Sabres Perfect After Four
Saturday, October 18th, 2008 2:17 pm by Mike
The Buffalo Sabres have had a perfect start to the season, going 4-0 in their first four games. They’ve beaten the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, and the Vancouver Canucks. They have beaten all opponents by three or more goals, except for Montreal who they beat in the Shoot Out.
Not only have the Sabres had success, but they have looked the part as well. The Sabres have been very good offensively, defensively, and in goal. All players on the roster seem to be making positive contributions, despite the fact the Sabres have been without Paul Gaustad and Tim Connolly for all the games and Jochen Hecht for the last two. It seems that the Sabres’ depth at Center and the flexibility of the players to play in different positions have been crucial aspects of their success so far.
Special Teams has also been excellent. On the Penalty Kill, the Sabres have allowed no goals and have even scored two shorthanded goals. Both were scored by Thomas Vanek and assisted by Danny Paille. The Power Play has also been solid. After getting off to a slow start, the Sabres have now scored seven Power Play goals. Thomas Vanek and Ales Kotalik each have two.
Goaltending has also been stellar. Miller has some of the best numbers in the league with a .945 Save Percentage and a 1.30 Goals Against Average. Patrick Lalime has also proven to be more than capable, allowing only one goal in his only start so far.
Thomas Vanek may be the biggest story for the Sabres right now, having scored six goals in the first four games. Two of the goals were even strength, two on the Power Play, and two shorthanded (apparently his only shorthanded goals ever). Vanek has been unstoppable on the ice, showing brilliant skill, terrifying speed, and a blazing shot.
Of course, the Sabres can’t owe all of their success to Vanek. Ales Kotalik has scored four goals and Clarke MacArthur has scored three. Other fowards including Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville have scored, but have also been very effective shutting down opponent’s top lines, backchecking, and on Penalty Kill.
To no one’s surprise, youngster Patrick Kaleta has made a few more enemies around the league by throwing a number of crushing checks and ducking out of fights. Kaleta’s skills have led to a number of Power Plays for the Sabres and have propelled them towards the top of the list of the NHL’s toughest teams. When speaking of toughest, one cannot fail to mention the stellar physical play that has come from Captain Craig Rivet, Danny Paille, Adam Mair, and Andrew Peters, who hasn’t passed on the opportunity to hop into a few heavy weight bouts.
Lastly, this article couldn’t be finished without mention the fantastic play of all of the defensemen. This season, the Sabres acquired Craig Rivet and honored him with the Captaincy. He’s been good on the blue line, in the locker room, and, especially, physically. Teppo Numminen has also returned to the lineup after missing 81 games last season after after heart surgery. Numminen’s calm play has been a much appreciated addition to the blue line. Overall, the Sabres defensive has been very effective and impressive.
The Sabres play the Atlanta Thrashers on the road, tonight at 7:00 pm.