They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place. It did Saturday night as Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller returned from a concussion.
The injury came from a hit to the head by Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic on November 12th. The Sabres did little to respond to the hit and expected the NHL's head of disciplinary action, Brendan Shanahan, to take care of Lucic.
However, no suspension was forthcoming from Shanahan, and although the Sabres did fight the Bruins twice in the next game, they got little to no satisfaction out of it.
Having Miller suffer a concussion from the hit didn't help them out much either. Miller missed nine games and made his return Saturday night.
It didn't take long to become an eventful return though, as with 4:46 remaining in the second period, Predators forward Jordin Tootoo left his feet to hit Miller.
Yeah, you read right. He left his feet...to hit a goalie.
Tootoo didn't turn out to be as lucky as Lucic, however, as he ended up being at the bottom of a pile of Sabres, with fists flying, all directed towards him.
This is the point where you have people who don't understand the sport talking about how "fighting shouldn't be allowed in hockey" and "it's a cheap attempt at getting ratings."
That's what we call "Horse Hockey." Both of these incidents provide a perfect example of why fighting should be allowed, and even more-so why the instigator rule needs to be uplifted.
Lucic made a hit on a goalie that at the very least tip-toed on the line of what's dirty and what isn't. Regardless of whether you think it was dirty or not, in the moment, it's something Miller's teammates should have responded to.
They didn't, and shortly after, Lucic walked away from the league with no suspension. In essence, Lucic got away with hitting a goalie at no consequence. No player made him feel at all threatened, and the league did nothing to punish him.
This is when players begin to think they can take runs at your players, and that's exactly what Tootoo did.
This time, he didn't get lucky like Lucic, and Buffalo finally went balls-to-the-wall and sent a message to any player who may think about taking a run at their players in the future.
That is exactly why fighting is allowed and should remain in the game. It keeps the players accountable to each other for their actions, and it deters actions like Tootoo performed on Saturday because he thought he could get away with it.
Jordan Matthews is a writer for the NHL and for the Detroit Red Wings. For more coverage, you can follow him on Twitter.
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There may be nothing scarier in the sports world then taking a razor-sharp ice skate to the face and/or neck. Simply horrifying.
That’s the reality Buffalo Sabres forward Nathan Gerbe faced Friday night when his teammate Paul Gaustad fell and his skate clipped Gerbe’s face.
Gerbe immediately grabbed his face and rushed off the ice where he was met by the trainers who looked at him and took him into the locker room.
While this could have been a tragic story, it wasn’t nearly as serious as it could have been.
NHL Network’s David Amber is reporting about Gerbe’s status on Twitter:
Update on #Sabres Gerbe- reports say nose and lip cut by Gaustad skate- considered day to day
It goes to show that hockey players are the toughest athletes in all of professional sports. You can tell me about Ray Lewis all day, but until he plays through cutting his face with a giant blade, I’ll take the NHL.
Gerbe stands at just 5’5”. While I am glad this hasn’t happened before, I am surprised. With Gerbe’s height, you would think that he would have a better chance of getting hit with a skate in a melee like we saw Friday.
This whole ordeal is just more proof that the NHL should mandate shields, but not stop the development there. Look at full cages and neck protection that isn’t bulky that players can get behind.
Safety is important in every sport, but in a sport where the players have razor blades attached to their feet, there has to be never-ending search for perfect safety.
Check back for more on the National Hockey League as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NHL Page to get your fill of all things hockey.
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Sabres towering young defenceman talks to NHLPA.com about the wild west of Texas and Alberta, his choice to play for the USA or Canada on the international stage and the whirlwind of draft day.
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Mike Grier retires after 14 NHL seasons.The veteran winger played over 1,000 NHL games with Edmonton, Washington, Buffalo and San Jose
TORONTO (December 1, 2011) – Mike Grier, a hard-working and dependable winger who played his career with the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks, announced his retirement today from the National Hockey League (NHL) following a career that spanned 14 seasons.
Grier, 36, appeared in a total of 1,060 regular season NHL games, recording 162 goals and 221 assists for 383 points. He also played in 101 NHL playoff games, as his teams qualified for the playoffs in 11 of his 14 seasons in the league.
“I was very fortunate to be able to play 14 seasons in the NHL with some great players,” said Grier. “The memories and friendships that I have built during my time in the league will last a lifetime. I would like to thank my former teammates, family and fans for helping make my career so memorable for me. It was a great ride, and I am now excited and looking forward to my post-playing future.”
Grier was born in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in the Boston area, and although his family was active in professional football, Mike’s passion was for hockey. His dedication and hard work enabled him to become one of the first black hockey players who was born, raised and trained in the United States to play in the NHL.
Grier was drafted in the ninth round, 219th overall, of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, but was traded to the Edmonton Oilers while attending Boston University. Mike honed his hockey skills playing three years of Division 1 hockey at BU starting in the 1993-94 season.
Grier accumulated 120 points in 114 games over his playing career at BU and was named a Hobey Baker Award finalist, selected to the NCAA East First All-American Team, and helped the Terriers win a national championship in 1995.
Grier broke into the NHL during the 1996-97 season with the Edmonton Oilers, playing in 79 games while scoring 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points as a rookie. He would spend six seasons in Edmonton, posting two 20-goal seasons, before being traded to the Washington Capitals before the '02'03 season.
Grier would stay with the Capitals for parts of two seasons before being dealt at the trade deadline in '04 to the Buffalo Sabres. He was a member of the Sabres during their run to the 2005-06 Eastern Conference Finals. He signed with San Jose as a free agent in the summer of 2006 and spent three seasons with the Sharks, making a trip to the playoffs in each of those seasons.
He returned to Buffalo as a free-agent in '09 and played the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons—the final two of his career—with the Sabres.
Mike and his wife Anne, and their three children, will reside in the Boston area.
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Just two seasons ago, Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller was the toast of the hockey world, as he won the Vezina Trophy and led the USA Olympic hockey team on a magical run to a silver medal.
Now, he is sidelined by a concussion and possibly on the trading block.
Sabres fans seem to have soured on Miller a bit after an inconsistent start to the season, and have instead embraced backup Jhonas Enroth. There is currently no concrete timetable for Miller's return to action after being hit by the Boston Bruins' Milan Lucic, but Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal has heard that Miller wouldn't mind being traded.
While this has yet to be confirmed, the Sabres' front office most certainly shouldn't cave in under pressure from the fanbase. Rookie backup Enroth has generally played well in Miller's absence, but there is no reason to believe that he can sufficiently carry a starter's workload.
Enroth has a record of 8-4-1 this season with a goals against average of 2.27 and save percentage of .926. While those numbers are impressive, they have come over a small sample size. The same can be said for his 9-2-2 record last season.
In the NFL fans like to label certain quarterbacks like Tim Tebow as "winners," the same can be said for goaltenders in the NHL. The fact of the matter is, though, that no quarterback or goaltender is going to win if its supporting cast is playing poorly.
Enroth may have had a great record last season, but his 2.73 goals against average was fairly mediocre for an NHL goalie. He was picked up by a Sabres offense that was among the best in the league down the stretch last year, though.
The offense has been inconsistent over the past few weeks and the defense has been shaky, and because of that, Enroth has begun to wilt a bit. The stats don't paint the true picture of how Enroth has performed recently, as he has often been out of position and gotten lucky with shots hitting the goal post.
Ultimately, the overarching point is that while Enroth is a good to great backup, he isn't necessarily capable of being a successful starter. Sabres fans have wanted a reliable backup for the past several years, but the second one emerges, they want the starter out of town.
Enroth has proven to be serviceable over a very short period of time, but Miller, while a bit of a head case at times, has been productive for several years now. There is no question that dealing Miller and his $6.25 million-per-year salary would open space to address other needs, but it isn't worth it.
When Miller is on his game, he is one of the best goaltenders the NHL has to offer. While the fans and even Miller himself may be frustrated, there is no reason to overreact.
While Miller was winning the Vezina two seasons ago, Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas was in a similar situation that Miller is in now, with backup Tuukka Rask gaining favor with the fans. Rask turned out to be flash in the pan, though, as Thomas regained his starting spot and led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup championship last season.
I'm not saying the same will happen with Miller, but I would take the steadier and more proven option at goaltender any day of the week. Enroth may eventually prove to be the better goalie, but that isn't the case currently.
Provided the Sabres' supporting cast can get healthy and figure things out as the season continues, it will be Miller, and not Enroth, who leads Buffalo into the playoffs.
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Jhonas Enroth is probably a name no one in Buffalo has heard before, much less the rest of the NHL. His official page on the Sabres website doesn't even have a bio for the 2006 second-round pick. However, in the absence of superstar goalie Ryan Miller, Enroth has stepped up and kept the Sabres ranked in the top five in their conference.
Enroth gave up five goals in the past two games subbing for Miller, but he came back strong Friday night, stopping 34 shots in a 1-0 win over the struggling Carolina Hurricanes. "After a game when you play like that, you just want to get out there again. I'm happy I got the start right after that game," said Enroth, who has a 1.95 GAA in the 10 games he's played in this season.
Jason Pominville was the only Sabre to get one of the team's 19 shots past Hurricane goalie Brian Boucher, who was playing for an injured Cam Ward. Pominville extended his six-game points streak with the goal, and Buffalo has won seven straight road games.
They currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with 24 points, behind Philadelphia by one point. Carolina is scraping the bottom of the Southeast division, having lost seven of its last eight games.
The Sabres have a two-game home stand next, hosting Phoenix on Saturday night, followed by the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
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Milan Lucic was not suspended after meeting today with head disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan to discuss the power forward’s in-game collision with Buffalo Sabres all-star net minder Ryan Miller.
Here is a full description of why Shanahan decided not to suspend Lucic, courtesy of NHL.com
Shanahan held a hearing with Lucic via conference call because he had specific questions he wanted to ask before making a determination on potential supplemental discipline.
"I had the hearing because I did make an initial assessment of the play as I do with all plays, but I did have some questions for Milan and I wanted to hear directly from him," Shanahan told NHL.com. "They were regarding his intent; at what point did he know there was going to be a collision; and whether or not he felt he had the time to avoid the collision. I was satisfied with his answers."
Shanahan said the minor penalty for charging was the proper call in this case because it follows Rule 42.1, which reads "a goalkeeper is not fair game just because he is outside the goal crease area."
"The minor penalty called on the ice was the correct call," Shanahan said. "And, while it's unfortunate that Miller was hurt I saw nothing egregious about this hit that would elevate it to supplemental discipline."
Lucic was called for charging when he skated into Miller during the game. Miller would later leave the game and was later diagnosed with a concussion.
This is now the second time a goaltender has been run into and a suspension has not been issued. James Reimer of the Toronto Maple Leafs continues to be sidelined with an undisclosed injury after being bumped by Brian Gionta.
I understand that goalies are not supposed to leave the crease, but in both instances Lucic and Gionta made contact with the goaltender and injured them.
Here is a sample of what Twitter had to say:
@MattBarnabyESPNMatthew Barnaby @phelpsbj as per@TSNBobMcKenzie no further discipline for lucic. Right call by me via Twitter for iPhone Favorite Retweet
@DamoSpinDamien CoxIf we weren't sure after Gionta/Reimer, now confirmed by Lucic/Miller; open season on NHL goalies. Gotta get scoring up somehow, right?
@NYP_BrooksieLarry BrooksLack of suspension for Gionta most puzzling decision of season. Intent to take out Reimer obvious. Resulting injury obvious. Bizarre. @dstaplesDavid StaplesHard to imagine why not. Intent to injury. RT @TSNBobMcKenzie: No suspension for Lucic. Here's a story detailing why ..nhl.com/ice/news.htm?i… What do you think? Should Lucic have been suspended? Are goalies going to be run into more as a result of this ruling? Leave your comments in the section below to get the conversation started. Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com No one to this point in the season could have imagined how anemic the defense in front of all world goalie Ryan Miller could have been to this point. Constant giveaways, poor line changes, mental breakdowns and lack of physical play has made this team go from looking like world beaters on paper, to a team that may struggle to stay in the top eight in the east. Tyler Myers now in his second year removed from winning the Calder trophy as the NHL rookie of the year, and signing a giant multi-year extension this summer has been a leader of the collapse of the defensive unit. Now Myers is sitting at just four points in sixteen game and a +/- of -3 is far from what the Buffalo Sabres expected from Myers this season. At best Myers has looked lost, and lacked focus while playing in his own end. His lazy style of play has not done his team any favors to this point. Christian Ehrhoff the teams biggest signing this off season has complied 10 points but a +/- rating of -4. Again certainly not what the Sabres were expecting from a player with the highest NHL salary for this season at 10 million dollars. Ehrhoff must regain the form he had playing in Vancouver as a very responsible, yet offensive blue liner. Ehrhoff has shown in the past, he while being very responsible on defense, can provide an incredible offensive threat on the blue line. His lack of quality decision making has boggled many fans minds to this point this season. The glaring issue here is that these two defense men are the only blue liners on the Sabres starting roster that are a minus player. Andrej Sekera, Robyn Regehr, Marc Andre Gragnani and Jordan Leopold are on the positive side of this stat. If Buffalo is to stay competitive in the east Ehrhoff, and Myers may need to do a little soul searching, and remember what attributes they have that has made them an asset to teams up till this season. Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com Every team went into the summer with the intention of making their roster better by signing free agents. Some franchises were able to target and acquire players from their wish list. However, they should have been more careful about what they wished for. What originally looked like a great addition has turned to be a less-than-desired pickup for some teams in the NHL. Here are Tomas Kaberle and the most regrettable signings of the offseason. All you have to do is ask any Buffalo Sabres fan the difference between this year and last and they'll tell you how amazing it is to have a confident owner, with deep pockets, who actually loves his team. That's what Terry Pegula has done for this team. Aside from a brief hiccup against the lowly Carolina Hurricanes after returning back to the United States from a two-game European swing to start the season, Buffalo has looked outstanding. This really is a team with a new-found confidence and an owner who's not afraid to spend a little coin. All of the pieces are falling into place in this young season and you can start with the most important players. Ryan Miller looks to be back to his form of two years ago. Times were a little rough last year, but he now has Jhonas Enroth spelling him and everybody has so much more confidence in him. That should allow Miller to take more than 10 or so games off without problems. After him you have the team's superstar forward Thomas Vanek. He has had one season where he has looked like a superstar and seems to have finally gotten back to that level and done it as the centerpiece, rather than a wingman to Drury and Briere. Jason Pominville is leading admirably AND scoring (five points in five games). Drew Stafford is looking like the goal scorer everybody thought he was. Derek Roy is back and scoring. Christian Ehrhoff is taking the pressure to score off Tyler Myers by scoring at a point-per-game pace. You know what the best part is? Because Buffalo has multiple highly skilled players, they have the ability to win even when some of those players (Brad Boyes, Ville Leino, Tyler Myers) struggle. This really is a different team from what Sabre fans are used to. Even when the team had a post-lockout renaissance, everybody knew during that second year that there were players like Briere and Drury, who would most likely be offered far more money than the past ownership would offer. Those days are over. Pegula has not only elevated the Sabres, but he showed his love for the sport itself by upgrading Penn State's hockey arena so that they could play at the Division I level with the rest of the Big Ten. Then, he turns around and buys the Sabres, takes off the general manager's handcuffs, and the team automatically does an about face. Lets face it, things are looking up in Buffalo and not just for the Bills. Read more Buffalo Sabres news on BleacherReport.com
@HunterCrowtherHunter CrowtherI'm glad the #NHL didn't suspend Lucic. Now we get to see if the #Sabres have any guts on November 23rd when they face the During the Buffalo Sabres first summer of free agency under the new ownership regime of Terry Pegula, the Buffalo Sabres attempted to bolster their defense by signing rugged blue liner Robyn Regehr, and offensive weapon Christian Ehrhoff.Who knew spending a little money in the NHL could get things done?
