Film Room, Game 24: Sabres vs. Islanders 11/29/11

Box Score (NHL.com)

Since this post is now two days late and everything that needs to be said about this game has already been posted elsewhere, I'll keep this short.  (Hey, I said I was going to post about every game - I never said I'd do it in a timely fashion.)

There's probably not much to overanalyze or lament about a single loss in late Novemb... wait, what?  They lost to the freakin' Islanders, the team that's bringing up the rear of the conference and only bothered to win six of its previous games?   Forget how I started this paragraph.  Lineup full of Amerks or not, that's tough to swallow.

If you're looking for positives in a loss to the worst team in the East, you can say that at least it wasn't for lack of effort.  The Sabres were fine defensively, save for someone (and I couldn't tell who) losing Brian Rolston in coverage on the eventual game-winning goal.  Much like the Phoenix game, though, they had plenty of chances to blow this game open and plenty others - including a late 5-on-3 - to tie the score and at least get a charity point, but failed to bury them.  The posts and crossbars likely needed a new coat of red paint before tonight's game.

Microcosm of the game (and of his career thus far in Buffalo, for that matter): Ville Leino, staring at a wide-open net that had a huge, blinking neon "FEED ME" sign, watching the puck bounce over his stick and skates and harmlessly into the corner.  Mr. Pegula is paying $4.5 million a year for that, folks.

Pluses:

• Zack Kassian's first NHL fight literally left his opponent, Matt Martin, begging for mercy - Martin actually threw his hand up in front of his face, apparently pleading with Kassian to stop turning his face into hamburger.  Why yes, I do believe this young man has the ability to intimidate, don't you say?
• Frans Nielsen is probably still reaching for the Advil after Brayden McNabb caught him with his head down at center ice and knocked him into Lake Erie.   For my money, that's the best open-ice hit thrown by a Sabre since Brian Campbell cooked up some Cream of Umberger soup in the '06 playoffs.
• If you like goaltending duels, this game was right up your alley.  The 2-1 score was not indicative of clutch-and-grab '90s hockey in the least.  Al Montoya and Jhonas Enroth were sensational, and it's a shame either one had to take the loss.
• Nice heads-up play by Jochen Hecht to collect a puck that bounced off the back of Jason Pominville's skate and slip it past Montoya for the Sabres' only goal.

Minuses:

• 24 games, two goals, four assists, $4.5 million against the cap.... and when the time comes for him to step up and be a clutch player, the puck bounces harmlessly past him.  Who do you think I'm talking about?  I'm at the point where I'm ready to demand he switch numbers and stop tainting the legacy of #23.

Next Game: Friday, 12/2 vs. Detroit. That little swoon the Red Wings went through is a thing of the past, and they're hitting Buffalo with a six-game winning streak in hand.  Yes, exactly what a struggling team with so many kids in the lineup needs. (And yet, when I say such things, the opposite always seems to be true, so what do I know.)