Vrbata particularly attractive to the Canucks from cherry452's blog
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BUFFALO, N. Mike Pouncey Dolphins Jersey .Y. -- The Ottawa Senators showed some rust and turned the puck over more than a few times in their season opener. It wasnt the kind of game coaches are particularly proud of, but goaltender Craig Andersons brilliance was enough to give the Senators a 1-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night at First Niagara Center. Anderson made 35 saves for his 23rd career shutout and stole the spotlight in a battle of potential U.S. Olympic hopefuls against Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller. "You want to be there for your team, give them an opportunity to win," Anderson said. "When you watch the other guy at the other end make big save after big save, it just gives you a little fire under your butt to kind of return the favour." It was just about as entertaining as a 1-0 game gets, due in part to a bevy of mistakes by the Senators and Sabres. Neither Ottawa coach Paul MacLean nor Buffalos Ron Rolston was all too happy about that, but it was easy for the Senators to chalk this one up to it being their first game of the regular season. "I think it was a high-paced game the whole game," said defenceman Erik Karlsson, who scored the games only goal late in the third. "It really showed that we havent played in a while and we made some obvious mistakes, but at the same time I still think that over periods of time we really played well and created chances." When the Sabres got quality chances, Anderson was there to compensate. The 32-year-old appreciated some blocked shots and was thankful for some lucky bounces, like Steve Ott fanning with an empty net, but he was locked in just about from the drop of the puck. He and Miller had to be, thanks to four penalty calls in the first eight minutes. The Sabres and Senators combined to put 39 shots on net in the first, setting a record for the most in a scoreless period in the NHLs expansion era that dates to 1967, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The pressure ratcheted up as the shots and saves piled up, but Anderson didnt falter. "In baseball, guys need run support and in hockey, goalies need goal support," he said. "Your job as a pitcher or a goalie is just to make sure your teams in there at the end and give yourselves an opportunity to at least get a point. Thats kind of the way the night went. It was going back and forth, and I was just trying to make that next save and not worry or get too far ahead of yourself." Miller had already made 44 saves by the time Karlsson scored on the games 80th shot with 1:35 left. Clarke MacArthur found Karlsson with a perfect pass, and the Sabres franchise goaltender had almost no chance of stopping it. "I was just waiting, snuck in there," Karlsson said. "Hes been so good, Miller, the whole game, so I just figure, OK Ive got to try and put it between the legs when hes moving over, and it worked." Miller took little solace in making 45 stops and firing up a sellout crowd of 19,070 for the Sabres home opener. "I just needed to make one more save there," he said. "Its disappointing." He made plenty of them, earning tons of credit from the Senators for his "outstanding" and "unbelievable" play. But Rolston, even while praising Miller, said he didnt like "pretty much everything" else from his team. MacLean wasnt glowing, either. The Senators coach had to keep his own frustration in check as he lamented a lot of his players "playing for both teams" by coughing up the puck and getting caught in bad situations. "I think its an important part that you dont get carried away," MacLean said. "Its easy to get carried away and get looser and looser. I think we did a little bit of that tonight. We got a little carried away and we really had to work hard to get our focus back on how we had to play the game." Focus came in the form of Anderson making sublime saves, including nine on Sabres co-captain Thomas Vanek. The Senators had enough faith in their goaltender that they didnt have to fear making a mistake. "It helps a lot, especially for players like me," Karlsson said. "I can take chances sometimes and I know that unless the other player beats him, hes going to make a stop. Today he stopped them all." Karlsson had a clutch stop of his own, diving and fully extending at the net to cut off Vanek after getting beat during the third period. "Hes the one and only. We love him," Anderson said of Karlsson. "He may get out of position, but hes so fast and hes so smart that hes able to get back and make huge plays for us. If he doesnt work as hard as he did, he doesnt get back and maybe Vanek scores there and we lose the game." Playing so close to the edge in a game that was scoreless for 58-plus minutes isnt ideal for the Senators, who visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night and hope to have some "kinks" figured out, according to MacLean. But Anderson was more up to the task against the Sabres, delivering a memorable opening-night performance. "Hes prepared himself really well, hes got a lot of confidence," Ottawa captain Jason Spezza said. "Hes one of the best goalies in the game, and were lucky to have a guy that gives us a chance to win every night. The saves he makes enables us to stick around in that game and get the win." Cameron Wake Dolphins Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills have fired receivers coach Ike Hilliard. Charles Clay Dolphins Jersey . "He started putting me on the ice to strengthen them at the suggestion from a doctor," he said. Weight said it wasnt a pretty sight at the rink in St. Clair Shores, Mich. "I looked like Forrest Gump," he joked.Other teams probably could have offered Radim Vrbata $10 million over two years. What the Vancouver Canucks had that the competition didnt was the chance to play with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. So when general manager Jim Benning suggested it, Vrbata took it as another reason to sign with the Canucks. "He was saying that they were looking for somebody to play with Sedins and that they think I could be the guy," Vrbata said on a conference call Thursday. "I feel like with the way they play and the way they see the game, its something that would probably suit my game. Yeah, it was real interesting to have that chance." Itll be up to coach Willie Desjardins to form the lines, Benning said, but it was part of the plan to give Vrbata an opportunity with the Sedins. Benning likes that Vrbata can read plays and jump into holes. Vrbata, who had 20 goals and 31 assists in his final season with the defensive-minded Arizona Coyotes, will be counted on to produce more if hes Vancouvers top-line right-winger. He doesnt mind that pressure. "If you play with players like Sedins, you know that you will get your chances," Vrbata said. "When I think about the way they play, that kind of suits my game, I think. They like lots of give-and-gos and they like to get open for each other. I think thats something that I like to do, too." The addition of Vrbata could push Alex Burrows out of that spot. The 33-year-old who had been a regular linemate with the Sedins since 2010 had just five goals and 10 assists in 49 games this past season. Benning sees Burrows as the second-line right-winger alongside centre Nick Bonino -- acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in the Ryan Kesler trade -- and either Zack Kassian or Jannik Hansen. "We want to have balance amongst our four lines. We want to have scoring, we want to have scoring depth," Benning said. "Now we have depth at the forward positions where every line can contribute in the scoring, and thatts one of the things that we set out to do. Kiko Alonso Dolphins Jersey. " Signing Vrbata could be the last major move in unrestricted free agency this summer for the Canucks, who got veteran goaltender Ryan Miller on Tuesday for $18 million over three years. "For the most part were done," Benning said. "We wanted to address a couple things to make our team a complete team going into this next season, and I think weve done that. ... Were going to probably go into the season with this team and were going to see where we stand and go from there." Vrbata fit on that checklist because the Canucks wanted to add a scorer. Benning said there were some possibilities on Day One, but when they didnt materialize, the 33-year-old Czech became a priority. "For us, he plays a 200-foot game," Benning said. "He plays in all three zones and hes got real good hockey sense and hands to finish. Hes going to help us on our power play." And in the shootout. Vrbata had five goals on 12 attempts last season. But its the goals he could help produce alongside the Sedins that made Vrbata particularly attractive to the Canucks, and vice-versa. Vrbata understands he might not spend 80 games with Daniel and Henrik but doesnt sound like hed complain about doing that. "Im a big, big believer in chemistry and kind of synergy," Vrbata said. "I feel like when you have chemistry with somebody, that helps so much in todays league where sometimes its so tight and if you can really trust and gain advantage by knowing the guys youre on a line (with)." Notes -- The Canucks lost Mike Santorelli in free agency after the centre signed a US$1.5-million, one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Benning said Vrbata got the nod over Santorelli because he has been a more consistent scorer over a longer period of time. ... Benning confirmed on a conference call with reporters that Travis Green would be back as coach of the Canucks AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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