Nathan Gerbe is the closest to returning to game action for the Buffalo Sabres.  On Tuesday, Gerbe passed his Neuropsych Test, allowing him to begin full practices with the team.  While he may not be in “game shape,” he’s closer to returning to the line-up than any of the other injured players on the team.

Gerbe has not played since December 7th after suffering a concussion in a game against Philadelphia.  On the play, Gerbe was slammed head first into the boards by Marc-Andre Bourdon of the Flyers.  Bourdon only received a minor penalty for boarding and was not fined or suspended by the league.  Many Sabres fans and others around the league believed it was a punishable hit.

Nathan Gerbe is, with out a doubt, one of the fiercest competitors on this team.  He may only be 5’5″ (which is a little exaggerated…), but he plays like he’s 6’5″.  To say he’s fearless is an understatement and there isn’t a single person in this city that would try to tell you otherwise.  I have been a Gerbe fan since his days at Boston College and to see him work his way up to the NHL and become such an integral part of this team has been awesome.  I’m so far beyond excited to see him come back I can hardly contain myself!!!  Can’t wait to see #42 back on the ice!!

You mean they didn’t let a player walk away for nothing? What is going on, THIS IS AWESOME!!

So first, Terry Pegula, his wife Kim, and Lindy Ruff FLY to Calgary to convince Robyn Rehger that he belongs in Buffalo and that we wanted him – trade accomplished.  They also managed to ship out Chris Butler, who I think was in need of a change in scenery and they re-acquired Ales Kotalik (I still haven’t decided if this is a good thing or not…)

Next the team signs Nathan Gerbe, our little man who finally found his scoring touch last season to a 3 year contract extension.

And now, they have acquired the negotiating rights to Christian Ehrhoff from the NY Islanders for a 4th round pick next year.

I cannot wait until Friday if this is what is leading up to it!!!

According to Sabres.com the Buffalo Sabres signed a purchase agreement with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (the transaction was unanimously approved by the AHL Board of Governors). The team also announced that with this purchase, their agreement with the Portland Pirates has ended.  This means that the Sabres will reunite with their old farm club and have their prospects closer to Buffalo.  For fans, this is awesome news, it means we can make the hour trek to Blue Cross Arena to check out the baby Sabres without paying a small fortune (woot!).

Now comes the decision of who will coach the baby Sabres? Kevin Dineen coached the Pirates from 2005 (when they were affiliated with the Ducks) to the end of last season, he was recently named the new coach of the Florida Panthers.  He coached prospects such as Mike Weber, Tyler Ennis, Nathan Gerbe, Luke Adam and Marc-Andre Gragnani.  Under his leadership Gerbe, Ennis and Adam have all won AHL Rookie of the Year and Gragnani won Defenseman of the Year this season.  Many suspect ex-Sabres Associate Coach Brian McCutcheon to be named coach (he coached the Amerks for 3 season before joining the Sabres).

Stay tuned for more!

Today has been like Christmas in June for Sabres fans.

Lets start with the Sabres being rated the third best franchise in the NHL by The Hockey News. Wait, did you say third, really??   I first heard this news while listening to WGR550 on my way to work and I swear I almost drove my car into a ditch.  The 30 NHL franchises were rated in 9 categories: Front Office, Regular Season, Future Watch, Playoffs, Draft Success, Franchise Value, Ownership, 2010-2011 Standings, and Attendance.  High scores in four out of these categories make sense, the other five, not so much.

Draft Success:

The Sabres have drafted very well for the last 10 years, drafting 20 players just between 2001-2005 drafts that have played in the NHL, 10 of which currently play for the Sabres.  Recently, we have picked up players like Nathan Gerbe, Tyler Myers, Tyler Ennis, Luke Adam, Braydon McNabb, Marcus Foligno, Mark Pysyk, just to name a few.

Future Watch:

See above…

Ownership:

Two words, Terry Pegula.  He took over as owner near the end of February and changed the entire vibe of HSBC Arena.  He, along with Ted Black and the rest of the management team have redesigned the locker room and have already implemented changes in the arena and during games through a fan suggestion box.  To say I love him would be an understatement, he is the best thing to happen to the Buffalo Sabres in a very long time.

Attendance:

This is a category the Sabres have not lacked in since the lockout.  In the 2 seasons following the lockout, tickets were a difficult thing to come by, but attendance lagged a bit the years the Sabres failed to make it to the postseason.  Sabres tickets became a hot commodity when Pegula took over the team with all remaining home games selling out (12 regular season games and 3 playoff games).

So what else happened you ask, well….

- Former Portland Pirates head coach, Kevin Dineen, was introduced as the new head coach of the Florida Panthers (sadface) on Wednesday.

- The Sabres signed 2010 1st round draft pick Mark Pysyk, a defenseman currently playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the     Western Hockey League.

- The Sabres announced they would not renew the contract of Associate Coach Brian McCutcheon.  If the sale of the Rochester Americans to Terry Pegula goes through, McCutcheon is expected to be introduced as the head coach.  If the sale falls through he would simply be released.

- The Sabres also announced plans for a draft party which will take place during the first round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

- WGR550 also started discussing who would replace McCutcheon.  Some names that were thrown around were current Sabres Player Development Coach Kevyn Adams and current Anaheim Ducks assistant coach Mike Foligno (YES!!!).  Both would be excellent choices and both have ties to the city already.  Adams grew up in Clarence and Foligno played for the Sabres from the 1981-1982 season until the 1990-1991 season.

- Locker room renovations are underway.  Follow this link to the Sabres website to take a looksie at what Mr. Pegula and Mr. Black have in mind when they talk about turning Buffalo into Hockey Heaven.

Philadelphia wins series 4-3

Game 1: Sabres – 1 Flyers – 0

Game 2: Sabres – 4 Flyers – 5

Game 3: Flyers – 4 Sabres – 2

Game 4: Flyers – 0 Sabres – 1

Game 5: Sabres – 4 Flyers – 3 OT

Game 6: Flyers – 5 Sabres – 4 OT

Game 7: Sabres – 2 Flyers - 5

A lackluster effort led to a heart wrenching end to the 2010-2011 Buffalo Sabres season.  The Sabres looked disorganized and lazy through most of the game and again tried to rely on Ryan Miller to save the day.  Miller stopped 15 of the 16 shots Philly managed through the first period, the lone goal coming on a Braydon Coburn shot from the point. Brian Boucher, who won this game of ‘ring around the goalies’ for the Flyers, was not tested at all in the first period, with Buffalo only managing 2 shots on goal.  Michael Leighton was the lucky goal to be scratched for this game and Sergei Bobrovsky dressed for the first time since Game 2 of the series.

The Sabres were badly outplayed in the first period with the Flyers out hitting, out skating and out shooting them by huge margins (shots on goal went in favor of the Flyers 16-2).  Miller was the only reason the Sabres went into the second by only a one goal deficit.  After allowing 1 goal on 16 shots, Miller went on to give up 3 more goals, power play goals to Daniel Briere and James van Riemsdyk in the seconds and an even strength goal to Ville Leino in the third.  Miller was pulled after the Leino goal and replaced by Jhonas Enroth, who stopped 7 of the 8 shots he faced, allowing a goal to Daniel Carcillo.

While the Sabres did manage to score twice in the third period, it was far too little far too late.  Tyler Myers scored at 6:33 of the third period to end Brian Boucher’s shut out bid.  Brad Boyes scored late in the third period to pull the Sabres within three, but that was the closest they would come to tying the game.

The penalty barrage continued in this game with the Flyers being assessed 22 penalty minutes including a10 minute misconduct to Carcillo (who was also given a game misconduct) and the Sabres were assessed 24 penalty minutes including a misconduct penalty to Nathan Gerbe. In total there were 213 penalty minutes handed out to both teams, 104 to the Flyers and 109 to the Sabres.

Overall, the Sabres did not come out and play like they had an interest in winning.  The Flyers dominated from the beginning and it was clear they had no intention of backing down.  The Flyers were the better team on every level in this game and the score sheet clearly indicates that.  It was a hard fought series until the very end, but Buffalo just couldn’t seem to muster whatever gas was left in the tank to finish the series off.

We as Sabres fans have a lot to look forward to in the future, with an amazing new owner and a lot of young talent coming up through the ranks.  Don’t be surprised to see some major changes made throughout the course of the offseason to not only the team, but the organization as a whole.  It was a good season and this team persevered through a dreadful start, several injuries to key players and managed to work their way into a playoff start.  Don’t look at this as the end of anything, look at this as the beginning of a new era.

Three Stars:

1^st STAR – Daniel Briere (1 goal, 1 assist, 6 shots on goal)

2^nd STAR – James van Riemsdyk (GWG, 5 shots on goal)

3^rd STAR – Braydon Coburn – (1 goal, 3 shots on goal)

Series Tied 3-3

Game 1: Sabres – 1 Flyers – 0

Game 2: Sabres – 4 Flyers – 5

Game 3: Flyers – 4 Sabres – 2

Game 4: Flyers – 0 Sabres – 1

Game 5: Sabres – 4 Flyers – 3 OT

Game 6: Flyers – 5 Sabres – 4

Game 7: Sabres at Flyers April 26th Time TBD

As my friend TJ so eloquently put it, “Clearly we are going to win the series in 7 games, for Rick Martin,” however 6 games would have been much less nerve-wracking.  Ville Leino decided to silence the sellout crowd of 18,690 inside HSBC Arena, as well as the 6,000+ that were watching in the plaza, at 4:43 of OT.  To say this was a typical Buffalo Sabres game is the understatement of the century at this point.  They came out guns a-blazing in the first, scored 3 goals, 2 of which were on the power play, and chased Michael Leighton out of the net.  Then came the dreaded second period.  Nathan Gerbe, Ryan Miller and the two Tyler’s  (at times) were the only one’s that should have even bothered coming out of the locker room.  Gerbe was starting to look like the hero after he scored on a wrist shot late in the second period, but Scott Hartnell ruined the party when he tied the game mid-way through the 3^rd.  If a hockey game could be won in a period, the Sabres would have won in the first, as many of the Sabres faithful thought and were hoping was going to be the case, but a lackadaisical second period and a poor defensive third period led us to the road of Game 7.

For the most part, the Sabres looked sloppy and disorganized, but they had their moments.  They spent more time in their own zone than anyone would have been comfortable with and certainly got lucky on all 4 of their goals, but it’s the playoffs and garbage goals win games, however in this case not so much.   The Sabres were not very physical after the first period and allowed the Flyers to park themselves right in front of Miller without much resistance.

Another mistake they made was allowing Danny Briere, ughhhh, to circle around the net and score not once, but twice, the second tying the game on the power play in the second.  I’d be less inclined to be upset about this if it were ANYONE OTHER THAN BRIERE.  He played for the Sabres for how long, you really don’t know what he’s going to do to you if you let him float around the net, REALLY SABRES?!?! To say I hate him is an understatement and it always seems to be Briere.

I’m going to take a page out of the Flyers (cough Mike Richards) book and complain about the officiating on both sides, which personally, I thought was horrendous.  12 penalties in total (6 for each team), probably 7-8 of which were actually warranted.  The one I had the biggest issue with was Mike Richards’ boarding penalty at 13:57 of the second, you are really only going to give him 2 minutes, really?  Even after he not only got a 5 minutes elbowing penalty earlier in the series, but then purposely drives a player, who has a SERIOUS issue with concussions, head first into the boards?  Oh that’s totally cool now, oh alright well then perhaps someone should drive Mike Richards’ head into the boards and see how he likes it, maybe we can sign David Booth for a game and let him do it.  (Sorry rant over, back to the game)

Chris Pronger also made his series debut, playing a whopping 4:43 of ice time.  To me, it was laughable that people were so worried about him playing, my own father being one of them, simply because its clear he isn’t 100%.   Pronger dressed to “quarterback” the power play as best he could, not being able to actually use his cannon of a shot from the point.  Not to take anything away from him (because as much as it pains me to say it, he’s a great defenseman), but it’s clear he isn’t ready to play, so is it really worth dressing him to play 5 minutes?  I’m no coach, but I would say no, especially when you are dressing 7 defensemen and 3 of them are playing under 10 minutes total.

However, I digress.  Hopefully the Sabres will go into Philly playing the entire game with the hunger that the Flyers had in this game.  Hopefully Tim Connolly isn’t seriously injured and will be able to play.  Hopefully the defense will actually show up in front of Ryan Miller.  The Sabres can only get lucky goals for so long, at some point they are going to have to bear down and be the quick, skilled team they are, hopefully that will be Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center.

Three Stars:

1^st STAR – Ville Leino (GWG, 2 shots on goal)

2^nd STAR – Daniel Briere (2 goals, 6 shots on goal)

3^rd STAR – Thomas Vanek (2 goals, 3 shots on goal)

Game Notes:

Marc-Andre Gragnani continues to shine for the Sabres, registering 2 more assists tonight, bringing his playoff point total to 7 (1 goal, 6 assists).

Tyler Myers picked up 3 more assists and continued his physical play, punching Pronger in the face and absolutely destroying Kris Versteeg.

The revolving door of Flyers goaltenders continued, this time with Brian Boucher replacing Michael Leighton after the first period.

Compliments of Mike Richards, the injury bug continues to bite the Sabres, with Tim Connolly leaving the game in the second after being driven headfirst into the boards.  The team listed him as having an upper body injury, he did not return to the game.

Chris Pronger returned for the Flyers, making his series debut, with 4:43 of ice time, registering one shot on goal and 2 penalty minutes.

Jeff Carter missed his second straight game with what has been reported as a sprained MCL.  The injury was suffered in a knee-on-knee collision with Tyler Myers in Game 4.