Ville Leino will not be playing tonight for the Sabres.
Lindy Ruff spoke with the media after this morning’s optional skate at First Niagara Center. The speculation about Leino’s injury has been put to rest. Leino is suffering from a hip injury. According to Mike Harrington of the Buffalo news, Ruff says that surgery on Leino’s hip ailment is not a short-term solution right now. Might it be in the offseason? Perhaps it will be a consideration. For now, it sounds like the Sabres and Leino are choosing to travel the route of conservative methods of treatment for Leino’s hip.
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The good thing is Buffalo’s top line is scoring all the goals right now. The bad thing is Buffalo’s top line is scoring all the goals right now.
Call it a blessing, and, a curse.
Hodgson (3), Pominville (3) and Vanek (2) have scored 80% of the goals for the Sabres. The 26-19-29 trio has potted eight of the Sabres 10 goals in the first three games.
Were it not for Steve Ott’s PPG vs. Philly on Sunday, the other three forward lines would be pitching bagels.
Tyler Ennis told the Buffalo News after Thursday night’s 6-3 loss to Carolina that his line, needs to bury their chances.
“It’s frustrating. They did everything they could offensively to get us the win. We need some secondary scoring, so our line’s overdue. We need to have a good one.”
The Hodgson line is killing it right now because they are adhering to a time-honored approach to offense: The more you shoot, the more you score. Vanek has taken 14 shots this season. Hodgson has shot the puck 12 times, and Pominville 11 times. 8 goals on 37 shots is an efficient 22% closing ratio. They are scoring a goal every five shots, give or take. More shots, more goals.
For the other nine Sabres forwards, its the opposite scenario. Less shots. Less goals.
Drew Stafford has 11 shots on goal, Ennis 6, and Foligno 5. Ohfer 22 ain’t gonna get it done, boys. Therefore, the 82-63-21 line needs to do two things immediately in order to reverse their slump: Shoot the puck more, and, make better shot selections.
Vanek-Hodgson and Pominville are finding tremendous success by penetrating the interior D and they are attacking from the dots and hash marks to the goal line. Their investment in going to the filthy areas of the ice is paying impressive dividends right now.
Not every goal scored is going to be as sexy as this Thomas Vanek beauty behind-the-back pass to the captain for the goal.
Look at Hodgson’s two goals of the season. He scored on a jam play, while standing in Bryzgalov’s blue ice.
The next night in Toronto, he did the same thing and was rewarded with an ugly goal, that clunked off his chest plate and into the net behind Scrivens.
In the Carolina loss, CoHo cycled the puck down low, screamed to the high slot, distributed the puck, then immediately went to the blue ice. Text book hockey. He kept his feet moving, grabbed a loose puck and scored an easy goal while standing Ward’s kitchen.
CoHo’s goals aren’t pretty, but they are effective.
The official scorer doesn’t award extra style points for pretty goals. Just put the biscuit in the basket any way you can get it there.
Foligno should be using his 6’3 225 pound frame to fight to the interior of the D to set up screens and to look for re-directs shop on the edge of the crease. Ennis and Stafford should be winding and firing from all angles. My coaching moment: Less shots from the perimeter, more interior looks. You get rewarded by dropping your head and driving 100 mph to the danger zone. The 82-63-21 line has yet to pay the physical price to go to the dirty areas of the ice. Thats why there are zeros in their respective goals columns.
The Sabres’ third line of Hecht/Gerbe, Grigorenko and Ott have only taken 12 shots in three games played. This sporadic shot production is under mining their offensive output.
Less time on the outside, more time fighting to get to the goal crease.
The eight scoreless Buffalo forwards should be paying less lip service to the issue. They should sit down at the lap top or the IPad and watch how filthy Hodgson is getting when he is scoring goals.
In the early 1970s, the immortal Philadelphia Flyers coach, Fred Shero, once said:
“Take the shortest route to the puck carrier, and arrive in an ill humor”.
Tonight is the perfect opportunity for 82-63-21 and 42-25-9 to go back to the future.
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I don’t care what the critics and cranky bastards say. I love Nail Yakupov’s goal celebration from Thursday night!
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