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Hockey Hugs: Tiny St. Louis; Cuddles from the Beanpot; Anthony Stewart loves you (Yahoo! Sports)
Hockey Hugs is a feature that celebrates the best in hugging from around the NHL, because who doesn’t love a good hug now and then? Seen a particularly good hug photo lately? Send it to puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or tweet @HarrisonMooney.
Welcome once again to Hockey Hugs, the feature that celebrates hockey’s extra-special moment when two dudes bring it in.
February is when the hugs get realer, and not just because Valentine’s Day puts everyone in the mood for some action. It’s because we’re in the home stretch of the season now. It’s a great time for hockey hug aficionados because, as the games increase in immediate meaning, so too do the goals, and thereby, the grabby jubilation thereafter.
Even for non-playoff teams, the hugs get better. As clubs try to salvage some dignity from disappointing seasons, they retreat to classic hug-improving motivational tropes like playing for pride and for one another.
For instance, check out the Buffalo Sabres above. Sure, Vanek and Ennis can’t help but frowning after the season they’ve had, but at least they still have friendship.
Friendship is what keeps Matt Moulson going too. As an aside, that’s, like, the fourth time I’ve turned up a photo of the Islanders’ forward hugging from behind. He’s so stealth. He’s like the ninja of cuddles.
More hockey hugs after the jump.
No. 5, Boston College Eagles
Our first hockey hug comes to us from The Beanpot. In this photo, Boston College forward Steve Whitney is mobbed by teammates while shamed Northeastern blueliner Anthony Bitetto tries to crawl away.
I choose to imagine it was the power of love that brought him to his knees, like the moment BC came together, he fell to the ice in awe of their closeness, like “I want to go to there.”
No. 4, Chicago Blackhawks
Did you know that Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are pretty close? Because they totally are. They go on vacations together, and occasionally, pass the time during TV timeouts by getting down on one knee and saying how much they mean to each other in front of their teammates.
“Duncan…. sometimes when you jump into the rush… I miss you.”
No. 3, Tampa Bay Lightning
One of the reasons I wholly endorse Tyler Ennis centering the Sabres’ top line is that he’ll have more opportunities to score up there, and tiny guys make for the best hockey hugs. Case in point: Tampa’s Martin St. Louis. I made this photo nice and big just so you could appreciate what makes it so awesome. Scroll down.
Aw. That’s adorable. Seriously, he looks like a five-year-old being hugged by his dad. Someone needs to photoshop a stick of cotton candy into his right hand.
No. 2, Carolina Hurricanes
Anthony Stewart’s feeling amorous. I love the look on his face. It’s like that “I’m so into you right now” gaze that cats give you right after they wake up.
“Mmmmmmmmm… oh hey there. Don’t mind me. Just hugging my friend Cam Ward. My best friend Cam Ward.”
No. 1, Philadelphia Flyers
But nothing, and I mean nothing, can beat a good leaping superhug, and this mid-air embrace between Daniel Briere and Brayden Schenn is one of the best ones I’ve seen. The way I see it, they started on the ground, and this photo was taken at the exact moment Briere realized that they were no longer there. It’s like that scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie and Grandpa Joe sample the Fizzy Lifting Drinks.
“Help! We’re floating!”
GARTH: Quiet Riot
The team will get back to work tomorrow installing the game plan to for their two gargantuan games this weekend, against Boston at home on Friday night, and, the Rangers on Saturday night in King Lundqvist’s Castle.
The waters are calm and tranquil today in Pegulaville, however, the undertow is fast and furious. Trade winds continue to swirl at the convergence of where the Mighty Niagara meets Lake Erie.
The Sabres have some decisions to make regarding their long term roster and cap in the
next five days. They have UFAs-to-be to deal with in Gaustad, Boyes, and Hecht. They have Derek Roy and Jordan Leopold consider, who each have one year remaining on their present deals.
Gaustad’s trade value continues to surge upward as the hours elapse between now and the 2/27 3pm NHL Trade Deadline.
As I told you earlier this week, I won’t be surprised if Gaustad is traded at the deadline. Nor, will I be surprised if the Sabres decide to keep him and re-sign him to a multi-year (2-3) year contract extension. Gaustad is not a kid or a prospect anymore. He’s a grizzled NHL veteran who has earned the right to test the open market. Scouts o’plenty have been taking notes on Gaustad’s impressive play ever since he returned to the lineup on January 24 in New Jersey. These days, Gaustad’s stock is rising with each and every shift that he skates. he and his agent are well aware of the buzz in the twittersphere and blogosphere. Goose is no longer being viewed as a 4th line plugger who is devoid of talent and ability. Goose is the exact embodiment of what GMs want for their teams and their playoff push. He’s big, strong, nasty, driven, and competes like a beast. He’s like a belt sander– he uses his 6’5 235ib frame to grind enemies into saw dust, see Geno Malkin and John Tavares as evidence.
thanks, sabres.com
Gaustad stated earlier this week that he and Sabres GM Darcy Regier met last weekend to discuss among other things, his options and who may be interested in him from the outside.
The Detroit Red Wings learned on Tuesday that their uber-centre, Pavel Datsyuk, had to undergo knee surgery and that he’d be lost to his team for 2-3 weeks. Right around the same time, the Blackhwaks’ Jonathon Toews developed a lower body issue that prevented him from playing on Tuesday night. The Bruins have a desperate need for a centre to replace Rich Peverley who gacked his MCL last week and is out for 4-6 weeks, or more. Toronto and San Jose have been peeping Gaustad because they covet his size and his faceoff prowess. Nashville are interested, too. Colorado have been fans of Gaustad for some time now and are looking to add a seasoned veteran to their lineup to mentor their brilliant young stud forwards in Duchene, O’Reilly, Landeskog, Statsny, et al.
Goose is a core guy, a homegrown hyroponically created success story. He has served his team mates and the Sabres very well for years. He’s a home grown success story. Regier drafted him, and he learned the NHL craft by playing in the Rochester incubator with Miller, Vanek, Roy, and Pominville. He’s played a leadership role with the club for several years, and my guess is that Regier wanted to speak with him directly to keep the lines of communications wide open at this critical juncture in the player’s NHL career. Goose has many options, which includes signing and new deal (short term) staying in Buffalo for the near future, or, moving on to the next stage of his career with another NHL club. Truehockey.com reported last Friday that talks between the Sabres and Gaustad had come to an impasse. Gaustad has said that there have no been substantive contract talks between his agent and the Sabres. Thats not to say that something isn’t percolating today. Things change. People change. Especially when a player is staring down the double barrels of the open market.
Last week, I’d have told you that I thought that the Sabres would be moving Goose out at the deadline, especially after the disappointing losses to New Jersey, Philly, and Montreal. The win over Pittsburgh gave me pause to reflect. the Islanders victory changed my mind. Speaking to Gaustad after the Isles game, I got the impression that Goose is loving every minute of skating with his bros, Gerbe and Kaleta, who by the way have told me in no uncertain terms that they love and respect their big man in the middle. The 42-28-36 line is locking down and rendering useless the opponent’s top line these days. They are attacking like pit bulls. Their collective jam and tenacity on a shift by shift basis is setting the example by which all of the other 9 forwards and 6 d are playing. Tyler myers told me after the Islanders game that its so obvious to everyone in the room that gaustad, Gerbe, and Kaleta
are upping the ante and are playing with a hell-bent for leather purpose that its permetaed the entire squad. Their production and destruction is contagious. Ask him, like I did Tuesday night, and he’ll tell you that his line and his team can play better. He’s not satisfied. Not yet.
For this reason, I think Goose will stay right where he’s at. Its just a feeling I get speaking with him and his bros. He’s a man now, however, he grew up in Buffalo. He made his name here. He’s a blue collar guy in a rustbelt town. he pulls his Carhart and Wolverine Dura Shocks on everyday, much the same way that you and I do. He IS Buffalo.
Might Gaustad decide to leave? Sure. Anything can happen in this crazy game. Darcy Regier may get inundated with offers that include combinations of first round draft picks and existing players for a package that makes Goose the centre piece of the deal. In this crazy market place, a rival GM may make Regier an offer that he cannot refuse. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens. All things equal, I think Gaustad will remain a Sabre.
I think you’ll see Roy, and Boyes leave at, or before, the NHL Trade Deadline. Roy’s stock is inching up by each and every passing shift. Boyes has an expiring deal and can perhaps be this season’s Max Lapierre or Chris Higgins– a useful deadline acquisition who can play a role for a contender in the post season. I also think the team has to look hard at trading Reggie Sekera, not because he cannot play, however because he’s a top 4 D who can eat fat minutes and play PP and PK. Ehrhoff obstensibly replaces Sekera in the lineup. Moving him out makes room for Brayden McNabb to re-join the Sabres and resume his impressive inaugural NHL season. Gragnani can also be a trade option, however, Sekera has more NHL experience and carries more cache and value for contending teams.
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You guys should know by now that I am a huge honk for the local music scene in Western New York and Southern Ontario. I have a tremendous amount of respect for musicians who can perform their art and passion live, in front of a human sea. I’m envious. I kick myself everyday for not taking guitar lessons seriously as a kid. Must be the reason why I admire musicians of all genres and all walks of life and all ability levels. It takes a special breed of cat to put yourself and your talents out there for public consumption.
@timjbritt follows me on twitter and is a frequent contributor to the discussions we have about the Sabres.
Tim Britt will be kicking off the Big Eyed Phish show at 7 p.m this Saturday at The Tralf. Tim will be followed by Off The Cuff. Tickets are $ 10 in advance, $ 14 day of show and can be purchased online through Ticketmaster.
Support local music.
He asked me for a re-tweet to promote his upcoming showcase. I’ll do you one better, Tim. Play your music for my 100,000 unique readers. The mic is hot and the stage is yours, my man.
Great job, Tim.
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GARTH: Happy Pegula Day!
Mr. Pegula promised changes, on and off the ice, and he has delivered. Now that his team is healthy, for the first time in a long time, hope springs eternal. Making the Playoffs doesn’t seem like such a lofty expectation now, do it?
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Ryan Miller is in the zone.
31 shots. 30 saves. A half dozen of which were 100% USDA Grade A Choice, primo, point blank chances.
Like this gem on Matt Moulson in the dying moments of a 2-1 game, late in the third period:
Franz Neilsen had just scored to draw the Islanders to within a goal with a little less than five minutes to play in regulation. There have been times this season that Miller would have allowed the goal to be scored. Not so in the past 10 or 11 games. Miller has been in the zone.
He’s Killer Miller.
Take a look at his greatest saves of the games:
Here’s Miller’s post game presser:
thanks, sabres.com
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Tyler Myers got the Pegula Day festivities started in grand fashion, with his 6th goal of the season.
I told Myers that he’s been reminding me of NBA big man, Dirk Nowitzki, the way that he is running the floor with such confidence.
“I feel good, and I want to join and help out. That puck popped out and found me and I put it away”.
Here’s Myers after the game:
At 1-0, the Sabres were not done.
The Sabres speed and quick-up attack produced a glorious 4-on-2 scoring opportunity for Derek Roy. The D-man did a good job of riding Roy behind the net, however, the sneaky Roy threaded the needle to Thomas Vanek, all alone in the slot.
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Before the news cameras jammed into Paul Gaustad’s stall after the win, I spoke with him about his line’s domination of the other team’s top offensive lines in the past five game.
“Wow. Tonight was a battle. Our menatlity is to try to make it hard on opponents and their top lines. We’ve done a great job so far. Credit goes to our defense, too”.
All things equal, the Sabres brought the pain against the Tavares line, as they had against the Malkin line on Sunday afternoon.
“We have to agitate them. We know we have to get points. We can’t give up any points right now and I think we played a solid 60 minute game against the islanders”.
Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta have been a miserable lot to play against for the past couple of weeks. They play hard hockey and they spear no quarter. Goose isn’t about to take his foot off the intensity pedal right now.
“The injuries were hard on us, between myself, Gerbs and Patty. Over the Summer we spent a lot of time working on our chemistry. We’ve kept it simple, and that the name of our game. We have a job, and we have to execute it. Its hard on lines when they have to come 200 feet. We have to continue to play hard on the other team and their best lines”.
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Pat Kaleta loves the physical style of hockey his teammates have been playing in the past few weeks.
***
By virtue of the Sabres win, the Leafs loss in OT, and the Jets OT loss to Flyers, the Sabres (59 points) now trail eighth place TOR and WPG (65 points) by only 6 points.
HAPPY PEGULA DAY!
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Lindy Ruff likes what he sees from Miller and his 12 forwards and 6 D:
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Tuesday’s Three Stars: Carter’s trick; Vrbata ‘Radims’ Coyotes; Pavelec makes 50 saves (Yahoo! Sports)
The Phoenix Coyotes celebrate a goal as Jonathan Quick continues to search for his contact lens.
No. 1 Star: Jeff Carter, Columbus Blue Jackets
In his 500th game (and maybe because of it), Carter looked like the motivated, lethal scorer the Blue Jackets traded for last summer. He was unstoppable in the first period, lighting the lamp twice and dropping the gloves with Tommy Wingels. Here’s the second goal:
Carter added another tally to complete the hat trick early in the third, cementing the 6-3 win over the San Jose Sharks, who are now 1-4-1 on their 9-game road trip.
No. 2 Star: Mike Fisher, Nashville Predators
A game-time decision for the Predators because of illness, Fisher clearly made the right call. The Nashville centre opened the scoring for the Preds, then set up both Sergei Kostitsyn’s shorthanded game-winner and David Legwand’s late insurance goal as the Predators ended the Vancouver Canucks’ regulation unbeaten streak with a 3-1 victory.
No. 3 Star: Radim Vrbata, Phoenix Coyotes
This game went to a shootout, as expected, but it wasn’t to break the 0-0 tie for which most were braced. Instead, it was to break a surprising 4-4 deadlock. The Los Angeles Kings left disappointed: they led this game 3-0 at the end of the first, but that’s when Radim Vrbata came alive, scoring a quick one and assisting on another to cut the lead to one early in the second. He then scored the game-tying goal with only three minutes remaining in the third. Mikkel Boedker scored the shootout winner to give Phoenix the 5-4 win.
Honourable mention: Andrew Ladd scored twice, Tim Stapleton had three assists, and Winnipeg Jets’ goaltender Ondrej Pavelec made a batcrap insane 5o saves in a 5-4 heartbreaker to the Philadelphia Flyers. Outshot 2-1, the Jets were 10 seconds away from stealing the win before Wayne Simmonds tied the game and Jaromir Jagr scored the overtime winner:
… Mark Fayne scored the overtime winner in embarrassing fashion as the New Jersey Devils knocked off the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-3 in overtime. It wasn’t embarrassing for him, mind you, but for Leafs’ netminder Jonas Gustavsson, who, um, really shouldn’t have let this in:
… Ryan Miller made 30 saves and came 5 minutes from posting a shutout in the Buffalo Sabres’ 2-1 win over the New York Islanders… Marc Andre-Fleury did post a shutout in the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-0 win over the New York Rangers. It was the 22nd timed he’s posted a goose egg for Pittsburgh, tying Tom Barrasso’s franchise record. Evgeni Malkin had a hand in both goals, scoring one and picking up a helper on the other… Eberle and Sam Gagner led the way in the Edmonton Oilers’ 6-1 walloping of the Calgary Flames. Both had a goal and two assists… the Dallas Stars topped the Montreal Canadiens 3-0. Ryan Garbutt scored his first career goal, Kari Lehtonen made 31 saves for the shutout, and Mike Ribeiro’s ate the Montreal crowd’s delicious boos when he was jeered for being named the game’s first star in his return to Montreal… Steven Stamkos showed he wouldn’t miss Steve Downie, picking up three points — including his 41st and 42nd goals — in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 3-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks… Jimmy Hayes had a goal and an assist as the Chicago Blackhawks made the Detroit Red Wings a below .500 hockey team on the road with a 2-1 win…
Did you know? The Phoenix Coyotes are 9-1-1 in their last 11 and have tied the San Jose Sharks for the Pacific Division lead.
Dishonourable mention: Ryane Clowe played an undisciplined game for the Sharks… Jonas Gustavsson’s overtime flub might have been the worst goal he allowed, but it was close. The Devils could have slid a plate of spaghetti between his legs without staining his pants. He didn’t help himself after the game with this quote: “It’s about maybe paying attention—some extra focus in those situations.” Yes, Leafs Nation, you lost valuable points because your goalie wasn’t paying enough attention.
GARTH: Killer Miller
31 shots. 30 saves. A half dozen of which were Grade A, primo, point blank chances.
Like this gem on Matt Moulson in the dying moments of a 2-1 game, late in the third period:
Franz Neilsen had just scored to draw the Islanders to within a goal with a little less than five minutes to play in regulation. There have been times this season that Miller would have allowed the goal to be scored. Not so in the past 10 or 11 games. Miller has been in the zone.
He’s Killer Miller.
Take a look at his greatest saves of the games:
Here’s Miller’s post game presser:
thanks, sabres.com
****
Tyler Myers got the Pegula Day festivities started in grand fashion, with his 6th goal of the season.
I told Myers that he’s been reminding me of NBA big man, Dirk Nowitzki, the way that he is running the floor with such confidence.
“I feel good, and I want to join and help out. That puck popped out and found me and I put it away”.
Here’s Myers after the game:
At 1-0, the Sabres were not done.
The Sabres speed and quick-up attack produced a glorious 4-on-2 scoring opportunity for Derek Roy. The D-man did a good job of riding Roy behind the net, however, the sneaky Roy threaded the needle to Thomas Vanek, all alone in the slot.
****
Before the news cameras jammed into Paul Gaustad’s stall after the win, I spoke with him about his line’s domination of the other team’s top offensive lines in the past five game.
“Wow. Tonight was a battle. Our menatlity is to try to make it hard on opponents and their top lines. We’ve done a great job so far. Credit goes to our defense, too”.
All things equal, the Sabres brought the pain against the Tavares line, as they had against the Malkin line on Sunday afternoon.
“We have to agitate them. We know we have to get points. We can’t give up any points right now and I think we played a solid 60 minute game against the islanders”.
Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta have been a miserable lot to play against for the past couple of weeks. They play hard hockey and they spear no quarter. Goose isn’t about to take his foot off the intensity pedal right now.
“The injuries were hard on us, between myself, Gerbs and Patty. Over the Summer we spent a lot of time working on our chemistry. We’ve kept it simple, and that the name of our game. We have a job, and we have to execute it. Its hard on lines when they have to come 200 feet. We have to continue to play hard on the other team and their best lines”.
****
Pat Kaleta loves the physical style of hockey his teammates have beenplaying in the past few weeks.
***
By virtue of the Sabres win, the Leafs loss, and the Jets OT loss to Flyers, the Sabres (59 points) now trail eighth place TOR and WPG (65 points) by only 6 points.
HAPPY PEGULA DAY!
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More to come
Miller stops 30 in Sabres’ 2-1 win over Isles (AP)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP)—Ryan Miller made 30 saves, including stopping Matt Moulson on the doorstep with 4:04 left, and led the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Tyler Myers and Thomas Vanek staked the Sabres to a 2-0 lead, and Buffalo won its second in a row since an 0-3-1 skid. Jason Pominville and Derek Roy had two assists for Buffalo (26-27-7), which jumped a point ahead of the Islanders (25-27-8) in the Eastern Conference standings.
Frans Nielsen scored with 5:08 left to snap the Islanders’ goal drought at 106 minutes, 51 seconds, a day after New York lost 6-0 at home to Ottawa. The inconsistent Islanders are 4-5-1 in their past 10 games.
With New York pressing for the tying goal, Moulson was set up at the right post but he was robbed by Miller, who made a sprawling save. Miller was also sharp 13 minutes into the second period, when he stopped Brian Rolston on a breakaway and then got his chest up to foil Josh Bailey on the rebound.
The loss to Buffalo came with former NHL star Doug Weight filling in behind the Islanders bench because head coach Jack Capuano was sick with the flu at the team hotel.
Watching his team play from afar couldn’t have made Capuano feel any better as the Islanders gave up a goal in the first four minutes of each of the first two periods.
It was another fast start for the Sabres, and another early goal given up by Kevin Poulin. The goalie lasted just 1:35 on Monday before getting yanked after he allowed two goals on five shots against Ottawa.
This time, Myers opened the scoring on the third shot during a scramble in front. After Poulin stopped Roy driving to the net, and then Pominville, he had no chance when Myers streaked in from the point and flipped the loose puck over him.
The Sabres were coming off a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh in which they opened the scoring 52 seconds in.
Poulin had no chance on Vanek’s goal, scored 3:41 into the second period after a bad line change by the Islanders.
Rather than going immediately to the bench, Brian Rolston chased down the stick he dropped in the Sabres’ corner. He didn’t realize that teammate Matt Martin was still behind him, limping off.
Enjoying what essentially became a 5-on-3 advantage in the New York end, Roy parked himself behind the net and fed a pass into the slot, where Vanek snapped a shot in the open side.
Poulin went the distance and stopped 35 shots.
The Islanders actually had the game’s first scoring chance, but Michael Grabner was stopped by Miller in close in the first minute.
Grabner had no luck five minutes into the second period when his shot from in tight hit the post. The rebound caromed into the slot, but Grabner sent it fluttering into Miller’s chest.
NOTES: Sabres D Robyn Regehr didn’t return after sustaining an undisclosed upper body injury in the first period. … Bailey didn’t return for the third period because of back spasms. … Capuano traveled with the team to Buffalo on Monday, but was unable to attend the team’s morning skate on Tuesday. … Though Myers’ goal came on the Sabres third shot, New York has allowed a goal on the first shot 10 times this season.
GARTH: Pegula Day Eve
Sabres need to win two points tonight to make this thing interesting. Losses by Leafs, Bolts and jets would be beneficial too.
The Isles lead the Sabres by one point in the Leastern standings.
Warm-ups are under way.
“Renegade of Funk” pulsating through the sound system!
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Oh, the memories…
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No Jack Capuano tonight for Islanders. He’s suffering the ill-effects from the stomach flu that is running through the digestive tract of the Islanders. The same bug grabbed Evgeni Nabakov last weekend.
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Sabres Trios:
26-9-29; 23-63-21; 42-28-36; 37-22-54
D:
Ehrhoff-Weber
Leopold-Myers
Regehr-Sekera
Miller tending bars
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1-0 Sabres
Didn’t take long to get this party started.
Leino and Pommer converge on Poulin, who leaves a big fat Calgary steak in his crease. Whammo! Tyler Myers gobbles it up in one fell swoop!
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2nd Period:
All Sabres in period one.
Pat Kaleta led his team with 7:59 seconds in TOI. 1;19 of it was on the PK.
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2-0 Sabres
Roy tears ass up ice with puck on 4 on 2. No shot option as D rode him off. Roy fires puck from Wayne Gretzky’s Office to HDTV. #boomroasted
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GARTH: Upward Mobility
“Its another Playoff game tonight against a desperaye team (Islanders)”, Gerbe told me today after the skate.
With some harmonic convergence, help from above, a little bit of luck, and a win over Tavares and the Isles, the Sabres could close the gap to five points on the the eighth and final Playoff seeding .
Here’s the formula for success:
Sabres win + Leafs loss to Devils + Jets loss to Flyers= 5 point gap on Toronto.
For good measure, it would be nice of the Ducks to beat the Bolts.
Gerbe and his Sabres are focused on chipping away at the stone.
“We gotta climb over guys now. Its not easy. We have to keep out working our opponents”.
Gerbe, Gaustad, and Kaleta have been grinding the other team’s top line for the better part of the past couple of weeks. The results have been dramatic. On Sunday afternoon, 42-28-36 were Buffalo’s most productive trio, as they denies pucks and big ice to Malkin. The results were impressive. You’re not going to shut down an MVP candidate like Malkin for 60 minutes, especially when you consider the type of dominant season that #71 has hea dfor his team this season.
“We played him hard the entire game. He’s not an easy guy to contain but I think we did a good job of it”, Gerbe told me. “If we don’t , we’re in trouble, ya know? As a group, we take a lot of pride in doing what we have to do to help our team win. Its that simple. Thats the way we are playing right now.”
Gerbe told me back during training camp that he deliberately stayed put in Buffalo for teh Sumemr so that he could workout and pal around with his hockey brothers, Gaustad and Kaleta. Gerbe took classes at Boston College when the Sabres were eliminated from the post season by the Flyers. When he was done, he high tailed it right back to erie County so that he could work out with and bond with his boys. The 42-28-26 line was Buffalo’s best line against the Flyers last spring, and the thought process was that they would carry over that momentum and confidence into the 2011-12 season. Their hard work and their mutual admiration for one another has manifested itself in an impressively productive way in this the most critical juncture of this controversial Sabres season.
“Yeah, we did put a lot of work in over the Summer. We really haven’t played that much together this season. We’ve been in and out of the lineup (with injuries). We’ve played some games together. Its nice to be back with one another now. Definitely, they (28 and 36) work hard and its easy to see how I fit in with them. Every night’s a new challenge for us, so we have to be ready”, Gerbe said.
Untimely injuries knocked Gerbe, Goose, and PK36 out of the lineup for extended periods of time. Their ability to play together was thwarted while the Three Amigos spent time away from the rink, healing from their battle scars. Goose emerged after the break a different player. he was healthy for the forst time in a long time, and he has played the role of hot 220 volt power line ever since he returned to good health. being reunited with his bros Gerbe and Kaleta has been another added bonus for the Sabres. The 2-1 shootout win helped to energized the team to a 5-1-1 win streak, that was unceremoniously disrupted by losses to Philly, New Jersey and Montreal last week. On Sunday afternoon, on national TV, 42-28-36 were the best line on the ice as they harrassed Malkin and the Pens and generally created havoc for the Burgh’s skilled players.
” We’ve been playing very week since that Jersey game back then. We’ve had a couple bad games here and there, but we’ve been much better lately”, Gerbe told me.
I asked him to rank Paul Gaustad on all-time best line mates to play with in his hockey career.
“Wow.. he’s definitely up there, thats for sure. I think we play well together and we read off each other very well at this level. He’s definitely up near the top, for sure.”
Like a big brother?
“(Laughing” Yeah. You know… I get into a few scrums for him like he does for me.”
Like last week, when Max Talbot of the Flyers decided to play the jackass card when he bottle capped Gerbe from behind in a scrum in the crease. Gerbe’s helmet flew to the ice and he immediate impaled Talbot with a spear and he drove the quasi-tough guy 15 feet backwards.
“He stands up for everyone on this team and that says a lot of him. To play with him, me and Patty, we have to follow his lead and always be ready”.
Its a simple game that Gerbe-Gaustad-Kaleta have to play to be successful:
60 Minutes Of Hell
“We know how hard it is to play these games at this time of the year. We, as a line, have to make things even harder on the opponent. Like tonight, they (Islanders) have a lot of success against us with their top line, so we have to be ready for them. You gotta be good with these guys, gotta be good with the puck. You gotta start there. We wanna go straight up and down and skate hard”
I asked Gerbe how he would feel if Gaustad was not with the team after the NHL Trade Deadline next week.
” I try not to think about trades and all that. But if that happens, what can you do? Its a part of the business”
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UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, Feb. 24 Boston at Buffalo, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25 Buffalo at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 29 Buffalo at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
Thursday, March 1 Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 3 Buffalo at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
ISLANDERS at SABRES
-This is the fourth and final meeting between the Sabres and Islanders this season.
-Last meeting: Buffalo defeated New York, 4-3 (SO), in New York on Feb. 4.
-The Sabres are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Islanders; 5-4-1 at home.
-This is the 150th game all-time between Buffalo and New York; Buffalo leads the series with a 72-55-22 record. Buffalo is 40-23-11 against the Islanders at home.
STORYLINES
The Sabres have four players entering tonight’s game on a three-game point streak: Derek Roy (2+3), Tyler Ennis (2+1), Tyler Myers (1+2) and Nathan Gerbe (0+3). For Ennis and Gerbe, the three-game streaks tie the longest point streaks of their careers.
Paul Gaustad has seven points in his last 10 games (3+4).
The Sabres got two points on Sunday afternoon after four straight games without a win, beating the Penguins by a score of 6-2 at home.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Jason Pominville is ranked fourth in the NHL with 37 points (15+22) in home games; Pominville has 23 points (5+18) in 24 career games against the Islanders… Buffalo is 21-3-2 when allowing two or fewer goals and 20-4-3 when scoring three or more… The
Sabres are 16-4-4 when Derek Roy records a point and 14-4-1 when Christian Ehrhoff records a point… In his career, Buffalo is 32-9-6 when Tyler Ennis records a point (5-1-2 this season).
GOOSE IS LOOSE
Paul Gaustad has converted on 20 percent of his shots in the last 10 games, scoring three goals on 15 shots. Gaustad, who has averaged a TOI of 16:28during that stretch, has also been hot on the draw recently. His faceoff percentage of 61.7 percent during those
games has improved his season numbers to 56.8 percent, good for ninth in the league.
LOOKING FOR A FAST START
Both teams will likely be looking to get on the board early tonight, as the Sabres are 16-7-5 when scoring first (9-20-2 when opponent scores first) and the Islanders are 18-5-5 when scoring first (7-21-3 when opponent scores first). Both teams also find significantly more
success when leading heading into the intermissions, with nearly identical records:
Leading After 1st (Trailing) Leading after 2nd(Trailing)
BUF: 13-3-4 (4-15-0) 16-0-2 (3-22-2)
NYI: 13-0-6 (4-17-2) 13-1-5 (2-23-2)
RESTING UP
Buffalo has played seven games this season against opponents who had played the day before while the Sabres had the day off. They are 6-1-0 in those games and 32-12-3 (.713) in these games since the lockout. The Islanders –who had a 1 p.m. game against the
Senators yesterday –are 2-1-1 this season in four games as the team on the back-to-back, including a shootout loss to Buffalo on Feb. 4 on Long Island. They are 25-34-7 in these games since the lockout