Is he dead, Gorilla? A Buffalo Sabres Season

[DmX0rZ]

GO PK !!!

And why the hell is Ramo starting in Montreal, what the hell happened to Price ?

[HeroWorship]

Injures have ravaged Sabres defense; will Butler remain?


Chris Butler looks like a horse

Mitchell Shinder

The month of November was very much a painful one.

Finishing the month at 7-4-4, the team was hit with two critical blows to the defense, at a time when the defense was struggling. Captain Ian White was injured blocking a shot and Joe Corvo separated his shoulder after a hit. Both are expected to miss a good chunk of December too.

"It's unfortunate for this to happen to both Ian and Joe" said Sabres Head Coach Bob Boughner. "They've been solid so far, and losing them really hurts."

But with injures come recalls, and two defenseman are playing for their chance at cracking the top six. Chris Butler, who was re-signed to a three-year deal in the off-season, and Mike Weber, who began last season on the Sabres, are making quite the impression on the lineup.

Both Weber and Butler are +3, and Butler made a splash with five assists in the Sabres 7-2 romp of the Philadelphia Flyers.

"He's more confident than he was last season" said Sabres General Manager Timothy O'Donnell. "He's really playing well so far, and I have seen a player that isn't struggling, a player who can move the puck and create chances for the offense."

But there is one problem with the theory, and it involves Butler's contract. His three-year deal is a one-way contract, which means he'll have to clear waivers if the team sends him down. The Sabres claimed Rostislav Klesla off waivers from Columbus, and knows other teams are hurting for defensive help.

The team has two defenseman set to be unrestricted free agents, Shaone Morrisonn, and Corvo. Both players have been solid all season, and it would be a surprise if one of them are either traded or waived. Though O'Donnell did once say to "expect the unexpected".

In Weber's case, he can be called-up/sent down without any ramifications. Weber is in his fifth season in the organization, and it's been a tough journey to make it big. The 2006 second round pick is in a make or break season which could see he develop into a consistent NHL defenseman, or tweener.

"We still have high hopes for him" said O'Donnell.

Buffalo Sabres 2011-12 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Oct 4	vs Atlanta Thrashers	Lost, 3-2
Oct 6	vs New York Rangers	Lost, 6-3
Oct 8	at Montreal Canadiens	Lost, 6-2
Oct 10	at Toronto Maple Leafs	Lost, 4-3 (OT)
Oct 12	vs Colorado Avalanche	Lost, 5-3
Oct 14	vs Edmonton Oilers	Won, 6-3
Oct 16	vs San Jose Sharks	Won, 7-5
Oct 18	vs Montreal Canadiens	Won, 3-2 (OT)
Oct 20	vs Toronto Maple Leafs	Lost, 3-1
Oct 23	vs Philadelphia Flyers	Won, 4-1
Oct 26	vs Tampa Bay Lightning	Won, 5-3
Oct 28	vs Washington Capitals	Lost, 3-1
Oct 30	at Detroit Red Wings	Won, 4-3
Nov 1	at Minnesota Wild	Lost, 3-2 (SO)
Nov 3	at Edmonton Oilers	Lost, 3-1
Nov 7	vs Montreal Canadiens	Lost, 4-3 (OT)
Nov 8	at Florida Panthers	Won, 4-3
Nov 9	at New York Islanders	Won, 5-2
Nov 11	at New Jersey Devils	Won, 5-3
Nov 16	vs Anaheim Ducks	Lost, 6-3
Nov 18	vs Calgary Flames	Won, 3-2 (OT)
Nov 20	vs Los Angeles Kings	Won, 2-1 (OT)
Nov 22	at Boston Bruins	Lost, 2-1 (SO)
Nov 23	at Ottawa Senators	Lost, 4-3 (OT)
Nov 24	at Ottawa Senators	Lost, 4-2
Nov 26	at Philadelphia Flyers	Won, 7-2
Nov 28	at Pittsburgh Penguins	Lost, 4-0
Nov 30	vs Ottawa Senators	Won, 2-1
Dec 2	vs Ottawa Senators
Dec 3	vs New Jersey Devils
Dec 5	vs New York Islanders
Dec 6	vs New York Islanders
Dec 8	vs New York Rangers
Dec 10	at Nashville Predators
Dec 12	at Columbus Blue Jackets
Dec 14	at Vancouver Canucks
Dec 16	vs Boston Bruins
Dec 18	vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Dec 21	at Atlanta Thrashers
Dec 23	at Washington Capitals
Dec 27	at New York Rangers
Dec 29	at Toronto Maple Leafs

NHL League Leaders - Updated: Dec 1, 2011
Points		Pts.	Goals		G
	1. Rick Nash (CLB)	40		1. Kyle Okposo (NYI)	20
	2. Ilya Kovalchuk (NJ)	36		2. Rick Nash (CLB)	19
	3. Jakub Voracek (CLB)	33		3. Ilya Kovalchuk (NJ)	18
	4. Kyle Okposo (NYI)	32		4. Marian Hossa (CHI)	18
	5. Alexander Ovechkin (WSH)	31		5. Alexander Ovechkin (WSH)	17
Assists		A	Plus/Minus		+/-
	1. Travis Zajac (NJ)	25		1. Marian Gaborik (NYR)	+18
	2. Jakub Voracek (CLB)	23		2. Andrew Ference (BOS)	+17
	3. Sami Salo (CAR)	23		3. Michal Rozsival (NYR)	+16
	4. Eric Staal (CAR)	22		4. Daniel Girardi (NYR)	+16
	5. Rick Nash (CLB)	21		5. Brandon Dubinsky (NYR)	+16
Rookie Point Leader		Pts.	Rookie Goal Leader		G
	1. P.K. Subban (MTL)	18		1. Chris Bourque (PIT)	9
	2. Chris Bourque (PIT)	13		2. Tomas Tater (DET)	5
	3. Tomas Tater (DET)	12		3. P.K. Subban (MTL)	5
	4. Mattias Ritola (DET)	11		4. Kirill Kabanov (NYI)	4
	5. John Carlson (WSH)	10		5. Nino Niederreiter (NYI)	4
Rookie Assist Leader		A	Rookie Plus/Minus Leader		+/-
	1. P.K. Subban (MTL)	13		1. Nicolas Blanchard (CAR)	+7
	2. John Carlson (WAS)	10		2. Evan Brophey (CHI)	+5
	3. Ray Macias (COL)	9		3. Mike Weber (BUF)	+3
	4. Mattias Ritola (MTL)	8		4. Chris Bourque (PIT)	+3
	5. Luke Adam (BUF)	7		5. John Carlson (WSH)	+2

NHL League Leaders - Updated: Dec 1, 2011
Games Played		GP	Wins		W
	1. Marty Turco (CLB)	27		1. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)	17
	2. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)	25		2. Carey Price (MTL)	14
	3. Cam Ward (CAR)	24		3. Marty Turco (CLB)	13
	4. Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT)	24		4. Ryan Miller (BUF-CHI)	13
	5. Martin Brodeur (NJ)	24		5. Martin Brodeur (NJ)	13
Losses		L	Goals Against Average		G.AA
	1. Pekka Rinne (NSH)	15		1. Nikolai Khabibulin (EDM)	2.53
	2. Marty Turco (CLB)	14		2. Martin Brodeur (NJ)	2.54
	3. Jean-Sebastien Giguere (TOR)	14		3. Carey Price (MTL)	2.56
	4. Cam Ward (CAR)	13		4. Pekka Rinne (NSH)	2.60
	5. Jimmy Howard (DET)	13		5. Miikka Kiprusoff (CAL)	2.67
Save Percentage		SV%	Shutouts		SO
	1. Martin Brodeur (NJ)	.921		1. Cam Ward (CAR)	3
	2. Pekka Rinne (NSH)	.915		2. Jonas Hiller (ANA)	3
	3. Nikolai Khabibulin (EDM)	.915		3. Jimmy Howard (DET)	2
	4. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)	.913		4. Martin Brodeur (NJ)	2
	5. Carey Price (MTL)	.912		5. Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT)	2

[size=large]BY THE NUMBERS[/size]

Points: 31 (12th)
Goals For: 87 (10th)
Goals Against: 91 (25th)
Power Play: 24.6% (5th)
Penalty Kill: 63.4% (30th)
Home: 8-6-1
Away: 5-4-2

NHL Injury Report

Buffalo Sabres (2)

D Ian White (Elbow Surgery)- December 19, 2011
D Joe Corvo (Separated Shoulder)- December 27th, 2011

Columbus Blue Jackets (1)

RW Jared Boll (Broken Right Foot)- January 14th, 2012

Montreal Canadiens (1)

LW Travis Moen (Hip Pointer)- December 4th, 2011

Ottawa Senators (2)

C Jesse Winchester (Broken Hand)- December 12th, 2011
D Jared Cowen (Hip Pointer)- January 26th, 2012

Philadelphia Flyers (1)

C Blair Betts (Elbow Surgery)- December 13th, 2011

St. Louis Blues (1)

C T.J. Hensick (Wrist Sprain)- December 11th, 2011

NHL Transactions

11.15.2011: The New York Rangers sign center Joey Hishon to a three-year deal
11.25.2011: The Columbus Blue Jackets sign goaltender Nathan Lawson to a one-year deal

Comments (1)

DmX0rZ: GO PK !!!

And why the hell is Ramo starting in Montreal, what the hell happened to Price ?

Carey Price is still the starting goaltender. Ramo had a shutout and was among the league leaders because of it.

Subban will probably compete with Ondrej Pavelec for ROY honors.

[Dynasty]

Nice job bringing in some serious talent. will be watching to see how they gel

What was your thoughts while trading miller?

[mnwildgophers]

I just read through this whole thread, it was a great read and congrats on winning the cup (belated)! Were your sliders too easy last year, I think you said you were going to try harder ones so that should be exciting. Love the move to get Kane and Keith, even though giving up Miller is tough.

I can't believe my Wild is in 3rd in the conference, didn't think I'd ever get to see when that would happen again. :P

Good luck on the rest of the year, it seems like draft picks don't matter as much, is this more a philosophical standpoint or do you think that these particular moves (such as getting Mason) were worth those picks?

[goosedennis]

Call up the cyborg manufacturing plant that created Tyler Myers and ask them to use cheaper materials for this year's model.

[bthomp05]

Excellent write-up again but a tough month. Hopefully December is more giving.

I still can`t get my head around you trading Miller - I understand why you did it and I do believe you came out better - but wow..

How are your draft picks from the beginning of your campaign doing (The ones you stared out with on defualt)?

[bthomp05]

Quote: Originally Posted by mnwildgophers

it seems like draft picks don't matter as much, is this more a philosophical standpoint or do you think that these particular moves (such as getting Mason) were worth those picks?

HeroWorship is a Quinn Clone :-)

[mnwildgophers]

Quote: Originally Posted by bthomp05

HeroWorship is a Quinn Clone :-)

Haha, well I have noticed that your players don't seem to progress much. It's kind of odd, like I played one season with the Wild, and I think Granlund went up 2 ratings after a full year to a 74, but maybe it just takes a while like real life.