Posts Tagged ‘Grier’

Climbing Our Way Out of Hell

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 5:43 pm

It's been a trying first quarter of the season to be a Sabres fan. I purchased NHL Gamecenter at the beginning of the season so I could catch every game from my current location in Northern New England and felt like I had been taken by the NHL like Peter was by that volcano insurance salesman in an episode of "Family Guy." I was left to brainstorm of bandwagons that I could join on to make the purchase somewhat less fiscally irresponsible (I've ALWAYS loved the Flames, I swear!) before grudgingly acknowledging that Bettman had won yet another round. The team had played over a month without winning a game at home, had put up a 3-9-2 record, found itself in dead last in the league and the talk had grown louder than a whisper that Lindy's time in Buffalo was up (more on that later). The problem wasn't just that they were losing- every team hits rough patches, although the beginning of the year certainly focuses more attention upon that- it was how they were losing. That always seems to be the complaint about this collection, especially in a market as hockey educated as this one. While Tim Connolly's dogging it could go undiscovered for months or years in a place like Atlanta, Tampa or Sunshine (the alligator infested swamp the Panthers stuck their arena), it was only a few weeks before someone hung up the most fitting banner seen at HSBC in years. Their performance was an affront to all those that paid money to see them play, to those who tune in every game and whose days are better or worse based on their performance. We were all beginning to settle in for the longest winter imaginable, one in which the Sabres were irrelevant.

A New Hope

Monday, October 4th, 2010 1:01 pm

No, the Sabres have a chance to be very good this season, and they will be very good. Nathan Gerbe will be wonderful to watch, as will Ennis. Thomas Vanek is still on the roster and will surely recover from a disappointing 09-10 season. Tyler Myers will avoid a sophomore slump and will become an anchor on our power play, a position he has already adjusted to deftly in the preseason. Mike Grier will bring it every night, so get your 2010-2011 edition of the "Doin' Work Son!" shirt, and maybe get one for Niedermayer, who will be sure to be doing work all year barring injury. Ryan Miller will make show-stopping, game saving stops. There will be overtime winners, 3 goal comebacks, shootout victories. There will be a four game winning streak, just as there will certainly be a four game losing streak. They'll have a win in the 8-1 range, they'll put out a performance like the 5-0 loss to the Islanders last year. But I feel they will be very good, and should be favored, perhaps expected to win the division again, given the talent on the roster- barring the unthinkable injury scenario that I won't even mention here but is certainly in the back of every Sabres fan's mind. It'll be a long season with many storylines ahead that cannot be predicted now. There will be great Mondays after the Sabres win both games of their weekend, there's probably going to be some bad ones where they drop both (made especially terrible with a Bills embarrassment on Sundays). For now, in early October as the long season starts, we should just soak in the enjoyment of hockey being back in our lives, and that chance of something special taking place every night we watch, whether that something "special" is Gerbe scoring between his legs or Lalime letting a puck past him at five miles per hour.

SabreCast 2.30 – It’s All Over

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 4:16 pm

The season is officially over for the Sabres who lost in six games to Boston. In this episode of SabreCast we breakdown the series and speculate about the offseason.

SabreCast 2.29 – Put On Your Rally Cap!

Sunday, April 25th, 2010 3:44 pm

The Sabres are currently trailing 3-2 against Boston. Unfortunately, the Sabres lost both games in Boston, but won an uplifting home game on Friday. In this playoff edition of SabreCast, we cover all three games in detail. In this episode of SabreCast, we cover… This week’s games (Games 3-5 against Boston) Listener feedback Upcoming game(s) [...]

SabreCast 2.28 – All Tied Up

Sunday, April 18th, 2010 6:04 pm

Playoff hockey is officially underway and the Sabres are matched up against the Boston Bruins. The Sabres won the first game 2-1, but fell 5-3 in game 2. In this playoff edition of SabreCast, we cover those two games in detail.

Playoff Flashback: 2006

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 9:09 pm

Remember, this was the team that beat us 5-0, 6-1 and 10-4 early in the regular season, a team that ripped through the conference on its way to 113 points and the top seed in the playoffs. Sure, we had done well getting through a slow Philadelphia team built on brute force, but Ottawa was an unstoppable force, simply extending the series past five games would be something to build on.

The Weak, the Soft, the Shameful

Thursday, March 4th, 2010 10:47 pm

Have you ever seen a team so uninspired in games of such importance? It's not like mailing one in against the Islanders when you're sitting in the 10-spot, this is a team that is on the cusp of winning the division and could even make a run at the 2-seed. From what we've seen since the midway point of the road trip the team is playing like it's tanking for the top draft pick. It's disgusting, a team of clowns with the complacency of a team of sloths. Does someone need to remind these guys they haven't won anything? Would it really make a difference?

Devils and Kings and Canucks, oh my: eve of the roadtrip

Thursday, January 14th, 2010 12:11 am

Luckily, none of those four things are going to happen, and with the team sitting near the top of the Eastern Conference, winning nearly 3 of every 4 games, there is nothing wrong with expecting them to come out of the road trip with similar results. Ruff said earlier today that a 'successful' road trip would be nine or ten points, a number exceeding my preliminary hopes for seven or eight, simply going .500 for the next two weeks.

SabreCast 2.11 – Leadership

Sunday, December 6th, 2009 4:44 pm

In this episode of SabreCast, we discuss the past week of play from the Sabres, who went 2-1 against Toronto, Montreal, and New York Rangers. We also read listener feedback and kick off our main discussion about Leadership

SabreCast 2.8 – Sabres Strike Back

Sunday, November 15th, 2009 6:30 pm

In this episode of SabreCast, we discuss the past week of play from the Sabres, who went 3-0 against Edmonton, Calgary, and Philadelphia. We also go over some roster news, read a listener email, revisit last week’s discussion about Goaltending, and kick off our main discussion.

SabreCast 2.6 – Special Teams

Sunday, November 1st, 2009 9:57 pm

In this episode of SabreCast, we discuss the past week of play from the Sabres, who went 2-1 against New Jersey, Toronto, and the New York Islanders. We also recap a week of listener comments and kick off our main discussion. Main discussion: Special Teams. We have also set up a listener feedback line! Now [...]

SabreCast 2.1 – Season Preview

Sunday, September 27th, 2009 8:10 pm

It has been a long off season, but the Sabres are back in training camp and nearly ready to start the regular season. In this episode we talk about off season acquisitions, re-signings, and losses; training camp; and preseason games. Our main discussion is two parts: A) the Sabres roster and B) how the Sabres will do this season. We also have a little fun with some Sabres and Stanley Cup predictions.