YEAR OF DISAPPOINTMENT DIRECTS SABRES’ FOCUS FROM POINTS ON SCORESHEET TO POINTS IN STANDINGS
Sabres keep eye on the playoffs
Lindy Ruff likes the look of his players. No, not how they appear on the ice, although that’s not bad. Rather, it’s the actual looks emanating from their eyes that have Ruff relishing the start of the year.
The Buffalo Sabres’ coach absorbed last season as a personal embarrassment. It was humbling to watch teams compete for the Stanley Cup while he and his squad sat on their couches. He spent the summer hoping the players felt the same twinges of disappointment and regret.
When he talks with them, he sees they do.
“We had a winning year last year, but it wasn’t a playoff year,” Ruff said of the 10th-place campaign that featured a 39-31-12 record. “In my book, winning is calculated by being able to play past the regular season. We didn’t quite make it, and the character part of this is you learn from your disappointments.
“We need all our young players to learn that not making it is something that’s unacceptable. When you talk to most of them, you see that in their eyes.”
Missing the playoffs again is not an option. Owner Tom Golisano said he’d chew on a microphone if the Sabres didn’t finish in the top eight of the Eastern Conference. It’s clear he’s not the only one with an appetite for the postseason.
“Players are bothered most by not making the playoffs,” forward Ales Kotalik said. “It’s in everybody’s head over the summer: “What should I do better? What should I do different to help the team more, to help the team get to the playoffs?’ I think every player has it in mind, and I think everybody’s going to be hungry.”
Offense
The Sabres were fourth in the NHL in scoring last season and first the year before. They have the talent to be among the leaders again.
The heart of the top line remains center Derek Roy and left wing Thomas Vanek, who combined for 68 goals and 145 points. Drew Stafford and Maxim Afinogenov will compete at right wing, a spot neither could grasp last season. Both need to improve.
Daniel Paille, who surprised many by scoring 19 goals, earned a bump in status and will start alongside center Jochen Hecht and right wing Jason Pominville. They are the team’s two best all-around players, guys who can score and defend equally well.
Kotalik’s 23 goals will anchor the third line, but what matters most is the health of Tim Connolly and Paul Gaustad. Connolly is as talented as they come, but he can’t stay in the lineup. Gaustad will miss at least the first month of the season after undergoing thumb surgery.
The potential exists for scoreboard-lighting nights. But the point of training camp was to teach the forwards that keeping the puck out of their net is just as important as putting it in the other net.
“This team has shown in the past that they can score goals,” defenseman Craig Rivet said. “Maybe a little more focus on the defensive side of the game is really going to propel this team to the next level.”
Defense
Of the six defensemen expected to start Friday against Montreal, half weren’t with the team last opening night.
Rivet’s resume suggests he’ll supply what the Sabres have often lacked, an ample amount of grit and toughness. He also had 35 points with San Jose last season, so he can hurt people at both ends.
Teppo Numminen is back after missing all but the season finale last year because of heart surgery. The team missed his leadership, experience and poise. Blue-liners made mistakes Numminen just doesn’t make, and they’ll follow his simple style of play.
Andrej Sekera finished his rookie season with a flourish, and the smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman will get the chance to show he can play five-on-five and with the man-advantage.
Jaroslav Spacek is a steady, all-around force. Bounce-back seasons are expected from Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman. Nathan Paetsch and rookie Mike Weber will be called upon, too.
“Depth on defense is something that’s real important because we know that previous years we’ve typically used nine or 10 defensemen,” Ruff said.
Goaltending
It is Ryan Miller’s team. The Sabres just hope it’s not always his net.
Miller played a team-record 76 games last year. If he matches that mark, it means something has gone terribly astray. Veteran Patrick Lalime was signed to back up Miller, and the plan is for him to get 25-30 appearances.
Ruff has a history of losing faith in backups, so Lalime will have to prove he can be trusted right away. A start like last season would do it. He opened the year in Chicago with a 4-1 record and .904 save percentage. He finished with 16 victories.
But most of the chores will fall to Miller, who has shown he can lead a team in the playoffs with back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference finals a few years ago. The 28-year-old feels he’s just entering his prime.
Actually, most of the Sabres are making that ascension from “young guy” to “established player.” It’s why their eyes are focused on the postseason.
“As guys get a little bit older, they start to understand that it’s a lot of the little things that add up in hockey to get the job accomplished, to get the two points,” center Adam Mair said. “It’s the difference between maybe sacrificing 10 individual points but gaining 10 points in the standings.
“Right now, we’re looking to do good things in this locker room.”
