It brings a smile to my face to envision Tyler Ennis distributing the rock to Thomas Vanek.
If any centre on the current Sabres roster can create scoring opps and give Vanek the puck in the high percentage scoring areas, its Ennis, whose blazing speed and 360 degree vision make him an excellent set-up man for the Austrian sniper.
The name of today's game is penetration. The teams that excel at the inside game are the ones that are scoring goals and winning games. The teams that live off the wall, on the dots, and above the hash marks are the ones that struggle to score. Ennis is like a mole-- smale, fast, and can burrow to the inside where he give bigger, slower D-men fits while trying to get a grip on him. If Ennis were a football player, I'd compare him to Barry Sanders. At the point of contact, his speed, agility and improvisational skills make him near impossible to get a body on to defend him. For this reason, Vanek can troll the blue ice and he'll be rewarded with one-timers and chances vis a vis the deft stick skills of Ennis, and Gerbe.
Whats more to like abot the 42-63-26 line is that Vanek is now playing the right side, which gives the D a different focal point to have to defend. Vanek can weave off the Ennis penetration with Gerbe to create new and interesting shot selections of varying degrees of difficulty. Odd angle shots tend to confuse Bryzgalov.
"I love the middle of the ice because it gives me the opportunity to skate and create in all three zones. Playing the wing gives you responsibility for a third of the ice. I like using all three forward zones to create chances for my line mates. Playing centre is fun for me", Ennis told me after the Dallas game last Friday night.
I love this move. Hey, at this point of desperation, I'd try anything new to ignite the lumber slumber that the Sabres have been a victim of since the Boston game.
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