Jack Eichel is Good at Hockey

Eichel. So clutch. So easy. So beautiful.https://t.co/IiJP5NHHS0

— NHL (@NHL) March 12, 2016

Buffalo Sabres rookie forward Jack Eichel makes scoring a clutch goal look really easy. I also love the call of the goal by hall of fame announcer Rick Jeanneret. This guy is one of the best in the business. Jeanneret is set to retire at the end of the 2016 NHL season.

Jack Eichel Goal Against the Lightning

Bufalo Sabres forward Jack Eiche is good at hockey. Check out this goal. Here's the fifth goal of his career.

Jack Eichel: Will he Stay or Will he Go?

So, it begins. Will BU forward Jack Eichel stay in school or sign with the team that drafts him? My money is on him signing.

Mike Harrington, Buffalo News -- "Probably sooner than later," Eichel said. "I'd like to know what I'm doing this summer. Probably pretty quickly after the draft I'll finalize my decision."

What's the reason to stay in school? Is it because of BU's loss to Providence in the Frozen Four championship game?

"Just the guys, my relationship with them. There's a lot of pros and cons about going both places," Eichel said. "It's not an easy decision. It's why I haven't made it yet. Yeah, there's some unfinished business. It was definitely tough to lose the last game. It's one of the lures of coming back. We didn't graduate too many guys. We lost our goalie, two of our top six forwards but coach [David] Quinn did a great job of recruiting. We're bringing in a lot of good players."

Bruins Bartkowski will not face hearing

Bartkowski/Gionta is an example of incidental head contact on an otherwise full body check. pic.twitter.com/iCAyDjRwsN
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) December 22, 2014

I told a friend of mine that if Brian Gionta was taller, he wouldn't have been injuried. This doesn't make Buffalo Sabres fans any happier. Obviously, some fans are unhappy with the move.

Related articles

• Matt Bartkowski hit on Brian Gionta (video)(ndgoon.blogspot.com)

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Matt Bartkowski hit on Brian Gionta (video)

Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for this hit on Buffalo Sabres forward Brian Gionta. It will be interesting to see if Bartkowski has a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player safety.

The Box Score will read:

14:08 BOS Matt Bartkowski served by Matt Fraser Fighting (maj) - 5 min against Brian Gionta
14:08 BOS Matt Bartkowski served by Matt Fraser Interference (maj) - 5 min against Marcus Foligno
14:08 BOS Matt Bartkowski Game misconduct - 10 min
14:08 BUF Marcus Foligno served by Mikhail Grigorenko Instigator - 2 min against Matt Bartkowski
14:08 BUF Marcus Foligno Fighting (maj) - 5 min against Matt Bartkowski
14:08 BUF Marcus Foligno Misconduct (10 min) - 10 min against Matt Bartkowski

Boston Bruins: Riley Smith Disallowed Goal (Video)

Doesn't take many views of this video to conclude that this was a blown call. There's no reason that Boston Bruins forward Riley Smith's goal shouldn't have counted. There was no interference with the Buffalo Sabres goalie.

Jiri Sekac Boards Nikita Zadorov

Again, these are the types of hits that should be removed from all levels of hockey. If you see numbers, you shouldn't hit the opposition. Montreal Canadiens forward Jiri Sekac is assessed a two-minute minor penalty for boarding on Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Is that penalty punitive enough?

Drake Caggiula attending Sabres Development Camp

#484200607 / gettyimages.com

University of North Dakota forward Drake Caggiula is currently attending the Buffalo Sabres Development camp, he's a free agent. Here’s some of the other college hockey players that are attending the Sabres development camp.

BUFFALO SABRES 2014-15 DEVELOPMENT CAMP ROSTER (College Players)

FORWARD

Caggiula, Drake C/LW 5’9” 180 L Pickering, Ontario June 20, 1994 North Dakota
Compher, J.T. LW 5’10” 182 L Northbrook, Illinois Oct. 12, 1993 U. of Michigan (Big 10)
Fasching, Hudson RW 6’2” 213 R Burnsville, Minnesota July 28, 1995 U. of Minnesota (Big 10) 40
Malone, Sean C 5’11” 186 L Buffalo, New York April 30, 1995 Harvard (ECAC)
Samuels-Thomas, Jordan LW 6’3” 195 L Hartford, Connecticut May 28, 1990 Quinnipiac (ECAC)

DEFENSE

Florentino, Anthony D 6’1” 226 R Boston, Massachusetts Jan. 30, 1995 Providence (H-East)
McCabe, Jake D 6’1” 210 L Eau Claire, Wisconsin Oct. 12, 1993 U. of Wisconsin (Big 10) Buffalo (NHL)
Prochno, Andrew D 5’11” 185 L Edina, Minnesota Nov. 3, 1991 St. Cloud State (NCHC)

Sharks sign Road Cone John Scott

#483142281 / gettyimages.com

Western Conference team beware, especially if you're one of those players that skates with their head down. The San Jose Sharks have signed UFA road cone John Scott. The former Michigan Tech Husky inked a one year deal worth 750 thousand dollars.

One thing Scott will never be accused of is being dumb. Anyone that is this bad of a hockey players, and has been able to get paid this much money to play hockey in the best league in the world, has to be a genius.

Scott who has no redeeming quality other than he can fight, has played in 236 NHL games and scored a minuscule (2g-4a—6pts) and racked up an impressive 430 penalty minutes. In his second to last game of the season, Scott was assessed 24 minutes in penalties. Good thing that the Mr. Anger Management has a degree from MTU to fall back on when he's done with hockey.

SAN JOSE, CA - San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) General Manager Doug Wilson announced today that the club has signed free agent forward John Scott to a one-year contract. Scott, 31, ranked 13th in the NHL with 125 penalty minutes in 56 games during the 2013-14 campaign, leading the Buffalo Sabres in that category."John brings a physical, no-nonsense element to our lineup," said Wilson. "As we integrate more younger players to our team, John's presence alone can act as a deterrent and help keep teams and opposing players honest."

Steve Stamkos goal GIF

Nice goal by Steven Stamkos... It was the game tying goal. Click on the GIF to get it to move.

UPDATE: Steve Ott and Ryan Miller being traded to St Louis...

Ryan Miller in his first #Sabres preseason game (9-21-02) still wearing his Michigan State mask. The silly season is about to begin.
pic.twitter.com/HUUEtg3sqp
— Bill Wippert (@BWipp) February 28, 2014

One of my favorite college hockey goaltenders of all time, former Michigan State Spartan Ryan Miller. The All-American was fun to watch during the NCAA playoffs. According to the St. Louis Blues twitter feed, Miller has been traded to the St. Louis Blues along with teammate, forward Steve Ott. In my opinion, the Blues are getting a very good All-World goalie for the playoff stretch. It's kind of weird to see the Buffalo Sabres decline this far.

The Sabres get forward Chris Stewart, goalie Jaroslav Halak, forward William Carrier, 1st round pick (2015) and a 3rd round pick (2016) - See more at: http://thehockeywriters.com/thw-trade-tracker-halak-for-miller/#sthash.93JJa3zE.dpuf. In my opinion, the Sabres got a really good deal.

The "Silly Season" is upon us.

BREAKING: The Blues have acquired Miller & Ott from Buffalo for Halak, Stewart, Carrier & two picks. INFO >>> http://t.co/NGLbm5mwxT
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) March 1, 2014

Steve Ott was kicking soccer ball with teammates in Sabres' arena when coach Ted Nolan called him to back room to tell him he was scratched.
— John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) February 28, 2014

I'm told there is another goaltender dressing downstairs....Amerks are on road in the Midwest...hmmmm.. #Sabres
— Mike Harrington (@BNHarrington) February 28, 2014

Before every start, Ryan Miller comes to Sabres' bench to lean on his stick and think about the game. He has not shown up. Not playing?
— John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) February 28, 2014

Source says expect the Sabres to make official trade announcement tonight, likely soon.
— John Vogl (@BuffNewsVogl) February 28, 2014

Add Your Caption: What is Ryan Miller doing?

Buffalo's trainer kind of looks like Turk from 'Scrubs' pic.twitter.com/6NfroYAdvl — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) February 27, 2014

What is Ryan Miller doing? Add your caption.

NHL Trade Deadline - Where's Ryan Miller going?

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller would be a good rental goalie for the Stanley Cup Stretch run. You have to wonder where he's going? The NHL trade deadline in on March 5, 2014.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Ryan Miller was a no-show at Buffalo Sabres practice Monday because the star goalie was still travelling from the Sochi Games.

Though Miller was scheduled to return later in the day and start Tuesday, when Buffalo hosts Carolina, his absence could be something the Sabres will have to get accustomed to with the NHL trade deadline approaching on March 5.

A person familiar with discussions told The Associated Press that general manager Tim Murray continues to pursue offers for Miller with the intention of trading him by next week.

"Tim is testing the waters as hard as he can," the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because Murray declined to speak to reporters Monday.

Putting on the Links; Thursday afternoon

There's some good news, good tickets still remain for this weekend's series. So let's put some butts in the seats this weekend. Cold weather, no problem, fans in North Dakota are tough.

Tickets still left for the @UNDMHockey games this weekend. Don't miss the big @TheNCHC series vs. @omavs. pic.twitter.com/8FVzZYTxIE
— Dexter Albrecht (@dexteralbrecht) February 6, 2014

The hits keep coming. More great news, the series between UND vs. UMD will be on MidcoSN. However, you will need to live in the regional area to watch the games.

MidcoSN picks up men’s hockey series at UMD http://t.co/RwsRV1kJ3Q
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 6, 2014

Former UND goalie Aaron Dell is making an impact in the ECHL. You would have to think he's going to get a look at the next level, if he keeps playing like this.

Aaron Dell of the @UtahGrizz named @Warrior Hockey #ECHL Goaltender of the Month http://t.co/iIDcwtQeKQ pic.twitter.com/tGdfKtQBS4
— ECHL (@ECHL) February 5, 2014

Looking ahead to this weekend's games. Matt Semisch of USCHO fame and I reviewed this weekend's pivotal NCHC series. I think that you will find his answer interesting.

UND Hockey: Taking a Look at the UNO Mavericks with Matthew Semisch - http://t.co/QxhBPJFLrv #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/sXZ4Plop7k
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) February 5, 2014

The UND vs. UNO series is quickly becoming one of those series that you mark off on the calendar. The two teams don't like each other.

UND Hockey: Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota set to Battle - http://t.co/fdQ4c0qyQP #NHL pic.twitter.com/T9GqTUZkoN
— THW Hockey (@HockeyLinks) February 6, 2014

Check out this article with UND junior defenseman Nick Mattson, he's made the transition from the USHL to college hockey very nicely. My brother-in-law Andy Brink, who run the Breakaway Hockey School with former Gopher and Buffalo Sabres forward Dave Snuggerud, talks highly of Mattson and his skills as well.

@goon48 @SchlossmanGF Check out this interview with Nick Mattson. http://t.co/sR9gaPnz8H
— Indiana Ice (@indianaice) February 6, 2014

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Sub-Par Faceoff Numbers Plague Team (thehockeywriters.com)

Linus Omark Embellishment

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen is given a two-minutes minor penalty for high sticking the Sabres Linus Omark. Wow! Talk about selling it. Thoughts?

The Latvian 2014 Olympic Hockey Team

Sandis Ozoliņš, Latvian ice hockey player of the San Jose Sharks (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Goalies
Kristers Gudlevskis
Edgars Masalskis
Ervins Mustukovs

Defensemen
Oskars Bartulis
Sandis Ozolinsh
Ralfs Freibergs
Arturs Kulda
Georgijs Pujacs
Krisjanis Redlihs
Arvids Rekis
Kristaps Sotnieks

Forwards
Zemgus Girgensons, (Buffalo Sabres)
Kaspars Daugaviņs
Armands Berzins
Martins Cipulis
Lauris Darzins
Miks Indrasis
Koba Jass
Martins Karsums
Ronalds Kenins
Vitalijs Pavlovs
Mikelis Redlihs
Janis Sprukts
Juris Stals
Herberts Vasiljevs

Buffalo Sabres: Tyler Myers suspended three games for check to the head

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers has been given a three-game suspension by the NHL's Department of Player Safety for this dirty hit on Devils forward Dainius Zubrus. I think this suspension is about right. Myers is also a repeat offender.

WJHC: Finland's Rasmus Ristolainen scores the Overtime Game Winner.

Finland's and Buffalo Sabres prospect defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen scores the game winning goal in overtime, to beat the Swedes. It kind of reminds me of the Sega style dipsy-doodle goal.

Mike Smith helps the Sabres score to win it in OT (Vine)

Mike Smith helps the Sabres score to win it in OT: https://t.co/ZY7VGgVyPz
— Hockey Vines (@TheHockeyVines) December 24, 2013

Related articles

• Buffalo Sabres: Mark Pysyk Goal. Butt goal..... (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Buffalo Sabres: The Week Ahead (thehockeywriters.com)

Buffalo Sabres: Mark Pysyk Goal. Butt goal.....

Wow! I have never seen anything like this. This is Wild. This is the description of the goal from the Buffalo Sabres site. You may never seen anything like this again.

Mark Pysyk, who was recalled from the American Hockey League on Monday afternoon, was credited with the game-winning goal when Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal knocked a loose puck out of the air and into goalie Mike Smith's hockey pants.

Smith slid backward into the net to prevent a rebound opportunity not knowing the puck was in his equipment. A review of the play confirmed the puck crossed the line.