Sabres instill Western New York sports fans with new hope

by Ralph Schwarz
Photos by Larry Austin
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, November 2, 2006

Imagine this: It’s football season and the Buffalo Sabres sell out a home game, and that just two days after a massive snowstorm hits the area, leaving about 400,000 households without power.

Actually, the Sabres sold out all of their first four home games. Chances are that Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Thrashers is going to be another sellout. And tickets for the November games are selling fast, thanks to a franchise-best 9-0-0 start.

If you needed a final proof that Western New York has gone hockey-crazy in October, consider that your answer.

After coming close in the 2006 playoffs, Buffalo sports fans and hockey experts across North America believe that 2006-07 could finally be the year the Sabres are going to win it all. The club’s motto, “One Team, One Goal,” says it all.

And why not? The Sabres have a balanced team that can roll four lines in all possible situations. All players are good skaters. The defense is both mobile and physical. And everybody can score.

No real superstar, no real problem. If Daniel Briere doesn’t score, Chris Drury does; if Chris Drury doesn’t score, Derek Roy does; if Derek Roy doesn’t score, Thomas Vanek does; if Thomas Vanek doesn’t score … well, you get my point.

What makes the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres so special is their offensive depth.

Opposing teams cannot key on a certain player or shut down a certain line. The Sabres attack is versatile and deep and embodies the team concept.

Although he was not necessarily talking about the Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks coach Trent Yawney recently hit the point when he said during a press conference that “individual talent doesn’t win you games in the new NHL, but playing as a team does.”

Gone are the days when many self-appointed hockey experts across Western New York called local sports talk stations, crying the blues about the lack of excitement and, ultimately, lack of success of the Sabres, with many of those know-it-alls calling for the dismissal of head coach Lindy Ruff and the return of Ted Nolan.

Good thing the Sabres management didn’t listen to the fans’ voice and instead expressed its trust in Ruff with a contract extension early last season. The coach rewarded the trust by leading the team into the playoffs for the first time since 2000-01 and to the Eastern Conference finals for the third time since 1998.

The only sad thing is that, in the days without a national television contract, the NHL in general and the Sabres in particular suffered from the Rodney Dangerfield syndrome of “no respect.” On Tuesday morning, just hours after Buffalo notched its ninth victory of the season, CNN Headline Sports focused on Terrell Owens and Drew Bledsoe, rather than on the best team in hockey. And when ESPN hockey guru Barry Melrose talks highly about the Sabres, it only happens on ESPNews, which hardly gets the news out in states that remain in a hockey vacuum, like South Carolina for example.

But never mind the lack of nationwide exposure: The Sabres are the hottest team right now in the NHL, and many things indicate that the team will reach out for the Stanley Cup come June.

Anything else, however, would be a disappointment.