Paul Gaustad addressed teh Max Pacioretty smack fest one last time after this morning's optional skate:
thanks, sabres.com
Paul Gaustad and the Buffalo Sabres re-branded themelves and their on-ice reputation Tuesday night in Montreal. To a man, the Sabres have had it up to hear with all the smack and idle chatter flying around the NHL that they are a soft squad, with a queasy stomach for defending one another on te ice in tense situations.
No more Mr. Nice Guys.
No more choir boys with boyish good looks and pearly white teeth.
Time to play with hatred, boys. Hate your opponent. Don't be so nice and respectful. On Tuesday night, Gaustad and his gang actd lik the bully instead acting like the victim of the bully.
The Montreal Canadiens were not impressed.
Gaustad beat Carey Price from the goal and Hal Gill by winning a physical battle in Price's blue ice to give the Sabres the lead 6:17 into the third and assisted.
Patrick Kaleta scored into an empty net with 51.1 seconds remaining.
Tempers flared between Gaustad and the Canadiens after this, the eventual GWG:
All's fair in love and war.
Goose's three point game, his first since 12/9/10 vs. San Jose, was the fuel that his team needed to win their second straight game since 11/11/11. Gone is the 12 game loing streak. Gaustad's smack, goal and two assists were exactly what the goal-starved Sabres needed, exactly when they neded it.
Goose was chirped by the Montreal bench for the duration of the game as he masterfully took the Habs' minds away from the two valuable points in the standings, and he invited the Canadiens to chase him aroundth ice , seeking retaliation for his not-so-nice comments that he leveled at Max Pacioretty. Goose laid th cheese in the trap and the Habs ate it.
That was a HUGE four point swing and a big confidence booster for the Sabres, who are now tied with the Canadiens for 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
"They asked me where Lucic was and I asked them where they were with (Zdeno) Chara, so it's the same thing," Gaustad said after the win.
Eric Cole knows a thing or two about being a chirper and an S'der. Here he gives his summation on Gaustad:
Thanks, Habs TV
Carey Price is abig Goose supporter:
Thanks, Habs TV
Former Sabre, Mathieu Darche, was none-to-impressed with Goose's gumming of Pacioretty:
I left First Niagara Center minutes ago. On my way out of the building, I saw Zack Kassian walking in.
Lindy Ruff says that an unidentified Sabre forward (a winger) is sick today, and may not be able to play tonight. Hence, #kickassian gets the call.
Will Kassian play tonight? Ruff would not say for certain.
Kassian is back where he belongs.
Kassian adds more size and sandpaper in the lineup.
***
When asked about Thomas Vanek's status, Ruff would only say:
"We'll know more this afternoon". Vanek will require more tests on his upper body injury.
***
Asked whether Luke Adam will play tonight, after he was a healthy scratch last night in Montreal, Ruff would only say:
"We haven't made that detrermination yet".
**
The Sabres held a 10;30 team meeting instead taking the customary 10:30 game day skate. The room opened at 11am. Gragnani, Enroth, Gerbe, Ellis, McCormick and a few others took an optional skate, while Ennis, Gaustad, Leopold, and Leino were available in the room.
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I spoke at length to Tyler Ennis about his return to the lineup and the impressive role he played in last night's win in Montreal.
"Sitting out for six weeks like I had to when I was injured, I got to watch the game from another perspective. Sitting up there, I watched Gerbe and how he's always moving and always skating hard. Thats why he's so successful. He never stops his feet. I said to myself before last night's game that I was going to play just like Gerbe. I think he and I, and Staff, we played real well together because we love to skate and we are hard to defend when we are all moving".
Can I make a confession?
I'm an unabashed Tyler Ennis fan and have been since I first saw him play with the Medicine Hat Tigers out in "The Dub'. I'm happy for his success.
The kid is a natural born centreman. He's very comfortable on the dot.
Ennis has never been shy to drop a guy on his keester. take a look at this beauty from last night. Ennis destroyed Emelin and created more ice for himself, Stafford and Gerbe. This is hit takes me back to watching Ennis at Medicine Hat, where these types of hits were routine for the diminutive jack-of-all-trades. There's much more of the same where that came from.
I asked Ennis about the pasting of Emelin:
"I love to hit. I always have. I get hit a lot and I like to give it back".
Great kid. Excellent player.
I'm working on an Ennis feature story not that I'll share with you soon.
CURRENT INJURIES –(Man Games Lost: 230)
Colin Stuart (lower body, Dec. 20; injured reserve) –18 games
Brayden McNabb (upper body, Jan. 14; injured reserve) –7 games
TJ Brennan (upper body, Jan. 21) –3 games
Jochen Hecht (concussion, Jan. 24; injured reserve) –2 games
TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
1/31 Activated LW Tyler Ennis from IR
UPCOMING GAMES
Saturday, Feb. 4 Buffalo at NY Islanders, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 8 Boston at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 10 Dallas at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 11 Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 14 New Jersey at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
SABRES-v-RANGERS
-This is the second of four meetings between the Sabres and Rangers this season.
-Last meeting: New York defeated Buffalo, 4-1, in Buffalo on Dec. 10.
-The Sabres are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games vs. the Rangers; 5-4-1 at home.
-This is the 160th game all-time between Buffalo and NY Rangers; Buffalo leads the series with a 76-53-30 record. Buffalo is 46-23-12 at home against the Rangers all-time.
-The two teams will next meet on Feb. 25 in New York.
STORYLINES
The Sabres have points in their last seven home games (4-0-3). The team last had points in seven straight when they ended last season by going 6-0-1 in their last seven at First Niagara Center. The last time Buffalo had points in more than seven consecutive home games came in 2009-10, when they went 9-0-3 in 12 games from Dec. 9 to Jan. 29.
Buffalo is seeking its first three-game win streak since since winning four straight from Nov. 4 to Nov. 11.
Ryan Miller tied Dominik Hasek’s franchise win record in last night’s win at Montreal.
With Thomas Vanek expected to be sidelined tonight with an upper body injury sustained in last night’s win, Jason Pominville will be Buffalo’s only skater to have dressed for every game this season.
MILLER’S TIME
After stopping 27 of 28 shots in last night’s 3-1 victory at MTL, Ryan Miller has tied Dominik Hasek’s franchise record of 234 wins.
Tonight, Miller has a chance to supplant Hasek for the record. Hasek has held the record since he surpassed Don Edwards (156 wins) on Nov. 3, 1998 in a 4-2 win vs. Boston.
Edwards had previously held the record since March 11, 1979, when he passed Roger Crozier (74 wins) in a 9-4 victory over the Atlanta Flames.
GOOSE GOT LOOSE
Paul Gaustad returned to the lineup last night after missing three games with an upper body injury. Gaustad made the most of his return, scoring his second game-winning goal of the season and assisting on Buffalo’s other two goals in his third career three-point
performance, tying a career high (last: Dec. 9, 2010 vs. SJS).
CLOSE AT HOME
The Sabres have seen seven eight of their last 10 home games decided by one goal, including each of the last four. Of Buffalo’s 25 home games this season, 16 have been decided by just one goal. The Sabres are 6-5-5 in these games.
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