Struggling Leino excited to face Flyers; Pronger skating
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Struggling Leino excited to face Flyers; Pronger skating
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
UPDATED: Based on the pregame skate, here are the lines for tonight in Buffalo:
* Giroux centering Jagr and Hartnell.
* Couturier centering JVR and Voracek.
* Talbot centering Nodl and Simmonds.
* Holmstrom centering Shelley and Rinaldo.
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BUFFALO _ Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff, whose team hosts the Flyers on Wednesday night, says struggling forward Ville Leino is putting too much pressure on himself.
“He needs something good to happen out there to feel good about how he’s playing, and there hasn’t been a lot good going on,” Ruff said after the Sabres’ morning skate on Wednesday. ”I think this is a great opportunity for him to get something going.”
Leino, the former Flyer who signed a six-year, $27 million free-agent deal with the Sabres in the off-season, has just one goal and one assist and is minus-4 in 10 games.
On Wednesday night, Leino will be given a chance to break out of his prolonged slump. For the first time this season, he will center high-scoring wingers Thomas Vanek (15 points) and Jason Pominville (14 points).
“I’m excited to see what these lines will look like,” Ruff said. “Maybe we can spur a little more offense.”
“The first game is different, but it’s going to be fun,” said Leino about facing his ex-teammates.
He had dinner Tuesday night with the Flyers’ Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen.
Adjusting to a new team “has been a little different,” Leino said. “The systems are different. The players are different. It’s been a little been of a battle. Some days you feel good; some days you’re kind of wondering what’s going on, but we’ll work on it and I’m sure we’ll get better.”
Ruff said “it might take half a year before a player gets comfortable” with his new team. “There’s lot of examples _ James Neal when he went to Pittsburgh last year. It takes time to know your teammates; it takes time to know your coaches. It’s finding a fit. I’ve liked his compete level.”
Early in the preseason, Leino demonstrated great puck possession, “but we had no pucks going to the net,” Ruff said. “And at the end of the night, we had nothing to show for it. I should have nipped that, but we’re trying to be patient and let him make some plays. And it wasn’t just him.”
Leino feels more comfortable playing wing _ his position with the Flyers _ but Ruff has him at center. The coach compared Leino’s situation with Danny Briere’s when he arrived in Buffalo.
“It doesn’t mean he’s going to fit right where I’ve got him right now,” Ruff said. “But I know he’ll fit; it’s no different when Danny Briere got here. Danny didn’t want to play center and he felt wing would be his best spot and I felt center would be his best. Eventually he ended up at center, and that was his position, so I have lots of experience to rely on.”
Ruff said Leino “feels a lot of pressure and feels he has let a lot of people down. I said to him, ‘You just have to concentrate on playing good hockey and the results will come.’ ”
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For the first time since he injured his right eye, Chris Pronger skated Wednesday in Voorhees. He will also skate tomorrow and, if he gets a good report from the eye doctor on Friday, he will practice with the team Friday or Saturday, GM Paul Holmgren said.
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Odd stats: At home, Buffalo is 1-3 and the Flyers are 3-3-1. On the road, the Sabres are 5-1 (including a win in Europe) and the Flyers are 3-1.
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Ilya Bryzgalov (4-4-1, 3.16 GAA, .880 save percentage) opposes the Sabres Ryan Miller (4-4, 2.14, .930) in the teams’ first meeting since the Flyers won an opening-round, seven-game playoff series last spring. The Flyers tonight will likely use just eight players from that team: Braydon Coburn, Andreas Nodl, Hartnell, James van Riemsdyk, Matt Carle, Claude Giroux, Timonen, Andrej Meszaros and Jody Shelley. Shelley or Nodl could sit.
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Leino worked out well here. I'm just thankful the Flyers didn't give him that kind of money. It was rumored that they were trying to resign him mid year last year, and then they acquired Versteeg. That was the one good thing that came out of the Versteeg addition— Hammer859- Leino won the lottery. One 50 point season then an UFA in the weakest free agent market in recent history. Good guy, but little more then a roleplayer. The size of that contract could end him up in the minors one day though.— Sidewinder7
- speaking of, Versteeg is lighting it up with 5g,6a so far...so I disagree...I would have like to see Ville back, and give briere someone consistent to play with, but we'll see. Hopefully Read can be that guy.— philly thug
- I don't care if Versteeg scores 40 goals this year I'm happy he is gone. Just couldn't stand watching the guy play, and as soon as he got here last year the team went in the tank. Also, Leino will eventually come around in Buffalo. I don't mind seeing him struggle cause I hate the Sabres, but he will get his points.— sla6yer
- I don't know if Versteeg's arrival had as much to do with the Flyers' collapse as the horrible goaltending did. I think Versteeg's involvement was coincidental, and at the right price he'd be a productive player on this team, like he's been basically his entire career. We got a 2nd- and 3rd-rounbder for him, so the trade could work out to our good, no question. Re: Leino, Ruff is smart to put him on a line with his best forwards. To me, Leino is not the type of player who can make a mediocre line good. He's just a guy who can make a good line a little better. I'll be way surprised if he becomes a reliable 25-goal, 70-point guy (which, at $4.5 mil/year, is how he's getting paid).— 1980
- You know who else making way more than his production justifies...JVR. The league is laughing at us on that one..— philly thug
- From Down Goes Brown, "Buffalo Sabres: Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff should provide the Sabres with production at a fraction of the cost of similar players, in the sense that 3/2 is technically a fraction."— AreaMan
