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Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) -- Welcome back, folks. It has been a long and circuitous journey to this point, but there is finally NHL hockey back at First Niagara Center. The Buffalo Sabres open the abbreviated 2013 campaign against the Philadelphia Flyers. The visitors dropped a 3-1 decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday afternoon.
This afternoon marks the start of the five-game tryout for rookie Mikhail Grigorenko. The 2012 first round pick (12th overall) has looked impressive in the six-day training camp, and will skate on a line between Steve Ott and either Ville Leino or Jochen Hecht. If Grigorenko is sent back to the junior ranks after his five-game stint, he would rejoin the Quebec Ramparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Keep checking back throughout the game today, as I will be posting my thoughts, in addition to the scoring plays. I will also be joining Brian Koziol on the intermission report, and you can hear my interviews from the locker room in postgame, while Paul Hamilton fills in for Rick Jeanneret today. Give Brian: @BrianWGR and myself: @PatWGR a follow on Twitter, if you have not done so already. Also, to get you ready for the game, check out Paul's thoughts on the season opening today. Please leave your thoughts in the comment thread below, and interact with me throughout the afternoon as well.
First Period
20:00 - We are underway! The puck has dropped, and the season has begun. The sold out crowd is making it feel like a playoff game today.
19:46 - Just fourteen seconds in, and the first whistle of the game. Philly is called or icing, to dull down the crowd momentarily.
18:26 - Scott Hartnell lands himself in the box, along with Marcus Foligno for mixing things up after the whistle. Teams are 4-aside for the next two minutes.
15:02 - Just one shot on goal to this point, and it is property of the Flyers. Buffalo has had a couple of chances, but missed the net. Need to start peppering Bryzgalov and at least set up rebound attempts.
13:57 - Foligno is really trying to get under the Flyers skin. He and Luke Schenn dropped the gloves, but had their fight broken up quickly by the officials. It is an even trade off for both teams.
8:53 - SABRES PPG. Steve Ott unloads a bomb in the slot, thanks to a good pass below the goal line to give the Sabres their first goal of the season. That ignited the fans. 1-0 BUF.
5:17 - Sabres with a nice penalty kill, despite some buzzing around the net by Philly. Buffalo outshooting their opponent 7-4 at the moment.
4:00 - The Flyers had a goal waved off moments ago for bumping Ryan Miller. Not enough to draw a penalty, but referee Steve Kozari made the delayed call, to the chagrin of Philly.
First Period
20:00 - We are underway! The puck has dropped, and the season has begun. The sold out crowd is making it feel like a playoff game today.
19:46 - Just fourteen seconds in, and the first whistle of the game. Philly is called or icing, to dull down the crowd momentarily.
18:26 - Scott Hartnell lands himself in the box, along with Marcus Foligno for mixing things up after the whistle. Teams are 4-aside for the next two minutes.
15:02 - Just one shot on goal to this point, and it is property of the Flyers. Buffalo has had a couple of chances, but missed the net. Need to start peppering Bryzgalov and at least set up rebound attempts.
13:57 - Foligno is really trying to get under the Flyers skin. He and Luke Schenn dropped the gloves, but had their fight broken up quickly by the officials. It is an even trade off for both teams.
8:53 - SABRES PPG. Steve Ott unloads a bomb in the slot, thanks to a good pass below the goal line to give the Sabres their first goal of the season. That ignited the fans. 1-0 BUF.
5:17 - Sabres with a nice penalty kill, despite some buzzing around the net by Philly. Buffalo outshooting their opponent 7-4 at the moment.
4:00 - The Flyers had a goal waved off moments ago for bumping Ryan Miller. Not enough to draw a penalty, but referee Steve Kozari made the delayed call, to the chagrin of Philly.
End of period
BUF - 1, PHI - 0
Goal Summary
BUF: 11:07 - Steve Ott (1) PPG. Assists, Jasom Pominville, Thomas Vanek.
PHI: none
Shots on Goal
BUF - 13, PHI - 7
BUF - 1, PHI - 0
Goal Summary
BUF: 11:07 - Steve Ott (1) PPG. Assists, Jasom Pominville, Thomas Vanek.
PHI: none
Shots on Goal
BUF - 13, PHI - 7
Second Period
20:00 - Hope you all used the extra minute in intermission wisely. If you did not know, intermissions are now 18:00 in length, as opposed to the 17:00 previously.
17:37 - FLYERS GOAL. Soft play in the defensive zone allowed Sean Couturier to park beside Ryan Miller and tip on a shot by Andrej Meszaros, evening up the game at 1-apiece. I would have liked to have seen the Sabres forwards get up on the blue line and pressure Meszaros, and the defense to clamp down around Miller. 1-1 tie.
15:03 - FLYERS PPG. Claude Giroux buries a shot right past Miller to give Philly the lead. This is not a banner start to the stanza for the blue and gold. Robyn Regehr was in the box for tripping. I could feel that score coming from a mile away, and was just about to tweet the same, when the goal went in. 2-1 PHI.
11:33 - The Buffalo PP is disjointed and offkilter a tad right now. Meszaros had a clear shot on goal with three blue and gold jerseys in their own zone. There was not a real scoring chance either.
4:33 - Buffalo will have :23 of a 5-on-3 PP with Luke Schenn going off for hooking. Joins a teammate who is serving a too many men on the ice minor.
4:06 - SABRES PPG. Thomas Vanek just undressed Bryzgalov with a beautiful goal scorer's goal. A quality outlet pass by Drew Stafford with the Philly D pinching up on the PK. Vanek made a deke move and slid the puck into a wide open net. 2-2 tie.
1:40 - Drew Stafford standing up for a teammate there after a questionable hit in the corner. Not the first time Stafford has done that...if you remember back to the Chris Neil elbow to the head of Chris Drury, it was Stafford who went right at the Senator.
End of Period
BUF - 2, PHI - 2
Goal Summary
BUF: 15:54 - Thomas Vanek (1) PPG. Assists, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville.
PHI: 2:23 - Sean Couturier (1). Assists, Andrej Meszaros, Jakub Voracek. Claude Giroux (2) PPG. Kimmo Timonen, Wayne Simmonds.
Shots on Goal
BUF - 2, PHI - 2
Goal Summary
BUF: 15:54 - Thomas Vanek (1) PPG. Assists, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville.
PHI: 2:23 - Sean Couturier (1). Assists, Andrej Meszaros, Jakub Voracek. Claude Giroux (2) PPG. Kimmo Timonen, Wayne Simmonds.
Shots on Goal
BUF - 12 (26), PHI - 12 (19)
Third Period
18:57 - The carry over PK has gone well so far for Buffalo. You will remember Ott is in the box for embellishment.
18:57 - The carry over PK has gone well so far for Buffalo. You will remember Ott is in the box for embellishment.
13:48 - It appears as if Lindy Ruff has dropped down to rolling just two lines this period. After such a long layoff, the bench boss is rolling the Vanek-Hodgson-Pominville and Foligno-Ennis-Stafford lines exclusively this frame.
13:10 - We now see the Hecht-Grigorenko-Ott line for the first time this period.
7:13 - It has been a while since there has been a stoppage. Teams have the same number of shots, 7-7, but Buffalo leads overall 33-27.
6:00 - Buffalo going to the PP. Talk to you after the game, folks. I have to start powering down my equipment in preparation for postgame duties.
13:10 - We now see the Hecht-Grigorenko-Ott line for the first time this period.
7:13 - It has been a while since there has been a stoppage. Teams have the same number of shots, 7-7, but Buffalo leads overall 33-27.
6:00 - Buffalo going to the PP. Talk to you after the game, folks. I have to start powering down my equipment in preparation for postgame duties.
5:03 - SABRES PPG. Another power play tally for Buffalo, their third, and another for Thomas Vanek today. The forward tipped home a shot from the point on a good cycle play by the PP unit. Tyler Ennis kept the play alive, and Vanek finished it. 3-2 BUF.
3:47 - SABRES GOAL. Cody Hodgson cashed home a rebound chance after Vanek drove hard to the net on a breakaway chance. The goal was reviewed and upheld by the officials. Credit Hodgson for crashing the net on the second chance opportunity. 4-2 BUF.
0:48 - SABRES GOAL. Thomas Vanek salts this one away with an empty net goal. As RJ once said, it was the "Austrian Icing" on the cake. And the Sabres will get two points to start the year. 5-2 BUF.
3:47 - SABRES GOAL. Cody Hodgson cashed home a rebound chance after Vanek drove hard to the net on a breakaway chance. The goal was reviewed and upheld by the officials. Credit Hodgson for crashing the net on the second chance opportunity. 4-2 BUF.
0:48 - SABRES GOAL. Thomas Vanek salts this one away with an empty net goal. As RJ once said, it was the "Austrian Icing" on the cake. And the Sabres will get two points to start the year. 5-2 BUF.
BUF 5, PHI 2 - FINAL
Goal Summary
BUF: 14:57 - Tyler Myers (1) PPG. Assists, Tyler Ennis, Thomas Vanek. 16:13 - Cody Hodgson (1). Assists, Thomas Vanek, Andrej Sekera. 19:12 - Thomas Vanek (2). Assists, Jason Pominville.
PHI: none
Shots on Goal
BUF - 15 (41), PHI - 9 (29)
Goal Summary
BUF: 14:57 - Tyler Myers (1) PPG. Assists, Tyler Ennis, Thomas Vanek. 16:13 - Cody Hodgson (1). Assists, Thomas Vanek, Andrej Sekera. 19:12 - Thomas Vanek (2). Assists, Jason Pominville.
PHI: none
Shots on Goal
BUF - 15 (41), PHI - 9 (29)
Final Thoughts
It was a good team effort overall for the blue and gold. It may have not been a sixty minute effort, and the power play was not always on, but in the end there were three power play goals, an even strength goal, and an empty net goal. It is good for the Sabres to get points in their first game, but now it is on to Toronto tomorrow. The puck drops at 7 o'clock against the Toronto Maple Leafs. You can catch all of the action on the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550, starting with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.