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The Buffalo Sabres made a loud statement by beating the NY Rangers on national TV.
By thumping the Blue Shirts, Buffalo shut the pie hole NBCSN's motor mouth Mike Milbury, for one night anyway.
Coming of consecutive losses in their home and home series against arch division rivals the Boston Bruins, the Sabres needed a fast start to the game in Gotham.
On Sunday, Jack Eichel stood before the media and demanded that "everything" was going wrong for his team in the stretch that saw the Sabres lose six of seven games before Tuesday night. Eichel implored his teammates to look themselves in the mirror and fix their mistakes.
Zemgus Girgensons broke the ice and made it 1-0 early in the first period.
NY Knickerbockers big man Kristaps Porzingis earned an assist on Girgensons' goal. The two Lativin bros met up at MSG Tuesday morning before the Sabres optional skate.
Evander Kane, who has been hotter than a pistol lately, beat Lundqvist to make it 2-0 Sabres.
In a heart warming moment, Williamsville, NY native and lifelong Buffalo Sabres fan Justin Bailey scored his first NHL goal against a future Hall of Famer, "The King" Henrik Lundqvist and the NY Rangers, inside the most famous arena in the free world, while on nation TV on Tuesday night.
Talk about memories to last a lifetime! WOW!
Bailey's first NHL goal was a microcosm of his best hockey attributes: blinding speed, size, brute strength, NHL shot, nose for the net, long reach, center lane drive.
Bailey, a natural goal scorer, has 13 goals in 31 games in AHL Rochester this season, was called up on December 30. Bailey scored 20 goals and 25 assists in 70 games in his first professional hockey campaign.
Bailey played his junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers and Soo Greyhounds.
Bailey patterns his game after Minnesota Wild forward Erie Staal. Bailey looks a lot like Staal during his first NHL goal.
The Sabres drafted Bailey to put the biscuit in the basket. His Sabres entered Monday night's game with only 78 goals scored in their first 36 games played. At this point, Dan Bylsma will take goals scored from anyone and everyone in the Buffalo Sabres organization.
Speaking of biscuits in baskets, Jack Eichel has Henrik Lundqvist's number. In four career games against "The King", Eichel has scored three goals and three assists.
Look at this beauty power play goal for Eichel's seventh of the season.
When Eichel speaks, people listen.
Eichel's buddy Jimmy Vesey was trapped in the glass case of emotion when Jack scored the PPG. Revenge is a dish best served cold, eh, Jimmy?
Speaking of Eichel's buds, Samson Reinhart has also been red hot lately. Eichel's roommate has an impressive multi-game point streak in progress.
The Sabres travel to Chicago to play Pat Kane and the Hawks in another NBCSN prime time feature game on Thursday night.
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Hey, Jimmy Vesey. Don't roll across the trolley tracks while admiring your own work.
How'd ya like them apples??!!
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Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf suffered a lower body injury over the weekend. Today, the Ducks called the San Diego Gulls for injury replacement forward Chris Wagner. The Ducks have been actively searching for another top six forward to impact their goal scoring.
The Ducks continue to burst at the seams with blue chip blue liner prospects.
Too much of one thing is great for an NHL team, however, GMs and coaches can only play 12 forwards, 6 D and 1 goalie per game. In a 50-max contract young man's league like the NHL, GMs cannot hold onto young players by burying them in the minors for 3-4 seasons. The kids want to play now. In the case of the Ducks, they have seven legit NHL D and another 4 legit D prospects impressing at the same time.
Will Ducks GM Bob Murray trade one of his young rear guards to acquire and scoring power forward?
Last week, Brandon Montour, 22, made his long anticipated NHL debut when Sami Vatanen was taken ill.
A prevailing thought was that Montour's time in anaheim would end once Vatanen returned to good health. Pump the brakes. Vatanen is healthy and back in the Ducks' top four group, however, Montour has not been demoted back to AHL San Diego. Bob Murray has made a decision with his blue line that has furrowed the brow of this observer and many others. Murray has bid farewell to his 2013 first round pick, Shea Theodore.
The road that connects Anaheim to San Diego is now dubbed "The Shea Theodore Highway". Theodore has been called up and sent down multiple times this season. If the choice were Theodore's he would be a full time member of the Ducks D corps.
The decision is not up to Theodore. It's a Bob Murray decision with a lot of input from head coach Randy Carlyle.
“We know he will be back,” Carlyle told the Orange County Register.
“It’s not a question of if, it’s just when. And it gives us an opportunity to take a longer look at Montour here, who was recalled. Given him a couple games so far, and we’ll have an opportunity for him to stay with our hockey club and practice with us.
“Kind of get more up to speed on where he’s at in his development.”
Montour, Anaheim's second round pick in 2014, has played two games with the Big club. Montour continues to play with house money today. Bob Murray and Carlyle obviously like what they see of Montour.
The Ducks have an embarrassment of riches as it relates to their stockpile of young, gifted defenseman. Montour, Theodore, Cam Fowler, Sami Vatanen, Hampus Lindholm and Josh Manson are the types of players who are building blocks for organizational excellence. Jacob Larsson (1st round 2015). Marcus Pettersson (2nd round 2014) is also an intriguing prospect to watch in the near future.
The Cam Fowler trade train left the station weeks ago. Bob Murray and Randy Carlyle will not be trading Fowler. The window of opportunity has slammed shut on a Fowler trade. I've been told that the teams who were involved in Fowler trade talks last summer have been told by the Ducks that Fowler is no longer available. The Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings were front and center in Fowler trade talks last summer. When Bob Murray fired Bruce Boudreau and re-hired Carlyle all bets were off. Then, cooler heads prevailed and Murray shifted his thinking from trading Fowler. The best trades are the ones you don't make, right? Fowler already has 9 goals and 13 assists in 39 games played. He is a legit candidate for NHL MVP and the Norris trophy. Take Fowler away from his team and they become a middling team.
That would mean that Montour and Theodore are the blue liners who now wear the trade deadline on their sweater. Montour is a righty. He has scored 7 goals and 14 assists in 29 games in San Diego this season. Theodore, a lefty, has 1 goals and 5 assists in 21 games with the Ducks this season. He also 7 assists in 9 games in San Diego.
With the NHL trade deadline moving closer in the windshield, Bob Murray may be finally ready to feather his next By trading a young D prospect in exchange for a veteran power forward who will add scoring and physicality now, before the NHL trade deadline approaches and the cost of doing
increases with short supply and high demand.
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What is happening with Ty Rattie's NHL career? The prolific scoring junior version of Rattie was a 2011 second-round draft choice of the St. Louis Blues. Rattie has scored just eight points in 30 career games with the Blues over the past four seasons.
Unlike organizational prospects and Jaden Schwartz, Jori Lehtera, Dmitrij Jaskin, and Robby Fabbri, Rattie has failed to take the bull by the horns and earn himself a full time, top six roster spot in St. Louis. Rattie has played in just four games this season and is scoreless. Rattie was getting only 7:20 TOI per game in St. Louis. No prospect is going to light the lamp playing only 7 of 8 shifts per game.
Today, the Blues waived Rattie.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong is taking a gamble that Rattie will not get picked off waivers by a team in need of a speedy, skilled, and rugged forward. With all of the injuries in the NHL today, I can see a team like the Buffalo Sabres making a waiver claim on Rattie before he passes through waivers to the AHL Chicago Wolves. Buffalo are struggling to score goals. Rattie could make an impact on the Sabres roster. He would also add depth and scoring at the Rochester Amerks level. Sabres GM Tim Murray once wanted Rattie to be included in the Ryan Miller-Steve Ott-Chris Stewart-Jaro halal trade, however, Blues GM Doug Armstrong nixed Rattie from inclusion in the. Deal and substituted prospect Will Carrier to Buffalo instead. Carrier has impressed in his brief time in Buffalo this season, however, he has failed to find the back of the net. As a team, the Sabres are the 29th ranked goal scoring offense in the NHL having scored only 78 goals in 36 games played. At even strength, the Sabres are a nightmare have scored just 53 goals for in 36 games. The Sabres have scored 25 power play goals, however, they cannot continue to try to win games with their man advantage units. Dan Bylsma needs 5v5 scoring in the worst way.
Rattle, 23, scored 231 points combined points in just two seasons to finish his junior career with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. Rattie also has three straight 40+ point AHL seasons under his belt. For whatever reason, Rattie has failed to impress Ken Hitchcock and the St. Louis brass.
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