By Bud L. Ellis
After rebounding from their first regulation loss of the season, the Buffalo Sabres look to keep things going in the right direction and build on their lead in the Northeast Division.
The Sabres shook off last Saturday’s loss to Atlanta, downing the Florida Panthers 5-2 on Wednesday. Ryan Miller, who didn’t play in the loss to the Thrashers, was back between the pipes and made 41 saves. He got all the support he needed as the Sabres jumped all over Florida with five first-period goals.
Buffalo, atop the Northeast with 11 points (5-1-1) closes the month with three of its next four on the road, starting tonight at Tampa Bay. But one figures the Sabres are stronger than the Lightning, and the other two road games — at New Jersey and at the New York Islanders — also are winnable matchups.
Buffalo’s lone home game left in October is next Friday against struggling Toronto. With the schedule looking quite favorable between now and the start of November, the Sabres have a great opportunity to build on their fast start and pile up some points.
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Friday, October 23, 2009 at 9:29 pm by bud · No Comments
The Buffalo Sabres picked up an impressive win over the Detroit Red Wings, but losing Thomas Vanek was more noteworthy.
Vanek suffered what is being called an upper body injury and is expected to miss weeks of ice time.
The dominant, 6-2 victory was tempered by the shot Vanek took into the boards which caused the injury.
It will be interesting to see how Buffalo is able to weather the storm in the coming weeks without Vanek on the ice.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 7:43 pm by steve · No Comments
The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Drew Stafford to a two-year contract worth $3.8 million.
He will make $1.5 million this year and $2.3 million in 2010.
He set career highs in points and goals last year in 79 games played, and is just scratching the surface at 23-years old.
To improve negotiations and his standing with the team, Stafford was present at the start of training camp despite not having a contract.
That’s a pretty bold move considering he would be out of a lot of money if something happened and he got hurt before signing a contract.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 6:49 pm by steve · No Comments
The Buffalo Sabres have high hopes this year from rookie defenseman Tyler Myers, who doesn’t exactly look like your typical hockey player.
You might suspect Myers plays basketball instead given his 6′ 8″ frame, which is made even taller when he has the skates on.
Myers is just 19, yet when other teams talk about the Sabres, everyone wants to know whether the kid is going to make the team.
It’s a good buzz for the Sabres to have around training camp given their recent struggles to reach the postseason.
Head coach Lindy Ruff said it makes him excited to know that other teams think so highly of one of his players.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 5:43 pm by steve · No Comments
Buffalo Sabres forward Adam Mair will miss the start of the regular season after undergoing hip surgery.
The surgery will keep Mair out for about six weeks. The team opens up the season October 3 against Montreal.
He had eight goals and 11 assists in 75 game last season. There was no reason given as to why the surgery was needed.
The Sabres are set to open up training camp in the coming days and will have to look for someone to fill the 10-year NHL veteran’s spot, at least for the short-term.
Saturday, September 5, 2009 at 8:47 am by steve · No Comments
The Buffalo Sabres came up a little bit short of their goal of reaching the playoffs, but they still had a season to be proud of.
In fact, the team decided to maintain its key front office personnel and the head coach despite missing the playoffs, which isn’t always the case when it comes to sports these days.
The season was marred by the fatal plane crash in Buffalo, which is a rather small community despite the fact that it is often thought of as a fairly big city because of its two pro sports teams.
The team attempted to rally around the community following the crash and make a heart-warming run to the playoffs, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
The Eastern Conference was more competitive this year than in years past, which is also an explanation for why the Sabres weren’t one of the eight teams to keep their season alive.
Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 4:30 pm by Barry · No Comments
