The Sabres are a team with a good defense corps, an almost suspect offense and an excellent goaltender. All that put together equals a team that just missed out on the playoffs by two points. Maybe the defense could’ve been a bit tighter, or the offense could’ve been a bit more explosive, or maybe the goaltending could’ve been sharper. In the end the Sabres were just missing out on that extra piece. Who knows maybe they got that piece with the signing of Steve Montador or Mike Grier. What we do know is the Sabres should be in the battle for the final two, maybe three playoff spots towards the end of the season. It will be tough to say yes the Sabres will make the playoffs, because other teams in the East have gotten much better.
Goaltending is probably the Sabres’ strong point with Ryan Miller, even last season Miller had a sub par season going by his level of strong play he can put up. If the Sabres want any success this season or even make the playoffs it will all be on Ryan Miller. He may not be the captain, but more than ever now this is his team to lead and must put this Buffalo team on his back.
Luckily for Miller, and just like last season, he has a pretty good defense in front of him, but age may be a problem on the blue line. Still, the group of Joe DiPenta, Toni Lydman, Nathan Paetsch, Craig Rivet, Steve Montador, Andrej Sekera and Henrik Tallinder can all play. On defense the one anchor that has to lead by example is the team captain, Rivet. If he plays well on defense, the rest of the group will follow, and this is a seasoned and veteran group of defenders.
Scoring goals was troublesome at times for the Sabres and on other nights they would shoot the lights out. So consistency was a problem for the Sabres all season long, and they desperately need to correct that.
Of course leading the way in producing goals is Tomas Vanek who netted 40 goals last season and was a force on the power play. He too needs to improve his all around game and make better plays to set up his line mates. Who could blame the guy for shooting all the time, on most nights his line mates would be different or couldn’t score at all.
One player that seriously needs to play a full season just for himself is Tim Connolly; this guy cannot catch a break. Connolly is pretty much a point a game player, and in just 48 games he scored 47 points. If he can be healthy, he can make a difference in the Sabres’ playoff fortune.
The number one centre on this team is Derek Roy who had an off year going by his standards. Roy was just two years removed from a 32 goal, 81 point season. Last season’s 70 points was not good enough at all.
Another player that had a sub par season was Jason Pominville, only posting 66 points. He is a player that can hit at least 75-80 points in a season. Drew Stafford is a young up and comer on this team and had a solid 20 goal season, which should easily be matched and beaten.
OVERALL--> THIS BUFFALO TEAM NEEDS EVERYONE TO STEP UP BIG TIME AND PLAY TO THEIR TRUE POTENTIAL. THE GM NEEDS TO STEP IN AND ADD AT LEAST TWO MORE PIECES THAT WILL HELP IMPROVE THIS CLUB. ADDING GRIER AND MONTADOR WERE GOOD MOVES, BUT IT WAS JUST A SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT. IN THE END, THIS IS RYAN MILLER’S TEAM AND THE SABRES WILL GO AS FAR AS HE CAN TAKE THEM.
POSITIVE--> THIS TEAM HAS SOME GOOD SCORER’S IN VANEK, ROY, CONNOLLY, AND POMINVILLE. THEY ALL NEED TO STEP IT UP. THE DEFENSE IS GOOD BUT THEY COULD JUST BE A BIT BETTER TOO.
NEGATIVE--> INCONSISTENCY PLAGUED THIS TEAM ALL YEAR LONG AND NEED TO GET OUT OF RUTS, INSTEAD OF PROLONGING THEM.
X-FACTOR--> RYAN MILLER IS THE MAIN MAN ON THIS TEAM; IF HE PLAYS LIKE AN MVP THE SABRES SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.
SLEEPER PICK--> CLARKE MACARTHUR IS ONE YOUNG SOLID PLAYER WHO HAS PLAYED INCREASINGLY MORE GAMES AND HAS SEEN HIS GOAL TOTAL RISE IN EACH OF THE PAST THREE SEASONS. SCORING 20 GOALS THIS SEASON SHOULDN’T BE A STRETCH.
PREDICTION--> THE BUFFALO SABRES WILL BE IN THE THICK OF THE PLAYOFF RACE AT SEASON’S END, IT IS STILL UP THERE WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL ACTUALLY QUALIFY. THE SABRES SHOULD WIN BETWEEN 40-43 GAMES THIS SEASON.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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