Singing the blues in T.O

As hockey fans, there is something you never want to see, whether you are a fan or not, is the boys wearing the blue and white with the maple leaf on their chests give up! As sad as that is, it is ultimately what is happening in Toronto. When a team hurts their number 1 (arguably) goalie during the warm up, then nearly injures their 4th string net minder before the game has even started, you know the players minds are elsewhere. Then you start the game with said 4th string goalie who's scared out of his mind and don't give him any support or help - that's unconscionable! The blue and white are beat down, tired and honestly can't wait for the season to end, but it's not fair how they have just quit; not fair to the goalies, coaches and most importantly the fans who pay huge bucks to see them play like crap!
In early January the Leafs just fell off a cliff, they were doing well, everyone was happy, there was excitement in T.o........ fast forward 6 weeks and 14 teams have passed them in league-wide standings! What the heck happened? I'm going to try and narrow it down to 3 reasons the Leafs are in this mess. BUT one thing I am not going to do is blame the GM or coach, no matter how bad a job you think Brian Burke or Randy Carlysle are doing, when it's all said and done it's up to the players to do their job!

1. Goaltending
As much as I like James Reimer he is not a number one goaltender; last season he came out of nowhere, no one knew him there were no expectations hence he was phenomenal. People now know him, players have studied him add to that the high expectations and Reimer has shown he just couldn't handle it. He's a young goalie who wasn't ready to be thrust into the number 1 position. Gustavsson was also not ready to be a number one goalie, he'd always been a backup since joining the Leafs. As much as he saved the Leafs season during the stretch when Reimer was out, he's lost his confidence. Looking back, the Leafs went into the 2011-2012 season without a number one goalie, they were relying on 2, young fairly inexperienced goalies to step up and take this team back to the playoffs, which was unfair and unrealistic (Burke?). Whatever way you want to spin it; neither Gustavsson or Reimer has played well this season, Gustavsson has been a slightly less bad but in a disastrous season does that really matter? The sad thing is the team has no confidence in either goalie, and that's a recipe for disaster, when players think every time the opposition has a scoring chance it's going in, the players start playing differently (worse).
I hate being harsh on goalies I really do, but the Leafs need a new netminder; they will likely lose Gustavsson in the offseason and Reimer could use another year or two as a back up learning his craft at the NHL level. These two goalies don't cut it, they need a solid goalie they can rely on. Whether they work some magic and get Schnieder (unlikely) or someone else, if the Leafs don't get a number one net minder they will go no where!
Another issue with trying to go out and acquire a new goalie, is the Leafs goalie coach Francois Alluire. Although Burke thinks he's amazing, he's actually hurting the Leafs. He tries to change each goalies style, many of whom don't play well with the new style. Look a goalie playing in the NHL obviously knows a thing or to about being a good goalie, their style got them to the NHL. Changing their style is the worst thing you can do for a goalie mentally! Reimer was just fine in his first year when Alluire didn't have a lot of time to mess with him, but a full season with that goalie coach and Reimer is one of the worst goalies in the league!

2. Leadership
Whether you agree or not Dion Phaneuf has not been a good captain this season! As you know I don't agree with him being the captain, I think they should take the C away from him at the end of the season!

I think one of the major reasons Phaneuf has been struggling is the Leafs have tried to change his style of play. Phaneuf is a heavy hitter, not a responsible D man who plays 25 minutes a night. If you look Phaneuf is hitting less and less (unless it's against a rookie), doesn't fight anymore and isn't the mean Phaneuf everyone is used too. When you think about it, the way he plays he should be averaging 15 minutes a night, but they have him out there for 25 minutes which explains why he's always so tired in the third period! Phaneuf has not led this team, if you look at the Leafs now, they're discouraged and look lost, the captain is supposed to help rally his teammates, something he has not done this season. Other than the fact he's in charge of the Ipod in the dressing room what is he doing to benefit the team?
Phaneuf is one of the softest captains in the league this season and couldn't lead the Leafs out of a plastic bag! He's not there for his teammates, in the pathetic humiliating loss against the Flyers last night, he should have stepped up, fought someone and given the young rookie goalie some confidence, pound the crap out of anyone who touches him! He also turned down a fight after he pummeled Brayden Schenn with a cross check to the head! How about that 8-0 loss to the Bruins, he did absolutely nothing, he is a liability out there, that's not something you want from your captain!

3. Overpaid players not stepping
Tim Connolly has 31 points this season through 62 games, en route to the worst statistical year in his 11 year career! Not to mention he was stuck on the third line for most of the season; considering the Leafs gave him 2 years at $9.5 million and expected him to be the centre for Kessel this move has not panned out as of yet! Heck he's been paired with 13 different line mates! Connolly played fairly well early on in the season recording 12 points in his first 13 games, but his scoring has dried up as of late with just 19 points over the last 49 games (not including last night).

Colby Armstrong, was give a 3 year $3 million contract (too much in my opinion) he's not worth it, he was given an A to be an assistant captain yet spent a large portion of the season under head coach Ron Wilson in the press box as a healthy scratch! A waste of money, for a player who isn't worth it, he's a 3rd/4th line grinder scores a few goals and just fills the gaps!

Mike Komisarek, another player wearing an A yet spending lots of time in the press box! He's currently in the middle of a 5 year $4.5 million per year contact, too much to pay for a guy who's sitting in the press box most of the season! Then when he does get to play he plays atrocious defence, has turnovers, falls down, its just nasty! Considering he's one of the bottom 2 defenseman on the Leafs, so he should not be getting paid nearly as much as he is!

The Leafs are the highest paid team in the bottom 10 of the league, so either they need to smarten up with contracts or these players need to step up and earn their money. I wish there was an option for players who didn't perform up to their new contracts standards being required to give some of their money back or renegotiate a new contract. I know it sounds stupid and it will never happen, but it might actually help the Leafs!

The Leafs are in a terrible spot right now, 25th in the league, 2nd last in the East and looking for answers! Their passion and pride has been sucked away, they aren't giving it their all and they're sad to watch, no wait they're funny to watch. I tweeted last night that watching the Leafs is like a comedy, how many goals can they let in, how long can their home losing streak continue. This has to be one of the worst responses to a coaching change I have ever seen!
The Leafs need to improve drastically the sad thing is it could be another 2 years before we see a decent Leafs team, how much more can fans handle!?

We Control our own Destiny

Waking up on this fine Wednesday morning, the birds are chirping and the sun is shinning, and oh yeah the Buffalo Sabres are in 8th place. I'm sorry but it feels great to say that, considering a little over a month ago (Feb 17th) we were tied for 15th in the East, everyone was ready to ship Miller out of town, and the majority of our players were Amerks call ups! We've won 11 of our last 15 games and have gone 14-2-4 during the last 20 games, and Ryan Miller has 1 regulation loss in 18 starts since (Feb 17)! Not a bad turnaround if you ask me! Not to mention we won virtually the biggest game of the season last night against the Capitals who are now 2 points behind us, not only did we win, we smoked the Capitals.

The great against the Capitals was fantastic! There was a playoff atmosphere it felt like a game 7, whoever made the first mistake was going to pay. Lucky for the Sabres it was Washington's rookie goalie Holtby who cracked first! Ennis received the puck from Holtby, he then preceded to pass it to Drew Stafford who barried it, and just like that we're up 1 nothing. Funny fact just seconds before the goal Ovechkin went in on a breakaway on Miller. It was the fast start that spelled the end for the Capitals, as Buffalo jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, and that's all the support Miller really needed. 3 things I took away from this game;

1. The Ennis line is incredible

It's odd when you think about; Ennis, Foligno, and Stafford are 3 completely different players, who you likely wouldn't find hanging out at the hotel together, but on the ice they are becoming a dynamic trio an unstoppable force for the opponents. Since the Foligno call up this line has scored 15 goals, 18 assists and combined for 33 points in just 8 games (not including last night). But this line has been absolutely golden for the Sabres, they've come through in the clutch and last night was no different. Stafford scored 2 crucial goals and Tyler Ennis assisted/set him up on both! But here's the fantastic thing, for whatever reason opposing teams are not ready to treat the Ennis line as the Sabres number 1 line. I know technically they're the 3rd line, but they're playing like the first line! Washington was so busy worring about the Pominville line that they forgot to give some attention to Ennis and Stafford!
Another thing we're seeing is Stafford's confidence going up again, Tyler Ennis makes everyone on the ice better. He is a playmaker, a scorer, a solid face-off winner and he stand up for his teammates! All Stafford has to do is get open and you can almost bet on Ennis getting the puck to him for an easy tap in goal. Watching the three of these guys out on the ice is great, they're having fun out there and playing for the logo on the front of their jerseys!
I hope Lindy Ruff leaves these three together for the rest of the season (and hopefully playoffs), these guys are game changers, when other team are shutting down Pominville and Vanek's lines, the Ennis line steps up and barries a back breaker to the opposition.

2. Ryan Miller is hands down our MVP
First of all without Miller between the pipes there is no way on earth we make the remarkable comeback!
44 saves and no goals from Ovechkin? Miller is a battler no question he held us in the game last night, generally when the Capitals outshoot a team it's tough to grind out a victory. Despite being outshot 44-31, we managed to get the 2 points thanks in large part to Ryan Miller.
Also with the victory last night, Ryan Miller joins Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist as the only 2 goalies to have 7 consecutive 30 win seasons! That 1 good season argument is lost again!
In the last 17 games Miller has played his stats have phenominal, out of this world so to speak; 14-1-3 with a 1.78 GAA and .941 save percentage! Teams die for this kind of goaltending during the end of the season playoff stretch.
If the Sabres were going to turn around their season, it was going to have to start with Ryan Miller, the outcome of the Sabres relies hevialy on Ryan Miller. If he has a great game chances are they're skating away with 2 points, but if he is off his game then the game is lost. Basically if Miller is playing up to his all star capability than the Sabres are winning. He has once again put the team on his back, let's just hope he doesn't crack anytime soon! Miller thrives when he noted or pegged as the under-dog (look back to the 2010 Olympics). Back in Februarary everyone said the Sabres were done, Miller was washed up and needed to be shipped out of town! Miller is a major phscalogical type of goalie, he likes to have low expectations and then over pass them with his play, so when the Sabres were pegged to have a great year and Miller was one of the favorites to have a bounce back year and win his second Vezina trophy Miller had a hard time living up to those expectations. When Miller is focused on just winning 1 game at a time, is when he's playing his best hockey!

3. We control our own fate!
It's simple we win and we're in the playoffs, heck we keep winning we could even take 7th, who knows maybe 6th? I'm getting a little ahead here, as long as we keep winning we can book our ticket to the post season. But here's where it gets tricky, we need to finish with more points than the Capitals, if we end up tied for 8th than we will be eliminated as the Caps hold the tie breaker. With the win last night the chances of us making the playoffs went up 28.2 % to 67.6%. Just win, that's the new Sabres motto.

This is really and incrediable historic run the Sabres are on, sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. From 15th to 8th in a month and half, you can't write this stuff! Has any other team accomplished a feat like this? I believe if we don hang on to make the playoff we will be the first team to ever climb back into the playoffs.
As long as Miller holds up and the Sabres keep scoring there shouldn't be a problem holding on to the 8th and final playoff seed heck maybe even 7th! If I were one of the top couple teams I'd be getting a little nervous, having to play the red hot Buffalo Sabres in the first round, with Miller on his game, I smell an upset!
But the best part of being in 8th right now, is finally being able to say; if the playoffs started today we'd actually be in them!

6 Reasons Buffalo turned it's game around

Sabres fans today we sit tied for 8th with the Washington Capitals with 6 games remaining, a feat that seemed near impossible about a month ago. Whether we actually make the playoffs remains unknown, but the way we're playing right now, I wouldn't want to bet against our chances. The Sabres are on an amazing run but it seems all too familiar.

Once again we have scratched and clawed our way out of the basement of the East and the league to compete for a playoff spot. (Heck on Saturday for a brief moment we were in 7th!) Everyone remembers last season's turnaround after Terry "Big Pockets" Pegula came in and bought the team, there was a remarkable turnaround and we even made the playoffs. This season, as late as February 17th the Sabres found themselves in 15th in the East and looking for answers, but since Feb 17th the Sabres have gone 13-2-3 and find themselves back in the playoff hunt.

The Situation this season is similar but very different from last season's turnaround. Last season we could  credit the turnaround to Terry Pegula, this year's turnaround can be credited to a number of different factors.

1. Ryan Miller
Ryan Miller has been phenomenal post all star game (late Feb) and is a major part in the Sabres turnaround. Great teams start from the goaltender and build out. "Show me a good goalie and I'll show you a winning hockey team," that can't be more true for the Sabres right now. There is no question without Miller between the pipes the Sabres would not be in the playoff battle they are right now. Two years ago Miller carried the US Olympic hockey team to within a goal of the gold medal, and today almost in an anniversary of sorts he is carrying the Buffalo Sabres on a late season playoff push! In the last 9 games Miller is 7-0-2 making sure the Sabres get at least a point in every game and has allowed just 18 goals. There is a reason Ryan Miller is my favorite goalie; it's because he is a clutch goalie he wins games when he has too, when everything is on the line is when Ryan Miller is at his best. The world's biggest stages when all odds are stacked against is when you're going to see Ryan Miller at his best between the pipes! Now I wouldn't have minded if he played this way all season and save us a bit of heartache, but as long as he's getting us 2 points now who cares! Even during games when our defense has been atrocious Miller has been on his game making big time game saving saves. The best part of having a Ryan Miller esq goalie is the chance to win any game you play. Ryan is back on his game, meaning the Sabres have a chance every game.
Despite his struggles this season, Miller has managed to write his name in the Sabres record books, pass all time great Dominic Hasek and record his career high 7th shutout of the season. In fact Miller needs just 1 more win to join Henrik Lundqvist to become the only 2 goalies to record at least 30 wins in a season 7 straight times!
Miller has proven all critics wrong and showed just how pivotal he is to this Sabres team, our last 6 games and a chance at the playoffs all relay on how well Miller plays. If he plays well we win we control our own destiny and we make the playoffs. One thing's for sure "It's Miller Time in Buffalo again!"

2. Tyler Ennis
When thinking of the success of the Sabres as of late, you can't help look at the play of Ennis. The 20 year old has really elevated his game to the next level and proved he can and will be a special player in the future. He's playing the way people thought he would when he was pegged to be the rookie of the year prior to last season. But it was an up and down year, and a rough start for the sophomore Ennis who missed 35 games due to injury (including all of November and the majority of January). Since the Sabres dismantled the Bruins back on Feb 8th Ennis as 8 goals and 11 assists in 21 games, and on the west coast road trip which was undoubtedly the turning point of the season, he recorded a point in all 4 games. But Ennis' play didn't stay out West, upon returning to Buffalo and playing center between Marcus Foligno and Drew Stafford, Ennis has been enjoying scoring, assisting and winning hockey games. This season it looks like Ennis is a better fit at center and watching him play you can see why he was so highly rated in the 2008 draft.
His skill at faceoffs is lessening the loss of Gaustad at that position, going into the game against Montreal Ennis had won 51.6% of his faceoff's since March 10th which is right up there with some of the best centers in the league. Rich Peverely who leads the league has won 61.7%. Not bad numbers for Ennis considering he's been a winger most of the year!
Ennis has been power driving the Sabres offence and is nearly on a point per game pace, he's a major contribute to the turn around. If Miller stops all the pucks someone still has to score for the Sabres and that someone has been Tyler Ennis. He's made his line mates unstoppable.
Ennis has give line mate Drew Stafford his confidence back and made Marcus Foligno so comfortable out there in the first few games. Ennis is the type of player that just makes everyone better!
The way Ennis has turned on the "jets" so to speak is incredible, his play just shows how much he and all the young players want to make it to the playoffs. After all the playoffs is a whole new ball game!

3. Chemistry
Everyone laughs and jokes at how cute the "bromance" is between Ryan Miller and Tyler Ennis (funny they are the major reasons for the turnaround) but there is more to it that it just being cute, it's legitimate. The Buffalo Sabres are finally coming together and playing for their teammates and the logo on the front not the name on the back of the jerseys. It takes time for teammates to get chemistry, and it isn't easy when there are so many injuries and new faces, but all the good, no great teams have chemistry. Take the defending champs the Bruins, you mess with one of their players and Lucic, Chara or even Marchand is beating the crap out of you, Thomas makes a big save he gives a big smile to Chara or the D man. The Sabres are banding together and becoming brothers!
It's really great to see from a fan perspective, when someone on the Ennis line scores the huddle or celebrations between the three of them is amazing, it's intense, it's happy, it's awesome! When Foligno did his famous "Foligno leap" after scoring his first goal in Buffalo everyone gave him the famous face wash; these guys are finally starting to relax and have some fun out there. If hockey isn't fun when you're playing, then stop playing. The Sabres are having fun winning hockey games, scoring goals, and turning heads around the league.

Another part of the chemistry is that everyone is starting to understand their roles. Earlier on in the season they were killing each other for the puck everyone wanted it, there were turnovers, soft passes and it was just plain ugly. Now we're making great passes, not fighting over who should have the puck and letting Miller stop the puck and control it, confusion for a hockey team is bad news, the Sabres are on the same page right now!
One more thing is the golden helmet, just something fun that keeps the mood light, but yet gets everyone out there competing hard to win it. It's a sense of pride, knowing you were the best player out there so you get to wear the goofy helmet. It keeps them having fun and lose, also as I think the players choose who gets it, it builds trust and recognition that your teammates are noticing what you are contributing.
A fun hockey team is a winning hockey team.

4. Derek Roy and Drew Stafford (and other veterans who got off to slow starts)
Well considering a month ago everyone including me was calling for their heads, it's time to pay some respect to them. These two have been arguably the biggest disappointments all season. Unlike the majority of their teammates they have remained fairly healthy but failed to step up when the team needed them most. However, since Feb 1 the two have woken up; they have 19 and 16 points respectively.
A major part for Stafford's turnaround has been being on the Ennis line. He recently came off a 4 game point streak in which he recorded 9 points to give him 42 on the season just 10 shy of his career high set last season. Since being placed with Ennis and Foligno he's been more productive and ultimately more confident. He's more willing to shoot and make solid tape to tape passes.
Roy has been a hot and cold player all year long for the Sabres, but since being paired with Pominville and Leino he's been more consistent and is showing flashes of his passion for the game which he used last season to be a point per game player prior to his injury. I'm not 100% sold on Roy but he's starting to pick up his game and becoming less of a liability out on the ice. Heck it even seems like his teammates are more tolerant of his antics.
There is no question these two can score, it's just finding them the right line mates and getting them motivated.

5. Depth
Let's disect the lines here for a minute shall we;
first line; Ville Leino - Derek Roy- Jason Pominville
second; Corey Tropp - Cody Hodgson - Thomas Vanek
third;    Marcus Foligno - Tyler Ennis - Drew Stafford
fourth;  Cody McCormick - Brad Boyes - Travis Turnbull

As an opposing coach I see these lines I start to sweat a little; you got the leading scorer and a scoring threat in Pominville and Leino on the first line. The second leading scorer, calder trophy contender in Vanek and Hodgson on the second. The third line that has been absolutely on fire as of late, in which all 3 can score and are having fun playing. The Fourth line full of tough guys who can still score the odd goal and run you down in your own end! When will the pressure end! It is crucial the Sabres have scoring depth on all 4 lines! This will wear down the opposing players as the offensive threats are never ending. Not to mention Miller in net, if the opposition fails to score on their chances they're screwed as Miller is giving up less and less goals right now and the forwards, especially the Ennis line are scoring more and more goals. After all in order to win a hockey game you need to outscore your opponent. As long as Ruff doesn't try to fiddle I see no reason why the Sabres don't make the postseason and perhaps even win a round or two! For opposing coaches, you can't just pick one line to stop, you have to pick your poison, so to speak. What may be even better about the lines is their defensive depth as well. None of the lines is slacking in the D zone right now and it's showing.

6. Health
This is crucial I know I ranked it 6th, but the fact that the Sabres are almost fully healthy again is a huge boost to this team. (Gerbe is coming back). I believe at one point there were 9 starters out of the lineup including Miller who took forever to rebound from his concussion. You're just not going to win hockey games when missing 9 regulars, might as well call up the Amerks and ask them to play for you!
But now everyone including Miller and Myers is healthy and producing when the Sabres need them too!
The reason this is last on the list is, I hate when people blame injuries for poor play, maybe injuries really are taking a toll but good teams and players still give it their all and don't blame injuries. However, seeing the Wild over the weekend should have reminded us what we've been through this season. For the Sabres though, it's looking more and more likely injuries were the major reason for the mid-season struggles, I mean we were practically in 15th, now we're tied for 8th 2 points back of 7th with the majority healthy.
Now with the majority of players are healthy we're looking like the team that began the season over in Europe, came home on a roll and got everyone excited. If everyone can remain healthy for the remaining 6 games than we should be able to finish off the season in a playoff spot, either 7th or 8th!

So the turning point in the season was the West coast trip, I'm not going to lie I had my doubts about those games, I was pretty nervous about how the Sabres would play. Then we flippen went out there and won all of them (minus the overtime loss) and Miller gets 2 shutouts!  Like what the flip happened? Whatever happened I'm glad it did, because the Sabres are the Sabres everyone expected them to be at the start of the year.
I know deserving things in hockey means as little as what the player ate for a pregame meal, but the Sabres deserve to make the postseason, so hopefully the hockey gods will do a little something for the Sabres!

Captain no Captain

I'm going to get right to the point here, Dion Phaneuf may wear the "C" symbolizing he is the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Phaneuf does not lead this team and is frankly not captain material. You have to wonder why the Calgary Flames let go of their prized first round draft pick, who was supposed to be the future of the team- I think Leafs fans are getting a clear picture.

The Calgary Flames drafted Phaneuf 9th overall in 2003, had his rookie season in 2005 in which he scored 20 goals and broke a Flames record for goals scored by a rookie, and became just the 3rd defenseman in NHL history to score 20 goals as a rookie. He was the semi finalist for the Calder trophy losing only to Alexander Ovechkin. He then followed that up with a whopping 50 point season, but after his sophomore year his play started to drop drastically! He had a career low 11 goals and 47 assists and a plus/minus of -11 a rating that is horrid for an NHL defenseman. Questions quickly came about Phaneuf's commitment to defense, the Flames defended him and then threw him to Leafs like a hot potato. The Flames were anxious to dump Phaneuf, but Why?
How desperate were the Flames to dump Phaneuf? Well look at the trade; They took on Matt Stajan, Ian White, Nikalas Hagman and Jamal Mayers (only Stajan is still on the Flames roster) in exchange for, potential franchise player Dion Phaneuf, Keith Aulie and Fredrik Sjostrom. Talk about a steal for the Leafs!

Upon arrival in Toronto, Phaneuf played 26 games scored 2 goals and added 8 assists, and then was named the 18th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes that's right you read that correctly after playing just 26 games he was appointed the Leafs' Captain! In a recent poll done by Sports Illustrated magazine, Dion Phaneuf was named the most overrated player in the NHL by fellow NHLers and I'm starting to see why.

I don't know if it's just this season but Phaneuf looks absolutely atrocious out on the ice, it is extremely easy for opposing players to skate around him and get a solid scoring chance. From what I've seen when Phaneuf is out there on D, it's a liability to the Leafs and that's certainly not something you want from your captain! It's ridiculous when watching him play D, players skate right around him and he looks like he's probably the worst player I've seen above squirts skating backwards! Phaneuf was Ron Wilson's captain, he could do no wrong in the eyes of the former coach and was given full reign over the team and players, but Wilson is gone, Carlyle is in. The way Phaneuf is playing D right now is not what Carlyle wants or expects, I kind of wish he'd strip Phaneuf of his captaincy.

A captain is supposed to be a leader on the team, step up to the plate and take responsibility for not only their own play but the play of their team. If I'm the Leafs coaching staff or management I don't want any young defenseman following in Phaneuf's footsteps! He jumps up in the rush at the wrong times, coughs up the puck before getting it in the oppositions end, is far too easy to go around, doesn't back check hard enough, and misses the freaking net 80% of the time! Doesn't matter how good your shot is if it misses the net!
He is too offensively minded, he doesn't worry nearly as much as he should about his play in the defensive end, he's more offensively focused! He is far too lackadaisical out there, like he doesn't care and frankly he doesn't!

He doesn't care because he was just handed the role of captain, he didn't have to work for it, prove he could handle it or frankly earn it. They didn't give him an "A" first to test his leadership. Nope after just 26 (less than impressive) games they held a press conference and named him captain. As I pointed out earlier, Ron Wilson and Phaneuf were buddies, Wilson wanted him as the captain. Notice in all the time Wilson was the Leafs head coach I don't recall him once calling out Phaneuf or saying that he was responsible for goals, he was always Wilsons little angel and he was never criticized for his play thus making him not care to change. He's been playing like crap all season long and he's been responsible for a majority of the goals. After having a meeting with new head coach Carlyle, Phaneuf summed up what they talked about; "I'm going to keep playing the same way I have always played, and carry myself the same way" Well I sure as heck hope he doesn't because he's been playing horrible all season. The Leafs are going on their 7th year of missing the playoffs,  anyone born around 2000 doesn't really remember the Leafs being in the playoffs (heck I barely do and I'm 18). Fans aren't going to watch this Leafs team play, they're going to notice the so called captain as the worst player on the ice, they're not going to grow up being Leaf fans!

A true captain let's his teammates know that they're screwing up or not playing well, Phaneuf isn't in to that. He has said numerous times that the Leafs are not in a state where he needs to call players out! What the heck is he waiting for? Ron Wilson called players out, the media calls players out, hockey analysts call players out. A captain that is confident and has the whole team behind him should feel comfortable calling a couple players out or going to them privately and talking about their game.

Another major reason why I think Phaneuf is playing such crappy D is his weight, he's frankly too big! He's always tired by the mid second period which is why he is getting lit up in the defensive zone, and guys are blowing right past him. He needs to work on his conditioning! He's 6'3" 218 pounds, now that's not a horrible wieght for a guy of his size, but he's most defiantly out of shape it is extremely evident on the ice, he's always huffing and puffing and it seems like he's hitting a lot less this season. I don't know if he's hurt or what but he's hurting the Leafs!
If you don't want to hustle and battle every night get the heck off the ice, there is a team full of Marlies that would love to take your spot! To be honest Phaneuf is a joke as a captain, teams laugh at the fact that the Leafs have Phaneuf as a captain, the Leafs and Dion Phaneuf are one of the biggest laughingstocks of the NHL.

I'm sorry but Phaneuf is not captain material, the Leafs need someone else to be captain. His play all season has been poor to say the least, his "I could care less" attitude needs to go, and his responsibility to defense needs to improve (considering he is a defenseman). I think Carlyle should sit Phaneuf when he's not playing well, bench him for a few games get his attention, he thinks he's untouchable.
Bottom line, the Leafs will never win the Stanley Cup with players like Phaneuf leading this team!

Crosby Who?

Having Sidney Crosby back in the Penguins lineup undoubtedly makes them a major threat in the postseason, they're coming off an 11 game win streak (9 of those without Crosby) Which makes you wonder - is Crosby all that crucial to the Penguins? I heard an interesting quote on Sportscentre a couple mornings ago; "The Penguins getting Crosby back, is like Bill Gates winning the lottery!" It's nice but not needed. It feels weird saying the Penguins don't need perhaps the best NHL star since Wayne Gretzky, but thanks to a couple underdogs stepping up to the plate, Crosby is now just another offensive weapon that the Penguins can unleash on their opponents.

Crosby is Back
You honestly can't talk about the Penguins without mentioning Sidney Crosby, Trust me this blog is more about how the Pens don't need him this season. But you can't not mention the Leagues best player.
Crosby is back from a 3 month layoff, he's played 4 games (Rangers, Devils, Flyers, Jets). During those four games Crosby has collected 9 assists, and has helped bring the Penguins within 1 point of the Eastern Conference leading Rangers. Last night against the Jets Crosby had 4 assists alone, he seems to be able to dish the puck, but when's he going to score a goal? Good news for the NHL and hockey fans everywhere, Sid the Kid is back!

Four Players who stepped up
The Penguins have won 44 games this season the majority of those with Crosby, so there obviously the Penguins have had players step up and play a bigger role on the team; Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, James Neal and Matt Cooke are a few of the players that have really changed their game this season.

Evgeni Malkin
You can't say enough about the play of Malkin this season in the absence of Crosby, right now this is Malkin's team. He single handily took it upon himself to put the team on his back, and proved a lot of critics wrong. I didn't think Malkin was capable of leading this Penguins team without Crosby helping, but he's really stepped up and out of the shadows to lead this team. He is hands down the MVP of the Penguins season and leading a candidate for the Hart trophy, personally I think he's a shoe in for the Hart trophy after everything he's done for the Pens. He's also in the hunt and currently leading the race for the Art Ross trophy. In 64 games Malkin has scored 43 goals and added 50 assists to make 93 points on the season, giving him the league lead in points. Malkin has been amazing in the midst of this playoff hunt (even though the Pens are in the playoffs) and arguably in the toughest division in the league, he's been on fire and consistent all year long.
Malkin's dominance started during the beginning of December, in 47 games since he started scoring goals like it was his day job; 34 goals and 86 points, and in no coincidence the Penguins have won 30 of those games. No question that Malkin has been an important part, if not the most important part of this team, and I really hope fans don't just forget what he's done for this team, just because Crosby is back. This Penguins team in under Malkin's control this season, if I had a vote for MVP it would go to Malkin. It's just amazing what he's been able to do, he proved me and other critics wrong and I tip my hat to him!
Last night against the Jets, Malkin scored his 200th career goal and was showered with "MVP" chants during the game.

Kris Letang
Letang is an underrated player in the league and on the Penguins, he's one of my favorite defenceman. I love the way he plays the game, the leadership and how crucial he is to the Penguins yet still flies under the radar to most.  I remember watching Sportscenter and hearing them talk about how great Crosby will be for the Penguins in the playoffs, but one of the analysts piped up and said; "I think it would be a worse case scenario for the Penguins if Letang was unavailable for the playoffs rather than Crosby being unavailable." That speaks volumes to me, Letang being more valuable to the Penguins than Crosby, that's remarkable. It's been a rough season for Letang, who like Crosby has suffered through concussions, Letang returned from his second concussion the same night Crosby returned, but unlike his teammate Letang's return lacked press, media attention and his own camera on game night. In Letang's return, he played 24 minutes, and had a career high +5 in the game not bad considering he hadn't put on a jersey since February! Before his first concussion back in November 2011, Letang was a front runner for the Norris trophy; averaging 25 minutes a night, 32 points and 3 game winning goals in just 41 games. Letang was added to the 2012 all star game as a replacement, despite only playing 26 games. In the 2010-2011 season he was the Penguins 2nd leading scorer behind only Crosby with 50 points.
Kris Letang has quite the resume; already a Stanley Cup winner, 2 time all star, and a 2 time gold medal winner at the world juniors, the 62nd pick in the 2005 draft has made quite the name for himself. He was also named the Penguins rookie of the year in 2007-2008, in 299 career NHL games, Letang has 29 goals and 100 assists for 129 points (not including this season). The future is bright for the 24 year old Penguins defencman, and the Penguins are lucky to have this guy anchoring their blue line.

James Neal
This kid has come out of nowhere, early on in the season when he was turning kids I admit I hadn't heard of so I had to go look him up. After a hat trick in the game last night against the Jets, Neal has 35 goals which puts him 4th in the league! Add on his 37 assists, and he's got 72 points this season, far above his totals with the Dallas Stars and he's still got some games to add on to his totals! The way James Neal has stepped up during the absence of Crosby is scary good, if he can do the majority of his scoring without Sid around, what can he do with him around?
Due to his amazing play this season, which has resulted in career high for Neal, the Penguins resigned him for 6 years at $5 million a year. Neal has showed great leadership on the Pens this season, and is now one of the top go to players this season. With 70 points this season, Neal becomes the first Penguins winger to score 70 points since 2001-2002.
It's quite funny actually, although Neal had a hat trick and an assist last night against the Jets, all anyone wants to talk about is Sidney Crosby's 4 points last night.

Matt Cooke
The guy they call Cookie, was, at one point in his 11 year NHL career one of the most feared NHL players. Not because of goal scoring ability but because of his questionable hits that have left players concussed and even ended careers.  In those 11 NHL seasons between the Canucks, Capitals and Penguins he has racked up 988 penalty points! His worst year being 2010-2011 where he had 129 penalty minutes and really hurt his team with his suspensions. But something has clicked in Cooke's head and he's changed his game around, I won't get into it all as it'll be in a later blog, but Cooke's transformation is incredible, he's even set a career highs with 16 goals and will likely set a career high in points by the end of the season. But what's most remarkable is the fact he has just 30 penalty minutes this season an all time low! By playing cleaner, less dirty hockey he's helping his team by staying out of the box (both penalty and press) and staying on the ice and contributing in a positive way.

The Penguins are definitely happy to have their star player back, but it wasn't like they were desperate to have Crosby back. They had several players stepping up and putting points on the board, they're in the playoff picture and just 1 point back of first, something tells me they would have been fine without Crosby.
With the Penguins having Crosby, Malkin, Letang Staal and several other players in their lineup it's almost an unfair advantage to their opponents. So now that the Penguins have Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Cooke, Staal, Letang does this make the Penguins Stanley Cup favorites?
This blog was to remind people about some of the role players who have stepped up during Sidney's absence, let's not forget the people who have stepped up and carried this Penguins team. Just because Crosby's back doesn't mean we should forget their contribution!


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The Sabres new top line

What a game against the Lightning, last night a big 7-3 win, was such a fun game to watch and I'm sure the boys loved playing it. I took 3 things away from the game last night; 1. We won a game in regulation! flip I'm still in shock we didn't need more than 60 minutes to get to the final score, it seemed like the Sabres had forgotten how to win in regulation. 2. Where the heck did all this offence come from? when was the last time we scored 7 goals in 1 game? I was shocked by the number of goals we put on the board, I was nervous when it became 4-2, thinking the Sabres were about to let another game slip. How about that Marcus Foligno kid? and 3. The Sabres have a new top line, although they don't have the official title of being the number 1 line; Foligno, Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford are the Sabres best line right now, forget Vanek, Pominville and Roy teams now have to deal with the new best line. Let's break down the Sabres "new" number one line.

Tyler Ennis

Ennis is a great hockey player, I'm getting tired of people always talking about his size first, him and Nathan Gerbe play with a lot of heart but when it's all said and done they are both HOCKEY PLAYERS!! It is just so fun to see Ennis skating down the ice and making plays, he's having fun and taking advantage of his chances on the 2nd line. In last night's game, he tallied up 2 assists helping to pad his 5 game point streak in which he has 5 assists and 9 points. The best part of Sabres victories is the developing "bromance" between Ryan Miller and Ennis, the big hug they give each other with grins stretching from ear to ear, it just shows how this team is banding together! In 39 games this season Ennis has tallied 24 points, not bad for the 22 year old playing in his second NHL season. No sophomore jinx for Ennis. He is proving to be a great 2nd line centre, a healthy Ennis is a scary thought for the opposition.

Marcus Foligno
I honestly can't say enough about this kid! He is quickly becoming one of my favorite Sabres players. I'd like to thank @Jennilynj one of my followers on twitter, for convincing me to give Foligno a chance. I wasn't too impressed when he got called up after the Kassian trade, I was hoping Luke Adam would get the call. I didn't think Foligno was nearly good enough or ready to be a solid player in the NHL. But now that I've given him a second chance I'm happy I did.  Last night Foligno was a crucial part in the 7-3 win, now I know it sounds stupid to say someone was crucial in a 7-3 trouncing like last night but Foligno's 2 goals really helped set the tone. His first goal was near the beginning stages of the 2nd period and his 2nd goal came near the end of the 2nd period. His second goal in particular was important; it was the Sabres 5th goal of the night but it came minutes after Tampa had scored to make it 4-2. The dreaded two goal lead! Once it was 4-2 a few hearts started pounding, but Foligno came to the rescue and scored his second goal to extend the lead to 5-2 and that was all the Sabres needed.
Last night was Foligno's second two-goal game, the rookie now has 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games since joining the Sabres on March 10. Foligno is really starting to turn heads and get people's attention; a major reason for his success in the NHL is his time playing juniors and in the minors, the Sabres took their time in letting him develop. The development of young rookies is something fans and sometimes management overlook, but it's crucial for young players to be given time to dominate in the minors, have proper coaching and be fully ready to play in the NHL.
Based on Foligno's play from the last few weeks, I can now understand and see why the Sabres were willing to get rid of Kassian. Foligno is going to be the real deal, I believe he's already better than his brother Nick (currently playing for the Senators) and may even be better than his father one day, big shoes to fill for the youngest Foligno, but something I think he may be capable of. As a Sabres fan I get excited every time Marcus gets the puck, and the opposition gets a little nervous. But right now he is having fun living out the Foligno legacy; "the jump" excites the crowd and reminds them of the days his father was the Sabres captain.

Drew Stafford
Stafford is having a rough season, after an amazing return from injury last season when he amassed 52 points in 62 games, and received a new contract, expectations were high for Stafford in Buffalo. But last night Stafford had likely his best game all season, scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists. Since he's been paired with Foligno and Ennis, Stafford has been playing his best hockey all season; He's currently on a 4 game point streak (2 goals and 9 points). Whether people in Buffalo want to admit it or not Stafford is one of the best 100 hockey players in the NHL, but it's all about being paired with the right line mates, if you're not with the right guys you're not going to be nearly as efficient or effective.

This trio of guys have been on fire as of late, perhaps one reason, 2 of them are fighting to earn their place in the lineup so they want to put their best in. But the chemistry and the effectiveness of this line is quite amazing! If Ruff brakes up this line, then he deserves a plane ticket out of town, these guys are gelling well together and feeding off each other success. These three are major contributors in Buffalo's late season playoff surge, they're playing hard and other players are feeding off their energy, excitement and confidence. It's great to have a team full of veterans in their late 20's and early 30's but those veterans don't always play with the same passion and excitement as young kids trying to earn a roster spot, which is why you need the young guys who are playing for contracts, spots on the team and a chance at the postseason. If a team doesn't have a core of young players (Ennis, Gerbe, Foligno, Hodgson, Tropp) that are excited to play night in and night out and giving it their all, then they won't succeed.

Other thoughts from Last Night
Another happy moment from last night was Cody Hodgson got his first point as a Buffalo Sabre, he finished off the night with 2 assists and was looking good out there, he looks like he's starting to find his game again and get comfortable with his teammates. Just in time for the postseason push, now that he's paired with Vanek it shouldn't be a problem getting him rolling. And he looked really comfortable with Jason Pomminville on the power play.

Pominville is finding his game again (2 goals last night), his line with Leino and Roy is starting to gel and produce points, the Second line with Foligno, Ennis and Stafford is on fire Hodgson and Vanek should be able to ignite each other and the 4th line contributing all over the ice; All 4 lines in Buffalo are a go, Miller is back on his game, and providing the Sabres an opportunity to win night in and night out. The team is gelling and starting to play for each other and most importantly they're having fun out there on the ice! Not to mention we get Tyler Myers back next game after serving his 3 game suspension, and in his absence the Sabres got 4 out of 6 points not too shabby.

This Sabres team is really starting to click, and are just 2 points out. They're hungry for the playoffs, and anxious to dismiss the overrated talk that unmet expectations from the start of the season. The Sabres are a dangerous hockey team right now, and after dismantling the Lightning, they're proving they can and will steamroll over any team in their way of getting to the postseason. We got 9 games to make up 2 points, it's going to be an intense couple weeks as the season rides out. Looking at the schedule I see both the Winnipeg Jets and Washington Capitals getting about 8-10 more points and the Sabres should be able to squeeze out between 12-14. With that said, hopefully we'll be seeing some more playoff hockey in Buffalo, who knows maybe even a visit to the second round. If I'm a top seeded Eastern Conference team and I see the Sabres coming in the rear view mirror I'm starting to sweat!

The Week That Was

Time to wrap up another crazy week in the NHL.

Stamkos reaches 50
Steven Stamkos is quite the remarkable young hockey player who will likely win a Stanley Cup somewhere down the line in his historic NHL career. Stamkos isn't even 23, yet he has accomplished so much in his 4 years of NHL hockey. On Tuesday night Stamkos scored 2 goals against the Boston Bruins to give him 50 goals on the season, not only has did he reach the remarkable 50 goal platoue he joins an exclusive list of 7 players who have accomplished the feat twice in their career before turning 23! Wayne Gretzky (did it 5 times), Mario Lemieux, Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Bure, Joe Nieuwendyke and Mike Bossy. Not bad company if you ask me!
Stamkos is having an amazing season having scored 35 goals in 30 games he looks to be the front runner for the Rocket Richard trophy, it would be the second time the young sniper has won the award (2009-2010).
Since the beginning of the 2009-2010 season Stamkos has scored 149 goals, the most by any player over that time span and 35 more than Ovechkin and Perry (111). Every time Stamkos takes to the ice the chances of something magnificent happening are great!
This Kids going to heck of a career!

The other Penguin returnee
Perhaps lost in all the buzz over Crosby, was the return of Kris Letang to the Penguins line-up Thursday night. Now It's a stretch to say the Letang is better than Crosby, but right now many are saying having Letang out for the playoffs would be worse than Crosby. Letang is a very important member of the Penguins team, a crucial defenceman. Leang has just over 24 minutes of ice time notched an assists and was a plus-5. Letang was returning from a concussion just like Crosby, and it was Letang's 2nd concussion of the season.

Crosby returns!

Thursday night marked the 2nd return of Sidney Crosby for his concussion/neck issues. Crosby

 re-aggravated his concussion back December 5th after taking a butt end/elbow to the head. Crosby played exactly 16 minutes against the Rangers on Thursday, and finished with 1 assist and a plus-3. Wasn't an expectational return from Sid the kid but it didn't have to be, the Penguins were playing just fine without him. (sounds weird eh?) The 5-3 win for the Penguins marks their 10th straight win and truly solidifies them as top contenders in the Eastern conference. Crosby approached his 2nd return with a different mindset than his first, he was a little more hesitant, emotions weren't riding as high and he wasn't eager to test himself with contact. Not to be overshadowed by Crosby's return, is Malkin. This is still very much Malkins' team this season, so I hope he does not get forgotten about with everything he has done in Crosby's absence. Heck when your name is Sidney Crosby good things happen at 1:42pm on Friday the league officially credited Crosby with a second assist, on the Matt Cooke goal.

Tyler Myers gets suspended
Tyler Myers was handed a 3 game suspension from Brendan Shanahan for boarding Canadians Scott Gomez. Myers will forfeit $14,189.19 in salary over the 3 games. Myers has 2 games left in his suspension.

Hybrid Icing gets a vote of confidence
We've all seen them, a race for a icing skates and sticks get tangled up and one player goes flying into the boards; breaking a leg, dislocating a shoulder and even concussions have all come from icing races. When I watch hockey games and see close icing races I hold my breath, you never wanna see a player go flying into the boards and end up hurt. It would appear the NHL GM's feel the same way and are ready for a change in the icing rules. The change require the linesman to make a judgement call (we all know how those work out!), If the forecheker is leading the play by the faceoff dot the play continues or if the defenseman is leading the play or tied with the forechecker by the faceoff dot the play is to be blown dead and be ruled an icing. There are still a few technicalities with this new rule change, but it's a step in the right direction. It still has to be voted on by the competition comitee before being implemented into the NHL as early as next season.

The Universes goalie make history

Despite being one of the wackiest, strangest goalies you will probably ever find Ilya Bryzgalov is actually a solid netminder when he focus' on just hockey. Going into Thursday nights game against the Islanders, Bryzgalov was on a stretch of 3 straight shutouts and score less streak of 196:13 just 31 minutes shy of the Flyers record 227:40 set by John Vanbiesbrouck set in 1999. Midway through the second period Bryzgalov was able to beat the record and even extended it to 249:43 before two goals were scored on the Flyers netminder. As his teammates pointed out Bryz has finally got his "Swagger" back, and with that swagger he makes this Flyers team Cup contenders.

The ageless Selanne notches another accomplishment
Teemu Selanne passes his childhood idol Jari Kurri on the all-time scoring list, moving Selanne into 19th with 1,399 career points. Selanne also becomes the all time leading scorer from Finland and is third on the list of Europeans.

Suspected first overall pick on the shelf
Nail Yakupov who is widely expected to be drafted first overall at this years entry draft is on the shelf for the remainder of the season. Luckily it is just 3 games the Sarnia Sting winger will be missing, he is out with an upper body injury (stitches in his lip), he is hoping to re turn for the OHL playoffs.

Before I end this blog check out the must see moment from this week in the NHL; Eric Cole high fives the referee;

Foligno legacy

It was a moment Sabres fans and hockey fans had been waiting for, Marcus Foligno to do his fathers legendary "Foligno leap". Last night Sabres fans got their wish, Marcus scored his first goal at home in Buffalo and proceeded to do "the Jump" It was a great moment, and something the fans and Marcus will never forget. That was just the start for what would be an amazing night for Marcus.

The great leap came just 99 seconds into the game, when Marcus was able to bury a pass from Tyler Ennis, Marcus then proceeded to jump in the air like his father did so many times during his career. The goal was under review and once confirmed Marcus enjoyed a nice face wash from his Sabres teammates. But with his father in attendance, Marcus decided he wasn't done after 1; He scored his second goal 11 minutes into the second period to tie the game at 3's, a crucial goal for the Sabres who were in need of a goal. Then late in the third, Marcus sent the First Niagra centre into a frenzy when it looked like he tipped in a point shot to put the Sabres up 4-3, fans immediately started littering the ice with hats to celebrate Marcus' first career NHL hat trick. Sadly upon review it was evident that the youngest Foligno had not touched the puck (did a good job of selling the fact that he did), the goal was credited to new Sabres Alexander Sulzer.
Sadly the Sabres ended up losing to the Avalanche in a SO after allowing the tieing goal with .07 seconds left, reminds you of the Montreal game no?

Marcus is making quite the case for himself to stay with Buffalo until the end of season, he made his way into the Sabres lineup through others injuries and trades, but most importantly he's earning his ice time!
The Zack Kassian trade came as a shock to most, but the reason Buffalo felt comfortable dealing Kassian was Marcus Foligno. The young rookie has showed energy and determination and willingness to bang some bodies around (something Kassian wouldn't do in Buffalo) and the ability to score goals; 3 goals and 1 assist in 4 games with the Sabres.

The Sabres felt that Marcus was near ready to take a full time role in the NHL and had a better upside than Kassian which made him expendable. I for one was never a huge fan of Foligno, I thought he was over hyped and over rated just because his father was the Sabres captain. But he's proved my prejudice wrong, and I'm really starting to like the young rookie and I think he's going to have a big future in Buffalo.

The Sabres drafted Marcus in 2009, 104th overall oddly enough the same year they drafted Zach Kassian and Brayden MacNabb. 2009 seemed to be the best draft year the Sabres have had in recent memory.
Foligno was drafted for his size (6'3 and 222 pounds) and his ability to be physical, his leadership on and off the ice and his ability to play a 2 way game. He was selected to play on the team Canada world junior team in 2011 (won silver).

I don't see Marcus Foligno being returned to the AHL anytime soon, if he keeps playing and putting up points like he currently is he may play himself onto a perminate spot on the Sabres roster. In all Likely hood he'll finish off the season with the Sabres. It's good to see the Foligno Leap back in Buffalo!

Unleash your inner Beast

The Sabres have been on a surreal run in the second half of the season; 9-9-2 in the last 13 games the Sabres have gone from 15th in the east to 9th just 2 points back of 8th place. If the Sabres are to make the playoffs it will be historic, no team has ever come back from 15th at the all star break to make the playoffs. There's still work left for the Sabres to make a full comeback and sneak into the playoffs; but with the play of Miller, Ennis, the third line and the new "beastness" Tyler Myers has found I wouldn't bet against the Sabres quite yet. There have been three "beasts" for the Sabres as of late: Ryan Miller, Tyler Ennis and Tyler Myers, today we'll be talking about the later.

Myers has been on fire of late and last night against the Canadians he scored the OT winner, and likely saved the season/playoff push. The tying goal being scored with .4 seconds left was a potential back breaker for the Sabres, if they hadn't rallied together and scored the OT winner, then our playoff push, everything that's been happening for the last couple months would be for nothing, it would have broken this team mentally and they likely would not have been able to rebound from it. But 2:02 into OT the Sabres had a 3 on 2 rush into the Habs zone, Derek Roy sent a beautiful pass over to Myers who made no mistake and buried the game winner! I'm going out on a limb and saying Tyler Myers is the dark horse MVP of the Sabres this season; he had a rough start to the season, he got benched, got hurt, then came back and recently has been on fire! With his overtime goal last night, Myers solidified his name in the Sabres records; his OT goal was his 8th game winning goal of his career which ties him for the lead for Sabres defense with Brian Campbell and Alexei Zhitnik. It was also Myers 3rd career overtime goal which puts him in first among all Sabres defenseman! Not bad for a guy who was being thrown under the bus at the beginning of the season.

Myers "coming out party" for the season was the game against Anaheim, when he got in his first fight and recorded 7 penalty minutes. At the end of the game in which the Sabres beat the Ducks, a scrum ensued and Myers dropped the mitts with Sheldon Brookbank. The passion in his eyes during that fight spoke volumes, he literally looked like he wanted to rip Brookbank to shreds! But that moment was so extremely important for Myers, he's starting to come out of his shell and take a leadership role on the team, and that's what the Sabres are looking for from their gentle giant. The Sabres drafted Myers and signed him long-term so he could be their next "franchise players," perhaps a future captain, Norris trophy and hopefully bringing the Cup home to Buffalo! The Sabres have big plans for the kid, and he's starting to understand his role more and more, and the fact that he can and should take a leadership role. Since his fight against Brookbank, I've noticed a more relaxed and pumped up defenseman. He's hitting harder, playing smarter defense, taking more chances/shots, jumping up in the play and really laying down the foundation for an excellent defense game in the future. I'm really excited to see Myers develop further in the future; he's going to be a great defenseman.

I love watching Myers on the ice right now, he's so full of confidence, he commits fully to a hit or poke check and doesn't chicken out, he's not afraid to rush the puck and shoot. Although his numbers are down this season (8 goals 13 assists), he's starting to really find his game. But what I really like from this "new" Sabres season in the second half, is how they're banding together and starting to play for their line mates, defensive partners and teammates-- they know how important these games are to the team, the fans and each other and they're finally playing that way. The embrace between Miller and Tyler Ennis after the shootout against Ottawa on Saturday shows it all, these guys are finally playing like a team. It's not just an individual effort each night anymore, they have faith in each other. When Miller was asked what was different about his game in the second half he said "I've learned to TRUST my teammates more!" A good hockey team, and a team that wins a Stanley Cup is team that plays for each other!

The only blunder in Myers game as of late, was the hit from behind on Scott Gomez last night. It was a bit of retaliation for a hit Gomez put on Myers, but Myers is the one meeting with Brendan Shanahan today. I'm guessing he'll receive a 3 game suspension or a $2,500 fine; nothing to serious but serious enough to get the point across, good news is Myers isn't a repeat offender. The hit looked viscous but Gomez did leave himself open for the hit, but Myers did hit him with a little extra aggression. So look for a wrist slap attention grabber.

This Sabres team is dangerous; they're coming together, players are playing amazing, Miller is back, Myers is out of his shell and the shorties (Ennis and Gerbe) are playing like they're 6 feet tall!
I wouldn't underestimate this team, in fact if I were the Rangers I'd be rooting for someone else to take 8th!

The Week That Was

It's been a crazy week in the NHL; Crosby got cleared for contact, the Leafs lost a key component, a legend was honoured in Pittsburgh, the Bruins sign an insurance goalie and much more. Crazy week so I'll wrap it up for you!

The big news Sidney Crosby was cleared for contact!!!
This is big news for the Penguins and the NHL, especially with the fact that Crosby could play as soon as Sunday! Not only was he cleared for contact, he participated in a full practice on Tuesday and another one Wednesday. Crosby has been out since his concussion symptoms resurfaced back in December but will hopefully be back in the Pens lineup before the playoffs in start. One thing for sure with Crosby, he takes his time; he doesn't rush things, he makes sure he is healthy and more than ready to return. This time it's especially crucial for Crosby and the Pens to take this slowly, Crosby can ill afford to take another hit to the head. Oddly enough it will be tough to find a fit for Crosby in the lineup, with Malkin and his linemates playing extremely well you don't want to break up chemistry. Crosby will likely find himself on the 2nd line when he returns! (What an awesome problem to have, huh!)

Joffrey Lupul out 3-4 weeks with separated shoulder!
This is major blow to the Leafs playoff hopes, as their "2nd" best player goes down with an injury! This injury will likely be the end to Lupul's and the Leafs season. Lupul was 2nd in scoring with the Leafs with 25 goals and 42 assists and was a big part in elevating Phil Kessel's game.
Carter Ashton (remember him, he was picked up on trade deadline day) was called up to fill the void.

Sean Avery is done in New York

Sean Avery the guy everyone loves to hate, you sure as heck hated to play against him but at one point or another you've wanted him on your squad. He's a pesky little player know for getting under peoples skin, and it would appear he pushed it a little far in New York with coach John Tortorella. It's never a good thing when your head coach is asking management to send you to the minors, but that was the case with Avery. Avery received the message on Tuesday and was told that he was no longer expected or needed to show up to games and practices with the Rangers AHL team as he was cut from their postseason roster.

It had been a rough season for Sean Avery with New York; he was waived twice by the Rangers then sent down permanently to the Whalers, he's been a healthy scratch since January 27th.

One thing is still for sure though, wherever Sean Avery goes controversy will not be far behind!

The Bruins have signed veteran goaltender Marty Turco

Bruins fans held their breath when Tuuka Rask went down and did not get back up in a game earlier this week. Unfortunatetly for Rask he will be out 4 to 6 weeks with a grown strain, good news for Bruins fans is Rask will be back for the playoffs. So to fill the void until then the Bruins went and got Marty Turco as some insurance. However, because Turco was acquired post trade deadline he will not be eligible for the playoffs with the Bruins. The Bruins ultimately had no choice to make this move as they are coming up to a stretch of 18 games in 33 days and were expecting Rask to bear a lot of that workload so they could rest Thomas. Turco is a solid veteran who has played 11 seasons between the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks. This was a smart necessary move by the Bruins.

Grabovski gets his new contract

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Mikhail Grabovski have come to terms with a 5 year $27.5 million dollar contract, which breaks down to a cap hit of $5.5 million a year! The deal also includes a modified no trade clause, Grabovski can choose 10 teams every year that he would except a trade to. Despite not playing on the first line, he is easily the Leafs best centre, due to the lack of cheap first line centres that will be on the market this summer Brian Burke had to over pay to keep Grabovski in Toronto. Oddly enough the Leafs have no cap space left to resign UFA's and RFA's at the end of the season nor to go out and get a veteran netminder, look for Burke to be busy this offseason.

Mario Lemieux is honored with a bronze statue of ..... Mario Lemieux

The Pittsburgh legend and Pens owner had the great honor of watching his former team unveil a statue in remembrance of his outstanding career. Lemieux was famous for always finding a way to squeeze by defenders, and now that skill is showcased forever standing outside the Penguins arena.
Lemieux was and is a huge part of the Pittsburgh organization; he spent 17 years as a player, scoring 650 goals and winning consecutive Stanley Cups (1971-1972) as well as being a 3 time MVP. Now he is the owner, and really savior of hockey in the "Burg", of his beloved Pittsburgh Penguins, it is evident Mario has a special place for Pittsburgh in his heart and Pittsburgh has a special place for Lemieux.

Grabovski gets his new contract
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Mikhail Grabovski have come to terms with a 5 year $27.5 million dollar contract, which breaks down to a cap hit of $5.5 million a year! The deal also includes a modified no trade clause, Grabovski can choose 10 teams every year that he would except a trade to. Despite not playing on the first line, he is easily the Leafs best centre, due to the lack of cheap first line centres that will be on the market this summer Brian Burke had to over pay to keep Grabovski in Toronto. Oddly enough the Leafs have no cap space left to resign UFA's and RFA's at the end of the season nor to go out and get a veteran netminder, look for Burke to be busy this offseason.

Brian Burkes other son starts: If you can play, you can play.
It's been 2 years since Brian Burke's son Brendan Burke was killed in a car accident. A couple of years before the accident the elder Burke found out Brendan was gay. Now in memory of Brendan, younger brother Patrick came up with an equality project for hockey: If you can play, you can play. Getting people to relize it doesn't matter what or who the person is, if you can lace up the skates, skate around the ice and score goals you can play hockey. The YOU CAN PLAY project was announced Sunday during the first intermission of Bruins vs. Rangers and has several hockey players promoting it; Rick Nash, Joffrey Lupul, Dion Phaneuf, Duncan Keith, Claude Giroux, Daniel Alfredsson, Scott Hartnell, Corey Perry and Henrik Lundqvist.
Patrick Burke, a scout for the Flyers, said "If he can win a Stanley Cup with 22 gay guys than so be it" Right now 20 players have joined up with the You Can Play project but not all have been unveiled yet.
This is a big step for the NHL, and professional sports in general, Ultimately the right one, the NHL needs equality, if you can play you can play.

Steve Yzerman to head up the 2014 team Canada Olympic project


Ryan Miller was the first star this week, after recording back to back shutouts and single handily getting the Sabres back in the playoff hunt!


That's the kind of week it was around the NHL folks, this will be an exciting next 30 days as the playoff races heat up and teams start to get eliminated from the race. We'll see which teams are contenders and which are pretenders, see players rise to the occasion and teams put it all on the line for the holy grail of sports---- the Stanley Cup!

The Derek Roy Effect

Despite the title this blog is not entirely about the pathetic play of our first line centre, it's mainly about how after having Roy centering Vanek and Pominville, has suddenly turned those two cold! This blog isn't an over reaction blog after the Sabres laid an egg last night against the Jets, Vanek and Pominville have been quite this whole road trip! The turning point for me personally was the Vancouver game, the first place team, a game where we needed our first line to step up and lead us to victory. The first line of Vanek-Roy-Pominville had just 3 shots! We need more from our top line.

Derek Roy
Before the trade deadline Roy was reportedly put on the first line to be showcased for a trade out of town. He started jelling with his line mates, scoring goals and getting everyone excited that Roy's got his game back. On deadline day, Darcy Regier was unable or unwilling to deal Roy. (truth be told I don't think he tried very hard) Now that all the trade rumours are gone and the team is settling back in, Roy has returned to his crappy play from earlier in the season. But on Saturday in Vancouver, after focusing on Roy, I could tell that he was confused and ultimately looked lost out there. He'd receive the puck and immediately and blindly give it away like he was scared to have it. He was caught out of position, it just looked sad! I have two reasoning's behind his slumping play: maybe he really did want out of Buffalo, he was playing amazing with the possibility of him being traded or maybe he's tired of being the Sabres scapegoat, he'll be 29 by the end of the season and would likely want a chance to win and compete for a Stanley cup. In interviews Roy talks about the 2005 and 2006 Stanley Cup playoff runs (2005 was the season I became a Sabres fan!) and how much fun that was, but after the Sabres failed to keep Chris Drury, and Daniel Brier that Sabres have failed to come even remotely close to those runs.
The second reason behind his slumping play, could possibly the acquisition of future first line centre Cody Hodgson. This is a bit of a long shot, but maybe Roy feels threatened by the young star. Hodgson has many years left and can possibly lead the Sabres to a Stanley cup, while Roy is running out of time and likely won't lead the Sabres to a cup.
But ultimately there is no excuse for Derek Roy's poor play this season, if he's hurt then he should get the heck off the ice and let someone (Luke Adam, who played exceptionally well with Vanek and Pommer) who can actually play take his spot, he's not helping. Whatever the case, every line Roy has played on has been brutal! So whats the common denominator? Derek Roy!

Jason Pominville

Despite leading the team with 23 goals, Pominville has gone cold and hasn't scored a goal in 6 games! Not a major drought but unacceptable from our team captain especially during this crucial west coast road trip. It's hard to blame/get mad at Pominville as he's pretty much carried the team all season, but he's picked the wrong time to get cold! Right now the Sabres are making a big push to make the playoffs and we need are captain to step up and deliver and be the leader of this team! In the game against the Ducks he was playing so poorly I was convinced he was sick. Last night, he was letting pucks dribble off his stick. He's been non-existent, invisible whatever you want to call it, he was a non factor during this road trip and the last 6 games. If the Sabres want to make the playoffs they need their captain to start scoring again!
Whether its injury or tiredness or illness, Pominville needs to step up his game again and prove that he's earned his captaincy. Ultimately he needs to lead this team!

Thomas Vanek
Much like Pominville it's tough to blame and get mad at Vanek, as he was the first half MVP for the Sabres. Vanek has just one less goal that Pominville with 22, and earlier in the season this duo was unstoppable and were leading their team like they should be doing now! He has 1 goal in the last 9 games and has just 3 goals since January 6th, odd since that's around the time Miller and the rest of the team started to play. Vanek has also been absent during the Sabres road trip, and although we've been getting through with secondary scoring, eventually we're going to need the first line to step up and help the younger players through the rough patches. Other than being paired with Derek Roy, I really don't see any reason why Vanek and Pominville are playing such uncharacteristically poor hockey. Maybe they're tired, but that's no excuse during this stretch of hockey when teams are pushing toward the playoffs, everyone is tired, and hurt. But the true good players in the league excel and step up to the plate. Which is what the Sabres need Pominville and Vanek to do!


What needs to be done

Lindy Ruff needs to take Roy off of the first line as it's effecting Vanek and Pominville. I know I said earlier that they should stay together but thats when they were playing. When lines stop producing real coaches start to fiddle with their lines, something Ruff hasn't been doing. I vote that Cody Hodgson be paired with Vanek and Pommer, Hodgson will be a future number one centre and has yet to score his first goal with the Sabres. Maybe putting the hot rookie with Vanek and Pominville will spark the first line and help them start scoring again. I mean it's worth a shot no?
I believe the first line with Hodgson would have amazing chemistry, and help get the confidence of the first line back up. Also, it looks like Ennis and Stafford are playing off each other and not necessarily getting a boost from Hodgson. Their boost may actually be coming from Roy NOT being their center!

One thing is for sure, if the Sabres are to make the playoffs they need Vanek and Pominville to start producing again! We've finally got secondary scoring which we didn't have earlier, but now our first line scoring is gone. Derek Roy is not a first line centre, replace him with Hodgson and watch the scoring begin!

Playoff Chances

There are about 16 games left in the 2011-2012 NHL regular season, and for some teams their season will be finished after those games. But no fanbase likes to admit their teams are out of the postseason, so let's take a look at the teams currently sitting outside the playoffs and their chances of making the playoffs.

Washington Capitals currently have a 42.2% chance of making the playoffs.
The Capitals currently have the best odds of making the postseason, as they sit in 9th just 1 point out. To limp into the playoffs the Capitals only need to win 8 of their next 19 games going; 8-8-3 to have a little over 50% chance. Just for the fun of it let's go deeper; if the Capitals finish 10-5-4 they will have a whopping 99% chance of being in the playoffs. The Capitals are more than likely to make the playoffs, if I was a betting person I'd bet on them making the playoffs.

Toronto Maple Leafs currently have a 19.3% chance of making the playoffs.
The Leafs are just 3 points back in 12th and behind the Sabres. The Leafs still stand a better chance of making the postseason than the Sabres. They need to go 11-4-3 to have a 58% chance of making the playoffs, if the Leafs finish with that record they stand a 49% chance of finishing in 8th.

Tampa Bay Lightning currently have a 20.2% chance of making the playoffs.
Funny how all the teams near the Sabres in the standings have better chances of making the playoffs.
The Lightning are sitting in 10th 2 points back of 8th. They would have to finish 12-5-2 (Just like the Sabres) to have a 65% chance of making the playoffs.

Buffalo Sabres currently have a 14.1% chance of making the playoffs.
The Sabres need to finish the season 12-5-2 to have just over 50% chance of making the playoffs. Where as if they go 12-4-3 their chances go up to 70%.
It's a tall task but based on the way Ryan Miller and the Sabres have been playing it is possible. The Sabres are 5-0-1 in their last 6 games, including back to back shutouts by Miller, if this continues there should be no problems sneaking into the playoffs. Right now the Sabres are just 2 points back and sitting in 10th.

Carolina Hurricanes currently have a 1% chance of making the playoffs.
Now I'm all for optimism and what not but let's be real, the Canes are not going to make the make the playoffs this year. They would have to go 13-3-2 and still have less than 50% chance! The Hurricanes are sitting in 14th 8 points back of 8th.

Montreal Canadians currently have a 0.1% chance of making the playoffs.
There is something seriously wrong with the Canadians this season, they've lost their mojo or whatever they had! They are not the same Canadians they used to be! To have a 60% chance of making it the Canadians have to go 14-1-2 anything less and it drops to a 38%. Montreal Canadians are currently 15th in the East, 10 points out and 28th in the league.

New York Islanders currently have a 0.8% chance of making the playoffs.
The Islanders are by far out of the Playoffs and may even be able to lock up a lottery pick. Having to go 14-3-1 to finish with a 62% chance. Sadly for Islanders fans that is not going to happen! Currently 13th in the East 5 points out, and 26th in the league!
All stats from Sports Club Stats....... all numbers from Monday March 5th.


Just for fun, we'll see who has the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup;

Boston Bruins have a 21.1% of winning the Stanley Cup
There is a very Strong chance the Boston Bruins will repeat as Stanley Cup champions. Bruins are currently 2nd in East.

New York Rangers have a 20.1% chance of winning the Stanley Cup
For me personally the Rangers came out of no where and have dominated the East, I don't think there's been a point in the season where the Rangers were slumping! Rangers are currently 1st in the East and 2nd in the entire league!!! Their only weakness is goal scoring and with the players on their roster that could change in a hurry. Besides with King Henrick, who needs more than a couple of goals anyway?

Vancouver Canucks have 16.4% chance of Winning the Cup
Not going to lie here, never been a fan of the Canucks, so I'd prefer them not winning the cup. They are currently in 1st place in the entire league!

These are the Stats folks take them or leave them, but the numbers don't lie! Some of the records teams need to finish with are going to be some daunting tasks, but this might be one of the most exciting playoff races the East has seen in years!

#FireWilson

Last night while watching the Blackhawks vs Senators, news broke the Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Ron Wilson and replaced him with Randy Carlyle. Right away I turned on twitter to see if it was true and to see the reactions of Leafsnation, I don't know how Leafsnation didn't break twitter! But nevertheless Brian Burke fired long time friend Ron Wilson as he just wasn't getting the job done in Toronto.

Wilson was given a 4 year deal on June 10th 2008, by interim GM Cliff Fletcher. The 4 year deal was worth $5.6 million. To Wilson's credit he lasted most of his 4 years behind the bench in Toronto no easy task. During his 4 year tenure with the Leafs he failed to lead the team to the playoffs in 3 straight seasons, and was on pace to again miss the playoffs, which would bring the Leafs playoff drought to 7 years. Something had to give, with Leafs fans calling for Wilson's head, the Leafs one game above .500, and a couple of lackluster games by the Leafs, Brian Burke had no choice to pull the plug on his head coach and longtime friend. Wilson coach 310 games with the Leafs only winning 130 and as previously stated he failed to make the post season in 3 straight seasons. Some are saying this is the most dramatic firing of a Leafs coach since Pat Burns was fired on the plane ride home 16 years ago. Wilson was in Montreal with the team and even led practice on Friday morning.

There is a lot of speculation this was a spur of the moment decision by Burke, saying the decision was made Friday or Thursday evening. But Sportsnet radio 590 claimed Burke had made the choice to fire Wilson Wednesday/Thursday morning, but kept his decision quite until he found a replacement. Although I'm not sure if the story is true, it's certainly interesting!

After receiving a contract extension in December, Wilson supposedly lost control of the players, and he started "throwing them under the bus" in the media. Some players were beginning to speak out against him. It's the same situation that happened in Washington, the players shutout the coach and the coach got the short end of the stick. Now I'm not saying Wilson was doing a fantastic job coaching the Leafs by any means, but it was a decision that was inevitable, the players made sure of it! Wilson was often critiqued of not showing any emotion coaching behind the bench. But whatever happened, many including Burke believe that this group of Maple Leafs is good enough to make it to the playoffs, and under the coaching of Ron Wilson that just wasn't happening. Whether you like Ron Wilson or not, he is a good if not great coach! He's one of only 7 other coaches to win at least 600 games, tied for 4th with 18 seasons as a coach, and is 3rd all time in games coached with 1,400 games and a legendary coach, he will likely be behind a bench again sometime soon.

Ponder this for a moment, something no other blogger or analyst has openly discussed. Conserder this: What if Ron Wilson came to Burke and asked him to find a new coach?

No coach would ever publicly quit on their hockey team, they'd never get hired again. But being the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs is no walk in the park, and this season has been particularly rough on Wilson. Coming into the season not knowing if he'd have a new contract, being faced with the task of getting the Leafs in the playoffs, hearing the #FireWilson chants, having players not battling every night for you and having a GM taking the players side and not doing any significant deals at the Deadline. Not to mention how well Dallas Eakins is doing with the Marlies, Wilson was on borrowed time before he would have been replaced with Eakins anyways. You got to admit it can't be easy going to work everyday and having 20,000 people screaming to have you fired, and basically being called public enemy number 1. So knowing all that it is possible that Wilson said to Burke "hey it's been 4 years I can't seem to motivate these guys, I'm not having a good time coaching here I think it may be time for a change" You never know after all Wilson didn't look like he was having a lot of fun coaching these guys, he'll probably be on some beach somewhere hot with his wife and grandkids tomorrow just chilling out!

The New Guy
Shortly after the news broke that Wilson was out in T.O, it was announced that former Anaheim Ducks coach Randy Carlyle had been given a 3 year contract to be the new Maple Leafs head coach. Carlyle becomes the 28th head coach in Toronto Maple Leaf history, and is one of 8 coaches who actually played for the Leafs. Much like Burke and Wilson, Carlyle too has a past relationship with Burke, the two won the Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Ducks. He started coaching in 1995 and has NEVER had a losing record in a full season, that's a great stat, but welcome to Toronto Randy.

In 6 seasons with the Ducks he missed the playoffs just once and won a Stanley Cup in 2007. Carlyle has been brought in to help salvage (if he can) what is left of the Leafs season. It will be no easy task as the Leafs have just 1 win in their last 10 games, and are in 12th 5 points back of 8th. But Carlyle is the type of no nonsense coach the Leafs may need right now, if anyone can get them back on track I believe it's this guy! Another added benefit to the Carlyle hire is he comes with a ton of playoff coaching experience. You can see it, if Carlyle and the players get at it, he just holds up his Stanley Cup ring and asks if any of the Leafs have one, that should shut them up in a hurry!
Carlyle will likely make the Leafs a more disciplined and organized team. He pays extra attention to the defensive zone and makes sure his team can kill of penalties.  Not to mention guys that are playing for contracts will have to get their butts in gear.

Some things to watch out for
Carlyle and Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul don't exactly have a great history. Lupul was traded twice while Carlyle was coach of the Ducks, and is known for giving up and saying Lupul isn't good enough to play in the league. In fairness to Lupul injuries played a major part in the situations, but the Ducks and Carlyle basically gave up on Lupul.

Another thing to watch, is if the Leafs actually do make the postseason this season under a new head coach. This move can go one of 2 ways; either it blows up in the Leafs faces and the players don't respond well to Carlyle. Or this will light a fire under them and force them to wake up and play some of their best hockey.

Who will ultimately get to takeover the goaltending duties Gustavsson or Reimer, one thing most fans were sure of was the fact Wilson gave up on Gustavsson and wanted Reimer to be the guy. But neither goalie was performing well so Wilson couldn't make up his mind. Carlyle is coming from a team that had star goalie Jhonas Hiller, he's going to want a goalie to step up and be number one. How will he figure that out? The Leafs have 18 games left, pick one to give 4 straight starts, if he handles it, let them ride out the last 14 games. If they can't, pick the other one. One thing is for sure goalies can't get into their grove and play well when given spot starts which is what Wilson was doing, which is also why the goaltending wasn't working. I believe if you give one of these guys a nice stretch of hockey games the Leafs goaltending woes will be gone. This could also be Gustavsson's last chance to become a Leafs goalie of the future.

Carlyle has the fortunate position of not HAVING to make the playoffs. He's got a built in excuse and one he should use to start looking toward the future.

This was the only way of lighting a fire under the player's butts, for some reason Burke made no significant roster moves at the deadline, so the only option was a coaching change. Ultimately this was a stall tactic for Burke to save his own butt, if things don't start panning out in Toronto it could and should be Brian Burke packing his bags next!