Sabre sophomore, Tyler Ennis, suffered an injured left ankle, in the first period of the 3-0 loss in Tampa. Ryan Malone railed Ennis him from behind, sending Ennis feet first into Mathiue Garon's left goal post.
Ennis went directly to the Buffalo room for observation. During a TV timeout, he tried to push off and skate on the ankle, however, he was not able perform at his requisite physical level. Ennis did not play again in the game.
Lindy Ruff will give a status update on the injury on Monday.
I've watched the replay of the injury ten different times, and it appears to me that Malone intended to upemd Ennis. Roy, Stafford and Ennis roared through the neutral zone on a 3 on 2. Both Tampa D were available to meet the three Buffalo forwards at the blue line. Malone made strides to catch Ennis just as the Buffalo forward crossed the blue line. Malone tracked Ennis and finally made contact with the Buffalo forward at the top of the left faceoff circle, at which point Malone placed his stick between the legs of Ennis. Malone then withdrew the stick, and gave Ennis a cross check across the tailbone, thus knocking Ennis off balance and into Garon's nest. The full blast impact of Ennis's left ankle against the left goal post caused the injury. Ennis had no way to defend himself against malone's aggression.
Watch it here from the :14 second mark to the :28 second mark. Notivce the linesman atthe left wing wall who saw the play develop through the neutral zone to Garon's crease. malone's hand goes up in the air as if to argue a penalty call on the play. No penalty on the play.
The bad news is Ennis is injured. To what extent, we don't know yet.
The good news is that Ryan Malone and the Lightning will pay a visit to the First Niagara Center on Tuesday night. Malone ran around and chirped Buffalo players throughout the game. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Malone will have to answer the bell for the Ennis hit, as well as his hit on Ryan Miller in the second period.
The Sabres are back in Erie County for the first time in a long time. Seemingly, they have been dining out on restaurant cuisine and have been living out of suitcases and garment bags for the better part of the month.
The road has been kind to the team, however, its heartening to know that seven of the next eight games will be played on First Niagara Center ice.
In order to understand where they are going this season, its interesting to look back to where the team has been in the past five weeks.
Training camp opened on September 16. The team played six exhibition games in 11 days.
Mon Sep 19 Hurricanes @ Sabres
Wed Sep 21 Sabres @ Canadiens
Fri Sep 23 Sabres @ Maple Leafs
Sat Sep 24 Maple Leafs @ Sabres
Sun Sep 25 Sabres @ Blue Jackets
Fri Sep 30 Sabres @ Capitals
Then, the team loaded their gear and suitcases for a European business trip.
Tues Oct 4 Sabres @ Adler Mannheim
Fri Oct 7 Ducks @ Sabres (Helsinki, Finland)
Sat Oct 8 Sabres @ Kings (Berlin, Germany)
The team defeated Mannheim, and impressively conquered Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Thet arrived back in Buffalo after the nine day trek across Europe. They worked in earnest for four days at First Niagara Center in preparation for the home opener.
Fri Oct 14 Hurricanes @ Sabres
After the loss to the Canes, it was back to the airport for the start of yet another extended roadie. Four games in seven nights, which concluded in Tampa.
Sat Oct 15 Sabres @ Penguins
Tue Oct 18 Sabres @ Canadiens
Thu Oct 20 Sabres @ Panthers
Sat Oct 22 Sabres @ Lightning
All things considered, three wins outta four, ain’t bad.
The 5-2 record is equally impressive when you consider that the team have had to remain at competitive level while on the road.
This team’s character has been revealed early on. They relish the road. They like playing in hostile barns, away from their home. Isn’t that what playoff teams do? Raise their intensity and compete levels in the opponent’s building.
I like the togetherness and the closeness that I see in this Sabres team. This is a unique group of guys who like and respect one another.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in the next two weeks.
I look at the schedule for the next couple of weeks and I see the opportunity to continue on the winning way. There are several struggling teams on the docket. There's an opportunity to put together another impressive winning streak.
Tue Oct 25 Lightning @ Sabres
Thu Oct 27 Blue Jackets @ Sabres
Sat Oct 29 Panthers @ Sabres
Wed Nov 2 Flyers @ Sabres
Fri Nov 4 Flames @ Sabres
Sat Nov 5 Sabres @ Senators
Tue Nov 8 Jets @ Sabres
Fri Nov 11 Senators @ Sabres
Its very possible that the Sabres win their next eight games. I can live with seven wins.
I like the team’s chances to beat Tampa, Columbus, Florida, Calgary, Ottawa (2x), and Winnipeg. The toughest draw in this next cluster of games is Philladelphia. Lindy, Pommer and the boys will no doubt be looking to avenge their anger against the Flyers for the first round Playoff loss in April.
Welcome home, boys. Now you need to keep it simple and win in front of the home fans.
I told my friend, Gary Zoldos, that I would get the word out to Garth Nation about his wonderful cause:
Gary Z's 4th Annual Ice Skating Party for Toys for Tots!
Time:
Saturday, November 26 · 11:00am - 1:00pm
Location:
Time Warner Cable Classic Rink
123 Riley Street East Aurora, NY
Hosted By: Gary Zoldos
More Info:
This is an ALL AGES event and is open to the public. This is a great way to meet and interact with some of your friends both new & old. It's also great exercise and kick off the Holiday Season. Carpooling and RSVP'ing is appreciated.
Gary pays for you to ice skate, you bring a toy for Toys for Tots!
Skate rental is available
Pre-skate party in the heated hut from 11:00 AM until 12:00 Noon, Ice Skating from 12:00 Noon until 1:00 PM. It's an outdoor rink with a roof over it. This is also the rink that the inaugural NHL Winter Classic was played on (Penguins vs. Sabres)!
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