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Rick Jeanneret Sabres have productive growing pains Nov 22, 2005
What's cooking now with Sabres?
Vanek was everything last year in the American Hockey League. He just burned up the league playing with the Rochester Americans, but here in the NHL, he has had difficulty finding the back of the net scoring goals. He's getting lots of points now, though, and there's no doubt he's deeply involved in the offense which is what they want him to be. But Buffalo fully expects Vanek to score an awful lot more goals between now and the end of season, and I do, too. He's a very accomplished player around the net, and we're looking forward to seeing a lot more from him. Among their collection of youthful players -- many of whom where first round draft picks -- Taylor Platt is one player who has to score a lot more goals than he has. The club has indeed asked him to start producing more. Pyatt responded by netting a hat trick against Washington, and I thought it was largely because he was more of a presence physically. He has got to do that. Taylor's a big kid who can really skate, and he's got to let people know he's on the ice by stepping into people and taking them out of the play with his big frame. Hey, even under these new rules, you are allowed to do that as long as you don't use your stick to do it. Yes, they want Pyatt to be more of an offensive player, but they also want him to be a good solid all-around checker if he's going to exist on the fourth line before rising in the ranks. NEW YORK, NEW YORK The last memorable Sabres-Rangers game that I recall -- and the reason I can recall is because it all belongs to the Rangers and not to the Sabres -- is the Rangers' opening game at MSG back in 1995 after New York had won the Stanley Cup. There was that better than a half-an-hour ceremony that went on before that game got underway. I don't think the Sabres came out to watch the entire proceedings, but certainly they were privy to it in the dressing room. And maybe they had a taste of it what it would be like if they could only win the Cup themselves. Then 1999 came, but that's a story for another day... IMAGINE... A lot of people, including myself, enjoy the new shootout. In imagining that it had always been part of the game, there are five Sabres I would pick from over the years to be among the shooters. I'd definitely end with Gilbert Perreault. His linemate Rick Martin would be another one that would definitely be one of the five. As a former 50-goal scorer, Danny Gare obviously would be in there. After that, it's a tough choice for two more. I'd get my partner Jim Lorentz mixed up if I didn't choose him, right?! Rene Robert -- who didn't amass that many points for the Sabres, but is a member of the French Connection line -- would be considered probably a little bit shifty with the puck, so he would be considered for the shootout by coaches if he were playing today. |
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