The Sabres in the New Year

Hey All,

Sorry again about the delay, life seems to keep getting in the way of hockey… which is not acceptable!  In the month since I’ve written last the Sabres have been top notch, and I don’t know where to begin.  I could easily go on yet another up beat rant about how great the team has been, how amazing the season has been, praise the play of Ryan Miller and Tyler Meyers, and how much players like Patrick Kaleta, Tim Connolly, and Tim Kennedy have been key, but I feel like all of that has been said ad nauseam.

Don’t get me wrong, the Blue and Gold have been solid.  I’ve enjoyed the games I’ve been able to watch, and the guys deserve the praise they are getting.  They lead the Northeast by 10 points, they haven’t lost a game in regulation since Dec 23rd, and Connolly has at least one point in his last 11 games, which, if I’m remembering what was said last night correctly, is the longest streak by a player this season.  But I can’t help but to think about how much better we could be if  Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek could be counted on a bit more.  Pominville has been held to one point in the last five games, and although Vanek is playing better, he’s prone to streaks and it’s only a matter of time before he starts to slump and becomes his own worst enemy again.  These two are both great players, with big contracts for the Sabres, and I hate to say it, but they need to bump it up a notch.   I realize that I’m going to catch some flak for this because both of them are loved by the fans, but I call it like I see it, sorry.

Before you guys get out the tar and feathers though, believe me when I say that I’m still continually blown out of the water by this team.  We continue to stun the critics who never thought we’d be this high in the standings, and to be brutally honest, most of us would’ve settled for a team that was going to make the playoffs no matter where we were ranked.  This doesn’t mean we get to rest on our laurels though and just sail through the rest of the season.  Now is the time to step it up just one more notch.  Clean up some of the sloppy play and push through the lack luster games.

The Sabres have a tough patch ahead of them with five more games on the road, including a match up with the Sharks, before returning home Jan. 27th to face the Devils.   This will be another hurdle for the team, but thankfully we haven’t been plagued by injuries, and  like Ruff I’m hoping for better than .500 for the series.   I’m definitely looking forward to tomorrow night’s game against the Coyotes.  The Coyotes have won their last two and will be looking to extend their streak to 3.   The only request I have for tomorrow night’s game (other than a win) is that it not go to an insanely long shoot out like the last… for as entertaining and nail biting as it was… I don’t think my nerves could handle it.

As always, please leave comments or get at me on twitter @abecker15.