Buffalo Sabres vs New York Rangers: Pregame Thoughts
By Adam DeRose
The Buffalo Sabres kick off a busy month of hockey by trying to earn the series sweep against the Blueshirts.
Tonight the Buffalo Sabres host Jimmy Vesey and the New York Rangers. Unfortunately, the telecast is going to be on NBC Sports Network at 7:30pm…just mute the TV and turn up the radio.
Normally, I would be excited about tonight’s game, but I’m a bit nervous about the Sabres. They have been inconsistent all season. However, the have played well enough to beat the Rangers in their first two meeting this season. The 27th place Sabres will be looking to sweep the season series with the 10th place Rangers tonight.
Yes, we all know about the Jimmy Vesey saga with the Buffalo Sabres that unraveled over the past off-season. For those of you who were living under a rock for almost a year, Buffalo Sabres General Manager Tim Murray traded away a draft pick to Nashville for the signing rights to that little dweeb. GMTM couldn’t seal the deal during the off season and Vesey became a free agent. Then the arrogant dweeb decided to have the “Jimmy Vesey Show” where he met with a bunch of salivating suitors who wanted him for their team. And yes, our very own Buffalo Sabres got swept up in all the action. Sabre’s Jack Eichel even talked to his fartknocker buddy, trying to persuade him to play for the Blue and Gold.
To my surprise—and a lot of other people too—Vesey decided to sign with the Rangers.
Vesey’s first trip was to Buffalo on December 1, 2016 and the Sabres made Vesey a non-factor in the game. He recorded no goals nor assists. It was a beautiful thing, every time he touched the puck, 18,000+ fans booed him…he better get used to that, because for the rest of his career, he will be booed in Buffalo.
On January 3, 2017, Buffalo made the trip down to Madison Square Garden, the Buffalo Sabres shut down Jimmy Vesey again! Vesey was kept off the score sheet again. To make matters better, be didn’t even record a shot on goal, but rather ended the night -2 (https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/buf-vs-nyr/2017/01/03/2016020565#game=2016020565,game_state=final,game_tab=stats . The icing on the cake was when Buffalo’s Derek Grant laid out Vesey just inside the Sabres’ zone.
I am anxious to see if the Buffalo Sabres can tie up Jimmy Vesey and make him a non-factor again, just like they did in their first two meetings. Hopefully another Buffalo Sabre puts Vesey on his dupa again.
For the record, Jimmy Vesey has 12 goals and 8 assists in 49 games (https://www.nhl.com/player/jimmy-vesey-8476918). Not a bad rookie campaign, but it suggests Vesey was a bit over-hyped this summer.
PS-Can Vesey drop the whole Jimmy thing? What is he, 5 years old? Kind of hard to take you seriously when you haven’t outgrown your elementary school nickname.
As poorly as the Buffalo Sabres played on Tuesday, they still finished January with a winning record. Be nice to see them do the same in February, starting with a win tonight.