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Grigo Scratched; Leopold Injured |
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Updated 1pm:
Mikhail Grigorenko is scratched tonight. The kid told me Tuesday night that he thought he would be playing in Toronto. New coach same old crap. Tonight will be his 4th scratch of the season.
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New head coach Ron Rolston reports that Jordan Leopold has an upper body injury and he will not play tonight
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Updated Noon EDT:
Cody McCormick has cleared waivers. He will report to Rochester.
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Updated 11:40 am:
Jordan Leopold's poor play landed the veteran D in Lindy Ruff"s doghouse for the Winnipeg loss.
Usually when a new coach takes over a team, he opens up the door and lets the dogs out.
In other words, the "reset button" gets pushed and all players start with a blank slate with the new boss.
So by that logic, Leopold should have taken the ice in Toronto.
He didnt. Instead, Leopold sat out the skate. He is sitting in seats in a hoodie and shirts, according to @kwsnow.
Scratches skate with the team. Why is Leopold sitting?
Traded?
Stay tuned for the scoop....
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Amerk captain centre Kevin Porter is not on the ice either.
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Coaching changes in pro sports are inevitable. These days, coaches are hired to be fired. Its a cold, hard fact in a high risk/high reward profession.
In the end, Lindy Ruff could not find the solutions to the problems that were plaguing the Sabres. He was fired for it. His 15 year body of work is impressive. However, his 2013 coaching record leaves a lot to be desired. The lockout spawned a 48 game season. Like it or not, losing streaks, injuries and bad luck are not allowed to creep into a team's locker room like a thief in the night.
The Sabres skate into tonight's game in Toronto with a daunting task ahead of themselves. Ron Rolston and the players have to find a way to get to 55-56 points in the next 31 games. Think about it. The need need to win 19-20 of their next 31 games. If Rolston can get his team to play lights-out hockey for the next two months, he'll be considered a genius and will likely earn the full time job for the 2013-14 season and beyond. Howver, if he fails to achieve this aggressive goal, he'll likely be considered a failure.
Talk about pressure.
Today, I hope the Sabres players are playing with guilt. I hope they have to swig off a bottle of Pepto-Bismol because their stomachs are upset. I hope they slept with one eye open, staring at the ceiling fan at the hotel last night. They should feel responsible for the Lindy Ruff firing. Ruff wasn't -7. Ruff didn't allow Pascal Dupuis to kill the Sabres and their D zone coverage on the game tying and game winning goals on Sunday. Ruff wan't responsible for allowing a half dozen breakaways in a 6-1 laugher of a loss in Montreal. Ruff didn't whiff on a 2 on 1, cross-ice pass with th enet wide ass open in Ottawa.
The players made the mistakes. Lindy Ruff was thrown under the zamboni for their failures. The captain always goes down with his ship.
Today is day one of the Ron Rolston Era. He'll face an aggressive pass rush by the Toronto media this afternoon when the Sabres jump off the ice at the ACC.
Here's what platform that I hope Rolston:
* Grigorenko will play in the top six tonight, and every night hereafter. He's a difference maker and an offensive force.
* TJ Brennan plays in place of Jordan Leopold. The kid needs ice time. The vet failed to keep his job.
* I'd like to see Brayden McNabb promoted to Buffalo to challenge for a roster spot.
* Trade Sekera. Trade Leopold.
* Bring in an experienced NHL two-way centre, not names Kevin Porter.
* Park Hecht in the press box. This roster needs secondary scoring in a bad way.
* I want to see Ryan Miller play the next 30 games.
What would you like to see from Rolston?
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Much more to come. Check back for updates throughout the day...
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