The Boston Bruins just closed out the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 to win Game 3 of their playoff series and take a 2-1 game lead. The Sabres, without Thomas Vanek in the lineup, outshot the Bruins 33-29 and out hit the Bruins 39-38. But their only goal came from Mike Grier – yes, Mike Grier – and the offense did little to give the team a chance to win.
Everyone predicted this series would be a tight, low-scoring, goaltender-dominated affair. And it has gone according to script. But perhaps people didn’t expect the Sabres offense to be quite this anemic. With 6 goals through 3 playoff games, the Sabres are fortunate their playing the Boston Bruins – a team that ranked dead last in goals per game during the regular season. Otherwise, they could find themselves down 3-0.
With Vanek and Hecht out, the Sabres find themselves giving considerable playing time to marginal offensive players. Tonight, Paul Gaustad logged nearly 20 minute of ice time. Drew Stafford played for 13 minutes while Tim Kennedy played for nearly 15 minutes. And the ‘premier’ Sabres offensive talents – Derek Roy, Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly – have combined for an embarassing 1 goal and 1 assist through the first 3 games of the series.
That the Sabres lack offensive firepower comes as a surprise to no one. It’s why many were clamoring for the Sabres to pick up a proven playoff scorer at the trade deadline when, instead, they picked up Rafi Torres. Remember Torres? Probably not, since he was forgettable when they signed him and he’s been forgettable ever since. And to all the commenters who showered praise on the Torres acquisition, how you like him now? Apology accepted.
So where to from here? Well, the Sabres play in Boston on Wednesday night and we should expect another close game. The Sabres, while down 2-1, are certainly capable of winning this series. As the age-old hockey cliche goes, a bounce here or a bounce there and Buffalo could be up 2-1 in this series. But beyond this series, fans have to be concerned that we find ourselves lacking the offensive horses necessary to make a run for the Cup. Ryan Miller is great, but he can only stop shots. Someone, anyone wearing a Sabres jersey needs to put the puck in the net. And if we’re counting on Mike Grier to be our scorer – a guy who frequently looks like he doesn’t have a blade on the end of his stick – God help us.