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Buffalo Sabres Blogger • Insider •
The 1-7-2 Tronna Maple Leafs limp through the visitor's door at HSBC Arena for their Friday night tilt with the sizzling hot Sabres. Lately, when the Leafs blow into opposing NHL ports, the American-born players on the opposing roster have been on their best behaviour. Take for example Wednesday night in Dallas. Toby Petersen and Matt Niskanen amped-up their individual efforts in order to make a more favorable impression on Team USA Head coach, Ron Wilson, and GM, Brian Burke. Mike Modano, a team USA grey beard was not able to play when the Leafs skated in Dallas, otherwise, he’d have put on a show for the Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson of “American Idol”. The Team USA Vancouver final roster will not be selected until late December, however, Wilson and Burkie are making their lists and checking them twice, as they want to find out for themselves who’s naughty, concussed, busted, over-rated, or nice.
Dallas Stars bench boss, Marc Crawford, knows the importance of nailing the Olympic audition. “There is really a lot of attention on the naming of the teams. Players like to play in the Olympics.”
Friday night in Buffalo, Ryan Miller, Drew Stafford, Tim Connolly, and Jason Pominville will take the “American Idol” stage for their close ups.
What more does Miller have to do to earn the keys to the USA crease? The guy has been the best goalie in the NHL thus far. He’s 7-0-1 with a 1.60 GAA and .944 Save %. He has one shutout. However, his most grotesque stat is that he’s only allowed 13 goals against in 487 minutes played. Contest over. Here’s your toque, Tim Thomas. If I’m Lindy Ruff, I dress Miller and implore he and his teammates to shutout Wilson and Burke. Its just another game in the 82 game exhibition season, however, a win would go a long way to cementing Miller’s rightful place in Team USA’s net. Four years ago, Atlanta’s GM, Don Waddell, was the boss of Team USA. He and Peter Laviollette chose Rick DiPietro over Miller. How’d that work out?
Stafford played for Wilson at the World championships in Spring 2009. You’d think that Wilson and Burke had gotten a birds eye look at Staff. Surprisingly, 21 was not invited to team USA Olympic Orientation camp in Chicago in August. When Mike Richards of the Flyers dropped the hammer on Florida’s David Booth earlier this week, it seemingly opened up a winger spot on the Team USA depth chart. Booth’s concussion is believed to be serious, and rightly so. He was blindsided by Richards and was knocked unconscious. Scary hit that deserves a suspension. I digress. Who knows how long Booth will be feeling symptoms. Could be a month, could be three. Can’t predict it. His loss may be Stafford, Connolly, or Pominville’s gain. Stafford has 3goals and 2 assists in 9 games, and is +3. He gives the USA size and scoring on the walls. Connolly, the slippery centre man, can ply the wall. He has 2 goals and 5 assists in 9 games. The population of Pominville is ever-expanding. Pommer scored his third of the young season in Newark and has four assists to boot. Seven points in nine games is the kid of consistency that Wilson and Burke will be looking for in a short tourney. You’ll recall that Pommer played for Team USA at the 2008 World Championships when Buffalo were eliminated from the Playoffs for the first time after making it to two consecutive ECFs. He recorded five points in seven games for the USA squad. Pommer’s a “dualie”, meaning he was born in Canada, however, his mother is an American citizen and his father is French Canadian. He’s in the same unique boat that Brett Hull was in when it came to international hockey options.
****
The Leafs have recalled Jiri Tlusty and have sent Viktor Stahlberg across the street to the Marlies.
***
Kudos to Darcy, Lindy, and the scouts. Tyler Myers is an NHLer through and through. Great move keeping him in Buffalo.
***
Avid Hockeybuzz gawker, Marty Biron, loves to boast about his Philadelphia Phillies. I'm a die hard NY Yankees fan. I say Yanks in 6.
Lets bet lunch on it #43.
Time for the Yankees to put Pedro Martinez in his place!
***
Guitar Hero Van Halen Rocks!
****
Katie, bar the door!
"The Monster" will be on the loose in Buffalo!
Bet the haunted house on Miller!
So scary!
****
Dallas Stars bench boss, Marc Crawford, knows the importance of nailing the Olympic audition. “There is really a lot of attention on the naming of the teams. Players like to play in the Olympics.”
Friday night in Buffalo, Ryan Miller, Drew Stafford, Tim Connolly, and Jason Pominville will take the “American Idol” stage for their close ups.
What more does Miller have to do to earn the keys to the USA crease? The guy has been the best goalie in the NHL thus far. He’s 7-0-1 with a 1.60 GAA and .944 Save %. He has one shutout. However, his most grotesque stat is that he’s only allowed 13 goals against in 487 minutes played. Contest over. Here’s your toque, Tim Thomas. If I’m Lindy Ruff, I dress Miller and implore he and his teammates to shutout Wilson and Burke. Its just another game in the 82 game exhibition season, however, a win would go a long way to cementing Miller’s rightful place in Team USA’s net. Four years ago, Atlanta’s GM, Don Waddell, was the boss of Team USA. He and Peter Laviollette chose Rick DiPietro over Miller. How’d that work out?
Stafford played for Wilson at the World championships in Spring 2009. You’d think that Wilson and Burke had gotten a birds eye look at Staff. Surprisingly, 21 was not invited to team USA Olympic Orientation camp in Chicago in August. When Mike Richards of the Flyers dropped the hammer on Florida’s David Booth earlier this week, it seemingly opened up a winger spot on the Team USA depth chart. Booth’s concussion is believed to be serious, and rightly so. He was blindsided by Richards and was knocked unconscious. Scary hit that deserves a suspension. I digress. Who knows how long Booth will be feeling symptoms. Could be a month, could be three. Can’t predict it. His loss may be Stafford, Connolly, or Pominville’s gain. Stafford has 3goals and 2 assists in 9 games, and is +3. He gives the USA size and scoring on the walls. Connolly, the slippery centre man, can ply the wall. He has 2 goals and 5 assists in 9 games. The population of Pominville is ever-expanding. Pommer scored his third of the young season in Newark and has four assists to boot. Seven points in nine games is the kid of consistency that Wilson and Burke will be looking for in a short tourney. You’ll recall that Pommer played for Team USA at the 2008 World Championships when Buffalo were eliminated from the Playoffs for the first time after making it to two consecutive ECFs. He recorded five points in seven games for the USA squad. Pommer’s a “dualie”, meaning he was born in Canada, however, his mother is an American citizen and his father is French Canadian. He’s in the same unique boat that Brett Hull was in when it came to international hockey options.
****
The Leafs have recalled Jiri Tlusty and have sent Viktor Stahlberg across the street to the Marlies.
***
Kudos to Darcy, Lindy, and the scouts. Tyler Myers is an NHLer through and through. Great move keeping him in Buffalo.
***
Avid Hockeybuzz gawker, Marty Biron, loves to boast about his Philadelphia Phillies. I'm a die hard NY Yankees fan. I say Yanks in 6.
Lets bet lunch on it #43.
Time for the Yankees to put Pedro Martinez in his place!
***
Guitar Hero Van Halen Rocks!
****
Katie, bar the door!
"The Monster" will be on the loose in Buffalo!
Bet the haunted house on Miller!
So scary!
****
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