South Buffalo Sniper Patrick Kane must be licking his chops right now. The Sabres are winless in their first 5 games and they face Kane and the Stanley Cup champs inside the Mad House On Madsion tonight.
Ryan Miller can't score goals for the Sabres. His forwards and D have to wake up from their lumber slumber and start scoring goals to support the high quality goaltending that Miller and Enroth have been providing.
Ryan Miller will face Corey Crawford tonight.
More after the morning skate.
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Speaking of Buffalo boys:
Thanks, Dan Hickling
This must be the quiet before the storm.
Friday came and went and the NHL didn't conduct its hearing with Buffalo Sabres right wing Patrick Kaleta.
The reason for the delay is that Kaleta will have an in-person hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Tuesday for the contact that he made to the head of Columbus D-man jack Johnson in the first period of the Blue Jackets' 4-1 win in Buffalo on Thursday night. There was no penalty called on the play.
Per NHL.com, Kaleta is now suspended.
For how long? We don't know exactly. Its at least a five game ban.
According to the NHL, 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.
He is suspended pending his hearing. Kaleta will have to sit out the next two games against Chicago and Minnesota.
At 3:10 of the first period, Kaleta collided with Columbus defenseman 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.
Johnson remained in the game.
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.
Press play on the below video and fast forward to the :29 second mark.
Kaleta enters the picture, at a rapid rate and hits Johnson, who had just thrown a pass. Lega check. 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?
Did Kaleta violate Rule 48?
Thats for Brendan Shanahan and the Department of Player Saftey to determine.
Kaleta and Shanahan have developed quite an interesting relationship the past two years.
An in-person hearing carries with it a 5+ game suspension.
The NHL suspended Kaleta for 5 games last season for this hit on Brad Richards.
Kaleta was suspended for four games in 2011 fior this head butt in Jakub Voracek
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The Philadelphia Flyers are in the same boat as the Buffalo Sabres in the early stages of this 2013-14 regular season. The Flyers are struggling to keep pucks out of their net and they cannot score goals on a consistent basis.
The Flyers now have to deal with the loss of two veteran forwards. Scott Hartnell and Vinny Lecavalier weer both injured (lower body) on Friday night. Both men will have MRIs on Saturday to determine the extent of their injuries.Early on, the Flyers are saying "one week" for each player to be off the ice. What if the injuries are long term? The Flyers will be looking for replacements inside their organization. I'm hearing that they are looking outside their family for winger help. Drew Stafford's name has been mentioned.
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Former Sabres winger Brad Boyes scored 2 goals and added an assist in Florida's 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. Boyes signed a PTO with the Panthers and they signed him to a one year deal after an impressive training camp.
Boyes now has 4 goals this season as a Panther. As a team the Buffalo Sabres have 5 goals.
Former Sabres winger Nathan Gerbe has scored 3 times in this young season.
Just sayin'.
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Who says that Lindy Ruff can't coach offensive players? Tyler Seguin had a 4 point game vs. Winnipeg on Friday night.
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Eighteen-year-old rookie Sean Monahan broke a tie late in the third period with a tsty tap-in for his fourth goal of the season.
The win set a Flames record for most consecutive games with at least a point to start a season (five, 3-0-2). The Devils have gone winless in their first five games of the season (0-2-3) for the first time since moving from Colorado in 1982.
Monahan has been a breath of fresh air in Calagry. He's been their best player in the first five games of the season.
**
John Tavares. Dentist.
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