Darcy Regier expected the winning to come. He knew he could win with the players he signed to long-term deals this summer. He said right out that these were the players that would bring Buffalo a championship a few years down the road.
Years, months, weeks. What's it matter? The Sabres we expected to see later in their careers are growing up quickly—and that's okay with the fans in Buffalo.
A huge factor in the reason the Sabres have been winning is the stellar play of recently re-signed goaltender Ryan Miller, who currently holds the league's number-one rank amongst starting goalies with a 1.60 goals-against average. He's also second in save percentage with .940, trailing only Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Mike Smith, who has a .941 for that same stat.
It helps that the Sabres finally have a stable, reliable goaltender to back Miller up in journeyman goalie Patrick Lalime. In the two games that Lalime has played for the Sabres, he has a 1.44 GAA along with a .961 save percentage, much better than what was expected from him.
Of course, the goaltenders can't get all the credit. It helps that the improved Sabres defense has been nothing but stellar in the eight games Buffalo has played this season. Even without Craig Rivet for the past two games, the Sabres still have allowed the second-fewest goals against in the NHL this season, trailing only the Minnesota Wild.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Constantly labeled an offensive team, Sabres Coach Lindy Ruff has finally realized that he will need to tone it down on the run-and-gun style of play that the team has utilized throughout the three seasons after the lockout. It worked for the first two years, but after teams started increasing the physical, defensive playing style that was used before the lockout, the Sabres were shut down last year. They were always being picked apart on the transition game, allowing teams to capitalize on their less-than stingy "D".
Stingy is an understatement when considering the defense of this year's team.
Even though the defense has improved, that doesn't mean the offensive potency has decreased, either. Their offense works a lot like that of the Detroit Red Wings—their defense is their offense.
The Sabres' style of play, now, is to capitalize on the opposing team's mistakes, keep possession in the opposing zone, and not wait for the perfect play to put the puck in the net. Of course, the last of the three qualities doesn't seem to show.
The Sabres still show how young of a team they are when it comes to them making a few-too-many moves, a quality that almost all of them can grow out of as time progresses. There will always be a few, like Maxim Afinogenov, that will try to put in the extra move here, or the little deke there to throw off his opponents.
Thomas Vanek is possibly becoming one of the best two-way players in the NHL. Always picked on for a lack of effort, and an inability to back-check, Vanek has found a way to score every which way this season. Whether it be shorthanded, on the power play, or even strength, Vanek shows the patience of a highly-matured player who looks for the right play rather than the first choice.
In his first eight games, Vanek has found the net eight times, and he's also found the sticks of three other players for assists. As for his back-check, it's fine now. Vanek is a plus-six this season, on pace to be better than the +47 he had two years ago.
The Sabres have shown the league once again that they should not be underestimated, a mistake that experts made after the lockout, when the Sabres were pinned to be in the doldrums of the NHL. I can assure you, that with the way this team is playing now, and the players they have for the next five or six years, they won't be coming anywhere close to the basement for a little while now.
comments (9) write a comment »
write a new comment
2 months ago
Nice article, TJ. Very good analysis.
They still need to work on playing a full 60 minutes (or more when needed), but it's good to see them not give up the ghost when they are behind. I didn't get to watch the Avs game, so I'm not sure how they played being ahead, but I hope they didn't fall into a prevent mode, and watch it crumble when the Avs scored.
2 months ago
Unfortunately, that's exactly what they did, causing the Avs to score late in the game.
2 months ago
Vanek is a legit offensive stud and having a solid backstop like Miller helps the whole team. Great article with some solid analysis. I really like the Sabres to do well this year in the wide open Eastern Conference.
2 months ago
this team always starts out fast, but eventually bigger opposing defensive teams wear these guys down. The Sabres will fade. Miller does look better this year but they still cant get by Ottawa, who just so happened to hand them their 1st loss tonight. Ottawa is not to stellar this year either......
from 2 months ago
Miller did not play tonight. And he has gotten by Ottawa in the past.
from 2 months ago
Actually, historically (at least in recent years) they have started out very slow, and have had to play their butts off to get into the playoffs. They tried that last year, and failed.
Their two best years in recent history (the first two post-lockout years) they started out flying and made it deep into the playoffs.
They have always had a tough time against Ottawa (except, of course, in the playoffs).
Miller looks a lot better this year, and so has Lalime, until last night. I didn't watch enough of the game, however, to determine if it was Lalime who had a bad game, or the team in general. They are down 2 defensemen, Rivet and Tallinder, which can't help.
They do need, however, to start playing 60 minutes.
from 2 months ago
Brenda pretty much said what I wanted to say. This year's team is for real, and barring any more injuries, they are a deep playoff team, as well.
2 months ago
True, Dave. They weren't too fast last year, though, and it seems that travel has caught up to them a bit from Colorado and all. Team couldn't hold on to the puck at all, and the passes were horrific. They don't know when to just SHOOT the damn thing. You should have seen the people in my section yelling "SHOOT!" Hell, they pretty much told Lalime to shoot.
2 months ago
Yesterday was just a horror show against Ottawa. Brutal giveaways, lack of finishing, and poor passing. Can't win them all and hopefully we get some of our injured players back soon.
write a new comment