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‘Herd About Buffalo' collection
| Heads need to roll to get Sabres back on track! Now that the Sabres season is officially over and they are once again headed to the golf course to "perfect their swing," the Sabres need to gut their entire front office, starting with Larry Quinn and then getting someone like Rick Dudley in as the new GM. The only unfortunate thing is that something like this only happens on every other team that fails to measure up, not the Sabres. Tom Golisano is very happy with the 3-headed Monster that is destroying any credibility the team has on the ice. Quinn, Darcy Regier, and Lindy Ruff have been together way too long. There is so much of a comfort level between the three that it translates onto the ice. The players reflect this coziness and have become a soft team. That "Mr. Softie" moniker that has been given to Sabres goalie Ryan Miller is a better description of the team as a whole than Miller. At least Miller had a better season than last and earned his contract. The rest of the players in the locker room cannot say the same, except maybe for Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy. Outside of those 3, the players had a major meltdown on the ice this season.
Should Ruff & Regier be fired? Times are tough in Buffalo. The jobless rate is soaring and Buffalo has been
ranked in the top ten most miserable cities in this country. Even so, the Sabres
fans have been digging deep into their pockets all season to support a team that
they need to lift their spirits. The Sabres have failed to do that, and in fact,
are making things even more miserable in Buffalo these days.
It's been almost a season and a half since Daniel Briere and Chris Drury departed the Sabres and the huge hole they left behind has yet to be filled. The Sabres have not replaced the firepower that they lost when those two left. Add to the mix the loss of Brian Campbell, and the Sabres are lacking enough scoring to propel them into the playoffs this season. It could be their second straight season of sitting out the playoffs. The lack of firepower was evident in their 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals Friday night. That was the Sabres third straight loss and teetering on the edge of the last playoff position.
Will the real Ryan Miller please stand up?
Until Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ryan Miller looked like
he was out of the funk that plagued him all last season. He put it out of his
head and worked on the things that went wrong last year. Miller was making great
saves again, was confident in goal and was back to being on top in the
shootouts. Last year was just an off year, or so many were starting to believe.
Sabres must maintain focus in fast start
By Rick Anderson
The Sabres, like they did two years ago, are off to a great start. After
beating the Wild on Thursday, Buffalo is now 6-0-0-1. Now is not the time to get
too giddy about the fast start. Hopefully all Sabres fans and the Sabres players themselves learned a lesson
two years ago! That's when the Sabres won their first 10 games and breezed all
the way to the Presidents Trophy as the best team in the regular season. All
that is fine and good, but it doesn't get you a free pass to the Stanley Cup
Finals, let alone the chance to sip champagne out of Lord Stanley's Silver.
With the regular season quickly coming to a close, there are a lot of
questions that must be answered in the off season. How can a hockey team fall from grace so quickly? The Sabres were the
Presidents Trophy winner last season and this year most likely won't make the
playoffs at all. Just how could a team be dismantled so quickly? One can look at the youthful mix of players that are trying to fill in the
gapping holes left by the departures of Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and lately
Brian Campbell. The Sabres are a much younger team this year because of the loss
of those three, and they also loss a lot of leadership in the locker room
because of this. However, while the players must shoulder a lot of the blame for
this season that has gone south in a hurry, they aren't the main reason for
the team crashing and burning.
By Rick Anderson
How can a hockey team fall from grace so quickly? The Sabres were the
Presidents Trophy winner last season and this year they may not make the
playoffs at all. Just how could a team be dismantled so quickly? All one has to do is to look at the top, and
that old proverb applies here..."A fish rots from the head." The Sabres three-headed
monster is the reason for the team crashing and burning in just one season. The
three decayed heads of state obviously are GM Darcy Regier, Managing Partner
Larry Quinn and owner Thomas B. Golisano. All three share equally in the sudden
demise of a team that led the entire NHL just one season ago.
By Rick Anderson
This season has been a bipolar roller coaster ride for the Sabres fans. One
day they are down in the dumps, thinking that any playoff hopes are lost, and
then they win 3 straight, averaging almost 7 goals a game. The emotional ride
has hit bottom again after a horrid performance against Toronto Friday night. For the second straight game, the Sabres came out with an uninspiring effort
and fell behind quickly. This time, however, they didn't have any comeback spark
and lost to the Maple Leafs 4-1. By Rick Anderson
The Big #10. The Sabres turned that number on its head Friday night with a
smashing 10-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers. That ended their 10-game losing
streak that stretched to December 26, a 5-3 loss to the Senators. "It's kind of fitting. Ten-game skid. Ten goals," Sabres goalie
Ryan Miller said after the game. By Rick Anderson
The
reasons for the Sabres demise this season has been widely discussed. Many have
given their theories for the fall from grace. After much thought, I've come up
with what could be the reasons for the Sabres sliding from first to last in
their division this season. Sabres losing streak is now 5 The Sabres ship continues to sink
By Rick Anderson
The Great Reversal continues. The Sabres continue their "from first to last"
story as they lost their 5th straight game against the Ottawa
Senators Friday night. Ryan Miller got pulled the first time ever at HSBC Arena in the Sabres 5-3
loss to the Senators. He was none too happy with the move and wish he had the
chance to prove himself the rest of the game. Sabres out-muscle Broad Street Bullies Two game sweep is a Christmas present to fans
and Ruff
Fight, scratch and claw!
That's how the Sabres had to play against
the new version of the Broad Street Bullies. The Sabres were up to the task as
they got all 4 points from the Flyers with two 1-goal victories. It was a
playoff atmosphere at Christmas time. After two exciting games this weekend between the two teams, one thing is
clear: The Sabres and Flyers have to meet in the playoffs! There's no question
that it would be a rock ‘em, sock ‘em series, high with excitement and hits.
The two teams slugged it out over the weekend, with the Sabres beating Philly
both times, 3-2 and 6-5 in a shootout. This mini-series had all the flavor of a
playoff series in June. Sabres fans got a couple of early Christmas presents from the Sabres in these
two thrillers. Some may be kicking themselves (including me), who missed the
Sabres tying goal with 7 second remaining in regulation. That came with the
Sabres winning a faceoff and Jochen Hecht ripping a shot that Thomas Vanek got
his stick on and redirected it past former Sabres goalie Marty Biron. Coming from behind and forcing overtime was a trademark for this team last
year when they had Danny Briere and Chris Drury. Now maybe the Sabres are
re-acquiring that golden touch. By Rick Anderson
It was hoped that with the loss of Captains Chris Drury and Daniel Briere,
that having Tim Connolly for the entire season would help make up for the loss
of goal production and leadership. Connolly has had a tough go of it so far,
first being injured both in the preseason and then he missed 5 games recently
due to a strained abdominal muscle. "I took a shot in the face," said Connolly. "It was just a
stinger."
Sabres finally getting it back with 4th straight win
By Rick Anderson
The Sabres won their 4th straight game and third in a row against
the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night in Montreal. They beat the Canadiens
convincingly 3-0 and Jocelyn Thibault pitched his first shutout as a Buffalo
Sabre. Thibault was giving Ryan Miller a well-deserved rest and Miller was the
happiest Sabre greeting Thibault on the ice after he recorded his shutout. Rattled Sabres digging deeper hole
By Rick Anderson
The Sabres are digging themselves a deep hole that they'll have a hard time
climbing out of. With the 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers Friday night, Buffalo
is entrenching itself in the basement of the Northeast Division. After winning 3 games on the road, they lost in overtime to Boston on
Thursday and continued their downward spiral Friday night and it doesn't get
any easier from here. "You can't really sugarcoat it. We weren't very good," fumed
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff. "I thought we were just flat-out awful at times.
They got us on the run a little bit and we didn't do a lot about it." Loses to Isles put Sabres in big hole By Rick Anderson
This is definitely not the way Lindy Ruff wanted to start the season off.
Playing the Islanders seemed like a good way to get off on a good foot. However,
the Islanders had several new players they signed as free agents during the
offseason, and one was former Senator Mike Comrie. Comrie tormented the Sabres
and goalie Ryan Miller, getting a pair of goals in both games. By Rick Anderson
The Sabres made a move on Thursday that raised a few eyebrows and most likely
tainted their image even further in the eyes of NHL players. When it was
revealed that Teppo Numminen needed to undergo a third heart operation, the
Sabres immediately suspended him. This is yet
another case of the great touch of class that Darcy Regier has shown since he took over
as general manager over 10 years ago.
By Rick Anderson
Who is to blame for the fiasco that occurred allowing the Sabres co-captains
Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to sign with other teams? No matter how they tried
to spin it at their press conference, the Sabres management of Larry Quinn and
GM Darcy Regier bungled the contract negotiations from the get-go. As a result of their mismanagement, Drury signed with the New York Rangers
and Daniel Briere with the Flyers just hours after the free agency period
started on July 1. After Drury signed with the Rangers, he made it clear that the Sabres were
not negotiating like most NHL teams do. They were playing games, offering him a
contract in November and then not presenting him with the official contract. During their press conference on Monday, Quinn and Regier looked like a pair
of shaken politicians trying to cover up a scandal.
By Rick Anderson
Sabres fans better have enjoyed last season, because times are going to
change. It appears that the idea that it was "all or nothing" last season
for the Sabres was true. Buffalo spent up to the cap because it was a last ditch
effort to win the Cup before they implemented their own salary cap to become more financially
responsible.
By Rick Anderson
And suddenly it was over. Daniel Alfredsson got through the defense and shot
the puck to the far corner that somehow beat Ryan Miller. The Ottawa Senators
shed their chains of playoff failures past and put them on the Sabres shoulders.
Alfredsson’s goal gave the Senators a 3-2 overtime win and sent the Sabres to
the golf course after a dismal 5-game series. The day after blowing what could be their last chance to win a Stanley Cup,
the Sabres will look into the mirror and see the reason why they choked. A few
players will have already shaven their playoff beards. Others will do so and
will be tempted to cut their throats in the process. That's what they did on the
ice, cut their own throats by not sacrificing, not playing with the effort,
desire, desperation, drive and hunger necessary to win. Victory at last! Sabres avoid sweep The Sabres staved off elimination and being swept when they held off the
Ottawa Senators for a 3-2 win. This series is a carbon copy of last year's
series between these two teams but only in reverse. Last year, the Sabres won
the first two in Ottawa, won their first game at home before losing to the Sens
2-1 in Game 4. "We felt that if we got one good break, one good period, then we could
get into our game and play the way we want to play," said Sabres co-captain
Chris Drury said. "We were out of synch and doing a lot of things that were
costing us scoring chances against. It was no way to beat these guys." Thursday night, the Sabres struck early, with Derek Roy blocking a Senators
advance out of their zone, getting the puck to Chris Drury. Drury's shot was
then deflected by Roy over Ray Emery just 9 seconds into the game and the Sabres
had the shot of adrenalin they needed.
By Rick Anderson
This is a bigger shock that the October Surprise snowstorm that left the
Buffalo area in the dark for over a week and wrecked havoc on trees and homes.
The high-powered Buffalo Sabres have had a week-long blackout of their own and
it doesn't look like the lights will come on anytime soon. The Sabres found yet another way to lose to the Ottawa Senators Monday night.
Only one man showed up, Ryan Miller, and he had to face the entire barrage of
the Senator arsenal alone. Senators take 2-0 lead in series Dramatic comebacks have been the Sabres signature this season. They have
staged last second dramatics too many times to count on both hands all year.
Once again, on Saturday night in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the
Sabres were desperately trying to avoid defeat. With just 5.8 seconds left,
Daniel Briere scored to force overtime and raise the roof on HSBC Arena once
more time. Fans couldn't believe that this could happen on more time. A week earlier,
Chris Drury had scored with 7.7 seconds left in Game 5 against the Rangers to
force a tie that the Sabres would win in overtime. This time, however, the fate
had something different in store for them.
By Rick Anderson
It was an abomination on the ice. The Buffalo Sabres looked like a deer in
the headlights Thursday night to open Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals
against the Ottawa Senators. The final score was 5-2, but it could have been 9-2
had Ryan Miller not played spectacular. The Sabres laid a huge rotten egg on the ice of HSBC Arena against the Sens.
They saved what was probably their worst game of the season to open the Eastern
Conference Finals. This was a complete team effort. As has been the case for
most of the post season, there was no passion, no heart, no desperation, no
execution. It was an absolutely an embarrassing performance by at team that
prides itself as being the top team in the NHL. Hits since this site was created on April 30, 1999.
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