Weekend Recap

The games of Friday and Saturday night were a mixed bag for me. On one hand, the Sabres are looking pretty bad. On the other hand, the Flyers are playing like champions.

Let's start with the Sabres so I can get this over with.

Friday night they faced the Atlanta Thrashers. Atlanta is a decent team, but not a team that should really give the Sabres a hard time (at least in my mind). They don't have any superstars. Sure, Dustin Byfuglien is a good player, but I don't think he's that dangerous. But regardless of all that, the Sabres still managed to lose. They played well in the first period, and then dropped off the radar. Atlanta tied it up in the second, and then each team scored in the third. The Sabres lost in overtime when Byfuglien scored the final goal on Ryan Miller.

Saturday night the Sabres played against the Dallas Stars. This game was absolutely boring to watch. The Sabres didn't score any goals, and looked sluggish. Patrick Lalime was in goal for the Sabres. Lindy Ruff made some sort of excuse about the team being tired as their reason for losing. Whatever Lindy, maybe your coaching is tired. Craig Rivet, the Sabres captain, was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row because Lindy is trying send the team a message. Here's a message for you Lindy - learn how to motivate your team. Be a coach.

Now on to something a little more upbeat:


On Friday, the Flyers continued the battle of Pennsylvania when they beat the Penguins with a final score of 3-2. The rivalry between these teams is epic. The fight between Mike Richards and Matt Cooke was quickly followed by a fight between Jody Shelley and Deryk Engelland. I love it when these teams play each other because of how physical the game gets. This game was great to watch. Claude Giroux is really starting to heat up - he scored a shorthanded goal in the first period and a power play goal in the third. Daniel Carcillo scored in the second period. Letang and Kennedy were the goal scorers for Pittsburgh. Rookie goalie Sergei Bobrovsky made 26 saves in the game - not too shabby.

Saturday night's game against the Islanders was a scoring spree for the Flyers. Timonen and Nodl each scored, while Carter and Pronger each scored two goals. In the midst of the scoring, there were plenty of punching, shoving, and high sticking. There were 120 penalty minutes racked up during the game. Danny Briere was especially fiesty during the game. Briere was the first player to get rough after Trent Hunter hit Andrej Meszaros into the boards. Hunter received a five minute major and a game misconduct for the hit. Briere stayed fiesty all the way to the end, when he crosschecked Nielson. A scuffle erupted and lured Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro out of his net for the second time in the game. DiPietro left his net after Hunter's hit on Meszaros. The Islanders were clearly frustrated with how the game was going for them. Bobrovsky played another excellent game with 30 saves. The only goal for the Islanders came from a penalty shot after a weak call by the officials. The Flyers seem to have found their stride. Now that's a team I can root for, especially with Daniel Carcillo tearing it up:


This week the Sabres face the Bruins (Weds), Canadiens (Fri) and Leafs (Sat). The Flyers play the Hurricanes (Mon), Rangers (Thurs) and Islanders (Sat).

Dear Sabres

Dear Sabres,
After the last few games, I was really hoping that last night you would play your hearts out and beat the Philadelphia Flyers. You had two days of rest. You beat the Devils on Saturday. You've left me wanting more.

Thomas Vanek, you really got my hopes up when you scored the first goal of the night. But where you for the rest of the game? You think that one goal is really going to cut it against a team that appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals last season? Shame on you. You hit it and quit it, and that isn't cool. Oh Sabres, I can forgive you for Danny Briere's power play goal that made the score 1-1. Your penalty kill is kind of weak, and Briere is dangerous. But you should know better than to let things like that happen!

Tim Connolly, what were you thinking pushing Briere into the net? You realize you're the reason why Nikolay Zherdev was able to score, don't you? I never really liked you as a player, and now I don't think I ever will. Steve Montador, meet Claude Giroux. He's the Flyer who breezed past you to set up Darroll Powe for the goal that made the game 3-1. Ryan Miller had no chance against those two.

Let me talk about Claude Giroux one more time. He's a player that all you Sabres should know about. He's hot right now, you know, scoring goals and making plays happen. So you shouldn't have been so surprised when he scored right off the faceoff. Yeah, that's right Ryan Miller, that would make the score 4-1. Here's two other Flyers that you should know: Mike Richards and Jeff Carter. Remember when they out played you to make the score 5-1? You're breaking my heart!!

Now I can appreciate the effort you put in late in the 3rd period. I just wish you would have played that way for the entirety of the game. And sure, Paul Gaustad, you were trying to be fiesty and tough. Tyler Myers, you still look like you're a little out of your element, but that goal you scored to make the game 5-2 sure was pretty. Montador, I'm still mad at you, but you should know the goal you scored is going to help me get over it faster.

Ultimately, you boys let me down. A score of 6-3 is shameful. Surely we don't rely on Neidermayer and Pominville that much - we should have won this game. Lindy Ruff, I'm mad at you too. You may be the longest tenured coach in the NHL, but it's time to get these boys moving.

Please get your act together before Friday's game against the Atlanta Thrashers. If you lose that one, I might not be able to cheer for you anymore.

Thanks,
Remmy

Buffalo vs Ottawa, 10/8/10

The Sabres started off the 2010-2011 season last night with a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators.

Before I dig into last night's game, I've got to highlight the players who made an impression on me during the preseason. I caught a good chunk of the game on September 28 against Ottawa, and I was lucky enough to attend the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 1.

CODY MCCORMICK. McCormick is new to the Sabres this year, and he has already impressed me with his play in the preseason. In the game on September 28 against Ottawa, McCormick was feisty and physical. He and Cody Bass were going at each other for the entire game, and fought in the 2nd period - McCormick came away as the winner. I think if he keeps up the physical level of his play, he'll quickly turn into one of my favorite players.

ROB NEIDERMAYER. It's no surprise that Neidermayer has already been a playmaker for the Sabres. He's been in the league for 16 seasons and he's won a Stanley Cup. He's going to have a huge impact just by being a leader on the team. He scored a goal in the preseason against the Leafs, and I'm sure there's plenty more to come throughout the season.

Last night's game wasn't really that pretty to watch. The Sabres seemed like they were all over the place, especially in the first period. Derek Roy scored a beautiful goal 8 minutes into the first period:


The Senators tied the game in the last minute of the 2nd period with a goal from Chris Kelly. Derek Roy scored again during a power play in the 3rd period to win the game for Buffalo. Tyler Ennis assisted on both goals - I think Ennis is definitely a player to watch this year.

The Sabres killed off 5 penalties last night, but seemed to struggle on the power play. Tyler Myers seemed awkward on the ice, like his legs were on backwards. I wasn't impressed with Paul Gaustad either - he looked sluggish. Ryan Miller played well, but still had one or two "oh crap" moments, but that's not really out of the ordinary for him.

A win is a win - way to start the season boys! I'm almost proud enough to go out and buy this shirt designed by Alyssa Milano - look, it has a bow:


The Sabres face the New York Rangers at home tonight.

LETS GO BUFFALO!