    I must admit that I am just as miffed by the play of the Buffalo Sabres as anyone else. The thing that I am more miffed at is the fact that Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff has not helped his struggling special team units at all.
    Ruff was quick to make changes to his lines during five on five play when the team was struggling. Now that the power play and penalty kill are struggling nothing has been done to it.
    There is one glaring thing that I have noticed about the power play. Something that is missing this year and not being done. If you recall last year the Sabres were infamous for a cross crease thread the needle type of pass that would be slammed by a forward on the opposite side of the net. This year it is gone, and not even attempted. Also, the defensemen are hesitant to join the rush, and are not shooting.
    This does not bode well for Lindy at all. As great of a coach as he is he has one weakness that is the powerplay. In their last Stanley Cup finals against the Dallas Stars in the late 90’s the power play carried the Sabres all the way to the finals. Then all of a sudden it went dead. Why? Simple the defensemen on the point were always slapping the puck, and it was then blocked by the forwards.
    The answer simple just shoot some simple wrist shots. You can fake out the forward by faking the slap shot stepping to the side and letting a wrist shot go. The Sabres are actually doing it a little bit now, but not enough.
    The penalty kill needs drastic changes to it, however. The one problem is that they are losing many battles against the boards, and when they do they are not getting it out. They need to take out Pominville, and Roy. They are too small to play the kill. Vanek and Kotalik are horses around the boards and corners, and can easily carry the puck out of the zone. Also, the play Vanek made on emery is indicative to what they also need short handed, and that is the occasional short handed goal. When was the last time you saw one.
    Well any which way if the Sabres are knocked out in four straight, well let just say there is going to be some major hard checking over the roster. Let me make a recomendation for soemone to go. Bye Max, you are not a good decision maker. you hold on to the puck to long, and when you do shoot you actually had a chacne for a better play if you passed it. For example, in overtime Max shot a puck and had only one defensemen between him and Vanek for a sure fire one timer goal.
  Also, one other recomendation. WHy not put Vanek with Danny Briere. If you are looking for more production then it is only logical to put the two together. Roy should be with Drury for a solid defensive line.
    Well that is it. I will at least enjoy two things if the Sabres are knocked out. First, listening to WGR and hear all the host moan and groan about how in the regular season they were a lock for the finals. Reality is there is tommorrow is never guaranteed. The only thing that matters is today this second happening right now. Second, football coming to the forefront again. WOO HOOO!!! Hockey to me will always be second rate because of Betman and the rest.
