Updated:
Ryan Suter will have a meeting with NHL Player Safety today.
He avoided a penalty for his elbow to the face of Downie. However, there's no way he skates from a suspension.
He will most likely be suspended for Sabres-Wild game on Thursday night.
I like Buffalo's chances to beat the Wild.
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From the insult to injury department:
Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter buried his elbow into the head of Pittsburgh Penguins agitator Steve Downie early in the second period of Tuesday night's game.
Downie struggled to get to his skates after the blow to his head. He didn't finish the game after skating only 6:09 TOI. Suter is Minnesota's best D-man. He averages 29 minutes TOI per game, and skated 29:55 TOI vs. Pittsburgh. He was a deplorable -4.
Inexplicably, Suter escaped a penalty for his actions.
Safe to say that the NHL Department of Players Safety will be calling Suter for a hearing on Wednesday.
Here's the ugly hit that Suter delivered on Downie:
Thanks @PeteBlackburn
It looks like an obvious Rule 48 violation to me as Downie's head was the principle point of Suter's elbow.
Suter may be suspended for Thursday night's Wild vs. Sabres game.
I'll keep you posted.
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Hey, look kids! Its new Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan at the Sabres-Wings game on Tuesday night. My good man Harry Scull click this pic of Rex in a suite.
Ryan's introductory presser will take place at Noon on Wednesday.
Bills coach Rex Ryan watches the 3rd period of the Sabres & Wings game from a suite. @TheBuffaloNews @BNHarrington pic.twitter.com/50aDXcjGYs
— Harry Scull Jr (@hsjrphoto) January 14, 2015***
The Minnesota Wild are a bona fide disaster right now.
The Wild were demolished 7-2 in Pittsburgh tonight. Its their fourth straight loss since head coach Mike Yeo torched his team in a profanity-laced, hockey stick breaking fit of rage last week during a team practice.
The Wild have now lost 12 of their last 14 games and are eight points out of a Western Conference wild card berth. The Wild have been outscored 57-33 in the last 14 games.
7-2 loss to #penguins. #mnwild 0-5-1 last 6 overall, 2-8-4 last 14, 7-12-5 last 24. 0-4 last 4 on road (5 goals)
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) January 14, 2015
This Wild team was expected to make a deep playoff run this season after they impressed in the 2013-14 playoffs. They added free agent Thomas Vanek to their impressive forward group and expectations were ratcheted up based on their unique blend of skilled veterans and talented kids.
Their defense corps has been a huge disappointment for the past eight weeks and their goaltending has been a train wreck, too.
Will Yeo be their head coach tomorrow?
How can he survive when his players don't care to listen to him? He's lost control of his team as evidenced by their terrible play the past two months.
Will GM Chuck Fletcher finally call Tim Murray to makle a trade for a starting goalie who can keep the puck out of his own net?
Nik Backstrom allowed 6 of Pittsburgh's goals on 35 shots. Rookie John Curry allowed the other goal on just 2 shots faced.
Backstrom, who will be the starter in Buffalo on Thursday night, has allowed 36 goals against in his past 10 games. His .892 save % and 2.83 GAA are reflective of his season-long struggles.
UGLY!
Big changes are coming to the Twin Cities.
Stay tuned.....
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The Buffalo Sabres kick off a three game home stand tonight against the Detroit Red Wings.
Its neat that the next three Buffalo opponents are teams that are experiencing serious goaltending challenges these days. Detroit will be without their starter for an extended period of time. Nik Backstrom and the Minnesota Wild play in Pittsburgh tonight. Philadelphia starter Steve Mason was injured last weekend and will be out for a couple of weeks.
It should be an interesting week. Who knows, we may end up seeing the trading of either Michal Neuvirth or Jhonas Enroith, That, and the prospect of the firings of Mike Yeo and Craig Berube.
In the meantime, Wings GM gave an update on the health of his starting goaltender Jimmy Howard on Tuesday in Buffalo. If I'm a Wings fan, I'm concerned.
Howard is expected to be on the shelf for 2-4 weeks while he recovers from a slight groin tear. He suffered the injury in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals.
What's so "slight" about a groin tear? We aren't talking about a garden variety "tweak", "pull" or "strain". Its a TEAR. Human muscle tissue takes time to heal, especially when torn.
Young Petr Mrazek will shoulder the load for a little while, but what will happen when and if he loses four games in a row? What then? When asked today if Buffalo native Tom McCollum would get any starts in the next four games in six nights the head coach said that he would be leaning on Mrazek.
The Red Wings filled his spot on the Detroit roster with Tom McCollum from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League. McCollum will serve as the backup to 22-year-old Petr Mrazek, who has made 15 career NHL starts.
In 32 games this season, Howard has a 16-7-7 record with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .920 saves percentage.
On November 2, Michal Neuvirth made 36 impressive saves through 65 minutes and stopped two of three shots in the shootout win for Buffalo.
The Wild and Flyers have scouts in the building tonight. The Wings have eyes in the skies as well.
Enjoy Dominik Hasek night.
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