Connolly, Kotalik Out Tonight

Tim Connolly and Ales Kotalik did not make the trip to Pittsburgh and will be out tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Patrick Kaleta and Drew Stafford are back in the lineup after sitting out the previous two games.

Connolly deserves credit for playing Friday night after getting smoked by Keith Tkachuk on Wednesday against the Blues. Frankly, I thought the guy was headed for another lengthy visit to the injured list after getting caught with his head down. Not only did he play, he had a team-high 21 minutes and six seconds against the Blue Jackets on Friday.

Kotalik suffered a hamstring injury that looked nasty. It's not a good sign when one leg lands in Buffalo and the other in Nashville. He's back for more tests to determine the severity of the injury. It's a tough break for him. He was off to a decent start offensively. If Kolalik is sidelined for a long time, the Sabres could bring up somebody from Portland to supply some offense.

The top two candidates are Mark Mancari, who has been dominating down on the farm while playing alongside Tim Kennedy. Mancari had 10 goals and 23 points in his first 12 games. The other, of course, is rookie Nathan Gerbe. He had 12 goals and 18 points. Kennedy, by the way, had four goals and 17 points.

--- Bucky Gleason

Comments

[Buffalo Excuses]

This team has lived on the promise of draft picks for too long.

I agree Kotalik can be shopped, but I am not sure who wants to deal right now.

Stafford, maybe.

Afinogenov, never in a million years. He is toast. If he could have been shipped, he would have been shipped. His lack of production is making the diamond look like doo doo in the ruff (sorry Lindy).

Spacek. Keep him. He is solid. I like him this year and last. He really only had one "bad" year here. We ship him and run into defense injuries again no one will forgive. Solid/Mediocre forwards are a dime a dozen. Defensemen are not.

Paesch...ehh, but ehh in return. (see comment about solid/mediocre forwards).

I know we have to trade to get something but the simple fact of the matter is no one wants these guys collectively. Need to make 1-3 deals and then find someone to let a stud go. Guess what they will want in return? Gerbe. Watch the rafters howl if that gets proposed.

We are dreamers in Buffalo. The only thing we fear more than taking a risk is getting taken for taking a risk. Hence, we dream of big things in this town without the wherewithal of making them happen.

How about Roy? Love the guy but we would get ALOT in return. And what if last year was a fluke? Maybe we can upgrade by putting Roy and Paesch together for an "older, better" forward (you might even get a draft pick too...). Would free up a building log jam of salaries for next 3-5 years which probably makes Quinny sleepless.

Don't think this isn't being considered if mediocrity continues...

[Chad]

We'd get a lot for Stafford. That has been my point all along. Drew's reputation far exceeds his actual ability. You can't convince me that we couldn't package him and Paetsch and get a very good player in exchange (and if we threw in a 2nd or 3rd rounder, get an elite player).

Instead, we're going to hold onto Stafford, he's going to wade in mediocrity the entire season and then some dumb GM is going to sign him to a 3yr, $10mil offer sheet, followed by Darcy either matching with the logic that "we can't let promising young players walk out the door in their mid-20's" or we're going to let him walk, take the draft picks and wait 3-5 years for those picks to develop.

Wonderful.

[Vandy Adam]

Excuses,

My dream scenario does not involve trading for players, but draft picks. I agree no one is going to trade you anything great for any of those guys, but I would rather see us get something between now and March than nothing in July.

Teams make trades in the Fall and Winter every season, so I don't agree with you there. Furthermore, you can't convince me that there are no teams in the league that would trade for those four players. As far as Max, you're telling me there isn't one team who thinks he just needs a change of scenery? Kotalik is a 20 goal scorer annually, should not be hard to deal. Spacek has decent numbers and have you seen what worse defensemen than Spacek have been getting on the free agent market? Stafford is an easy sell, he's a young kid with a ton of upside.

These players are all tradable, you might not get a lot, but I just insist that we get something.

Adam

[Buffalo Excuses]

No team in hockey is trading anyone of substance until the trading deadline.

And you can't package 3 who underperforms for one who over performs. The league is chock full of mediocre roll players or under performing dreams gone bad. No one is going to take our slugs.

The time for this was at LAST trading deadline and free agency period. Problem for us is that we "can't" cut $3 million in salary. We will let these guys slug it out as long as they are drawing money. Get blood from a turnip or die trying is The Excuses motto.

[Heather B.]

Vandy Adam, I think the Sabres *did* mail it in for much of the '05-'06 season. They won a lot of games but they won a lot of games with half-efforts and strong third periods. They were lucky to have enough talent to pull it off many nights. I don't think their subpar play in the playoffs was very out of character for that season. Again, I'm in no way saying that Drury was a problem and I would certainly like him to still be here (for much less money than the Rangers are paying him), but I do think he gets much more credit sometimes than he deserves. He's not the untouchable player that a lot of fans seem to think he is.

[Vandy Adam]

The Sabres mailed it in for much of the 2006-2007 season? They won the President's Trophy! I will agree that their effort in the playoffs was sub-par, but again, I think Drury represented part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

Anyway, can we all agree that we should deal Max, Kotalik and Spacek before their contracts run out at the end of the season? Deal them for draft picks and throw in Stafford while he still has value. Take the $10 million you save and go get a leader, take the draft picks you acquire and continue to rebuild the farm system (Gerbe, Kennedy, Mancari and Weber should start in Buffalo next season). I should really be the GM of this team, any disagreements?

[TPack]

No inspiration or determination - at all!

The Sabres are playing like the guy who pokes the bear, then runs away scared to WAIT and see what it's going to do next. A determined and inspired athlete will poke the bear, then poke it again and again until he is on top and the bear has no choice but to ball up.

The Sabres seem to be playing more "look at my neato pass" than "take this shot, opposing goalie!" mentaility into their games. Instead of "wowing" each other with passes, why not put the puck on net and see what happens?

You can't get a rebound, or score at all, without a shot on goal. Also, why does it seem like there are more Sabres BEHIND the opposing net than in front of it each shift?

And, while I'm on a roll (butter me), how come the Sabres pass the power-play puck back-and-forth, back-and-forth and on and on; THEN take a shot?

C'mon! Shoot, and don't wait for the opposition to get set-up first, shoot the puck!

Otherwise, the bear takes a swipe and you lose the puck, and the chance to take that shot. And with it, goes the ambition to win.

[Heather B.]

The Drury-led Sabres didn't mail it in.

The Drury-led Sabres mailed it in for much of the 2006-2007 season including the playoffs. I loved the guy here and I think his loss has been tough to recover from but let's not deify the guy. I think his importance/value is somewhere between what you two guys are saying.

But I do agree with Excuses that someone needed to lay Crosby out. Take the penalty, listen to his whining but lay him out.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Comment on Crosby, Malkin et al.

While the league is CLEARLY going to let these guys slash and burn in front of the net, if I am Ruff, I ask for MORE from his players.

There is a code. Simple:

Skate around and interefere with my goalie, you are whining to the ref about getting Easton tatooed on your hip.

Slash/spray my goalie after play? You're looking up at me with Easton tattoed on your back.

Shoot the puck 3 FREAKING SECONDS after the whistle into an open net? Wake up 10 seconds after hearing a bell ring from your forehead, and then a loud ice splintering THUD from the back of your head. Guarantee it won't happen again.

Very embarrasing to see that he got treated with kid gloves and still whined all night. BTW, nice glower Gaustad. You can't intimidate someone with a scowl. HIT HIM, then scowl. Much more effective.

In short, if you are going to take a freaking penalty, make sure Crosby is looking UP at you as you skate to the penalty box whining about the call.

Problem with this logic is business. EVERYONE who takes a check from the league, needs these guys to succeed to sell the league. So we pay the price in another (hidden) way. Problem is, our guys get blasted and no one really cares, in or out of the organization.

Will be interesting to see if Vanek continues to lead the league and still get the ticky tack hooking penalties from the refs.

[Vandy Adam]

Chad,

Nice essay, but please try to stay within the word limit next time. I'm not sure if you were being sarcastic or not, but I know what plus/minus is, I just don't find it that significant in Drury's case. He's the leader of that team. Is their success all him? Obviously not, no one is dumb enough to suggest that it is, but he has a lot to do with it.

Rangers fans wanted his head when he had a slow start to his season? Who cares? Fans typically aren't that savvy when it comes to players like Drury whose value goes far beyond plus/minus and other numbers. Look at what the Rangers players have said about their captain and look at the win/loss column.

You go on to talk about dead weight, who was the one that called out that dead weight when we choked against the Senators two seasons ago? It was Drury who sat in the locker room when our season came to an end and said that there are too many players on this team that don't go all out to win games. The guy was a big part of the solution to what ails us. Now he's part of the Rangers' solution.

Adam

[Chad]

1) Brian, not even the most staunch fans have ever called THIS year's team a Cup contender. We are 1/5th of the way to the end of the regular season, how can anyone know who and who's not a contender? If you ran a poll last year at this time re: who was biggest Stanley Cup contender, I'm sure Ottawa would have ran away with it. Buffalo's 2005 team looked very mediocre through the first 1/4 of the season before taking off. I'm not saying that's going to happen, but I am saying it is too early to decipher who are and are not Cup contenders. Besides, it's revisionist history to say people have been saying Buffalo is going to win the Cup this year.

2) Step off the ledge. Despite their recent struggles, the team is on pace for 102 pts. That total is two less than what won the conference last season. This team is very streaky, we know that. Can't get too high or too low. There will be a lot of ebbs and flows.

3) Adam, what does a -5 tell us? It means the other team has scored 5 more goals than his team while Drury has been on the ice at even strength. That's not good for someone who takes such pride in his defensive ability. Add the fact that he has the best goalie in the world on his team and that -5 may be even worse in other situations.

Yes, he's the captain for the best team in the EC after 1/5 of the season. But you can't tell me it's because of him. Two weeks ago you had Rangers fans calling him the biggest bust of the Sather era. Think about that! The biggest bust of the Sather era?! Quite a damning designation.

I recognize the leadership element and he's the type of gritty forward that the Sabres are really lacking right now, but he is not the difference between this team leading the EC and struggling for a playoff spot. He's just not. The numbers don't bare that out.

4) This team has a lot of dead weight on it. Max, Kotalik and Stafford to name a few. Also, as Excuses mentioned, where have you gone Danny Paille? It's time to see if Darcy will be proactive and move some of these guys (Kotalik, Stafford) to get some talent in return and see if the Portland guys can give this team a spark. Stafford can still provide a good return, as evidenced by the Bernier trade last year. Move him while his value exceeds his actual talent!! Please!

5) Excuses, I agree that it was great goaltending vs good goaltending last night. That, and Buffalo was snakebit a little. I thought Pommers could have finished those two shot-passes by Vanek, but they were great saves nonetheless. If he converts the first one to make it 3-1, who knows, maybe the Pens fold up shop for the night. But he didn't and they didn't. As Lindy said, I was happy with the effort for 50 minutes. But you have to play 60 against a team like that.

[Vandy Adam]

Chad,

-5? What does that tell us? He's the captain on the best team in the Eastern Conference. When he was here, we were the best team in the Eastern Conference. I don't think that's a huge coincidence. The Drury-led Sabres didn't mail it in.

I know there are a lot of folks out there who are sick of hearing about our loss of Drury and Briere, but to me when I think of how mediocre our team has been these past two seasons I think of July 1, 2006 and there's no question in my mind that our loss of Drury is the central cause of our fall. 2005-2007 were such fun seasons to be a Sabres fan and we were truly on the precipice. I'm going to be mad we lost Drury until the day that we hoist that Cup.

Adam

[Don H]

Sabres cannot score and cannot prevent other teams from scoring: two or less goals scored in regulation in 10 of 17 games; 32 goals allowed in regulation in the last 9 games despite shutouts being spun in two of those by Miller.
There are just not enough skill players on the roster; Vanek and Pommenville cannot carry the team. The defense is slow and the forwards cannot seem to defend in their own end. The future looks far from bright.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Fact check myself, they are in 5th, not 6th (1 pt. removed).

Paille has been a ghost the last 10 games. Why they interviewed him last night is beyond me. Maybe the rest of team threw him under the bus.

Hadn't considered The Kaleta factor. Interesting thought.

Peters actually managed a couple of shots on goal in 1st period last night.

I still think this game came down to excellent goaltending vs. good goaltending. Doesn't bode well for cup run.

Yes, there were defensive breakdowns, but a great goaltender finds a way. Miller didn't. Love the guy, but he wasn't be enough.

Amissthenetov has lost a step, a juke and a jive. Max is not nearly as exciting as he used to be, so now his lack of production is really irritating as opposed to just frustrating. He has missed SEVERAL open nets this year. Getting pathetic.

A slump that doesn't end; actually does, with the end of the players career. Getting to the point of wanting him dumped for a roster spot.

Of course we will have to wait for the Timbellina to return from the players protection program before talking about needing capacity. I think Ruff held him out for his own protection....FROM ORPIK. Coundn't resist.

[Brian]

You add one guy in the offseason (not counting Laline) and you think you got a cup contender?

Get real.

Same team = same ending

[adept]

essentially the same team as last year..too small...to timid..and no heart. goaltender is average...with hasek..this team is undefeated..but that is hasek..and unrealistic...still this team is going no where soon..what happened to the "great" hitting from paille? he is worthless..and now that teams have figured out kaleta..he is "no dementional" and he has no worth to the team..sad but true..these are two main reasons why they won early...hitting and power play from kaleta...admit it..its truth

[I Love Chris Drury]

He scored the winning SO goal for the Blueskirts tonight.

[Chad]

"Is it too late to re-sign Chris Drury?"

Why, do you miss his -5 rating that much?

[Buffalo Excuses]

Miller gave up fat rebounds on 2nd goal I believe. Malkin's goal. And he should have caught that shot from as far out as it was. The others weren't his fault.

Refs babying Crosby and putting Gaustad in box when Crosby clearly slashes 3 times after didn't help. A desperate league pu/imping a superstar, deal with it.

3 games in a short span explains the lackluster last 10 minutes. No excuse though, just an explanation.

Back to Miller. While it's not his "fault" he does not get credit for carrying his team. Fleury stole this game. Miller didn't. Fleury made unbelievable saves early on during power plays. If not, we walk here.

Regressing to the mean is a painful process. The team is still entertaining though. Not sure, but I think we drop into 6th place tonight.

No panic, but cause for concern.

If folks like Chad are right, Mancari and/or Gerbe come up to fill in for Kotalik and/or Connelly and we are still in the hunt for the cup. Back of the pack, but in the hunt.

If not, well we'll be scrambling for a playoff spot in 60 games.

[Vandy Adam]

Is it too late to re-sign Chris Drury?

[Train Wreck]

Funny, I rarely heard those excuses about Hasek.

Miller's an adequate goalie, but this team never wins the cup with him, hence Drury, Briere, et al taking off for greener pastures.

[Chad]

Edit: "if the defense WASN'T getting tic-tac-toed."

[Chad]

TrainWreck, please enlighten us as to which of those goals were Miller's fault? Maybe if the defense was getting tic-tac-toed, Miller might have had a shot at one of those. Miller might as well have been on a clothesline tonight, because his defense hung him out to dry.

2nd goal: Gaustad dives to block the shot, opening up the passing lane to, of all players, Sidney Crosby. Quick pass across the ice to Golikowski and a goal. Not Miller's fault.

3rd goal: Teppo got caught watching behind the net and didn't see Staal behind him. Bad play by a veteran.

4th goal: Sekera gets caught up when the puck gets caught in his skates. Great pass by Malkin to Fedotenko for an easy goal.

Not sure which of those you thought were on Miller. The Pens announcers (I got their feed on Center Ice) were even talking about how Miller's D-men weren't giving him any help. They're right.

[Train Wreck]

3 goals against in less than 5 minutes in the 3rd period of a tight game? Time to get a new backup goalie...oops, it was Miller!

[waz]

Ruddy awefull effort in maintaining a lead. ZERO effort in the third period, Dumping in with no forecheck. stafford needs a rocket up his behind and should be dropped to portland for gerber etc. The only brightspot to me was that pommers and vanek seem to have good chemistry.

[Chad]

What a stupid, stupid penalty taken by Stafford. That's why he's been watching from the press box (in case he's still wondering). Just very dumb play by Drew Nothing.

Trade him while he still has value.