Buffalo Sabres 5 Stars of the Week: April 15–21

Buffalo Sabres Celebrate

Even though last week marked the end of the Buffalo Sabres’ season, having been eliminated from playoff contention by the New York Rangers, there were still some noteworthy performances. It was also a relatively light week for the Sabres as they only played in two games. No matter what happened, it doesn’t mean that the Sabres still don’t have their five stars of the week.

The first game of the week against the Boston Bruins was a particularly gritty performance. The Sabres pulled a win out despite the Bruins trying their very best to make the citizens of Boston forget the tragic bombing during the Boston Marathon. The Sabres tied the game up twice to force an exciting overtime period that gave way to a goalie-dominated shootout.

The game against the Rangers was far less exciting. It’s hard to give as much weight to any offensive statistic the Sabres accrued in the game because the Rangers were up six goals before the Sabres got on the board. Basically, the rest of the game was garbage time for the Sabres as they put in four goals by the end of the game.

With the season effectively being over, hopefully head coach Ron Rolston will play some of his younger guys in hopes of letting them gain experience. Sabres’ wunderkind Mikhail Grigorenko was added to the roster last week but did not suit up for either game. Perhaps Jhonas Enroth will also receive some more time now that the Sabres are out of contention. In any case, on to the five stars of the week slideshow.

5) Ryan Miller

Ryan Miller had a great and then awful week. It is debatable if he should be the fifth star this week but his performance versus the Bruins was too good for him to not be included. He stopped 41 shots and all three shootout attempts to give the Sabres a win and extend their hopes up until they played the Rangers. The Bruins game could also be Miller’s last great performance while donning a Sabres jersey.

4) Tyler Ennis

Tyler Ennis saw an offensive outburst. In what has been another fairly inconsistent season for Ennis, he assisted on three goals, including the first goal during the Bruins game. If he can continue his good play from last week throughout the last three games, the Sabres could become more confident in him as a franchise building block.

3) Cody Hodgson

Cody Hodgson and Vanek rekindled some of their early season chemistry. Hodgson scored the game-tying goal against the Bruins and scored the first goal against the Rangers. Both of his goals came on the power play, which helped the Sabres climb out of the cellar in terms of power play percentage.

2) Christian Ehrhoff

Christian Ehrhoff continued his streak of good play assisting on three goals, including one during the Bruins matchup. It seems Ehrhoff has become more of an offensive presence since his usual defensive partner Tyler Myers went down with an injury, as he has scored a total of five points — one goal and four assists — since the last time Myers played.

1) Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek found his groove last week. He was instrumental in the Sabres’ win against the Bruins adding a goal and an assist. He didn’t score in the loss against the Rangers but since every goal scored by the Sabres in that game is tainted, it doesn’t really hurt his standing.