Return of the Captain

Strange as it sounds, to analyze tonight's matchup between Buffalo and Ottawa, the one factor that could work against the Sabres is that the game is at HSBC Arena. It's no secret that Buffalo has played better on the road than on home ice this year.

They will see if they can turn that around tonight, and having Craig Rivet back in the lineup will be a big boost for them.

It's funny to me how underrated Rivet is by many Sabres fans. Granted, there isn't a huge body of work of him in blue and gold to go by, but the fact remains that the Sabres are a better team with Rivet in the lineup. Statistics bear this out. On home ice, Buffalo is 7-3-1 with their captain, and 3-6-1 without him. Though his play hasn't been mistake free, he does add a grittiness, and of course leadership, that is lacking without him.

Coach Ruff, always one to welcome physicality to the lineup, says as much:

“I think you’ve seen what [Paul] Gaustad has done for our lineup. I think
Craig
on the backend gives us a little more stiffness, a little more dirt in
the
lineup,” Ruff said. “We’ve our captain back, we’ve got grit back.”

Teppo Numminen has been missing from practice with the flu, so Rivet may go in tonight without any other changes to the backend.

Tonight will be a good chance for the Sabres to reward their fans with a win at home, against a hated opponent.

A Statement Made, and a Career Game for a Good Guy

There are a few things a team needs to do to win a hockey game. Some of these include winning small battles, going to the net and creating traffic, being responsible in your own end, and good goaltending. The Sabres did all of these to stop the streaking Bruins yesterday at TD Banknorth Garden.

Once again, it was the grinders that had the best game for the Sabres, but Lindy doesn't have to call out his superstars this time, as they had a great game too.

Buffalo played an aggressive game in all three zones in the first period, and then really tightened things up in the third where they changed to a strict defensive style, and got some huge saves from Ryan Miller to hold on to the lead.

Matt Ellis had, to date, the game of his career and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Ellis isn't blessed with a lot of skill, but he makes up for it in heart and effort. Since he got called back up with the Sabres in December, his effort has been something to admire, and it hasn't gone unnoticed by Coach Ruff. Ellis' effort was one of the very few bright spots in a pathetic loss to the Capitals last week.

There was a recent feature on Ellis on The Sabres Show, and after watching it, it's easy to like Ellis whose love for hockey and family are obvious.

Another Sabre that I can't help but love is Paul Gaustad. This is a guy who never takes a shift off, holds himself and his teammates accountable, is possibly the Sabres best face-off guy, isn't afraid to get physical, and has much more skill than a lot of fans give him credit for. I think he's replaced Jochen Hecht as the teams most defensive forward. I'm glad Buffalo has him locked up for the next four years. The powers that be are interested in having him represent the USA in the 2010 Winter Olympics, so it'll be nice to see Goose repping the red, white and blue.

As Gaustad said after the win in Boston, the back to back wins won't mean a lot if the winning ways don't continue. This team has been the model of inconsistency all year long. Hopefully a game like this will be one to build on, and the trend will keep rolling on, starting at home on Tuesday night against Ottawa.

Avoiding Arrogance in Boston

As a Sabres fan who was in attendance at the last two Sabres games in Boston, I've decided to stay home and watch today's matinee.

To say that today's game is a statement game for the Sabres is to state the obvious. But I think a win in Boston today would be a statement for all Sabres fans in attendance as well.

I've encountered growing arrogance from the Boston faithful as the team has been surging. While at the last two Sabres losses, in full Sabres gear, I was constantly reminded at how mediocre Buffalo has been, and was implored to "go back to Buffalo" on more than one occasion. It was particularly ugly on the night of this disaster. In fairness, many of the Boston fans I spoke to were cool, and wanted to talk hockey.

Now Bruins fans, by no means, have cornered the market on arrogance. But I think Boston fans of late have been so spoiled in other sports that they think it's their birthright to win. I'm guessing that only Bruins diehards truly appreciate the success their team has been having of late. And those diehards know too well how the Sabres have owned their team in recent years, so the embarrassing losses of this season must feel extra good to them.

If the Sabres win today, it'll be huge for the team; they are battling for a playoff spot, and every point counts. It'll also be a confidence boost being able to slow the juggernaut in Boston.

But I'll also say that it'll be huge for all the Sabres fans in attendance. Sabres fans have had nothing to cheer about in Boston this season, so a win there, in the midst of a Bruins streak like this, will be sweet.

A well played game in Toronto, and the class of Jason Pominville

The Sabres played a great game against the Leafs last night. The goaltending was solid, play in their own end was responsible, and they got contributions from their best players, namely Pominville, Roy, Miller and Vanek, just like they were incited to do.

It's good to see a positive response to a serious situation, and that's just what Buffalo gave last night. It's not going to be easy continuing that positive response. Buffalo has to go into TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow afternoon to play the NHL's best, Boston Bruins. The Garden has been a house of horrors for the Sabres this season, but a good game tomorrow will really make a statement and increase confidence going forward.

In the second period, Jason Pominville won a battle down low against Nik Antropov in which he picked Antropov's pocket at the goal line on the left wing, curled towards the net, then scored on Curtis Joseph from a tough angle. When asked about the goal in an interview with Kevin Sylvester on MSG, Pommers mentioned that he took the puck to the net and made a good shot, but he omitted the fact that he took Antropov off the puck before doing so. The battle won against Antropov was every bit as impressive as his shot. From what I know about Pominville, he did this in order to not show up his opponent; just one of the many examples of his class, on and off the ice.

Time to Respond

I for one will be keeping a close eye on the Sabres forwards tonight, specifically Jochen Hecht and Derek Roy. After Lindy Ruff called them all out, those two by name, it'll be interesting to see how they respond.

The Buffalo News reports that Hecht won't watch from the press box tonight, because Adam Mair will sit out due to a minor injury. Hecht has been practicing with the fourth line, which can't sit too well with him, but tonight is his chance to show that he doesn't belong there. Is he willing to put forth a solid effort after his mistake laden performance against Washington on Tuesday night? We'll find out shortly.

Tonight's game in Toronto, a team which has been much better than most gave them credit for, will show how the Sabres respond to an urgent situation. There were strong words after Tuesday's debacle from both Coach Ruff and the players themselves. Let's see if the team can practice what they preached.

On another note, after watching the Winter Classic in Chicago today, it made me realize all the more how special last year's edition was. At the risk of showing some Buffalo bias, it just seemed that last year's was much more of an event, one marked by a strong show of support by the Buffalo faithful. There was much fanfare for today's game in Chicago too, but perhaps because it wasn't the first one, it just didn't come off as important an event as last year's at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

When you sleepwalk through a home game, and your best players aren't your best

The Sabres embarrassed themselves in front of a sellout crowd last night at HSBC on a night that saw them put forth one of their effort of the season.

As expected, Lindy Ruff called out his team, naming players like Hecht and Roy in particular, and on this night, the team called themselves out as well. The question remains though, will their resolve to improve follow them onto the ice, or will it remain just talk, spoken just to satisfy the media and the fans.

Some thoughts on the game itself:

-Derek Roy began the first shift of the game as if he wanted to really make a statement, but then he promptly took a penalty in the offensive zone and then disappeared for the rest of the night. He ended up a -2 with only 2 SOG.

-Ryan Miller is still having problems giving up juicy rebounds, but he also made some big saves last night, including one on a breakaway by Alex Ovechkin.

-Jochen Hecht probably epitomized the soft play of the Sabres last night losing too many battles, including one in the offensive zone behind the net, where he went halfheartedly for a loose puck.

-Paul Gaustad, who along with Adam Mair and Matt Ellis were pretty much the only Sabres who gave a solid effort, sensed that his team needed a spark, so he threw the body around and laid out some pretty good hits. It took Gaustad to set up the team's first goal too, delivering a perfect saucer pass to Mair, who made a nifty move in close, and then roofed a backhand to beat Jose Theodore. The Sabres only other goal was a garbage time goal on the power play with under a minute to play.

Ruff threatened to sit some of his top forwards, namely Hecht and Roy, making sure to add that his threat was not just talk.

The full house at HSBC certainly let the Sabres know that they were less than pleased. They rained boos on the team and mixed in a few Bronx Cheers. Frankly I can't blame them, as these loyal fans deserve better.

Kaleta out at least 3 more weeks

Lindy Ruff told Howard Simon this morning on WGR radio that Patrick Kaleta is still out indefinitely, at least three more weeks. Kaleta is still suffering neck pain and vision problems from the punch he took from Denis Gauthier in the Sabres 5-0 win over the Kings in Buffalo on Dec. 19.

You can listen to Ruff's interview on the Audio Vault section of the WGR website later today, by clicking here.