The Sabres opened a 55 gallon can of whoop ass on the Coyotes Monday night. Six different Sabres scored goals. Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville exorcized the demons that have been plaguing their respective offensive game. Vanek had a goal and two asssists, while Pommer scored two and added a helper. Vanek and Pommer are now tied for the team goal scoring lead with a baker's dozen apiece. Tim Connolly added three helpers. Ryan Miller wins his 27th, to leap frog the Sabres to first place in the Eastern Conference standings.
For the Coyotes, Jovo Cop and Michalek were -5 apiece against Buffalo. Damn!
I like what I see of the Buffalo forecheck in the early going. The first man is taking the body, the second man is winning the puck. All four lines are taking turns banging the Yotes Dmen.
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Tyler Myers just upped the ante for his bid to win the Calder Trophy. Myers beats Bryzgalov clean from the middle of the ice, 58 feet out. Assists: Vanek and Stafford.
Staff now has 8 points in 9 games since his trip to Chateau Bow wow.
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Drew Stafford draws the first penalty of the game. Aucoin spears the Buffalo forward.
Tyler Myers retrieves a Yotes dump, then proceeds to take the puck coast to coast and he nearly beats Bryzgalov glove high on the PP rush. WOW! This kid continues to impress!
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Myers had a great scoring chance with 35 seconds left in the period. He had Bryzgalov down but then he missed the net.
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Sabres win shots, 10-4, in the first period.
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2nd Period:
Yotes put the pedal to the medal and they come out flying to start the period.
2-0 Buffalo Chris Butler gets in on the Dman scoring spree. Twisted wrister, Vanek and Roy with assists.
3-0 Buffalo Kaleta scores from an atrocious angle. Bryzgalov gets the hook for LaBarbera. Kalets's eight goal of the season.
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Buffalo are third in the NHL on the Penalty Kill. They have killed at a 86.3% clip this season. Ryan Milller is no doubt Buffalo's best PKer.
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3-1 Buffalo
Shane Doan posts up Ryan Miller and wins the loose puck rebound from Upshall's point bomb. Doane's 14th.
4-1 Buffalo
24 seconds later, Jason Pominville smokes Labarbera glove high on the short side--- quick catch, quicker release. Connolly with the assist. #19 now has 5 goals and 12 assists in his last 15 games. Its the longest consecutive point streak in the NHL. Connolly has 40 points for the season.
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5-1 Buffalo
Puck Luck! Jochen Hecht throws the puck at the net and it finds the back of LaBarbera.
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6-1 Buffalo
Stafford-Roy-Vanek work the three-man weave to perfection, as Staff carried the puck wide down the right wing wall. He fake the slapper, LaBarbera bought it. Roy's centre lane drive opened up Vanek's entre to the blue ice. Vanek found the loose change and threw it in the basket for his 13th goal of the season.
Vanek now has a goal and an assist in this game.
Roy and stafford have two assists.
Vanek-Roy-Staff-Tallinder-Myers are all +3 for this game. Lindy Ruff's five-man unit concept continues to pay profitablle dividends.
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6-2 Buffalo
Vrbata gets credit foor the knuckle puck that Derek Roy deflected past Ryan Miller.
No worries.
Vanek, Roy and Stafford were on the ice for the goal and are now +2.
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With this decisive win, Buffalo are now 8-0-1 vs. the vaunted Western conference this season. This is their first road win vs. a Western foe. next up: Anaheim Tuesday night.
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7-2 Buffalo
Jason Pominville scores his second, not third, of the game. Hecht with the assist. He picks Jovo Cop's pocket in the neutral zone and he carried the charitable contribtuion to the collection basket. The transplanted Bufalo fans in the building tossed their fifty mission caps on the ice, thinking that Pommer had completed his hatty. No such luck as Hecht was credited with Buffalo's fifth goal, not Pommer.
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Connolly chipped in three assists and is +3 for the game; Pommer scored twice and added an assist for a +3.
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With the win in Phoenix, the Sabres clinch a piece of first place in the East. Thier 66 points tie them with Washington.
Look for Patrick Lalime to start in Anaheim Tuesday night, while Miller will get the cage Thursday night in LA, Saturday night in San Jose, and Sunday night in Vancouver.
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Miller earns his 27th win.
Vanek and Pominville are now tied for the team lead with 13 goals apiece.
Take Ryan Miller away from the Sabres, and you have a gaping hole.
Ditto Ilya Bryzgalov.
Its a Vezina Preview in the desert tonight.
Miller enters the 200 by 85 with his sterling silver 25 wins, .936 save %, and 2.02 GAA
Bryz brings his .919 and 2.25 GAA to the party.
Each goalie presently has five shutouts.
Miller is my Vezina winner. Bryz is my runner up.
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HOCKEY POLICE BLOTTER
Wanna get sick to your stomach? Take a look at Patrice Cormier's obnoxious head shot on Mikael Tam.
Cormier has been suspended indefinitely.
The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies' forward's cowardly head shot on Quebec Remparts' defenseman Mikael Tam is all the shock in the hockeey world today. Cormier was Team Canada's captain at the recentky concluded IIHF World Juniors in Saskatoon.
In fact, Cormier suckered a Finnish player on a line change in WJC exhibition game. Its not known if Tam was the intended target for Cormier's assault, or, if Cormier was an ipod on shuffle looking for a victim to drill in the head.
Cormier is a New Jersey Devil second rounder who will likely report to the AHL to begin his NHL career. He'll be suspended from the q, however, he'll likely get to pass 'go" and collect the obligatory "$200" in the AHL. Q suspensions are not often upheld by the A.
I'm a HUGE fan of physical hockey, however, I cannot tolerate the blatant and disrepectful hits to the head that we are seeing with increased frequency this season. Its happening at every level, not just in junior hockey or the pros. Yesterday's offender was Cormier. Last week it was Kassian. Earlier this season it was Mike Richards.
Ben Fanelli's fractured skull at the hands and elows of Mike Liambus should have taught us a valuable lesson.
Tam remains in hospital with brian trauma. Sadly, Cormier will not encounter much reisitance when he leave The Q and pursues his dreams in pro hockey. It doesn't seem fair, does it?
When will the cowardly crap end? Do we need to see Tam convulsing on the ice? Whats next, a guy getting sent into a coma? A death?
I've had enough of cowards in my game.
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On a related note, Buffalo prospect Zack Kassian will learn his fate tomorrow for the head shot that he perpetrated against Matt Kennedy last week. its likely that Kassian will receive a lengthy suspension for his torpedo shot on Kennedy. Kassian was traded from Peterborough to Windsor on January 10.
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