Miller is Back on Top

In the thick of the playoff crunch time, the Buffalo Sabres are out for the 8th seed and a spot in the playoffs. If the Sabres continue to play like they have been in the past few games, this goal might be achievable, which is all thanks to Olympic goaltender Ryan Miller.

The Sabres have won their last three games, mostly due to Miller’s ability to block shots and keep them out of his net, evident by his back to back shutout wins earlier this week. Miller had another good game in a 3-5 win over Vancouver last Saturday, that the NHL to decided to recognized this. The NHL does a weekly “3 stars of the week” post, and for this week they gave Miller the first star. Miller is back on his game, and if he can grant the Sabres another win tonight, this could lead them closer to the playoffs as they will tie the Jets for the No. 8 spot.

But the NHL did not forget the stars of the West this week, as the other two stars went to the Red Wings’ Niklas Kronwall and Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ray Emery.

While the Red Wings winning streak was defeated by the Vancouver Canucks a few weeks ago, the team from hockey town is still a top contender for playoffs. Which is even more evident by Kronwall getting the second star of the week. With the absence of Lidstrom and Ericsson due to injuries, Kronwall has really stepped up to defend Detroit’s net. This has not gone unrecognized by the league, as Kronwall has acquired 2 goals and 5 assists in the past week.

Western Conference rivals, The Blackhawks are doing just as well with goalie Emery coming to the rescue in their last few games. Like Miller, Emery won the last three games that he started in with the Blackhawks and only allowed one goal past him in each of these games. This streak is the longest that the Hawks have had since the middle of February, and Emergy really helped his team out by bumping them up to sixth place in the Western Conference Standings.