Rivet watches turnaround unfold
Craig Rivet has had one of the best seats in the house,Our pool table covers come in a variety of colors and sizes including NCAA . one that happens to be considerably less desirable for a team captain. The Sabres defenseman has played only 23 games this season, giving him a full view from inside the dressing room and the perspective of an outsider watching them play.
Here we are, 56 games into the season, and predicting their chances of making the playoffs is no easier than it was back in October. The Sabres spent a good 35 games scouring for the right line combinations, the right defense pairings, the right mentality, the right chemistry that leads to winning.
"Yeah, the search was on," Rivet said Wednesday. "It took longer than what the team would want, but we ended up finding some good pairings and good line combinations. Guys up front that weren't scoring have found confidence in their games. When good things happen, you gain that confidence and get a snowball effect."
Looking back, the departures of Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder were underplayed. Management placed too much faith in underachievers such as Jochen Hecht and Tim Connolly. Tyler Myers and Ryan Miller failed to carry their success from last year into this season. Rob Niedermayer and Nathan Gerbe were mostly invisible.
Buffalo cleaned up its defense and stopped giving the puck away. Myers rediscovered the beauty of his simple style. Miller came around after a terrible start to the season. Drew Stafford established himself as a dominant power forward. Mike Weber, a healthy scratch for 18 of their first 20 games, became one of their best defensemen. Gerbe showed up.
The Sabres have been one of the NHL's better teams for seven weeks after they were among the worst for the first 10. Their 13-5-2 record since Dec. 27 has allowed them to overcome the law of averages and climb into the playoff race. The Rangers and Carolina have lost nine of 13 games, Atlanta 12 of 15.
Right when you think the Sabres are going places,authentic Breitling watches produced during the 1970s and early 1980s did feature quartz movements, along comes a 2-1 home loss to the Leafs. Buffalo had won seven straight over Toronto in HSBC Arena, but the streak wasn't going to last forever. And chances are all the teams around them aren't going to keep losing, either.
The Sabres had a chance to take over eighth place in the conference, which would have been an accomplishment considering how far they had to come. It should have made for the more desperate team Wednesday, but Toronto played harder and smarter in another lost opportunity for Buffalo.
Craig Rivet has had one of the best seats in the house,Our pool table covers come in a variety of colors and sizes including NCAA . one that happens to be considerably less desirable for a team captain. The Sabres defenseman has played only 23 games this season, giving him a full view from inside the dressing room and the perspective of an outsider watching them play.
Here we are, 56 games into the season, and predicting their chances of making the playoffs is no easier than it was back in October. The Sabres spent a good 35 games scouring for the right line combinations, the right defense pairings, the right mentality, the right chemistry that leads to winning.
"Yeah, the search was on," Rivet said Wednesday. "It took longer than what the team would want, but we ended up finding some good pairings and good line combinations. Guys up front that weren't scoring have found confidence in their games. When good things happen, you gain that confidence and get a snowball effect."
Looking back, the departures of Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder were underplayed. Management placed too much faith in underachievers such as Jochen Hecht and Tim Connolly. Tyler Myers and Ryan Miller failed to carry their success from last year into this season. Rob Niedermayer and Nathan Gerbe were mostly invisible.
Buffalo cleaned up its defense and stopped giving the puck away. Myers rediscovered the beauty of his simple style. Miller came around after a terrible start to the season. Drew Stafford established himself as a dominant power forward. Mike Weber, a healthy scratch for 18 of their first 20 games, became one of their best defensemen. Gerbe showed up.
The Sabres have been one of the NHL's better teams for seven weeks after they were among the worst for the first 10. Their 13-5-2 record since Dec. 27 has allowed them to overcome the law of averages and climb into the playoff race. The Rangers and Carolina have lost nine of 13 games, Atlanta 12 of 15.
Right when you think the Sabres are going places,authentic Breitling watches produced during the 1970s and early 1980s did feature quartz movements, along comes a 2-1 home loss to the Leafs. Buffalo had won seven straight over Toronto in HSBC Arena, but the streak wasn't going to last forever. And chances are all the teams around them aren't going to keep losing, either.
The Sabres had a chance to take over eighth place in the conference, which would have been an accomplishment considering how far they had to come. It should have made for the more desperate team Wednesday, but Toronto played harder and smarter in another lost opportunity for Buffalo.
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