Vanek skating = GT Decision

[BillsSabresB.C.T. Fan]

BOSTON, MA - Thomas Vanek is skating at Sabres practice on Wednesday morning. It is unclear if he will be in the lineup for game four of the eastern conference quarterfinal series on Wedesday night.

Head Coach Lindy Ruff says Vanek will be a game time decision.
http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=76216&catid=37

[SkateZilla]

Down 2-1 in the series with no one else scoring... Umm... the answer is YES!

[RockStar36]

I read that even though he was skating, it was "gingerly" and he was shaking his head after shooting some pucks.

I wouldn't put money on him being back tonight.

[trapezeus]

does the nhl not use gross levels of pain medication like the NFL. travis henry would get shot up and ran on broken leg. come on vanek. take the shot

[RockStar36]

does the nhl not use gross levels of pain medication like the NFL. travis henry would get shot up and ran on broken leg. come on vanek. take the shot

I'm sure there is a huge different between these two scenarios.

[jesseInEA]

If he can't go I'd rather he just give it another couple days than risk further injury by getting hopped up on painkillers.

[DMBcrew36]

This is obvious, but...

If this were regular season, Vanek would sit. Given the current situation - you take some painkillers and you play.

I think he will play.

[BlackMetalNinja]

does the nhl not use gross levels of pain medication like the NFL. travis henry would get shot up and ran on broken leg. come on vanek. take the shotand impregnate 3 chicks!

[tampabay25690]

Vanek is not playing tonite....
That is as of the AM skate......
Unless a miracle Vanek will play but the odds are very low from what I was told this am......

Dont know if he will be ready for Fri either.....

[chernobylwraiths]

Rub some dirt on it!

[DMBcrew36]

Vanek is not playing tonite....
That is as of the AM skate......
Unless a miracle Vanek will play but the odds are very low from what I was told this am......

Dont know if he will be ready for Fri either.....

Well considering he was wearing a walking boot until practice this morning, it isn't too hard to extrapolate that he most likely will not play.

[DMBcrew36]

****........ if he's capable of taking warm-up... I have him take warm-up and then decide to scratch him

[tampabay25690]

Well considering he was wearing a walking boot until practice this morning, it isn't too hard to extrapolate that he most likely will not play.

Just what I knew as of 10 am today..
Not looking good from what I was told...
Will find out some more now IF I can get a hold of my guy...

[DMBcrew36]

Honestly... if the Sabres or fans need to pin their hopes on one player.. then the Sabres are a pathetic ****ing hockey team.

the Sabres need to man the **** up and stop looking around for someone else to get the job done


Anyways -- since when did Vanek become the 'make or break' guy for us. He has rarely ever before been the sparkplug for this team.

[G Wolly]

Anyways -- since when did Vanek become the 'make or break' guy for us. He has rarely ever before been the sparkplug for this team.

Since he finally showed up to do his job and scored 5 goals in the last 2 games.

I'm not so sure this is a good idea. It'll be another attack point for Boston to go after and may hurt him in the long run.

[chernobylwraiths]

Let Cody were 26!

[BillsSabresB.C.T. Fan]

"We’re going to talk about it realistically, and if I feel like and coach [Lindy Ruff] feels like I can help out the team, I’m sure I’ll be in," Vanek said. "I feel better. I feel better than I did yesterday, so that’s good."

Vanek, who skated gingerly early in the morning skate, displayed a full range of motion during the pickup game. He cut quickly for loose pucks and turned with Patrick lightly leaning on him. He was a little off at one point while skating along the faceoff circle, but it was an encouraging outing for Vanek considering it was his first time on the ice since Saturday afternoon.

"Real encouraged," Vanek said. "Like I said, I was really happy out there. I felt good. I’m hoping for tonight, but if not, take a step ahead again tomorrow, then hopefully be back Friday [for Game Five in Buffalo]. We’ll see."

Before the shinny, Vanek moved laterally along the blue line and fired pucks at the net, then moved to the front to tip some. After the game, he twice followed Patrick’s conditioning assignment: skate to each corner to corral pucks and drive to the net; gather two more at the tops of the circles and go to the net; get a fifth one at the blue line and drive for shot; collect a sixth at the red line for another shot; then skate hard to the opposite end of the rink.

Though he did well during his 38 minutes on the ice, he knows it would be different with Bruins pushing or whacking him. Being able to do that well is what really matters.
http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2010/04/vanek-encouraged-by-first-skate.html

[G Wolly]

No Vanek for the warm-up skate. Maybe he's getting additional equipment preparation? Or he's definitely out for the night.

[SabreEleven]

Let Cody were 26!

Really, Cher, Really? I think you are just testing me now....*wear.

[tampabay25690]

No Vanek for the warm-up skate. Maybe he's getting additional equipment preparation? Or he's definitely out for the night.

I posted earlier that he was not playing.
That came directly from the Sabres locker room.

[chernobylwraiths]

Really, Cher, Really? I think you are just testing me now....*wear.
LOL, no I wasn't.

[G Wolly]

Get a room you two.

[tampabay25690]

I will post tomorrow AM if Vanek plays.....
Probably will...