Essensa's hibernation almost at an end
(Tim Graham, The Buffalo News, 1/15/02)

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Bob Essensa will start in goal for the Buffalo Sabres this week, and many of his teammates feel the assignment is long overdue.

A half-dozen Sabres over the past few days have expressed disappointment in coach Lindy Ruff and General Manager Darcy Regier for not using Essensa more. The veteran backup has started only three games all season, with his last coming nearly two months ago.

"He hasn't been given a chance to show what he can do," said one Sabre who didn't want to be identified. "How can we see what he can do on three starts? Yes, his stats are bad. But he had a great season last year, and I find it hard to believe his game just dropped off the table."

On Monday, Essensa's 37th birthday, Ruff announced the stagnant goalie would start during Buffalo's four-game Western road trip that begins Wednesday in Anaheim.

Essensa probably will get tabbed for Thursday's game at Los Angeles, but another prime possibility is Saturday's game at Phoenix, where Essensa played in 1999-2000. He still owns a home in the Phoenix area, and his family will permanently settle there once he retires at the end of this season.

Ruff said he wasn't aware his players had an intense desire to see Essensa start. But the coach added there was little he could do about it.

"You can't always stop the muttering," Ruff said. "There's always one guy or another guy."

The Sabres' dressing-room sentiment does not stem from any displeasure with No. 1 goalie Martin Biron.

It is mostly rooted in the fact Essensa is well-liked and highly respected by his teammates. The longer he has been yoked with his miserable stats, the more his teammates have wanted to help him earn a victory.

"Damn right we want him to get a start," said another Sabre who also wished to remain anonymous. "He comes to the rink every day and works as hard as anybody. He doesn't complain. He's always in a good mood. He's a consummate pro who's been in the league a long time, and he deserves a break."

Conversely, Essensa's teammates must know another bad outing could prove disastrous to his future as a Sabre.

Essensa is 0-4-0 with a 3.28 goals-against average and an .841 save percentage. He helped rally the Vancouver Canucks into the playoffs last year by going 18-12-3 with a 2.68 GAA and an .892 save percentage.

He was signed in the offseason to a one-year, $600,000 deal to give Biron an occasional respite.

Biron struggled often when he started 11 straight games from Nov. 21-Dec. 12. Instead of spelling him with Essensa, however, the Sabres called up Mika Noronen from Rochester. Ruff, looking for a spark, rotated the young goalies for the second half of December. Neither dominated until Biron started to re-emerge in the last couple weeks.

Biron has played seven straight games, starting six of them. In his last four outings he was 3-1, allowing a total of only six goals.

"Fair or not fair, it's hard to say," Essensa said of his role. "We are where we are. I'm looking to get the train back on the tracks, and hopefully I can do it on this trip.

"When things are going well and Marty's on top of his game, it's hard to be given a start. But given the way things have gone so far, you would think you'd be spotted in there a little more often. But when you kind of drop the ball in your first couple of outings, it's been very difficult to get that fourth and fifth tap on the shoulder.

"I'm sure it hasn't gone according to anybody's plans. To this point, we wouldn't have predicted being where we are in the standings, and certainly my stats . . . there's lots of room for improvement there."

Ruff told Essensa late last week to begin preparing for the upcoming start. Essensa has been trying to create more game-like situations during practices and has been staying after to face extra shots.

But he doesn't want to dwell too much on his next game. He wants to refrain from approaching it like his final start.

"I don't think I'm putting too much pressure on myself," Essensa said. "I knew going into this year that this would be my last, but it's not as though this game is it for me. I plan on getting the train back on the tracks, getting a win and, with that, getting a few more starts."

Essensa's wife, Jeanine, will help keep her husband grounded this week. She is pregnant with a child due to arrive Feb. 1. The Essensas already have two sons, the youngest of whom was born two weeks early.


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