With Craig Rivet Missing from Sabres Squad, Defensive Woes Are Showing

It's no secret that the Sabres are hurting in the defensive area at the moment.

The loss of Craig Rivet, the Buffalo Sabres Captain, has hurt the team where it hurts the most: the goals against column.

The Sabres have been without him for the past three games. Without Rivet, the Sabres have let in 11 goals. Buffalo allowed only 14 goals through the first seven games.

Not helping matters was an injury to Henrik Tallinder when the Sabres played the Colorado Avalanche. Tallinder suffered a lower leg laceration, causing him to sit out the game against Ottawa on Monday. The Sabres have called up defenseman Mike Weber from the AHL's Portland Pirates to fill out the defense while it heals.

The momentum has shifted. After going through the first eight games with at least one point in each, the Sabres have lost the last three, including a shootout loss to the Avalanche on Saturday night.

Buffalo can make all the excuses they want. Sure, they were in Colorado on Saturday, and they were probably running on jet lag, so we can just brush the ugly Senators game under the carpet.

However, there was no excuse for letting the Lightning come in and destroy them.  The No. 1 Overall Draft Pick for 2008 scored two goals on a goalie considered to be one of the best. Those were the first two goals of his NHL career.

So we've analyzed the defense. Now, where is that offense?

The offense has only managed a mere five goals over the past three games. In the previous seven games, they had 26 goals, including eight from soon-to-be superstar Thomas Vanek. Vanek has just one point in the past three games. 

Also gone cold is Ales Kotalik. He hasn't scored in four games. He had seven points in the first six games of this season. 

The Sabres have been playing some ugly hockey for these past three games as well.  Bad passes, too many giveaways, and that's the least of their problems.

Their goaltending has been less than stellar, both from Ryan Miller and Patrick Lalime.

Maxim Afinogenov has to stop playing keep-away with the puck, because that's getting his team absolutely nowhere. Every time he touches the puck, it ends up going the other way. Amazingly enough, Max has contributed seven points to this team, all assists.

The only positives that can be seen on the ice at this point are from youngsters Clark MacArthur and Daniel Paille.

Paille skates the hardest out of anybody on this team. He is always winning races to the puck, out-hustling anybody that tries to test their speed against him. MacArthur has been outstanding for the past four games, picking up two goals to go along with his three points. He has a three-game point streak going.

Don't forget special teams. Ottawa tallied two power play goals on six tries against the Sabres on Monday. The Lightning were able to get one as well. This against a team who was 26-for-26 on the PK this season until Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins buried one home against Ryan Miller.

You can't really complain about the Sabres' power play though, as it's still scoring. However, not when it really needs to. 

What this team has to do is what it always does when they're getting a little too fancy or a little exhausted.  They need to go back to the fundamentals. I know, as a hockey fan, you ask yourself, "What does a professional NHL hockey team have to go back to fundamentals for?" Well, it's quite simple actually. 

Simplicity wins hockey games. You don't need the extra pass or the extra little deke.  The Sabres simply need to throw pucks at the net, and not wait for that pretty little play that will get them the nifty goal and a YouTube clip.

Just have Vanek sit atop his perch at the front of the net, and get shots through. Odds are he'll get the tip of his stick on it and deflect it by. He'll chip in the rebound, as well. 

Max can stop carrying puck across the blue line, too. That causes way too many calls on the offsides.  Just dump it, then chase it. You're quick enough to make the dekes, so just skate head-on into the corner, and work your magic behind the net. Get it out in front, and just hope that the player in front of the right thing: keeps his stick on the ice. 

For what it's worth, it was nice to see Paul Gaustad back in the swing of things tonight.  His presence can only help the team as it tries to come back onto the winning side of things.

Once Hecht and Rivet come back, this team will be much better off defensively, and will hopefully score some goals to go along with it. Hecht's return is a key to the production of Jason Pominville, who only seems to play well when Jochen is on his side. 

Injuries are always the worst plague, but the Sabres have always been known for their depth. Unfortunately, their defensive depth is a lot worse than what the forwards have, but that's just the obstacle Buffalo has to jump at the moment in order to get back on the winning side of things.