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Squeezing The Stick

February 13, 2013, 4:57 PM ET [512 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Lindy Ruff's patience must be nearing its end with his team's manic, inconsistent play so far this season. They're up then they're down, they're in a game then they fall apart. They're disciplined, then they lose they cool.

Ruff and his coaches are running out of options. Ruff's mixed up the lines and D pairs, only to generate short term successes. Missing in action are key players. Ruff grew weary of Tyler Myers and his inconsistent play, so he benched the gentle giant for two games. Myers played a more responsible game in Ottawa and didn't commit the usual smorgasbord of turnovers and blown D-zone coverage assignments. Its early, but it appears as though Myers is on his way down the road to redemption. He's too talented and experienced to be playing as poorly as he has been playing.

Perhaps its time for Lindy to pull Drew Stafford aside to tell him that he's next up on the healthy scratch list.

The Sabres power forward has a drained battery, and he needs jumper cables to get the ignition on his game to turn over. To say that Stafford is in a slump is a major understatement. His lack of confidence with the puck is culpable.

Stafford's offensive output has been virtually non-existent this season. His problems are more mental than physical. The former first round pick is currently ranked 28th in the NHL with 40 shots on goal. He hasn't scored a goal in 14 games this season, which ranks him 396th overall in NHL goal scoring. His 0.0 shots percentage ranks him dead last in the NHL. His 5 points rank him 209th overall. He's -6 and his struggles are well documented.

The silver lining in his game thus far is that his 5 assists rank him 89th in the NHL.

After Sunday night's 3-1 loss to Boston, Ruff was asked to assess Stafford's game. Ruff cited the two "Grade A" scoring chances that Stafford failed to cash in on during the one goal game. Bruins backup goalie Khudonin was good, however, he wasn't the second coming of Marty Brodeur. Stafford has been failing to cash in his chances. Foligno and Ennis are getting him the rock in scoring areas, but he's not scoring. On Sunday, Were it not for his nice assist on Buffalo's only goal of the game by Ennis, Stafford would have been invisible in the game. He's at his best when he's confidently driving hard to the enemy net with the puck on his stick. We haven't seen that part of Stafford's game for sustained stretches this season. He'll show you glimpses of his power and creativity here and there, however, he's not bringing the goods every shift. He's not getting greasy dirty, He's been living on the perimeter. This has to change.


Stafford's not a young kid in the NHL. He's a six year pro. He's been through the ringer. He knows what pressure and frustration taste like. He's had to deal with inconsistency, confidence crises, and injuries. He's an assistant captain on a largely veteran team. He has to practice what he preaches in the the room. He's twice scored 20 goals and in 2010-11, he scored a career high 31 goals. Though he's playing well on Buffalo's PK, Stafford isn't delivering in the one area that he's getting paid bug money to do: score goals 5 on 5 and on the PP.

How much longer will Ruff wait for Stafford to get his offensive act together? If the Myers benching is any indication, I dare say that Stafford better find a solution for his goal scoring woes, and in a hurry. Boston and Pittsburgh are coming to Buffalo this weekend. There are no scared cows right now in Pegulaville. If Myers can get benched for two games, its open-season on every player on the roster. Ruff's only objective right now is to win games and to qulaify for the playoffs. he's not worried about hurting feelings and making people upset.

Stafford better wake up. Quickly.






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Win or lose, the Sabres always manage to achieve record TV ratings for their games that air on the MSG Network and on WGRZ-TV, Buffalo's NBC affiliate.

The team announced on Wednesday that it achieved its highest ever January TV ratings with both locally and nationally televised games setting new marks for viewership.

The lockout created a huge supply and demand issue amongst fans. When the NHL and NHLPA announced tha tthe lockout was over in early January, favs clamored to the internet and to their TV sets to whet their whistles and to get re-acquainted iwth their Buffalo Sabres.

From the Buffalo Sabres:

Sabres games on MSG posted the highest-ever ratings for the month of January, besting the previous mark by more than 28 percent, and the Sabres’ nationally televised game against the Flyers on Jan. 20 garnered the highest regional rating for a Sabres game broadcast on NBC, excluding the Winter Classic. The record television ratings build upon the Sabres’ record ticket and merchandise sales numbers as the team returned from the lockout.

“The January ratings figures are staggering,” said Buffalo Sabres President Ted Black. “They speak to the rabid enthusiasm this region has for Buffalo Sabres hockey. The fans are the reason why Buffalo is one of the marquee NHL markets and we will strive to build on that momentum going forward.”



During the month of January, Sabres telecasts on MSG posted a rating average of 10.9, the highest-ever mark for the team’s game broadcasts during the month and the second-highest monthly rating since the 2005-06 season. The previous high-water mark for January telecasts was an 8.5 rating set during January 2008. The team’s highest average monthly rating for MSG telecasts was an 11.2 rating set in March 2008.


In addition to the month-long ratings numbers, two Sabres game telecasts on MSG – the Jan. 27 game vs. Washington and the Jan. 25 game vs. Carolina – ranked among the top 20 highest-rated Sabres telecasts on MSG. The Jan. 27 game earned an 11.3 rating (21 share, approximately 71,000 viewers), while the Jan. 25 matchup recorded an 11.2 rating (17 share, approximately 71,000 viewers).


The team’s season-opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 20 drew the highest-ever rating in the Buffalo market for a nationally televised, regular-season Sabres game, excluding the 2008 Winter Classic. The game telecast, broadcast on NBC, posted a 20.1 rating and a 34 share, topping the team’s previous record – a 13.0 rating and 22 share – set by a Sabres-Flyers game broadcast on MSG on April 8, 2011.


The 20.1 rating on Jan. 20 indicates that 20.1 percent of television-equipped households were tuned into the game at some point during the broadcast and the 34 share means 34 percent of households watching TV in the region Sunday afternoon were watching the game. In the Buffalo market, that translates to approximately 127,000 households.


The television ratings were one of several remarkable demonstrations of fan support as the Sabres returned to the ice from the lockout. On Jan. 13, the Sabres sold more than 30,000 tickets in 24 hours. The sales numbers bested the ticket sales pace of previous seasons by almost six-fold. In 2011-12, the team sold 11,170 tickets over a two-day sales period.


Additionally, during a week-long Fan Appreciation Sale during the team’s training camp, the Sabres Store sold nearly 50,000 pieces of merchandise, the most the team has ever sold in such a short period of time and a total that was greater than the amount sold during the entire 2010-11 Sabres’ season.


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