The Sabres are at MSG to take on the Rangers tonight.
Chad Johnson is 8-2-1 in his last 12 appearances with a .923 save % and a 2.24 GAA.
Johnson won his 20th game of the season by composting the Leafs 4-1 on home ice on Thursday night.
Tonight will be Johnson's 100th NHL game.
"Johnny" is 20-16-1 this season with a 2.38 GAA and a .917 save %.
He is a pending UFA and will be getting a ton of play on the free agency market in July.
Speaking with Johnson, one gets the sense that he loves it here in Buffalo and would love to stay and play with his Sabres. He says that he loves the Western New York community as mush as he appreciates his teammates, coaching and training staffs, management and ownership.
Tim Murray, I know you read this blog and you follow me on Twitter @SabresBuzz.
Let's get Johnny's autograph on a contract extension as soon as possible. I'd sign him for one more year. He's a great bridge guy to be the backup until Linus Ullmark is ready for prime time. He can play 25-30 games next season as Robin Lehner's backup. Judging by what I saw of Linus Ullmark earlier this season, it is my opinion that the young Swede can benefit by playing more minutes in AHL Rochester next season.
The Sabres went 7-4-4 (.600) in March, making it the team’s best month since April 2013 (8-4-0).
The Sabres haven't had mush success against the Rangers in recent history. If they are going to be an Eastern Conference playoff team next season, they are going to have to learn ho wto beat Han Lundqvist and the lightning fast Rangers.
Buffalo needs a win tonight to avoid the team’s first 10-game losing streak to the Rangers in franchise history. The Sabres have not gone 10 straight games against the Rangers without a point since going 0-10-2 in the first 12 meetings in franchise history, spanning the 1970-71 and 1971-72 seasons.
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Jack Eichel has three assists in two games against the Rangers this season. Zach Bogosian has a point in each of his last two games against the Rangers.
Captain Brian Gionta has 11 points (6G, 5A) in his last 13 games against the Rangers, including six (3G, 3A) in his last five at Madison Square Garden.
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The Sabres currently have three skaters under the age of 25 with at least 20 goals: Jack Eichel (23), Sam Reinhart (22) and Evander Kane (20).
◾It is the first time Buffalo has had three players reach the 20-goal mark before their 25th birthdays since Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek each had 20 or more in 2006-07.
◾If and when Ryan O’Reilly scores two more goals this season, the Sabres will have four 20-goal scorers in their age 25 seasons* or younger for the first time since 1987-88 (Dave Andreychuk, Phil Housley, Christian Ruuttu and Ray Sheppard).
*All ages used are the players’ ages as of Feb. 1 of the given season
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◾Jack Eichel leads the Sabres with 23 goals this season, the highest total by a Sabres player since 2011-12 (Jason Pominville, 30) and the highest by a Sabres rookie since 2005-06 (Thomas Vanek, 25). If he finishes the season with the team lead, Eichel will be the first Sabres rookie to lead the team in goals since Ray Sheppard did so in the 1987-88 season.
◾Entering play Friday, Eichel was ranked in the top five among NHL rookies in goals (2nd, 23), assists (4th, 28), points (2nd, 51) and shots (1st, 230).
◾With his goal on March 7 at Toronto, Eichel (19 years, 131 days) became the youngest 20-goal scorer in Sabres history, besting Pierre Turgeon (19 years, 140 days on Jan. 15, 1989) by nine days.
◾With his goal on March 26 vs. Winnipeg, Eichel became the ninth Sabres rookie to record 50 points in a season. He is the first to do so since Derek Plante (1993-94) and the second-youngest to do so, trailing only Phil Housley (1982-83).
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◾Jack Eichel (51 points) and Sam Reinhart (40) are the first pair of Sabres rookies to reach the 35-point mark since Ray Sheppard (65), Pierre Turgeon (42) and Calle Johansson (42) all did so in 1987-88.
◾Eichel (23 goals) and Reinhart (22) are the third pair of rookies in Sabres history to each record 20 goals in the same season, joining Danny Gare (31) and Peter McNab (22) in 1974-75 and Gilbert Perreault (38) and Steve Atkinson (20) in 1970-71.
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◾Rasmus Ristolainen is ranked 11th in the NHL with an average ice time of 25:16 per game. Only Alexei Zhitnik (four times) has averaged more minutes per game in a full season with the Sabres.
◾Ryan O’Reilly (21:48) leads all NHL forwards in average ice time per game and Evander Kane (21:02) ranks second. The pair currently own the two highest average career ice times by Sabres forwards. Michael Peca (20:18) is the only other forward with an average over 20 minutes.
◾With an average ice time of 23:37 per game in his 82 games played since joining the Sabres last season, Zach Bogosian owns the third-highest average ice time ever recorded by a Sabres player, trailing only Alexei Zhitnik (531 GP, 25:32) and Christian Ehrhoff (192 GP, 23:55).
◾Jack Eichel’s average ice time of 19:08 is the ninth-highest ever recorded by a rookie forward and the highest ever by Sabres rookie forward, topping the next highest (Cody Hodgson- 20 GP, 17:16) by more than a minute. Sam Reinhart (16:47 this season) is the only other Sabres rookie forward to top 16 minutes per game.
Note: The NHL began tracking ice time in the 1997-98 season.
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◾The Sabres have outshot their opponents in 33 of 78 games this season, posting an 11-18-4 record in those games. Last season, the team finished the season 5-5-0 in 10 total games when outshooting their opponents.
◾The Sabres have led their opponent in even-strength shot attempts (corsi) in 28 of the team’s 78 games this season, going 12-12-4 in those games. Buffalo only led their opponents in even-strength shot attempts eight times throughout the entire 2014-15 season, going 3-5-0 in those eight games. (Data courtesy of war-on-ice.com)
Thanks, Sabres PR
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NO. It wasn't a publicity stunt nor a clichéd April Fools gag.
It was real. Real heavy, that is.
The haters and jackasses said it would never happen.
Guns-N-Roses have reunited and are heading out on the road for a summer tour the likes of which the U.S. and Canada have not seen in 20_ years.
My devil horns are up \m/.
Last night in Hollyweird, time stood still for two and a half hours when Axl Rose made his long awaited return to the side of Slash and Duff McCagan.
The show was announced earlier in the day, with hundreds of fans lining up for only 250 available tickets, with the rest being given out via an exclusive guest list.
The classic members were joined by longtime keyboardist Dizzy Reed, plus guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer of the most recent incarnation of the band. One surprise was the addition of Melissa Reese in place of recent member Chris Pitman as second keyboardist. Despite rumors, there was no appearance from classic drummer Steven Adler.
G-N-R's set list was heavy on Appetite for Destruction songs, with only one song each being played from the two Lose Your Illusion LPs. Slash wailed a couple of songs from Chinese Democracy for the first time.
The Gunners love their cover songs and played a fistful of them, too.
Here's the historical set list from the Troubador reunion show:
It’s So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Chinese Democracy
Welcome To The Jungle
Double Talking Jive
Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings cover)
Rocket Queen
You Could be Mine
The Godfather Theme (Slash)
Sweet Child O’ Mine
New Rose (The Damned cover)
Better
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
My Michelle
Nightrain
Encore:
The Seeker (The Who cover)
Paradise City
My rock-n-roll life took a turn for the better the first time I dropped the needle on a Guns-N-Roses record.
It was in the winter of 1986.
I was on the air at my former college radio station, WBNY.
In our scrumptious "New and Dangerous" vinyl catalog were artists like Zodiac Mindwarp, Minsitry, Living Colour, Shreikback.
Since I love it loud and aggressive, I flipped through the jackets of the many new and dangerous acts and settled on a promotional "12 EP that contained one song. The album art couaght my attention because it was a solitary middle finger raised upwards with the following caption at the bottom of the jacket: "Play At Your Own Risk!!!"
Love at first sight.
More like lust at first sound.
I was vaccinated by the phonograph needle that winter day.
The howling Jack Daniels inspired Les Paul runs and solos of Slash meshed with tight pocket, punch blow the belt rhythm section of Duff, Izzy, and Steven; The rage, fury and ear piercing vocals of Axl left exit wounds in my cranium and in my soul.
Who the Hell are these guys and what planet did they come from??!
Right. The sunset Strip in Botox City.
Sadly, the album track was scratched and wasn't suitable for air because of the damage that another jackass jock had done to the vinyl. An accident? I think not. Taking a key and scratching an album is lame and stupid. I never caught that clown who ruined that record. If I had I would have thanked him or her for igniting the passion that burns deep inside me today. Be it for hockey, heavy rock and roll, justice, fairness, equality, honesty, art.
You can't kill the message. You can't kill the messenger.
You can deface the art, but it won't die. Taking a Sharpie and drawing a moustache on a Rembarndy or Salvadore Dali work of art doesn't ruin and kill the freedom of expression nor the painting. It just illuminates the ignorance and arrogance of the small minded person who thinks that they are getting over on the artist and society. What the graffiti really does is spark a movement among the masses. It serves as a rallying cry. It evokes emotions and stirs up the passions.
The physical graffiti only serves as fuel for the fire.
So, that cold day in 1986, I turned to our elaborate and impressive "cart" (a cart is a recorded cartridge of music; a large cassette) library and found the same song but in a different format on the wall.
To my delight, Guns-N-Roses was right there at the top of the cart wall. Being 6'2" I could easily reach that cart. Otherwise, I would have never gotten to experience that audio revolution that day.
I cranked "It's So Easy" for the first time and it was memorable.
One song changed the way that approached my rock-n-roll.
It was profane, fast, aggressive, beer-soaked and in-your-face. I loved i so much that I broke station format and played it twice in a row. What was my PD going to do? Fire me?
Immediately, I answered four or five phone calls of exasperated listeners who wanted to know the name of the band and the song title. Later that day, as I walked through the Quad and the student union, I was asked by friends the name of THAT band that I had played during my earlier air shift. With a smirk and a puffed out chest I was like:
"Guns and F*ckin Roses!!"
You liked it?
Like??! Try LOVED it!
You see, the kids on the Elmwood strip and those living in the 'burbs didn't like their father's Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Allman Brothers and Bruce Springsteen. They wanted to hear the music that wasn't being played on local classic rock stations. Remember, there was no internet. There was no freedom of choice. You ate the slop that "The Man" fed you or you didn't eat at all. Myself and my colleagues vaccinated Buffalo and Southern Ontario with a booster of the music that would become the soundtrack for their lives. These bands were available only by mix tape or by shopping in the import LP bins at Home Of The Hits, Record Theatre, and Cavages. Guns-N-Roses, The Ramones, Metallica, Public Enemy, The Smiths, Sonic Youth, The Chameleons, Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Afrika Bumbatta, New Order, The Cure, The Damned, Simple Minds, Bauhaus, The Replacements, The Buzzcocks, The Clash, David Watts and The Great Train Robbery, Peter Murphy, Sinead O'Connor, U2, REM, Kate Bush, Erasure, The Dead Kennedys, Joy Division, Love & Rockets, ABC, Gene Loves Jezebel, The Alarm, Faith No More, and I can go on, and on, and on.
You are welcome, Buffalo. It was a dirty job to deliver you these bands but someone had to do it.
You want dirt?
Go see Guns-N-Roses live in concert. I've seen them four times live: twice in Toronto, once in Hamilton and once in Buffalo. G-N-R shows are gritty, hot, aggressive, sweaty, filthy, profane, loud, and worth every penny you boned out to attend the show.
I grew up on heavy doses of Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Stones, The Clash, The Bloody Who, The Beatles, Wings, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, DIO, ACDC, Bowie, T-Rex, Clapton, Rainbow, Yngwie Malmsteen, Aerosmith, Cream, Mountain, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Rush, Triumph, Queen, Thin Lizzy, KISS, The Scorpions, Motley Crue, and other monsters of rock.
Hearing GunsNRoses, then experiencing their live show restored my faith in humanity and the future of the hard rock genre.
I'm jealous of the 500 or so people who attended the show in Hollywood last night.
By all accounts, the show looked and sounded like a freakin' blast!
I was down and depressed for days when Scott Weiland's life came to a sudden, tragic end.
I cried when David Bowie died.
I was sad when Lemmy and Glenn Frey passed suddenly.
Losing heroes like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Keith Moon, John Bonham, Johnny Cash, Randy Rhodes, Keith Emerson, John Entwhistle and others really rocked my foundation when I was growing up. I idolized them. I saw them as larger than life. I doodled their band's marks and logos on my note books while day dreaming about their lyrics while in study hall or math class.
I'm getting older. I'm more sentimental and nostalgic than I used to be. I get inspired by new artists. I'm open minded about the present and future of music. I listen to everything I can get my hands on. The internet and the iPod have made it easier than ever to walk down the buffet line of life to sample new and interesting flavors of the day.
All the new technology and the immediacy of the access in the marketplace makes me long for the days when it was harder to fall in love. When it was just me, my stylus, and a 12" platter of vinyl. Alone. In the dark. Headphones on. Eyes closed. Volume knob wide ass open to 11".
BAM!
Love at first sound.
In my opinion, G-N-R is like the troubled kid you grew up down the street from.
You know the kid.
Dark. Mysterious. Kept to himself.
Other kids didn't like him.
You didn't mind. You liked him, sat on the bus with him.
Your parents told you that he was a trouble maker and to stay clear of him. He fought a lot. Smoked. Cursed. Broke the rules. Fought authority and rarely if ever won. Got in trouble at school. Always had detention. Wouldn't conform. Was cast out. Had a bad reputation. Had a few friends.
He counted you as one of his few friends in life.
You knew he had your back. That time you got bullied, he yard saled the punk, sent him home with a black eye and it never happened again. He made you taller, braver, tougher, cockier. You walked with a swagger when you'd hang out with him. Chicks dug you when you were his wing man at the mall.
It sucks that the Buffalo Sabres' 2015-16 season will be ending next week. I'll be passing my time this summer by watching G-N-R live in concert.
Can you say "road tripssssssssssss"?
Here are the dates for the Not In This Lifetime tour:
June 23 - Detroit, MI - Ford Field
June 26 - Washington, DC - FedEx Field
June 29 - Kansas City, MO - Arrowhead Stadium
July 1 - Chicago, IL - Soldier Field
July 6 - Cincinnati, OH - Paul Brown Stadium
July 9 - Nashville, TN - Nissan Stadium July 12 - Pittsburgh, PA - Heinz Field
July 14 - Philadelphia, PA - Lincoln Financial Field July 16 - Toronto, Ontario - Rogers Centre
July 19 - Foxboro, MA - Gillette Stadium
July 23 - East Rutherford, NJ - MetLife Stadium
July 27 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia Dome
July 29 - Orlando, FL - Orlando Citrus Bowl
July 31 - New Orleans, LA - Mercedes-Benz Superdome
August 3 - Arlington, TX - AT&T Stadium
August 5 - Houston, TX - NRG Stadium
August 9 - San Francisco, CA - AT&T Park
August 12 - Seattle, WA - CenturyLink Field
August 15 - Glendale, AZ - University of Phoenix Stadium
August 22 - San Diego, CA - Qualcomm Stadium
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There are grudges in life and there are grudges in hockey life.
On Friday night, I was shocked when Washington tough guy Tom Wilson hammered Colorado D-man Nikita Zadorov. Yes. THAT Nikita Zadorov.
Wilson had some unsettled business to tend to with Zadorov and he let the Avs D have it.
We all know how greasy Wilson can be. I love big hits and physicality in my NHL hockey, however, I don't like when so called tough guys take advantage of vulnerable opponents. Zadorov was clearly engaged with Caps forward Marcus Johansson when Wilson lowered the boom after travelling a great distance to do so.
Zadorov stayed down on the ice for several moments after the hit, and needed assistance to get off the ice. The Avalanche later confirmed he suffered a head injury.
Next time, Nikita will have to keep his head up the whole time when he is on the ice with Wilson.
The big Russian is usually the one dishing out the devastating hits, not receiving them.
I think that hit was Wilson's way of repaying Zadorov for this monstrous hip check that the big Russian landed on Caps tough guy Michael Latta. The hit occurred during an exhibition game in September 2014.
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