Biron yanked in Sabres loss to Nashville
By Rick Anderson
November 14, 2001
Tuesday night in Nashville, Biron had another subpar outing. After allowing two goals on just nine shots, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff had enough. He yanked Biron for the first time this year and replaced him with veteran Bob Essensa. The pulling of Biron was supposed to have a two-pronged effect. Give notice to Biron that he needs to step up and do a better job and to the Sabres team as a whole that they need to get a fire lit under them. The first notice (the one to Biron) has yet to be answered. The one to the team went unheeded as the Nashville Predators whipped the Sabres 4-1, making Buffalo look pretty pathetic in the process.
"We had some guys that just didn't have it tonight," Ruff fumed. "I think we had a few guys that were passengers and you've got to gut it out on a night like tonight."
The Buffalo Bills and the Sabres have a lot in common this year. Both have gutted a ton of high priced veterans in hopes that the youth would pick up the slack. It has not happened in either case. The Bills are 1-7 with quarterback Rob Johnson down for the count with a broken collar bone. Biron, while starting out the season looking like he could indeed replace the legendary Hasek, now looks like a nervous rookie back there. Ruff has to treat Biron with kid gloves because Biron could easily go into the dumpster if not coached properly, and that's the last thing the Sabres need right now. Bob Essensa is not the goalie who could pick up the slack if Biron goes into a prolonged slump. Mika Noronen, who is doing his duty in Rochester of the AHL, is still not ready for the big time quite yet. However, Noronen may be pressed into service if Biron doesn't regain the form he has displayed the past two years.
"It's not the first time and it's not the last time it's happened," Biron said about being yanked from the game. "I don't think I played to my liking in the last few games. You've got to pick away and work harder and harder."
After Nashville had taken a 2-0 lead with 6 and a half minutes left in the second stanza, Ruff decided it was the time for a change in goal, hoping it would add some spark to the team. Essensa, who has lost in his other two appearances.
Scott Hartnell made it 2-0 when he got his own rebound and pushed it through Biron's skates. That infuriated Ruff who quickly motioned to Essensa to get ready to come in.
"You demand that every player has to be on every shift," emphasized Ruff. "You can't take one point for granted. I didn't like the goal they scored so I pulled Biron. In a game where we're battling for maybe a 1-1 tie, I can't have that go in."
Biron agreed with his coach's assessment.
"It was a little bit to spark the team and a little bit to say that we need more than that."
Biron's said. "I didn't like the goal either."
The Sabres were able to get back into the game when Maxim Afinogenov got a pass from Chris Gratton in the slot and the Russian backhanded the puck off defenseman Karlis Skrastins' stick and it got over Predator goalie Mike Dunham for the Sabres only score of the game, at the 3:18 mark of the final period.
Ronning got a one-timer past Essensa with a little over 6 minutes left on the clock when Hartnell fed him with a perfect setup.
The Sabres had a chance at the end when the where to go on a powerplay, but when Essensa was going off for the 6th attacker, Vitali Yachmenev got a hold of the puck and scored into the gaping net.
The Sabres lost Miroslav Satan for the game when he checked Scott Walker into the boards, giving him a concussion. The refs threw the book at Satan, giving him a a five-minute boarding penalty along with a game misconduct.
That infuriated Ruff.
"He didn't hit the guy," Ruff defended Satan. "Miro didn't come from anywhere to hit him. He was battling for position and shoved him. Believe me, there's nothing vicious in that play and Miro's not a vicious player. He's not a hitter, and the referee's got to understand that. Maybe it's a two-minute penalty. It's not a play where you throw a player out of a hockey game."
When you figure that Vaclav Varada was sitting out the second game of his 3-game suspension, the loss of Satan really complicated things for the Sabres offense.
"We lost the bulk of our back end when you take Varada and Satan, your one-two right wingers out," Ruff explained. "I thought to start the third period we came and gave it everything we had."
Essensa was pretty solid in goal, despite allowing Ronning's goal.
"You try to battle and give yourselves a chance to come back,"said Essensa, "and we were able to do that. We just fell one opportunity and one goal short of making it a pretty good ballgame."
Predator coach Barry Trotz is high on Hartnell.
"Scott really stepped up and did some nice things," said Trotz of Hartnell. "I think Scott really asserted himself. You saw why we drafted him. He's big and physical. There are a lot of loose pucks around when he's out there because opposing defenses are looking for him."
HOME
SEASON'S RESULTS
SABRE TALK MESSAGE BOARD
NEWSROOM
99 PLAYOFFS
Martin Biron is not having the season neither he nor the Sabres had hoped he would have. This was his opportunity that he has been waiting for ever since he turned pro when he was 18. Dominik Hasek always stood in his way to become the No. 1 Sabres netminder. This year, the job was all his. Now all he had to do was prove that he deserved to stay as the top goalie for Buffalo.
Sabres' defenseman Richard Smehlik helps out Sabres backup goalie Bob Essensa when Vladimir Orszagh goes in with only Zhitnik to defend him. Essensa made the save, but the Sabres lost anyway, 4-1.br>
[AP Photo/Mark Humphrey]
David Legwand, the 21-year-old center for the Predators, got a nice pass from Cliff Ronning and rifled a shot off Biron's glove to break the scoreless deadlock a little over 13 minutes into the game.
The Predators' Scott Hartnell tackles Sabres' defenseman Jay McKee in the first period of the Sabres loss 4-1 to Nashville.
[AP Photo/Mark Humphrey]
THE PLAYERS
STATISTICS
SCHEDULE
PROSPECTS
LIVE GAME RADIO
HISTORY
TEAM INFO
PHOTO GALLERY
MULTIMEDIA
SABRES POLL
TROPHY CASE
LINKS
THE STAFF
E-MAIL SABRESWORD
Copyright © 2001 Sabres Central, all rights reserved
