Buffalo Sabres Report

Game 7

2007-10-24T15:22:00.000-07:00

Buffalo lost their second straight game as bad bounces and posts plagued the Sabres the entire game, leading to a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadians. Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy were very good.

Game 6

2007-10-24T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Sabres had a very boring game against Jiri Novotny and the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Sabres 3-0. Ryan Miller was the Sabres best player, followed by Paul Gaustad and Ales Kotalik.

Eastern Conference Update

2007-10-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

Melrose and Hradek give an update on the Eastern Conference.

Jochen Hecht

2007-10-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

Jochen Hecht, the Sabres captain, signed a 4 year, 14.1 million dollar contract extension. I like this signing and feel it is a good price. According to Darcy Regier, the Sabres are working on re-signing Brian Campbell and Ryan Miller.

Game 5

2007-10-17T17:40:00.001-07:00

The Sabres kept up the excitement of the past few years, with a 5-4 overtime comeback victory against their rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs (not sold out). The Leafs opened up the scoring on a goal by Simon Gamache, who be Jocyeln Thibualt. The Leafs would later take a 2-0 lead into the third period, when the Sabres would score two quick goals, with Adam Mair scoring the first goal off of beautiful plays by Daniel Paille and Derek Roy. Jason Pominville scored the tying goal off of a beautiful feed from Tim Connolly. The leafs would answer quickly, but Thomas Vanek would tie the game at 3-3 after Lindy Ruff switched Drew Stafford back to the Roy line. Chad Kilger would come right back and score his second goal of the game to make it 4-3 leafs. But Tim Connolly would make a great feed to Jochen Hecht to tie the game with less than 4 minutes to go in the game. The game would go to overtime where Tim Connolly would find Ales Kotalik who gunned a shot that was stopped by Raycroft and Brian McCabe put it into his own net. The goal was later credit to Paul Gaustad who tipped the puck in. The Sabres now have 24 goals in 5 games.

Three Stars:
1. Tim Connolly
2. Chad Kilger
3. Thomas Vanek

Game 4

2007-10-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Sabres came out shooting the puck against Washington and they did not stop. Despite how Buffalo was taking it to Washington, however, the Capitals would score first on a Nylander goal off of a nice play from Backstrom. After piling on a ton of shots, Jaroslav Spacek would added the Sabres first goal, his third of the season, on a blast from the right point. Just 11 seconds later, Maxim Afinogenov scored his first of the season to give Buffalo a 2-1 lead. Later in the period, Jason Pominville would direct the cross ice pass from Jochen Hecht into the net to give Buffalo a 3-1 lead. At the end of the period, Adam Mair would score a bloop goal, giving Buffalo 4 goals in the second period, rewarding them for their 24 shots. Washington would score next on a breakaway goal after a penalty that Miller misplayed. Buffalo would add the next goal as Derek Roy tipped in a Brian Campbell blast off of a few sensational moves from Afinogenov, and then Roy would add another pushing his goal total to 4. Ovechkin added a PP goal, but it was Jaro Spacek clinching the game with another bullet from the point to give Buffalo a 7-3 victory.
I thought that Brian Campbell played outstanding, with 4 assists, and his defense partner in Spacek wasn't too bad either, adding two goals. Afinogenov and Roy and Vanek were moved back together and played great. The Sabres now have 19 goals in 4 games--without Daniel Briere and Chris Drury.

Three Stars:
1. Brian Campbell
2. Jaroslav Spacek
3. Maxim Afinogenov

Highlights

Brian Campbell

2007-10-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Brian Campbell is off to a great start this year, with 5 points and a +4 rating after 3 games. He looks solid defensively, and is really looking good on the power-play. In my opinion, the Sabres should get him signed to a 3-4 year contract extension as soon as possible.

Interview (10/2/2007)

Game 3

2007-10-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

From the very beginning, the Sabres looked great. The first goal came from Ales Kotalik who was in the lineup for the first time this season after Tim Connolly made the Thrashers look like a bunch of high-schoolers. The second goal came from Connolly on a blast from the point while there was a delayed penalty so the Sabres had a 6 on 4. The third goal came from Campbell off of a nice feed by Connolly. Jason Pominville gave Buffalo a SH goal on a puck that just got by Lehtonen. The fifth goal came on a good job by Paille of getting the puck to the net and a great play by Derek Roy. Daniel Paille added the sixth goal on a one time feed from Ryan. Ryan Miller ended up getting a shutout.

Three Stars
1. Tim Connolly
2. Brian Campbell
3. Paul Gaustad

Preview Game 3

2007-10-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Sabres will look for their first win tonight against the Atlanta Thrashers, who are also looking for their first victory. I assume that Ryan Miller will start in goal and that Ales Kotalik will be in the lineup for Andrew Peters, on a line with Paul Gaustad and Maxim Afinogenov, with Stafford moving to the Roy and Vanek line, at least temporarily, which may or may not be a good thing. This is a very important game for the Sabres.

Game 2

2007-10-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

Buffalo's defense was better, but now their offense was very stagnant. The Roy line was not scoring goals, and Jason Pominville missed probably 5 scoring chances. Again, however, the Sabres could not stop the Mike Comrie line. Toni Lydman left the game with a migraine but is expected back Thursday.

Game 1

2007-10-09T19:03:00.000-07:00

The Sabres started the game so well. Rich Dipietro kept the Islanders in the game however with a huge save on Thomas Vanek. Buffalo's defense ended up being very soft and could not stop the Mike Comrie line. The Mike Comrie line dominated the game.

Ales Kotalik

2007-10-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

I am actually very excited that Ales Kotalik will be coming back into the lineup. He think that he will improve the powerplay and be a solid fixture on a line with Maxim Afinogenov and Paul Gaustad. I expect him to have the type of year he had in 2005-2006.

Harry Neale

2007-10-02T23:18:00.001-07:00

I am very glad that the Sabres have selected Harry Neale to be RJ's new broadcast partner. I loved Jim Lorentz and it will be tough not listening to him, but I also love listening to Harry Neale. If the Sabres were playing the Leafs on a Saturday Night, I would always find myself turning to Hockey Night in Canada to hear what Neale would say. I'm looking forward to it.

Final Preseason Game

2007-10-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

I was at the game and thought that the Sabres played very well. I thought that Kalinin and Spacek improved greatly over their play from last year. Derek Roy is playing the best hockey of his pro career. Thomas Vanek was backchecking. Tim Connolly was back. Ryan Miller looked very sharp. The Sabres took another victory, and Derek Roy took home the preseason scoring title. While the PP looked very bad at times, it looked very good on both of the teams PP goals.

Marek Zagrapan

2007-09-29T11:34:00.003-07:00

Though he still did not look all that comfortable on the ice, he did score a goal and get a shift late in the game against Sidney Crosby. I expect him to be in Rochester, but he is certainly making strides.

Interview

Sabres v. Penguins

2007-09-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

SABRES 6, PENGUINS 5

Jocelyn Thibault (photo: Getty Images)

The Buffalo Sabres won their third game of the exhibition season in dramatic fashion. After 59 minutes of a seesaw battle and with the score knotted at 5-5, the Sabres hottest center continued to light-up the opposition.

Derek Roy, who had already registered a goal and two assists in the game, streaked up the right wing and one-timed a rebound into a wide-open net to give Buffalo the 6-5 lead with only 28 seconds remaining in regulation.

Evgeni Malkin nearly forced overtime in its waining moments after his one-timer from the right elbow found the twine. But an official review confirmed that the puck hadn't crossed the goal line before the final horn sounded.

In the Sabres wildest game so far, 11 different players recorded points. Roy led the way with four, while Brian Campbell added a goal and an assist. Henrik Tallinder, Thomas Vanek and Marek Zagrapan also lit the lamp.

Mike Ryan recorded a pair of assists for his first points of the preseason.

Jocelyn Thibault dropped to 1-2 after facing his former team. Thibault, who appeared in 22 games for Pittsburgh as Marc-Andre Fleury's backup last season, allowed five goals off 21 shots. Three of the Penguins tallies came during six man-advantage opportunities.

Sidney Crosby led the Penguins with a pair of goals and an assist, while Ryan Whitney complimented him with two helpers.

Erik Christensen and Ryan Malone each tallied two points - a goal and an assist.

The home-and-home series will shift to HSBC Arena tomorrow to conclude the exhibition season for both teams.

The Sabres will be holding an autograph session following Saturday night's contest and tickets for children 12 and under are half price. Click either link for more details.

In my opinion the 3 stars were definatley selected correctly, with Derek Roy the 1st star, Sidney Crosby the 2nd star, and Evgeni Malkin the thrid star. Marek Zagrapan got his first NHL goal.

Preseason Sabres v. Leafs

2007-09-27T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sabres 7, Maple Leafs 2

Jason Pominville scored Buffalo's third goal just 37 seconds into the second period. (photo: Getty Images)

Derek Roy scored three goals and added three assists to help the Buffalo Sabres rout the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-2 on Wednesday night.

Henrik Tallinder, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek also scored for Buffalo.

Jim Lorentz

2007-09-27T08:08:00.001-07:00

Rick and Jim. It will be tough not being able to hear that again. Rick had his antics and wild announcing, but Jim had a quiet, philosophical way about him. When great plays were made (Drew Stafford's goal against Washington, Thomas Vanek's shootout slapshot, or Ryan Miller's save on Mara in Boston) you could always hear Jim just give a short, quiet "Oh". He always gave very intelligent comments and never let himself takeaway the spotlight from Rick. I'm not sure who is going to replace him, but I know that it won't be the same.

Preseason Sabres v. Blue Jackets

2007-09-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Sabres 3, Blue Jackets 2, SO

Ales Kotalik scored Buffalo's opening goal and flipped a backhander over Pascal LeClaire in the shootout.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -Ryan Miller stopped both Columbus shooters in the shootout as the Buffalo Sabres completed a rally and beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 in a preseason game on Sunday.

With just under five minutes remaining in regulation, the Sabres' Brian Campbell sent a pass to Jason Pominville at the back post for an easy tap-in to tie the score.

Miller did the rest with an assist from Maxim Afinogenov and Ales Kotalik.

The winningest goaltender in the NHL during shootouts last season, Miller denied both Adam Pinault and Sergei Fedorov on Columbus' opening two attempts, while Afinogenov and Kotalik each lit the lamp for Buffalo.

Miller won 10 of 14 shutouts last season.

Fedorov had scored from close range at 2:59 of the third period to give Columbus the 2-1 lead.

Kotalik netted the opening goal for the Sabres (1-1), who have faced only the Blue Jackets in the preseason.

Derek MacKenzie opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets (2-3) when he stole the puck from defenseman Nathan Paetsch and put it past Miller just 2:48 into the game.

Kotalik made it 1-1 on the power play at 5:13 of the second period, firing in a slap shot from the left circle.

Buffalo's power play, which struggled through most of last season, registered five shots on goal in eight opportunities.

Preseason Game 1 v. Columbus

2007-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

VISITOR

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Game 4 Away Game 2

Event Summary

Friday, September 21, 2007

HSBC Arena

Start 7:11 EDT ; End 9:47 EDT

Game 0041

Final

HOME

BUFFALO SABRES
Game 1 Home Game 1

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -Gilbert Brule scored twice, leading the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in a preseason game Friday night.

"You can definitely see it [the difference between the AHL and NHL]," said Dylan Hunter, who was appearing in his first career NHL preseason game. "Just the speed and strength of guys in the corners, how quick you have to make plays, every level seems to get faster and faster."

RELATED MULTIMEDIA

Video: Jochen Hecht Post-Game
Video: Lindy Ruff Post-Game

Kris Russell and Rick Nash added goals for Columbus, which improved to 2-2 in the preseason.

Clarke MacArthur scored for Buffalo, in its first preseason game.

"Everybody in the lineup is working hard and knows what they have to do," said Jochen Hecht. "Drew Stafford was up last year scoring goals and Pat Kaleta is finishing his hits and playing tough. Everyone's having a good camp."

Jason Pominville led Buffalo with five shots on goal, while Thomas Vanek tied Kaleta for the team high in hits with a pair.

Buffalo goalie Jocelyn Thibault, the Sabres' lone free-agent signing of the offseason, made 18 saves. Steve Mason stopped 20 shots for Columbus.

"We still have a lot of guys here and we can change the lineup quite a bit," said Hecht. "We need to get some rest and play a couple of games in a short time frame, but it makes you ready for the season."

The Sabres will play the tail end of the home-and-home with Columbus on Sunday night at the Nationwide Arena and then ship out to Ralph Englestad Arena to meet the Minnesota Wild at the University of North Dakota Monday.

Russell and Brule scored power-play goals 25 seconds apart in the second period to give the Blue Jackets a 2-0 lead. Columbus started the second period with a two-man advantage carried over from the first period, and Russell scored 49 seconds in on a deflection. Brule then snapped in a shot from the left faceoff circle with 1 second remaining in the power play.

Nash scored six minutes into the third, backhanding in a loose puck after Thibault stopped Rostislav Klesla on a backhand shot. Brule netted his second of the night six minutes later on a tip-in.

Training Camp Thoughts

2007-09-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

I was down at the Arena today to watch the Sabres scrimmage. For the most part, I thought that the team looked pretty good. Maxim Afinogenov and Derek Roy played very well together. Jason Pominville and Jochen Hecht played very well together, especially when they were paired with Paul Gaustad ( who leveled Ben Breault). I thought that Marek Zagrapan played well, scoring two goals in the scrimmage, but he still seemed kind of sluggish and lazy. Ryan Miller made some good saves. Nathan Paetsch really surprised me with how fast he really is, skating stride for stride with Afinogenov on one rush and drawing a penalty. I think Lindy Ruff might have to talk with Pat Kaleta again as he was hitting everything that moved. One surprising player that stood out was 2007 second round pick Drew Scheistel. He really moved the puck well and seems to have a bullet of a slapshot. TJ Brennan was cut in the face but skated off on his own power.

Several players including Tim Connolly, Thomas Vanek, Daniel Paille, Dimitri Kalinin, Drew Stafford, Toni Lydman, and Henrik Tallinder did not scrimmage, as they were on the practice squad.

Teppo's Heart

2007-09-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

According to WGR550, Darcy Regier has said that Teppo Numminen will need heart surgery. I do not know how long he will be out, but it seems as though Nathan Paetsch has guaranteed himself a place on the team.

Tickets Outside

2007-09-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for tickets to go on sale for the outdoor game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. It should be a great game. Ryan Miller already has outdoor experience from his days at Michigan State. Training camp starts this Thursday and the Sabres will be having several open-to-the-public scrimmages. By the way Phillipe Gogulla had 2 goals and an assist in a 6-3 win by Cologne over Hamburg. Looks like the Sabres might have another good European prospect.

Training Camp

2007-08-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Just as the Bills are finishing up training camp, the Sabres are about to start their's. They are starting to skate at the Pepsi Center, and we will soon find out if Michael Ryan, Nathan Paestch, Clarke McAurthur, or Marek Zagrapan will make the top squad, as Michael Peca will now not be Buffalo's third line center.

Third Line Center

2007-08-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

The longer the Sabres go without any trades or signings, the more likely it is that either Paul Gaustad will be the third line center with Adam Mair centering the 4th line, or that the Sabres will go down to Rochester. The most likely candidates then would be either Clarke McAurthur or Marek Zagrapan. McAurthur would provide a more stable two-way center, having played well last season, while Zagrapan would probably provide more creativity. I would expect that Clarke McArthur will be a center on the Sabres when opening day comes, due to his previous experience.