Buffalo’s penalty kill is currently ranked fourth in the NHL at 86 percent. The Sabres’ extremely high percentage can be attributed to the fact that they have been shorthanded just 214 times this season—the third fewest penalties taken in the league.

The Sabres are not overly aggressive on the penalty kill. Instead, Buffalo lets its opponents take the puck into the offensive zone and waits until they make a mistake to clear it down the ice—this is more easily done with a goalie like Ryan Miller in net.

But, Buffalo’s checking line and defensive specialists—Paul Gaustad, Mike Grier, Jochen Hect, and Patrick Kaleta—are among the league’s elite penalty killers.

The previous ingredients, mixed with the rather large defensive pairing of 6’8” Tyler Myers and 6’4” Henrik Tallinder, make it very difficult for opponents to get into a groove on the power play.

While the Sabres have excelled being down a man, they have struggled as of late with the man advantage.

Buffalo has just one power-play goal in its last 10 games and is currently ranked 23rd in the NHL.

Thomas Vanek, Buffalo’s high-paid “superstar,” has not scored a power-play goal since Jan. 29 in a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.

But obviously Vanek isn’t the only player struggling at the moment, and head coach Lindy Ruff has had to mix up the power play lines as a result.

On one power play during the Sabres 2-1 OT win over the New York Rangers on Sunday, Ruff put out Mark Mancari, Tim Kennedy, and Jochen Hecht.

Mancari is understandable because his call-up could have motivated a few other players to get theirs acts together—not to mention he has a monster slap shot.

Kennedy, on the other hand, has been in a severe rut both offensively and defensively. Rewarding him with power-play time is not the way to break him out of it.

While Hecht is a key component to the Sabres’ penalty kill, he is not known for his dynamic offense.

The bottom line is that there are other players that should be used to help a laboring power play before Hecht is thrown into the mix.

Ruff has the right idea with Mancari.

If the power play continues to struggle, though, Nathan Gerbe and Tyler Ennis of the Portland Pirates may be next in line to provide a spark.

But for the moment, the Sabres and their conflicting special teams have done just enough to keep the team atop the Northeast division.

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Vanek enjoyed two absurdly successful seasons playing college hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, including scoring the game-winning goals in both the semifinal and final of the NCAA tournament, to clinch the National Title.

He would end up leaving school early, a top 10, first round draft pick, as one of the most decorated Gophers in school history.

That success still continued when Vanek joined Buffalo’s minor league club in Rochester and finished second on the team in scoring and first among AHL rookies with 42 goals and 68 points.

So it was no surprise when Vanek made the final jump to hockey’s highest level of competition that he was able to flourish.

In his first season, Vanek had a tremendous year playing in a potent offensive lineup that allowed him freedom and opportunities to score. As a rookie, Vanek notched a very respectable 25 goals.

The following season, Vanek rode the team’s success to a career year finishing 2006-07 with 43 goals and 84 points.

At this point, everything was pointing up for Vanek and the Sabres as the sky was the limit for the future.

However, the summer of 2007 broke the chain of success for Vanek and the Sabres.

First, the team was trounced from the playoffs after being arguably the best team during the regular season. Then, high profile scorers Danny Briere and Chris Drury left town via free agency neglecting to sign offers with Buffalo in the process.

After this, the focus turned to Thomas Vanek who had become a restricted free agent after his rookie contract expired at the conclusion of the season.

After nearly half a decade of success, many cracks began to show in Vanek’s armor. The Sabres were elated with his performance over the past two years, but only 12 points in 26 playoff games became a little worrisome.

Nevertheless, there was really no indication that the Sabres wouldn’t re-sign Vanek especially after two of the team’s best scorer’s skipped town.

Then came the offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers.

In what has been criticized as a dirty, but fair move, the Oilers offered Vanek an outrageous seven-year $50 million contract knowing full well the Sabres would have to match the offer.

This put Buffalo and its GM Darcy Reiger in a tough predicament. With two top scorers leaving town, he could not afford to let Vanek go even if it did mean four first-round draft picks in compensation.

In the end, Buffalo matched the offer but Vanek has never been quite the same player he was since signing this huge contract.

Vanek was able to net 40 goals last season, but overall, his impact has been severely limited while making the big bucks.

What’s the problem then?

The problem with Vanek is two-fold: First, the Sabres have mismanaged him over the past few years. And second, Vanek is one of those stars who enter the NHL already close to his ceiling as a player.

As far as the Sabres treatment goes, it is really unfair for Vanek to be making over seven million dollars a season. And it’s made all the much worse that the Sabres don’t treat him like someone making that kind of money.

Just take a look at the other forwards in the NHL who are making seven million or more:

Iginla, Staal, Richards, Gomez, Gaborik, Drury, Spezza, Crosby, Malkin, Heatley, Thorton, Lecavlier and Ovechkin.

Together, these players are averaging nearly a point-per-game and racking up the ice-time to boot. Taking out over-paid and aging veterans like Gomez and Drury only makes this lists stats all the more impressive.

The point is, Vanek is wasting away on the Sabres roster, playing less than 17 minutes a night while these other stars average over 20 minutes.

The result is that Vanek is heading for a career low in every statistical category with only 18 goals and 39 points thus far through 57 games.

And the other problem is, nobody is really sure if Vanek truly has the ability to be a star in the NHL and it seems the Sabres are afraid to give him the minutes his contract deserves, lest the team has to dish out more money when that expires.

To be blunt though, Vanek simply cannot be making the money he is making and not show what he can do. How terribly frustrating must it be to have so much success so early and then be treated like just another second-line winger?

Still, there is the fear that perhaps Vanek has maxed out his potential, being the type of player who enters the league with a very good set of offensive skills, but never one to really improve much over his career.

And it’s that possibility that has many Sabres fans up in arms. Vanek will always be able to find the net and it is almost assured that he will be a consistent 30-goal scorer for the next five years, but nobody is particularly happy about his contract eating up such a large amount of the team’s cap space.

Vanek’s game offers little else beside a decent scoring touch to bestow such a large contract to him, but that is the deal the Sabres agreed to.

Now, both player and team don’t seem too excited about the future.

Vanek would undoubtedly like more minutes and the opportunity to live up to his contract, but the Sabres don’t seem to have faith in his overall game to justify such treatment.

Perhaps those four first round draft picks from Edmonton would have been better?

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After several hours of inactivity, GM Darcy Regier made his first move around 2 p.m., sending defenseman Nathan Paetsch and a 2010 second-round draft pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Raffi Torres.

Torres has 19 goals and 12 assists in 60 games this season. The gritty forward is known for his hard skating and even harder hitting.

The Sabres also traded forward Clarke MacArthur to the Atlanta Thrashers for third and fourth-round draft picks.

MacArthur has just three assists in his last 11 games and no goals.

Adding Torres and getting rid of MacArthur was a great move for the Sabres who could use some tenacity up front. Torres will provide the necessary offense and defense needed on any of the Sabres’ top three lines.

“I’m excited,” Torres told TSN’s Trade Centre today. “They’ve got a playoff group, and I’m just hoping to come out there and help them along the way.”

While the trade for Torres will certainly help Buffalo for a potential playoff run, the biggest question is why didn’t they deal for another defenseman or backup goaltender?

Defenseman Toni Lydman was rumored to be on the move earlier in the week, but at the end of the day he was still in a Sabres’ uniform.

Lydman, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, has just 12 points this season and has been a defensive liability all year.

With defensemen like Derek Morris, Dennis Seidenberg, and Steve Staois available, and Mike Weber waiting in the AHL for the call up, it is a mystery as to why the Sabres didn’t ship Lydman out of Buffalo.

A lot of people thought a new backup goalie, perhaps Martin Biron, was headed to Buffalo to as well. But Buffalo decided to hold onto the struggling Patrick Lalime for the remainder of the season.

Not trading for Biron, or even Dwayne Roloson, can be attributed to the Islanders losing Rick DiPietro to a knee injury for the 85th time in the last six years or so.

But there were other goalies available—which is obvious from the four goalies that were moved today—that the Sabres could have used.

After tonight’s 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, the Sabres have 14 games left in March. Ryan Miller better find a way to get his rest or Buffalo will have a very long month ahead of it.

At the end of the deadline, the Sabres came out ahead of where they were—but not by much.

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Through 418 NHL games, Torres has amassed 98 goals and 177 points.

Known as a tough, in your face kind of player, Torres will be a nice addition for the Sabres, adding another physical element to their already tough roster and a bit of scoring to boot.

In Paetsch, the Blue Jackets receive a defenseman that has struggled to stick with the Sabres, posting seven goals and 42 points in 157 NHL games, with a plus/minus rating of plus-17.

Paetsch has a chance to get more playing time in Columbus, but this trade is a clear win for the Sabres, at least in the short term.

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There are a lot of rumors flying around about the potential that the Portland Pirates are leaving Maine and heading to Albany, New York.

There are a few reasons why the Pirates should stay in Portland:

1. Maine breathes hockey

Portland has had a team since 1977, when the Maine Mariners joined the American Hockey League, and stayed until 1992 before their parent team, the Boston Bruins, moved the team to Providence, Rhode Island.

Portland was awarded the Baltimore Skipjacks in return, and renamed them the Portland Pirates. They won the 1994 Calder Cup.

However, Albany's old AHL team, the Albany River Rats (affiliates of the Carolina Hurricanes) are moving to Charlotte, North Carolina to be closer to their affiliates.

2. Portland will fight to get the Pirates back

The Facebook group "Keep the Pirates in Portland" already has over 1,000 members, and was created less than a week ago (you can find it here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/KEEP-THE-PIRATES-IN-PORTLAND-ARRRRGHHH/315359767157?ref=ts).

People in the group are picketing. Maine Senators Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe (both Republican) have each released statements regarding the "Pirates Situation."

Snowe said "The [Pirates] are a tremendous economic asset to the city of Portland and part of the fabric of the greater Portland area. It is vital that their home remains in Maine."

You see, hockey is the most popular sport in Maine. Our QMJHL (Quebec Major-Junior Hockey League) team, the Lewiston MAINEiacs (the only QMJHL team located outside of Canada), is rumored to be moving out of Lewiston and into Ontario. It seems as though the deal is all but finalized.

Losing the MAINEiacs hurts, but losing the Pirates would put a dagger in the hearts of most southern Mainers.

Hockey is the fabric of Maine. The University of Maine Black Bears hockey team has one two national championships in the last fifteen years, after the hockey program was founded in the late 1970s. The Pirates and the Black Bears rule the sports headlines in Maine.

So you see, if the Pirates do move out of Portland, expect an all-out war, courtesy of the State of Maine.

You've been warned.

Sincerely,

Anthony Emerson

Proud Mainer

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No more Norway.

No more Swiss.

No more three freebie goals courtesy of Martin Brodeur miscues.

Make no mistake, the USA faces a very tough test against Finland on Friday.

Finland were narrow runners-up in both the last Olympics and the last World Cup of Hockey.

Sweden, the team that defeated Finland in the last Olympics and the only team to defeat them so far in this Olympics, is out.

The Finns don't usually give up goals easily, and are fresh off shutting out a high-powered Czech attack.

And they can score. Teemu Selanne, the Koivu brothers, Olli Jokinen and Niklas Hagman are just a few of their offensive threats.

Most importantly, almost from top to bottom of their roster, their players play a two-way game, and they play as a team, as one cohesive unit.

That's what has made Finland so dangerous in the last three major tournaments, including this one.

No doubt, Team USA coach Ron Wilson will have studied Sweden's victory over the Finns and figured out any tricks to beating the Finns that were in the Swedish playbook.

But even if he has, Team USA's players will need to be on top of their game, and Ryan Miller will need to be every bit as strong as he has been so far in the tournament, if the stars and stripes are to advance to the gold medal game.

USA definitely has a strong chance to win. But the Finns have a chance too.

As an American, I'm somewhat nervous heading into this game.

Outside of Canada, Finland was the team I most feared having to play.

Here's hoping Miller stands tall, and Kiprusoff has an off-night. He has had his fair share of those lately: more than backup Nicklas Backstrom, who I'm very glad won't be the starter.

Here's hoping the American skaters play with the same relentlessness they did against Switzerland, and the same opportunistic nose for the net they did against Canada.

If they do, Team USA may survive it's most serious threat to date, and live to play for gold come Sunday.

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1.) Are the Americans the new favorites to win gold?

2.) Is Ryan Miller the best goaltender in the world?

After an impressive 2-0 shut out Wednesday against the Swiss, the second question is causing quite the conversation.

Now that the USA (4-0 for the first time) is in the "Final Four" of the Olympic tournament, the former Michigan State Spartan and Hobie Baker Award winner Ryan Miller will get to strut his stuff for the globe to see.

Miller, 29, has been anchoring the NHL's Buffalo Sabres for six years. The 2010 games in Vancouver are his first go in the Olympics, and he's shining brighter than the snow that covers Whistler.

Miller ranks in the top 10 in every pertinent NHL goaltender statistic: seventh in wins with 30, second in goals against with a paltry 2.16 average, second in save percentage (.930), and fifth in shutouts with five. More importantly, he's keeping the state-siders in medal contention.

Impressive numbers, but there's one accolade that Miller is capable of attaining that would cement his name in the "world's best net-minder" conversation: bringing home a gold medal for the first time since the famed "1980 Miracle On Ice."

Early on, the uber-talented, deep, and experienced Canadians were the front-runners to don the gold medal around their necks on the winners' podium in Vancouver. It would appear that the tide is changing, and the No. 2 team (USA) is forging ahead like a speeding locomotive—thanks to the on-loan Sabres gate-keep.

The USA has struggled a bit offensively at times—Miller's breathtaking display between the pipes has kept it competitive. He's given up just five goals in four games, three of which were to Canada.

Without Miller, the United States wouldn't have half a chance to beat a team that boasts such talent as Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, Philadelphia's Chris Pronger, and San Jose's Dany Heatley.

Crosby is tied for the most goals in the NHL with Washington's Alex Ovechkin, and "The Kid" would love to put a few pucks past Miller should he be given the chance.

The list of Canadian superstars goes on and on—our neighbors to the north are stacked at every position. 

Are the Americans the new favorite?

Can they beat the juggernaut Canadian Dream Team?

The Americans have already knocked it down once (5-3), but it's likely going to take another round with Goliath to get the job done.

Perhaps Olympic hockey fanatics will have to wait until the gold medal game to have their suspicions satisfied. You can bet your bottom dollar that Miller will have something to say come go-time.

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The 2004 first-round pick has worsened statistically every year since his rookie season.

In the 2006-07 season, Stafford’s average production time was 19:56—that’s almost one point every 20 minutes on the ice. This season, his average production time is 30 minutes.

While we are on the topic of ice-time, Stafford is averaging just 15 minutes per game, which is 38 seconds less than what he played last season. Also, he has also played over 18 minutes just seven times this year.

Stafford has just two points and is a minus-two in a combined 11 games against division rivals the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators.

Stafford has shown promise with some dazzling moves in the past, like here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eTN8fB25UQ&feature=related

But it just isn’t enough to keep around past March 3, which is the NHL trade deadline, but more importantly, my birthday.

Hopefully the Sabres will grant me my birthday wish and get rid of “captain” Craig Rivet by then too, but that is a different article—one that you can read by clicking here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/337834-sabres-defensive-woes-led-by-captain

But let’s get back to Stafford.

In his last 12 games, Stafford has just three points and is a minus-three. The worst part is his plus/minus rating. He has had a positive rating in just one of those 12 games—this means that his defensive play is following his offensive play down the drain.

The first-rounder could still prove to be an excellent third-liner for a contender or even a first or second-liner for a team looking to build. Either way, the Sabres need to look at Stafford as a viable option to bring in a goal-scorer.

Buffalo has had a lot of trouble lately in terms of scoring and Stafford—along with a second or third round draft pick—might do the trick to bring in a player like Nathan Horton of the Florida Panthers, who according to the Buffalo News, may be headed the Sabres’ way.

Regardless of what happens from now until March 3, Stafford has not put himself in the best of positions to be in Buffalo much longer—but only time will tell.

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