Matt Ellis Claimed by Buffalo

There goes Dean Lombardi's scheme. I said when Matt Ellis was picked up that Lombardi was planning on keeping him on the roster until this season and then sending down to Manchester to act as their captain. Buffalo ruined that by claiming him. Oh well, it was a good idea, it just didn't work out. Good luck, Matt.

Three lightly researched nuggets

Here are some somewhat random NHL and BoC thoughts of varying quality:

• The Kings have been on the brain ever since I foolishly compared the Marc Crawford – Patrick Roy Avalanche to the early 90s Cowboys. After some (reckless) thought, I think the Kings need to try to engineer their own version of the Herschel Walker for a bunch of draft picks that stocked the Cowboys dynasty trade.

OK, enough with that analogy: the Kings need to take a page from John Davidson’s playbook and make a trade deadline feast out of their short term players. The Kings indeed should follow the Blues' lead by giving up their dead weight for quality draft picks (just look, the Blues even like their former coaches!)

Rudy did a fantastic job detailing a player who is there biggest bargaining chip, Rob Blake. When you consider the rarity of a tough, skilled veteran D-man compared to the loafing mediocrity of a Bill Guerin or Keith Tkachuk, the Kings theoretically could get a helluva package.

Smaller names include Ladislav Nagy (what the hell happened to him?) and Brad Stuart. You know, more or less every recent FA signing.

• There is talk out there about a possible Jaromir Jagr trade. Now, I don't know how feasibly the polarizing Czech superstar could fit into the Sharks payroll (am I guessing wrong that they'd have to finally legitimize the Patrick Marleau trade rumors by moving him for the formerly mulleted wonder?), but that still gets the old imagination tingling.
  

Again, I'm too lazy to get into the nuts and bolts of the salary cap in this deal. But could your feeble minds conjure a more terrifying line combination than Joe Thornton + Jaromir Jagr + fire hydrant?

That would be one of the most talented and often mocked super-lines in recent NHL history.

• This isn't really BoC specific, but after watching the Winter Classic game and learning that the Buffalo Sabres' merchandise outsells that of the Buffalo Bills, can't we all agree that a good Sabres team is good for the NHL?

It's really depressing to watch such a high flying, good-for-the-game group unravel like this. Even though it probably falls at the feet of Sabres management, let's just blame it on that stupid Buffaslug logo.

Ducks Gameday—Blackhawks inspire new local artist

Anaheim Ducks (13-12-4, t-8th in west) at Chicago Blackhawks (14-11-2, t-8th in west)

In BoC comment-land, you know him as spade-in-victorhell. You know, the guy who can't be bothered with capitalization, punctuation or spelling, but somehow gets his message across loud and clear. Little known fact about Spade, though--this cat can cartoon!

Check out this submission, a web-foot kicking through a Blackhawk stomach! Ouch! That guy needs some fire water, pronto!

I don't want to get all mushy, but this is a very awesome development; obviously I'm a big proponent of zany cartoons, and I'd been wondering if the Sleek legacy would start rubbing off on the blogosphere. I'll warn you now--Spade's already got some fantastic cartoons to carry me through the weekend, and being a particularly lazy guy, I couldn't be happier.

---------------------------------------
Like it or not, Niedermayer's announcement Wednesday means that one Duck player is starting his last road trip of his Anaheim career. Interesting how the players responded to this Niedervelopment in the Buffalo game right after the announcement:

Andy McDonald -- 1 goal, 1 assist
Matthieu Schneider -- 1 goal, 1 assist
Francois Beauchemin -- 1 assist
Todd Bertuzzi -- 1 goal, 1 fight, on the ice for all four Anaheim goals

Todd Marchant and Sean O'Donnell both had solid games as well, and in fact, it was really the first time I've seen this year's Ducks really resemble last year's. It's amazing how good a team can play when guys are playing for their jobs.

Then again, the hard-luck Kings went on to smoke the Sabres 8-2 the next night, so maybe it was just a Buffallusion.


Your turn, Sharks.
As for tonight's opponent, one thing that worries me about the Blackhawks is how they have turned the tables on Detroit, a team that's murdered them in the past. The young Blackhawks are 4-0-0 against the Red Wings this year, after going 2-13-1 against them the previous two seasons.

I'm no Detroit fan, so why does that stat scare me? Well, since the lockout only one western team has dominated Chicago more than Detroit--Anaheim, of course. The Ducks have gone 7-0-1 against Chicago over the last two years. If the Blackhawks really have turned a corner, maybe this source of easy standings points is running dry, too.

Too bad they have to run into a Ducks team trying to play their way off the trading block.

Prediction: Ducks 6, Blackhawks 3. Everyone tries to keep their jobs--goals scored by Marchant, McDonald, O'Donnell, Beauchemin, Bertuzzi, and Schneider. Pahlsson kicks his way out of the Blackhawk stomach with six assists.

Go Ducks.

Kings Gameday: Canadians Can Overreact to News Too

Los Angeles Kings (groan) vs. Buffalo Sabres (12-12-1, 13th in East)

7:30 PST, FSN West

When I read the headline, "Report: Crawford Ordered Attack on Moore," I was confused; why would Crawford want to kill Steve Moore? Isn't ending his career enough? Then I realized it was talking about the hit 2 years ago that Todd Bertuzzi laid on Moore and I was excited; maybe Crawford will get fired because of it! Then I realized that article only said, "Crawford pointed to Moore's name and number on a board in the Canucks' locker room during the second intermission of that game and said "... [Moore] must pay the price." Really? That's it? He didn't tell Bertuzzi to jump on top of him and drive his neck into the ice? He didn't even tell Bertuzzi individually that he had to hurt Moore? He said Moore had to pay the price. That doesn't sound like much.

Look, I don't particularly like Marc Crawford, but let's not act like he's somehow culpable in this whole thing. I'm sure 1,000 coaches have said those exact words 1,000 times and nothing has ever come of it. He saw his best player get injured by some 4th-line scrub and told his team to respond to it; that one player responded irresponsibly isn't his fault. Hell, if nobody had responded to it the very same media that is stringing him up would have lambasted the club as soft and unwilling to defend their teammate. You know why it was Todd Bertuzzi and not some 4th-liner on the Vancouver Canucks at the time that attacked Moore? Because Todd Bertuzzi is an asshole. That's basically it. He was an asshole who jumped Moore from behind and then an accident happened. I'm not trying to explain away the incident, and I hope I don't sound like I'm making Moore out to be the bad guy, but let's call it what it was: an accident. Let's not try to make this some sort of racketeering case.

***

Hooray, Scott Niedermayer is back! I know I should probably be upset, seeing as how he is really good and plays for our biggest rival and all, but I don't care. I love Scott Niedermayer. He's definitely one of the most entertaining hockey players I've ever seen and I'm looking forward to watching him play. The league needs as many Scott Niedermayer's it can get. (Not so many Rob's though; his head has an odd shape.)

***

Prediction: Kings lose, 4-2, and yet the people of Buffalo still manage to whine about something. (Seriously, expecting either Drury or Briere to accept fair market value, let alone a fucking discount, to stay in Buffalo is ludicrously insane. I'd rather go over Niagara Falls in a barrel than live in Buffalo.)

Ducks Gameday—Better know your Sabres

Buffalo Sabres (12-11-1, t-12th in east) at Anaheim Ducks (12-12-4, t-10th in west)

Boy, talk about staging a game one year too late. Last year at this point, the Sabres and Ducks combined for a 39-5-8 record; this year both teams seem much more bent towards short-term nostalgia.

As is usually the case, though, fans of each franchise probably suffer from own-conference myopia; it's only natural that fans concentrate their attention on their team's direct opponents in the standings. What happens in the other conference is some other team's problem. Last year, before the cup finals, I ran a nice feature with Ben from Sens Army where we answered each other's questions about the comming opponent (Ben's questions / my questions); this year I got contacted to do a similar exercise by D.O. from the Sabres blog Die by the Blade.

So, without further ado, here are five questions I asked D.O. about the Sabres this year. You'll note that in the fifth question, I'm sort of an asshole.

1. The obvious starter: now that the season's past the quarter-pole, time to reflect--who's more missed, Danny Briere or Chris Drury? Salary notwithstanding, who would fit in on today's Sabre roster better?

The easy answer would be Danny Briere, he had 95 points last season and he already has 30 this year. The correct answer, however, is Chris Drury. Drury was the heart and soul of this team last year and it has been obvious that he has been missed both on and off the ice. The effect that Chris Drury had on this team ranged beyond goals and assists and was measured in wins and losses.

2. I've read some pieces in passing suggesting that the loss of Teppo Numminen is really having a strong effect on the team--his importance maybe is more evident in his absence than things you'd notice during the game. How much is the Repo Man missed on the ice and in the lockerroom? Who's making up for that?

Teppo was the clear choice to be the captain of this team so that should give you an idea of how much he is missed. In the absence of Drury and Briere the Sabres made it a point to get Teppo signed but unfortunately his heart condition re-emerged and he has been shelved all season. It was evident early in the season how much he was missed on the ice when the Sabres were struggling mightily on defense. Brian Campbell has emerged as true leader on this team and has actually been named the captain for the month of December. Jaroslav Spacek has recommitted himself and it has been very evident to see in his stats (6G-9A-15P in 16 games played). The Sabres have also got good play out of young guys like Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber.

3. A year ago after 24 games, the Sabres were 19-3-2, outscoring opponents 101 - 70. A year ago after 28 games, the Ducks were 20-2-6, outscoring opponents 98 - 64. It strongly suggests that there is a large lesson about trying to replace top-line talent with 2nd-line talent, and the pain that comes from doing so. Everyone sees a higher level of competition. Is that pretty much what we're seeing with the Sabres, or do you have other theories?

The Sabres lost only two players in the offseason (Drury and Briere); beyond that this is pretty much the same team. Tim Connolly was immediately inserted into Danny Briere's old spot (remember that Connolly only played the final two games of last season). I think the biggest difference between this season and last season is a change in philosophy. Lindy Ruff continuously talked about being more defensively reponsible without changing their style. I don't think the players really understood what he meant and quite frankly I have no idea what he is talking about either. It appears that the team gets it now because they have won six of their last seven including a 8-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.

4. On this year's team, who has been a surprising standout? Who has delivered on their salary? And who is the goat? Answer as often as you like.

Unfortunately there are more goats than guys playing well but we'll start out on the positive side. Jaro Spacek has been incredible this season after struggling through last season. Spacek had five goals and 16 assists in 65 games last year and he already has six goals and nine assists this year. Daniel Paille has also been a pleasant surprise as a third and fourth line player. He has five goals, six assists and a plus seven rating to lead the team.

The list of goats is numerous...I guess it has to start with Thomas Vanek because of his huge salary. He has played a little better as of late but he has seven goals and 10 assists which is well below his totals for last year. It appears that Vanek is trying to hard to live up to his contract, I believe the phrase is "he's gripping the stick" too much. Maxim Afinogenov has been nonexistent this season, except when he's going to the penalty box. Afinogenov is one of the Sabres' most talented offensive players and he has been awful.

5. OK, let's go back in the time machine. What if the Sabres advanced past the Senators in the playoffs and were up against the Ducks in the Cup Finals? Who'd win the make-believe series, and who'd win the Conn Smythe? Bear in mind that the series would start in Buffalo, not Anaheim.

It pains me to go back to last season but since you ask...the Sabres would not have been able to compete with the Ducks. The Sabres were physically manhandled by the Ottawa Senators in the Conference Finals and that was the reason for them being eliminated. In watching the Stanley Cup I saw the Ducks do the same thing to Ottawa. The Ducks were a really talented and more importantly a physical team while the Sabres relied on speed and skill to win games. The Sabres may have been able to squeak out one game but the Ducks were a team of destiny last year and they were not going to be stopped.

I'm a little bit surprised by D.O.'s last answer, to tell the truth. It seems to me that the Sabres were unlike any other opponent that the Ducks beat last spring, in that they weren't nearly as top-heavy in terms of their production. Minnesota had a Gaborik-Demitra line that needed to be stopped, Vancouver had a Sedin-Sedin line, Detroit had its Zetterberg-Datsyuk, and Ottawa had its Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley trio. In all those cases, stopping those specific lines usually meant beating the opposing team, but I didn't think the same sort of approach could be as effective on last year's Sabres squad. I really don't know how that hypothetical series would have played out myself, but I'm sure that the Sabres' multi-line offense would have been tougher for the Ducks to defend--at the very least it wouldn't make sense to team up Pronger and Niedermayer against that sort of team.

At any rate, you can go check out my answers to D.O.'s questions. You'll note that there are some common themes between these two disappointing teams, mostly along the lines of failing to replace top-line production and the trickle-down effect it has on team success.

Prediction: Well, maybe D.O. has given me some confidence on this "Battle of the Cream of Last Year's Crop"; let's say Ducks 4, Sabres 1. Goals by May, Perry, Pahlsson, and Drew Miller with a rare brother-on-brother goal.

Go Ducks.

Chris Drury's inspirational speech not enough for Buffalo, Ottawa Senators advance to the Stanley Cup Final

As the Buffalo Sabres co-captain, Chris Drury tried to boost the morale of his team after dropping the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Ottawa Senators. Drury invoked the Delta House motto in his locker room speech "Don't get mad, get even", and the Sabres came out blazing for a 3-2 win to prevent the bagel in Game 4. Alas, it was not enough. Maxim Afinogenov tied the fifth game at 2-2 with a late power play goal, but Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson scored the game winner in OT to advance to the finals with Anaheim, errrr, the Western Conference Finals winner.

Link via Sabre Rattling.

"Offseason" cartoons: The rest of the east

Well, I certainly have fallen behind on my offseason goal of cartooning new mascots for all the divisions, haven't I? Looking back, I haven't done one since August. Previous divisions include: Pacific, Northwest, Central, and the Atlantic.

Well, nothing like a hangover do-nothing Saturday to complete old tasks, eh?

First off, we have the Southeast Division:

We have the Tampa Bay Lightning Bolt, the Atlanta Thrash-Can, the Carolina Hurricane, the WASHINGTON CAPS, and the Florida Panthro.

And finally, the Northeast Division:
Here we see the Buffalo Sabre being confronted by the Boston Bruin, the Ottawa Senator Palpatine, the Toronto Maple Leaf, and of course the diminutive Le Hobbitant de Montréal.

Hope you enjoy 'em. Off to the couch for me!

Ducks Simulated Game Day—Buffalo Sabres

Tom L at Sabre Rattling has pointed to a Damien Cox ESPN piece that asks a good question: which team is better, the Buffalo Sabres or the Anaheim Ducks?

Wait, scratch that. That’s not a good question, that’s a dumb question. Who really gives a shit? These teams are playing in two separate leagues on two separate leaderboards. It matters very little how good Anaheim is compared to Buffalo; what matters is how Anaheim stacks vs. the west and how Buffalo stacks vs. the east.

That said, I will offer a little fodder for this burning question. Here, for argument’s sake, is a look at regulation standings, how teams are doing when 60 minutes are up. I only bring it up because it exposes Buffalo for the extra-point slut that it is:

Team	Regulation Record
Anaheim	14-2-10, .731
San Jose	18-7-1, .712
Nashville	14-5-4, .696
Buffalo	11-3-10, .667
Detroit	13-6-4, .652
Dallas	14-8-2, .625
Edmonton	12-8-3, .587
Montreal	10-6-7, .587
Atlanta	11-7-8, .577
Carolina	12-10-4, .538
Calgary	11-10-2, .522
NY Islanders	9-8-7, .521
Toronto	10-9-7, .519

So what’s this really say? Well, for one, it points out that the west has a lot more separation than the east, top teams vs. bottom teams. The east is still more concentrated in the middle.

Buffalo, while still class of the east, does have less regulation wins than 6 western teams (and the same amount Calgary has), so maybe the real question that deserves to be asked isn’t which of two specific teams is better.

Rather, my question is: If Buffalo were in the west, where would it finish? Would it be a first-place club in a much more highly-contested conference?

Top regular season teams, calendar year 2006

With the Sharks and Stars starting the season with lofty 5-1 records, the Ducks will need two points tonight against the Red Wings to keep pace with the Pacific Division leaders.

And as much as I like bashing Detroit, you gotta hand it to them, they are a regular season monster, weak Central Division or not. Here is a listing of the best regular-season records (.600 and above) since January 1, 2006:

Team	GP	W-L-O	Win%	GF/G	GA/G	Dif/G
Detroit	49	35-8-6	.776	3.55	2.33	1.22
New Jersey	48	33-11-4	.729	2.92	2.40	0.52
Dallas	51	34-12-5	.716	2.92	2.51	0.41
San Jose	51	33-12-6	.706	3.43	2.67	0.76
Buffalo	49	32-13-4	.694	3.61	2.73	0.88
Anaheim	49	29-12-8	.673	3.24	2.65	0.59
Carolina	51	31-15-5	.657	3.31	3.06	0.25
Atlanta	49	29-17-3	.622	3.35	2.94	0.41

Ever since last year, when the NHL adopted its division-heavy schedule, there’s been a lot of talk about “What’s the toughest division in hockey?” Frankly, I’m not that concerned about it; I think it’s generally a mechanism to make fans feel better about where their team sits in the overall standings.

However, if you were to make that judgment, what would it be based on?
a) The best team from the division (a Central argument)?
b) The worst team from the division (a Northwest argument)?
c) The most dominant teams (a Pacific argument)?

Let’s hear it, people: what is the toughest division in hockey and why?