Recap: Game 12, Sabres vs. Islanders

Recap (courtesy Sabres.com)

Now that's more like it.  It seems that the four days the Sabres had to stew about getting blown out 5-0 by the Islanders on Saturday night in rather embarrassing fashion did them some good.  Sure, getting healthy and kicking the flu bug helped too, I suppose, but I like the revenge angle better.

Tonight, the Sabres got back to the formula that worked so well in the first few games.  They played responsibly in their own end and limited the Islanders to just 24 shots, none of which were particularly difficult for Miller to handle.  At the other end of the rink, instead of always trying to make the perfect play Buffalo simply put the puck on net like it was going out of style.

Hey, Derek!  Welcome to the 2009-10 season!  I had a whole post planned making fun of how many muckers and grinders had goals while Roy had a big fat goose egg, but I guess I'm too late now.  Much has been made recently about how Roy is one of those guys who foregoes a shot to make a pretty play, but tonight he piled up four shots (tied for second on the team) in just 12:42 of ice time.

Speaking of which... the Roy-Vanek-Stafford line had significantly less ice time tonight than usual.  Roy and Vanek were the only two players with less than 10 minutes of even-strength ice time, and Stafford was only at 10:07.  The fourth line got more time at even strength.    Balance is good - I like that Lindy is rolling four lines effectively and equitably -  but those guys are usually getting 17-19 minutes a game in total, so I find it very odd.

Mike Grier killed what seemed like half a penalty on his own.  Mike Grier is one of my favorite Sabres.  Coincidence?  I think not.

What a stupid penalty by Kaleta, shoving a player into Biron a good 3-4 seconds after he passed the puck.  The thing that really stunned me, though, was the crowd booing the refs for making that call.  On what planet is that not a penalty?  I am a big fan of Patty's physical edge but that play was just reckless and selfish.

Especially noteworthy tonight are the faceoff stats.  As a team the Sabres were 39 of 47, and four Sabres - Roy (14 for 14!), MacArthur, Kennedy, and Ellis - were perfect on draws, while Goose went 13 for 17.  That, my friends, is pretty frigging amazing - especially for a team that's criticized for not being very good at faceoffs.

Finally, on a personal note, my daughter Sarah made it to the video board once again tonight! The camera guy is in our section frequently so this isn't out of the ordinary, but tonight was a little different.  At the last home game she was on camera dancing with Sabretooth, and that footage was used as part of the Verizon summary from the previous home game, or whatever they call it.  In a way, I thought this was even more significant because it meant that someone actually went through footage of the previous game, saw my daughter, and said "Hey, this kid is so cute that people will want to see her again!  Let's use this!"  You know, proud papa and all that... :)

Next game: Friday, 11/6 vs. Philly.  Oh Ray Emery, how I've missed chanting your name derisively at HSBC Arena.  Sadly, we must wait to reacquaint ourselves, as we won't be making it to this game.