The Top 5 Reasons: Why we should like the Sabres chances in the playoffs

5) The East is weak

To give you an idea about how weak the Eastern Conference has become, if you were to take the Sabres point totals of the last two seasons and compare them to this year's standings, the Sabres would be in the driver seat between the 6th and 7th spots for the playoffs. All of the playoff teams have weaknesses. And we aren't talking about whether the 4th line can produce. From the Capitols and Senators goaltending issues to the Flyers duct taping together their injured ridden roster, everyone has a major weakness.

Even though the teams seem to be weak, the one thing the majority of these teams aren't lacking is star power. From Kovalchuk, to Crosy, to Ovechkin, if any of these players get hot, look out. Of course, the Sabres have their own superstar in Ryan Miller (more on him later). In the end, in such a weak conference, all you need is a couple of players to get really hot to make a run for the cup.

4) The Sabres haven't hit their stride

To me, the beauty about the NHL playoffs is that you can have an individual that has shown very little during the regular season, but takes off when the stakes become higher. I can remember during the 2001 playoffs, when Chris Gratton of all people, played like a man possessed against the Flyers. Gratton scored five goals and three assists during the six game series. Besides Gratton's new found scoring ability, he was hitting everything in sight. You name it, the guy did it. As much as I've been on the Sabres for their inconsistency, Gratton couldn't hold a candle to the Sabres top six forwards. In other words, Gratton sucked in comparison to them. But, he did turn it on for that specific series. Now, if Gratton can do it, why can't Derek Roy or Jason Pominville do the same?

How in the world can a team that has been in first place for the majority of the season, haven't really hit their stride? Easy, if you look at the Sabres individually, you can only really name a handful of players that have had a better than advertised year. The top six forwards seem to be the heart of the inconsistency. Yes, there were spurts this season when Derek Roy or Thomas Vanek would go on a 4-5 game tear, but they seemed few and far in between.

However, you can't ignore what some of the top six forwards have done in the past. Vanek is a two time 40 goal scorer. Tim Connolly has the ability to take over a game or a series. If you look at the history of the Sabres roster, they have proven that they have guys who can put the puck in the back of the net. If there's one thing we haven't seen this season, it's having a duo like Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek put together great performances in the same game.

It always seems that (Insert top six forward's name) goes on a hot streak and then cools down; only to have (Insert top six forward's name) take over where he left off. If the Sabres can actually have a series of games where their top six forwards can collectively work together, the team is going to be playing hockey in May.

3) Sabres defensemen

Yes, Lindy Ruff has kind of made it a revolving door between the 4th and 6th defensemen for the Sabres. But, as much credit as we give Ryan Miller for his stout play, some of that credit has to goto the Sabres blueliners in helping Miller have, at times, an easy night behind the pipes. To me, this is the best the Sabres defensemen have looked in their own zone since the 05/06 season.

It all starts with the rookie phenom, Tyler Myers. Yes, besides being very tall, Myers has far and away been their best blue liner this season. Its as if every game, Myers does something that you never thought he could do. Whether it's skating coast to coast, breaking up a 2 on 1 break, or pinching in on the offensive zone, Myers is dressed to impress. To think that the guy has one less point than Thomas Vanek is remarkable...or scary for Vanek.

After Myers, you then have to give it up for Henrik Tallinder. The Sweden born player has to be the Sabres comeback player of the year. The guy had really struggled over the last 2-3 years and wasn't exactly the most popular player amongst Sabres fans. Whether his play has improved because of his pairing with Myers, you can't ignore how he's played some very tough stay at home defense this season. It's a tough match-up for him to go against the opposition's best scoring line, but Tallinder and Myers have done a great job with that responsibility.

Tallinder is going to be heavily counted on in the playoffs, because he's only one of two defensemen to have post-season experience. All due respect to Craig Rivet, but I'm counting on Tallinder more so than you. On a side note, lets hope the Sabres decide to resign him in the off season.

After Tallinder and Myers, it has been kind of an up and down rotation for the Sabres defensmen. Steve Montador is kind of the epitome of the rest of the squad. At times, Montador looks like the Sabres best defenseman on the ice, but at other times, he looks like a reincarnation of Mike Wilson and Dmitri Kalinin.

But lets be honest, even though some of the individuals on the blue line have struggled at times, you really couldn't tell, because they play such great team defense. The blue line shouldn't be an issue for the Sabres in the postseason; only a positive.

2)The man behind the bench

You could always make the case that Lindy Ruff is the face of the Sabres franchise. He's the conscious and Teflon don of the team. No one would dare call for Lindy Ruff's job and I'm not going to start either. He's coached 88 playoff games for the Sabres, winning 10 playoff series during that span. Ruff has won every which way possible in the playoffs. He's done it with either a superb hard hitting defense or a fast pace offensive style.

Ruff is the type of coach that can adapt his coaching philosophy to his opponent. If the Sabres are playing the Penguins, Ruff would more than likely play a defensive hockey style to slow down the likes of Crosby and Malkin. If the match-up is against an offensively challenged squad, I'm sure Ruff would try and have the Sabres open it up and take some offensive chances.

The other thing going for Ruff is that he's coached teams deep into the playoffs that weren't really high on talent. The Sabres teams that made it to the EC Finals in 98' and the Stanley Cup Finals in 99' were a one man show with Hasek and a couple of decent role players. Hmmm..kind of reminds me of this year's version of the squad. If there are any coaches in the NHL that can do the most with very little talent, it's Ruff.

1) I don't need a 4-year degree to tell you this

Look, I get that a lot of Sabres apologists are trying to make themselves feel better about this team by including other players as an intricate part of the team's success. Lets stop with the non-sense. Ryan Miller is the lone reason this team has a division title. Without him, my blog would be a daily bashing of Tom Golisano, Larry Quinn and Darcy Regier. Miller is the backbone of this team. He has proven that he can carry a team when the stakes are at its highest.

He's the MVP of the team and is the best goaltender in the world. If you believe the formula that great goaltending can carry your team to the Finals, then you have to love the Sabres chances in the playoffs. From the Jersey teams to Jean Sebastien Giguere, great goaltending can trump the star power of offensive players.

The biggest question going into this season was whether Miller could handle the physical and mental pressure of being the Sabres key to success. Obviously, he's succeed with his regular season and Olympic performances. If Miller can play like he did in the Olympics, the Sabres are going to do some serious damage in the playoffs. The question is...can Derek Roy or Thomas Vanek do their best Zach Parise?

Coming Up: Top 5 Reasons: Why we should NOT like the Sabres chances in the playoffs.

Sabres vs Panthers recap: Six star edition

Rising Stars

1st Rising Star: Raffi Torres
I didn't exactly understand the logic of Lindy Ruff putting Raffi Torres with Adam Mair and Matt Ellis in his first game back from injury. There has been a lot of pressure on Torres to perform since his trade from Colombus. If you want to get an offensive player going, you shouldn't be putting him on the 4th line. Well, that's why I'm not coaching the Sabres. Torres finally made an impact for the Sabres; getting three assists and actually making Adam Mair look good. I kid, Adam. I need just another well played game by Torres to get him out of the Dominic Moore model. But hey, at least he's not Bob Corkum.

2nd Rising Star: Tim Kennedy
You want to talk about a rise and fall and a rise for this season, it's Tim Kennedy. Timmy is kind of the epitome of what the Sabres season has been like. Kennedy played exceptionally well the first two months of the season, but really hit a rookie wall around January. I think the biggest problem for Kennedy was that Lindy Ruff was treating him as if he was going to be a shutdown center by playing him with Grier and Hecht. I don't think Kennedy's all around game suits well with playing on a line with a bunch of grinders.

Kennedy has offensive talent. We definitely saw it in the beginning of the season and by playing with the third and fourth liners, it kind of dragged his production down. This may sound remedial, but playing with talented players will help your offensive game out. He looks really aggressive out there, and looks to have found a niche with Roy and Stafford. I kind of wish Ruff would do this more with some of his younger talent.

3rd Rising Star: Darcy Regier
I know Darcy and I haven't exactly seen eye to eye, and having Christmas dinner together is out of the question. However, I'm definitely digging these rookies. Tyler Ennis, Tyler Myers, Tim Kennedy and Nathan Gerbe have made such huge strides during their time in Buffalo. You can tell that Gerbe and Ennis have a complete understanding of what it takes to play in Ruff's system. You have to give credit to the coaching staff in Portland for making these kids play in Ruff's system. Hell, they've looked better than some of the vets on this team.

Ennis and Gerbe are playing great in the open ice and their motors are always running. You never get a sense that these kids are taking a shift off. They want to earn their spot on this squad. Every time I see them on the ice, you kind of get the feeling they can score at any moment. Just watch how Gerbe or Ennis play during a shift. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the staring at the new hot girl in class that I mentioned the other day. But I just can't keep my eyes off of them.

I know all of you dam Regier apologists have been telling me that his master plan is centered around the youth movement in Portland. Well, if this is just a tip of the iceberg for these kids, then you can just call me a Regier apo.l..o..ggg....I'm becoming more open minded. How's that?

Falling Stars

1st Falling Star: The Florida Teams

My god, those are some terrible, terrible hockey teams. I think the NHL should look into sending those teams down to the AHL for a tune-up. Fans always say that the NHL should move the southern teams to the Canadian hockey hotbeds. Seriously? We have stolen Canada's game and you want to torture our neighbors to the north with watching that crap? Sorry, but I'd be looking at buying CFL season tickets if I had to cheer for that garbage. As for the Panthers, how the hell can you have just five shots in two periods?? No wonder why the Capitols are going to win the President's Trophy.

2nd Falling Star: Time Warner Cable NYC

Bastards!? So it's 7pm, I have my Turkey sandwich ready, along with my glass of um...milk. I turn on channel 431 for the Sabres game and lone and behold, there's nothing there but pitch darkness. Reset the cable box, same thing. Called Time Warner Cable, they had me reset the dam box again, while they shot some electronic signal into my box. Nothing but darkness. Of course, all the other channels were working for Center Ice. As if they are a ton of fans in NYC that want to watch the Hurricanes play. Luckily, the channel came back on at the start of the 2nd period. So, you're lucky TWC, because I had Fios on line two.

3rd Falling Star: Drew Stafford

I'm going to keep putting Stafford on this list. It's not just about wanting to see Ennis or Gerbe play in Stafford's spot. It's how Stafford has just one goal in his last 23 games. Like I wrote the other night, you'd think that Stafford would try and put his best foot forward and pick-up the slack with Vanek and Connolly out of the line-up. Now, with the emergence of Ennis and Gerbe, I think it's safe to say that Stafford is on audition for the rest of the regular season to keep his job.

Overall

Nice, solid outing for the Sabres. I probably could have added more stars to the list, but my frustration with TWC isn't letting me think clearly. Plus, they beat the dam Panthers. To think that the Sabres need a win against lonely Toronto and a Senators regulation loss tomorrow night, and they can clinch the division. That's pretty dam cool. I know fans have always said that no one thought this was possible in October, but how about a month ago? Remember when Ottawa was breathing down their necks? Very impressive, Sabres. BTW, I'm still scared of Ottawa.

Sabres vs Bruins Recap: 6 Star Edition

Rising Stars

1st Rising Star: Sabres heart and soul

Entering tonight, I was ready to write off the Sabres. I mean, how can you beat a playoff team like the Bruins, when you're missing four players from your regular rotation. I was getting ready to write that tonight's loss was all about not being healthy. Hell, even a cynic like myself, knows that playing with a quarter of your forwards that were in Portland just a week ago is merit for cutting the Sabres some slack. Well, that's why they play the games.

This may have been the Sabres most impressive victory since beating the San Jose Sharks before the Olympic Break. Sorry, but I'm not counting the beat down of the Florida teams. I said a week ago that it was going to be interesting to see what the Sabres would do against playoff teams like the Canadians, Bruins and Senators for the upcoming week. Yes, they lost again to the Senators. However, you can't dismiss their comeback effort against the Canadians. You also can't dismiss their effort for playing with five rookies in their line-up against the Bruins. Both of those winning efforts wouldn't have had happened if it were last year.

2nd Rising Star: The Sabres system

OK, so this is a continuation of the first star. I've been one to scoff at the notion of Sabres fans who try and compare this team to the 05/06 version. However, tonight, I couldn't help myself for going down memory lane of that time period. I remember during that season, the Sabres battled a ton of injuries, mostly due to their sports hernia problem. Even with all the injuries, that Sabres team were still able to find someone to pick up the slack. Tonight's game, had a bunch of kids that only played a handful of pro games, and were still able to play as if they had been 10-year pros. Hell, they made a Bruins vs Sabres game entertaining. I mean, when was the last time you said that?

3rd Rising Star: Tyler Myers

WTF else can I say about Myers. I mean, aren't you suppose to be hitting a rookie wall just about now? Myers 11th goal of the season is the most for a Sabres blue-liner since Brian Campbell had 12 goals in the 05/06 season. You want to talk about exceeding expectations, start with Myers. We all knew that Ryan Miller had the makings of being a great NHL goaltender before this season.

However, at the start of the season, no one in their wildest dreams would have expected this sort of production from a 19-year old kid. Myers, not only has been the Sabres best defenseman, but he has also added a play-making ability that the team has needed on the blue line since Campbell was traded two years ago. You could have also put Tim Kennedy or is Tyler Kennedy (More on that later) into the rising star category for tonight. He's been playing great as of late.

Falling Stars:

1st Falling Star: Tim Thomas

What the hell happened to this guy?! He won the fricken Vezina Trophy last year?! From a Boston stand point, he's got Bill Buckner and Grady Little written all over him. To let in three goals on 13 shots against a Sabres team that wasn't at 100% is totally unacceptable. That dude needs a bro-hug or a shrink couch, ASAP.

2nd Falling Star: Joe Micheletti

Or maybe I should call him Joe Rogan or Doc Emerick, or Michelangelo from the Ninja Turtles. Memo to Versus: You are suppose to be the home of hockey coverage on your stupid network that nobody watches. I counted at least 3x times that play-by-play man, Joe Micheletti, said the name "Tyler Kennedy," when it came to describing the play of Tim Kennedy...or was it Tyler Ennis? Hell, he could have been talking about John F. Kennedy at this point?! Now, this wasn't over one shift or a power play, this was throughout a period. Don't you think someone in the dam truck would have told him that Tyler Kennedy plays on the Penguins? Totally stupid.

3rd Falling Star: Drew Stafford

Was Drew Stafford even on the ice tonight? You would think that with two of the top six forwards not playing tonight, Stafford would at least try and put on his best effort to pick up the slack. Instead, he did absolutely nothing. If there's one top six forward I would love to jettison after this season, it's Stafford. He's done nothing during his career and is lucky enough to even be considered a top 6 guy. The Sabres need to trade this guy while they still can get value for him. Trust me, don't make this into a Max or Kotalik situation where you can only get a bag of pucks for him. The Sabres tried lighting a fire under Stafford when Ruff benched him earlier this season, and it worked..for like two games. Sorry, but Stafford's ship has sailed...actually, more like sunk.

Buffalo vs Tampa Bay Recap: 6 Star + Bonus Edition

Rising Stars

First rising star: Paul Gaustad
That's the Paul Gaustad that Sabres fans have learned to love. It has been a while since the Goose has played well in back-to-back games. Goose finished the night with one goal (Could be two, but the goal officials are blind at The HSBC Arena) and acted as if he was Antero Nittymaki's shadow in the first period. He's one of the few physical players on the Sabres that can hold his own in the offensive zone. Goose is probably the biggest body the Sabres have that can take the pounding inside the crease which is always beneficial.

It's been a tough year for Gaustad. He started off very strong in the beginning of the year; hitting everyone in sight and was a key contributor on the forecheck. However, he got injured around Thanksgiving and was out for a couple of weeks and didn't seem like himself upon his return. Over the last couple of games though, Goose seems to be back to his old self and is reeking havoc on the opposition. If Kaleta is out of the line-up for a long period of time, Gaustad is going to have to be the designated hitter for this team.

Second Rising Star: Patrick Lalime
Lalime looked good tonight. OK, who am I kidding...he went against a god awful team. However, I'm happy for Patty. If anyone has been an apologist for Lalime, it's yours truly. If anyone should have a gripe with the back-up goaltending situation, it should be directed at how Lindy Ruff screwed up the goalie rotation. I found it kind of cool that Lalime got his 200th win in front of the home crowd that booed his ass during his last game he started. Of course, the crowd did give him a nice ovation at the end of the game, which will hopefully end the overhyped lovers quarrel between the two.

Third Rising Star: Tyler Ennis
OK, enough of these mixed messages from the Sabres front office. This isn't like the hot girl that has like 10 guys at her disposal, and keeps the flavor of the month around. Keep this kid on the active roster. Find him a hotel room in Buffalo to stay at. This kid looks like the real deal. He looks so good in open ice and is always looking to get his teammates involved. His pass and skating on the assist of the Mair goal was one for the highlight reel. Now, who would I sit if Torres, Kaleta and Connolly return? Maybe Stafford, Mair and Ellis? I don't care, just make room for this kid.

Forth Rising Star: Derek Roy
OK, maybe I should move Roy higher on the list. I mean he did have a hat trick. However, I kind of wish Roy's biggest game moments wouldn't come against the South East Division. Of Roy's 22 goals this season, 19 of them have come against non-playoff teams. Like I've said before, the top six forwards have to show me they can score when it counts, especially against the better teams. But hey, a hat trick is a hat trick. Hopefully he's coming into his own for the season.

Fifth Rising Star: James Woods
Look at James Woods dropping Tom Golisano's name at the beginning of his interview during the first intermission. I think it's the first time all year that Golisano's name has been mentioned during a Sabres broadcast...considering that he doesn't attend the games anymore. Woods was in town scouting possible locations for a movie he's producing, which is always good for the city's economy. Yes, Woods wasn't exactly funny during his interview, even though Kevin Sylvester was doing his best imitation of Paul Hamilton laughing at Lindy Ruff's jokes. However, it's always good to have a celebrity in the house.

Falling Stars

1st Falling Star: The Tampa Bay Lightning
Memo to all the fans who b#$tch about hockey not selling in south: If the Tampa Bay Lightning were known as the Buffalo Lightning, no one would go to their games. No one would buy their crappy jerseys. No one would be partying in the plaza. They are a pathetic hockey team and play some of the worst defense this side of the American border. Chris Gratton and Dave Andreychuk are rolling over in their graves. I kind of feel bad for their fans to hear northerners call them out for not supporting hockey. I mean, how can you support such a pathetic product like that? I sure as hell wouldn't.

2nd Falling Star: MSG
I can only assume that the reason it took over 15 minutes to see the replay of the Vincent Lecavailer spear of Tim Kennedy was because the TV crew was going gaga for having an interview set-up with James Woods. Maybe they were trying to get him the best beef on weck in the green room. First, you run to a commercial break with Lecavalier going to the dressing room without showing a replay of why he was going. Then you come back and not even bother showing the replay.

Yes, I get that the Sabres were going on a long power play, but you could have easily showed the replay during one of the whistles. For god sakes, the score was 1-0 when the spear occurred and it became 3-0 when they finally showed the replay.

Overall
Nice victory...but it's against Tampa Bay. I don't care how many closed door meetings the Sabres had today. They should be able to wipe the ice with teams like these. I still have some doubts, especially against a team whose name start with the letter "O." BTW, THE SABRES ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!! Even a grouch like myself is happy for that.

Sabres vs Sens Recap: 6 Stars Edition

Ugh! How I hate writing posts on the Senators kicking our asses! I bet the word "domination" is mentioned like 10x in this post.

The Rising Stars

First Rising Star: Brian Elliott
Can you say Roman Cechmanek? In case you don't know about the history of Cechmanek, he was the Flyers starting goaltender during the 2000-2001 season, and completely owned the Sabres. During the regular season, Cechmanek had a record of 4-0, with two shutouts and gave up just TWO goals in four games. Roman wasn't anyone special. But for whatever reason, he completely owned Buffalo.

Flash forward nine years later, and Brian Elliott is on a similar streak against the Sabres. Going into tonight's game, Eliott had won all seven of his career starts against Buffalo; sporting a GAA of under two goals a game. Tonight, Elliott looked awesome in turning away 41 Buffalo shots. Even though Elliot has been hot as of late, it shouldn't justify his domination over the Sabres. Against the rest of the NHL, Elliot is just an average goaltender on a talented hockey team.

If the Sabres meet the Sens in the playoffs, they need to figure out a way to solve the riddle of Elliott. Maybe it's having Adam Mair take a run at him. Maybe it's having Marty Biron make a special appearance and pick a goalie fight with him. How about taking Elliott to the same restaurant that all of the Sabres players had food poisoning at. They have to do something to figure this guy out.

If they don't, the series is going to end in five. As for whatever happened to Roman....well, the Sabres met the Flyers in the playoffs that year and won the series in six games. The Sabres were finally able to figure out the hot goaltender, especially in game six, when the team scored eight goals. So, maybe all isn't lost.

Second Rising Star: The Senators
What the hell can you say? Ottawa owns Buffalo. If you want to give me the history of Derek Plante's game seven goal or sweeping Ottawa in 99', well, go ahead if that makes you feel better. It's not even a rival anymore. I mean, you have to win once in a while to make it a legit rivalry, right? Dating back to last year, the Sens have dominated the Sabres; winning nine straight games. You don't even want to know their record against the Sabres since the lockout.

There are a ton of factors involved in the Sabres inability to beat the Sens. You pick it, the Senators have dominated it. They have had better goaltending, better star player performances, better coaching, better physicality...just better everything.

Seriously, take away the playoff series in 2006 and the Senators have completely outplayed the Sabres in every facet of the game. Oh, and I'm not even going to get into the Sabres psyche against Ottawa, because like Ryan Miller said once about his team, "It's fragile."

Third Rising Star: Sabres 3rd and 4th lines
I know there are times that I bash Lindy Ruff for giving so much playing time to the 3rd and 4th lines. However, for tonight, those forwards definitely earned it. Welcome back Paul Gaustad. Goose, along with Grier, Mair and Ellis were all over the ice . They were constantly pressuring the Senators in their own zone and were all over Elliott. You can tell those guys really wanted to end the losing streak.

The Sabres started the game on a mission...a very psychical mission. They wanted to beat the crap out of the Sens and it almost worked. If you can't skate with the Senators, you may as well try and slow them down by playing old-school hockey. How about that fight Patrick Kaleta started? Unfortunately, the effort was there, but the end result was the same.

Falling Stars

1st Falling Star: The Sabres top six forwards

Tell me if you have heard this one before? Where were the top six forwards tonight? I don't care if Pomer got a goal on a two on zero. When your 3rd and 4th lines are showing the most effort and getting the most scoring chances, you have issues. This is the only, and I mean only reason why my confidence is shaken for the playoffs.

The Sabres top six forwards have been so inconsistent this year. If the Sabres really want to make noise in the playoffs, they are going to need at least two of their top six forwards to go on a nice point streak. Yes, you can talk all you want about goaltending, but you can't win all four games of a playoff series by a 2-1 score.

I'm in no mood to see Mair/Ellis/Kennedy go up against the Spezza line with 2 minutes left in a game, because Lindy is pissed off at Roy and Vanek for being invisible. You want to know why Ottawa kicks the Sabres asses all the time? It comes down to the star players on both squads. Guys like Alfredsson and Spezza are Sabres killers. The last time the Sabres top six forwards did anything against Ottawa was when RJ was screaming "these guys are good, scary good!!"

Yeah, it's scary alright. So scary that someone needs to call Ghost Busters, because since Pominville beat Alfredsson and Ray Emery, the Senators have been haunting the Sabres.

2nd Falling Star: The Sabres Memos

Memo to Toni Lydman: It may be funny to try and stick your leg out when the waiter walks past your table at a restaurant, but it sure doesn't work on the ice. Dumb, DUMB tripping Penalty that lead to the Senators 3rd goal of the game.

Memo to Tim Connolly: Thanks for the nice fricken slashing penalty that nullified a five minute power play. Really, thanks a lot.

Memo to The Whip: Please, just end the segment. Interview the Senators beat writer or talk about the Water Front Project that your boss is designing. Your topics are nothing more than rehashed garbage from a slow sports day on a talk radio show.

Memo to the Sabres Power Play: I don't care if you score two power play goals a game for the rest of the season, the power play will always stink.

Memo to the Sabres feelings: I was reading on Sabres Edge that prior to the game, there were a number of Sabres that were rolling their eyes at the questions about the Sens domination. Um, start manning up, wimps! Stop sticking up for Patrick Lalime getting booed and realize there are bigger fish to fry! The Sens have dominated your ass over the last four years! I'm sick of you guys acting as if you're kids, who are sick of being disciplined because you're constantly getting detention in high school. You're professionals, and you shouldn't be rolling your eyes at anybody else but yourselves. Welcome to professional sports, boys.

3rd Falling Star:Ryan Miller
Look, I'll be honest, it's very hard for me to give Miller a falling star. He was good tonight, especially in the third period, but not great. However, this falling star is more of an indictment of his play against the Senators overall. For Miller's career against Ottawa, he's 8-14-2 with a GAA of just over three goals a game. That's not very Miller like.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Miller is the heart and soul of this hockey team. You can always tell that he treats every single game as if it's his last. But, enough with the cliches. Miller just doesn't seem right against the Sens. Even the first Ottawa goal tonight, which wasn't really a bad goal, kind of made Miller look as if he was pressing a bit.

Miller knows that the key to the Sabres survival in the playoffs rests on his shoulders. He knows there are plenty of questions and concerns about the Sabres being dominated by the Senators. I'm sure he wants to win the most out of any of his teammates. But, if you were to look at the season series, and ask me which Sabres player has had the worst game against Ottawa, you gotta put Miller up there.

I'm hoping that Miller's performance against the Senators is just a hick-up for his career. Hick-ups can always go away. He's proven that he can dominate the best in world (which is something we can't say about his teammates).

I'm just hoping that if Miller meets the Senators in the playoffs, the outcome isn't the same. If it is, well, Pedro Martinez and Ryan Miller are going to have something in common with their division rivals. "Just tip my hat and call the Senators/Yankees my daddy."

Overall

You really can't bag too much on the Sabres effort tonight. There was definitely a hop in their step. You can tell they wanted to end the streak and clinch a playoff birth. If it wasn't for a couple of bad bounces and some stupid penalties, they could have won and ended the streak. However, there are no scraps in my scrap book.

I'm sick and tired of writing posts about the Sabres losing against Ottawa. Sorry, but youtubing the 7-6 victory over the Senators in the 2006 playoffs...isn't helping my state of mind. I can already hear the homers, "Dude, the playoffs are a different ball game and we have defense and solid goaltending." Awesome, I get that...but what about f$%ken Ottawa?! What is it? seven regular season victories in five years? Sorry, but you can take your blue-collar work ethic and your lunch pall...and stick up it up your ass!

Read my lips: I DO NOT WANT TO PLAY OTTAWA IN THE PLAYOFFS! I don't care what anyone out there says. If you feel better because they gave an honest effort tonight, well, ah salute.

However, we have seen these types of efforts before, and the end result is always the same against Ottawa. Tonight, the Sabres tried a different tactic with getting physical and it just didn't work. The Sabres have made Elliott look as if he's a Hall of Fame Goalie. The Senators have a REAL version of an NHL first line.

You want to know what this rival has become? In a nut shell, compare Vanek's shot off the crossbar to Alfredsson's game winning goal in the last meeting. Great players aren't always great, they are just great when they have to be.

Sorry, but I'm not seeing that with the majority of Sabres on this roster.

Sabres vs Canadians: Six Stars

First Star: Ryan Miller

How many odd-man rushes have the Sabres given up this year? Seriously, I've seen Miller stone wall 2 on 0's and 3 on 0's. Hell, you'd think you're watching " The Riding of the Bull" with Miller playing the role of the male cattle. If it wasn't for Miller tonight, the Sabres would have been down by five goals. They are going to need games like this from Miller in order to make some serious noise in the playoffs. In my view, Ryan Miller is by far the most important player for any team in the Eastern Conference. Even if Ovechkin and Crosby went down with injuries, both of those teams have some serious role players that can carry the load. Sorry, but Derek Roy can't even carry the puck in his own zone. Miller is the only... and I mean only.... reason why the Sabres are in first place. BTW, Miller is 4-1 against the Canadians this year. All due respect to the Habs, but I'd love to see them in the first round.

Second Star: Lindy Ruff

Gutsy, gutsy call by Ruff to pull the goalie with over three minutes left. It seemed like a wake up call for the Sabres to finally get their dam heads in the game. They had incredible pressure against Carey Price in the last three minutes; scoring two goals. The passion that they showed was as if they were playing for a playoff birth. Up until that point, the Sabres were god awful with the man advantage. I know there are times that fans and media members coddle the ways of Ruff too much for my taste. However, for tonight, he knew exactly how to push the Sabres buttons(well, for the last three minutes at least).

Third Star: Danny Gare's tie

WTF was that!? Is he trying to be like Robie and have sponsors like Yancey's Fancy and Kaleida Health take notice of him? I can only assume that it was a "My Cousin Vinny" situation, where the Tie store had the flu and the only place open was Nerds...err...Kids "R" Us.

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First falling star: First 57 minutes of the hockey game

Dear Sabres, I know you beat down some crappy teams as of late and your confidence is sky high (I'd say mine is at the height of my apartment building). Maybe you can relax against the Florida teams, but you can't coast against playoff teams. The power play was terrible tonight and I don't care how many shots you had on goal. Those weren't quality chances in comparison to what the Habs had. Also, way too many odd man rushes.

Second falling star: Derek Roy

Bro, WTF is going on with you? Way too many giveaways for my taste. But what else is new?

Third falling star: Don't bring up 2005-2007

Look, it was a fun victory tonight and the game was kind of a microcosm of what those Sabre teams did after the lockout. But lets not start acting as if it's Happy Days and it's a Goo Goo Dolls album party. Look, I get that most Sabres fans (myself included) would love to act as if we are witnessing those teams again. But we aren't. They are good...but not scary good. To be honest, I can't remember the last time the Sabres overcame a two-goal deficit. This team is a one man machine and even by coasting, they still have a chance to win because of Miller

Up Next:

The Sabres have a HUGE game against the Senators. I don't care what anyone says. This is a big game. Everyone in that locker room knows that the Senators have owned them since 2006. If the Sabres lose against the Sens, I don't want to hear apologists say that the team is in first place and we should all be happy. I'm happy, but there's a good chance that you're going to see the Sens in the playoffs. I want a confidence builder. I need a sign. The Sens are hot, especially Brian Elliot, who has two straight shutouts. Well, the Sabres are kind of hot too. I guess we can say it's time to beat the Sens at their best.

Get mad, Sabres! Get angry! Get even! Shut me up, I dare you?! I don't think you can beat the Senators in a playoff series. Please, prove me wrong.

Sabres vs Stars Recap

-Finally, the Sabres played an entertaining hockey game (Insert Hallelujah song). It was the first time the Sabres scored more than 3 goals in a month (Insert fireworks and confetti). It was the first time the Sabres scored more than 3 goals at home since January 6th (Insert rioting). Yes, it wasn't exactly against a perennial powerhouse in the West, but when you can thoroughly entertain me for most of the game, I don't care who you're playing. But besides my entertainment value, it was a great all-around win. You name it, they did it. They scored, they played great defense, they hit hard, and had some good timely goaltending. Everyone contributed...even Derek Roy did-

-The Sabres blue liners played their best offensive game of the season. Tyler Myers was all over the ice and could of had a hat trick tonight. Myers played with passion and looked like the guy from October and November. That's the Myers the Sabres need to see. All of his shots from the point seemed to be on net and he did a great job of pinching in the offensive zone. Myers stat line of four points (1 goal and 3 assists) were a career high for the rookie. It's good to see him play with some hop in his step, considering that he's been struggling for over the last month. Hell, I even liked his dumb interference penalty because it showed how aggressive Myers wanted to be tonight. Good job against your home state, Tyler-

-Have to also give props to Andrej Sekera and Craig Rivet who played extremely well in the offensive zone. Yes, Sekera did have a costly giveaway, but I see a lot of promise in the young defenseman. I saw a player tonight that was skating really hard and was able to deke out a couple of Dallas players in the process. I remember watching the Olympics and see Sekera play with passion, and even on certain nights he outplayed his all-world teammate, Zdeno Chara. Considering how offensively challenged the Sabres have been at times this season, getting Sekera some more ice-time would be beneficial for the offense. Maybe Ruff is seeing that as Sekera logged over 22 minutes in ice time tonight. In other words, he's a lot better than Steve Montador. As for Craig Rivet, nice pass from behind the net to set-up the Mancari goal. Sorry, but you're still too old-

-The Sabres blue liners are going to be very key for the Sabres offense in the playoffs. My confidence in the top 6 forwards is still shaky and their going to need all the help they can get to score. We all know Ruff's system is predicated on defenseman being aggressive in the offensive zone. Like I wrote the other day, when you have Ryan Miller back there, you can definitely take more chances on defense. Hopefully, this aggression from the blue-liners isn't just a one night stand-

-I've been saying for months that it's time for the Sabres to get some of their youth from Portland up here. Hello, Mark Mancari. It's about time that you finally took the bull by the horns. God knows the Sabres have given you a number of chances to make the parent club. Mancari played great tonight, scoring a goal and an assistant. When the guy's head is on straight, he's the complete package for the Sabres. Size, decent speed and a great shot are traits that definitely work for me. Now, I'm not ready to tell Mancari to start house hunting in Buffalo, as most fans are already anointing him over Stafford and half the team. However, this is a good start for him to try and crack the starting line-up on a full-time basis-

-Dear Mr. Kaleta, please don't get hurt so much. The Sabres need your aggressive style of play and hitting. Yes, I know there's Adam Mair and Paul Gaustad, but Kaleta seems to be the only guy of the trio who can be a threat on the offensive end of the ice. It's kind of hard for Lindy to play Adam Mair 13-15 minutes a game when he's so one dimensional. As for Gaustad (who didn't play tonight), he's battling injuries and hasn't been himself since getting hurt in December. When healthy, Kaleta doesn't seem to have the problem of hitting and scoring a timely goal. BTW- It's good to see him drop the gloves-

-Memo to Thomas Vanek: You really need to watch those F-bombs when you are unable to bury a scoring chance. I mean, there are kids watching at home! I heard your little F-bomb in the first period. You're lucky Lindy doesn't wash your mouth out with soap. In all seriousness, it's good to see Vanek get on the scoring sheet. Especially for the sake of all those drivers who are on the road after Sabres games. It wouldn't surprise me if Vanek has a serious case of road rage when he leaves the arena after not scoring a goal-

-Wow, the Sabres were able to get HBO as a sponsor of tonight's first period...Impressive. Not so impressive... your new sponsor is some junkyard that you can sell transmission parts at-

-Memo to Sabres TV producers: First off, you decide to run the same "Whip" Topic from three months ago (wrote about the stupid topic then), which tells me when Kevin Sylvester asks the viewers to email the staff for topic suggestions, he really...REALLY means it! Secondly, the argument of having 10 playoff teams in each conference is completely absurd! I don't even know how the math would work with those brackets. Would the 1st seed have a bye? Would there be a play-in game? 10 teams? Pssh.....Why don't we allow the AHL and the roller hockey league into the NHL playoffs. Lastly, look, I'm a notorious cynic when it comes to Buffalo teams, but it's strange that the Sabres would run this topic twice in three months. We all know that the Sabres are all about making as much money as possible. Having 10 playoff teams would only insure that the Sabres would be in the postseason for the next 30 years. That's a lot of playoff tickets to buy. Why not try and make a convincing case on TV, that way so some of the uneducated fans can contact the NHL about the travesty of not allowing crappy teams into the playoffs. Yeah, I know...I'm evil and I'm reaching-

-Wow, I just went through a whole recap without mentioning how Ryan Miller played tonight. That's good news, because I've totally run out of things to say about him...Unless you want me to talk about Elton John wanting to meet him and his Today Show appearance. Yeah, didn't think so. All kidding aside, it's good to write nice things about other Sabres not named Ryan Miller-

-This has been such a roller coaster year for the Sabres. To think they are only 3 points out of 2nd place in the conference with one game in hand is kind of cool. Playoffs are coming! Are you ready?-

Canes vs Sabres recap

Yeah, I know, I said I didn't really care what the Sabres did against the Hurricanes..well..I lied.

-Hey Craig Rivet, you are Lindy Ruff's latest target in taking away ice time and sending a message to the team. So how do you respond? By getting a stupid cross-checking penalty in the first period that leads to a goal. Totally undisciplined. Of course, Rivet had an opportunity to make amends for it in O.T. when he was in on a nice give and go, but...he hit the post-

-Have you ever seen a 3 on zero break in a hockey game?! I can't even think of a good joke to describe that situation. Did the Sabres think the period had ended and decided to get off the ice? Did the Sabres think the last airplane for the Olympic break was leaving in 10 minutes? Did they think that Lindy Ruff wanted them to ride the stair masters during the period? Did the Sabres think the Cellino and Barnes graphic literally came out from under the ice? Maybe it was a dastardly plan amongst the world's nations to make Ryan Miller have a heart attack before the Olympics? Just inexcusable. If players are that out of breathe and need to make a line change, then maybe they should change their seats to the press box-

-I don't know what to make of Ryan Miller. Honestly, I know everyone will say that he must be tired. However, if look at the NHL stats, Miller is tied for 9th in games played, and is only separated by two games from 12th place. Hell, Martin Brodeur is 38-years old, and still plays every single night. I think a lot of it has to do with the Sabres defense. Remember how good Lalime looked at the beginning of the season. Heck, he gave up one goal to the Blackhawks and Penguins combined. Lalime's play against the Blue Jackets looked kind of similar to the way Miller has played over the last 12 games. That's what happens when your defense starts falling apart. Having Steve Montador falling to the ice with a blown tire, and having giveaways galore isn't helping Miller or Lalime out. However, you can't ignore the fact that Miller has been letting in a lot of bad goals recently. Maybe, Miller's hot start was just an aberration and he's just not as good as we all thought. I'm not saying he's bad, but maybe the system's flaws have made him go from an elite goalie to just a good goalie-

-Miller's comments about the team playing like "fragile kids" is a telling point. Maybe he's sick of having to bail this team out every single night. It could also be a sign that he's just buckling under the pressure of having to be the man every single night. I just don't know..any help out there?-

-Give it up for Derek Roy. Yes, he ticks all of us off to no end, but you can tell the guy played with desperation against the Canes. He was battling around the net and earned his two goals-

-Tell me if you've heard this one before? Where is Thomas Vanek?-

-Can we please make a move? You know, when I start thinking of bagging on Lindy Ruff for not getting the most out of his players, I start thinking back to 2005-2007. Seeing the talent he had to deal with makes me understand how much Ruff can do when he has the tools to win (John Rigas, anyone?). Talent wins a lot in sports, which leads to the bottom line: The Sabres don't have enough talent to deal with the likes of Ottawa, Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Washington. Hell, I think the Flyers have more talent. I've said it once and I'll say it again, take away Ryan Miller and this team isn't even in the top 10 for the conference. Give Ruff the players to win and the team will succeed-

-As for my rant towards Darcy Regier, can't the GM look back to his 1999 Stanley Cup Finals team? The team was able to shack things up by trading for Stu Barnes, Rhett Warner and Joe Juneau. I'm not asking for Kovalchuk. I'm just asking for guys who will give 60 minutes a night and will be better alternatives than the "fragile kids" that we've had to endure for the last 2 and half years. People can fall in love all they want with the kids from Portland, but history shows that Regier is a way better GM at trading for talent rather than grooming talent-

-Sabres not only fall out of first place, but if the playoffs started today they wouldn't even have home ice in the first round. If that doesn't make your skin crawl, the Sabres are 10 points in front of the 8th place team. Nice, huh-

Sabres thoughts: Olympic break..get back to defense..fighting..and more

-I wrote the other day that Lindy Ruff's benching players, having team meetings, and making the players ride stair masters after games may be running its course. It couldn't be any more true after watching the first period against the Bruins. Absolutely no energy. None. Giveaways galore. Derek Roy was falling all over his own shadow. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this team needs to make a move. There's just too many guys who are going through the motions, who don't know what it takes to deal with adversity. Their top 6 forwards don't get it and were lucky enough to be riding the coattails of Ryan Miller before their recent slide-

-Look, I know that the Sabres are terrible in shootouts, but how can you not include Thomas Vanek as a shooter? Remember how dynamite Vanek was when he first came into the league and had killer moves when it came to shootout attempts. If your memory of Vanek doesn't convince you, how about his 7 million dollar contract that indicates that he should be in those clutch situations-

-It's about time that the Sabres finally decided to drop the gloves against the Bruins. However, I couldn't help but get annoyed when Milan Lucic came to the aid of Zedno Chara when Paul Gaustad was challenging him to fight. Of course, Chara should have dropped the gloves, but it should tell you what the other 29 NHL teams are thinking when you try and mess with their star players. I can only assume that this is something that Ryan Miller wishes the Sabres could learn from-

-Man, could the Olympic Break come at a better time for the Sabres? BTW, if I hear anyone at the end of the season mention the Olympics as an excuse if Ryan Miller plays poorly down the stretch, I'm going to vomit. There's been a lot of goaltenders, from Hasek to Irbe, who have won the cup after going deep into the Olympics. I'm also willing to bet that the Stanley Cup champion will more than likely have a couple of prominent Olympians with medals on their team-

-Look, I know I get a negative wrap, but I'm sorry, I'm not going to give credit to the Sabres for rallying from two goals down when you're playing against a team that has won once in the last 11 games. However, I will give Gaustad credit for being the best Sabre on the ice-

-I don't know about you, but I'm getting tired of hearing a reporter or talk show host say the following: "Oh, we are still waiting for Lindy Ruff's press conference. I assure you that he must be giving hell to the troops or making them walk on hot coals, while being shot with pucks." Ugh, Enough! We know that. We've heard that line for the last 13 years! Am I suppose to feel good about myself because Ruff is going to unleash verbal hell on his players, something they've heard 100's of times before?-

-Look, I know that I bi#$hed and complained religiously about the Sabres style of play boring me to tears. So, I'm going to beg and plead for the Sabres to bring back that boring ass type of defensive style. I promise, I'll get excited when Robie uses the Robistrator when describing someone back checking. I promise, I'll write scouting reports about Tallinder and Lydman. I promise, I'll induct Teppo Numminen into the "Joe from NYC Hall of Fame." We all know that the Sabres more than likely aren't going to change this roster. The only way they can be competitive and weather the storm is if they completely commit to playing defense. It's what brought them to first place and it's the only way to stay in first place. I wrote earlier this season that the Sabres reminded me of the 99' Stanley Cup finals team with their solid defense, great goaltending and sub par offense. Time to get back to that style, boys-

-Obviously, the biggest internal optimist will say, " If I were to tell you in October that the Sabres were in a first place tie with Ottawa for the division lead in February, would you have taken that?" Of course, I would say yes. But my biggest qualm is that the last 11 games aren't just about the team's struggles, but a microcosm of what I've seen from the Sabres in the last two years. Defensive lapses, playing poorly against bad teams, lack of physical play and inconsistent scoring are deficiencies that I'm tired of seeing. Sorry Larry and Darcy, but you can't keep telling me that this team has grown up, when there's constant reminders of their play from the last couple of years-

-Forget Thursday's game against the Hurricanes. Saturday's game against the Sharks is a BIG test for the Sabres, and I'm not talking about on the ice..I'm talking mentally. It was only 3 weeks ago that Buffalo played a very good game, albeit in a losing effort against the Sharks. Remember how fans were talking about how they took the loss as a stepping stone for being able to play with the big boys. My have times changed. It's a whole lot different to play with sky high confidence and being up 13 points in the division, then it is to be on a losing streak and tied with Ottawa. Beating the Sharks will at least show me that the team can deal with adversity when playing against the best. Like Darcy has said, it's all about looking from within-

Sabres vs Senators Recap

Sabres 2, Senators 4

-So what has the Sabres vs Senators match-up become? Well, to quote Pedro Martinez: "Just tip my cap and call the Senators my daddy." OK, so it's not exactly what he said, but you get the point. This wasn't just another game (Even though Sabres said it was). Anyone who has a pulse on what's going on with the Senators winning streak and their dominance over Buffalo, knows that this was a statement game. Hell, even a must-win game. Yes, the Sabres came back in the 3rd period, but to lose your 8th straight game against Ottawa. Sorry, there's no scraps in my scrapbook-

-Not only do the Senators own the Sabres, but so do the stars of the NHL. First it was the Sedins, then Crosby, and now you can just add Spezza and Alfredsson (Actually, they've been on that list since 2007). Remember that game when Alexander Ovechkin did absolutely nothing against the Sabres? whoa...that was this year?-

-Hey Lindy, I know we love and worship the ground you walk on, but what the hell are you doing putting the 4th line on the ice with a minute left? The Senators have their top line out. You know, the line that has been killing you since the Eastern Conference Finals of 2007. I don't care if Danny Heatley doesn't play there anymore. Look, I'm all for Lindy having his 4th line (if playing well) go up against star lines, but not against Spezza and Alfredsson, who've killed your team. Roll your top lines against their stars-

- Give it up for Tyler Myers, a 20-year old kid who wasn't going to put up with Chris Phillips taking a run at Ryan Miller. Even though it seemed like it took about ten years for a Sabres player to do something about it, it was good to see Myers take issue-

-Look, I'm not the type who starts salivating when someone pulls a dirty hit on a Sabres player. ARR! Eye for an eye! Get Ted Nolan back here! That's not me and it's not the NHL anymore. However, in a game where you had your goaltender get run over, Yarko Ruutu giving a dirty ass elbow and then coming back to clobber Thomas Vanek into the boards, it's just a little to trendy for my taste. Next time, I think the Sabres need to try and get physical with the Senators, as in maybe sending out a message. Hell, nothing else has worked for them against Ottawa. Maybe getting your players fired up would help-

-What a difference a month makes for Steve Montadour. He was playing pretty well and giving the Sabres a unexpected boost on the power play. Not only does he get benched twice within his last three games, but he has to deal with Sekera playing one of his best games of the season. Not looking good for one of the Sabres "BIG" high priced free agents they brought in-

-Look, I don't care what the stats say, but I have no confidence in the power play. There are just too many times when the Sabres power play looks like an epic disaster. It looked even worse against the Senators, when Tim Connolly turned over the puck and took a penalty in the process. If your confidence was dwindling after seeing that, how about that Power Play in the 3rd period after tying the game? Yuk. The Sabres commit too many turnovers to begin with and to have them occur on the power play is inexcusable-

- I'm really digging the Connolly-Hecht-Pominville line. Every time the line was on the ice, they were putting a ton of pressure on the Senators. They were by far the most effective line tonight for the Sabres. It's beyond me why they weren't on the ice with a minute left in the game. Could this be the time when Connolly goes on another point streak instead of crashing down to earth for 10 games?

-Where the hell was the overhead shot during Hecht's no-goal last night? Well, if you weren't watching TSN, Ottawa's announcers said that the Sabres overhead camera wasn't working. At the time, I had guessed that the Sabres were still cutting broadcast costs. Actually, from listening to the post game show on WGR, this has been a problem for the Sabres for quite some time. So long, that the team has been in constant contact with the NHL office about getting the camera fixed. I guess Radio Shack isn't getting the missing part from Japan until the Olympic break. Seriously??? You know, last week I heard some of the local media members bitching and complaining about the constant reviews in NFL games. Well...At least the NFL has fricken equipment that works!!?! Then you wonder why people don't take the NHL seriously-

-I've been debating how to answer why the Senators own the Sabres. So I'm just going to list a bunch of reasons.

1) The Sabres fall into Ottawa's trap by trying to match their speed, when they should just stick with their boring style of tight defense that made them into a first place team. The Sens are just faster than the Sabres.

2) Spezza and Alfredsson always outplay Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek.

3) The Sabres have no confidence against the Senators.

4) The Sabres never hit anyone during a Senators game.

5) Maybe the Sabres do believe it's just another game, and the Senators are just bullies who are in love with kicking someone while they are done. Get desperate, Sabres!

6) The Sabres offense is most effective when they can roll out four lines against a team that only has a couple of lines that they have to deal with. The Sens kind of have the same strategy and I just think their lines match-up better.

What am I trying to say? Well, the Senators are just better than Sabres. Just look at the Sabres first period, they dominated the Senators, yet they scored zero goals. Yeah...just add the Senators to an all of a sudden growing list of playoff teams that I don't want to face.