Sabres Corner: Dirty Sens Blank Sabres 2
Since the 2005-2006 season, the Senators have dominated the Sabres, winning 21 of 31.
Sabres beat again by Sens.
On Wednesday night, it remained that way.
After the first period the Senators were only up 1-0. I say ONLY because of Ryan Miller. The game could have easily been out of reach for Buffalo.
Alexandre Picard was the one to finally get the puck past Miller in the first. Buffalo had trouble getting things going and could not generate any scoring chances. Shots were 11-5 in favor of Ottawa after the opening period.
The second period involved much more physical play. Both teams started to throw around their bodies. Then, Jarkko Ruutu deliverd a head shot to Patrick Kaleta, earning a five minute boarding penalty. However, Ruutu was not ejected from the game, only a five minute penalty.
I thought the NHL was trying to crack down on head shots. In my view, Ruutu should have been ejected along with the penalty. I’m sure the NHL will look into a possible suspension because it was a clean and deliberate shot to the head. This is not the first time Ruutu has aggrevated the Sabres. Last season, he bit Andrew Peters while they were in a scrum.
Kaleta left the game and did not return. I was disappointed to see that nobody went after Ruutu. Buffalo needs to start protecting their players. The Sabres did keep up with the physical play as Adam Mair, Matt Ellis, Steve Montador, and Mike Grier finished their checks.
