Buffalo handles Carolina

Buffalo earned a 3-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday night, winning a game that they were supposed to win. Buffalo was in control throughout the game, and Tim Connolly stole the show by netting two goals.

Buffalo returned to form by killing off all five of their penalties in the game. Teppo Numminen also scored a goal, but the downside is that he took a puck to the face and is hurt badly.

Official Three Stars

Tim Connolly

Ryan Miller

Thomas Vanek

My Three Stars

Tim Connolly (two goals, plus two, five shots)

Teppo Numminen (one goal, plus one)

Ryan Miller (36 saves on 37 shots)

An Overtime Loss to Montreal

The Buffalo Sabres played well for most of the game, but ended up losing 4-3 late into overtime. Buffalo scored a powerplay goal, and did ok killing off their own penalties but were scored on during both a five on three and a four on three opportunity by the Canadians.

Despite the loss Miller looked good for the second straight game in a row. Afinogenov was called up to take the place of the seriously injured Kaleta. Max spent most of his ice time with Peters and Ellis and didn't really have much of a chance to make a real difference in the game.

Buffalo was without Patrick Kaleta who is out with what appears to be a serious injury. In his place Afinogenov played, but was with the fourth line and had little help and little ice time.

As far as losses go this one was not as bad as it could have been, as at least the team earned a point for a tie. Of course last year the Sabres startd a ten game losing streak around this time last year, and the few ties in that didn't end up doing the team any good.

Buffalo once again has a quick turnaround as they play their third game in four days against Pittsburgh on Monday night.

Official Three Stars

Sergei Kostitsyn

Steve Begin

Ryan Miller

My Three Stars

Sergei Kostitsyn (two goals)

Alex Kovalev (one goal, one assist, eight shots)

Teppo Numminen (two assists, plus two)

All star voting

The NHL has announced the ballets for the All-Star game, and of the 104 players selected there were four Sabres.

Ryan Miller was selected as a goalie, and given how he has done this season he deserves to be in the game. At this point he leads the league in goals against average at 1.62. In save percentage he is second in the league at .942, just behind the .944 posted by Boston's Tim Thomas. Furthermore he hasn't allowed a single goal against in the last 125 minutes of game time.

The second Sabres all star selection is Thomas Vanek. As the Austrian is currently leading the league in goals with eleven, while he is tenth in the league in total points with 14. Also very deserving and very probable to make the all-star team.

The other Sabres forward selected was Derek Roy. The selection of Roy is a bit odd, as he is only ninth in points on his own team, falling behind players like Kotalik and Pominville who are beating out Roy in every statistic that there is. It's not that Roy has been doing bad, but he should not be the team's second choice.

On defense the only Sabre selected for the ballet is Teppo Numminen. A bit of an odd choice, especially given how influenced by last years numbers these selections appear to be. Still I would pick Tallinder or Rivet as the team's top player on the blue line. Even Spacek deserves a mention with the eight assists he has earned so far this season. Probably none of Buffalo's defense will make it in.

Ranking the top 27 Buffalo Sabres

Last season I listed the "top 26 Sabres" before the season began. With a new season starting tonight a new ranking is in order. These are based upon the importance each player brings to the team for the coming season. As a result long term potential for anything beyond this season is not counted, also these are not strictly based on the talent each player has, but also his importance to the team. As such the goalies are not really comparable, but thrown in regardless because I did so last time.

The last list was fairly accurate, but overestimated Connolly's ability to stay healthy and did not give enough respect to Spacek. This year's list is as follows...

1. #1 Jason Pominville - Although ultimately not named captain, he will still be looked to lead this team. How his stats end up is highly dependent on who he plays with, but he will need to be counted on to play a full game every day of the season.
2. #2 Derek Roy - Number one last year, the Sabres need to count on Roy again this season. As the center for Buffalo's top line, he is likely to touch the puck more than anyone else on the team.
3. #3 Craig Rivet - New to town Rivet will be expected to take care of things on defense. This is where Buffalo needs help, and if Rivet can perform then things will go much better for Buffalo this year. Earning himself the role of captain only heightens his expectations.
4. #4 Ryan Miller - As the goalie he is obviously the most important player on the team, and will need to be solid in net for the Sabres to have any chance. If he can get good in the shootout again, that would earn another three of four wins that the team missed out on last season.
5. #5 Thomas Vanek - Buffalo's scoring machine had a disappointing season last year. While he still scored alot of goals, he was not playing both ways as much as he needed to, and went from leading the league in plus minus to ending the year minus four
6. #6 Henrik Tallinder - Will be relieved with the addition of Rivet and Numminen, but will still need to be the team's shut down defender.
7. #7 Toni Lydman - Same story as Tallinder. These two need to guarantee no goals against.
8. #8 Jochen Hecht - A captain for most of last season and an alternate this year, Hecht will be counted on to continue leading this team. While he doesn't have the biggest offensive numbers he is a very solid two way player.
9. #9 Teppo Numminen - Just like last year's list defense is extremely important. Numminen is a very consistent and reliable defender for the team. His only limiting factor is he is not likely to get lots of ice time, and isn't a huge help when it comes to scoring.
10. #10 Paul Gaustad - Out for the start of the season he is still one of the hardest working players on the team. Also has a history of coming back early from injuries so may not be out all that long.
11. #11 Jaroslav Spacek - Proved last season that he actually can play. If his pairing with Rivet works well, he could see alot of ice time and have a very good year.
12. #12 Patrick Lalime - Last season nobody had any confidence in the backup goaltender forcing Miller to be overworked. Last season Lalime earned himself a winning record as the backup for a team that failed to make the playoffs. If he can be a reliable backup once again, then Miller should be able to be better off when he does play.
13. #13 Patrick Kaleta - Should see more games this year even if playing time is still limited. He is a real difference maker on the team, and is defensively responsible enough to be counted on.
14. #14 Maxim Afinogenov - May very well prove that last year was a fluke. Has the ability to play very well, and if he gets in sync with Roy and Vanek has the possibility to have a great year. Also is in danger of getting traded mid-season though.
15. #15 Ales Kotalik - He hasn't always been providing the offense needed, and needs to return to his backhand in the shootouts. If he can keep scoring there, that will give Buffalo some free points in the standings.
16. #16 Tim Connolly - Will probably miss a large number of games due to injury, but is still a great talent when he is on the ice. If he can stay healthy it would give Buffalo a huge advantage up the middle.
17. #17 Andrej Sekera - Looked very good at the end of last season but will have to continue to play well to prevent losing his job to Paetsch or Weber. Is likely to be part of the third defensive pairing with Numminen.
18. #18 Adam Mair - The bedrock of the fourth line will continue in that role. He sees limited ice time, but is usually pretty good when he is out there.
19. #19 Daniel Paille - Paille is a player that has the potential to be good, but still has yet to really prove it. He still needs to find his spot on the team.
20. #20 Drew Stafford - Like Afinogenov he needs to prove that last season was a fluke. He showed much promise in his rookie year, but fell off from that somewhat. If he can get scoring again, it would be a huge asset to the team, and if he plays on a line with Roy and Vanek he better be able to contribute heavily.
21. #21 Nathan Gerbe - starting the season on the minors, Gerbe should figure to be the first call up, and be an excellent player for Buffalo. He won the NCAA frozen four last year with Boston, and has proven himself to be able to play very good hockey. If Buffalo has any long term injuries, Gerbe will be needed to contribute.
22. #22 Clarke MacArthur - With some NHL experience he may get a call up before Gerbe does. While he has some very good games last season he needs to do so more consistently if he wants to make the NHL full time.
23. #23 Mike Weber - He will start the season in the AHL, but proved to be good when paired with Sekera at the end of the last season. Despite being more talented will probably be behind Paetsch in the depth chart.
24. #24 Nathan Paetsch - Currently the seventh defenseman he will need to rebound from last season which was a bit of a disappointment for him. Still it is highly unlikely that the team will go all year without any injuries so he should see some playing time.
25. #25 Tim Kennedy - Fresh out of college he will not see much time in the NHL this season, but looks to be a very good player down the road. If he does get called up count on him to look impressive.
26. #26 Andrew Peters - Will have a hard time justifying his roster spot with so much talent in the team's prospects. Furthermore with Kaleta playing a more prominent (and well rounded) role Peters may no longer really have a spot on the team. In fact new Sabre and captain Craig Rivet is probably even a better fighter than Peters is.
27. #27 Matt Ellis - not really sure why he is on the team. If he couldn't make the cut with the Las Angles Kings there is no reason to believe that he deserves to be here.

Captain Rivet?

Today Lindy Ruff named Craig Rivet as captain of the Buffalo Sabres. For the Sabre I know the least about to be named captain is a move that nobody expected, including Rivet himself. The selection was the result of the players choice, which early last season resulted in Hecht being captain in October.

Rivet is a bit of a surprise as he has never played for Buffalo before, but did well in the preseason, and was given the captains role from time to time there as well.

The Sabres also named four alternative captains, which will rotate on a home and away basis. They are Jason Pominville, Teppo Numminen, Jaroslav Spacek, and Jochen Hecht. None of whose selection is surprising, except for the fact that there are so many of them.

This also results in a shift towards the defense as three of the five captains are defensemen, which is not only odd because the role of captain usually goes to an offensive player, but also because a typical roster has twice as many offensive players to begin with.

Sabres win preseason game against Columbus

The Sabres won their preseason game Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, one night after losing a close game to Minnesota. Buffalo blew Columbus out in last nights game though. After Columbus got the first goal of the night from former Sabre Jiri Novotny, Buffalo came back strong and scored the next five straight goals before giving up a late one to Rick Nash. Teppo Numminen scored a goal in the game which is the first time he has done that in well over a year. Nathan Gerbe also scored an unassisted goal in the third quarter, giving him two for the preseason. Gerbe has been playing well, and lead the Sabres in shots on goal this game with four.

The game also had a number of penalties, with Peters, Rivet, and Stafford all getting fighting majors, and Weber earning a misconduct. Rivet has already gotten into a number of fights this preseason, so hopefully he can take on that role, allowing us to replace Peters.

Darcy Regier sticking around Numminen passes physical

Darcy Regier has signed a contract to stay in Buffalo for another two seasons.

These sort of deals however are always much more flexible then the contracts that the players sign. Still after eleven years with him and Lindy Ruff running things this should not come as a surprise at all. Nobody expected him to leave, and I'm glad he will not.

Teppo Numminen passed his physical yesterday, which is a welcome change from last year. Hopefully his heart doesn't give him any problems, and Buffalo is able to keep the depth on defense that they were supposed to have last season. In that regards at least this year is already starting out better than the last.

The 2009-2010 roster

While it is way too early to talk about the season that comes after the next one, there is also no hockey news to talk about in the middle of August. Assuming that Michael Ryan isn't going to be with Buffalo this coming season, the Sabres 2008-2009 roster is pretty well set. The year after the Sabres will not have contracts with twelve of their players, however things are not as bad as that statistic makes them sound.

Maxim Afinogenov
Afinogenov lead the team in points just three seasons ago, but seems to have lost his place in Buffalo. While a good player, he no longer appears to fit the Buffalo system and will probably not be resigned. The Sabres will most likely continue to try and trade him throughout this season.

Tim Connolly
Another player who looked real good the first year out of the lockout. However he has been unable to stay healthy so it is unlikely that he will be offered a large contract. If he stays with Buffalo or not is really dependent upon if any other team is willing to take a risk to sign him to a large deal.

Ales Kotalik
A good player who's resigning should be more important to alot more Buffalo fans. While it would not be the end of the world if he doesn't come back, he has been a solid player, and would be likely to sign a multi-year deal for around $4 million a year. Expect this deal to happen shortly before the start of free agency next summer if it does.

Jason Pominville
This is the contract that has been getting all of the attention, however he will still be a restricted free agent, so the Sabres have their options open. I feel that his shot at being captain is dependent on him signing a long term deal before the season starts. Because Pominville has some constraints on him as a restricted free agent, I expect that this deal will happen, but not until half way through November or so. Worst case scenario is that we go to arbitration, or that another team signs him for alot and we have the option of matching or taking a number of high draft picks.

Drew Stafford
Stafford is also a restricted free agent, but his value is highly dependent upon how he does in the coming season. Last year was a bit of a disappointment for Stafford and if that happens again it is likely to be reflected in the offer that he gets from Buffalo. Regardless of the amount odds are he will be resigned next summer.

Andrew Peters
Will be a restricted free agent. We could resign him for practically nothing, but lets hope we don't and let Kaleta or Gerbe move up into this roster spot.

Patrick Kaleta
Kaleta's contract will be up, but as a low paid restricted free agent who is unheard of outside of the Buffalo area, there is almost no chance of him signing elsewhere. Expect him to get a raise next summer dependent on how many games he plays with Buffalo.

Jaroslav Spacek
After one bad season and one decent season in Buffalo Spacek is a real question. I expect that the Sabres will have a small amount of interest in keeping him, but that it is likely that he will sign elsewhere next summer. Well I think he could be resigned for a somewhat reasonable amount I expect that Sekera and Weber will be ready to fill in for him by then.

Teppo Numminen
Currently only on a one year contract, Teppo's future is really dependent on this coming season. There is always the possibility of retirement, and I think this is mostly going to be based on how healthy he can stay. If he does want to come back, expect another one year deal.

Andrej Sekera
As a restricted free agent who is likely to play less then 40 games in the NHL this season, there should be no problem resigning him next summer.

Mike Funk
As a restricted free agent who will probably not get a single NHL appearance this season he is likely to be resigned. However being behind Sekera, Weber, and Myers I'm not sure that it really matters.

Sabres still need a captain

Last season I tried to anticipate who the team would pick as captain, and was completely off picking Connolly and Campbell. Instead the Sabres went with a rotating captaincy, and besides Campbell who is no longer on the team, the obvious captain appeared to be Hecht and Pominville.

Despite the assumption that the Sabres will stick with a rotating captain, I think it is likely that they will not do so for this season. I think the pattern that we saw before with Lindy Ruff and the Sabres will hold true, in that after a single year of a rotating captain, that Ruff will pick from those who were captain during that time, and give them the full time job.

The obvious candidates are Jason Pominville, Jochen Hecht and Teppo Numminen. Both Hecht and Pominville were very strong in the role of captain, and would be the go to guys to take on the role. Numminen meanwhile was the alternate captain behind Briere and Drury before having to sit out all of last season due to heart issues. Teppo is unlikely to wear the C, but will probably represent the defense as an alternative captain.

Between Hecht and Pominville, Pominville most likely has the slight edge to act as captain, but unless he signs a contract extension, the team is not likely to grant him the role if only to avoid seeing their captain leave the team again. As such, Hecht (who has a four year contract) becomes the obvious choice. There is also the possibility that the two of them are named co-captains as the team has done before. In fact the last captain that was neither a co-captain or a rotating captain was Stu Barnes.

Teppo back for at least one more season

Teppo Numminen has signed a one year $1.1 million contract with the Buffalo Sabres for this coming season. Teppo was only able to play in one game last year, but is still in good shape, and although not the fastest player on the ice, he is still a solid and experienced defenseman.

For the Sabres this solidifies there blueline, with a top pairing of Tallinder/Lydman, a second line of Rivet/Spacek, and a third line of Numminen/Sekera. That final pairing will not see as much ice time as the top two, but leaves us with a very capable numbers seven and eight of Weber and Paetsch.

Numminen is accepting a deal of less then half of what he made last season, but I think realizes that at his speed he really can not demand more money. Really it is good to see him playing at all. He worked hard last season just to get in the one game he did play. Hopefully his heart problems are behind him, and we get Teppo for a full season. I would assume that he will even be given a chance to be the alternative captain once again, with Hecht and Pominville taking the other two leadership spots.

A win to finish out the year

After no effort in so many important games, the Sabres showed up to collect a meaningless win over the Boston Bruins. Vanek got a hat-trick, and Thibault got a shutout to give Buffalo a 3-0 victory.

The powerplay finally looked good for Buffalo, with the Sabres scoring on two of their three powerplay chances. Vanek's hat-trick was the fourth of the season (and his career).

Teppo Numminen played his first (and last) game of the season, and finished the year with just over 16 minutes of ice time. Hopefully he is more healthy next year.

Thibault got his second shutout of the year, despite only playing in nine games. Based on his play a few of the times he has been in, I have no idea how this happens.

The Capitals won their game meaning that they secured the last playoff spot for this season. I guess I have to root for Ovechkin to win at least the East.

My Three Stars

Thomas Vanek (three goals)

Derek Roy (two assists)

Jocelyn Thibault (shutout)

Numminen comes 81 games late

Apparently Numminen is expected to play in the Sabres final game of the season. While the team has missed him all season long, there really isn't much of a point in him coming back now. Anyhow he is, and hopefully he resigns with the Sabres to play a full slate of games next season.

Also the whole playoff race is almost completly set already, with still a few days worth of games remaining. The only spot left is reserved for the southeast winner, and can be claimed by the Capitals with either a win, or an overtime loss in their final game of the season. (Otherwise the spot goes to the Hurricanes).

If the Sabres need incentive for their final game against the Bruins, know that if Buffalo wins then the Senators have to face the Capitals in the first round where they are sure to get destroyed.

Lots of goals

The Sabres have scored twenty goals in their last three games. At 3.75 goals per game, they have gotten the lead in goals scored for the second year in a row. If they can keep scoring 6-7 goals every game, they've gotten this season wrapped up.

The NHLPA is suing the NHL on behalf of Numminen, due to him not getting paid for this season. The Sabres seem to mostly be just letting the NHL deal with it, while Teppo himself seems to be focused on getting back on the ice. A high quality defender like him is the thing we need (sorry Funk).

Someone has finally come up with a Kaleta Collision t-shirt, and the honestly look pretty awesome. He really needs to sign a sponsorship deal with Carubba.

The Sabres have a late game against Toronto on Friday night. As good as the team has been, Buffalo still needs to pick up another two points.

Numminen and other notes

Teppo Numminen is back to practicing again and could realistically be back for the playoffs. At the very least the team could use some extra depth on defense as injuries and a trade have left us really lacking there (although Weber has been really good).

The Sabres didn't get any help last night as the teams that needed to lose all won. At the very least there were not any three point games. Technically the Sabres are now a point behind the Capitals (although Buffalo has an extra game to play).

The Maple Leafs let in a very bad shot. Honestly the first time I have ever seen anyone score from behind their own goal line (not counting empty net situations). Furthermore it was shorthanded! Has anyone else in the league beaten a goalie from 174 feet? I would have cut the guy mid game. In reality though he actually had a shutout for the final two periods, and Toronto actually managed a 3-1 win.

Alexander Ovechkin has broken 100 points on the season, and is the first to do so this year. He is also still on track to get over 60 goals. Unfortunately we need his team to lose, so it makes it kindof hard to root for him.

The Sabres play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night. This is a team that Buffalo has historically done very well against, and hopefully they can keep things rolling (they don't have much of a choice at this point).

Numminen out for the season

Teppo Numminen is likely out for the rest of the season due to complications from his surgery earlier this season. After returning to practice and being only a week or two away from being ready to play in a game it now looks as if he will be out for the rest of this season.

His heart is fine, but he will need another few months before he is cleared for contact to allow for his sternum to heal. While that does leave the possibility of him returning midway through the playoffs it is unlikely that the Sabres will want to use him then unless the team has a number of injuries.

Teppo however still plans on returning next season, and we would very happily welcome him back. The Sabres try yet again to get a win in 2008 as they play against the Senators tonight.

Defence is healthy

The Sabres defence is finally healthy. Tallinder was able to finally comeback last weekend, and Kalinin is expected to play tonight against the Islanders. Nolan Pratt will be a healthy scratch and Sekera will be sent back to the Amerks.

Even Teppo Numminen is getting healthy. After needing heart surgery to start the season, he has been practicing with the team, and even went with them on their recent trip. In fact the Sabres are actually healthier now then they were at the start of the season...

Numminen back to practice

The Buffalo News has reported that Teppo Numminen has been practicing with the Buffalo Sabres now for the first time since his heart surgery in October. It looks as if Teppo will be coming back for sure now, and that he will be in game shape around the end of January.

Tallinder has also been getting healthier and is expected to play tonight against the Washington Capitals. Additionally Kalinin looks as if he will be back by next week as well. This will most likely take Sekera and Nolan out of the line up, as the Sabres defense is suddenly getting healthier in a rush. Having Sekera and MacArthur as the teams number one call up guys puts the Sabres in a comfortable condition to be in.

Numminen on the way back

The Buffalo news has reported recently that Teppo Numminen, has been skating, and working on getting back in shape. He still isn't going to be back with the Sabres for awhile, but everything still looks promising.

The Sabres could use Teppo on their penalty kill, as Pratt just isn't cutting it. At this point the optimistic scenario is a mid February return...

Preseason Starts as Teppo Recovers

Teppo Numminen's surgery yesterday went well, with the same 6-8 week recovery time as was originally predicted. That would put his return around mid to late November for the sabres. We wish him the best of luck in recovery.

Reports have come out (of Montreal of all places) that the reason for Afinogenov sitting out a game last playoffs was not due to his poor play but a result of him bounding his head off the floor while attempting to do a flip, while playing soccer. We always knew Afinogenov was a tad bit crazy and this tends to confirm it. Why this wasn't announced right away or how believable this report really is, I'm not sure. Interesting either way.

Also the Sabres have their first pre-season game of the year today at HSBC arena against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The games don't count yet, but it's good to see hockey coming back into season...

Numminen to have Heart Surgery

Sabres veteran defencemen Teppo Numminen has been found to have a minor heart problem during his team physical. Teppo has had heart problems ever since he was young, and this is his third surgery on his heart, still this is never good to see. No details yet on the procedure, but there are alot of scenarios that could play out. Some people are speculating the Teppo may retire from the sport, but I find this unlikely. On the other end of things he might have the surgery right away and be ready to go by the Sabres first game, also not too likely. The way this is looking to play out is that he will have the procedure and then be encouraged by the Sabres organization to take his time in his recovery and to return to the team in mid-November. Last year with Tim Connolly the organization proved that they were more then willing to be patient and to keep a roster spot for a player. Also, with Nathan Paetsch filling in for Teppo, it is doubtful that the Sabres would really be out that much as long as no one gets hurt.

In the long run this is probably going to have a much greater effect on the team through pre-season and the start of the year, than missing either Briere or Drury will have. This hits much closer to home in a player that everyone thought would be there on opening night. Also without Numminen the team loses it's only returning captain. Look for Campbell to wear the A until Teppo returns. Here is to hoping that all goes well...

Update: Report is that Numminen still hopes to play part of the season, and that surgery/recovery will last at least six weeks, possibly a few more. This would put a possible return date around the end of November...