The Sabres and Rangers wasted little time getting reacquainted with one another.
Eight combined penalties, one fight and no goals highlighted the first period of the second game of the Traverse City Prospects Tourney.
Buffalo native Justin Bailey had a goal disallowed when his center Justin Kea took a Ranger D and smoked him into the NY goal post, causing the net to jump up and off the peg. Bailey's tap-in waved off.
Justin Kea, the 6'4 215 lb. center, hammered Ranger Duclair from behind then fought Rangers Leroux. Kea ate a few early on, then delivered 3 or 4 of his own haymakers of his own.
Nikita Zadorov cross-checked a Ranger forward into Andrey Makarov and was sent to the box.
Oscar Lindberg scores his second goal of the tournament. PPG. fast with the assist.
The Rangers were 2 for 5 on PP in their 4-3 loss to Carolina on Thursday.
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1-1
Nick Baptiste scored his second goal in as many games with a nice five-hole breakaway goal.
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2-1 Sabres
With Leroux in the box, Nick Baptiste creates this beauty play for Nikita Zadorov's first NHL goal.
Thanks, sabres.com
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Sabres taking full control of this game. Sabres finishing checks and initiating aggression.
3-1 Sabres
Perhaps Leroux should not have chirped the Buffalo bench on the way to the penalty box before Zadorov's PPG. The Sabres are wide awake and they are now in a snarly mood.
Logan Nelson drives to Malcolm's crease. save made. Nelson bangs in his own rebound to give Buffalo the two goal lead late in the second period.
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The Sabres are finishing every check and are peppering Malcolm with rubber. Buffalo with 18 shots in the second period.
Sabres lead shots on goal 27-15 after 40 minutes of play.
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3-2 Sabres
Oscar Lindberg scores his second goal of the day from Danny Cristo.
The goal gave the Rags the momentum for 5-6 minutes as they carried the play to the Sabres in the ensuing action.
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4-2 Sabres
Nick Baptiste scores his second goal of the game from Eric Locke. Baptiste with 2G, 1A and Locke with 3 assists
5-2 Sabres
22 second after Baptiste made it a two goal Buffalo lead, his Locke found the back of the net off a 3 on 1 breakaway. Catenacci was drilled in the teeth with a puck and it created a 3 on 1 for Buffalo. Locke finished it for his first goal of the tourney. Locke has a goal and 3 assists today.
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5-3 Sabres
With Girgensons in the box, Danny Cristo scores the PPG.
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HAT TRICK ALERT: Oscar Lindberg picks up his 3rd of the game from Kristo and seconds after Josh Graves scores and we are tied at 5! #NYRTCT
It boggles my mind that UFAs Brenden Morrow and Dan Cleary are still unemployed on September 7th. These two hombres are heart and soul leaders that in any other season would have been bought and paid for on the first or second day on unrestricted free agency in July. This summer has been different. The shrinking salary cap means less money for second tier UFAs. There are 8 teams in the NHL who are over the cap right now. Cleary's former team the Detroit Red wings are one such team. Therefore, some teams have no money left to work with, while many others only have a smidgen under the $64.3 million hard cap. Therefore, Morrow, Cleary, Boyes, Prospal, Bryzgalov, and other are forced to sit at home and wait for NHL GMs to clear cap space by making a trade. Training camps don't open until 9/11, therefore, GMs haven't had a chance to look at and fairly evaluate all of their kids and prospects. Its not known yet if players have failed physicals around the NHL. That intel will come in the next 4-5 days. For now, the UFAs sit and collect dust.
Today, redwings.com spoke with Cleary after he skated with his former Red Wings teammates at the team’s informal skate at Joe Louis Arena. It was likely the last time in his 8 year Detroit career that he wore a Red Wings sweater.
Red Wings players and prospects will travel to Traverse City, Michigan on Tuesday for the start of training camp on Wednesday. Cleary won't be on that trip.
Cleary wants to stay and finish what he started in Detroit. The Red Wings have no cap space, nor do they have a roster spot available. Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss UFA signing have gummed up the works for Cleary. Cleary reportedly turned down a 3 year contract extension offer in June. then, when free agency opened on July 5, the Wings spent heavily on Alfredsson and Weiss. They lost Val Filppula to the Tampa Lightning, too.
“I want to stay in Detroit. I think I’ve made that pretty clear. I’ve been pretty patient,” said Cleary, who produced 160 goals in 869 games with the Wings. “I’ve had other opportunities to leave and just didn’t want to leave. I’ve just tried to wait as long as I could for Detroit to make the right moves, I guess. That’s all I can say right now.”
Today, the Red Wings are maxed out of salary cap space and forward jobs.
“We’ve been talking since July 5,” Cleary said. “We’ll see this weekend. I’ll make a decision Sunday. I’m talking to three other teams. It won’t be an easy decision to make. We’ll see how it goes.”
It’s been reported that Red Wings general manager Ken Holland invited Cleary to the Traverse City camp, but the veteran winger is looking for more of a guarantee.
I agree with Cleary's stance. He's poured his guts out for his organization and his fans. Now, they want to invite him to tryout for his old job? He's not a a sea lion at the circus. He's a Stanley Cup winning, veteran leader.
“If I go to Traverse City it’s not going to be on a tryout like I did eight years ago,” Cleary said. “Whether it’s signed or something agreed on it’ll be something.”
Clearly is being courted by several teams. Three of them are serious contenders for his services. I'm hearing Pittsburgh, Tampa, and Dallas are interested in Cleary. His former Red Wings teammate Steve Yzerman runs the show in Tampa. His other former Red Wings boss Jim Nill is the GM now in Dallas. Cleary said Friday atht he will make a decision this weekend as to where he will be playing in the future.
Cleary wants to play with the wings and they want him. No money. no roster spot.
Puck's in Red Wings GM Ken Holland's end of the rink.
“I’ve got options. I just want to make the right call for my family. I’ve talked to Kenny and we all know what he’s trying to do. We’re all in agreement that I want to come back, they want me back, so we’ll see.”
Two more high rise towers have risen out of the ground and into the skies on the Webster Block in the past couple of months. On Thursday, Nikita Zadorov and Rasmus Ristolainen added immediate beauty and equity to the Buffalo skyline by way of the blue line.
Nikita Zadorov was in a foul mood on Thursday. The humangous beeg, nasty Russian defender took out his pent up aggression and anger on OHL foes Josh Anderson and Boone Jenner in Buffalo's 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. At 6'5 200 lbs., the 18 year old absolutely LOVES to throw his weight around and he did so against the Blue Jax.
Zadorov humbly said after the win that he could have played much better. He cited inconsistencies in his game as a result of it being the first real game he'd played since he last played with his London Knights club in the spring.
Thanks, Sabres.com
If that was Zadorov-light, I can't wait to see high octane Zadorov! In my opinion, the kid was fabulous in his first game in Traverse City. He made smart decisions with the puck, was extremely physical, and had his D partner's back all game. He was paired with fellow violent gent Rasmus Ristolainen on D for the whole game. Zadorov and Ristolainen both played on the Blue squad at Sabres rookie camp Blue and Gold scrimmage. However, Ristolainen was paired with Jake McCabe, and Zadorov with Brady Austin. I loved the chemistry that Zadorov and Ristolainen demonstrated vs. Columbus. These two kids are special. Now I see why Darcy Regier and Kevin Devine were salivating when Risto was available at the 8th selection and Zadorov at #16 in the June entry draft. At a couple junctures in the game, on line changes, Zadorov and Ristolainen too the puck and skated hard up ice on the breakout. How cool is that? Twin skyscrapers lugging the mail, not waiting for fresh troops. Talk about grace under pressure and confidence in one's own abilities.
Very impressive.
Amerks head coach Chadd Casssidy paid Zadorov the hugest compliment a coach can pay a kid when he chose to play Zadorov with Ristolainen, Armia, Larsson and Catenacci to help kill the clock in the final minute of Buffalo's 3-2 win. The Blue Jackets pulled their goalie for the extra attacker, however, could not attempt to score because Zadorov took possession of the puck and he killed the clock in the process.
In my opinion, Zadorov and Ristolainen are both ready to play pro hockey. Zadorov will go back to OHL London at the conclusion of training camp, while Ristolainen will make a very strong argument for why he belongs on the Sabres' opening night roster.
The 19 year old Risto has the inside track at playing in the NHL now because of his two years of experience playing against men in the Finnish Elite League.
Ristolainen at 6'4 215, llooks every bit as ready for the NHL as Nashville's Seth Jones and Edmonton's Darnell Nurse. In my opinion, Risto is right now better than Jones and Nurse as he has been playing pro hockey in Finland for years, while the others haven't. I love Risto's chances of beating out newcomer Jamie McBain to earn a roster spot when training camp ends. This kid is dynamic and multi-talented. He's mature beyond his 19 years. has great vision, excellent two-way ability and he loves the rough stuff. Teppo Numminen will teach him the nuances of positioning and foot work in his own end when training camp opens next week. For now, he's more mobile and offensively nimble than Zadorov. Oh, yeah. He has an AK-55 high powered weapon for a point shot as evidenced by his 5 on 3, PP GWG.
Thanks, Sabres.com
Talk about revitalizing downtown Buffalo with urban renewal. Good God!
Zadorov and Ristolainen are two luxury high rises that have added immediate equity to the Buffalo skyline. Blue line, too.
My press row neighbor, Bill Hoppe, spoke with Ville Leino at the rink last week and got the Finn's take on having two healthy, functional hips for the first time since his days in Detroit, four years ago:
“Now they’re both fixed up,” Leino said last week after skating with some teammates inside the Riverside Ice Rink. “Obviously, the right one doesn’t feel exactly normal. It’s probably going to take a little bit. But it’s definitely better than it was.
”He said it “doesn’t feel exactly normal” yet.“It’s probably going to take a little bit,” Leino said. “But it’s definitely better than it was.”
Leino has been skating full-go for a month. He's been in Buffalo for most of the summer. He's taking his rehab, skating workouts, and physical therapy very seriously.
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Leino gets to start with a fresh sheet of ice with new head coach Ron Rolston this season. He's out of Lindy Ruff's doghouse and he's looking forward to working with his new head coach.
“I like the way he coaches,” Leino said about Rolston. “He demands a lot. He’s very detail-oriented. The stuff that he talks makes sense to me. I think he’s fair. If you play good and work really hard, you get to play. Yeah, I’m intrigued what this season brings.”
Speaking of Leino, he was in New York City at Fashion Week earlier this week.
Hockey and fashion go together like sticks and pucks.
Leino says that his style icon/role model is his former teammate Henrik Zetterberg.
On 2011, the Buffalo Sabres defeated the NY Rangers in the championship game at the Traverse City Prospects Tournament to claim their first ever T-City title.
Marcis Foligno's 2 goal game powered the Sabres to its 5-2 win to claim their first ever Traverse City tourney title belt.
Later this afternoon, the Sabres and Rangers will face off for the long awaited rematch in Traverse City. This annual event was cancelled in 2012 due to the NHL lockout.
The Sabres enter today's game with a win in the bag, having beaten the Blue Jackets 3-2 on Thursday afternoon.
Thanks, Sabres.com
Its hard to criticize Sabres GM Darcy Regier on days like these. The Sabres defeated the Columbus Blue Jax in impressive fashion in their first game in defense of their Traverse City Prospects championship.
Sabres draft choices Joel Armia, Dan Catenacci, Zemgus Girgensons, Nick Baptiste, Nikita Zadorov, Rasmus Ristolainen, Justin Bailey, Justin Kea, and goalie Nathan Lieuwen were all impressive in the 3-2 win.
The Sabres scored two goals on 5 shots in the first 3 minutes of the game. Goals by Baptiste and Bailey gave the Sabres a 2-0 lead before the shine was off the ice.
The Rangers went 2 for 5 on the PP, however, it wasn't enough offense to beat the Hurricanes on Thursday at Traverse City. The Rangers got goals from Josh Nicholls, Andrew Yogan and Oscar Lindberg in the loss.
Thanks, Rangers.nhl.com
Rangers Goals:
Josh Nicholls Goal -- 7:45
Andrew Yogan Goal -- 11:11
Oscar Lindberg -- 12:35
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