Ryan Miller spent 12 years playing for the Buffalo Sabres organization. On Friday night, he competed head to head against the Sabres for the first time in his NHL career. Miller made 20 saves in the Canucks' 5-2 victory.
Thanks, Canucks TV
"I'm not going to lie, it was a little bit weird looking down the ice and seeing that jersey," said Miller, who was picked in the fifth round (No. 138) in the 1999 NHL Draft by Buffalo and played parts of his first 11 seasons there before being traded to the St. Louis Blues late last season and signing in Vancouver as a free agent last summer. "But it just turns into a hockey game and you want to win, you want to compete."
For the fifth straight game, the Buffalo Sabres scored first then proceeded to loss the game.
The loss in Vancouver is the fourteenth straight regulation loss. This is not your father's multi-game winless streak. This is a losing streak of historic proportions. The Sabres haven't earned a point in a game since the defeated the NY Islanders in the shootout on December 27. The Sabres have gone five straight weeks without earning a point. It's the longest losing streak in the NHL in 12 seasons. Ted Nolan's squad is three losses shy of matching the NHL record set by the expansion 1974-75 Washington Capitals and matched by the second-year San Jose Sharks in 1992-93.
Chris Stewart scored twice for Buffalo.
Ted Nolan gave the net to Matt Hackett in Vancouver. Despite the loss, Hackett told Canucks.com that he relished the opportunity to compete against Miller, a man that he has profound respect for.
"Honestly I have been looking up to [Ryan Miller] since I was a kid," said Hackett.
"I think [Miller] is one of the best goalies I've ever seen, so I was pretty nervous to face him. But not so much the knee, I wasn't worried about that. I know physically it's there. It's not at any risk of breaking again."
Hackett underwent season ending knee surgery last April after he was injured in a collision while tending goal for Buffalo in Boston.
A brutal week of hockey lies ahead for the fragile Sabres. They will face three formidable foes.
The Buffalo tank train makes it's next stop in Montreal where the Sabres will practice on Super Bowl Sunday and on Monday. They will face the Canadiens on Tuesday night. Then they come home to practice on Wednesday and play against their former captain Steve Ott and the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. They can tie the NHL record for consecutive losses when Lindy Ruff, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars visit Buffaloo next Saturday night.
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Buffalo Sabres head coach Ted Nolan is a patient man. On Friday night in Vancouver, his patience with Cody Hodgson reached its end.
Nolan has finally put his foot down and has benched his struggling forward.
The Sabres have lost 13 straight games and are in desperate need of an offensive infusion. Hodgson and Matt Moulson are among the forwards who are mired in long scoring slumps.
Hodgson can't say he's surprised by the healthy scratch, He's been invisible all season long. He has cored only 2 goals and added 5 assists in 48 games played this season. He is -21. This is a real head scratcher because Hodgson scored 20 goals last season and showed signs of breaking on through to the 25 goal club when he scored 6 goals and added 2 assists in 8 games played for Team Canada at the World Championships last spring. Coach Nolan, teammates and fans are wondering where his offense has gone to this season.
In an attempt to simplify his game and to get his butt in gear, Nolan has moved Hodgson from center to wing. Hodgson has played on all four lines this season.
Nolan had no other choice but to bench the former 10th overall pick (2008 draft).
Being benched for a game against the team that drafted you into the NHL is downright embarrassing.
@shoretalk I thought that CoHo played well in Calgary. Then he regressed in Edmonton #ENIGMA
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) January 31, 2015
There have been rumblings of late regarding Hodgson and a contract buyout this summer.
Hodgson is a $4.25 million cap hit for this season and the next three to come.
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I just about veered my car into a snow bank when I listened to Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney told Ottawa’s Team 1200 that he would trade his best defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson?
“Are my ears plugged? Am I concussed and confused?, asked I to myself.
Nope. Maloney did in fact go there when he said:
“Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a player that we would certainly be very, very reluctant to part with,… Maloney said, “but as far as I am concerned, when you’re sitting with our record, and we’re three or four worst records in the league, then everybody is up for grabs.…
Ekman-Larsson is an all-world talent and he is a future Norris Trophy winner. The guy is a superb NHL defenseman with a tremendous future in his windshield. He has 13 goals (8 PPG, 1 SHG, 6 GWG, 3 OT GWG) and 10 assists this season and has taken 158 shots on enemy goalies. He averages 25:16 TOI per game.
OEL is in the second year of a modest six year $33 million contract.
Maloney is about to detonate his roster and trade away Antoine Vermette, Keith Yandle, Marty Erat Martin Hanzal , Zbynek Michalek and others.
Would he really trade OEL? Probably not, but who knows. It will depend on the NHL Draft Lottery. If the 27th ranked Coyotes win the McEichel Draft Lottery and end up with the first overall pick in the draft, they would no doubt select McDavid or Eichel first overall. However, what if they Coyotes finish third, fourth or fifth in the lottery? How then would they vault up and over teams to get into the top two picks in the draft? Perhaps they would trade Ekman-Larsson as part of a larger package so that they can select McDavid or Eichel.
Maloney said that the only untouchable player on his roster is his captain Shane Doan. Maloney just wants his NHL GM peer group to know that he is willing to trade his best player in order to secure McDavid or Eichel. It’s a very bold statement by Maloney. Let’s just see what tomorrow brings.