Live from Sabres at Detroit

DETROIT -- There is no grand entrance to Joe Louis Arena. There's no merchandise store. The bathrooms are old and small. But this is hockey.

The arena, built in 1979, is just one big bowl inside. There are no high-class fans or low-class fans. Everyone is together. The public-address announcer just reads the names and scoring; he doesn't cheerlead. The national anthem is an audio recording of a band playing "The Star-Spangled Banner." The speakers are crackly. It's fun.

FIRST PERIOD

7:13 p.m.: Sabres take a 1-0 lead just 5:03 in when the hot line of Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek and Drew Stafford connect. Roy has scored five goals in five games.

It gave the large pockets of folks who made the journey from Buffalo reason to cheer. (Including the big group to my left that came on a bus chartered by my longtime friend Jennifer Zukowski-Pokigo, whom I ran into prior to the game.)

7:20 p.m.: Hockeytown gives standing ovation to the Red Wings, who are starting to find their legs. First they hit the post. Then goaltender Ty Conklin pulled a Hasekesque move, coming far out of the crease to thwart a Vanek breakaway chance. While the goalie was out, Andreas Lilja and Brad Stuart filled the vacated crease to stop Roy's shot at the open net. Conklin then scrambled back to make a glove save on Jochen Hecht.

7:27 p.m.: Folks watching on TV may see that the arena has plenty of empty seats. The game is actually sold out, but the weather is TERRIBLE. Snowy and icy all day.

7:38 p.m.: Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek gets a high-five from Ryan Miller as the period ends. Andrej Sekera lost the puck at the Buffalo blue line, giving deadly Wings snipers Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom a two-on-one. Spacek managed to break it up, and the Sabres go to the dressing room with a 1-0 lead.

7:47 p.m.: The only other time I covered a game here was Game Five of the Stanley Cup finals last season. I was amazed that sitting right near the Gordie Howe Entrance was Gordie Howe. He's back, signing his book. Awesome.

SECOND PERIOD

7:55 p.m.: Game on.

8:05 p.m.: Tim Connolly is always fun to watch. It's just a shame we don't get to see him often.

8:26 p.m.: The Red Wings end their frustration, scoring with three minutes left on a Jiri Hudler one-timer from the slot. The goal came on their 24th shot. The Sabres have 10.

8:30 p.m.: End of two, teams tied at 1-1. Red Wings have 25-10 shot advantage, including 12-4 in the second period.

THIRD PERIOD

8:47 p.m.: Game on.

9 p.m.: It's 9 o'clock on a Saturday ... the Wings' TV announcer just sang that verse from Billy Joel's "Piano Man" on the scoreboard.

9:03 p.m.: Red Wings get power play when Stafford drives net with 11:03 left and gets called for goaltender interference.

9:06 p.m.: Sabres' penalty killers remain good, earning applause from the busload to my left. Shots are 40-18 with 8:56 left.

9:12 p.m.: Sabres get their best chance to retake lead, when Jochen Hecht and Jason Pominville skate in on two-on-one with 5:41 left. But Hecht's pass was just out of Pominville's reach.

9:15 p.m.: This is the most technically sound Miller has played. He's squaring up to every Detroit shooter, and he hasn't had to make any dynamic saves because he's always in position.

9:21 p.m.: It's all over in 31.4 seconds from now. Red Wings score twice from close range just 59 seconds apart.

POSTGAME

The Sabres' winning streak ends at four, while the Red Wings roll to their sixth straight. Ryan Miller stopped 88 of 92 shots this weekend.

Miller: "I've got a lot of friends and family here. It was nice that they got to see some saves, but they come out for the wins."

Miller on being technically sound: "That's just what I'm trying to worry about now, square up, challenge, don't be a victim of the play. These great shooters are going to be able to go where they I want. I have to challenge and make them change their mind."

Coach Lindy Ruff: "They're a good team. They're probably the best team we've played."

Ruff on Hecht and Pominville missing the two-on-one: "You bury that we may have the opportunity to win the game."

Captain Craig Rivet: "Everybody's disappointed in this room. As much as you can say we were right there throughout the game, we lost. That's the bottom line. To give up a goal with 2 1/2 minutes against arguably the best team in the league, it's frustrating."

---John Vogl

Comments

[Buffalo Excuses]

Chad,

You didn't really set me off, I was just interested in the debate. I think the debate actually educates the fan base about how The Excuses have taken advantage of their loyalty.

I will say it is a gross simplification that spending to the cap does NOT dramatically improve your chances of winning a cup. In fact, I would argue that it is critical to doing so. Of course, "purchasing" cannot guarantee the result. All in, I think we agree more than we disagree.

As an aside, Philly and The Rangers record is closer to Detroits than ours. Pittsburgh will finish ahead of The Excuses too.

This debate will come up again, but it is not timely now.

[Chad]

Hmmm, not sure what I said to set you off, Excuses. I thought I made a pretty harmless post. I'm not going to be baited into a Sabres v. Red Wings comparison. Heck, I'm not going to get into a Red Wings v. Anyone comparison. They are the model franchise in the NHL over the last decade. They are the NHL's Patriots or Spurs.

My underlying point is that they are where they are not because they "purchase" their success. To say that they are there because of that does their business model injustice and ignores all the teams who have just "spent to the cap," not won Stanley Cups, and have had little or no success despite money spent. You don't see Detroit making splashy trades for essentially one player and giving away depth, prospects and draft picks the way the Pens did, a move that now compromises their competitive position and endangers their playoff chances. You don't see them letting the wrong guys walk like the Pens did with Malone, or making bad signings like Satan (yes, the Sabres are guilty of the same). You don't see them making rash free agent signings and overspending for players and giving backbreaking contracts like certain Eastern Conference did to two players who shall remain nameless. They've been almost perfect in just about every regard. To say that it's because of money is such a gross oversimplification.

I'm getting a tad annoyed that I continue to have to reiterate my position over and over. I have no problem spending money on players. None. It's fine. In fact, I think the ideal strategy is to draft players, develop them and then invest in them. I think Detroit does that better than anyone. I think the "Excuses" are trying to do the same. Buffalo will need to sign some free agents this summer. You know I've said this. But if you're arguing that the Wings "purchase" their success in much the same way as the Flyers and Rangers try to do, I disagree with that and I'd argue that Detroit's way of business is closer to Buffalo's than Philly, Pittsburgh or the Rangers.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Okay Chad, ROUND 2

"For one, I don’t think the Red Wings necessarily “purchase” their success. By and large, the great majority of their players were drafted and/or developed by Detroit: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Franzen, Holmstrom, Filppula, Hudler, Kronwall to name a bunch."

This is a fallacy created by big market franchises to justify their payroll (and tell little markets to pass off). The flaw in this argument is that resigned "home grown" talent doesn't count as free agent signings (even if they are free agents). Having the economic wherewithal to resign any free agent (yours or not) is not a reality on The Excuses. Dumont, Greer, Drury, Briere, Campbell, McKee among others were all forced out because The Excuses didn't spend to the cap. Sure, there are other accepted excuses for not doing so, but at the end of the day they were let go. This would not have happened in Detroit, unless they wanted it to. So Chad, this part of your argument is fallacious.

"I don’t think we can put Detroit in the same breath as the Rangers or Flyers, teams who “purchase” most of their top-end players. The Wings cultivate their talent, but they also lock up that talent before it reaches the open market—something Buffalo has at least attempted to do since the Drury/Briere fiasco."

Ummm, Campbell. BTW, is this your version of a DO OVER? Oh, and The Excuses stop signing $7 million before Detroit. Little slip of the logic there. We will see what the gap is next year too.

"Now, the Sabres don’t get that one big free agent each year like Detroit has with Rafalski and Hossa the last two summers,"

I love how this is slipped in as if it were an oversight on The Excuses not to sign these guys...no big deal. Dude, they were signed for $13.5 MILLION. ummm, that's about 27% of The Excuses payroll. Just a slight oversight...

"nor have they hit the jackpot in later draft rounds like Detroit has."

I thought this was the secret of our future success?

But they obviously didn’t need Hossa to win a Cup, and I’m guessing they won’t need him to win more Cups after he walks this summer."

Ummm, just ONE Cup please. Not 4 of the last 11 or soon to be 2 in a row and 5 of last 12 (which approaches 50 freaking percent!!!). JUST ONE FREAKING CUP!!!!

"I think the difference between the two teams is that a) Detroit’s players are self-motivated and bring the effort every night,"

No argument there.

"and b) Babcock is the best coach in the NHL and gets the most out of all of his players. Detroit, for the most part, is a bunch of hard-nosed European players."

Ehh, give ANYONE this team and they look better than they otherwise would. Hard to argue though.

"Have we ever had a hard-nosed European?" Not sure what your point is here. It takes Europeans to win the cup now because of Detroit? So, it's that they are from Europe (or Asia if you look at a map) and not that they all make over $5 million per year. Oh, ok.

"At the end of the day, a 3-1 loss at Detroit is not the end of the world and doesn’t tell us much beyond we’re not in Detroit’s league (not many are)."

Boy! That makes me feel better!!! We aint in there league. Gee, what league are we in? Ahhh, it's "The mediocre, hope and pray, someday soon, we will maybe one day, get enough lucky draft choices and avoid any injuries to shock the world and win a cup league". Cool. Do they have REAL TROPHIES in this league, or are they imaginary too?

"Detroit has embarrassed very good teams on that ice (4-0 vs Blackhawks, 6-0 vs Sharks, 6-1 vs Stars) over the last few weeks, and those were all teams who were playing great before coming into Joe Louis for those games."

Ahh. I really feel better cause we beat all these teams, err, umm, well maybe not so much. Well, we do play Dallas and Chicago this week. And the best thing is they are back to back which gives us a built in EXCUSE. We'll have to wait til mid Feb to get embarrased again.

Ah Chad my friend, nice try. But the logic is a tad inconsistent here even if you stretch it. But you can sell it to a jury if they aint payin attention.

[cak]

Chad - I never said Roy wasn't a goal scorer. Watch how many times he passes into skates, especially center ice. He turns it over just as much as anyone else on the team, but does Ruff sit him out? The team needs a new passing coach.

[PM]

I was at the game in Detroit. Miller played great, and clearly wanted to win in Michigan. That said, the D played pretty well for 57 minutes. Very few of the Detroit shots were quality scoring chances and Miller gave no rebounds. Unfortunely that led to a lot of faceoffs and the Wings owned the faceoff circle. Spacek particularly played well and I like the way Butler plays the game. The problem was an inability to create anything in the Detroit end and keep possession of the puck. Certainly, there is a talent mismatch there, but the effort and passion on some of our forwards was missing.

[Chad]

For one, I don’t think the Red Wings necessarily “purchase” their success. By and large, the great majority of their players were drafted and/or developed by Detroit: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Franzen, Holmstrom, Filppula, Hudler, Kronwall to name a bunch. I don’t think we can put Detroit in the same breath as the Rangers or Flyers, teams who “purchase” most of their top-end players. The Wings cultivate their talent, but they also lock up that talent before it reaches the open market—something Buffalo has at least attempted to do since the Drury/Briere fiasco. Now, the Sabres don’t get that one big free agent each year like Detroit has with Rafalski and Hossa the last two summers, nor have they hit the jackpot in later draft rounds like Detroit has. But they obviously didn’t need Hossa to win a Cup, and I’m guessing they won’t need him to win more Cups after he walks this summer. I think the difference between the two teams is that a) Detroit’s players are self-motivated and bring the effort every night, and b) Babcock is the best coach in the NHL and gets the most out of all of his players. Detroit, for the most part, is a bunch of hard-nosed European players. Have we ever had a hard-nosed European?

At the end of the day, a 3-1 loss at Detroit is not the end of the world and doesn’t tell us much beyond we’re not in Detroit’s league (not many are). Detroit has embarrassed very good teams on that ice (4-0 vs Blackhawks, 6-0 vs Sharks, 6-1 vs Stars) over the last few weeks, and those were all teams who were playing great before coming into Joe Louis for those games.

While others have spent time complaining about the top players, I’ve consistently harped on the lack of secondary scoring most of the year. Last night, I wanted to see who on this team is playing well in the bigger games so I looked up stats (nerd! loser!) of Sabres against the playoff teams. Buffalo has scored 48 goals (not including shootout goals) against playoff teams. Here are the leading scorers:

Vanek: 14 goals
Roy: 8 goals
MacArthur: 4 goals
Pominville: 3 goals
Stafford: 3 goals
Kotalik: 3 goals

The only consistent scorers against good teams are Roy and Vanek. An unbelievable 46%, almost half, of their goals against playoff-caliber teams come from TWO players. Two forwards have raised their games against the good teams. Again, the problem is not the top players (Vanek, Roy, Miller), the problem is the secondary players. What else needs to be shown until more people realize this?

Excuses: Agree, I don’t like Stafford’s attitude, either. However, I have been more pleased with his effort of late. He’s actually started working. Not coincidentally, he’s starting to score more points. How ironic. Hopefully, someone will explain to him that there’s a direct correlation between hard work and success before he starts believing that his God-given talent is the reason.

CAK: Roy not a playmaker? He’s the team’s second leading goal scorer and leads the team in assists. I guess he just gets lucky. A lot. If only we could have more “not a playmaker” guys like Roy then maybe we wouldn’t be battling for a playoff spot.

[cak]

How come no one ever mentions Roy's turnovers? Who taught him how to pass? He is definately not a playmaker.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Great piece by Vogl this morning. (You guys should really allow us to post directly to your pieces).

Again we are reminded how winning organizations actually win. These articles come out after the fact and make it seem simple. But the seemingly impossible thing is putting the pieces together to build a culture. It doesn't just happen.

Best part of the article:

"The last thing the Wings see when they exit their dressing room is a message above their door. “To whom much is given, much is expected.” The organization believes in that."

The sign above Stafford's dressing room stall reads "“To whom much is given, much is expected to be given more.” Right above his mirror.

I have ridden Stafford this year because I think he exemplifies our problem. Very talented pretty boys who are all about themselves. It is the intangibles that are SORELY missing on this team. There are too many "me first" guys who seemingly have been pampered and fawned over their whole careers. Too many "Little Johnny Superstars" who were never taught about working for a goal because they had more talent than 99% of the kids in Pee Wee Hockey. It came too easy to them. Just listen to his interviews and read between the lines of what motivates him. Can't understand why agents don't "coach" this. Then again, these "superstars" were never programmed to listen.

Don't get me wrong, our team expects to win. They just expect it, like it just happens. Lot's of organizations build these kinds of "teams". Put up posters with winning slogans and have everyone say the right thing. But ask them to actually change??? Don't think so. That's not my job. You do it!

And the mediocre season rolls on...The groundhog is hung over celebrating the massive 4 game winning streak (that should have been snapped at 3).

[blueliner]

Difference between Buffalo and Detroit? Detroit's best players play with heart and desire. For example with about 25 seconds left in the game and up by 2 goals H. Zetterberg lays down in desperation to block a shot. Buffalo's pride J. Hecht gives no effort with a stick check and it leads to Detroit goal at a critical moment. This team is SOFT and is going NOWWHERE. Hecht, Kotalik and MacArthur lose battles constantly and are average. Please Darcy do something to make us better.

[Buffalo Excuses]

What I took away from this game is the absolute massive gap between these two teams.

Can't buy success, huh? There were a few interesting factoid tossed out last night:

Detroit has made the playoffs, 17 (yes that's 17!!!) straight years.

That is the current record for ALL PROFESSIONAL SPORTS.

They have also won The Cup 4 of the last 11.

I would say that is a pretty darn good purchase/investment.

I don't know if the excuses have made the playoffs 17 times in their history...Probably not.

[BBQ]

Jill, I agree with you. I have been hard on Miller at times, but the guy has been playing goal like we haven't seen here since Hasek left. Unfortunately, it has become clear that we have moved from Cup Contender to very average. Every one gets giddy over a 4 game win streak, but one was by shootout at home in a game Miller stole and two others were against some of the worst teams in the league, the leafs and Ottawa. The Boston game was a quality win, but I think we are what we are. We are now a team that will fight to get into the playoffs amd I am not sure we have enough to get there. We have zero scoring ability on defense and unless Miller plays every game like he has the last two nights, we will struggle to get wins.

Miller is not the problem. Worse, at the end of the year, decisions will have to be made on Spacek, Connolly, Numminen, Tallinder, amd a few others. Management here has demonstrated that they react way too late and there are a lot of teams in the conference getting a lot better (Florida is playing well, and who thought they would even challenge for a spot? Who would have thought Pittsburgh would be where they are right now...and will they continue to go backwards?) I would like to see them be as good as they were a couple of years ago, but in reality I think we are a lot closer to the bottom than we are to where we were.

[CalgarySabre2]

Okay I'm back from the world juniors. And I thought the Sens were a one line team till I saw this: All weekend scoring by Derek Roy. And apparently no defence if Miller is facing over 40 shots per night! More shots by Detroit in Third Period than we took in the entire game? Well, Darcy, if you saw the world juniors: you drafted well in getting Myers and Ennis. Now SIGN THEM. Especially Myers. When TSN calls him "Canada's best defenceman" and Don Cherry calls him "the next Chara" he is pretty darn good. (And born in Houston, though he calls Calgary home). Don't give yourselves the Cup just yet, Wings fans. Boston and San Jose both look pretty good too. Oh and boy are the natives unhappy in Ottawa! The fans have fired Hartsburg, and you know what the web posters call their team: "the Senasnores". Loved that one!

[Jill]

Hey I see something missing... where is the Miller bad mouthers? Oh wait... maybe because Miller has been playing his behind off... can't say much about anybody else. It's truly sad. I feel bad for him... he is the only one playing with some heart.

[Chad]

I agree with pretty much everybody. Tough loss, but a loss to what I believe is by far the best team in the NHL. They'll end up winning the President's trophy by at least 10 pts. In fact, I think this year's Wings are the best post-lockout team. The Sabres teams were fun to watch, but this Wings team can beat you in so many ways. The way they dismantle teams is almost clinical. I'll be surprised if they lose four games in the entire playoffs. Everyone else is playing for 2nd at this point.

[pgr88]

Watching that game was like watching a 2nd division college team play and NHL Team. You just saw the next Stanley Cup winner.

The Wings are just too good. The Sabres can be good, but are most average. The Wings skill made the Sabres' (and most teams') weaknesses glaringly obvious.

[chazmet]

Hey guys, take it easy on yourselves. You played the best team in hockey on their ice.......no way you're going to come out with a "w". The Wings will be getting their 5th cup in 12 years this spring. Count on it.

[SabresfaninNJ]

This team is in deep trouble. The scorers are not scoring and the defense has been terrible all year. It is a shame that the best defenseman on the team the last 10 games has been the recent call up. Butler has been amazing and reminds me of how Weber played the end of last year. Bring Weber up and please do something about the rest of the 'D'. Anyone notice how bad Spacek has looked? Lydman has had some horrible turnovers lately (like right out in front of the net).
The offense, I have no idea what happened to them. I have certainly seen enough of Kotalik skating around like he is in the Ice Capades. He is great in the shootout, but he just is frustrating to watch in games.
Hecht, I have no idea what has gone on with him, always thought he was a good 2 way player. But, as I had seen on a blog earlier, all it seems he does is take a weak wrist shot from along the boards, and rarely hits the net with it.
All in all, I think this team is in trouble. Miller has been the saving grace. Regier should do what he can do bewteen now and the trading deadline, rebuild for next year, cause in all honesty it aint gonna happen this year.
One last thing, Chad, always enjoy reading your posts. Buffalo Excuses too....

[tc]

TRADE TRADE TRADE . There's 4 or 5 players that shud go....Take ur pick...everbody knows who they are just do it ASAP befoe it's to late..

[goal10der44]

The one thing I took away from this game in watching the differences between Det and Buffalo was not the turnovers, not the getting knocked off the puck in the defensive zone and not how well Ryan Miller played, because Ty Conklin certainly did not outplay him to get the win, what I watched were 2 plays of the same type that made the difference: 2nd period - MacArthur on a 3 on 1 tries to pass instead of shoot, the puck gets knocked away, no shot even taken; and 3rd period - Hecht on a 2 on 1, waits and waits to make a pass that doesn't even come close to Pomminville's stick, again, not shot taken.

Detroit had 48 SOG. You're bound to score on most goalies more than once when you take that many shots, but if you're looking to make the pass or the pretty play and a shot never even reaches the net, you'll NEVER score. Buffalo has got to stop trying to be the pretty team and start being a gritty, in your face team.

I'm hoping that when Kaleta comes back, he's gonna remind this team how to play hard, go to the net, and get in the other team's face. If he doesn't do it, blow this team up and start again, they're done.

[Chad]

I see another losing streak coming. The secondary scoring is once again disappearing. Four of our last five goals (over the last three games) have come from the Vanek-Roy-Stafford line. We need more from other players. This team is hanging Miller out to dry. I almost feel bad for the guy. 92 shots in two games? Wow. Now I see why the Detroit announcers were essentially fellating the guy.

[Joe S]

Schooled once again by the best team in the league. Owned by Detroit. Lindy's all-time record vs. Det 2-11-1
Miller will be worn out by End of month..why is he playing so much again when Lindy said he isn't gonna burn him out this year. You knew u would lose this game so since it's Western Conf. game LaLime should have played.

[TJ]

As good as Sekera has been this year, one area he really suffers with is physical strength - which is ironic, considering how he gets outmuscled in his own end and forced into losing the puck off the forecheck almost as often and in the same way that Campbell (the guy the Sabres say they want Sekera to replace) did.

As for Lydman, I don't know if he's still fighting the flu but he's committed more turnovers in the past 2 games than a Betty Crocker bakery.

[Chris]

Love the 'W' signature.

Did the Wings play last night too?

Trade Hecht, Pomminville, Talinder & Paesche. Waive Max.

[W]

The Red Wings are the best team in the NHL, IMO, in the puck handling and skating departments. They are so skilled, and confident. Their team speed is amazing. If Miller was not on his game, it would have certainly been 5-1 or worse. He held off a very talented team for a very long time. In the end, mistakes in the defensive zone killed the Sabres tonight. You can't make those mistakes against Detroit. You just can't.

As for the Sabres having only 1 scoring line: yes, this certainly seems true. I think once Connolly gets his legs that will change, assuming he stays healthy. He will immediately give Hecht and Pominville their scoring touches back when he is ready to go full out.

[BBQ]

Miller stands on his head for two nights in a row and we score two goals, not including the exhibition that decides games in this garage league. Don't give me the garbage that the shootout isn't an exhibition.They don't decide tied NFL games with a punt, pass and kick, they don't decide NBA games with a game of H-O-R-S-E and they don't decide baseball games with a Home Run Derby

The problem is NOT goaltending on this team. We have one scoring line. Did anyone else get the feeling that the Red Wings play with the puck tied to their sticks with string? I don't want to hear anymore about Miller not being a good goalie. He single-handedly won the game last night and kept an embarassment from happening tonight.

[W]

Miller was, once again, downright amazing. The goals scored on him were solid goals, especially the 2nd one. He nearly had it, but there is nothing he can do about that. They guys in front of him simply didn't do their jobs. Same on the Hossa goal. How you let a guy like Hossa stand alone in front of your net is beyond me, even if it was only for a split second, its too long.

Miller probably wants that one back, but in reality he allowed goals in on 2 one-time shots tonight from very dangerous spots on the ice. You just can't let opposition players stand untouched in the space between the dots like that. Especially good shooters.

[EM]

Miller is in the game. But I wonder where the defense and offense is.

[pgr88]

It just shows once again - want a guaranteed formula to beat the Sabres?? Forecheck hard, and watch the defense, esp. Sekera, Spacek, Lydman give the puck away.

[mark]

Hecht has become an absolute waste out their. Beyond that, Pominville needs to start justifying his new contract as he has been absent all year. If he isn't scoring then he provides little else as he is slow and gives no physical presence.

[MDjason]

no problem with the signal here

[Chester]

What's wrong with MSG's tv signal?

[Train Wreck]

Oh well....couldn't stone them forever.

[Train Wreck]

Try 40 to 50...

[MDjason]

yep i agree, need some defense to show up sometime

[Don H]

If the Sabres keep giving up 30 to 40 shots per game, Miller will be worn out before the end of January.

[MDjason]

well i'd have to say detriot is pretty darn good, i dont think we are playing to bad..