Coyotes and Sabres meeting in high stakes draft tanking battles

source : si.com

Off The Draw

Under different circumstances, games between the Coyotes and Sabres would be an afterthought on a schedule that features compelling playoff races.

Buffalo and Arizona, after all, are a pair of terrible hockey teams. Cellar dwellers in their respective conferences, they offer little competitive intrigue as opponents

NHL Draft Lottery simulator shows how Connor McDavid derby may go

by Allan Muir

But circumstances being what they are, their two meetings promise to be closely watched contests. What’s at stake here is not the points to be gained but the ground to be given up in the standings. The Sabres' 4–3 loss in OT on Thursday night brought the beleaguered franchise a step closer to stuffing the greatest possible number of draft lottery balls into the hopper on April 18. And that means a greater opportunity to transform its future by landing Connor McDavid, the player who is regarded as being the best draft prospect since Sidney Crosby.

No surprise that the crowd at Buffalo’s First Niagara Center was fiercely pro-Coyotes.

The Sabres, who enter the weekend holding the league’s basement apartment with 48 points, have eight games left on their schedule. The Coyotes are six points ahead of them. Arizona had lost eight straight games, and 18 of its last 19, before stunning the Red Wings in overtime on Tuesday night. 

The Yotes have seven games remaining.

Sabres' Mike Weber voices frustration with fans for rooting for Coyotes

by SI.com Staff

Buffalo’s loss, had it been in regulation, might have sealed the deal. Arizona probably needed to lose on Thursday and in next Monday’s rematch in Glendale to make the race interesting.

Not that it’s a race the NHL wants to see run. Despite (or perhaps because of) all the attention it is generating, tonight’s Tank Bowl is bad for business. In fact, tanking to secure a better draft position became such a concern that the NHL felt compelled to dramatically alter its lottery rules ahead of this season. Under those revisions, the league’s worst team now has only a 20% chance of landing the top pick.

But for this year anyway (the rules will change again next summer) that team can drop no lower than the second selection, which means it is guaranteed to land either McDavid or Jack Eichel, the Boston University star who could turn out to be the best consolation prize since Evgeni Malkin went second behind Alex Ovechkin back in 2004.

The team that finishes 29th could land the second pick, but it has a 67% chance of dropping to third and missing out on both players.

Blackhawks may lose another prized prospect in UVM's Michael Paliotta

by Allan Muir

All that said, these games won’t be a farce of turnovers, ignored defensive assignments, sloppy goaltending—though on Thursday the Sabres countered Arizona's Mike Smith (left, photo above) with Matt Hackett (right) and his .893 save percentage instead of Anders Lindback who would weigh in at .926 since arriving in Buffalo via a February trade) and comically blown offensive chances ... at least, no more than normal for these two clubs. In fact, it could end up being a thriller. 

Because while these organizations might be thinking of the future, the players on the ice are only worried about the present. Their honor is on the line tonight. They don’t want to be embarrassed. They’re sick of losing. And no one wants to be seen as the guy who can be jettisoned to make room for McDavid next season.

And they might even be aware of this noteworthy fact: In each of the past three seasons, the team that finished 29th has won the lottery.

Maybe a win will be a win after all.

Hot links

Coyotes broadcaster arrested for allegedly biting cop at casino

by Allan Muir

• Team owner Ed Snider thinks his Flyers can compete for the Stanley Cup next season. He’s not allowed to drive, is he?

• The Las Vegas Aces? Here’s a peek at a possible uniform for an NHL expansion team in Sin City.

• Lawyers working the concussion case brought by former players against the NHL are hoping to get Gary Bettman to testify under oath before July 1. Think that might get interesting?

• Want to celebrate the success of Andrew Hammond by chucking a burger on the ice? The Hamburglar has a better idea.

• You think diminutive Colorado forward Daniel Briere has a tough job battling through oversized defenders? Wait until you hear about what his girlfriend does.

Sabres get first home win of season with rare victory over Red Wings

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres began a four-game homestand with their first win in front of their home fans.

Tyler Ennis and Zemgus Girgensons scored shootout goals, and the Sabres edged the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Sunday to snap a three-game losing streak.

Michal Neuvirth made 36 saves and stopped Henrik Zetterberg in the third round of the shootout to help the Sabres (3-9-1) win in Buffalo after five straight home losses in which they were outscored 16-4.

"You hate losing more than you love winning," said Girgensons, who scored the winning goal. "Winning is awesome. It's a different feeling. It feels good. I just hope we can keep it going and improve."

Brian Flynn and Chris Stewart both scored their first goals of the season, and Tyson Strachan had two assists for Buffalo, which beat Detroit for the first time since Oct. 13, 2009.

"We had a rough October and we weathered the storm," Stewart said. "We're going to learn a lot more about what this team is about in November."

The Sabres were coming off a 5-0 loss Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

"When a team plays the night before, you should jump all over them from start to finish," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "We had the puck all night. We had lots of opportunities, just didn't finish."

Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist, Tomas Tatar also scored, and Jimmy Howard made 19 saves for Detroit (6-3-2), which had won two in a row before starting a stretch of three games in four nights in four cities.

The Red Wings outshot the Sabres 17-8 in the third period and 4-0 in overtime. Detroit went 0-for-4 on the power play, including one in overtime.

"It was a sloppy game," Tatar said. "But we have to find our way to win these kinds of games. We had a power play in overtime. We have to score one of those."

The Red Wings appeared to net the winning goal at 2:28 of overtime on Zetterberg's slap shot but the goal was disallowed when officials ruled Johan Franzen had established position in the crease.

"I was talking to the ref a couple times during the game," Neuvirth said. "He told me, 'I know he's standing in the crease, so whenever they're going to score a goal, I'm going to disallow it.' I was glad
he actually did it."

Babcock didn't dispute the call.

"We were in the crease," he said.
Stewart tied it 2-2 with 6:52 remaining in the third period, bouncing the puck in off Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith off a rebound. Ennis and Strachan earned assists.

Datsyuk put Detroit ahead 2-1 early in the third period, finishing a 3-on-2 rush with Justin Abdelkader and Smith with a short wrist shot tucked inside the left post.
Datsyuk has earned a point in all six games since returning from a separated shoulder. He has five goals and five assists this season.

Detroit held the puck for nearly two minutes before Tatar's wrist shot from the left circle went through the legs of Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges and past Neuvirth to make it 1-1 with 7:05 remaining in the second period. Riley Sheahan and Datsyuk assisted on Tatar's third goal.

The Sabres scored first for just the fourth time in 13 games. Flynn gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead 6:55 into the second when he backhanded a loose puck in off the crossbar.

Game notes

Franzen returned to the lineup after missing six games with a groin injury. ... The Sabres recalled F Johan Larsson from AHL Rochester to replace the injured Marcus Foligno. Foligno got hurt in Saturday night's loss at Pittsburgh. ... Buffalo signed F Justin Bailey to a three-year, entry-level contract. Bailey, currently playing with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers, was a second-round pick in 2013. ... Detroit will play at Ottawa on Tuesday and at the New York Rangers on Wednesday. Buffalo will host Montreal on Wednesday.

Hockey vine : Nhl 94 Prediction Buffalo vs Montreal 25/3/14

My vine account
My facebook page
My twitter account

Funny vines of the day : Cory Conacher put a giant helmet

Habs clinch playoff berth with 5-1 win over Sabres

Source : Yahoo.com

From worst one year, to the playoffs the next, the Montreal Canadiens are Hab-nots no longer.
Peter Budaj stopped 14 shots, and P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov had a goal and assist each in the Canadiens' dominating 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres that clinched a playoff berth on Thursday night.

The Habs became the second team in the Eastern Conference to secure a postseason berth. They did it a year after they finished last in the East. Montreal also moved back atop the Northeast Division, one point ahead of Boston, which was beaten 2-1 by the New York Islanders.

''It was a character game for us. We knew what was at stake,'' Subban said. ''Winning's fun. It feels good to win. For the guys that were here last year, obviously, we know what it's like to lose.''

Montreal jumped to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, and doubled it after two periods. Budaj lost his shutout bid on Brian Flynn's short-handed goal 6:45 into the third period.

That didn't stop the numerous Canadiens jersey-clad fans on hand from starting an ''Ole, Ole, Ole!'' celebration with 3 minutes left.

''I'm very thankful to be part of this team,'' said Budaj, whose seventh consecutive victory came a day after he signed a $2.8 million contract extension. ''We outshot them. We outplayed them. I don't want to take anything away from Buffalo, but we played a much better game.''

The Sabres didn't need to be reminded of that in a game in which they were outshot 42-15 and outplayed for lengthy stretches.

Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers described his team's effort as ''probably the most embarrassing game I've been a part of.''

While Buffalo (16-19-6) slipped closer to missing the playoffs for a second straight season, Montreal (26-9-5) continued what has been a dominating roll through a lockout-shortened season.

The 26 wins are the Canadiens' most through 40 games since the 1978-79 season, when they got off to a 27-8-5 start, according to STATS. The Canadiens are also on a tear away from home. They improved to 13-4-2, which matches their best road record through 19 games since 1977-78, according to STATS.

Subban called it unfair to compare this year's squad to the franchise's Hall of Fame-laden teams of the 1970s.

''I think we're just worried about creating our own identity,'' Subban said. ''We're not finished. We have a lot to accomplish here.''

Rene Bourque and rookie Alex Galchenyuk scored 3:44 apart to put the Canadiens up 2-0 by 10:27 of the first period. Brendan Gallagher and Markov scored during the second period in which Montreal held a 17-4 edge in shots. Subban added a power-play goal with 2:41 left.

Bourque scored on a 3-on-1 break. Galchenyuk's goal came after he had time to take two whacks at the puck to the left of the net. Gallagher scored when he was allowed to carry the puck across the top of the crease untouched and wrap it around sprawling goalie Ryan Miller. Markov scored during a two-man advantage.

The game was so lopsided that Sabres interim coach Ron Rolston pulled Miller after he faced 32 shots through two periods.

''He played well. There was nothing he could do,'' Rolston said, of Miller. ''We didn't have enough effort. We didn't have enough going. We had too many passengers.''

It is the Canadiens who are riding high following an offseason in which Marc Bergevin took over as general manager, and Michel Therrien got his second shot coaching Montreal following a 10-year absence.

''We're proud about making the playoffs. It's a good accomplishment,'' Therrien said. ''We realize that there's a lot of hockey to be played, and there's more steps coming.''

NOTES: Tomas Plekanec earned his 237th assist with Montreal to tie Chris Chelios for 35th on the career list. ... The Sabres, who opened a three-game homestand, will close the season by playing five of their final seven at Buffalo. ... Canadiens C Jeff Halpern played in his 900th NHL game. ... Montreal beat the Sabres for only the third time in 14 meetings (3-5-6), and won in regulation at Buffalo for the first time since a 3-2 victory on Nov. 5, 2010.

Canadiens vs Sabres : Par la grande porte

Source : Tvasports.ca



«Tous les matins, je regarde le classement. Il y a un astérisque à côté des équipes qualifiées pour les séries. Nous n’en avons pas encore un», disait Marc Bergevin pas plus tard que mercredi dernier.

C’est maintenant chose faite : le Canadien a son astérisque!

Avec huit matchs à disputer dans cette saison écourtée, les hommes de Michel Therrien ont décroché leur place en séries éliminatoires, jeudi, avec une victoire sans équivoque de 5-1 sur les Sabres à Buffalo.

Le CH (26-9-5) a ainsi repris la tête du classement dans la section nord-est avec 57 points, soit une longueur devant les Bruins de Boston (26-10-4), qui ont perdu 2-1 contre les Islanders de New York. Les deux éternels rivaux ont joué le même nombre de rencontres (40).

(Le sommaire)

À VOIR : Le point de presse de Michel Therrien | Les échos de vestiaire

À LIRE AUSSI : Une victoire qui fera du bien aux Sénateurs | Elliott demeure intraitable

«Juste une étape» 

Dans le vestiaire, personne ne voulait cependant trop s’emballer avec cette participation assurée au bal printanier.

«C’est un bon sentiment d'atteindre les séries, a indiqué Therrien. C’est un bel accomplissement. Il y a souvent de bonnes équipes qui n’y arrivent pas. Mais pour nous, il s’agit juste d’une étape.»

«Ce n’est que le début. Nous visons beaucoup plus haut», a renchéri P.K Subban.

«Faire les séries, c’est une chose, mais encore faut-il y entrer avec du momentum», a soutenu quant à lui Francis Bouillon.

Écrasante domination

Signe de son écrasante domination, le Canadien a mené 42-15 au chapitre des tirs au but.

Peter Budaj a donc eu besoin d’arrêter seulement 14 rondelles pour étirer à sept sa série de succès.

L’essentiel de la rencontre s’est déroulé à l’autre bout de la patinoire. Rene Bourque, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher et Andrei Markov ont déjoué successivement Ryan Miller. Laissé à lui-même, Miller a cédé sa place à son substitut Jhonas Enroth après le deuxième entracte.

Changements payants 

Ce changement a rapporté, comme ceux apportés par Therrien, d'ailleurs. Brian Flynn a inscrit les Sabres au tableau durant un désavantage numérique tôt au troisième tiers. Mais le mal était alors déjà fait.

Dès la septième minute, Bourque a décoincé le pointage avec la complicité de ses «nouveaux/anciens» compagnons de trio Brian Gionta et Tomas Plekanec.

Les visiteurs ont doublé leur avance environ quatre minutes plus tard par l’entremise de Galchenyuk, son troisième but en quatre matchs.

«Galchenyuk est l'un de nos meilleurs attaquants depuis un certain temps», a souligné Therrien après la rencontre.

Au deuxième engagement, le Canadien a repris là où il avait laissé. Une autre recrue, Gallagher, a enfilé le troisième but des siens, aidé par David Desharnais et Max Pacioretty. Therrien souhaitait d’ailleurs le réveil de ces trois joueurs.

Deux buts avec un joueur en plus

Plus tard dans la période médiane, Andrei Markov a contribué à son tour à la marque, cette fois en supériorité numérique. Son tir a dévié sur un adversaire avant de se faufiler derrière Miller.

Dans les dernières minutes de l’affrontement, Subban a enfoncé le dernier clou aux dépens d’Enroth, un deuxième but avec l’avantage d’un homme.

Michael Ryder et Pacioretty ont quant à eux ajouté deux mentions d’aide à leurs statistiques.
«Nous avons vraiment dominé les Sabres dans toutes les facettes du jeu, a affirmé Budaj. Tous les
gars ont contribué à cette victoire.»

Fait à noter, le vétéran Jeff Halpern disputait la 900e rencontre de sa carrière dans le circuit Bettman.
Le Canadien sera de nouveau en action samedi à Toronto contre les Maple Leafs (22-13-5).

Habs vs Sabres : Game Preview

Source : Yahoo.com

If the Buffalo Sabres want to make the playoffs, they can't afford too many more sloppy efforts like they had in their last game.

The Sabres hope to bounce back from a costly defeat and resume their late postseason push Thursday night when they host the Montreal Canadiens, whom they've surprisingly dominated this season.

A three-game winning streak had Buffalo (16-18-6) thinking playoffs, but a 4-1 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday damaged those hopes. The Sabres, 11th in the Eastern Conference, gave up three goals in the second period in falling to one of the teams they're battling for a postseason berth.

"Three wins in a row. ... We're really close to the playoffs again, and this was a huge game for us coming here and this is that much more disappointing tonight," defenseman Christian Ehrhoff said.
The Sabres will be opening a three-game homestand, and play six of their final eight at home. They also got leading scorer Thomas Vanek back after a six-game absence due to an upper-body injury, but he didn't record a point and was minus-4 for the game.

"It's a tough break at this time of the year. It's unfortunate," Vanek said of the loss.
Vanek, though, has five goals in the season series with Montreal.

A visit from the Canadiens may also be reason for optimism, given how the season series has gone.

Since losing 6-1 on Feb. 2 in the first matchup, Buffalo has taken three straight meetings by one goal. The Sabres won the latest one 2-1 on the road March 23 behind a stellar effort from Ryan Miller, who made 38 saves and stopped 15 of 16 shots in the third period.

Vanek had two second-period goals in that game and the Sabres won despite managing just 18 shots. They were also outshot in the previous matchup, 34-21 in a 3-2 overtime victory March 19.

The Canadiens (25-9-5) are also coming off a defeat, though they're much more secure in their position in the conference. Montreal, second in the East with an 11-point edge over third-place
Washington and five points behind Pittsburgh, fell 3-2 to the red-hot Capitals on Tuesday.

Lars Eller scored two goals, opening the scoring in the first period and then cutting the deficit to one with 3:22 remaining, but Montreal couldn't complete the comeback.

"They got away with two points they probably shouldn't have tonight," said Eller, who ended an 11-game goal drought. "All I can say is we're going to be looking forward to the next game."
The Canadiens play six of their final nine away from home. Though Montreal is 12-4-2 on the road, it's dropped two of its last three there.

"Now you're nine games, 10 games away from the playoffs and the intensity picks up," right wing Brian Gionta said. "You've got teams that are fighting to get in, teams that are fighting for position."
Teammate Alex Galchenyuk recorded two assists Tuesday and has two goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.

Buffalo's Steve Ott has three goals and an assist in the four matchups with the Canadiens. Ott had a three-game goal streak snapped Tuesday.

Canadiens vs Sabres : Qualifié dès ce soir?

Source : Rds.ca



Le Canadien pourrait se qualifier pour les séries dès ce soir en plus de  porter un dur coup aux espoirs des Sabres de Buffalo, lors d'une rencontre présentée à RDS dès 18 h 30 avec l'avant-match dans le cadre de l'émission Hockey 360.

Les Sabres n'ont plus de temps à perdre sinon les terrains de golf vont les attendre dans moins de trois semaines. Pour atteindre les séries, ils ont l'obligation d'éviter d'échapper des rencontres à leur portée.
Après avoir gagné trois parties de suite, les hommes de Ron Rolston ont encaissé un revers de 4-1 devant les Jets de Winnipeg mardi, ce qui a amoindri leurs espoirs. Buffalo, qui est onzième dans l'Est, a alloué trois buts en deuxième période à une équipe en lutte avec lui pour les séries.

Le Canadien (25-9-5) revient d'un revers de 3-2 encaissé aux mains des Capitals de Washington. Les hommes de Michel Therrien ont nettement moins à perdre que les Sabres, leur place en séries était presque assurée. D'ailleurs une victoire contre les Sabres assurerait officiellement leur billet pour la danse du printemps.

Face aux Capitals, Lars Eller a marqué les deux buts du Canadien. Son deuxième, avec 3:22 à faire en troisième, a redonné espoir aux partisans, mais le Canadien n'a pas été capable de combler l'écart.

À lire également

• Jeudi dans la LNH
• Classement
• Statistiques des Sabres
• Statistiques du Canadien

Le Canadien va disputer six de ses neuf derniers matchs loin du Centre Bell. Le Tricolore a un dossier de 12-4-2 sur la route cette saison, mais il a perdu deux de ses trois derniers matchs à l'extérieur.

Alex Galchenyuk a obtenu deux aides dans la défaite. Le jeune Américain a deux buts et trois passes au cours d'une série de quatre matchs avec au moins un point.

Avec un nouveau contrat de deux ans en poche, c'est le gardien Peter Budaj qui sera en fonction devant la cage du Canadien. Budaj a disputé huit matchs cette saison. Il présente un dossier de six victoires, une défaite et une défaite en temps supplémentaire et il montre une moyenne de buts alloués de 2,17. Budaj a bloqué 187 des 204 tirs qu’il a reçus, pour un pourcentage d’arrêts de ,917. Il compte un jeu blanc à sa fiche.

Les Sabres (16-18-6) amorcent une série de trois parties à la maison et six de leurs derniers matchs de la saison seront présentés devant leurs partisans. Buffalo misait mardi sur le retour au jeu de Thomas Vanek, qui avait raté les six parties précédentes en raison d'une blessure au bas du corps. Il n'a toutefois pas obtenu de point à son retour et il a terminé la rencontre avec une fiche de moins 4.

« C'est difficile de revenir au jeu à ce stade de la saison. C'est malheureux, » a dit Vanek au sujet de la défaite devant les Jets.

Vanek se plaît contre le Canadien cette saison, lui qui a touché la cible cinq fois.

Depuis la défaite de 6-1 le 2 février lors du premier match entre les deux équipes, les Sabres ont remporté les trois parties suivantes face au Tricolore par un but. La plus récente victoire remonte au 23 mars, un gain de 2-1 grâce au travail de Ryan Miller, qui avait effectué 38 arrêts, dont 15 en troisième période.

Vanek avait trouvé le fond du filet deux fois en période médiane même si son équipe n'avait tiré que 18 fois en direction du filet du Canadien. Les Sabres avaient aussi été dominés 34-21 dans la colonne des tirs lors du gain de 3-2 sur le Canadien, le 19 mars dernier.

Habs vs Sabres : Vanek scores 2 in Sabres' win over Canadiens

Source : Yahoo.com

Thomas Vanek helped the Buffalo Sabres make the most of their limited scoring chances to pull out another road win against the Montreal Canadiens.

Vanek scored two goals to lead the Sabres to a 2-1 win over the Canadiens on Saturday night. It was the Sabres' third straight win in a run that began with an overtime victory in Montreal on Tuesday.

Montreal outshot Buffalo 39-18, getting double-digit shots in each period - including 16 in the third.

''That's a good team over there. They just keep coming at you,'' Vanek said. ''They're a good puck possession team but I thought we kept them outside. We could have played a bit more offensively in the third and done some damage ourselves but in the end it's a win so we'll take it.''

Ryan Miller finished with 38 saves as Buffalo pulled two points behind eighth-place Carolina.
''We know we have a long way to go. Any time you can pick up two points and consecutively three games in a row, it feels good. But there's a lot of work left,'' Vanek said. ''We've just got to pick up points and see what happens at the end. But we need help as well.''

Michael Ryder scored the lone goal for Montreal, and Carey Price made 16 saves.

After a slow start in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Sabres, the Canadiens had their legs moving in the opening period, outshooting Buffalo 13-5. Montreal had chances late in the first on a delayed penalty call against the Sabres but were denied by Miller.

''I thought we played a solid game. We dictated the game, we played hard, the guys were ready to play,'' said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien. ''I liked our intensity. We were competing hard to the net and to loose pucks - that's what you ask from your team. The result wasn't on our side tonight.''
Vanek broke the scoreless deadlock at 10:25 of the second period with Buffalo on a two-man advantage.

Shortly after Mike Blunden was called for interference, defenceman P.K. Subban was whistled for delay of game for shooting the puck over the glass. The Canadiens pleaded with the officials that the puck hit the glass on the way out but to no avail.
''It's bad luck,'' Therrien said of the call.

Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff found a passing lane for the Sabres and fired a shot from the point that deflected in off Vanek for his 15th of the season.

Vanek struck again in the final minute of the second off a Canadiens turnover. Brendan Gallagher broke in on a pass attempt, but the Sabres were there to intercept the puck.

Taking a pass from Tyler Ennis, Vanek finished off the play with some slick stick work to beat Price a second time.

On Tuesday, the Canadiens rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force overtime. This time, they could only manage Michael Ryder's third period power-play goal. It was his 10th score of the season, but first back in Montreal while playing for the Canadiens since March 11, 2008.

''It's very frustrating (to lose a game like that) but we have to find ways to be resilient. We have to find ways to get the two points, even when things maybe aren't going our way, bounces don't go our way,'' defenseman Josh Gorges said. ''We had a good push at the end but we can't get down 2-0 and hope to climb back every time. We've got to try to get the early lead.''

Miller didn't start in the teams' last meeting and was pulled in a 6-1 Montreal rout back in early February. His teammates helped make life easier in front of him, blocking 31 shots.

''I was happy with (my game). It's been a bit of a tough go the last few weeks so I need to start collecting myself and give these guys a chance to get these kinds of wins. They did a nice job of sticking with it, getting to the net and getting the lead,'' he said.

NOTES: The Canadiens scratched defenseman Tomas Kaberle (healthy) and forward Ryan White (lower body). Montreal claimed C Jeff Halpern off waivers from the New York Rangers on Saturday. He didn't arrive in Montreal in time for the game. ... Forward Drew Stafford and defenseman John Scott were healthy scratches for Buffalo. Defenseman Andrej Sekera remained sidelined with an injury. ... Buffalo clinched the season series. The Sabres haven't lost a season series to Montreal since 2007-08.

Canadiens vs Sabres : Que de chances ratées

Source : Rds.ca

Les Sabres de Buffalo ont aligné une deuxième victoire de suite en moins d'une semaine sur la patinoire du Centre Bell contre le Canadien, un gain de 2-1, samedi.

Le Canadien, qui a  dominé la rencontre, n'a pas été en mesure de profiter de ses nombreuses chances de marquer tout au long de la rencontre. En plus de manquer d'opportunisme, le Tricolore s'est buté au brio du gardien Ryan Miller, qui a fait face à 39 tirs.

Mardi, les Sabres étaient venus arracher la victoire en prolongation 3-2. Et comme il y a cinq jours,

Buffalo s'est donné une priorité de deux buts, qui ont été comptés par Thomas Vanek cette fois.

Le Canadien, qui avait récolté au moins un point dans 18 de ses 19 derniers matchs, conserve la première position de sa division en vertu du revers des Bruins de Boston 3-2 devant les Maple Leafs de Toronto.

Les Sabres n'ont tiré que 18 fois contre le filet du Canadien. « Ils ont eu d'excellentes performances de leurs gardiens, a souligné Price, au sujet du succès des Sabres à Montréal cette semaine. Ryan Miller a volé le match ce soir et Jhonas Enroth a été solide l'autre soir. »

 Le premier but de Vanek avait d'abord été accordé au défenseur Christian Ehrhoff lors d'une double supériorité numérique. Après révision, c'est finalement Vanek qui a fait dévier le tir de son coéquipier. Michael Blunden et P.K. Subban étaient au banc des pénalités.

« J'ai bien vu la rondelle changer de trajectoire parce que j'estimais avoir le coude au bon endroit pour la bloquer. Mais elle a abouti dans la partie supérieure du filet. »

Ces deux pénalités rapprochées ont fait basculer la soirée. Après Blunden, pour une charge à l'endroit de Cody Hodgson, Subban a été puni parce qu'il a retardé le match. Une pénalité discutable, Subban faisant valoir que la rondelle avait effleuré la baie vitrée avant d'atterrir dans la foule.

"C'est de la malchance", a simplement réagi Therrien, en ne mettant aucunement en doute la décision des arbitres.
 Le défenseur Josh Gorges a fait écho aux propos de son entraîneur, en évoquant le slogan de l'équipe cette saison qui est "pas d'excuses".

Avec 39 secondes à jouer en deuxième période, Vanek, qui avait raté le dernier match des siens jeudi contre Toronto, a marqué le but assassin en déjouant Carey Price avec une belle feinte après avoir été alimenté par Tyler Ennis et Ville Leino. Après 40 minutes de jeu, c'était 2-0 Buffalo.

Le Canadien a finalement profité d'un avantage numérique en troisième période pour redonner espoirs à ses partisans quand Michael Ryder a fait dévier un tir derrière Miller.

Les chances de marquer du Canadien ont été nombreuses. Micheal Blunden a raté une chance en or en deuxième, quand il n'a pas été en mesure de compléter une superbe passe de Gabriel Dumont. En première, Tomas Plekanec et Ryder n'ont pas été capables de battre Miller après une belle séquence. Puis, au dernier tiers, Plekanec et Brandon Gallagher aussi ont raté une belle opportunité parmi tant d'autres.

Un sérieux test attend le Tricolore qui va rencontrer coup sur coup les Penguins de Pittsburgh et les Bruins de Boston mardi et mercredi.

Saison	PJ	V	D	DP	DF	BP	BC	Points	LP	LC	AVA	DÉS
2011-12	22	10	9	1	2	57	53	23	695	588	14,12%	89,89%
2012-13	31	20	6	3	2	98	77	45	957	822	21,17%	80,00%

Habs vs Sabres : Game Preview

Source : yahoo.com

Montreal's only blemish during its current seven-game points streak came at home to the Buffalo Sabres earlier this week.

The Canadians have a chance to avenge that loss as they host the Sabres for the second time in five nights Saturday.

Montreal (20-5-5) avenged its only regulation loss in the last 19 games with a 5-2 road win over the New York Islanders on Thursday. The Canadiens, who are 6-0-1 since that 6-3 loss to the Islanders on March 5, now have a chance to pay back Buffalo (12-15-4) after the Sabres left Montreal with a 3-2 overtime victory Tuesday.

"Obviously a run like this feels good but we know we have a lot of work to do in improving our game," said Montreal forward Max Pacioretty, who had two assists Thursday. "If we want to be successful we have to change a couple things in our game and get better at it and hopefully we can
keep doing that."

The Canadiens have a two-point lead over Boston in the Northeast Division and are on the heels of Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh. Montreal is in the midst of a 4-0-3 home stretch but has lost in a shootout and overtime to the Sabres since beating them 6-1 at the Bell Centre on Feb. 2.

Buffalo's Steve Ott scored in regulation and 2:16 into overtime at Montreal on Tuesday. Ott had an assist and scored in the sixth round of Thursday's 5-4 shootout home win over Toronto.

"He was the guy to go to,'' Sabres interim coach Ron Rolston said. "He brings a lot of energy to the team and especially the grit he plays with on a consistent basis. He can be put out in all situations.''

Ott has three goals in two games against the Canadiens, who hope to halt Buffalo's momentum by building on their latest victory.

Montreal trailed 2-1 on Long Island before scoring four straight goals, including three in the third period. Defenseman P.K. Subban had two goals and Michael Ryder scored his third for his 10th point in 10 games since being acquired from Dallas last month.

"This was a big win for us," said Montreal's Carey Price, who made 25 saves. "We wanted to rebound after that last game. I don't think we played particularity well in those first two periods, but we came out really strong in the third.

"We're really comfortable in tight games when we come out in the third period. We have a group with an incredible will and work ethic that allows us to overcome tough situations."

Price has a 2.29 goals-against average while winning five of six, but has yielded three goals in three of his last four against the Sabres.

Buffalo's Thomas Vanek has three of his team-leading 14 goals versus Montreal this season, but could sit out a second straight game after he was struck by a shot in the right hip Tuesday against the Canadiens.

Four points out of the final playoff spot in the East, Buffalo is 6-5-3 since Rolston replaced the fired Lindy Ruff on Feb. 20.

Subban has six of his nine goals in the last 10 games, but one in 15 career contests against the Sabres.