Posted by Marilyn Sarvis, Buffalo Sabres Correspondent
The lack of responsible play in front of Miller isn’t a new phenomena in Buffalo, but it’s a disappointing trend to watch return. The Sabres aren’t up against injuries or illness like an increasing number of teams lately, but they aren’t without their troubles, after dropping a 5-2 decision to the Flyers, the Sabres need to focus on playing well in front of their goalie, or lose against teams that know how to score.
Miller might need a rest tonight
The Sabres take on the slumping Bruins tonight, and should be careful, as the Bruins have dropped their last three contests and were shut out twice in that span- these Bruins will be hungry for a home win.
Though there are teams ailing from losing players, the Sabres have been fortunate on the injury front, besides injuries to Lalime (groin), Lydman (groin) and a few flu bugs keeping some players away from practice, there hasn’t been anything serious that has hampered the team yet. They aren’t facing injuries to some of their best players, a situation the Bruins are in, with Savard and Lucic both on injured reserve.
The Sabres have been proactive to fight the spread of illnesses- right out of training camp there were enough water bottles on the boards at practice for each player- and each was numbered so that there was no mix-up, no potential for spreading any germs.
On the plane, a few players have taken to wearing masks to be careful, though Mair said that it was laughed about at first, it seems to be a very good idea for the players who’d rather play than sit out with the flu.
They haven’t had the hardest of schedules, but the Sabres are 9-3-1 right now, with an interesting goalie situation- if Lalime is not able to play, Jhonas Enroth might get his first NHL start, unless Miller decides he can play again after playing for the loss last night at home.
If Enroth does start, he looks to prove that he can one day be the Sabres starting goalie, and that his play in the AHL right now is not exemplary of his talents in net, and his past efforts support this thought- Enroth was the top ranked European goaltender when he was drafted, and played well last season in Portland.
Jhonas Enroth
If tonight’s the night for Enroth, the Sabres will have to play like they have in the games they have won, and support their rookie goalie to the best of their ability.
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Miller’s been a wall this season so far, but he was bound to have an off night. He oughta be able to get back on the good foot this week, but they’ll have a couple of toughies B2B at home vs. CGY and then at PHI. REALLY hoping the Sabres can get the monkey off their back vs. the Flyers, since they’ve got Buffalo’s number of late. I’ll be curious to see if Miller starts both, considering Enroth’s struggles against a offensively woeful Bruins squad of late. But considering it was his first NHL start, he’s got nowhere to go but up….I suppose I see MIller going B2B, with Enroth starting vs. FLA on the 18th.
I suppose just as impressive as Miller’s Vezina-like credentials thus-far has been the collective scoring depth in Buffalo. They haven’t needed to rely solely on Vanek or Roy so far. That’s definitely an encouraging sign for the Blades.