Buffalo Sabres & NHL: Tuesday Muse Day

Tuesday Muse Day is a ranting, raving, rambling weekly article relating to all things hockey, with a particular focus on the NHL and the Buffalo Sabres. There are typically 10 featured items. This is the tenth edition. These are my personal thoughts and opinions; thus, they may not be lucid.

Despicable D – Don’t look now Sabres fans! Buffalo, through 13 games, has allowed an atrociously alarming 46 goals. This is the most in the entire NHL. With the defensive corps projected to be one of the best and deepest in the league, what is going on? Does anyone have an answer?

Tyler Myers – Speaking of defense, what in the world is wrong with Tyler Myers? Can he take some of his $12 million and hire a motivational speaker for himself? Has Lindy scrambled Tyler’s brain? Through 11 games, Myers had a mere one point, and a team-worst minus 9, before being benched for the past 2 games…

Drew Stafford – Speaking of slumps, can someone play Stafford some good metal music? In 13 games, Stafford has zero goals, and a minus 6 – worst among the offense. Those stats should have his hand hairs standing up. If this team is going anywhere this season, the Sabres need more than just the top line to produce. If he is going to sport an ‘A’ on his sweater, Stafford needs to step up, stat…

Jhonas Enroth – I am on a roll with complaints, so lets move to the Buffalo back-up goaltender. Trivia Question – when did Enroth last win a game? Answer – 2011. Yes folks, that would be November 26th, 2011. The guy played extremely confident in 2010, and now he looks shaky. What happened?

Thomas Vanek – I am proud of the guy. The league leader in goals and points, with 11 and 23, has had an incredible run, and I do not want it to end. He has been nothing short of Hart material thus far…

Lindy Ruff – When will it become obvious to someone other than hockey fans that Ruff’s tenure is long over with Buffalo, and his messages have become mush? Who is in charge around here?

Chicago Blackhawks – The ‘Hawks still have a donut in their loss column. Aside from Patrick Kane’s torrid pace, the team has been the benefactor of some balanced scoring, and outstanding netminding from Corey Crawford and Ray Emery. Are they the team to beat this year, or is there another cinderella team waiting in the wings?

Fighting – The fisticuffs are at a high in the NHL right now. For a long time, this was an accepted part of the game, and it still surprises me when I find counterpoint articles calling for this aspect of the game to be banished. Are there any Sabres fans that didn’t enjoy watching John Scott pummel Scott Thornton, or get amped up seeing Pat Kaleta make Gregory Campbell his whipping boy in the games against the Boston Bruins?

Alex Ovechkin – At only 27 years old, are Ovi’s best days already behind him? He was not a point-per-game player last season, and has 8 points in 12 games thus far this season, an even worse pace. Beyond this, the Washington Capitals are one of the only teams slumping harder than the Sabres right now…

Mikhail Grigorenko – After opting to keep Grigs in the NHL this season, it did not take Lindy very long to put the kid in the press box. This coming right after he was a main component on the Sabres game-winning goal the night prior. Show of hands, who thinks sitting Grigorenko was a better choice for his learning process rather than having him on the ice against the B’s?