the last two years may have resulted from him being on an elite team like Vancouver? He's used to quarterbacking a system that allowed him to play an extremely free-skating, offensive game, and with a lineup filled with superstar firepower that could make up a goal or two in the outside chance that he cost them one. So until Buffalo adopts a new style of play (and some more talent), don't expect him to be putting up 50 points again anytime soon. By the way, Ehrhoff only eclipsed 40 points once as a six-year member of the San Jose Sharks.

Finally, Ville Leino. I don't have an argument for this one. I really don't know where to start. I remember talking with my brother for at least two months before the start of free agency about how much it would kick ass if Buffalo could just get Leino. Knowing he wasn't the key piece to the puzzle, just figuring he would make a significant impact. After 6 points in 24 games, I'm turning into a doubter. This guy makes $54,878.05 per game. Which means if he keeps up with this current pace, he will make a total of $3.1 million in the games where he's not a factor on the score sheet. Sorry, but all we can do on this one is cross our fingers.

I was shocked to only hear Ruff's name mentioned once or twice throughout the entire broadcast. I don't want to sound like a broken record but it's all I can focus on anymore. He is the problem, plain and simple. The team is still taking shifts (or periods) off, and is still refusing to play up to the physical level that is crucial when it comes to winning more often than not.

And I'm really starting to get sick of the post game interviews. Every game it's the same thing: [pouty face] "I think we got some good opportunities"; "I think we moved the puck pretty well"; "We missed some good opportunities." You know what? I think you should be relieved of your duties.

Unfortunately, the host of this transmission later revealed that he refused to believe Ruff is in any danger of losing his job. Considering he does this for a living and gets paid to follow the Sabres' every move, he probably has a pretty good idea of how things will go down in the end. But on the off-chance he's wrong, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that Ruff will be laid to rest no later than Monday, December 12th.

Once again, fingers crossed.