Buffalo Sabres, Tux and Pucks

The Buffalo Sabres have brought back the old tradition of Tux and Pucks to the First Niagara Center tonight, New Year's Eve.  What the Sabres really need to do though is to start tucking those pucks into the net.  After last night's disappointing offensive performance in Washington, DC, they really need to light a fire and get some early goals to close out 2011.  Otherwise, Sabres fans won't have much to cheer for going into the New Year.

Tonight Buffalo takes on the Ottawa Senators who are coming off of a 4-3 overtime win at home last night against the Calgary Flames.  The Sens are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games while the Sabres have struggled with a 3-6-1 record.  The good news of course is that Buffalo is currently on a winning streak at home and will make it a season high 3 games in a row with a win tonight.  If the Sabres want to stay within striking distance of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa, they have to win tonight.

Of course to win, you need to score.  If Buffalo can come out and get some early goals from their dynamic duo, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville, it could help motivate the rest of the team to play smart hockey.  Vanek and Pominville continue to be the NHL's second leading pair in recording points on the same goal.  Even when they are working alone, one of them has recorded a point on 50% of the teams goals.  Anyone watching a Sabres game knows how important these players are to the team, but the statistics speak volumes about the rest of the team's contributions.

To be successful, the Sabres need more scoring out of their 2nd and 3rd lines.  Derek Roy and Drew Stafford just haven't put enough goals in the net this season.  Going into the last game of the year, Roy and Stafford only have 14 goals between the two of them.  Forward Milan Michalek of the Ottawa Senators has 19 goals on his own this season.  Terry Pegula could have saved himself $4 million this year in salaries if he could trade Roy and Stafford for Michalek and had a better chance at winning some games.

As the year comes to a close, there are a lot of questions Sabres fans want answered and dealt with in the New Year.  They can only hope that the team wants to start 2012 out right by ending 2011 with a big win at home over the Senators.



The Sabres Go to Washington

The Buffalo Sabres have dominated the Washington Capitals in their first two meetings this season in Buffalo at a sold out First Niagara Center with scores of 5-1 and 4-2.  The Sabres now have to head to Washington to take on the Caps tonight in the Verizon Center.  It won't be so easy for Buffalo tonight as the Capitals have played extremely well at home this season and have the Eastern Conference's third best record at home.  The nation's capital is sure to be rocking tonight as the Capitals look to carry the momentum from their 4-1 win over the Rangers on Wednesday night into this game and get back into the playoff picture.

Meanwhile the Sabres struggles continue as pucks just didn't bounce their way against the New Jersey Devils in a 3-1 loss on Wednesday.  Thomas Vanek continues to be a powerhouse of offense for the Sabres as he hopes to continue his 6-game point streak with 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points.  Derek Roy leads the team in points against the Capitals with 24 points in 26 games.  When Roy is able to record a point in a game this year, the Buffalo is 12-2-3, but they will need the entire roster to contribute to the scoresheet tonight if they want to beat Alex Ovechkin and a Capitals team that are finally starting to play up to expectations.

Ryan Miller is expected to be in net tonight as he tries to get another step closer to the franchise record for wins.  He currently needs 5 more as he chases Dominik Hasek for sole possession of the goaltender milestone.  It has already been announced that Thomas Vokoun will be the starting goaltender for the Caps.  He is currently 13-8-0 this season with a 2.67 GAA.

The Sabres are in for a tough one tonight and will be a real gut check.  If they can get some goals early, they may have a shot of beating the Capitals 3 games in a row.  It won't be easy though with Washington ranked 11th in goals allowed at home and a penalty kill that hasn't allowed a power-play goal in 7 games at home.

Taking the Website Moblie

We're going mobile!  Knowing that our hockey fans are busy and on the go, we created a mobile site to make it easy to catch up on the latest from the blog.  You also can keep up on my latest tweets and hockey articles on Armchair Report.  Just scan the QR code below or visit the mobile site's URL at http://lightupthelamp.mobapp.at/

Sabres Take on Devils

The Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils face-off tonight in Newark, NJ as the two teams fight to work their way up the Eastern Conference standings.  The Sabres are coming off a much needed win against the Washington Capitals on Monday and the Devils a loss, 4-2, against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, NC.  

The Sabres will have to come out with a strong forecheck against the Devils tonight if they want to turn Monday's win into a streak.  They also will have to find a way to contain New Jersey's leading scorer, Patrik Elias, who had a goal and an assist against Buffalo in their first meeting.  Ryan Miller will get the start tonight between the pipes in his first game against the Devils this year and is 8-9-4 against New Jersey in his career.

Martin Brodeur will be in net again for the Devils.  Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy all look to extend their point streaks tonight.  If they can get some points on the board early, the Sabres may be able to pick up another win tonight.

Sabres Need Team Effort Against Caps

The Buffalo Sabres return to action tonight after the holiday break against the Washington Capitals at the First Niagara Center.  Its the second meeting of the season for the two clubs and the first of two games of a home and home series this week.  Buffalo won the first game in Buffalo back on November 26, 2011, 5-1.  Of course a lot has changed since then with the Capitals getting a new head coach, Dale Hunter, and the Sabres continuing to add players to the injured reserve list.

With leading goal scorer Thomas Vanek questionable for tonight's game with an upper body injury, the rest of the Sabres forwards need to step and start contributing to the scoresheet.  A lot of the load will be expected to be carried by center Derek Roy.  Roy leads the team in points against Washington with 23 points in 25 games in addition to the team being 11-2-3 when he records a point this season.  There have only been 5 games this season that the Sabres have won without Roy getting a goal or an assist.

The Sabres will also look to its youthful roster of fill in players from Rochester to help stop some of the Capitals leading scorers from adding to their stat sheets.  Captain Alex Ovechkin has had success against Buffalo in his career with 26 points in 24 games.  Also the Capitals' leader in points,  Nicklas Backstrom is looking for a career milestone 100th goal tonight.

With both the Sabres and Capitals fighting to keep from slipping out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, tonight's game should prove to be an entraining one.  Its still a long way to April, but every point earned now is less pressure latter.  

Winter Classic Hype

The New York Rangers take on the Philadelphia Flyers tonight in Madison Square Garden, and it is being billed as a Winter Classic preview.  Meanwhile the NHL's ice making guru, Dan Craig, is busy getting the outdoor rink ready down Interstate 95 for the big game on January 2 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.  With the first two episodes of HBO's 24/7 aired, there is a lot of buzz beginning to be created about the annual outdoor hockey game.

Unfortunately, it won't be a true preview tonight as one of the Flyers' biggest stars, Danny Briere won't be on the ice tonight in the Big Apple.  It was announced earlier today that Briere will be sitting out due to a bruised hand that was suffered during Wednesday's game against the Dallas Stars.  Philadelphia is yet another team that has struggled with injuries this season.  Fortunately, the Flyers did get get their leading scorer Claude Giroux back against the Stars and showed that a concussion can't take him off of his game. He ended up with four-point night.

With Giroux in the line up tonight and goalie Henrick Lundqvist in net for the New York Rangers, it should be an exciting match up as the league's point leader takes on one of the most talented goaltenders in the NHL.  Only two-points separate the Rangers from first place in the Atlantic Division, which is currently held by the Flyers.  Since the Rangers won the first meeting between them, they could have sole possession of first place in their division and possibly the Eastern Conference depending on how the rest of the NHL results play out tonight.


Sabres Looking for Early Christmas Gift

All the Buffalo Sabres want for Christmas is two points tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Air Canada Center.  As Buffalo continues to slide down the Eastern Conference standings, a win before the holiday break could be huge for their confidence level and put them ahead of the Leafs in the division.

In their meeting with the Leafs last Friday night, the Sabres had to play a hard fought game to pull out the 5-4 win at First Niagara Center.  In that game, Buffalo was able to generate 3 goals on the power play including one by Drew Stafford.  Thomas Vanek had a good night as well netting 2 goals and 2 assists in the game.  If the Sabres can come out strong and take advantage of the weak Leaf power play, they might be able to pull off the win in Toronto.

Of course it is also important to note that the Maple Leaf captain, Dion Phaneuf was penalized with a 5-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct for inflicting a facial injury on Sabres forward, Zack Kassian on a hit from behind into the boards.  By having the Leafs team leader and top defenseman out of the game, the Sabres were able to capitalize on the momentum and hold off the rest of the Leafs' star power with strong goaltending from Ryan Miller to get the 5-4 win.

Tonight's game will probably be an even more intense game then the first meeting last week.  With Patrick Kaleta scheduled to be back in the lineup for Buffalo tonight, it should also be a very physical game.  If the Sabres can get some early scoring chances and avoid turning over the puck, they might just get their Christmas wish.

Marcus Foligno Called Up to Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are going through a really bad stretch of injuries lately and just can't seem to break the cycle.  I hate to see any of the Sabres out hurt especially some of my favorite forwards including Nathan Gerbe, Corey Tropp and Patrick Kaleta.  The one good thing out of these unfortunate injuries is that one of my favorite players from the Rochester Americans, Marcus Foligno, is getting a chance to play with Buffalo tomorrow night.

Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced the recall of both Marcus Foligno and Derek Whitmore from the Rochester Americans this evening.  Whitmore and Foligno are number one and two in goals for the Amerks currently with Derek leading the team in points.  On a team that needs more goals to win games, hopefully this pair from Rochester can help the Sabres' veterans get some more points on the board.

Marcus Foligno is a native of Buffalo, NY and is the son of Buffalo Sabres Alumni, Mike Foligno.  While I was growing up, Mike Foligno was one of my favorite hockey players known for being a great play maker that wasn't afraid to get physical.  He also is one of the nicest guys I've ever met.  As a kid, I had the pleasure of attending a day of instruction at Buffalo Sabres Hockey Camp that he led.  I can still remember a drill we did to practice our "Foligno Leap" as we jumped over the blue lines.

Besides being from a great hockey family, Marcus is a talented hockey player to his own credit.  He was one of the most talked about forwards at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament and has been having a good start to the regular season with the Amerks.  He has 9 goals and 3 assists for 12 points in 27 games playing on the left wing.

I'm curious what line coach Lindy Ruff will put Foligno on in tomorrow night's game against his brother Nick and the Ottawa Senators.  Of course with all the injuries, there is a good chance there could be a Rochester line out there.  Maybe put him out with Zack Kassian and Luke Adam?  I think there is potential there.  I just hope we get to see a "Foligno Leap" from Marcus like his brother did in tribute to their dad's trademark after he scored his first NHL goal.

Buffalo Interested in Kyle Turris?

The Buffalo Sabres have expressed an interest in Phoenix Coyotes center, Kyle Turris, according to hockey insider, Hockey Break.  Looking at the Sabres injury list currently, it kind of makes sense.  Centers Jochen Hecht and Villie Leino are both out with lower body injuries without any definite time frame on their return.  Coach Lindy Ruff already has two lines centered by young guns,  Paul Szczechura and Luke Adam, who have both been really impressive thus far this season.  Are the Sabres willing to take a chance on a still yet unproven Turris?

Kyle Turris held out on his contract with Phoenix this year until November 22, 2011 and has just recently saw action with the team beginning December 1 against the Winnipeg Jets.  So far in six games, the 6'1" center has been relatively unimpressive on the stat sheet with the exception of faceoff win percentage which is currently 41.2%.  Even looking at his stats from last season, he only had 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 65 games.

On a roster that relies on everyone producing, coach Lindy Ruff wouldn't even dress him in my opinion.  I think the rumor of the Buffalo Sabres interest in Kyle Turris is just that, a rumor.  Kyle will probably end up staying in Phoenix unless one of the other interested teams are willing to take a chance on the young center.

Pivotal Week for Sabres

With the Buffalo Sabres taking on the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, its a huge week that is bigger then just a rivalry week and has potential to have playoff ramifications in April.  Currently in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, the Sabres trail Toronto by one point and are six points behind Pittsburgh.  Ottawa is currently only two points behind the Sabres in 12th place.  With a Senators win, the two teams could be tied by the end of Tuesday night.

The importance of these games is something that was acknowledged by both the team and the coaching staff in their post practice interviews today.  Everyone is fully aware what is on the line this week.  The Sabres can take a lot of pressure off of themselves before the holidays if they can pick up some wins this week.  Now is as good a time as any for Buffalo to rise above their mediocre play at home and show that they are a contender for the Stanley Cup this season.

Like the Sabres, Ottawa has only won three of their last ten games but was able to get one more point from an overtime loss.  The good news for Buffalo is that both the Senators and the Maple Leafs have not played very well against their division so far this season.  The Sens are 2-4-1 and the Leafs are 3-6-0 against Northeast Division opponents.  The Sabres, on the other hand, have played well against their division, posting a 4-1-1 record.  It won't be an easy stretch of games for sure but there is no reason Buffalo can't pick up six points this week.

Of course they will have to find a way to contain a talented Senators' team including their point leader, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson who is always a thorn in the Sabres side.  Then Buffalo  will have their first opportunity to try and cool down the NHL goal scoring leader, Phil Kessel, and the red hot Maple Leafs on Friday.  Finally despite the Penguins being without Sidney Crosby indefinitely, the Penguins still have a very strong team to contend with.  The Sabres biggest challenge will be to get pucks past Pittsburgh's stone wall goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury.

It should be an entertaining week of hockey in Buffalo.  Hopefully when the Sabres look back on this week in April,  they can say it was the turning point for their season, where they rose above the injuries and committed to being a playoff contender.

2012 NHL® ALL-STAR FAN BALLOTING

Have you cast your votes for the 2012 NHL All-Star Game? The NHL gives you up to 30 votes per method of voting. There are three ways to vote for your favorite players which include the online ballot at 2012 NHL® ALL-STAR FAN BALLOTING, visiting vote.nhl.com on your mobile phone and texting your favorite player's name to 81812. You'll need to pick three forwards, two defenseman and one goalie for each entry. The website provides a listing of favorite players for you to choose from but you can also write in players names that aren't listed.

In fact, its a good thing there is a write in ballot or the All-Star Game could be a big disappointment. The NHL listed many players on the website that are injured or have not played very well at all this year when they have played. Most of them are fan favorites that people like to see play but it really just turns the vote into a popularity contest. I had thought the purpose of the All-Star Game is to have the best in the league acknowledged and allow them to compete in an exhibition of the best of the best in the league. By default some of your most popular players should be some of your biggest producers but it just doesn't seem to be that way this year. Hopefully hockey fans will vote players that deserve to play in the game for what they have accomplished this season rather then for their success in years past.

Unfortunately, comparing the league stat leaders and the current fan votes doesn't give me much hope. The top of the goalie vote list right now is the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie, James Reimer. Reimer is an excellent goalie when he is playing, but he has only played 9 of 29 games for Toronto this season and won only four of those games. The same could be said for Sidney Crosby who has only played eight games this year for the Pittsburgh Penguins after missing the beginning of the season due to a concussion injury from last season. Granted, Crosby picked up where he left off by picking up 12 points already this season but is also now sitting out at least two games as a precaution related to his injury.

Unlike in our political system, your NHL All-Star Ballot votes can make a difference. If you'd like to truly see the best of the best play in the NHL All-Star Game on January 29, 2012 in Ottawa, you should head over to NHL.com and vote for who you think is worthy of playing in this year's game. The polls close on January 4, 2012.



Game On!

I've started doing some freelance writing for an online hockey website The Center Ice Report about a month ago to give me a creative outlet to write again.  I previously wrote a blog for three and a half years called Blimpin' Ain't Easy which followed me around during my adventures while flying blimps across the country.

In this hockey blog, I'll be focusing on covering what's going on in hockey both professional and the minor leagues especially focussing on the Buffalo Sabres franchise.  I've been a life long Sabres fan and played hockey nearly all my life so I like to think I've got an informed opinion on what's going on in the hockey world.  I hope to bring a fan's perspective to the national hockey media.

Light Up the Lamp will be the home for my hockey writings including original blog posts as well as my twitter feed and articles I've posted on The Center Ice Report.  Be sure to check back soon!