A Tale of Two Cities

The Buffalo Sabres went into play Monday night. Two cities, two nights, two completely different teams. And two totally different results.

The sabres went into toronto Monday and thoroughly dominated the Leafs in every aspect of a 4-0 shutout. They out-muscled, out-hustled and plain out worked a poorly conditioned Leafs team. They also took advantage of Leaf mistakes, scoring all four goals on the power-play. The team saw significant contributions from the young players. Goals from Derek Roy, Jiri Novonty and Michael Ryan, and physical play from forwards Mark Mancari and Chris Thorburn. Marty Biron got the shutout.

Tuesday, was the exact opposite of Mondays game. With a whole new lineup, the sabres were the mistake prone team, taking bad penalties and Columbus took advantage, scoring 2 goals on a 5 on 3 power play on their way to a 4-1 win. Jochen Hecht scored the only Buffalo goal and Ryan Miller was left facing a barrage of shots on him and a young defense.

What to read into all this? Absolutely nothing. Its preseason. Sure you wanna see wins all the time, just like in the regular season. But losses build character. And theres no points involved. I expect to see the kids bounce back nicely Friday night when they head to Ottawa.

In other news...the Sabres announced today that Defenseman Brian Campbell has been named an alternate captain, replacing Jay McKee, who left as a free agent. Campbell, a 7th round pick in 1997, has been a Sabre since the 2000 season.

Players of the Week:

I havent been to camp yet, so I will go with what I saw in the 2 games. Monday night, Michael Ryan. In maybe his final camp to try and impress Sabre brass, the 26 year old Massachusetts native had a strong performance against the Leafs, including an impressive roof shot goal on the power play. And for Tuesday, judging that he scored the only goal, ill hand that award to Jochen Hecht.

On tap:

Sabres have a special evening practice from 6-8pm Thursday at the Arena. Admission is free and the Sabres store and select concession stands will be open. Sabres play again Friday in Ottawa and again Saturday against the Penguins in Hamilton, Ontario.