Good to see Mika's doing well

I'm sure a lot of you have seen it already, this huge bench-clearing brawl from Russia.

Here is the video:


Keep an eye out at the 0:45 mark.

You guessed it. That's former Sabre, Mika Noronen, with blood all over his face.

Noronen has been playing for Ak Bars since he left the Canucks in 2006. Noronen, the beloved Sabre who was part of the three-headed goalie monster of 2005-2006 (hint: the one that got cut off first), last played for the Sabres in a 5-0 loss to San Jose in December 2005.

Noronen, the Sabres' all-time franchise leader in goals by a goaltender (1), is also remembered for this great outburst in his time with the Amerks:

The offense is offensive

Something's gotta give.

...Right?

After falling to the New Jersey Devils in a shootout last night, the Sabres are now winless in their last 7, with their last victory coming December 22 via the shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers.

While they have picked up three points thanks to shootout losses to New Jersey, Pittsburgh and New Jersey, the team hasn't really come close to winning more than one or two of these games. If they deserved to win, they didn't. The results just aren't there.

Another thing that isn't there is the offense. The Sabres were a few minutes away from being shutout last night. In this streak, they've been shutout once (by Ty Conklin!), and scored just one goal three times.

Ryan Miller has not played bad. Other than some of the weak goals in the loss to Atlanta on Sunday, he's done his job. It's hard to win with no goal support.

It seems like the league has the Sabres figured out, and they're not doing anything to change their style, like it's a fluke they're not dominating. Guess what? You're gonna have to come up with something else, guys. It's been brutal watching the team fight to get out of their own zone, with all the stupid back-passes.

It's so predictable.

Defenseman #1 gets the puck, immediately passes to Defenseman #2, either delaying until clear path to Defenseman #2 presents itself or banks it behind the net for Defenseman #2 to retrieve. Defenseman #2 takes puck and sends it up to forward along boards. Forward along boards either passes to another forward standing right next to him, or sends it back to Defenseman #1, or Defenseman #2.

The Devils had two forecheckers in the Sabres zone at times because they knew how to keep them pinned in their own zone. The Devils. The same "trap" Devils that play boring ass hockey and sit back and clog up the neutral zone. I mean, come on, what is this? Bizzaro-world?

These are desparate times. They must play with more desparation.

And scoring some goals might help, too.

+ + + + +

Lindy Ruff has announced that Jocelyn Thibault will get the start tomorrow night when the Sabres take on the Senators in Ottawa.

It will be Thibault's first start since he gave up four first-period goals in Los Angeles last month. The Sabres are 2-2 when Thibault starts...

...and in those games, T-BO is 2-0 against the Northeast Division.

Coming to you LIVE from New Jersey!

That's right.

The Sabres are in the midst of a six game losing streak, traveling to New Jersey, where they rarely do well, and I made the trip from Buffalo for the game.

I'll provide a full report tomorrow.

For those who haven't heard, Patrick Kaleta will be making his season debut after being recalled from Rochester.

The Sabres will be without Max Afinogenov, Derek Roy and Daniel Paille up front.

Look for the Sabres to play a bit more physical tonight. With Kaleta running around, it could get interesting.

This really is a crucial game. With the next two against Ottawa and then New Jersey again, Buffalo doesn't have time to mess around.

Feels like a good time to snap out of a slump, huh?

Why the Sabres are better than your team

These are our "all stars".



(I heard about it from a friend. A few days behind, but I found the video at Goose's Roost)

Enroth shines for Sweden in WJC's

If you’re a true Sabres fan, then of course you know that the holidays mean one thing: the World Junior Championships.

This afternoon, or last night if you’re in the Czech Republic reading this, Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 in overtime to claim their fourth consecutive gold medal. (Russia beat the US for the bronze)

Usually the Sabres have good contingent of prospects playing for their respective countries, but the cupboard’s pretty bare right now, so the only Buffalo representative was goaltender Jhonas Enroth of Sweden.

Enroth, who’s being heralded as the best Swedish goaltender since Henrik Lundqvist, was outstanding in the Swedes’ run to the final. With Enroth in net, Sweden went undefeated until falling to Canada.

Ryan Miller shouldn’t be nervous about losing his job quite yet, but all indications are that the Sabres have a stud on their hands. Enroth, while relatively small in stature, seems to have what it takes to be a star goalie.

Judging from what I saw in the two games I watched, Enroth seemed to have good anticipation and sense of where the puck was. Rarely was he caught out of position, but he did have trouble controlling rebounds, which got him into trouble and forced him to make huge saves which could have been avoided (see overtime against Russia). All of Canada’s goals in the final were results of loose pucks around the net. The Swedish defense wasn’t exactly great at clearing the front of the net, so it didn’t appear he got much help at cleaning up the garbage.

With the Sabres intending to have their own AHL affiliate next year, and only Adam Dennis in the pipeline as far as netminders, it would make sense for management to try to bring him overseas. Buffalo doesn’t exactly have a lot behind Ryan Miller for organizational depth in the crease, so it’d be nice if Enroth develops into someone who can challenge for Miller’s job. Adam Dennis hasn’t shown that he could ever be more than an NHL backup. Other than 2007 picks North Dakota’s Brad Eidsness (who does show some promise from what I saw at rookie camp) and Bowling Green’s Nick Eno, who have a few years to pan out, that’s it.

Enroth now goes back to his regular gig, tending net for Södertälje of the Swedish Elite League. You won’t hear much about him now that the tourney is over, but keep the name in your head and check in on him every once in a while. You may see him in blue and gold at some point in the future.

Sabres/Sens Game Night LIVE BLOG

I'm home, so why the hell not. I'll update as the night goes on.

Feel free to leave comments. If you have questions, I'll answer them.

PRE GAME UPDATE

Scratches:
BUF Nolan Pratt
BUF Maxim Afinogenov
OTT Joe Corvo

Starting Goalies
BUF Ryan Miller
OTT Ray Emery

Sabres Lines
Vanek-Connolly-Kotalik
Pominville-Roy-Hecht
Stafford-Gaustad-Paille
Ryan-Mair-Peters

Game on! Let's hope Heatley doesn't murder anyone tonight.

1ST PERIOD

16:42 left: Right after Peters does a wonderful job accepting a few shots from Brian McGrattan. Ottawa scores on a deflection.

RJ and Harry can't seem to agree on who got it. It's like the scene in Major League where the guys in the bleachers are arguing about how a home run could be "too high" until their friend says, "Who gives a shit? It's gone!"

1-0 OTTAWA
-----
11:02 left: The Sabres are doing a good job keeping pressure but don't seem to be getting quality shots. They cycle so well that no one thinks to try to get open in the slot. They need to get more pucks at Emery.
-----
7:35: Daniel Paille just got JACKED UP by Anton Volchenkov. Paille (at the end of his shift, I might add) went straight to the bench. Clean hit. This could get interesting.

And Jason Pominville goes in on a breakaway and either missed the net or got stopped by Emery. That's why he doesn't go in the shootout.
-----
7:25: Ryan hits Volchenkov from behind, and gets jumped by Shean Donovan. Things are getting chippy.
-----
2:43: Kotalik makes a great play to take out a defenseman and create a scoring chance. Doesn't net much, but plays like that seem to be lacking most of the time.
-----
2:03: Vanek knocks the puck past Emery with a high stick. After review, no goal. After Harry Neale poses the question as to how many times goals were incorrectly called prior to video replay, Rob Ray makes a good comment: "How many teams lost Stanley Cups because of no video replay?" Well played, Rayzor.
-----
0:00: Sabres don't seem to be getting outplayed, but the scoreboard says 1-0 Sens. When you're on a four game losing streak, the bounces never seem to go your way. Just like more of the same. I mean, come on, the Caps just swept a home-and-home against them! THE CAPS!

END 1: Ottawa 1, Buffalo 0
-----

2ND PERIOD

19:22: Sabres put on some pressure early. Naturally, any momentum disappears as Tallinder shoots the puck over the glass. Sens get the PP.
-----
18:25: Senators score as Miller never sees the shot from the point. Stupid penalty, and the hole gets deeper.

2-0 OTTAWA
-----
17:30: Connolly rings one off the post and draws a penalty. HUGE powerplay here. Can't blow these opportunities.
-----
15:28: Nothing doing on that powerplay. And Paille will not return. Well, we're playing Ottawa, so there's the requisite concussion. Awesome.
-----
10:25: Michael Ryan busts in the zone and creates a scoring opportunity. Ryan & Mair combine to create some pressure. It doesn't yield a goal, but play is stopped because Ray Emery is hurt.

With the way Gerber's been playing since Connolly clocked him in the head two weeks ago, that may be a good thing.
-----
9:20: Another crazy bounce, another Ottawa goal. Spezza rings home a rebound.

3-0 OTTAWA

Miller to the bench. In comes Thibault. And here comes the comeback.
-----
8:59: Kotalik puts a cross-crease pass from Vanek past Emery. Told you so. The wagons are being circled.

3-1 OTTAWA
-----
3:14: Sabres can't seem to get any great opportunities. Thibault isn't really being challenged either.
-----
0:00: Period ends with the Sabres still trailing by two. Time for someone to step up.

END 2: Ottawa 3, Buffalo 1
-----

3RD PERIOD

17:20: Redden just decked Pominville. Thankfully, he gets right back up and stays in the play.
-----
13:36: Vanek makes a nice move to cut in front of the net for a great chance but loses the handle on the puck. That's is a play he MUST make, whether it turns into a goal or not. He's got to be able to get a shot out of that.
-----
11:25: Sabres have 31 shots on goal and one goal to show for it. Where's the finishing, blue?
-----
11:10: Rick Jeanneret hasn't smoked in 15 years. Good to know.
-----
9:57: Sabres get another chance on the powerplay. They're gonna have to do something eventually.
-----
8:31: Jochen Hecht deflects a Thomas Vanek deflection of a Jason Pominville shot from the point past Sugar Ray. Sabres pull within one.

3-2 OTTAWA
-----
7:33: Kotalik rings one off the pipe trying to beat Emery short-side. It's only one shot away from a tie game.
-----
6:11: That said, Michael Ryan banks one off Emery's skate and into the net. Tie game, bitches.

TIED 3-3
-----
4:41: So much for that. Heatley drives one past Thibault to take the lead. Man, that Heatley knows how to kill momentum.

4-3 OTTAWA
-----
2:41: Derek Roy sends Jason Spezza into the boards just in time to let Daniel Alfredsson rip one past Thibault.

5-3 OTTAWA
-----
0:00: The buzzer sounds. Sabres outshoot the Senators 39-27 in the biggest waste of a 3-goal rally I've ever seen. Make that five games without a win.

FINAL: OTTAWA 5, BUFFALO 3

No need for overpriced "Soup"

For those who didn't see Bucky Gleason's column in Sunday's Buffalo News, feel lucky.

Gleason, who I personally fail to agree with on a regular basis, seems to have a vendetta against the team's current management. This past Sunday, he put out a column which struck a chord with me, in the exact wrong way. A post about Brian Campbell's contract situation was long overdue, but now I feel compelled. I'm going to submit a portion of it, or a reworked version, to the editor of the News in response to his column in hopes it gets into Sunday's paper, because it needs to be said.

Here goes...

Mr. Gleason makes the inference that Brian Campbell is deserving of a big contract extension from Sabres management. Judging on play this season, it is hard to say that Brian Campbell is the best defenseman on the Sabres roster. If he is, then it's not by much. So why does he deserve to make over $5.5 million per year?

I don't want to hear that Andrei Markov got the same thing from Montreal. The Sabres can afford to give Campbell a contract like that (4 years, $23 million) when he isn't blowing away his teammates on the ice. While Campbell leads all Sabres defenseman in points, his points per game (.68) is marginally better than Jaroslav Spacek's (.67). His plus-minus is best among defenseman (+4), but he shares the lead with Spacek and Henrik Tallinder, and only one ahead of Toni Lydman (+3).

Spacek makes $3.485 million. Lydman makes $2.9 million. Tallinder makes $2.5 million. Why does Campbell deserve almost twice as much for similiar production? He's not the best defensively (scoring all those points help him hide all those minuses), so he's not exactly the team's stud defenseman.

Campbell was tied for seventh among NHL defensemen in scoring with 25 points going into Thursday night’s games. Add a few bucks there. Campbell could play in his second straight All-Star Game this season. Add a few more bucks. He’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. Add a few more.

That's all on paper. Campbell was voted in to the All-Star game thanks to his role as the highlight reel guy on the league's best team. While he had a great start to last year, there's no question that his play tailed off over the course of the season. Campbell became a big name. That doesn't justify throwing money at him. This franchise can't afford to do that.

Yes, losing Campbell would hurt, but it would hurt the team just as much to overpay him. It's bad enough that the team got stuck overpaying Thomas Vanek for the first two years of his contract (but there's no realistic way that he could actually live up to that to begin with). The Sabres can't do that again. And when Jaroslav Spacek's contract is up next year, if he's pulling similiar numbers to Campbell, won't he look for the same? Spacek's arguably been better than Campbell this year. Does he deserve $5.5-6 million a year? Of course not.

I would hate to lose Campbell. He's a valuable member of the team, and is viewed as a leader in the room... but to give him anything over $4 million a year is hurting the organization.

If that means trading him, trade him. Get draft picks to replenish the prospect pool that has been raided by the NHL over the past few years. Pick up some depth.

Don't lose him for nothing.

But most of all, don't give him a contract he isn't worth.