Red & Black Hockey

Entries with the tag: Buffalo+Sabres

Canes come crashing to earth

by David Lee on 04/10/09 at 09:12 PM ET
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On Thursday night, the Sabres ended the Hurricanes incredibly hot streaks with a crushing 5-1 win. Carolna’s twelve game home winning streak and their nine game overall winning streak were snapped. Cam Ward also lost his first game in a long while and Michael Leighton appeared in a game for the first time since beating the Sharks on February 5.

While Buffalo was the team who traveled overnight (through customs, no less!) and was playing the back end of a back-to-back, they looked like the sharper team. All night.

The population of Pominville was increased by two as Jason Pominville scored two goals and first star status.

Ryan Miller was razor-sharp, stopping everything the Canes threw at him. He took a shutout all the way to the final 30 seconds of play, but Eric Staal spoiled his fun by potting his 40th of the season.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, playoffs,

Canes-Sabres

by David Lee on 04/09/09 at 08:43 AM ET
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On Thursday night, the Hurricanes will play their final home game of the season. Their opponent will be the Sabres, who have a lot to play for tonight. Carolina is fighting to get to fourth place, and they’re trying to set a new franchise record with a tenth consecutive win and a thirteenth straight home win.

Weeks ago, I predicted that this game would be “epic” in proportions. At the beginning of March, I figured that both teams would be scratching and clawing just to get in the playoffs and that the winner of this game would determine that eighth spot. Even in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have forseen the run they’ve been on. Buffalo is indeed fighting for that last spot. They will also need outside help.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, playoffs,

The homestretch

by David Lee on 03/16/09 at 09:13 PM ET
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I’ve just taken a couple of days away from the blog, as I am forced to do twice a year when work puts everything else on hold for an entire weekend. Now, back to the hockey business.

Carolina has eleven games remaining and they are clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot. Both Florida and Buffalo, who are chasing, have games in hand and could easily catch the Canes. There is a possibility that the Rangers or even Montréal could collapse down the stretch and fall out of the race. However, Carolina should keep their focus on taking care of their own business.

I figure they’ll need 95 points to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, which means they’ll have to earn 16 out of 22 points down the stretch. 7-2-2. 8-3-0. 6-1-4. Whatever. They may be able to do it with 93, but either way, it’s going to be tough. They’re going to have to win, and it isn’t going to be easy. Of their 11 remaining games, three are against the Devils, and two of those are in the swamp. They will have home games against playoff teams Washington, Rangers and the smokin’ hot Penguins. Sure, they have two home games against the lowly Islanders, but that doesn’t do much to soften the blow of having to play three against the Devils.

Carolina is, without a doubt, going to have to “steal” some of their final games and they won’t be able to give any away.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Montreal+Canadiens, New+York+Rangers, playoff+picture,

Ward, Canes shut out Sabres

by David Lee on 02/15/09 at 09:02 PM ET
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One night after looking like the worst team in hockey, the Hurricanes came out and got an impressive and crucial road win by shutting out the Sabres 3-0.

Eric Staal was a one-man wrecking crew in the first period. He scored a power play goal by grabbing a puck out of the air, gloving it legally to himself, then firing a shot from the high slot. It hit a Buffalo player on the way in and got past Miller.

Later, with a delayed penalty in hand, Staal worked his way through a trio of matadors and fired a shot from the low slot off Miller. Chad LaRose pounced on the rebound to make it 2-0. Staal had the primary assist and Anton Babchuk got the other.

As bad as Carolina looked in the previous two games, they came out with a ton of jump in the first period and set the tone of the game.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Cam+Ward, Carolina+Hurricanes, Eric+Staal,

Canes face “must win” in Buffalo

by David Lee on 02/15/09 at 04:08 PM ET
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After two very disappointing home losses, Carolina will venture back on the road for a 6:00 game in Buffalo. The Sabres are currently in eighth place with 64 points while Carolina is in ninth with 59. With the mighty Bruins coming to town on Tuesday, it is absolutely essential to get a win tonight.

While Carolina is five points out of eighth, they’re just eight points behind fourth place Philadelphia, but would find themselves in tenth place behind Pittsburgh if they lose in regulation. Meanwhile, a win would give the Canes some excellent momentum heading into Glen Wesley night on Tuesday. Following that is a six game sequence during which Carolina should get at least eight points.

Last night was devastating. Not just because of the loss, but the way they looked for two games in a row. There is a bit of encouraging news, though. In nine back-to-back situations this season, Carolina has put up a 7-2-0 mark on the back end. However, Carolina hasn’t won at the HSBC Center since game 4 of the 2006 Eastern Conference Final.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes,

Another tough three game stretch for Carolina

by David Lee on 02/14/09 at 04:01 PM ET
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Starting tonight, Carolina will have a tough three-game stretch that may go a long way towards determining their postseason fate. With just 27 games remaining, they’re all important, but I get the feeling that unless Carolina secures three or more points in the next three games, it’s going to be another spring of tee times and family vacations.

Tonight, Carolina will wear their third sweaters against the Blue Jackets. Columbus is in almost the same situation that Carolina is in. The teams have identical records and both sit in ninth place with 59 points. However, Carolina has a tougher climb to get inside the bubble. The Jackets are three points out of climbing all the way to fifth place, Carolina is six points out of a playoff spot at all.

Columbus won last night at home against Detroit. While they are playing the back end of a back-to-back, Carolina is on the front end. They’ll head to Buffalo tomorrow for a big matchup that Carolina will need to win.

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Tags: Boston+Bruins., Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Columbus+Blue+Jackets,

The Eastern Playoff bubble

by David Lee on 01/25/09 at 04:20 PM ET
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As we hit the all-star break, it’s about time to start seriously thinking about the playoff picture. In the East, it’s clear that Boston, Washington, New Jersey, Montréal, Rangers and Philadelphia will be there. As of today, Buffalo and Carolina are in, while Florida and Pittsburgh are just barely on the outside of that playoff bubble.

While Toronto and Tampa are less than ten points out of a spot as of today, I don’t think they’ll be contenders come April. After viewing the remaining schedules for the four teams I figure to be the last contenders, I’m predicting that the final two spots will be held by Pittsburgh and Carolina.

I’ll start with Buffalo, currently in seventh, and work my way down to the tenth place Penguins.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes, Florida+Panthers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, playoff+picture,

I don’t hate the Sabres

by David Lee on 01/16/09 at 04:26 PM ET
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On Saturday, the Hurricanes will be visiting Buffalo for the first time this season. I won’t be able to watch because I have a family commitment, but I’ll DVR the game for later viewing. This is a new rivalry that was pretty much born in the 2006 Eastern Conference finals. Since then, Canes fans and Sabres fans have pretty much been at each others’ throats.
Some folks down here treat Carolina-Buffalo like it’s Duke and UNC. It’s all about hate.

This is a very unfashionable thing to say, but the truth of the matter is that I don’t hate Buffalo. I don’t even dislike Buffalo. I tried to buy into that system. I even partook of the Hatorade briefly, but it never felt right. While other Canes fans will swear up and down that every Sabres fan is the spawn of Mephistopheles and so on and so forth, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Sabres fans. I kinda liked the Sabres before this whole thing started, and I still kinda like them.

The paragraphs below will explain. The anecdotes are related to hockey, but are mostly about personal stuff.

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Tags: Buffalo+Sabres, Carolina+Hurricanes,