Leaking Oil (sabres)

Updated:

Andrej Meszaros’ looked like a house hockey player on Boyd Gordon's GWG on Friday night. For the umpteenth time this season, the dazed and confused D couldn’t clear the puck, which allowed Teddy Purcell to hit Gordon for the dagger through the heart.

The Sabres held a 2-1 lead in the third period yet found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Nolan was annoyed and agitated about the Meszaros gaffe.

“Their last puck was a perfect example of how the whole game went,… Nolan said. “You stop and you chip it out at the blue line. It’s one foot away. You don’t try to backpedal and try to flick it out skating away from it like you’re afraid to get hit.…

The Edmonton Oilers attempted 85 shots on Michal Neuvirth on Friday night. Of those shots, 52 of them found their way to Neuvirth, and three of them made it to the back of the net. Sorry folks, the Oilers should not be taking 85 shots on a Buffalo goalie. No way. The Sabres are better than that, right? Not on Friday night they weren’t. Angry Sabres assistant captain Josh Gorges told me after the 3-2 loss that his team has to play better against a desperate opponent like the Oilers, who gave up three third period goals in Boston on Thursday night.

“They shot from the blue line. The goal line, the corner. They sent guys through traffic. To be honest, we should take a page from their (Oilers) book. You never know when you throw pucks to the net. Good things can happen. With the shots against, we’ve got to do a better job with the team that we’re playing and the situation that we are in…

Gorges praised the continued heroics of Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth for their net contributions. The proud NHL veteran placed all of the blame on the D and forwards for allowing the Oilers to tee-off on Neuvirth at will.

“Our goalie has been outstanding. Both of them. Its about time we start proving that we are better. We’ve got to lighten the work load for these guys. We’ve got to find a way to start playing more time down in the offensive zone…

I asked Gorges if it would help his team to practice their shooting and d-zone coverage. He took exception to my recommendation. Gorges doesn't buy it.

“Its not about practice. It’s a mindset. It’s a mentality. I don’t believe in two games in two nights “That’s a tired team…. I just don’t believe that anymore. Guys are in shape, they’re well-conditioned. You know, for us to think that was going to be a tired group. That’s an excuse on our part. It should never happen. We’re not coming in with the mindset tomorrow that “we played tonight so we’re tired…. That’s an excus. I think, like I said earlier, we’ve got to understand that each shift is important. Each battle on the boards is important. You are not gonna win all of them. You are not going to play a perfect game Its impossible. But, the mindset of “I’m gonna win every battle….. that’s your mindset. I’m gonna make every play. When something breaks down, I’m there to recover. These are the things that we have to change. Like I said, its not about practice. You don’t practice your mindset and your willingness that just comes from within. This is a game of mistakes and the team that makes the least of them usually ends up on top. But at the same time, the team that supports each other on those mistakes is usually the teams that ends up giving itself the chance to win. I’m going to make my fair share of mistakes, probably more than the next guy. I have to trust that Tyler Myers is there to help me and we have ti go in there to grind it out….

The Pittsburgh Penguins watched the Sabres-Oilers game from their hotel rooms on Friday night.

Think about this:

If Edmonton can throw 85 punches and land 52 of them, what will the Penguins do to the Sabres on Saturday night?

“When you don’t want to compete and you don’t want to fight for the puck, that’s what’s going to happen,… Sabres coach Ted Nolan said. “We went through this same song a number of times. The worst thing about it, we had a 2-1 lead. We made the biggest mistakes to give them the two goals to go ahead.…

Neuvirth nailed it in his postgame remarks:

“We got outworked, and they wanted to win more than us. Good for them, but we got to wake up. This can’t be happening, especially on home ice.…

Look for Jhonas Enroth to start on Saturday night.

If Nolan is wise, he will bench Meszaros and play Mike Weber or Tyson Strachan in his place.

As for the forwards, maybe its time for Cody Hodgson to watch a game from the press box.

***

*** Before the Sabres-Oilers game, the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills joined powers to fight cancer on Friday night.

Two of my personal heroes, Rick Jeanneret and Jim Kelly dropped the ceremonial first faceoff puck and there was not a dry eye in the house after the thunderous, five minute standing ovation had ended!

Kelly was declared cancer free a few months ago.

RJ announced that he too is cancer free to Brian Duff on the MSG pregame show.

God Bless RJ and Machine Gun and their respective families.

They are now joined as one in #OneBuffalo in Pegulaville.

Terry and Kim Pegula have created #OneBuffalo. The situation is unique as two successful sports teams are now owned by the same family.

I had the opportunity to attend the grand opening of the new "716 Food and Sports" restaurant before tonight's game. I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted at the bar by Kim Pegula. She took my drink order and told me a story about how she used to wait tables at the Copper Kettle in Cuba, NY in Allegany county.

Kim told me that she, Terry, and their kids are so appreciative of the Buffalo community because it has given so much to the Buffalo community over the years. She told me that they love that they can provide entertainment options to the hard working people of Buffalo. For that, I applaud the Pegula family's service to the Western New York community.

The Pegulas are bringing Buffalo together at a time when we need each other the most!

Win or lose, the Sabres and Bills are beloved by one huge community.

The Pegulas have merged the two teams into one loving family.

***

The Buffalo Sabres are hosting the Edmonton Oilers tonight in beautiful downtown Buffalo.

Moments ago, Sabres GM Tim Murray said in a radio interview that one of his players was present for an "incident" and that he is probably going to be disciplined for it by the NHL.

TMGM told WGR:

We had a player this week [who's] probably going to get suspended for a game for something that happened away from the ice ... He happened to be there when there was an incident happening.""

Murray added:

"He was with other people and kind of got caught up in something. He happened to be there when there was an incident happening. There are lots of questions."

Who is "He"?

I'm wondering which Sabres player is the man in question. Its not known at this time if its a Sabres player or a prospect playing in Rochester.

One concludes that if the player in question were to be suspended by the Sabres that the team would have already imposed the ban, right?

Murray said that the suspension will be for one game.

So, that leaves us with the NHL. Are they going to ban a Sabre?

More to come.....

**

There are NHL scouts o'plenty in the house tonight.

DET, LA, MTL, NASH, WPG, BOS, CHI, PHI, OTT, and COL are represented.

***

Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
0
Show comments for this article