It was back to the future night for Buffalo Sabres goal Michal Neuvirth on Thursday night. Neuvirth made 51 saves on 54 Carolina Hurricane shots to become the first Sabres goalie to record 50+ saves since Dominik Hasek made 55 saves on 3/1/95 against the NY Rangers.
Neuvirth played extremely well for the Sabres (19-39-8), who have lost four in a row.
Neuvirth is a native of the Czech Republic and his boyhood idol is Hasek.
Thanks, Sabres.com
*** NY Islanders fans are mad as Hell and they won't take it anymore.
Islanders fans have been handed a plate full of rotten for the past few seasons and they are about to tell owner Charles Wang and GM Garth Snow where to go and how to get there.
The once-proud fans of the Islanders are sick and tired of being a punch line to jokes. They hate seeing be made fun of and jeered at. They are sick of Wang and Snow's "taxation without representation".
Snow and Wang are tight away from the rink. Fans know it. They know that Snow won't be fired floor crashing and burning their team. They have no voice. They feel helpless. Voiceless.
This season began with a huge thud when Snow traded John Tavares' best friend and fan fave Matt Moulson to Buffalo along with 1st and 2nd round picks in exchange for rental player Thomas Vanek. Last week, Vanek told Snow in January that he would be pursuing the UFA market in July. Thus, Snow had to find a trade for Vanek. Snow gambled and lost in trying to sell Vanek on staying and playing long term in Brooklyn. Last week, Vanek bolted for Montreal and Snow only salvaged a 2nd rounder and a former second round prospect.
The Islanders are a joke. Have been for years. I call it the Curse Of Mike Milbury. Depsite all of the drama and lean times in recent years, JT led his team to the 2013 playoffs after the lockout shortened season. The Isles showed that they were a dangerous team to be reckoned with with MVP-candidate Tavares rockin and rollin with Moulson, Okposo, Grabner, Bailey, MacDonald, Streit, De Haan, and a whack of young kids with tremendous upside. They were one veteran goalie away from being a serious contender this season. Streit jetted to Philly last July. Snow sat on his wallet and chose to promote kids rather than make free agent signings and trades. Then, their 40 year old tender Nabakov was injured early on this season. Snow refused to make a move to add a puck stopper. The injuries mounted. Moulson unceremoniously was traded and the whole thing came apart at the seams by Christmas time.
This Saturday night when the Isles host the Sabres, the passionate legion of disgruntled Islanders fans will hold a protest. They will speak their collective minds.
We are protesting the inept Isles organization and management, led by owner Charles Wang and GM Garth Snow. We are protesting the lack of progress of Garth Snow’s rebuild that has dragged out for way too long. We are protesting the lack of accountability surrounding this organization. We are protesting the constant salary of this team being at or near the NHL mandated cap floor.
The folks at Isles Nation are not playing around. They will not sit on their hands anymore while Wang and Snow demolish their beloved Islanders.
Find all the details of the protest here, and we hope to see you Saturday! http://t.co/cdCBrOSRZT
— Isles Nation (@NYIslesNation) March 11, 2014Frankly, I applaud their passion and their persistence.