Now do you believe?

Thomas Vanek simply walking into Mordor

A funny thing has happened to the Buffalo Sabres since Terry Pegula purchased them from Tom Golisano towards the end of February: slowly but surely, they’ve actually managed to morph into contenders.  They’re probably no one’s idea of the next Eastern Conference Champions, not with 76 points and tied with the slumping New York Rangers for seventh in the conference. But the position the Sabres are currently finding themselves in was certainly all but unthinkable to a lot of people just two months ago. And not all of the team’s sudden revival is a direct result of their new owner.

Week in Review, January 9

Happy Drew Year indeed

Well, there’s still no ownership news to report with the Buffalo Sabres, although employees of Tom Golisano’s company, Paychex, are no longer being allowed use of the owner’s box so I suppose that’s proof that things are moving forward for the Sabres. They certainly are on the ice; the past week has to have been the best and most competitive week for the Sabres in at least a month.

I Have to Admit it’s Getting Better, or Rangers 3, Sabres 2, Sabres 3, Capitals 2

At 6-9-3 and in fourth place in the Northeast Division, the Buffalo Sabres might still seem to be stuck in a rut. But after this past weekend’s overtime loss to the New York Rangers and overtime win over the Washington Capitals, one can no longer confuse the Sabres with the pathetic ragtag bunch that was the scorn of Western New York only two weeks ago.

Olympic Hockey preview with Andrew Bucholtz

In case you weren’t watching NBC on Friday night and thus missed Wayne Gretzky’s patented “glare of death” while he was holding the torch, the Winter Olympics have officially begun in Vancouver. With the NHL Olympic break finally beginning today, albeit a full 3 DAYS after every other sport’s athletes arrived, we’re now only two days away from the start of Olympic men’s hockey, which kicks off on Wednesday with opening round games between Finland and Belarus, Sweden and Germany, Russia vs Latvia (at midnight),and of course, the U.S. vs Switzerland and Canada vs Norway. So to give this site’s readers (I know you’re there) a taste of what to expect during what could potentially be both the best Olympic hockey tournament since NHL players began participating in 1998 and, if certain key NHL figures who shall remain nameless get their way, the last Olympics with NHL players a taste of what to expect in Vancouver during the second half of February, I figured I’d talk to one of the best Canadian bloggers out there, ex-Rookie, current proprietor of the excellent blog Sporting Madness and native Vancouverite Andrew Bucholtz. Enjoy.

1.Which teams are going to medal?

The medals are incredibly tough to call, as quite a few of the teams in Vancouver have a shot at the gold. It’s especially close at the top, I think, particularly between Canada, Russia, Sweden and the U.S. Canada has the best overall depth, but Russia has the best forwards, Sweden is a solid all-around team and the Americans could cause some upsets with strong goaltending and defensive play. In the end, I’d predict Canada with the gold, Sweden with the silver and Russia with the bronze.

2.

The goaltending debate’s on everyone’s mind at the moment, as both Luongo and Brodeur have struggled recently. I’d expect to see them both play in the early games before a decision is made on who will start in the elimination rounds; whoever’s hotter will probably win the number-one job. If I had to make the decision right now, I’d go with Luongo; after a slow start to the year, he’s been in solid form. Both have a good claim to the top job, though.

3.Do you think Russia will be hurt or helped by having as many KHL players on its roster as it does? Or will Alexander Ovechkin and the other big name players on the team cancel out that effect altogether?

I don’t think it really matters which league players come from. The reason the Russians have so many KHL players on their roster is that those are mostly guys who would be lesser lights in the NHL, but who have chosen instead to get treated like stars, pick up big paychecks, pay less taxes and live at home in Russia. It’s not that they don’t have the skills for the NHL; it’s more that they’re better off being the top talent in a lesser league. Most of them are known to the NHL types, though, so it’s not like they’ll be secret weapons. I’m expecting most of the Russians’ success to come from their top players; the KHL guys are mostly there to add depth.

4.Care to place any odds on John Tortorella pulling another Bobby Knight during the games while Chris Drury looks on in horror?

All bets are always off with Tortorella. Instead of a Bobby Knight, he might pull a John Ferguson, instructing one of the American goons to go break someone’s leg. The only question is who would be his Bobby Clarke; the USA roster has enough truculence that there are a plethora of candidates.

5.In which areas does the U.S. have the best matchup advantages against Russia and Canada? The worst?

In my mind, the Americans’ biggest advantage comes from their physicality and their grinder mentality. They know they’re underdogs, so they’ll be determined to get out there and try and knock the other team out of their comfort zone. The Russians are more of a finesse team, and even the Canadian lineup is full of players who are more known for making pretty plays than blocking shots or throwing checks, so if the U.S. is able to force a hard-hitting, close checking game, they could take advantage of that.

They also have a great goaltender in Ryan Miller, who’s perhaps playing better at the moment than most of the Olympic goalies. I’m not expecting high-scoring wins from the U.S., but they could definitely make some noise with 2-1 and 3-2 victories. Their problem comes from that lack of top-tier offensive talent, though; only Patrick Kane and Zach Parise are in the NHL’s top 20 scoring leaders, which is why I can’t see the Americans winning many wide-open offensive games.

6.Which countries besides the Big 4 (U.S., Canada, Russia and Sweden) have the best chances of landing a medal?

Outside of the top four, I’d argue that the Czechs and the Finns have the best chances at sneaking into the medals. The Czechs have a deep roster and one of the hottest goalies around in Tomas Vokoun; if he plays the way he has been lately, they could knock some people off. The Finns have a surprisingly good collection of talent, and they always play hard. If they copy the U.S. model of winning games with defensive effort and goaltending, they could go far as well.