The one person all Sabres fans need to be thanking right now.
By Jarrod Constantino
Well so far so good for team USA and Ryan Miller. After a very rough stretch before the NHL went onto the Olympics break Ryan Miller seems to be back on track as being one of the NHL’s best goalies. As we look towards the last quarter of the NHL the Sabres are in one of those predicaments where they might need to go out and get a big name scorer. Let’s face it. This year the offense just hasn’t been there for a good protion of the season and a lot of that is because Vanek, Roy, and Connolly are just not socring goals. Assists are nice but goals are where it’s at. We’ve seen around this time for the last 3 years that they always seem to fall apart at the worst time possible. They’ve already proven that by allowing a hot Ottawa Senator get the division lead by a point. Although they have a very safe lead from the 8th place Montreal and 6th place Philadelphia we’ve seen in many other sports that no lead is safe.
So what do the Sabres need to do after the break? Well first off Darcy Regier needs to man up and make a deal to bring in a top scorer top the team. Although Vanek started heating up near the Olympic break he’s WAY below the success he’s had for the last several years. It’s going to be very interesting to see what kind of a move the Sabres make, if any. The fans have been screaming for Regier to make a deal for the past 3 months because teams like the Devils and others are just getting better and better. If they don’t make a move within the next few weeks then you can expect a very quick exit from the playoffs. This team is basically one or 2 players away from being very competitive but for right now they are playing like a team that just seems lazy and making terrible decisions on the ice. I will say this…..there’s no way this is all Lindy Ruff’s fault. People who are saying for the team to fire him are basically insane. WIthout Ruff over the last 13 years the Sabres would be a train wreck like the Bills have been. So firing Lindy Ruff would be by far the dumbest thing in Sabres history. Let the man coach.
Any way like I said it will be very interesting to see what the Sabres do as the trade deadline approaches. Will they make a move and listen to the fans….we’ll see. Over the years with Regier at the helm as the GM that answer might be no….but hey things could change. All I know is that Ryan Miller will be the ultimate key to the rest of the season. We’ll keep you posted.
Tags: Darcy Regier, Devils, hockey, Lindy Ruff, Olympics, Ryan Miller
