Sabres vs Senators Recap

-So what has the Sabres vs Senators match-up become? Well, to quote Pedro Martinez: “Just tip my cap and call the Senators my daddy.” OK, so it’s not exactly what he said, but you get the point. This wasn’t just another game (Even though Sabres said it was). Anyone who has a pulse on what’s going on with the Senators winning streak and their dominance over Buffalo, knows that this was a statement game. Hell, even a must-win game. Yes, the Sabres came back in the 3rd period, but to lose your 8th straight game against Ottawa. Sorry, there’s no scraps in my scrapbook-

-Not only do the Senators own the Sabres, but so do the stars of the NHL. First it was the Sedins, then Crosby, and now you can just add Spezza and Alfredsson (Actually, they’ve been on that list since 2007). Remember that game when Alexander Ovechkin did absolutely nothing against the Sabres? whoa…that was this year?-

-Hey Lindy, I know we love and worship the ground you walk on, but what the hell are you doing putting the 4th line on the ice with a minute left? The Senators have their top line out. You know, the line that has been killing you since the Eastern Conference Finals of 2007. I don’t care if Danny Heatley doesn’t play there anymore. Look, I’m all for Lindy having his 4th line (if playing well) go up against star lines, but not against Spezza and Alfredsson, who’ve killed your team. Roll your top lines against their stars-

– Give it up for Tyler Myers, a 20-year old kid who wasn’t going to put up with Chris Phillips taking a run at Ryan Miller. Even though it seemed like it took about ten years for a Sabres player to do something about it, it was good to see Myers take issue-

-Look, I’m not the type who starts salivating when someone pulls a dirty hit on a Sabres player. ARR! Eye for an eye! Get Ted Nolan back here! That’s not me and it’s not the NHL anymore. However, in a game where you had your goaltender get run over, Yarko Ruutu giving a dirty ass elbow and then coming back to clobber Thomas Vanek into the boards, it’s just a little to trendy for my taste. Next time, I think the Sabres need to try and get physical with the Senators, as in maybe sending out a message. Hell, nothing else has worked for them against Ottawa. Maybe getting your players fired up would help-

-What a difference a month makes for Steve Montadour. He was playing pretty well and giving the Sabres a unexpected boost on the power play. Not only does he get benched twice within his last three games, but he has to deal with Sekera playing one of his best games of the season. Not looking good for one of the Sabres “BIG” high priced free agents they brought in-

-Look, I don’t care what the stats say, but I have no confidence in the power play. There are just too many times when the Sabres power play looks like an epic disaster. It looked even worse against the Senators, when Tim Connolly turned over the puck and took a penalty in the process. If your confidence was dwindling after seeing that, how about that Power Play in the 3rd period after tying the game? Yuk. The Sabres commit too many turnovers to begin with and to have them occur on the power play is inexcusable-

– I’m really digging the Connolly-Hecht–Pominville line. Every time the line was on the ice, they were putting a ton of pressure on the Senators. They were by far the most effective line tonight for the Sabres. It’s beyond me why they weren’t on the ice with a minute left in the game. Could this be the time when Connolly goes on another point streak instead of crashing down to earth for 10 games?

-Where the hell was the overhead shot during Hecht’s no-goal last night? Well, if you weren’t watching TSN, Ottawa’s announcers said that the Sabres overhead camera wasn’t working. At the time, I had guessed that the Sabres were still cutting broadcast costs. Actually, from listening to the post game show on WGR, this has been a problem for the Sabres for quite some time. So long, that the team has been in constant contact with the NHL office about getting the camera fixed. I guess Radio Shack isn’t getting the missing part from Japan until the Olympic break. Seriously??? You know, last week I heard some of the local media members bitching and complaining about the constant reviews in NFL games. Well…At least the NFL has fricken equipment that works!!?! Then you wonder why people
don’t take the NHL seriously-

-I’ve been debating how to answer why the Senators own the Sabres. So I’m just going to list a bunch of reasons.

1) The Sabres fall into Ottawa’s trap by trying to match their speed, when they should just stick with their boring style of tight defense that made them into a first place team. The Sens are just faster than the Sabres.

2) Spezza and Alfredsson always outplay Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek.

3) The Sabres have no confidence against the Senators.

4) The Sabres never hit anyone during a Senators game.

5) Maybe the Sabres do believe it’s just another game, and the Senators are just bullies who are in love with kicking someone while they are done. Get desperate, Sabres!

6) The Sabres offense is most effective when they can roll out four lines against a team that only has a couple of lines that they have to deal with. The Sens kind of have the same strategy and I just think their lines match-up better.

What am I trying to say? Well, the Senators are just better than Sabres. Just look at the Sabres first period, they dominated the Senators, yet they scored zero goals. Yeah…just add the Senators to an all of a sudden growing list of playoff teams that I don’t want to face.