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Better 0-3 Team? Sabres Or Flyers? |
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The Eastern Conference cellar has a new dweller.
Move over Buffalo Sabres. The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon. Both teams are all alone in the dungeon, looking for winning solutions to their respective plights.
Makes me wonder:
Which of the two teams are the better of the two win less teams?
Its an interesting debate.
One team is involved in the throws of a youth movement and an extreme roster makeover.
The decision to trade away high priced vets was made late last season. The management and coaching staff are playing the young prospects and integrating them into a lineup that is being back stopped by outstanding, exceptional goaltending.
The other team is struggling to blend its veteran core with some of its organizational prospects, all the while trying to identify its #1 goaltender.
In this corner, the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres. Winless in their fist three games, the Sabres are failing in two key areas right now: goal scoring and power play goals.
The Sabres have only scored two goals in their first 9 periods of regulation hockey this season. Rookie Zemgus Girgsenson scored late in the third period in the season opener, however, Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings held on to win 2-1. On Friday night, the Sabres were stymied and shutout by Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators. On Saturday night in Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby and the Pens handed Buffalo its third loss to the tune of a 4-1 score, however, the final score was misleading in that the Pens scored on a a debatable penalty shot and added an empty net goal. Thomas vanek scored the only goal for the Sabres in The Burgh.
Ryan Miller and Jhonas Enroth have been Buffalo's most valuable players, providing some of the best goaltending in the NHL at this point in the young season.
While playing 5 on 5, the Sabres' are competitive. For the most part, they are adhering to and executing rookie head coach Ron Rolston's system. Poor zone time and multiple ugly turnovers per game are dooming the flow game. Buffalo shooters are getting chances, however, they can't bury them. The first and second PP units are a combined 0-13.
Buffalo Sabres:
Record: 0-3
Goals For: 2
Goals Against: 7
Goal Differential: -5
Home Record: 0-1-0
Road Record: 0-2-0
PP Rank: 28th (0-13, 0%)
PK Success Rate: 100% (8 kills, 8 PP opps against)
GAA: 2.33 (9th)
In the other corner is the
After three games this week, the Flyers remain winless. Flyer Fan is face-palming himself. "Fire Flyer Peter Laviolette" tremors are beginning to rumble once again. The head coach is waiting patiently for a #1 goalie to emerge from the Steve Mason-Ray Emery contest. Time is running out on Laviolette and on the Flyers goalies.
Like the Sabres, the Flyers are having a tough time burying their chances.
Unlike the Sabres, the flyers offense boasts of several form 20 and 30 goal scorers who just can't seem to put the puck in the net. Thats a big problem. The Flyers have been dreadful in 5 on 5 play and on teh power play.
The Fly Boys looked listless in losses to Toronto and Montreal, however, they rebounded with a slightly better effort against Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Same stuff, different day.
Right now, the Flyers are an 8-cylinder vehicle thats only running on 6-cylinders. Somewhere under their hood, there's a spark plug wire thats burned out and needs to be replaced. One believes that new assistant GM Ron Hextall will find a solution to all that ails the Flyers these days.
The Flyers have capable scorers who are currently incapable of finding the back of the net.
Jakub Voracek, Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Read and others have been silent. Too silent.
The Flyers are being out shot and their high priced veterans are not getting the job done.
Uncharacteristic turnovers. Ugly neutral zone play. Passive D zone coverage. Lack of support by the forwards. Power-less man advantage units.
Add the factors up. The Flyers are a train wreck right now.
Philadelphia Flyers:
Record: 0-3
Goals For: 3
Goals Against: 9
Goal Differential: -6
Home Record: 0-1-0
Road Record: 0-2-0
PP Rank: 20th (1-14, 14.3%)
PK Success Rate: 17th ( 15-18, 3 PPG against, 80%)
GAA: 3.00 (19th)
My take:
The Sabres are the better of the two teams right now. With a little puck luck and a PP goal here or there, they could easily be 2-1 or 1-1-1 right now. Ryan Miller has been a difference maker. Jhonas Enroth has been tremendous. The Buffalo PK is 8-8 right now. They have tamed PP beasts Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Spezza, Ryan, Crosby, Malkin and Kunitz.
The Flyers are simply a dumpster fire right now They remind of the 2011-12 Washington Capitals team that played so badly that their head coach Bruce Boudreau was fired. I'm not saying that the Flyers are trying to get Laviolette fired, but it looks that way. its reminiscent of the final stages of the Ken Hitchcock era in Philly. Ownership can't fire 23 players. However, it can fore the head coach and/or the GM.
I can see the blueprint in Buffalo. I see young kids working alongside veterans. I see continuity in the message that the head coach is sharing with his team. I see progress. The Sabres are close to putting it all together.
I can't say the same thing about the Flyers. Their outspoken owner, Ed Snider, scratched huge "get outta my life" checks to Ilya Bryzgalov and Danny Briere 90 something days ago. In that time, the Flyers invested fat money in Vinny Lecavalier, who hasn't paid the immediate dividends that Snider was banking on. The Flyers are a yard sale right now. The forwards can't so much as break the puck out of the Flyers end of the rink. The defense is porous and soft. Snider's patience may be about to meet its end. Paul Holmgren's tenure as GM may soon be over if this tire fire cannot be extinguished in Phuily.
Which team is the best or the winless teams?
Buffalo or Philly?
You make the call.
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Here we go!
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has been cleared for battle and he will return to the Edmonton Oilers lineup on Monday night versus New Jersey.
Nugent Hopkins is a fast healer. He is 100% recovered from an off season shoulder surgery that was originally supposed to keep him sidelined until mid-November.
RNH's early return to the lineup will allow Taylor Hall to move from center to his natural left wing position. Hall played center in place of RHN during the exhibition season and in the first two games of the regular season. The Oilers are 0-2 with Hall as their #1 center.
Dallas Eakins skated his team on Sunday, the day after his young team was humiliated beyond words by the Vancouver Canucks on Hockey Night In Canada.
The rookie coach wasted little time reuniting his power trio of Hall-Nugent-Hopkins-Eberle.
Eakins isn't stupid. His lines have been a shambles in the absence of RNH. His 31 LW has been struggling at #1 center.The Oilers have been continuity and consistency in its lineup. has scored 6 goals while allowing 11 goals against in its first two games.
Here are the lines that the Oilers will throw at the Devils on Monday:
Hall - Nugent-Hopkins - Eberle
Perron - Gordon - Hemsky
Smyth/Hamilton - Arcobello - Yakupov
Gazdic - Acton - Brown
Oh, by the way. Eakins will be sitting his struggling starting goaltender Devan Dubnyk and his will instead start Jason LaBarbera against the Devils.
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Belated congratulations to Lindy Ruff.
He won 571 career games in is illustrious 15 year career in Buffalo.
On Saturday night, he won #572, his first ever with the Dallas Stars.
Stars 2
Ovechkins 1
Lindy's new club lost 4-2 to Florida in their season opener.
Thanks, DallasStars.com
Here's to many more, coach! We miss you in Buffalo.
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