After a rough start to the 2010/11 season, especially on home ice, the Buffalo Sabres seem to have finally righted the ship and are headed in the right direction. The team recorded back-to-back shutout wins over Columbus and Ottawa and even though neither team scored a goal in the Ottawa game for 65 minutes and it took a shootout to decide the winner, the Sabres are starting to find a balance between a tight defensive system and some timely scoring. Tuesday night’s overtime loss in Boston was a bit discouraging in that the Sabres lost a 2-1 lead in the game, then gave up the winner in OT. Even though they secured a point in the standings, the game was similar to the way Buffalo lost to the Bruins in last year’s playoffs. At least the effort was there, but as defending division champs the Sabres have to be concerned that other teams are progressing past them. Boston clearly has an edge on them now, having beaten Buffalo twice now, including a convincing 5-2 win on the Sabres’ home ice. The Sabres dominated Montreal last year but are 0-3 against the Canadiens this season. Buffalo management pretty much stood pat with the roster going into the season, other than swapping out a couple of defensemen. Buffalo is going to have to hope young players like Tyler Ennis, Mike Weber and Luke Adam develop quickly and reinforce the lineup as the season goes on, since veterans like Jason Pominville, Tim Connolly and Derek Roy have proven to be followers come crunch time, rather than leaders. Thomas Vanek takes a lot of flak for not playing like a superstar despite a big contract, but Vanek, in my opinion, does his job and is the closest thing the team has to a leader on the ice. The Sabres have a tough stretch of games coming up, including matches with the powerhouse San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins, and a return match with Boston. Also upcoming, later in the month, are a two game Florida road trip and a swing to the West coast. The Sabres are going to have to stay focused every night, since every point garnered will probably be critical later in the season when the push for playoff spots get serious.
NHL – Sabres Begin Surging
08
Dec