Jason Pominville has always had a flair for the dramatic. He's made a living by saving his best work until last.
On Monday night, in his first game back in Buffalo since the April 3rd trade, Pominville's closed the show with a dramatic game winning goal that sent the Buffalo fans home feeling bittersweet: Sad that the Sabres lost. Happy that their Pommer was rewarded for his efforts.
Thanks, Wild TV
Pominville said that he really feels for the veterans in the Buffalo room that he played with-- Vanek, Miller, Tallinder. He said that his Sabres friends are all competitors and that he knows how badly their all want to win.
Seven goals in seven games?
Not much winning with a pathetic stat like that.
You want a great stat?
Jason Pominville scored his 22nd career GWG, his 2nd with the Wild.
He scored his 93rd career goal in Buffalo, only Vanek and Satan have more.
The Wild absolutely torched the Sabres on the Pominville game winner, making seven, count 'em seven passes from their end to the o-zone. The puck moves faster than the fastest player on the ice, doesn't it? A thing of beauty!
Pominville has the accuracy and deadly shot of a mafia hit man. Here he goes, shooting another victim dead. Again!
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Pommer told me:
"It was an emotional day. Seeing everyone again makes me feel good".
Likewise, Jason. Likewise.
Pominville had a cup of coffee with Ryan Miller on Monday morning. He did not have dinner with vVnek, nor any other Sabres on Sunday night. Pominville said that he and his Wild teammates ate together after their flight had arrived in Buffalo late Sunday afternoon.
**
Sucks that the Sabres didn't give Pominville a brief jumbotron moment. Sabres fans that I spoke with afterwards told me that they thought it was a bad idea not to acknowledge the former captain for all of his accomplishments in his 10 year Buffalo career.
Maybe next time.
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Should the Buffalo Sabres be giving serious consideration to trading Ryan Miller right now?
Last week, I might have said to wait and see what tomorrow brings.
Today, I say yes, they should. Their future depends on the pieces of gold and silver that Regier can extract from the lucky GM who wins the Miller Sweepstakes.
Miller’s on fire right now. He‘s arguably one of the best tenders in the NHL. His .944 save percentage and 2.29 GAA average have infused more equity in his trade value. Right now, Miller is reminding me of Roger Clemens when he played for the Toronto Blue Jays. Clemens was playing with Cy Young Award winning stuff despite not having having run-support from his offense. Clemens would lose games 2-1 and 1-0, despite finishing the complete game with 10 strikeouts and no walks. Clemens wanted to win a World Series. He craved it. Its what drove him. I recall hearing Clemens say that playing a whole career without winning a championship, or two, would render all of his personal accomplishments and trophies meaningless. Baseball, like hockey, is a team sport. Individual successes are only part of the culture of the game. Winning a championship with the team is the ultimate reward for all of the years of blood, sweat, and tears that the player invested in his career from the time that he was knee high to a grasshopper. Clemens found his championships in New York City with the Yankees. Miller is looking for his opportunity to win the big one. He's invested his 10,000+ hours in Buffalo. Time for him to reach the next plateau in his storied career. Give the guy your blessings and let hon leave to go win his Stanley Cup.
There are several teams in the NHL right now that are struggling to find the consistency and superior play that Miller is bringing to the rink every night. Many of them sent scouts to Buffalo to watch the Sabres-Wild game. Miller was given tonight off after his brilliant performance in the loss at Chicago on Saturday night. Were it now for Miller, the final score could have easily been 6-1 against Kane and the Blackhawks. Once again, Miller was THAT good. I sound like a broken record propping Miller after every one of his starts this season. Miller was better than the 4-1 final score suggested in the loss to Columbus on Thursday night. One puck went in off Weber’s skate.
Among the teams scouting are Buffalo are Dallas, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Detroit, Winnipeg, Anaheim, Nashville, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.
The Dallas Stars just put their starting G Kari Lehtonen on IR today. The will give rookie Jack Campbell a test drive to seee what he’s got. If/when he fails, then vet Dan ellis can try his hand at it. Lindy Ruff ius not a patient man when it comes to his goaltending. He likes what he likes. Campbell and Ellis will get a short leash to be certain. Miller and Ruff know each other implicitly. Miller looks good in green. Hell, Lindy can even give him his trademark #39 that he made famous at Michigan State University. Miller can never where #39 in Buffalo because of “The Dominator”.
I’ve been keeping you abreast of the goalie gong show involving young G Devan Dubnyk in Edmonton, who by the way was scratched for tonight’s game in Washington. Dallas Eakins is starting back-up Jason LaBarbera in place of Dubnyk, who coughed up a third period road lead in Toronto on Saturday night, and ended up losing the game 6-5 in OT. The Oilers are a house of cards built on a shaky goaltending foundation. As Dubnyk goes, so go the Oilers. Hall, Eberle, RNH, and Yakupov can’t score a touchdown every game in order to insure wins. Oilers GM Craig MacTavish better make a move to upgrade his net if he is serious about restoring the greatness of the bygone eras to he City Of Champions. Oh by the way, as I write this, the Oiklers are getting spanked by the Capitals. Dubnyk didn’t start.
Time for MacTavish to call Regier.
Signing a goalie Bryzgalov is not the answer for the Oilers. He's not the type of leader that should be in the room with a group of young, disciplined kids like Hall, Eberle, and RNH.
Moving Miller now may well end up fetching Darcy Regier better “currency” in terms of the players and picks that he can request in return for Miller.
Sitting and waiting buys down Miller’s cap hit. With each and every game that passes his cap number decreases. I say find a serious trade partner with cap space and make a deal.
I can live with Jhonas Enroth starting 50 games and Matt Hackett starting the other 25 games this season.
Trade an asset at its highest value. Isn’t that the way the market works?
Will Miller’s trade value get any higher this season, or, has it planed out?
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