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Tired 'Nucks hand Sabres a win--Some Buffalo fans searching for their meds |
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It was the last of a five-game/10-day, east-coast road trip for the Vancouver Canucks against the last place team in the league. Vancouver came into the First Niagara Center last night having won 3 of 4 games already and playing the last place Buffalo Sabres should've been a good way to end the trip. Sure, the 'Nucks would probably hit the ice a tired club, surviving on adrenaline, but with a little work and some decent goaltending two points was a realistic proposition.
But perhaps they didn't get the memo. Although the Buffalo is in 30th place, they'd been playing really well over the course of the last 10 games or so punctuated by a rock-solid performance in a 4-2 win over a good Blue Jackets team at Columbus.
Then again, perhaps the 'Nucks did get the memo, but focused upon the injury report that had the lowest scoring team in the league without their top-two goal scorers in Zemgus Girgensons and Tyler Ennis.
Vancouver should've been able to pull out a win, and even with sub-par goaltending, should've at least snared a point. Instead they got pounded 6-3 in a game that was played mostly in the Buffalo zone. Back-up goalie Eddie Lack, who was forced into a starter's role when Ryan Miller was lost for 4-6 weeks two games ago, did not look good, nor did the defense in front of him. Lack made only 18 saves for a .783 save percentage.
The fact that bottom-six, checking forward Torrey Mitchell scored his first goal in 28 games (while also adding a second, no-less,) bottom-six forward Bryan Flynn scored his first goal in 30 games (it was his fifth of the season,) and Andrej Meszaros scored only his second goal of the season might give you an idea as to how rough it was for Vancouver.
Good for all of them, as well as captain Brian Gionta who added and empty netter and Chris Stewart who has now scored in back-to-back games (the third time he's done that this season.) Good for Sabres goalie Michal Neuvirth who stopped 28 of 31 shots headed his way including facing 28 of them in the final 40 minutes.
And it's especially good for Buffalo fans in attendance as they got to see the Sabres score six goals for only the second time this season. The last time they did it was also at home and it was versus the Toronto Maple Leafs way back on November 15, 2014.
For posterity's sake, the 10 goals the Sabres scored in their last two games are the most they've scored over a two game stretch all season.
It wasn't good news for "tank-nation," however, as the Sabres gained four points in the standings with the back-to-back wins and moved closer to the two other teams in the "McEichel Sweepstakes"--Edmonton and Arizona.
Arizona lost to the NY Rangers last night, their eighth loss in a row. They remain in 28th place, but where once they were ahead of the Sabres by double-digits, that has now shrunk to only four points. After snagging nine of a possible 20 points in their last 10 games, Edmonton is three points ahead of Buffalo sitting in 29th place. All three teams have played 62 games which means there are only 20 more to go.
With the sky falling, those fully invested in the "McEichel Sweepstakes" are frantically searching for the Xanax bottle they tossed aside during the team's franchise record 14 game losing streak. It's getting too close for comfort and all the suffering they've been through will be for naught if GM Tim Murray can't bring it home.
Rest assured, my manic brothers and sisters, Murray's on it.
He didn't tell me personally, nor has he come out and said it to any media outlet lately, but he knows what needs to be done.
Murray was on WGR's Schopp and the Bulldog yesterday saying, "I want to be able to do what's right for the organization," and make no mistake, a run to the middle of the pack is not in the cards.
Murray's direction is all about the future. When asked if there's something in particular he's looking for when moving his pending unrestricted free agents, he replied, "I'm shopping for futures for the organization. We want to improve, we want to get better and we know that isn't going to happen this year."
With the trade for two studs in Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian already in the books, and as the former won't be playing until next season, futures is "what's right for the organization." That would include a third round pick like the conditional one they received for Jhonas Enroth, or it could be a mid-level prospect, or a latter-round pick for Meszaros or even a college freshman, like Murray had mentioned. Fair price or not, the focus is on negative near-term results via subtraction.
The Sabres don't have any trade-assets, save for Stewart, that could garner the type of player that would be of any help this season anyway and from that perspective, after 3pm Monday, it should be pretty much all downhill, especially if Neuvirth gets moved.
Certainly things could go awry and they could end up outside the top-two draft slots, but the course is pretty much set, and it's only a matter of time before Murray moves a good chunk of his eight pending UFA's for futures. Trade deadline day is Monday, so he has three and a half days to get it done.
Here are the eight, what they bring to the team, how strong of a possibility is it for them to be moved, and what the Sabres might expect in return:
RW, Chris Stewart--the big power forward who's found his legs and his scoring touch lately couldn't have picked a better time to heat up. He's the type of player that teams love to add up front in a top-six/nine role for grit and scoring. He's scored six goals and added seven assists since he was benched by Nolan on January 13th, a span of 16 games. Stewart is one of the top forwards available and is highly likely headed elsewhere.
Boston is in dire need of help up-front and has been eyeing him for a while. The name Ryan Spooner has been thrown around but the fan-focus seems to be on goalie Malcom Subban. Murray has said he's in the running for Boston University goalie Matt O'Connor and thinks he might have the wherewithal to get it done so he might focus upon skaters. The Sabres could use forwards, but one must also keep in mind that with Myers traded and a gap between Jake McCabe and a prospect like Anthony Florentino, a quality d-prospect like Joe Morrow could be in the mix too. If Murray can't strike a deal with Boston, I'm sure Montreal or Vancouver would be interested.
G, Michal Neuvirth--has been light's out since Enroth was traded. In the seven games since he's 3-2-2 has allowed an average of two goals per game while averaging 37 shots against per game and has a stellar .954 sv%. He would be highly coveted if there was a market for a goalie at this time. But, there's not. If there's any opportunity for Murray to move Neuvirth, methinks it's a done deal.
Ironically enough, the Vancouver Canucks might be in the market, especially after watching Lack's performance last night. Murray won't ask for the moon, but perhaps he could land a third-rounder for Neuvirth. Like Stewart, Neuvirth is not helping the future with his stellar play and he needs to be traded yesterday.
C, Torrey Mitchell--he's a depth/role player, is strong on the puck and in his own zone. He's the type of depth player with an affordable cap-hit who could pot the occasional goal that Cup contenders covet this time of year. There's a strong possibility he'll be moved.
A team like Detroit or Anaheim wouldn't hesitate to give up a mid-lower round pick to bring him aboard while Pittsburgh could use a little more grit up-front as well.
D, Andre Benoit--has been playing next to Bogosian since the trade and hasn't looked out of place. It should be pointed out that Benoit has talent and if put in the right role he can produce. Last year for Colorado with the offensive power they had, Benoit scored seven goals and added 21 assists in 79 games for the Avalanche. He's logged 20 or more minutes in five of the last seven games and is a plus-1 over that stretch. At 800K any of the top teams could easily fit him in under the cap so he's as good as gone.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are looking at defensemen because of injuries and they have an even more prolific offense this season than Colorado did last year. Former 1st round pick (bust?) Carter Ashton may be someone they'd be interested in moving. The Sabres will have a lot of work to do in Rochester next season and having Ashton, who's been able to produce at the minor league level, could be a good player to have.
D, Andrej Meszaros--Ummm...he's been able to avoid injury this season, but he's been unable to provide anything consistently to keep himself in the lineup. The Sabres could keep him or trade him. If they decide to keep him, he may become disinterested like he seemed to be early in the season. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing for the Sabres at this stage of the game. It's a 50/50 proposition with him.
Meszaros has a pretty big cap-hit and any movement to any team would probably mean the Sabres retaining a portion of his salary. He's been all over the league throughout his career, never leaving the eastern conference so I can't see him heading west. With injuries forcing them into the market, the Montreal Canadiens may be his destination. Murray might even be able to land a fourth-rounder or equivalent prospect for him.
D, Tyson Strachan--Murray said that received a call today on a player he thought he'd never get a call on. Perhaps Strachan is that guy.
I have no idea who would call about Strachan, maybe Washington? It will be fun to see who that player is and what team called about him.
C, Matt Ellis--Or perhaps they called on Ellis?...nah...nobody's touching Matt "Freakin'" Ellis. Got that?
G, Anders Lindback--definitely not Lindback either. He's on the Sabres for a reason and during the final 19 games with Neuvirth more than likely gone, Lindback will be the carnival duck being shot at in the hopes that he'll be the sieve he's been all season.
From a "tank-nation" point of view, seeing the team go 3-2-2 lately is definitely unnerving. But all should keep in mind Murray has said all along that he doesn't want pending UFA's to walk for nothing (code-phrase for removing talent.) Take out the top five on the above list while adding in the injury to Girgensons and those of the "tank-nation" mind-set might be looking for that champagne bottle (or a 12-pack of the "champagne of beers") to celebrate with come April 11th.
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