Sabres ineptness continues in tie with Isles
By Rick Anderson
Sunday, December 19, 1999

They call this hockey? The Sabres have forgotten that the key element to the game of hockey is to put the puck in the net! The players on this team have already traded their hockey sticks for golf clubs and are taking divots with almost every shot. The Sabres have become the duffers of the NHL.

The Sabres offensive struggles continued last night as they played to a 2-2 tie with the hapless New York Islanders. The Islanders who are struggling at the gate as well as on the ice, put up a stiff fight against the Sabres and both teams came out of the game with a point.

Going into this weekend's games against Florida and the Islanders, it appeared like Buffalo could come out with two wins and get over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Instead, the Sabres lost at home against Florida and could only manage a tie against an Islander team that is dead last in the NHL. Even the expansion Atlanta Thrashers have more one win and two more points than the Isles. Yet the Sabres had a hard time even getting the tie.

Dwayne Roloson sprawls to make a save on Brad Isbister

The Sabres had the lead twice in this game, and twice the Islanders stormed back to tie it. It took a couple former minor leaguers to stick a fork in the Sabres back last night. Niklas Andersson, just up from the IHL, had a hand in both Islander goals. He scored the Islanders' first power play goal in 19 attempts in the second period and then set up rookie Tim Connolly for the game's final goal in the third period.

Going on the road and playing in Nassau Coliseum has been a dream come true for every NHL club this season. The Islanders had not even gotten a point in their last 8 games at home. The fans have been voicing their opinions about their team by showing up as empty seats. Last night only 7,997 were in attendance (it was more like 4,000 in the stands), making it the 5th straight crowd under 8,000. With such a small crowd and the Isles home record, this game should have been a sure two points for the Sabres. Right?

Nothing is sure with this edition of the Buffalo Sabres. Like during the regular season last year, the Sabres played down to the level of their competition.

The Sabres powerplay was once again ineffective. From now on, when the Sabres get the man advantage, it should be called the "powerless play." Buffalo got the man advantage 7 times, including one two-man advantage opportunity. ZERO! Battery dead! The Sabres now are ranked dead last in NHL powerplay efficiency. One goal in their last 47 attempts. The Sabres seem to get more scoring opportunities while playing shorthanded.

"There seems to be a lack of confidence on our power play, and that's what's hurting us offensively," said James Patrick. "Tonight was a microcosm of that."

"I've never seen us miss the net so much," moaned Lindy Ruff. "That hurts you. The power play cost us the game again."

The powerplay is so bad that Ruff would do better to bring in the Rochester Americans best powerplay unit just for man advantage situations.

"Everybody knows it (the Sabres powerless play) but we're still not doing it," Miroslav Satan said. "If we want to make the playoffs we have to win games like this."

Curtis Brown opened the scoring when he got a feed from Satan and broke down the middle after serving a penalty. His shot hit Felix Potvin but got past the goalie and into the net at 6:36 of the opening stanza. This was Brown's first goal in 10 games.

With 10:58 gone in the 2nd period, Andersson got the powerplay goal that gave the Isles new life. The last time Anderson put the puck into the net in the NHL was back on April 5, 1997.

"Of course it feels great," the call-up from Chicago in the IHL said. "I played a lot in Chicago and they played me a lot here tonight."

"He's another guy we called up that we know plays with energy and effort and that's what this is all about," said New York coach Butch Goring. "I think more importantly is when you call people up and they play well. There's a lot of pressure on the people who are hanging around and either way, they get the message."

"We keep saying that a remedy for us is to score the first goal," Goring continued, "but the oddity for tonight is that we got a power-play goal. If we can be even or win the special teams battles, we usually get points."

With the clock winding down in the second period, the Sabres put the pressure on Potvin. The puck came back to Jason Woolley at the left point and he blasted a shot that went through Potvin's legs with only 32 seconds left.

Tim Connolly, the rookie from Syracuse, tied the game when he got a pass from Brad Isbister between the two face off circles, faked three times and finally shot the puck over Roloson who had been knocked down on the play. Roloson reached up for the puck, but couldn't stop its flight into the net.

After scoring, Connolly jumped into the glass boards face first! Not too wise if someone wants to continue their NHL career.

"Being down a goal in the third period, scoring like that was exciting," an exuberant Connolly said.

"When he scores, he scores unbelievable goals," said Goring. "Kids like him are our future. Just wait until they get older and have to shave."

With a little under half a period to go in the game, Michal Grosek was thwarted by Potvin on his wrist shot that was heading for the top corner. Maxim Afinogenov had a glorious opportunity a little while later when he broke in on Potvin on the right side and had an opening on the Isles' goalie. When he shot the puck, his stick broke in half and that foiled the scoring chance.

Afinogenov appeared to be seriously injured right after the game started when New York defenseman Eric Cairns hit Maxim with his left elbow as the Sabres rookie was skating with his head down. Afinogenov did not move on the ice for what seemed like eternity and the fans in Buffalo were holding their collective breaths until Maxim finally went back to the bench. He was bleeding in the middle of his nose and was given medical attention. Mad Max came right back out on the ice during his next shift.

With seven minutes left in the third, Dwayne Roloson robbed Brad Isbister who got a point-blank shot off on Rollie. Roloson made 25 stops on the night. At times it appeared like New York was about to break out and take the lead last night. Roloson, playing his first game since the Leafs beat the Sabres in overtime on December 7, played another exceptional game in the nets. He seems to have picked up the level of his play since last season and could even challenge for the starting job in the nets if Biron falters.

The Sabres had a scare in overtime, as Woolley fell down while trying to control the puck in the Islanders zone and rookie Vladimir Orszagh roared down the ice on a breakaway. As he closed in on Roloson, he fanned on his shot as he skated to Roloson's right side.

"I had a breakaway, but it was kind of bad ice and I was too fast," said Orszagh. "I tried to deke and go high. We worked so hard and we could finally win a game at home and I didn't get it. I can always say we will get them the next time, but it's a bad feeling for me that I didn't score."

If he had scored, the flight back to Buffalo would have been even longer for the Sabres. At least they weren't handed an mortifying loss by the inept Islanders.

As the Sabres are becoming entrenched in mediocrity, the questions are turning into demands. The fans have been patient long enough. The holdouts were the reason for the poor start. Dominik Hasek's injury put off the fans wrath a bit longer. But now the current condition of the team demands an immediate change. Either the players come out and start playing up to their full potential and earning their big paychecks, or the Sabres ship out the players who aren't pulling their weight.

The effort the Sabres have been putting on the ice is deplorable. The same team that took the Dallas Stars to 6 games in the SCF, is only a shadow of its former self. Even the shadow is now dissipating. Time is running out on the Buffalo Sabres. A trade for a goal scorer is essential for this team if they want to make the playoffs.

The Sabres will be without Richard Smehlik for over a week as he has a torn cartilage in his rib cage. Smehlik, who's been the center of trade rumors as of late, was injured Friday night when the Sabres played the Florida Panthers.

To replace Smehlik, Ruff has been playing James Patrick.

"James has done a great job," said Ruff about his veteran defenseman. "It's not like we're taking a step back. We planned on trying to get James back every second or third game."

If Buffalo decides to bring up either Brian Campbell or Mike Hurllbut up from Rochester, they must do so today as the NHL will freeze team rosters until after Christmas. Campbell, who looked solid in his debut in the NHL early this season, has not set the AHL on fire this season. Hurlbut may be the one to get the nod to join the parent team today. However, Ruff is not too sure if the any player down in Rochester can solve the Sabres' scoring problems.

"If we had an answer in Rochester we would bring it, but I don't think there's an answer there," Ruff reasoned. "Obviously, we need somebody for our power play because the guys that are here aren't getting it done."

The Sabres will fly back to New York city Tuesday for their game with the New York Rangers, who have also been struggling this season. Maybe the Sabres can also make the Rangers look like playoff contenders if they continue to play like their hearts are not into the game. The team's chemistry has gone amuck and the time is ripe to add some new ingredients into the equation.

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