Its been an emotionally draining weekend for Sabres fans. The team only could muster one point out of four against Ottawa and Washington.
After the 5-3 loss to the Caps, Ryan Miller cleared his throat and voiced his displeasure on his team's erratic play, the poor officiating that occurred on national TV, and his teammate Pat Kaleta. Yes, Miller is fed up with the Pat Kaleta drama.
Miller had some sage advice for his sulking, scratched buddy, Pat Kaleta:
“ He’s dramatic. No, we are not into discussing what Patty said, because that’s drama and he needs to just grow up of he‘s going to say that to you guys (the media). Ya know what? He has a stupid play in a game He sat, he was punished, just get over it and move on. We handled it. He doesn’t have to go to you guys and say that stuff. There. I’m addressing it and now I’ll go talk to him about it. Its not need to just say that”.
Miller was asked if the Sabres leadership group approached Ron Rolston about giving Kaleta more time of:
“We don’t make lineup decisions. We’re plugged in. You guys think we have more power than we’ve got, man. We talk about this every year around trade deadline… when something comes up. We’re plugged in, we play. Sorry it’s a bad tone, but you caught me in a crappy night. He (Kaleta) doesn’t have to handle it like that., so we’ll deal with it internally”.
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Miller was asked when his team is going to finally deliver a sixty minute, concerted effort in a game.
Miller smartly responded:
“I don’t know. Are we going to take a “dead pool” or something? Put me down for like, April 15th. I don’t know. Your guess is as good as mine. We know we to be ready. We were coming off a back to back. We have to be smart. Ya know, we got spun out a little bit in the second period again, so, its frustrating for sure, everybody’s got to be better, myself included. You can’t let them get the lead. You can’t play that kind of hockey”.
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Miller was asked about the second period swoons that his team has become famous for this season. What gives?
“Its one thing to be around the net. Its another to make the right plays.”
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Was Miller concerned that Rolston would pull him from the game after the Sabres allowed the Caps' fourth goal? What's your opinion of the referees, Ryan?
“Yeah, he didn’t say anything to me. Until I get pulled out of a game, I try to make every save, try to battle, try to give ourselves a chance. We got close. As you can probably tell, I wasn’t very happy about the last goal, ya know, they get rewarded driving the net, but I though that was a little to far on the refs. I thought we were a little lazy on that one. They just assume that something is going to happen, just like the icing that Christian Ehrhoff won in the second period, they assumed something was happening and they got lazy. Luckily we were on NBC and everybody got to see how lazy refereeing effects the game. Awesome!”
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Updated 9:50pm:
Don't blame Ryan Miller for the combined catastrophe that was the St. Patty's Day hockey weekend.
Miller did his part. He gave his team a chance to win both games.
In both games, for some inexplicable reason, the Sabres took a twenty minute power nap in the second period, and for the second game in a row, the Sabres couldn't recover from their fatal flaws.
On Saturday, the Sabres stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, then for no good reason, allowed the Sens to score three goals in an ugly second period.
On Sunday, Troy Brouwer, Jason Chimera Marcus Johansson, scored in rapid fire fashion in the second period and the game was over. The Sabres pushed back in the third period but in the end, it was too little too late.
Look at how lost the Sabres look in front of Ryan Miller. They are timid, passive, and late to make the right decisions in their own end.
Its the theme of this season.
This Sabres team has a fundamental problem: it lacks the ability to play a complete, sixty minute hockey game.
On February 20, Lindy Ruff was bounced out the door for his failure to get his team to tighten up defensively. Ron Rolston hasn't stemmed the barrage of ribber that is pelting Ryan Miller, who has been facing 35-40 shots per game. The Sabres were, and still are a mess in their own zone. Forwards and D were, and still are, lost and soft in their own end of the rink. They whiff at thin air hoping to create turnovers, rather than moving their feet to deny and space.
Defensive zone faceoff losses have been killing the Sabres all season long, none more damning than the Hecht draw loss in the Chris Philipps goal on Saturday. On Sunday night, Cody Hodgson's draw loss led to Ovechkin's bomb on Washington's first goal of the game at the 19 second mark of the game.
Ryan Miller can't win games by himself. he's good, but he ain't that good.
Its time to strongly consider all option for Miller's future in Buffalo.
Trade him to get valuable pieces that will help re-shape this team for years to come?
Re-sign him and ship out the perpetual under achievers that populate the Sabres forward and D ranks?
Miller will be a UFA in July 2014. Trade him now, or, keep him?
You think Mikhail Grigorenko was looking to send a clear and distinct message to Darcy Regier and Ron Rolston?
Not ready to play a big role in the NHL, eh?
Who among us likes to be told that we can't do something that we want to do? Who likes being told no when we have our heart on something?
Grigorenko's dream was to play in the NHL. for 22 games, he did just that. Then, unexpectedly, his dream came to an abrupt halt on Friday afternoon when his Buffalo GM, Darcy Regier, announced that the kid was being sent back to juniors for the remainder of the Buffalo season.
Rather than bump his gums like most 18 year olds would do in response to being demoted back to Quebec City from NHL Buffalo, Grigo turned the negative into a big positive. He packed his hockey bags, grabbed his twigs, said his goodbyes to his Buffalo bros, then skated by to hockey-mad Quebec City.
Who says you can't go home?
On Sunday afternoon, Grigo took out his acetylane tank and blow torched the Sidney Crosby's alma mater, Rimouski Oceanic.
Grigorenko assisted on three goals, two of which were PP goals. Then, at the 8:28 mark of the third period he scored his first goal in his second stint of the season in the Quebec Remparts lineup.
Rentrée réussie pour M. Grigorenko, qui amasse un but et 3 passes, dans une victoire de 5-3 des Remparts! Les Sags s'amènent vendredi!
This is why the Sabres sent him back to the Remparts, so that he can be the man. He played PP, 5 on 5, and dominated the game with his now refined skating and his improved upper body strength.
I pity the poor fools in The Q.
Grigo is about to light up the playoffs!
Remparts finish the regular season in 5th place overall in the QMJHL. They will face the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in first round of the playoffs
Pat Kaleta knows what he did to Brad Richards was wrong. He committed the crime. he did the time. Yesterday, the rambunctious winger sat out the fifth and final game of his NHL-imposed suspension for running Richards from behind.
Today, PK36 is on parole and he headed to the rink looking to be re-engaged with the starting lineup.
He was told, in a private conversation, with his interim head coach Ron Rolston that he is a healthy scratch for the Capitals game. Kaleta is not happy about the supplemental, supplemental disciplinary action that his coach has imposed on him.\
Asked after today's skate how he feels, Kaleta said this:
“I’m (ticked) off. I want to play,” Kaleta said.
“And especially after watching some things, sitting there watching the game, I want to play.”
Take a listen:
thanks, sabres.com
Here's Rolston's take:
Rolston likes the lines the way they are. Therefore, too bad what Kaleta wants.
Kaleta and Scott will be scratched tonight, per sabres.com.
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Reggie Sekera sustained an upper body injury in the second period of the 4-3 OT loss to Ottawa on Saturday.
Sekera will not play in Washington tonight. 44 will be replaced in tonight's lineup by rookie D Mark Pysyk.
The former Edmonton Oil King star will wear #53 in Buffalo.
TJ Brennan was traded to Florida on Friday night presumably to clear the flight deck to promote Pysyk to Buffalo. curious that Rolston opted to call up Pysyk and not Brayden McNabb, who has built a nice NHL body of work in Buffalo. Mcnabb started this season slowly in Rochester, however, has been playing great hockey for the Amerks in the past two months.
Pysyk has 4 goals and 15 assists in 56 games in his first season in pro hockey.
Rolston confirms Pysyk will replace the injured Sekera in the lineup tonight; Kaleta will not play, same forward lines as Sat vs OTT. --^KS
Ron Rolston also told sabres.com that Patrick Kaleta will not play tonight in Washington. Kaleat has served his five game suspension and was eligible to be re-instated to the lineup tonight.
Rolston prefers to play the erratic Hecht than to play the exuberant Kaleta.
I give up trying to predict Rolston's lineup decisions.
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Photo courtesy, Dan Hickiling
Mikhail Grigorenko is back in QCity, and he is ready to resume his junior career later this afternoon when his Remparts take the ice against the Rimouski Oceanic.
Now that I have had a couple of days to process his demotion back to minors. I'm absolutely okay with the decision. Grigo is a playmaker and a scorer. His time and talent is not suited to play alongside battleship USS Scott on the fourth line in Buffalo. I love that the kid got a three month taste of NHL cooking. He'll be better for having spent time in the NHL training room, improving his body alongside grizzled vets like Regehr, Ott, Leopold, and Miller. The kid was exposed to an exceptional power skating program in Buffalo and I'll be watching his Quebec games to watch his explosion and pivots. Grigo also got a birds eye view of the ice from the press box, the place that no NHL wants to be watching games from.
Buffalo's loss is Quebec's gain.
Grigorenko spoke with Carl Tardif of La Soleil on Saturday.
Grigo offered up some hinest, thoughtful, and candid answers to questions regarding his 22 game experiment in the NHL with the Sabres.
Google Translator French to English at work:
"Playing five minutes per game, is not enough for anyone. You do not have the time to show nothing. I have sometimes thought of asking me back in junior because I had not the chance to play there. I hope Patrick [Roy] I use more than five minutes, "
You better believe that Roy will revert to his old form by riding his Russian thoroughbred for 20+ minutes today. Grigo will also get PP time. Just like the good old days.
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Grigo was tickled to be able to play against some of the best players in the world while he was in Buffalo.
"Even though I have not played much, I had a great experience playing against the best players in the world. I played against [Ilya] Kovalchuk against [Steven] Stamkos, you can learn a lot just watching them. I do not know if I'm a better player, we'll see tomorrow, "
Grigo will make his return to the Quebec Remparts lineup today against the Rimouski Oceanic.
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Grigo took the time to thank the veteran leaders inn the Sabres room who showed him the ropes in his first foray into the NHL.
"Everyone helped me there, Jason Pominville supported me a lot, just like Steve Ott. The guys were all very kind to me. Having the chance to play here will help me grow. The level of play is very high and could go far in the playoffs. "
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