Well, there you have it, SABRES NATION. With the 2-0 blanking of the Capitals yesterday, Buffalo became the NHL regular season champions. That thing on the right, the President's Trophy, is now in the hands of the Buffalo Sabres for the first time ever.
Derek Roy and Tim Connolly scored yesterday, Ryan Miller had his fourth straight great performance and the Sabres completed their second shutout of the season.
Roy scored his 20th goal of the year. That makes SEVEN Sabres with 20 or more goals. Roy, Daniel Briere, Maxim Afinogenov, Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, and Dainius Zubrus all have reached that plateau and all have 50 or more points. Not to mention, had they played closer to full seasons, both Ales Kotalik and Drew Stafford would have most likely had at least 20 goals and maybe 50 points.
Jochen Hecht sits at 19 goals and narrowly missed an open net yesterday afternoon in the waning seconds of the game. His linemates, Briere and Pominville, tried to feed him all game, but the shots he got off were from bad angles. Let's hope for his 20th today.
The Sabres have played excellent defense in the last few games, starting with the dominating win at Pittsburgh 4-1. That is in large part due to the new defensive scheme the Sabres have employed, and partially due to the improved play of Ryan Miller.
The Sabres have began using a trap-style scheme. If you recall my earlier posts about the Neutral Zone Trap, you'll remember that it isn't conducive to a high powered offense. Lindy Ruff has found a way for it to work without sacrificing our greatest asset. Instead of waiting for a mistake to capitalize on the opposition, we run our offense like we always have. The only change is that our defensemen don't rush everytime- only when we're down, have a quality scoring chance, or late in the game, sometimes.
On the backcheck, our forwards skate harder to get back but turn and face the opposition around center ice. This allows us to save our energy by backskating and forcing opponents to turn the puck over. In turn this helps goalie Ryan Miller because there will be many less odd man rushes and quality shots against.
Today's matchup is highlighted by one main thing. It's Marty vs. the Sabres. It's going to be weird being competitive against the former 'future of the Sabres', but that's how it goes. Also, if the Sabres win in regulation, they will have as many wins as the Flyers have points.
Go get 'em, Buffalo!
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