GDT: 1/15/15: WILD (18-19-5) at SABRES (14-27-3) TV: FS-N, FS-WI, MSG-B, BELL TV - 7 PM

[joshjull]

Out of curiosity how have Hackett and Larsson developed so far for you guys?

Pommer has been solid offensively for us so far, about the only guy on this team who actually has and uses a slap shot. His defensive play, especially lately though has been lacking. Never been a physical player but he needs to stop with the defensive lapses because his positioning is supposed to make up for a lack of contact.

Hackett struggled last year and then suffered a severe knee injury at the end of last season. He had surgery and missed the past 9 months recovering. He played his first game this year a few days ago.

Larsson has been great in Rochester and solid defensively in Buffalo with limited ice time. Not sure where he fits in the future.

 

[Zip15]

Out of curiosity how have Hackett and Larsson developed so far for you guys?

Pommer has been solid offensively for us so far, about the only guy on this team who actually has and uses a slap shot. His defensive play, especially lately though has been lacking. Never been a physical player but he needs to stop with the defensive lapses because his positioning is supposed to make up for a lack of contact.

Hackett has only played in one game this season for Rochester in the AHL. As you may know, he was injured towards the end of last season and he has been rehabbing until just recently. He was pretty bad for the Amerks last season, but was okay for Buffalo in a few appearances after Miller was traded and Lieuwen was injured.

Larsson has grown into one of those guys who has been a top-AHL player but there's some debate around these parts whether he's a full-time NHL'er. His possession and GA/60 stats are good, relatively speaking, but the offense hasn't yet translated. He had a couple nice games during a recent recall, but then was put back on the 4th line--which he complained about after he was sent back to Rochester. The problem is, it sounds like he wants a top-9 role with a little bit of PP time, but I'm not sure how much of that is there for him at the NHL level. Ultimately, I think he's going to need to figure out how to play on a 4th line with occasional spot duty on a 3rd line. He loses his waiver exemption after this season, so we'll see if he's still in Buffalo's plan after this deadline and, later, this summer.

 

[SamuraiArt]

Both defenseman have a better PPG than Hodgson, and Flynn has outplayed him by a mile. Hodgson has done nothing to deserve PP time this year. And he's had his chances and done nothing with them.

Plus they need some better defensive players on the ice during a PP with all the SH goals they give up. I'll admit though that Stafford should probably be on one of the PP lines.

 

[Paxon]

Out of curiosity how have Hackett and Larsson developed so far for you guys?

Pommer has been solid offensively for us so far, about the only guy on this team who actually has and uses a slap shot. His defensive play, especially lately though has been lacking. Never been a physical player but he needs to stop with the defensive lapses because his positioning is supposed to make up for a lack of contact.

Hackett had a lousy year in Rochester last year (lost the starting job), played decently in a brief stint for us at the end of the year before a tear in his knee. He just returned recently, so there's no way of knowing if he's back on track or not. Personally I would have been fine with not qualifying him this summer but there's still hope he can have a future.

Going back to last year, Larsson has been good defensively and in possession with very little offensive production whenever he's with the big club. In Rochester he puts up strong production. I think the organization really sees him as a winger moreso than a center. Hard to say if the organization is high on his future here.

Pominville had for years been a solid, responsible two-way player for us but in that last season his defense was really beneath his norm. It seems like that's more or less carried over into his time with you guys.

 

[cardiffgiant]

what is this "win" you speak of? Is it a type of injury?

Has anyone tested the scoreboard recently to ensure that the bulbs that would be used to display a winning score still work? It's always good to be prepared for the unexpected.

 

[MayDayMayDay]

Vanek & Pominville both score. Sabres lose.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

Ted Nolan Pre-Game (1/15/15) - 6:22 Mins

[nhl]726614[/nhl]

 

[26CornerBlitz]

STEWART RETURNS AS SABRES TAKE ON WILD

By Chris Ryndak - Sabres.com

Sabres-Wild Preview - 2:37 Mins
[nhl]726617[/nhl]

Here are the projected lines:

WILD

Zach Parise – Mikko Koivu – Jason Pominville

Jason Zucker – Charlie Coyle – Nino Niederreiter

Thomas Vanek – Erik Haula – Justin Fontaine

Matt Cooke – Kyle Brodziak – Ryan Carter

Jared Spurgeon – Christian Folin

Jonas Brodin – Nate Prosser

Jonathon Blum – Matt Dumba

Devan Dubnyk

Niklas Backstrom

Scratched: Jordan Schroeder

Suspended: Ryan Suter

Injured: Marco Scandella (upper body), Justin Falk (upper body), Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed), Mikael Granlund (upper body)

PROJECTED SABRES LINEUP
26 Matt Moulson – 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 63 Tyler Ennis
65 Brian Flynn – 17 Torrey Mitchell – 21 Drew Stafford
19 Cody Hodgson – 84 Philip Varone – 80 Chris Stewart
44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 37 Matt Ellis – 36 Patrick Kaleta

4 Josh Gorges – 57 Tyler Myers
51 Nikita Zadorov – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
6 Mike Weber – 41 Andrej Meszaros

1 Jhonas Enroth
34 Michal Neuvirth

Scratched: 20 Zac Dalpe, 24 Tyson Strachan, 61 Andre Benoit
Injured Reserve: 8 Cody McCormick (blood clot), 12 Brian Gionta (upper-body), 82 Marcus Foligno (hand)

Status Report: Gionta skated again on Thursday and is hoping to return to the lineup soon. He’s been out since he took a hit from Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski on Dec. 21… Wild goalie John Curry worked out while the rest of the team skated on Thursday. He is expected to be sent back to Iowa with the arrival of Dubnyk.

Who’s Hot: Stewart’s return would be welcome to Buffalo. He has eight points in his past 13 games with two goals and six assists.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

@ScoutingTheRefs

Referee Garrett Rank makes his NHL debut alongside Paul Devorski for #Sabres #MNWild: http://scoutingtherefs.com/2015/01/6921/tonights-nhl-referees-linesmen-11515/

#MIN #BUF

 

[Namejs]

Careful gentlemen, if you string together a few wins we might be able to out tank you.

 

[dotcommunism]

@ScoutingTheRefs

Referee Garrett Rank makes his NHL debut alongside Paul Devorski for #Sabres #MNWild: http://scoutingtherefs.com/2015/01/6921/tonights-nhl-referees-linesmen-11515/

#MIN #BUF

Garrett Rank is the younger brother of former Sabres minor leaguer (with the Portland Pirates) Kyle Rank

 

[MackAttack26]

Dubnyk with the 15 save shutout. Sadly, this isn't that unrealistic.

 

[wunderpanda]

Cooke and Kaleta in the same game, good thing they are both reformed or there would be more injuries than goals

 

[Beerz]

We get the Turd Jerseys tonight.... #suffering

 

[EichHart]

Must lose game

 

[sabrebuild]

Cooke and Kaleta in the same game, good thing they are both reformed or there would be more injuries than goals

 

[Beerz]

Wild are such a mystery ... They were so good in the playoffs last year ... Really enjoyed watching them last year.

 

[kenfury]

Oh look it's ugly jersey night.

 

[Beerz]

Good goal.

 

[B U F F A L O]

Should be a goal

 

[machpo]

Good goal.

good *hockey* goal. was wondering what the other options were when he said it.

 

[Paxon]

good *hockey* goal. was wondering what the other options were when he said it.

I like the rook's flair

 

[Beerz]

Myers derp.

 

[Paxon]

Really bad giveaway there Myers

 

[ZeroPT*]

I like the rook's flair

The point to center ice was fabulous