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These guys are good. Scary good!
The formula goes like this:
Sabres get badly out shot by an opponent They hang on and survive the rope-a-dope, then score key goal late in regulation to tie the game and force OT.
It happened again on Monday night.
Matt Moulson scored the only goal that the Sabres would need in the shootout after Brian Flynn forced OT when he scored the game tying goal at the 3:29 mark of the third period.
Per usual, Jhonas Enroth was money in the shootout.
The Sabres scored a 5-4 victory over division rival Ottawa Senators and have now won four games in a row and six straight games at home.
They have won 10 of the past 13 games.
The Sabres are now in 22nd place in the NHL standings and are surging to a playoff position. They now are nine points away from Edmonton for last place overall in the NHL standings.
So, what now, Tim Murray?
Another Sabres third period comeback and dramatic shootout win has their fans in a dilemma right now:
To tank, or not to tank? That is the question.
Buffalo just completed a 4-0 homestand and have now won 10 od their last 13 games. They now sit only 4 points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Sabres fans have to ask themselves:
Would you rather have Taylor Hall or a shot at Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel?
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Torrey Mitchell's loss may be Mikhail Grigorenko's gain.
Mitchell blocked an Erik Karlsson slap shot in the first period of the Sabres-Sens game on Monday night. He suffered a lower body injury on the shot block and didn't finish the game.
The Sabres play in Winnipeg on Tuesday night and if Mitchell can't travel with the team then the Sabres will have to make a quick call up from the Rochester Amerks.
Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle has reported that Mikhail Grigorenko has been dispatched from Rochester to Buffalo in the event that Mitchell can't play Tuesday night in The Peg. Its an 80 minute drive from Rochester to Buffalo. Grigo can probably make it in 60 minutes.
In 27 games for the Amerks, Grigo has scored seven goals and has chipped in 12 assists for 19 points.
Grigorenko is in the final year of his entry level contract and hasn't suited up for the Sabres since January 2013 when he was sent back to the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL.
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Taylor Hall. Come on down. You are the next contestant on "Let's Make A Deal".
Or so says TSN's Darren Dreger who told TSN Drive in Toronto on Monday afternoon that the management team of the Edmonton Oilers are not thrilled by Hall's commitment to the team concept and the strategy of structure. Thus, Hall's name is front and center in the NHL trade rumor stream.
True or false?
At 23, Hall has ben the focal point of the Oilers lineup for the past four and a half seasons. He's a top performer on the ice and he gets his own points, but what has he done for the rest of his teammates lately?
Dreger said that Hall has become the poster child for the the mediocrity that has become the Edmonton Oilers.
It's not one player, it's the collection of players that make up a sagging work ethic and a lack of culture. But if you wanted to put a face on it, or a name to it, that would be Taylor Hall.Y'know, Taylor Hall, at least again from a culture standpoint - more in the room, not necessarily on the ice - hasn't been what they hoped he would be. So when [Oilers general manager] Craig MacTavish looks into his crystal ball and tries to see what might come his way via trade, he's got to be looking to the trade deadline, and then beyond that obviously to the draft floor. Because if you're moving a piece like Taylor Hall - and I believe that Taylor Hall will be in play - then the rate of return is always best when teams have flexibility in the summer.
I think it speaks from a willingness to adapt, so I am choosing my words carefully in saying that.
I'm not in that room, so, y'know, we gather our information from the sources that we have. And my sense is that Taylor Hall has a very specific vision of how he see he needs to play, and how the team needs to play, and he isn't open, really, to the idea of change. And that's the problem.
Dreger noted that MacTavish will now get a chance to see firsthand Hall's work habits and his attitude now that he will be ice level on the Edmonton bench while he shows Todd Nelson the ropes.
Thanks, Oilers TV
All I know is that MacTavish and Kevin Lowe better do their homework on this Hall "investigation".
If they decide to keep him and build with him for the future then so be it However, if they decide to trade him away, and feature Eberle, RNH, Draisaitl, Yakupov, Schultz they better get maximum trade value in return.
So, what should a Hall trade package look like?
The Oilers can use two NHL D-men and a first round draft choice. I'm talking about Tyler Myers, Mark Pysyk, and a 2015 first rounder (St. Louis pick). Myers is a Calgary, Alberta boy by way of Houston, Texas. Pysyk (Sherwood Park, Alberta) starred with the Edmonton Oil Kings. Adding two capable puck moving D would go a long way to fixing the Edmonton puck possession woes that undermine their offensive game on a nightly basis.
Now that the Sabres are the Sabres are the hottest team in the NHL with 10 wins in their past 13 games, maybe its time that Tim Murray should be shifting his attention away from winning the Connor McDavid Sweepstakes to focus on bolstering his roster to make a hard push to the 2014 playoffs. The Sabres head to Winnipeg only four games out of a playoff spot.
If MacTavish decides that its time to trade Hall then teams will be lining up around the block to get a piece of the action.
MacTavish and Lowe better make the right decision or else they will both be fired.
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The Edmonton Oilers should not be handing their bench over to their GM Craig MacTavish. Hell, if owner Daryl Katz were smart, he'd fire MacTavish and Kevin Lowe and start anew with a real head coach with a real NHL resume and proven/winning coaching methods.
MacTavish has promoted Oklahoma City Barons head coach Todd Nelson to the Oilers staff Monday after coach Dallas Eakins was fired. Nelson will work under interim coach/general manager Craig MacTavish while he transitions into the interim coaching role for the remainder of the season.MacT will join Nelson on the bench.
"He's done a terrific job with our minor league team in the American Hockey League," MacTavish told the Oilers website. "He's deserving of this opportunity. I want to help him transition this group and … give myself a chance to get my hands on it."
Can you say "TANKING"?!!
The man who MacT should promote to lead them out of this period of darkness and depression is currently under contract with the team.
Hell, he's on the bench already.
Craig Ramsay is the right man to clean up the Oil spill in Edmonton.
He's a teacher, and mentor and a winner. He has an uncanny knack of teaching players young and old. He's bright, passionate, wise, dedicated and sophisticated. Ramsay is a calming influence and the life lessons that he teaches can help to serve as salve on the proverbial open wounds of the Oilers players who have been beaten down by all of the failure and losing that they have been a party to the past few years.
Ramsay's forte is getting the best out of each and every player on his roster. He does it with intellect, respect and discipline. He doesn't slam doors, spray 19 and 20 year olds with daily F-bomb tirades. He's not a yeller, nor a screamer. He's a communicator first and foremost. When he specks, his players listen. Just like E.F. Hutton. They listen to him because he is a winner and he is putting their individual and team needs ahead of his own. Ramsay would work wonders with Nail Yakupov, Taylor Hall, Leon Draisaitl, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Justin Schults and the veterans in the room.
Dallas Eakins is a nice man and a passionate hockey mind. He's not a solution provider for all that ails the Oilers.
Ramsay brings an exemplary body of work to the Oilers including over 40 years of NHL experience with seven different organizations including the Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres. Most recently, Ramsay served as an Assistant Coach for the Florida Panthers for two seasons (2011-13).
Ramsay's finger prints can be found all over the Stanley Cup victories of the Tampa Lightning and Boston Bruins. Ramsay served as John Tortarella's assistant when the Bolts won the Cup in 2004. Ramsay also served as Claude Julien's advisor and his defensive structure was a hallmark feature of the Bruins in their recent Cup championship season.
Ramsay left Boston to become the head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2010-11, however, he lost his job when Les Thrash left Atlanta for Winnipeg. Ramsay began his coaching career with the Buffalo Sabres where he served as an Assistant Coach during the 1986-87 season and took over as interim Head Coach late that year. He also spent time in the Sabres Hockey Operations department as the Assistant General Manager and Director of Player Personnel, prior to his departure in 1993. The Weston, Ontario native holds an impressive coaching resume which includes serving as Head Coach of the Atlanta Thrashers (2010-11). He also served as an Assistant Coach for the Philadelphia Flyers (1998-00) and was named the team’s interm Head Coach in February 2000, compiling a record of 16-8-1-0 while guiding the Flyers to an Atlantic Division title. He has served as an Assistant and Associate Coach for several teams including the Ottawa Senators (1996-98), Florida Panthers (93-95, 2011-2013), Boston Bruins (2007-10) and Tampa Bay Lightning (2001-07), where he won the Stanley Cup in 2004.
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Lately, everything that Zemgus Girgesnsons touches turns to gold. The Latvian Locomotive is currently the number one vote getter in t NHL All Star voting.
Seemingly, Zemgus has elevated his linemates Tyler Ennis and Matt Moulson to higher statistical heights.
The Sabres are 9-1-1 in their past 11 games and their success can be directly traced to the 26-28-63 line. As they go, so go the Sabres.
On Monday, Tyler Ennis was names the NHLs #1 star of the past week.
Ennis recorded a 1goal and 4 assist in three games last week.
Thanks, Sabres.com
Last Tuesday, he scored his third career GWG in the 1-0 shutout win against the LA Kings.
He followed that performance up with a three assist effort in Buffalo's 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames last Thursday.
Ennis capped the week with his 13th assist of the season in a 4-3 OT win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday night.
The 25-year-old Edmonton native leads the Sabres with 21 points in 30 games this season. The 26th overall selection by Buffalo in the 2008 NHL Draft, Ennis has 77-110—187 in 297 career games, all with the Sabres.
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