Live from the Arena: Sabres vs. Caps

That cliche about every game being the most important of the season certainly holds true for the Sabres this year. After a desperately needed win last night in Philadelphia, they need tonight's game against the Capitals just as much to keep some momentum going.

Lindy Ruff was talking this morning about the job Nolan Pratt did last night in Philadelphia and cracked up the media with this gem: "This is the type of year you've got to come off the ice with a broken arm or your nose dripping with blood. You've got to do whatever you've got to do."

Good mantra for the Sabres to live by tonight. Do whatever you've got to do to stop Alexander Ovechkin and win this game. The Sabres will be alone in eighth with a win, tied for eighth with Philly if they lose via overtime or shootout and stay in ninth with a regulation loss. That would put Washington a point behind Buffalo.

Ryan Miller will be in goal for his career-high 21st straight game. Olaf Kolzig gets the call for Washington with Cristobal Huet dealing with back spasms. Clarke MacArthur and Dmitri Kalinin are back in for the Sabres with Henrik Tallinder and Tim Connolly out. Daniel Paille is also back in the lineup with Andrew Peters a healthy scratch. Check out this Sabres starting lineup: Pratt and Nathan Paetsch on defense with a forward line of Adam Mair, Patrick Kaleta and Paille.

---Mike Harrington

Third Period

18:38 left: Ovechkin is gone for tripping a few seconds after Kolzig stops Drew Stafford on the doorstop. Sabres have a chance to get some justice for the Caps' second goal. The fans behind the penalty box were on Ovechkin pretty good. Looked a basketball player getting heckled until he sat down after his fifth foul. Cool.

16:00 left: Not much on the power play but at least Kalinin averted disaster by getting back to thwart a breakaway pass to Ovechkin as he came dashing out of the box.

15:05 left: Great chance for Paille in the slot but he's stopped by Kolzig after a great feed by Spacek.

12:35 left: Another power play as Tom Poti goes off for interference. The Sabres are 1 for 4 so far with four shots on goal. Five penalties to none in this one. Buffalo has to take advantage of that.

10:00 left: Buffalo is 1 for 5 on the power play and still trails, 2-1. Brian Campbell wasn't playing well defensively the last month he was here and, off these two games, Andrej Sekera is an upgrade in that area. Where the Sabres are hurting more without No. 51 is on the power play. Yeesh. Can we forget about Kalinin and Kotalik there and try Sekera?

9:12 left: The stars both have near-misses. Thomas Vanek barely missed getting his stick on a Derek Roy rebound and had an open net staring him in the face. A few seconds later, Ovechkin unleashed a howitzer of a wrist shot and Miller made a pad save.

6:41 left: Too much open space for Ovechkin on the left results in No. 54 and a 3-1 lead for the Caps.  Miller has GOT to make that save. Off his glove and trickles in. Can't happen. Five goals in the last two games and six in the last three for No. 8. And five in four games this season against Buffalo.

2:49 left: One loooooooooong video review after a scramble in front of Kolzig. Looks like the puck is over the line right between his legs. No goal because "the play was whistled dead." Then what was the point of the review? Boooooooo.

18.7 left: Kotalik goes off for holding, smashes his stick on the ice and breaks the blade off in his hand. Good night.

Second Period

19:48 left: That's a bizarre start. Paille just fails to get a long pass from Paetsch and steamrolls into Kolzig's head as the Caps' goalie makes a headlong dive for the puck. Ouch. A dazed Kolzig stays down to figure out what zip code he's still in.

18:01 left: Miller robs Sergei Fedorov on a 2-on-1 that started when Toni Lydman was caught on a pinch. Can the Sabres give up 10 odd-man rushes in a 10-minute stretch? Enough already.

13:55 left: Yawn.

11:48 left: Hey, a positive play by Kalinin. He feeds Maxim Afinogenov for Buffalo's best chance of the period. Too bad his slapshot from the slot was right in Kolzig's midsection. Couldn't be a much easier save.

9:29 left: Miller stops Backstrom's deflection from in front after a nifty Ovechkin feed. Shots are 11-11. That's 22 total in 30 1/2 minutes.  Yawn II.

8:51 left: Afinogenov just made like Ovechkin with a long end-to-end rush that resulted in a hooking penalty on Jeff Schultz. Power play No. 3 coming.

7:23 left: A scrambly power play still results in the tying goal as Thomas Vanek screens for Ales Kotalik's wrist shot from the point to make it 1-1.

6:33 left: First off, Kalinkin gave up another breakaway that Miller stopped. Then Ovechkin hauls down Steve Bernier near the blue line (no call?) and feeds Backstrom for a clean chance on Miller to make it 2-1. This is one terrific rookie for sure. When John Stevens sees this replay in Philly, he's gonna snicker at how the stripes hurt the Sabres. Disclaimer: We saw one quick replay up here and there's some disagreement about penalty or no penalty. I'm all ears on opinions.

0:00 left: It's 2-1 Caps through two. Shots are 17-13 for Washington after it had a 10-5 edge in the second period.

First Period

13:46 left: Not much happening so far. The Sabres had a brutal power play with no shots and the teams have combined for just three in the first six-plus minutes. Scattered boo treatment for Alexander Ovechkin when he touches the puck. Like Jon requested in his comments after Sunday's game, here's how the lines have looked to open the game:

Mair between Kaleta and Paille; Roy between Vanek and Stafford; MacArthur between Pominville and Kotalik; Gaustad between Bernier and Afinogenov. On defense, it's Pratt-Paetsch, Spacek-Sekera and Lydman-Kalinin. 

The first power play had Roy-Vanek-Afinogenov with Pominville and Spacek on the points. The second unit had Gaustad-MacArthur-Stafford with Kalinin and Kotalik in the back.

11:14 left: Ovechkin's two rushes thus far have both resulted in him losing the puck to Sekera.

7:23 left: Terrific job defensively thus far by the Sabres, who have a 3-1 edge in shots. You wouldn't notice Ovechkin were it not for the boos. Buffalo going on its second power play with Jeff Schultz off for interference. I'm all for some puck possession in the offensive zone on this power play.

5:10 left: A better power play for the first half and then disaster nearly struck twice. Jaro Spacek had a one-timer derailed by a shattered stick (can we go back to wood, please??), then was stopped by Kolzig on another slapper. Dmitri Kalinin had one braincramp, overskating the puck to David Steckel for a breakaway that Miller stopped. A few seconds later, Schultz came out of the box as Ales Kotalik forgot about him and took another breakaway pass but shot wide. Jeez. Decline the next penalty, anyone?

4:39 left: Wow. Ovechkin gets a long breakaway pass from Nicklas Backstrom and goes past Kalinin like a blur. Then he dekes Miller to the ice for a ridiculously easy looking 53rd goal to make it 1-0. His fifth in three games. Three breakaways in two minutes? I'm all for putting Kalinin back on the bench and making the call for Mike Weber.

0:00 left: It's 1-0 through one and Buffalo has an 8-7 edge in shots but the Caps got the last five and dominated the final five minutes. The Sabres were basically saved by the bell as the Caps were buzzing in the Buffalo zone.

Comments

[David, Amherst]

Every game counts. So is the pressure building from game to game. Fan emotion from hunger to despair. I hate to see Buffalo fans leaving early, I always stay to the finish. Why pattern ourselves like Angelenos who come in the 3rd inning and leave in the 7th? Actually I'm glad the Capitals have Ovechkin....to demonstrate what a Great 8 can do for a team.....exactly what Golisano-Quinn-Regier have decided is unwelcome in Buffalo. The Paychex Meister is bummed that Warren Buffett reclaimed the title of World Number One over Amarillo Slim and Bill Gates.
TG can win the the minors, but can he do battle with his superiors? Lindy said the defense played well, but were on their toes and got caught a few times. The Sabres are not giving up, Pominville is a refreshing change, and Hecht will be back. Still time.

[george]

On the white board in the locker room they need to post the 1-800 nbrs so that the players can reserve their Tee times early.

[Jon]

Mike,
Thanks a lot for listing the Sabres' starting lineups and PP/PK units.

[John]

Sabres now 32-36. I love how they say that the Sabres are 32-27-9, but that 9 represents losses. Their record should be listed as 32-36 (9) for 73 points. People think the Sabres are better than they are, because there is the illusion that they are five games over .500. In the old NHL when ties were ties, you could make that argumment, but the 2007-2008 are playing .471 hockey and .471 teams don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

[blueliner]

I have never in my 44 years seen 3 breakaways in a minute in a half with the same defenseman on the ice. Kalinin is absolutely awful and Lydman not much better. This team is going now where with these brainless types on the ice.

[Steve]

Kalinin needs to go we brought up Sekera in his place but Tallinder is out now. Who could we bring up from Rochester? Last time I looked Rochester is in last place and trailing Lake Erie and in last place in the AHL...Lake Erie??

[Steve]

Could you please fill me in Danny B on where your comment came from????

[Danny B]

Hey, Buffalo: SHUT UP!

haha
what goes around comes around

[Steve]

That was a goal but it's another loss, another step closer to a long summer...get the golf clubs ready

[Kim]

What is the point of instant replay if they are going to get it wrong anyway? That certainly looked like a goal to me.

[becky]

caps second goal offside

[Kim]

I agree about Kalinin. Get him the hell off the ice. Bring up defensemen from Rochester. Hell a pee wee hockey defensemen would be better. Anyone but Kalinin.

[David]

Bottom line- If it was anyone other than Ovechkin taking down Bernier the Sabres would be going on the power play

[waz]

wake up mike we just scored.

[brian]

Call up Weber.

[stash]

3 breakaways and Kalinin's on the ice for all of them! I agree. Get him the heck out of there. He su@#s!!! Anyone at this point would be an improvement. Heck, right now, I'd take Bucky Gleason back on the blueline over Kalinin!

[David]

Uhh... those all happened after Vogl's post...yeah

[alex]

"7:23 left: Terrific job defensively thus far by the Sabres"

what game are you watching

theres been 3 breakaways

[alex]

Ovechkin, GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!