Sabres - Isles Game 1 Recap

Workmanlike, methodical and somewhat boring. These are the words I would use to describe the Buffalo Sabres' game 1 win last night in the HSBC Arena. The Sabres clamped down hard on the Islanders last night and ground out a 4-1 win. Brian Campbell and Chris Drury did all of the damage as the Sabres jumped to an early 1-0 lead and then pulled away after the Islanders tied it 1-1 in the second.

The Islanders played fairly well in the game but just couldn't seem to match the Sabres depth, especially the 3rd and 4th lines. Wade Dubielewicz played a solid game and made all the saves he needed to but the Islanders could not muster enough offense to mount a serious threat in the crunch time. The best line for the Islanders throughout the night was the Ryan Smyth, Trent Hunter and Mike Sillinger line which seemed to give the Sabres some problems, especially down low. It appeared Ted Nolan tried to match the Smyth line with the Briere line as much as possible. It appeared to cause the Briere line alot of problems due to the physical presence Smyth's line brings. The Yashin and Satan line showed alot of effort for the Isles but couldn't crack the scoreboard.

The Sabres' lines of Afinigenov, Roy and Vanek had numerous shifts where they controlled play for long periods of time in the Isles zone. They were not rewarded on the scoreboard but looked extremely dangerous all night. The Islanders defense struggled significantly with the Sabres speed throughout the game. The addition of Tim Connolly seems to have significantly stabilized the Sabres' Power Play which accounted for two goals (they scored another 1 second after another power play expired) and the Sabres' penalty killers lead by Drury, who chipped in two goals as well, seemed to have their way. Danius Zubrus, Jochen Hecht, Drew Stafford and Adam Mair were extremely physical all night. With his two goals Defenseman Brian Campbell picked up where he left off in last year's playoffs. He looked like an all star defensman for the first time in some time and was a force on every shift he played.

All in all it was exactly the type of effort the Sabres needed and they did not disappoint. They controlled play and once they built their lead in the third period they checked the Islanders into submission. Game Two is Saturday night in the HSBC Arena. It appears to be a good possibility that Rick Dipietro will start in goal for the Islanders as he has been cleared by team doctors. Dipietro has missed the last few weeks with a concussion suffered in a late March game.

News and Notes:

Daniel Briere did not practice Friday as a precautionary matter. He was reported to have been dinged up from blocking a shot but was expected to play Saturday night at full strength. There had been speculation that a hard Aaron Asham hit extremely late in the game had possibly injured Briere but the Sabres deny this.

Paul Gaustad (ankle) has resumed light skating and there are indications he could play in Round Two if the Sabres make it that far. He suffered a sliced tendon in his ankle in a freak skate accident.

Heard from the Rafters

News and Notes:

- Lindy Ruff was quoted yesterday on WGR 550 saying that when Max Afinigenov, Ales Kotalik and Tim Connolly return they will not automatically supplant anyone from the team's top three lines. He stated that he will not break up the Briere or Roy lines and that Danius Zubrus and Chris Drury had developed a nice chemistry he was loathe to mess with. He then stated that the three could likely form a 4th line.

- The Sabres, in the midst of a 5-game unbeaten streak, face the Leafs in back-to-back games this weekend. They maintain a 5 point lead on Ottawa for first in the conference with two games in hand on the Senators. If the Sabres sweep the weekend set it appears likely they will all but seal up 1st overall in the Eastern Conference.

- On a side note, Leafs defenseman Thomas Kaberle is expected to play tonight for the Leafs. It will be his first game since being hit from the blindside in New Jersey.

- Ryan Miller has appeared noticeably sharper in the last two games. It is expected he will play both games this weekend.

- Danny Briere scored his 30th goal of the season Wednesday night against the Capitals. He marked the 4th Sabre to reach the 30 goal plateau. The others are Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville.

On the Injury Front:

Dan Paille - Lindy Ruff is quoted as saying Paille needs to get a few conditioning practices in prior to his return. It is expected he will be available by midweek.

Toni Lydman - Skated with the team Thursday. He appears to be about a week away from returning his upper body injury which many believe was a concussion.

Ales Kotalik - He is also skating with the team and could be a week away.

Max Afinigenov - No definitive timetable has been announced but appears he could return for the last few games of the regular season.

Tim Connolly - Has begun skating with the team. Lindy Ruff appears hopeful for a return about the same time as Afinigenov but has been unwilling to set a time frame.

Regier Goes All In.

Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier is a cautious man.
For his supporters this penchant for caution is his greatest asset. His detractors cite it as his greatest weakness. Whatever your view may be on Darcy Regier he is a man unafraid to go against the conventional wisdom, a dangerous proposition in professional sports management in the days of ESPN and the Internet. As you may recall Regier decided to hold on to Goaltender Martin Biron last year at the deadline only to see Biron be unnecessary for the playoff run and the Sabres victimized by an astonishing rash of defenseman injuries that may have cost them the Stanley Cup.

Taking the expected criticism in stride, Regier cautiously moved about his business in the off season and allowed veteran team leaders like Mike Grier, J.P. Dumont and Jay Mckee to leave and again deciding against trading Biron, instead electing to keep his young core together. It appears to have paid off as at the time of this writing the Sabres have the second best record in the league and have the highest scoring team.

One would think that a General Manager in that position could rest comfortably approaching the trade deadline. Not Darcy Regier. Another incredible spate of injuries has put eight regular players in the press box including team co-captain Chris Drury. Though youngsters from the Rochester Americans like Drew Stafford, Clarke Macarthur and Patrick Kaleta have filled the void admirably it appears that Regier realized that caution was the risky move this year and he decided to play some big cards in order to make the run. In fact the Sabres, due to injury call ups, found themselves actually over the cap on deadline day morning.

On deadline day morning Regier gained some much needed cap room by dealing perennial fan favorite Biron to the hated rival Philadelphia Flyers for what appears to be the first pick in the second round of the draft. He followed this move up by acquiring fallen Goaltender prospect Ty Conklin from Columbus Blue Jackets and defenseman Mikko Lehtonen from Nashville for 5th and 4th round picks respectively. The cleared cap room set the table for Regier's biggest move. He packaged Buffalo's #1 pick in the 2007 Entry Draft and young centerman Jiri Novotny to the Washington Capitals for gifted, yet sometimes enigmatic, forward Danius Zubrus and minor league defenseman Timmo Helbling.

To say such a deadline move is out of character for Regier wouldn't be totally true, he did get Joe Juneau and Donald Audette for the cup run in 1999, rare would probably be the correct term. It is just very unusual to see Regier-led Buffalo team not have a back up plan if Miller goes down with an injury. For Regier working without that safety net must be disconcerting, almost akin to trying to not breathe, but it seems a testament to his belief in this team. He will have all of the front line players back for the cup run and has supplemented them with another very good offensive weapon. He has also given the team some defensive depth for the cup run. One can argue he has built the best team in hockey. But.... one freak bounce, one collision, one Ryan Miller injury could shatter it all. He threw out a Jack in Martin Biron. Darcy Regier has laid it all on the table. He is banking it all on the fact that in Danius Zubrus he drew an Ace.