WildCard Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 (edited) The Buffalo Sabres will launch themselves into a 2 game road trip tonight as they open up in St.Louis for a clash of contenders. The Sabres, losers of 2 straight including a 3-1 gut-wrenching, Bettman-hating loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night, will look to climb back to .500 again. The Sabres, despite surprising performances from both the goalie and defense corps, are turning out some abysmal goal production thus far this season. Despite being statistically above average, indeed pretty good actually, and dominating most of their games, the story thus far this season seems to be a complete inability to finish. With DD prioritizing this at practice, look for the Sabres to perhaps mix it up tonight The Blues on the other hand, can be described as being big, heavy, relentless, and with one of the best forechecks in the game. DD described the Blues as easily the "heaviest" style of game the Sabres have played thus far, and it will be a big test for this young team to see how they compete against the physical teams of the West. Reinhart and Eichel could be in for a long night. The Blues, losing 3-1 @ CBJ on Tuesday night, should be eager to get some points to stay alive in the highly competitive Central Division Parayko and Lehtera are day-to-day. Ullmark in net, Allen in net tonight for the Blues (both per Brawndo) By all indications Kane should be back, which would be huge seeing as Girgensons is out.Game PreviewStats:All Team StatsTeam Comparison ChartLast Game Stats: Dallas @ BuffaloLast Game Stats: St.Louis @ CBJWednesday's Practice Report Though he’s been told an MCL doesn’t fully heal for 12 weeks, Kane’s ability to play pain-free has been the deciding factor in his return. He’ll wear a brace on his knee, something he gained experience doing while returning from a similar injury last season to his other leg.“After wearing it last year, I kind of knew what to expect a little bit,” he said. “It only takes a couple of skates to kind of get used to it and kind of forget about it being there.”On Tuesday, Kane skated on the right wing with linemates Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel. Prior to his injury, he tallied one goal and two assists in eight games despite having a number of chances to score more. Forwards: 26 Matt Moulson – 90 Ryan O'Reilly – 12 Brian Gionta9 Evander Kane – 15 Jack Eichel – 23 Sam Reinhart 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 63 Tyler Ennis 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 88 Jamie McGinn Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 29 Jake McCabe – 47 Zach Bogosian 3 Mark Pysyk – 46 Cody Franson 25 Carlo Colaiacovo Goalies: (goalies not listed) Edited November 19, 2015 by WildCard Quote
Brawndo Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Like clockwork WC! I'm excited to see a Kane-Eichel-Reinhart combo tonight. Quote
WildCard Posted November 19, 2015 Author Report Posted November 19, 2015 Like clockwork WC! I'm excited to see a Kane-Eichel-Reinhart combo tonight. Takes awhile to do them, so when I'm finished I like to just submit it right away so I can go back to working on other stuff I'm stoked to see that line combination tonight. We've seen Eichel's growth in Kane's absence, and Reinhart's for that matter. My only worry with that line is the Blues are big and physical, so they could get caught in their own end a ton. Quote
... Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 How long has Kane been out now? He's begging to get injured again. Other teams are going to go after his legs. Quote
Norcal Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Excited to have Kane back on the ice Quote
GoPre Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Haven't read the thread. If it hasn't been mentioned, both teams are struggling to score goals. Sabres are on pace for its 3rd worst scoring season in franchise history. Hopefully Kane's return can turn things around. Quote
LTS Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 I'll be flying back from Dallas during this one. Was strange watching the Sabres vs. Stars game in a sports bar in Dallas. No one even cared it was on. Sigh. I was hoping I'd still be here so I could go watch them play the Stars but alas that did not happen. I feel so out of touch being away for a few days. Go Sabres... Quote
dEnnis the Menace Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Awesome writeup as usual WC. Any word on Zemgus? I know you say he's out, but do we know for how long? Quote
Taro T Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Awesome writeup as usual WC. Any word on Zemgus? I know you say he's out, but do we know for how long? Bylsma only said that he isn't on the roadtrip so it'll be at least 2 games. No indication of how much longer after that (if any) in the press conference. Quote
dEnnis the Menace Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Bylsma only said that he isn't on the roadtrip so it'll be at least 2 games. No indication of how much longer after that (if any) in the press conference. Gotcha, thanks! Quote
CallawaySabres Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 It really is surprising that this team is not scoring more... Quote
Mustache of God Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Awesome writeup as usual WC. Any word on Zemgus? I know you say he's out, but do we know for how long? Bylsma said it’s possible Girgensons will be ready when the Sabres host the Blues on Monday. It really is surprising that this team is not scoring more... I honestly believe Leino and Hogdson spent the summer learning Wicca and have placed a curse upon this team Quote
nucci Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 How long has Kane been out now? He's begging to get injured again. Other teams are going to go after his legs. Why is he begging to get injured again? Players are going to risk suspension by going after Kane to hurt him? Quote
woods-racer Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Bylsma said it’s possible Girgensons will be ready when the Sabres host the Blues on Monday. I honestly believe Leino and Hogdson spent the summer learning Wicca and have placed a curse upon this team So we need some form of chicken sacrificing ritual and some one called JoeBoo (what ever it was called in Major League) to lift the curse , right? My vote is we meet up at pA's house and get this done. Quote
CallawaySabres Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Bylsma said it’s possible Girgensons will be ready when the Sabres host the Blues on Monday. I honestly believe Leino and Hogdson spent the summer learning Wicca and have placed a curse upon this team If you had told me our goaltending would be at the level it is now, I would be shocked to know we have a losing record. Time to bust out a 5 goal game here soon Quote
Doohicksie Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 It really is surprising that this team is not scoring more... It's the gel factor. There's so much turnover this literally is the like the first year of an expansion team. The fact that they are competitive in most games is a minor miracle, despite our expectations. So we need some form of chicken sacrificing ritual and some one called JoeBoo (what ever it was called in Major League) to lift the curse , right? My vote is we meet up at pA's house and get this done. We need to each sacrifice a dozen chicken wings on during the game and the curse will be lifted. I plan to do my part. :w00t: The #fancystats look good; the puck luck will come. Quote
kishoph Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Good to see Gionta keeps his 1st line spot, without his 19 minutes a game I don't know where the Sabres would be. :wallbash: Quote
Doohicksie Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Good to see Gionta keeps his 1st line spot, without his 19 minutes a game I don't know where the Sabres would be. :wallbash: Love the avatar.... the same would apply to me. Quote
WildCard Posted November 19, 2015 Author Report Posted November 19, 2015 How long has Kane been out now? He's begging to get injured again. Other teams are going to go after his legs. Kane has been out since Oct. 24th, so just over 3 weeks, which is not the timetable for his injury. And we're playing against arguably one of the toughest teams in the league. I'll flip my lid if he gets hurt again this season in that same damn knee Quote
Hoss Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Read the whole thing. No saunter. Disappointed. (Although I did get a chuckle out of "clash of contenders) :D Quote
Radar Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 While I do think we have not finished well doesn't it seem like scoring is pretty low around the league as a whole. Seems a lot of talk around about how to increase scoring. Anyway, on paper it seems we have enough scorers and they will eventually start going in. Big disappointments for me so far are Ennis and Moulson. Hopefully they will get there game together. Rest of this months schedule is pretty demanding and I expect we will have our share of losses. Still this team is fun to watch and way improved over last season in my opinion. Quote
beerme1 Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Good to see Gionta keeps his 1st line spot, without his 19 minutes a game I don't know where the Sabres would be. :wallbash: I'm not pleased with Ennis but I can't say I'm good with this as a result. Putting Ennis in Gio's should be spot on the third line but then, the lines are subject to change so who knows what sticks. If putting Ennis on the third line shakes him out of it so be it. And welcome back Kane! Quote
skaught Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Love the avatar.... the same would apply to me. Is anyone from Buffalo not Polish? Quote
woods-racer Posted November 19, 2015 Report Posted November 19, 2015 Is anyone from Buffalo not Polish? An Irish man or 2 have been known to have lived there. They had something to do with a long shallow water thingy. Quote
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