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Myers Won't Play In Chowdland |
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Updated:
Ted Nolan has told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that Tyler Myers will be on the shelf for tonight's game in Chowdland. Myers suffered a lower body injury and missed the final 22 minutes of the 5-1 loss to Colorado on Saturday night.
Myers may play in Detroit on Tuesday night.
Also, Nolan not saying the word "mumps" to describe recent sickness to Moulson and Kaleta. Nolan is sticking to "flu like symptoms"
More to come...
The Sabres landed in Boston early Sunday morning and headed straight for their hotel.
Ted Nolan will be wise to keep his team at the hotel rather than hold a morning skate at the arena. This team needs rest, recovery and proper hydration as they are in a critical back-to-back juncture. Nolan said after Saturday’s loss to Colorado that several of his players are experiencing “flu like symptoms”. Mums the word on whether the team has been infected by the nasty mumps virus that has been wreaking havoc on the Rangers, Penguins, Wild, Blues, and Ducks this season. Its best to take every precaution at this point.
What are the usual symptoms of mumps?
•Swelling and pain of one or both parotid glands are the usual main symptoms.
•The mouth may feel dry.
•Chewing and swallowing may be sore.
•Fever (high temperature), headache, feeling tired/fatigued and being off food may develop for a few days.
•Mild abdominal (stomach) pain may occur.
Matt Moulson and Pat Kaleta will not play tonight. Mikhail Grigorenko and Johan Larsson will take their place in the lineup.
The Sabres had to place Tyson Strachan and Torrey Mitchell on IR to facilitare the Pysyk ans Schaller roster moves.
Tyler Myers is questionable for tonight with the lower body injury that he suffered in the second period of the 5-1 loss to Colorado on Saturday night. Myers left the game with seven minutes remaining in the second period and didn't return . The Sabres may want to shut Myers down in Boston and again in Detroit on Tuesday night. There's no point in risking further injury in meaningless games before the holiday moratorium when the NHL shuts down to observe Christmas.
The Sabres have called up D Mark Pysyk and forward Tim Schaller from Rochester. I know so because Buffalo News writer Mike Harrington tweeted that the Amerks duo were on his plane to Boston this morning. This is Pysyk's first call up to Buffalo this season. He started slowly in Rochester this season and has rounded his game nicely into form in the past month. Pysyk has scored a goal and has chipped in 8 helpers. Schaller, an energy guy, has scored 8 goals and added 10 assists for the Amerks.
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The Boston Bruins have become a shadow of their former selves. Gone are the days when they intimidate opponents before the game then throttle them for 60 minutes with a strong puck possession game.
The Big, bad Bruins and their aging leadership core are struggling to score goals this season.
Their goaltending and defense have been good this season.
They are -3 in goal differential heading into tonight’s tilt with the Buffalo Sabres. The Bruins have scored 82 goals while giving up 85 goals against.
Brad Marchand and Reilly Smith have 8 goals apiece and lead the Bruins in goal scoring. Five other players have 6 goals apiece.
The Bruins are averaging just 2.4 goals per game and are allowing 2.6 goals per game. For every goals they score, they give a goal up to their opponent. It wasn’t always that way. When the Bruins were winning the Stanley Cup and were the bullies on the block, their goal 30+ goal differential was the thing that set them apart from the rest of the pretenders in the Eastern Conference and the NHL. Not any more. Watching them play one gets the impression that the B’s are more content to create pretty passing plays and chances than they are at attacking the opposing net with brute force and persistence.
The B’s have scored two goals or fewer in 13 of their last 17 games.
Through 33 games, the Bruins have a so-so record at 16-14-3. Their 35 points are just 7 better than 29th place Buffalo in the overall standings.
They are no longer a nightmare to play against. They are 9-6-2 at home and 7-8-1 on the road. They are 3-5-2 in their past 10 games. They lost 2-1 to Winnipeg on Friday night.
***
It was great to have time to chat with former Sabres captain Danny Briere on Saturday night.
Full disclosure:
I'm a HUGE Briere fan and have always enjoyed having conversations with him. He has always been candid, straight forward, funny and thoughtful in his responses to questions. Through the good times and the bad, Danny always has a smile on his face.
Its been eight years since he left Buffalo as a free agent, but his memories and recollections of Buffalo are still vivid in his mind.
"I love Buffalo and the fans. They always support their team and are so passionate", he told me.
Danny still serves as a brand ambassador for Buffalo.
"I still tell people around the NHL how great a place Buffalo is to play. The community is so close and they love their sports", he said proudly.
As it always does, our conversation shifted from hockey to family. I was absolutely floored when he told me that his oldest son is now 16 years of age. The other boys are 13 and 11, respectively. Two of his sons continue to play hockey in New Jersey while the other has "retired". The oldest son suffered an injury playing hockey which is preventing him from getting his learner's permit to begin driving Danny's cars. Dad can't believe how fast his boys have grown up. It seems like yesterday when Danny would bring the three boys to the rink and they would run around the Buffalo room. Great memories indeed.
I noted kidded Danny about his new aerodynamic haircut. Its considerably shorter than his usual coif, and no grey hairs.
"Its shorter. At my age I need all of the speed that I can get out on the ice", he quipped.
Classic Briere self deprecating humor.
We wrapped our conversation just as his former teammate and bro Marty Biron swooped in and landed a big hug on Briere.
Thanks for the memories, Danny.
Merry Chritsmas to you and your family.
***
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