Paul Gaustad will most likely be traded

It appears as though part of the Buffalo Sabres core will finally be traded. Paul Gaustad, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, will probably be sent packing if the Sabres and Gaustad cannot reach a deal. While not a goal scorer, the big center can be an asset to a team in the playoffs. He kills penalties, hits, and is very good on faceoffs. I am very happy to see Gaustad traded, as I think is he highly overpaid for what he does on the ice. I believe that the Sabres can land a 2nd round pick for the big center. I would like the Sabres to get as many assets as they can to either get into the top 2 of the draft and to make a trade for a bonafide center. Hopefully, Brad Boyes will be sent packing as well.

Running into Ryan Miller

It was clear that Nashville Predators wanted to make an impact in Saturday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, and he decided to do this by running Sabres goalie Ryan Miller in his first game back from a concussion injury. The concussion was sustained after Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins had run Miller.

While not as blatantly obvious as the time that Milan Lucic hit Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller, it was clear that Jordan Tootoo of the Nashville Predators was intent on hitting Miller. I liked the response showed by the Sabres, who jumped the Nashville forward quickly. Paul Gaustad, who was injured during the fight, yelled at Nashville's goalie, "Your next!" on his way to the locker room.

Coach Lindy Ruff was extremely upset, telling Brendan Shanahan he was right about it being open season on running goaltenders. I only hope that Shanahan puts an end to this by giving Tootoo a multi-game suspension. Buffalo went on to defeat Nashville 3-2 in Miller's first game back.

Injured Sabres dominate Capitals 5-1

With nine regulars out of the lineup and the sting of Friday’s loss to Columbus still fresh in their minds, it wouldn’t have been inconceivable to think the Buffalo Sabres could be in for a long night against the Washington Capitals. But a trio of rookies provided just the spark they needed to handily defeat the listless Capitals 5-1 at First Niagara Center.

Luke Adam scored twice and Zack Kassian picked up his first career NHL goal to lead the way for Buffalo. Defenseman Brayden McNabb, recalled earlier in the day to replace the injured Robyn Regehr, skated 13:42 of ice time and chipped in a game-high six hits.

Adam and Jason Pominville staked Buffalo to a first period lead, then the Capitals cut that in half with a penalty shot goal by Jason Chimera 6:39 into the second. But rather than fritter away another two-goal lead, Kassian responded just 27 seconds later when he drove down the right side and fired a shot between the pads of Washington netminder Tomas Vokoun. It was a deflating goal that the Caps never recovered from.

“Obviously, anytime another team scores a goal you want to respond with either a good shift or maybe a goal or a hit or something like that,” said Kassian. “It worked out well. We just tried to throw it on net for a rebound off the pad with the middle lane driving. Lucky for me it snuck through the five-hole and it went in. It was a nice burden to get off my back and now I can focus on playing.

Lindy Ruff agreed that Kassian’s goal took the wind out of Washington’s sails for the rest of the night.

“I thought [the Kassian goal] was really a momentum killer for them. That could have taken them a long ways the other direction. I thought us answering right away put out a little of their drive.”

Playing in his second NHL game, Kassian also provided a big physical presence tonight with five hits. A glass-rattling check on Jeff Schultz early in the game seemed to set his tone for the night.

“It’s important. Part of Zack’s game has to be physical,” said Ruff. “Combined with the skill he’s got, [his physical game] should be a great weapon.”

Paul Szczechura, also recalled from Rochester today, assisted on both of Adam’s goals. Jochen Hecht scored his first goal of the year on a shorthanded breakway late in the third period to cap the Buffalo scoring. It was Hecht’s first goal since March 12 of last season in Toronto.

Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin was a non-factor in the game, finishing minus-4 and taking just two shots.

Buffalo Sabres defeat Carolina Hurricanes 1-0

Buffalo Sabres goaltender Jhonas Enroth got a chance to make up for a bad game right away.
With Ryan Miller out following a concussion, Enroth got the start even after he gave up five goals 2 days earlier. Enroth made up for it and then some - making 34 saves for his first shutout of the season, helping the Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes 1-0 Friday night.

Jason Pominville scored for Buffalo, which won its seventh road game. "We've been a pretty good road team," Pominville said. "We're happy with the way we play on the road."

Carolina has lost seven of its last eight games to sink to the bottom of the Southeast Division standings and prompt speculation about the job security of coach Paul Maurice. The Hurricanes have only scored nine goals in their last seven losses and have been shut out in back-to-back games after losing 4-0 in Montreal on Wednesday.

"The zero on our side tonight and the zero on our side against Montreal are two completely different animals," Maurice said. "We had maybe some chances in Montreal but gave up 10 to get each one we got."
Back-up goalie Brian Boucher made 19 saves for the Hurricanes while starting in place of Cam Ward. Boucher has yet to post a win this season.

Pominville extended his point streak to six games midway through the first period. With the Sabres on the power play, Pominville finished a scramble in front of Boucher by smacking a rebound into the top-right corner of the net. Pominville has three goals and five assists during his streak. Thomas Vanek got an assist on the play for his eighth point (three goals, five assists) in his last six games. Vanek and Pominville have combined on a goal 19 times this season.

Buffalo Sabres defeat Winnipeg Jets in overtime

The Buffalo Sabres made the Winnipeg Jets pay the price for their constant parade to the penalty box. The Sabres scored 4 powerplay goals, including the game winner with less than 30 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Sabres a 6-5 victory. The Sabres overcome four deficits to win for the third consecutive game.

Vanek's tip-in of a shot by Jason Pominville was the Sabres' fourth power-play goal of the night -- on their 12th advantage. It came with Blake Wheeler in the penalty box for hooking. The Sabres worked the puck around to Pominville in the left circle, where he ripped a shot that Vanek tipped past goalie Ondrej Pavelec. The goal was Vanek's second of the game and 10th of the season.

Buffalo Sabres Updates

The Buffalo Sabres have only had 1 goaltender since the spring of 2007. Ryan Miller is Buffalo's franchise goalie and "the guy". Recently though, Jhonas Enroth's solid play has had fans asking for the backup to see more action, especially when Miller has struggled. Enroth is 2-0 this season, and while Miller has stolen a game in Montreal, he is 4-4 and has given up bad goals in clutch situations, most recently against the Panthers at home. Miller is the guy, but Enroth is looming. After Miller got pulled against the Philadelphia Flyers after giving up 3 goals on 11 shots and Enroth pitching a 15 shot shutout, the thought is that Ruff may bring Enroth back for another start this weekend.

Also, it looks as though Mike Weber, as I think he should be, will get in the lineup against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. Gragnani was taken off the powerplay at practice and replaced with Derek Roy. The Sabres will be going up against a physical team in the Flyers, and after blowing several late leads, I think the Sabres should get Weber his first action of the season. Also, Ville Leino will now he centering Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville. Upon the poor start by the Sabres, Ruff put the lines back to what they were, with Adam on the Vanek and Pominville line and Gerbe on the Gaustad and Kaleta line. It will be interesting to see what happens with Tyler Ennis when he comes back, as they have not played well since he has gone out of the lineup.

Sabres Get Out To Fast Start

The Buffalo Sabres got out to a fast start this season, picking up 2 wins while on their European road trip. On Friday, the Sabres beat the Anaheim Ducks by the score of 4-1. They would then go out on Saturday and defeat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2. The line up Thomas Vanek, Luke Adam and Jason Pominville has been off to a great start so far, and Ryan Miller is looking very sharp.
The Sabres have their First Niagara Center opener this Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.