Buffalo Sabres Links: Patrick Kaleta, Periscope

By Melissa Kania | Apr 22, 2015

Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans! Tonight could be a big night in the NHL, with the potential for a pair of first-round playoff series to come to a close this evening.

Montreal, up 3-0 on Ottawa, can sweep the series with a win tonight. Anaheim can also sweep the Jets with a victory.

Last night, the Red Wings took a 2-1 series lead over Tampa Bay; the Capitals won in overtime to tie the series with the Islanders at two apiece. Chicago won in the 101st minute of play – that’s the third overtime – take a 3-1 series lead over Nashville, and Calgary topped Vancouver to take a 3-1 series lead there as well.

Between all of that, there’s potential that many of these first-round series could be over in the next few days. Will any teams complete the sweep, or will we see some incredible comebacks?

Back in the Buffalo Sabres world, one player whose status going forward is uncertain: forward Patrick Kaleta. The Angola native is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer — has he played his final game in a Sabres jersey? [WGR550]

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It’s understandable that Kaleta hopes this isn’t the end of the line for him in Buffalo, but it seems more likely than not that it will be. Mike Weber gave Kaleta his ‘A’ for the final bunch of games of the season, allowing him the chance to wear a letter for his hometown team. Ted Nolan is out the door, and a new coach coming in may not be up for his style of play.

After a rocky tenure in Buffalo, it may be time for Kaleta to move on. He’s the kind of guy you hate to play against, but I’m sure some other teams would gladly have him on their roster — so I guess it’s just a waiting game to see what happens.

In a media-related move, the NHL has taken action to ban the use of apps like Periscope and Meerkat by media. [Yahoo!]

The exact guidelines for the ban relate to NHL broadcast guidelines and the NHL media credential policies – check out the link to read the fine print. This of course will not stop fans from broadcasting via these mediums, but it will cut down on the in-game warmup broadcasts we’ve been seeing from media members lately.

As the NHL playoffs continue, one of the things we as hockey fans are moving toward: the annual NHL awards.

The league has begun announcing finalists for some of the awards, beginning with the Lady Byng. [NHL.com]

Pavel Datsyuk, Jiri Hudler and Anze Kopitar were named the finalists for the award, given to the player who exhibits sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. Datsyuk has won the award four times in his career — every time he’s been nominated.

Will he make it five?

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