jsb Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 (edited) With slightly more than a quarter of the season remaining your Buffalo Sabres take on the Colorado Avalanche late tonight. With admittedly an ever diminishing chance to make the playoffs the Sabres must break the recent league trend of losing coming off of the 1 week break and continue its recent good play of winning 3 out of the past 4 games. With 3 of the next 4 games versus the weaker sisters of the league, Colorado and Arizona, the Sabres are in must win territory. With the expected return of Girgensons and Reinhart, the Sabres will be their healthiest coming into this game as they have all season. As the trade deadline approaches Kane, Kulikov and Franson appear to be the consensus picks to possibly go with a recent article of all 3 being on the 40 most coveted players to possibly be traded. Depending on the outcome of the games leading to the deadline will the Sabres be sellers, will Gionta agree to be moved, is Foligno available?? Also speaking of trade deadline a barrage of rumors of the Avalanche possibly going into tank mode by trading several of their young stars including Duchene and Landeskog. Scouts should again crowd the arena checking on both teams roster and play. Interesting Sabres stats P. Play Point Leaders 5V5 Point Leaders SOG Leaders +/- Leaders Okposo 20 Kane 26 Kane 165 ROR +5 Ristolainen 20 Gionta 22 Eichel 157 Bailey +5 ROR 18 Samson 22 Okposo 142 McCabe +4 Samson 15 ROR 20 ROR 140 Fedun +3 Moulson 14 Eichel 20 Risto 138 Carrier +2 LETS GO BUFFALO Colorado Avalanche News Zadarov out for the season with a broken ankle Erik Johnson and Rene Bourque expected to return to lineup tonight Will Jarome Iginla be moved, is he a future HOFer NHL scouts have been attending games in packs, including a total of 24 at the Colorado-Buffalo matchup last Thursday. Five were at the Kings-Avs game Tuesday. While the reason for that involves a lot more than Iginla, it also is an audition, a chance to show that he could make tangible contributions to a team in the postseason. That’s potentially a tough sell, given his single-digit goal production this season and the fact that he no longer is a top six forward, even for the worst team in the league, in addition to getting time at the point on the power play. ESPN Preview The Buffalo Sabres are rested and ready for a playoff push, and their first stop is in Denver to play the lowly Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night. The Sabres (26-24-10) have not played since Sunday and enjoyed their turn at a break that every NHL team has had once in January or February. Buffalo resides in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, but it is just six points behind Toronto for third in the Atlantic Division and the New York Islanders for the second wild card. With 22 games left, points are at a premium, and there's no better place to start a surge than the friendly confines of the Pepsi Center, where the Avalanche (16-40-3) have won just seven of their 23 games. A win might be tough considering how teams have performed in their first game after the five-day break. Entering Friday, the collective record is 4-12-4 after the bye. Saturday's contest is a quick two-game road trip for Buffalo. The Sabres play at Arizona on Sunday before returning home to face Nashville on Tuesday. Buffalo, which practiced in Denver late afternoon Friday, is expected to get forward Zemgus Girgensons back after he missed seven games with an unspecified injury. Girgensons' ailment was classified as a mid-body injury, but coach Dan Bylsma referred to it as a "full-body injury" before the bye. Whatever kept Girgensons out is not an issue now and he is set to center the Sabres' third line against the Avalanche. They are also expected to get back forward Sam Reinhart, who missed two games before the bye because of the flu. The Sabres will need to make a move to make room for Girgensons' return from injured reserve, with Nick Baptiste the likely candidate to return to Rochester of the American Hockey League. While Buffalo is fighting for the playoffs, the only drama surrounding Colorado is if anything will happen before Wednesday's trading deadline. The Avalanche, last in the NHL in points and wins, are sellers if they want to be. There have been rumors for months surrounding nearly every player other than Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen -- two players general manager Joe Sakic has deemed untouchable -- but so far the only move was trading Cody McLeod to Nashville last month. The Avalanche are adding two players to the lineup without making a deal. Forward Rene Bourque is returning after missing 11 games with head and neck injuries suffered against Los Angeles on Feb. 1 and defenseman Erik Johnson is playing after missing nearly three months with a broken fibula. Johnson will be sporting extra padding after a shot by Dallas' Tyler Seguin on Dec. 3 shelved him. "In hindsight, I wish I had it before, but those are the kind of adjustments you make after the fact when things like that happen," he told HockeyBuzz.com after practice Friday. "It feels good and I wouldn't be saying I'm ready to go if it wasn't perfect." One of the bright spots in the disappointing season is the play of Rantanen, the team's first-round draft pick from 2015. After spending most of last season and the start of this year with San Antonio of the AHL, Rantanen has come on strong in late January and February. He has eight goals in the last 14 games, including his first career hat trick against Montreal on Feb. 7. "I feel comfortable after every game," Rantanen said recently. "I'm trying to put pucks more to the net and trying to shoot more, go to the net more. That's how you play well in this league." Edited February 25, 2017 by jsb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Bout time, that was a long week... Go Sabres kick some Colorado *ss... stay off the grass... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Let's Go, Buffalo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 That doesn't say 10 pm does it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTS Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Curious to see how their game back goes. Probably going to miss the game... unless it happens to be on a TV wherever I am tonight and I can sneak in peeks while out with my wife. More likely we end up at a place with no TVs though. Here we go.. the next week will provide us something to talk about either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 That doesn't say 10 pm does it? Yep and I got no qualms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That Aud Smell Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 8 pm start, mountain time? Denver likes to party. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunomatic Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Thanks JSB. Nice work. I suppose we'll see how serious the Sabres are about making a push. I'd also include them in the group of weak sisters or not far off. GMTM has work to do. Anyways...GO SABRES ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norcal Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 I'll bet Jacks ankle feels the best its felt since the injury. Ready for a playoff push! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Frig!! That's 11 PM in the real world. One more time, with feeling ... GO SABRES!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 zesty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampD Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Tonight, all that metal we heard singing the last time we played them will be goals. 6 - 1 for the Miller shutout. Destination: Playoffs. First stop: Colorado. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Not that I need an excuse to nap but this is sure a good reason to. Go Sabres! I hope they don't test the pot shops before the game, might be their only opportunity before it gets shut down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brawndo Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Lehner in net Same #Sabres lines as yesterday: Bailey-ROR-Okposo, Kane-Eichel-Reinhart, Foligno-Girgensons-Gionta, Moulson-ERod-Ennis. DLo and Falk extra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Lehner in net Same #Sabres lines as yesterday: Bailey-ROR-Okposo, Kane-Eichel-Reinhart, Foligno-Girgensons-Gionta, Moulson-ERod-Ennis. DLo and Falk extra Does Ennis deserve to be on fourth line? I dunno Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJFIVEOH Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Teams coming off a bye week have lost 12 straight games. The last team to win, played another team coming of a bye week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberry Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Moulson - Erod - Ennis. I'm liking that line. won't be watching live though, 04.00 am game start is a bit to early for me, and I have to work in the afternoon :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Teams coming off a bye week have lost 12 straight games. The last team to win, played another team coming of a bye week. Different variables here. A team desperately needing a win to keep playoff hopes alive, getting a couple key players back from injury, playing the last place team in the league. Must win, should win. Not saying that we will, but I'm hoping the players can throw that stat out the window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudacek Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Does Ennis deserve to be on fourth line? I dunno With his play, yes. He had his chance with Kyle and Jack, he's not going to bump the guys on Jack's line and Gio and Marcus are a much better fit as a checking line. It's sad but without his quickness he doesn't accomplish much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthEbriate Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 I sense something. A presence I've not felt in a long time. It's a Sabres game night! But tonight is Kelowna at the T-birds in a scheduling conflict. Let's go Buffalo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sauve28 Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 With his play, yes. He had his chance with Kyle and Jack, he's not going to bump the guys on Jack's line and Gio and Marcus are a much better fit as a checking line. It's sad but without his quickness he doesn't accomplish much. He's been putting up points consistently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 With his play, yes. He had his chance with Kyle and Jack, he's not going to bump the guys on Jack's line and Gio and Marcus are a much better fit as a checking line. It's sad but without his quickness he doesn't accomplish much. I agree and have said as much a number of times here -- but, and I may just be optimistically kidding myself, I think I've seen more spring in his step in the last 3-4 games. The finish isn't there yet, but I think the legs are coming back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huckleberry Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 He's been putting up points consistently 8 points in 29 games :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Does Ennis deserve to be on fourth line? I dunno It does seem a bit high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-90 W Posted February 25, 2017 Report Share Posted February 25, 2017 Love these west coast games; I work 2-10 pm always nice to watch live rather than off the dvr! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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