"Yeah, I was surprised. I read the pass and took off hard to the net. I read it and jumped it", Mike Richards told me in the Philly room after Buffalo's 3-2 OT win.
The "Pick 6" changed the flow and mo of the game. Thank the hockey gods that Adam Mair buried his third of the season moments later to draw it even. The Sabres needed a point and it will benefit from the OT point as well.
****
OT:
Tim Connolly's goat horns are replaced by by a hero's smile.
Credit Reggie Sekera for selling out and keeping the puck in the Philly zone. Chainsaw Lydman and Torres work the puck to the zero who would become hero for the GWG. Torres records his first Buffalo sabre pointr in his first ever game in Blue and Gold. Its a good omen. Perhaps, the ghost of Mike Foligno assisted Raffi on the OT game winning sequence.
The tie regulation tie gave Buffalo a share of the Adams Division lead. the OT point gives the Sabres the division lead. Ottawa were idle. They play Tronna Saturday night. Suddenly, Ottawa have a goaltending crisis with Elliott and Leclaire screwing the pooch with great dexterity. Hard to believe that Ottawa entered the Olympic break a scintilating 14-1!!!!
Sucks for them!
***
******
3rd Period:
****
With 4:07 remaining, Coburn takes a dumb penalty. 5 on 4 for two minutes or less.....
***
Adam Mair bails out Connolly. 2-2.
***
Tim Connolly has been flicking soft passes on his forehand and backhand all night long. He just gave Mike Richards a beauty of a primary assist with a careless, however, creative pass right on the tape as Richards was busting in at the Buffalo blueline.
Richards buries it. Nice job, Timmy!
****
Time out does not help as the inept Sabres PP played with complacency, and a lack of urgency. I counted four soft back-passes by Connolly and others. Cute just don't cut it boys!
***
@ 15:11, Lindy calls time out to give the PP a rest. he does not speak to them in the huddle at the bench.
***
Ryan Parent takes Philly's first penalty at the 16:00 minute mark of the period. It was beginning to look like Philly would keep the box empty all night long.
*****
****
2nd Period:
@ 11:48, Connolly takes the game's first penalty (trip)....
****
1-1
Thomas Vanek immediately answers back with his 19th of the season. His bank-shot from deep in the corner to the right of Leighton finds its way to the back of the net. I'm happy for Vanek that he gets the goal, but I'd have rather seen him walk the puck out of the corner and dribble drive the net with authority. Thats what power forwards do. Is Vanek a power forward? getting rewarded for not going to the dirty areas of the ice is exactly waht Lindy Ruff does not want for Vanek at this point in the forward's slump.
***
1-0 Phillly
Pominville's D-zone ineptitude finally leads to a Philly goal. Miller creates a long rebound the Pominville refuse to move his feet in order to get to. This allows Krajicek to feed Gagne for the tap-in goal. LAZY EFFORT by 29.
****
Raffi Torres skated 6:16 in the first period, which puts him on pace to run 18-19 minutes in the game. Good on 'em. At least he's working hard and earning his ice, unlike 9.19,26, 29, 21.....
***
Mi Professore, Tim Panaccio, is pissed off like noything else right now because Sabres have stopped serving Dr. Pepper on tap in the press box at HSBC Arena.
****
Lindy Ruff and the coaches cannot be happy with the effort put forth in the first period. The Kennedy-Hecht-Grier line were a mess in their own end. They couldn't evenbreak the puck out of their zone with having Laperriere, Asham, and Carcillo blow up their exit strategy. How can you advance the puck up the ice and get offensive chances if you can't get out of your own end of the barn?
Has anyone seen Thomas Vanek since the Olympic break?!! Talk about hiding in plain sight!
****
1st Period:
Roy and Pominville have been abysmal since play resumed after the Olympic break. At times, they look lost on the ice-- especially in their own end of the rink. Were it not for Miller making two great saves in a row on a Ville Leino flurry, the score would be 1-0 right now. 9 and 29 better wake up. Maybe one or both need a seat in the press box....
****
Reggie Sekera gets his first shift of the game at the 13;38 mark of the first period. He's paired with Toni Lydman. Why the long delay? Are Rivet, Monty, Tallinder, and Myers THAT good tonight?!
***
Leighton has made three big saves oin re-directs thus far. The buffalo point men have to get their shot through to the blue.
****
Raffi Torres chirped with Carcillo on the opening faceoff, however, no fisicuffs.
****
Buffalo lead 10-4 in shots eight and a half minutes in.
***
Lindy stunts Laviolette on the opening faceoff. He sends Raffi Torres out with the checking unit.
Torres-Hecht-Grier starts vs. Carcillo-Richards-Gagne
He quickly double-shifts torres in his rightful place with Roy and Pominville.
*****
Pre-game skate:
Danny Briere was the last man off the ice in warm-ups..
***
Riley Cote was waived this week and went unclaimed. He's on the ice now, sporting a high-and-tight military haircut. He chopped off his Glen Danzig hair!
***
Chris Butler is off the ice right now; Reggie will play in his stead tonight.
***
For the record, Raffi Torres does not have a fighting major yet this season. Sabres just stepped onto the ice for warm-ips. Kaleta, Torres, and Rivet will have fights tonight.
***
Lets face it. The Buffalo Sabres have been a bad team to watch for the past ten games. Their one mulligan is their impressivve home win vs. San Jose just before Ryan Miller headed to Couver.
There are a littany of issues, first and foremost: poor attention to detail. The third man is not covering high. The forwards are not back checking at 100mph. The D are losing battles in front of Miller. Yada yada yada. lindy and Miller can lament "the system" all they want to. They are correct. The forwards and D and going through the motions right now.
Were I head coach tonight, I'd wink at Raffi , Kaleta, and Rivet and let them knmow that its encouraged that they finish their checks hard. If its a two-Mississippi check, then so be it. If the Flyers don't like it, TFB! Toss the mitts, drop your buckets, and lets meet at centre ice and have a good old fashioned punch in the face conetst.
The Sabres were winning October throuigh January because they were playing with passion. They were sticking up for one another. They haven't had that spirit here since early February.
Its long overdue. Don't you think?
A good fight will get the endorphins poppin and will serve as a bonding agent. If you don't belive me, flashback to the Black Friday melee between these two teams at Wachovia. Rivet and Carcillo threw hands twice in a nine minute span and it helped to propel the Sabres to their 4-2 win. Said Drew Stafford afterward: "We definitely needed this one," Stafford said. "It was a very emotional game, a very physical game. It was pretty much a war out there but we were able to pull through and get back on track."
Just sayin'.
A good doonybrook may be exactly what the doctor ordered tonight!
****
Raffi will wear #17 and skate with Roy and Pommer.
I predict that he will fight Carcillo on the forst shift that they skate against one another.
Join the Discussion:
»