Sabres punchless against Habs in 2-1 loss
By Rick Anderson
January 14, 2000

Where's the beef? That used to be the catch phrase of a Wendy's commercial over ten years ago. There's plenty of beef in Buffalo these days and it's coming from the Sabres fans. After the Montreal Canadians beat the Sabres 2-1 Friday night in Marine Midland Arena, Sabres fans had even more to beef about. The Sabres were booed out of their own house after losing a game they had no right losing.

Jose Theodore stands tall as Curtis Brown crashes into the net

It would be better for the Sabres to change their name to the Zombies since it suits their style of play better. Midway through the third period the Sabres only had mustered 11 shots on goal. It would be bad enough if their opponents were Red Wings. But this was the Montreal Canadians! The Habs were embarrassed owners of a 13-24-5 record. The Sabres had no life, no spark in this game or for the entire season for that matter. The team that was one game and one disputed goal from winning the Stanley Cup last year has completely become unraveled this season.

Buffalo has only one victory in the last six games and is 2-6-1 since Christmas break.

The two teams played to a scoreless first period and Martin Biron had to be sharp as the Montreal outshot the Sabres 14-5. The Canadians broke Biron's shutout streak in the second period when Jason Ward got the shaft of his stick on Francis Bouillon's shot from the point and tipped it over Biron's right shoulder into the net. The power-play goal came 2:35 into 2nd period and ended Biron's shutout interlude at a little over 4 periods. He had gone exactly 95 minutes and 45 seconds without allowing a goal.

"I was just trying to get in the goalie's way," said Ward. "I was able to just tip the puck and change the direction a bit."

After the second period, the Sabres were booed off the ice. The Sabres have not been playing well at home since New Year's Day when they beat the Leafs 8-1. Since then, they lost to Atlanta and New Jersey at home. Buffalo did win 7-4 over the Senators last Saturday, but that was in Ottawa.

Asked if he understood why the fans were booing, Sabres' coach Lindy Ruff replied, "Damn right I do. They should boo. It was a disappointing effort. I'm embarrassed and disappointed. There's no way of getting around it."

Then in the third, Francis Bouillon blocked a clearing attempt and got a blast from the point that went past Biron's outstretched glove and the Canadians suddenly had a 2-0 lead.

"We couldn't pass the puck," said Ruff. "We spent all night chasing. You can't hit when you can't catch. We didn't catch anybody."

It wasn't until Montreal got called for too many men on the ice late in the third period before the Sabres played with any intensity. Finally they were able to get some pressure on Jose Theodore and it paid off. Stu Barnes scored a power-play goal at 13:27 of the third off a snap shot from the slot that got through Theodore for his 12th goal of the season. It was the first Sabres' goal in 128 minutes and 14 seconds. The last goal was came midway through the third period in Saturday's game against Ottawa.

Theodore's attempt for his second straight shutout was ruined by Barnes' goal. He had shut out the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday when the Canadians beat them 3-0. Theodore only had to make 14 saves in the game and could have taken a nap in goal during the first two periods. After making 5 stops in the firs, Theodore had to make only 4 saves in the second. His snooze break could have occurred during an 18 minute stretch in which Buffalo failed to put the puck on net.

Theodore never saw the puck, which appeared to deflect off defenseman Eric Weinrich.

"(Weinrich) went down and another guy went down and I just didn't see the puck," Theodore said. "It went under my arm and almost hit the post."

"I wasn't really thinking about the shutout," Theodore continued. "I was thinking about the win. We need those points if we want to stay in the playoff race."

The Sabres came to life after Barnes' goal and finally started to charge to the net and take some shots. If they had showed a little of that intensity for the entire game, the result may have been much different. As it was, Theodore was able to withstand the short flurry the Sabres put forth and had his second straight win.

"It should have finished 2-0," said Canadians' coach Alain Vigneault. "We only gave up six scoring chances."

"Obviously we're disappointed with how we played," said Barnes. "They came out and played a strong game. They worked real hard, made some great plays. The score could have been a lot worse than it was if it wasn't for Marty making some great saves. We made a lot of mistakes out there, a lot of turnovers, a lot of coverages that weren't there. You can't do that in this league."

On the night when the Sabres honored five former team captains, the team was missing their present one. Michael Peca was once again AWOL on the ice. His image flashes before us nightly during his television commercials where he's shooting the puck into a shopping cart, but he has only put 6 pucks into the net this season. His real responsibility with the team is his leadership capabilities. That starts with his ferocious hitting game, and that has been absent for most of the season. But Peca cannot be singled out as the entire team is reflecting his listless style. Dixon Ward must be laughing all the way to the bank with his new $1.2 million contract. Vaclav Varada is as useless as a flat tire when he's not hitting and being aggressive like years past. Alexei Zhitnik, Richard Smehlik, Wayne Primeau, Geoff Sanderson, Michal Grosek and Brian Holzinger? How much have they contributed this season? Not very much. Anyone of them could be traded right now and it wouldn't impact the team. The only players who could be rated as "untouchables" are Martin Biron, Miroslav Satan, Maxim Afinogenov and possibly Curtis Brown.. After that, it's fair game.

"Sometimes the answers aren't as clear as you want them to be," said Peca agreeing that some kind of trade is imminent. "That's when management steps in and solves the problem."

Miroslav Satan gets boarding penalty for smashing Jason Ward into the boards

The time was ripe for a trade back in November. Now the team is sinking in the whirlpool of their own confusion and dismay. The players by their uninspired play are asking for a shakeup. Apparently the players are not happy with the current situation and the team is paying the price on the ice.

Questions demand answers. What is going on with this team? Is there a cancer eating away at the team like the Barnaby situation last year? Is there a giant rift between Ruff and his players? Are the players even listening to Ruff any more? Should Curtis Brown be made captain? Is Lindy Ruff's job on the line?

Trade or shakeup seemed to be on everyone's mind after the Montreal fiasco.

"I think the management has tried everything possible," said Rob Ray. "Lindy has tried every possible line combination. He's sat guys, he's put guys into the lineup. Everything has been tried. You know things just aren't going. When things aren't going and we are half way through the season and we are falling fast out of a playoff spot, something has to be done."

"There's a couple of things left (to try)," said Ruff. "Such as trade a couple of guys, which is probably the biggest wake-up call of all. (Trades) shake up the whole atmosphere. You get some frustrated guys who can't get out of (a slump). It's as good for them as it is for us."

"(Regier) has to do something," said Varada. "There is no spark. Two games, one goal against teams that we should beat. Lindy did his job. He pumped everybody up. We were ready. We just didn't do it."

Not only were the Sabres booed off the ice after their appalling performance, but fans calling in on radio talk shows and after the game Friday were venting about the team's horrid play. People were calling for trades and Darcy Regier to earn his paycheck and start bringing in different players who want to win. No one can blame the fans' frustration. After coming so close to winning the Cup last year and now seeing this brand of hockey is outlandish. Regier has done nothing since he was hired as Sabres' general manager except for a couple trades last March. People are questioning what he actually does for a living besides getting coffee for Tim Rigas. Speaking about Rigas, where are all those tools his father promised last June? The job is not getting done and the tools are being distributed to other teams in the league.

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