Zubrus' Impact And City Unity

Dainius Zubrus, a quality player with great size, practiced yesterday for the first time with the team. The 28 year old 6'4", 225 pound Lithuanian force figures to fit in very well in Buffalo's high octane five person attack and defense.

Buffalo often uses their fast defensemen in on the rush, and when the defense does join the attack, Buffalo has it's best offensive outputs. In the recent four game offensive tear, the defense has tallied nine (3+6) points. That's very good, especially because most of the time Buffalo's defense is keeping possesion of the puck down behind the net, and often the forwards are left playing point.

Zubrus isn't the player that will aggravate the opposition, but he will play a decent, consistent game. He doesn't fight often, and isn't known for being a huge open ice hitter. However, he does finish a lot of checks on the wall. He tends to have sloppy hands; about five or so of his goals have been Alexander Ovechkin bouncing the puck off of him in front of the net. He has also missed a fair share of goals with an open side of the net, shooting the puck wide off the pass.

Afinigenov has played with Zubrus on the Russian World Cup team and other times earlier in their career. They are excited to be on the same team, and even after Afinigenov playing with Thomas Vanek all year, I'd like to see Zubrus and Afinigenov on the same line especially with the amazing play of the recent Vanek/Roy/Stafford line.

When and if Tim Connolly comes back, I would like to see these lines and defensive pairings:

Pominville/Briere/Paetsch
Hecht/Drury/Kotalik
Afinigenov/Connolly/Zubrus
Vanek/Roy/Stafford

Lydman/Tallinder
Kalinin/Numminen
Spacek/Campbell

I'd like to see Kaleta, Mair, MacArthur, and Peters on our bench. Paetsch can play defense if someone gets hurt, as can Pominville. Also, none of these lines are a number one line except for Lydman and Tallinder, who may the best defensive pairing in the NHL. Buffalo is known for it's three number two lines...but with the players coming back from injury and the young guys who have been so potent, look for two number ones, two number twos, and a big guy line ready to go if we need them in a game.

Lindy Ruff put Dainius Zubrus on the spot in his first practice as a Sabre. Ruff skated to center and placed a puck in the face off circle and challenged Zubrus. "Take a slapshot. If it goes in, you guys are done. You miss, you make the team do sprints." Zubrus put it right down the pipe. Ruff's strategy to make sure the Sabres know they are all one team, one family, is excellent. He did the same thing when the rookies came up, forcing the rest of the team to take them in.

Zubrus in his career with Washington wore number nine. No one knew what number he'd be in Buffalo, since center Derek Roy wore nine. Roy offered the number to a stunned Zubrus. He politely declined.

"[Roy] said, 'If you want to take it, take it," Zubrus said Wednesday, a day after Buffalo acquired him in a deal with Washington. "I said, 'Are you kidding me? ... No way.'"

"They were laughing about it, but then [Roy] said, "Take it. Take it,' " Zubrus said. "I'm like, "Are you kidding me? You've been here. There's no way I would take it.' He did offer. He's a nice guy."

Zubrus will wear number 15.

Welcome to Bills Country/SABRES NATION

Most times, a city wouldn't look twice at a news article on their home coach being fined. Here, in Western New York, a la SABRES NATION, it isn't that way. Starting from our management and production that have been here since their playing days - Rob Ray and Mike Robataille- to our announcing icon Rick Jeanneret, the Buffalo area is unlike any other.

In Bills Country, the motto is Community. Marv Levy built it during the '90s, and it held the Country together through four Super Bowl losses. It's why Ralph Wilson brought Marv back for a second go-round with the team. Celebrities such as famed play-by-play man Van Miller create community - they're adored by every citizen of Buffalo.

In response to the NHL's decision to fine coach Lindy Ruff (Sabre in his playing days as well) for sending out his fourth line, SABRES NATION responded. A local pizza shop decided to take 10% of each sale and put it toward Lindy Ruff's fine, video here. Ruff's response was nothing short of happy, second video here, and I'm sure that him and the players both realized the amount that Buffalo cares for them. I also think B. Thomas Golisano is finally realizing what he did in saving this team not two years ago.

Here in SABRES NATION and Bills Country, we're a different breed. We've been brought together through different sports and different failures. Whether it's the No Goal, Wide Right, Music City Miracle, Side Goal, or a freak show of injuries sidelining our respective Championships - we still stand strong. The dedication to our home teams is and hopefully will always be fantastic. We're not just Western New York...We're the Western New York FAMILY!