Sabres – Flames: Rich’s Three Stars

Ladies and gentlemen, Buffalo Sabres fans and Sabre Noise readers, I just want to point this out: Ville Leino was less than a second away from being named

Dec 14, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres left wing

(26) celebrates his goal on the Calgary Flames during the third period at First Niagara Center. The Flames beat the Sabres 2-1 in OT. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

your number one star of today’s game against the Calgary Flames.

I don’t care if someone on the Sabres had scored four goals; if Leino had put that puck in before the net had been knocked loose, I would have pulled rank and sent him to the head of the class!

Sadly, that wasn’t meant to be, so here are the players who actually earned three stars tonight.

Third Star: Matt Moulson

Moulson was in the right place at the right time, and notched the only goal of the afternoon for Buffalo.  As I told my eight year-old son, who many of you know plays hockey himself, “Sometimes, scoring a goal is as easy as knowing where to be and waiting for the puck to be delivered.”  Obviously, I’m simplifying things a little bit, but then again, I’m not: Moulson went to the front of the net, and good things happened.  Smart play.

Second Star: Zemgus Girgensons

Of course, Moulson’s strategic positioning wouldn’t have been worth the tie around Darcy Regier‘s neck had it not been for the wonderful individual effort of Girgensons, who sped down the right side of the ice, shielded the puck from a defender, and made a gorgeous centering pass that found Moulson more than Moulson found it.  That was a great play by a kid who has greatness about him.  Girgensons, as usual, busted his ass all day long – man, is he fun to watch.

First Star: Tyler Myers

Nov 24, 2013; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers (57) looks to make a pass during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Speaking of busting his ass . . . plenty of people enjoy busting on Myers, but I agree with super-fan Jes (and he’s not the only one, just the one who has been the most vocal about this): Myers’ play is much improved compared, not just to last season, but to the first month of the year.   Today, Myers showcased his complete game.  He joined the rush numerous times, and was inches away from scoring the first goal of the game, as his wrister that cleanly beat Flames goalie Karri Ramo pinged off the crossbar.  Kind of par for the Sabres’ season, right?  Can’t blame Myers for that bit of bad luck, though.  He was active on offense all day long, and even better, he was playing physical hockey.  He went down on the ice a bunch of times with the intention of blocking shots (the final stats say he only blocked one, but during one sequence it appeared as if he blocked two within seconds of each other) and guess what?  He wasn’t on the ice either time that Calgary scored.  Jamie McBain and Christian Ehrhoff were the blueliners on the ice for each of Calgary’s goals, whereas Myers was a rock all night long and earned my top star of the game.

Wanna argue?  You’ll be wrong, but you’re welcome to try!  Seriously, leave your comments below or toss ’em my way @theamazingMrS!  Thanks!!!