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I explained in my agenda last week that in order for the Buffalo Sabres to start the 2nd half of the season out on the right foot, they must take 3 of 4 on their western Canada/western U.S. road trip. Mission somewhat accomplished.
The team kicked off their 4 game western swing by absolutely lambasting the Edmonton Oilers 10-2. Buffalo shot a cool 27% chasing former Sabre netminder Dwayne Roloson from the crease after just 10 minutes and 17 seconds of work. Drew Stafford capped off the evening by recording a hat trick which coincidently earned him the coveted pigeon from the Sabres training staff. Congrats on the rat with wings, Drew.
The Sabres took to the road again to play the following night in Calgary where the team buckled in the 3rd period to the high powered Flame offense. For those teams in the Western Conference, I’d be on the look out for this Calgary club come playoff time. Cams and Iggy are a helluvan offensive tandem and Kippers is playing dynamite puck right now. With teams like Chicago, Detroit and San Jose basking in the media spotlight, look for Calgary to ride into the playoffs as the dark horse in the Western Conference.
The team took off from the frozen tundra of Alberta to the desert southwest to face a youthful Coyote team that is battling for a playoff spot with 5 other teams. This game turned out to be a true testament to the determination of this Buffalo Sabre squad. After losing Jaro Spacek to an injury stemming from a crushing hit on Enver Lisin and Nathan Paetsch to the penalty box for on-ice shenanigans with Dan Carcillo, the Sabres were forced to run with 4 defenders for most of the game. The back end held up and Miller sparkled as the Sabres shutout the ‘Yotes 2-0.
The Sabres finished up the road trip in Anaheim to face a tricky opponent in the Ducks. Buffalo stormed out of the gate and dominated Anaheim in the first period. The Ducks returned the favor in the second by peppering Lalime with 20 shots and holding the Sabres to just 6. In the end, Buffalo just ran out of gas and took the loss 3-2.
I think from this road trip the Sabres will be able to put several things in perspective as the season winds down. The first is that Tim Connolly is still a fantastic hockey player. He is on absolute fire right now and could very well be a 80-90 points players if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s made of tin foil. Let’s face it: one big blow to the head and Connolly’s career could be in jeopardy. He certainly deserves a decent sized contract but whether they organization is willing to take a chance remains to be seen. It’s high risk, high reward and we’re going to see here in a few months how dangerously the Sabres are willing to live.
Chris Butler has been a welcomed addition to the team with so many problems on the back end this season. I may modify a statement I made a few weeks back about acquiring a couple defenders before next season. While I still believe a young defender with an offensive upside is ideal, the Sabres certainly could rely on Butler if they decide to forego that route.
Lastly, the Sabres need to address the issue of getting more pucks to the net. While I’d like to say that I have complete confidence in the accuracy of every single player on the ice, I’d rather play it safe and put 30-35 shots on an opposing tender night in and night out. Serving up 15-20 shots a game isn’t going to get the job done down the stretch and if the team is serious about being contenders, it would be advantageous to start firing that puck more.
-Schrembs
schrembs@saucerpass.com
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