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Welcome home, Justin Bailey.
The Williamsville, NY native will bring his 19 AHL goals back to Buffalo tonight,.
Bailey has been recalled to fill in for the injured Will Carrier. Bailey scored his 19th goal of the season Friday night against the Bridgeport Tigers.
Bailey has scored 11 goals in his last 12 AHL games.
The Buffalo blue line will be fortified and strengthened by the return of vets Jake McCabe and Josh Gorges.
Zach Bogosian suffered a rib muscle injury Thursday night.
Taylor Fedun will scratch out tonight versus Ottawa.
Cal O'Reilly has cleared waivers and will be returned to Rochester.
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It's bleep or get off the pot time for the Buffalo Sabres who fins themselves in 15th place in the Eastern Conference standings today, tied with Tampa with 50 points.
How bad do they want fight, claw, and stomp on the teams that stand between themselves and a wild card berth remains to be seen.
The Sabres play four of their next six games and eight of their next thirteen games on home ice, where they are 11-8-4 this season. In their 23 home games this season, the Sabres have scored 52 goals (2.23 GPG). In their 27 road games, the Sabres have scored 68 goals (2.5 GPG) for.
There are 13 games remaining between now and the March 1 NHL trade deadline and the Sabres will be sleeping in their owns beds and dressing in their own room for the majority of those contests.
On paper, it says that the Sabres will be well rested and less road weary in the next 24 days when they will play 13 games.
Not having to play games on the road in the February travel is a huge positive for the Sabres. They won't be landing in cities at 2am and checking into their hotel rooms at 3am. Playing at home allows a player to have dinner with the boys at 10:30pm and be home and in bed by midnight. When there are off days in the 24 day grind, players can see the team chiropractors and doctors to take care of nagging issues. Lying in a hotel bed on the road isn't as therapeutic.
A consistent sleep hygiene schedule for 23 players and coaches can be the difference between earning a playoff spot or going golfing in April. Better rested players are less apt to make mental mistakes inside shifts and games than sleep deprived, road weary players are.
The road to a 2016-17 playoff berth goes right down Seymour H. Knox II Plaza in Buffalo, NY.
In other words, failure is not an option on home ice for the rest of November.
The grind continues tonight when the Ottawa Senators come calling.
The Sens have 23 regulation/OT wins this season to Buffalo's 19 ROW. The Sens have 60 points to Buffalo's 50 points.
This is the fourth of five meetings between the Sabres and Senators this season.
Last meeting: Buffalo defeated Ottawa 5-4 in Ottawa on Nov. 29, 2016. The Sabres travel to Ottawa for a Valentines Day dinner date.
The Sabres are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games vs. the Senators, and, 4-3-3 on home ice.
This is the 132nd game all-time between Buffalo and Ottawa; Buffalo has a 63-49-19 series record.
The Sabres are 34-22-8 at home against the Senators all-time.
Buffalo have gone 4-0-1 in their last five home games. They lost in OT to the NY Rangers on Thursday night. With a win or overtime loss tonight, the Sabres will have points in six straight home games for the first time since the team won six in a row from November 28 to December 15, 2014.
The Sabres enter tonight’s game with the Sens with points in six straight meetings with their division rivals (4-0-2) for the first time since Buffalo went 6-0-1 against Ottawa from December 4, 2010 to December 13, 2011.
Buffalo and Ottawa have had 16 of their last 21 games decided by a single goal. Seven of those games were decided in overtime or a shootout.
The Sabres are 8-6 all-time in shootouts against the Senators. Their 14 shootouts against Ottawa make up the team’s highest total against any opponent.
Evander Kane has 10 points (5G, 5A) in his last 11 games. Kane hasn’t gone three games without recording a point since mid-November. Kane has scored each of his 14 goals this season in his last 27 games, including a team-high 13 even-strength goals
Ryan O’Reilly has 12 points (2G, 10A) in 13 games since returning from an absence due to an appendectomy. O’Reilly has 11 points (2G, 9A) in his last 10 home games. Also, O’Reilly has 12 points (4G, 8A) in 12 career games against Ottawa.
Cody Franson has six points (2G, 4A) in his last six games.
Brian Gionta has six points (3G, 3A) in his last seven games.
Robin Lehner is 2-0-2 in six career appearances against his former club with a .951 save percentage and a 1.42 goals-against average.
Anders Nilsson is 2-1-0 with a .927 save percentage in three career games against the Senators. Nilsson is 6-1-1 at home this season, with a .946 save percentage and 1.84 GAA in those games, and has won each of his last five home games.
Jack Eichel has totaled seven points (4G, 3A) in five career games against the Senators, including at least a point in each of the five. Eichel has 11 points (6G, 5A) in 13 home games this season, including four multi-point outings.
Kyle Okposo has 11 points (3G, 8A) in 13 games against Ottawa since the beginning of the 2012-13 season.
Samson Reinhart has posted five points (3G, 2A) in his last four games against the Senators. Reinhart has nine points (3G, 6A) in his last nine home games.
Rasmus Ristolainen has four assists in his last four games against Ottawa.
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The Buffalo blue line sure could use some reinforcements in light of the injury to Zach Bogosian in the first period of Thursady night's loss to the Rangers. Bogosian suffered a mid-torso injury (ribs?) in a collision with Jimmy Vesey in the first period. Bogosian didn't finish the game.
It just a matter of moments until the Sabres get back to regular D contributors. Josh Gorges, who has missed the past 12 games with a hip injury, and Jake McCabe, who has missed the last 5 games with a shoulder injury are awaiting official thumbs up from team doctors.
It appears that both will be ready for the road game in New Jersey on Monday or the home tilt against San Jose on Tuesday night.
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Earlier this week, I told you the tale of Ottawa Senators forward Curtis Lazar.
I told you to keep an eye on Sabres GM Tim Murray and his interest in Lazar as the March 1 NHL trade deadline approaches.
The problem with Lazar is that he is a victim of the numbers game right now. Lazar is a center/winger.
The Sens are loaded down the gut of their forward ranks. Guy Boucher doesn't want Lazar as a center. If Lazar is going to stick and stay in Ottawa he will have to move to right wing. The Sens already have centers Kyle Turris, Derick Brassard, Zach Smith, and J.G. Pageau. Brassard was traded to Ottawa from the NY Rangers last summer for Mika Zibanejad. Boucher coached Brassard in juniors. Their bond is tight.
Lazar is stuck in a place that no 22 year old wants to be trapped in:
The Sens hired Boucher last summer and the clock continues to tick-tock on Lazar's entry level deal. Problem being, Lazar can't get on the ice.
Lazar turned 22 on Thursday. There were high expectations of this kid as he made the transition from junior hockey star to NHL pro. Lazar was Ottawa's first round draft (17th overall) choice in 2013.
I've always admired Lazar's skill and compete level. Guy Boucher isn't a fan.
Boucher has only played Lazar in 27 games this season. Lazar has been a healthy scratch more times than he cares to mention.
Lazar, who was a 70 point man with the Edmonton Oil Kings, has just one assist this season. Lazar has been a frequent flyer in the Ottawa press box or on the fourth line.
Last week, the Senators traded for grinding veteran center/winger Tommy Wingels from San Jose which kicked Lazar further down the depth chart.
For now, Lazar is getting bag skated after practices with the other scratches. The kid wants to play a regular role and help his team earn a playoff spot.
Lazar spoke to the Ottawa media this week about his obvious lack of playing time.
“It’s never fun being out (of the lineup), but we have some great depth here,… he said. “There’s no point in me pouting or letting the emotions get the better of me. I did that sometimes before the all-star break. It’s about being a good teammate. Every time I am in the lineup, I have to be tenacious, hard on the puck and the shoot the puck a little more.…
Sabres GM Tim Murray and his Uncle Brian drafted Lazar to Ottawa in 2013.
Murray said Thursady that he is interested in making a "soft deal" for a fourth line center.
Murray should call his former co-worker, Sens Pierre Dorion, to complete a trade forLazar. Murray has been looking to add forward depth and Lazar would add immediate value and offense to Buffalo's bottom six forward group.
Dorion didn't draft Lazar. Murray did. Boucher doesn't like what Lazar has to offer. Murray does.
Lazar was a 40 goal man in junior. He was a key cog as captain of Team Canada's World Junior Championship gold medal team in 2014-15. Sabres star Samson Reinhart also played on that special Team Canada gold medal winning squad. Lazar could be an option to play with Reinhart and Eichel. You never know.
The kid is a player, not a sitter.
“Maturity wise, you learn from your mistakes,… Lazar told the Sens website.
“Sometimes I go to bed and I’m wanting to hit my pillow and stuff like that, but that doesn’t get me anywhere. I’m using that as a learning curve. I have to press the re-set button and focus on small things.
Lazar carries an $894K salary cap hit and is set to become RFA in July.
That is a "soft" deal if I ever saw one.
Pierre Dorion may want to move on from Lazar for a depth defenseman like rentals Dmitry Kulikov or Cody Franson, and, second round draft pick.
It appears to me that as long as Guy Boucher is the head coach in Ottawa Lazar will continue to ride the pine and eat popcorn in the press box.
I can see a day where Lazar will be traded between now and the March 1 NHL trade deadline.
If we have learned anything about Tim Murray it's that he is not adverse to acquiring reclamation projects as evidenced by Evander Kane and Dmitry Kulikov. At this point in his brief NHL career, Lazar qualifies as a project because the stunting of his growth within the Ottawa system. That's what happens when owners like Eugene Melnyk get sick of losing and blow out the GM and head coach in one fell swoop. Making massive organizational changes at general manager and head coach is like a divorce. The kids are always the ones to get hurt while the adults sort things out. Prospects like Lazar become victims of the philosophical and cultural changes that occur after the new GM and coach were hired. When Lazar was drafted, the Sens were a flow team that loved to push the pace and have five men in the rush. That style suited Lazar fast, north, high-end skill style to a tee. Then along came Guy Boucher and Marc Crawford, and the fun hockey died. Today, Sens hockey is all about drinking Boucher's Kool Aid, sacrificing your individual skill and playing the mind numbing 1-3-1 trap. Boucher is all about defense. His 1-3-1 trap is as fun as watching the ice maker in your freezer spit cubes into the bucket.
Lazar will never become the offensive player he was scouted and drafted to be under Guy Boucher.
It's time for Lazar to leave Ottawa for a more conducive situation where he can use his high end sskills to finally evolve into the scoring NHL player he knows he can be.
The Sabres will host the Sens tonight.