Wednesday 14 December 2011

Buffalo Sabers review so far

it is near the halfway point so far in the NHL season for The Buffalo Sabers. They currently sit 7th place and 8 points back of the Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Flyers. For a team this talented for me this seems very surprising, i know its early, but after 30 games a team like the Sabers being in 7th place should not be the case. Too many times they have just gave up through the 3rd periods of games and they tend to rely on Ryan Miller of course having Tyler Myers out definitely does not help. nevertheless they have been giving up way too many goals then they should, there special teams is lacking both on the kill and on the power play have been struggling a of late. with players like Derek Roy, Jason Poimminville, and especially Thomas Vanek there should be no excuses on why this power play has been struggling so much. 

One player who has struggled after having such a great season is Villie Leino. after signing a six year 27 million deal with the Sabers expectations certainly had built for this young former Flyer forward. so far he has not contributed the way the Sabers organization had hoped the 27 million man would. he currently has 3 goals and is on pace for only 8 goals, 17 assist, a total of 27 points, and a plus-minus of -7. That to me does not equal good stats for a multi million dollar player like Leino whether hes injured or just struggling to fit in its not helping the Sabers.
 
Consistency has also been a big issue with the Sabers. they can;t seem to stream 3 or more wins together instead the head the other direction in loosing consecutive games. Last Year after loosing one or 2 games they would go on a run of 3 or 4 wins. that does not seem the case this year.
Another thing that has happened with the Sabers is talks of Lindy Ruff going in the hot seat. Lindy Ruff has been with the team since i can remember  and i do not think he has had this much pressure and eyes in the Buffalo area. people have called for him to get the axe after this unexpected start. I being a Sabers fan would agree. in the playoffs they have left  way too early as they should and sometimes quite easily have left  the playoffs.   i feel if this season the Sabers somehow don't make the playoffs or end up leaving early i would not be shocked if Lindy Ruff is relived of his duties. sometimes a change can help a team and this would only help the team. 


Overall I am not saying this team is a bad team i am simply saying that they could fix up some wounds that they have suffered early on this season.  offense wise they have no issues other than the power play. It is the defensive and clutch aspect that needs work for this hockey team. GO Sabers G0