Just when you thought thing couldn't get any worse for the Buffalo Sabres, Pat Kaleta now has a hearing with the NHL to answer for his on-ice conduct.
Buffalo Sabres right wing Patrick Kaleta will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head of a Columbus Blue Jackets player last night.
Kaleta was offered the opportunity for an in-person hearing as required by provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for any suspension that can exceed five games.
According the NHL, at 3:10 of the first period, Kaleta checked Blue Jackets D-man Jack Johnson near the boards, just inside the Buffalo zone.
No penalty was assessed for that hit, but Kaleta received a fighting major after engaging with the Blue Jackets' Jared Boll after the hit.
Hit play on the video and watch at the :29 second mark as Kaleta enters the picture, flashing across to hit Johnson, who had just thrown a pass. Kaleta's check was not late as it occurred a second after the pass left Johnson's stick.
It appears from the video as though Kaleta made high contact with Johnson. Was Kaleta's principle point of contact Johnson's head? Shoulder? Chest? Thats for Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Player Saftey to determine.
Kaleta-Boll
Some 25 feet away, McCormick and Prout dropped the gloves.
McCormick-Prout
Thanks, Hockey-Fights.com
Johnson remained in the game.
Kaleta would leave the game for a period of time during the second period. He returned to play in the third period, wearing a full face cage.
The following grounds are being considered for supplemental discipline:
Illegal check to the head.
However, the Department of Player Safety retains the right to make adjustments to the infraction upon review.
I detected a few common themes running through the Sabres room after the 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
Captain Thomas Vanek has been through the NHL ringer. He knows winning hockey when he sees it. Vanek hit the nail on the head in his post game scrum. His team is failing in three key areas in the first five games of the season.
1). Hesitation
2). Too many stupid mistakes
3). Don’t blame the youth movement
Vanek, like many of the leaders in the room have been harping on the indecision and the hesitation that is occurring in all three zones at the most inopportune times. The Blue jackets scored their first goal because of sloppy D zone play by Tyler Myers.
Thanks, Sabres.com
Personally, I see the hesitation as being a by-product of 12-14 of the 18 skaters who are afraid to make mistakes. Whiffing on rebound chances in the attack zone doesn’t help. Passing into a defenseman’s skates to kill a 2-on-1 breakaway when the Sabres forward should be bearing down and shooting the puck. Another example of the hesitation that is killing the Sabres right now is the incessant over-passing the puck around the perimeter for 90 seconds, looking for the perfect shot lane rather than knuckling the biscuit to the cage.
Sabres players young and old are not playing the game. Instead, they are thinking the game. Its paralysis-from-analysis right now. Kids don’t want to be made an example of so they don’t engage filly in the. Vets who are supposed to know better are erring on the side of caution when they should be showing the young guys the proper techniques and proper strategies in order to prevent the Keystone Cops-inspired mistakes from happening on every shift. D-men getting caught on pinches down the wall and not being able to get back quick enough to defend the odd-man rushes that theyir hesitation created is a big problem for the Sabres. So are situations when forwards are not being hard on loose, unabated pucks. The Sabres seem to be playing an extra second or two late. Breakout passes are not crisp, tape-to-tape. Seven-foot passes are being short-armed or worse yet, being thrown to hard at the intended receiver’s stick. Passes that should be hitting stick blades on the forehand are having to be gathered on the backhand, if not at all.
I can go on and on and on, citing multiple instances of mental and physical breakdowns in the first five losses of the season. Its not just the “:kids” who are making these mistakes. It’s collective group. 10 year vets and 5 game rookies are all to blame. The kids are now bristling at the fact that the mistakes are being attributed to the youth movement in Buffalo. I spoke with several kids in the room on Thursday night. They don’t want to hear about how they are rookies.
Mike Weber had a tough night against Columbus. He was an uncharacteristic –4 on the night. Weber manned up and owned his mistakes. So did Tyler Myers. They didn’t sugar-coat it or dance around their mistakes. They took 100% responsibility and vowed to get better. Weber stood up for the young guys on the Sabres by telling me that young guys are in the Buffalo room for a reason.
Weber said that “in-between” guys are playing in the AHL in order to get ready for the NHL. Weber has confidence in his young teammates who are learning how to compete at a consistent level in the NHL right now. He’s confident that the team will start playing with less hesitation and more urgency.
Thanks, Buffalo News
“We just have to go out and play a game where we aren’t afraid of making mistakes”, Weber said.
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