Boyes Clicking With New Team

Brad Boyes, Andrej Sekera, and Nathan Gerbe celebrate their overtime win.
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The Buffalo Sabres fought back to tie the Boston Bruins twice last night before scoring the game winner 3:44 into the overtime period.  As Boyes scored the game winning goal, Rick Jeanneret rang through the microphone shouting "Brad Boyes is hotter than a firecracker!!"  I think it is safe to say that Brad Boyes is enjoying his time in Buffalo so far.  Through six games with the team, Boyes has six points (3G, 3A).  "When you score in overtime this time of year it's exciting," Boyes said. "It's about getting points now. It doesn't matter who we play."  In an interview with WGR 550, Brad mentioned how the current road trip has allowed him to get more acquainted with his teammates because they are spending the off days together rather than at their personal homes.  It adds positive chemistry to the team and makes transitioning a new player into the lineup go smoothly.  Also scoring last night for the Sabres were Tyler Ennis, Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly.  Boyes, the game's first star, assisted on Tim Connolly's game-tying power-play goal in the third period and then broke the tie by scoring the overtime winner.  With Vanek and Connolly's goals coming on the power play the Sabres ended their 0-18 scoreless streak with the man advantage.  The power play is something the Sabres need to excel in during the final weeks of the season.  Earlier in the day, Jochen Hecht was declared unable to play and Mark Mancari returned from Portland to take his place.

While the team has been away on their season long road trip, Terry Pegula has been busy taking suggestions from the fans (submit yours here) and making improvements around HSBC Arena.  The first tier of changes has been made inside the player's locker room.  A new carpet was added featuring the Sabres logo which finally gets rid of the "slug" or if you prefer to call it the "angry cashew" logo that debuted for the 2006-2007 season.  Also, a new glass mural on the wall inside the locker room features Terry Pegula's press conference quote "From this point forward, The Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" for the players to read.  Pictures of the renovations can be seen here on WGR 550's website.

Playoff odds are up 9.4 to a new season high 78.1% after Thursday's huge win at the TD Garden in Boston.  The Sabres have tied the New York Rangers for 7th place in the conference with 74 points but still have two games in hand.  Tonight, there is one game to keep an eye on and that is the match-up between the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes.  A Capitals regulation win would put the Sabres playoff odds over 80%.  The Sabres return to action and close out their seven-game road trip tomorrow as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00pm EST.