Kristian

Nice hit by Foligno.

Double minor for Vanek, bonehead slash in the offensive zone, then gets an unsportsmanlike too.

3 good hits from Scott in that shift.

Pitkanen just hit the post.

I don't know if it's just because I've watched the Sabres too much, but is there really such a thing as a complete game? I think most teams always have some 5-10 minutes in a game hwere they seem to have the edge in play, even if they're getting dominated. As fate would have it though, those 5-10-15 minutes have seemed enough to beat the Sabres the past 3-4 years.

Unless you're lying through your teeth, that is :flirt:

All I can say is, Vanek really can turn on the jets when has to, and although he may have his flaws in his own end, he was a force on offense tonight. That deflection in the third deserved to go in too, man that's some hand-eye right there.

Didn't even notice that until you pointed it out, that's hilarious :lol: That said, I still think he Pegula expects a return on this down the road, as indicated with the "he has the tools now" remark. Or I could be dead wrong too, I guess we'll find out eventually.

I'm going to speculate that it's dawned on Pegula just how far away this roster really was, and we might see a Drew Stafford in a new uniform before next season, with some draft picks or veteran presence like Steve Ott headed back here. I wouldn't be surprised either if he were watching Lindy and Darcy very closely either, regardless how much of a fanboy he is and what he says in public - In fact, I think the more of a fanboy he is, the more likely he'll replace them down the stretch.

Sorry to hear that, my sincere condolences.

Indeed.

I don't see this happening in NHL13. I've played the series since 1996, and I remember NHL11 and NHL12 as the only two where I didn't stand a chance on the hardest level. This year, my experience is that playing well in your own zone and having a good PP will get you 90% of the way. I love the fact that you can force players to make bad passes and take bad shots, simply by taking away their lanes, this year.

You're right, he's always been good at getting an offensive zone faceoff out of a situation where he comes in on the wing, with no real support, meaning he can try and go wide, around the net, or put the puck in the goalies chest and get a faceoff. The fact that we routinely aren't too great on faceoffs tends to take away from that.

Yeah, when another team is willing to pay a guy 5.5 mill. to sit at home all year, it's a pretty good reason not to want any part of him.

I'll agree it looks good on paper, however that's kinda how I've felt about the Sabres since 2002 - Looks good, plays somewhat differently. However, it's a 48 game regular season, and all bets are off. Any team could catch fire and run away with it all, even the Sabres.

I'm as annoyed by this as you are, but to be honest : This team needs a heckuva lot more than just one or two players to ever become more than a team struggling to make a spot. At this point, I wouldn't want anyone important brought in, or any young talents brought up, simply because I think it would impair Buffalo's ability to attract free agents in the future, and also throw even more Buffalo talent down the "Lindy Ruff Road to nowhere". Everybody's talking about how we're thin at center, which is obvious, but also - Who the heck is gonna score our goals? Vanek? Stafford? Ennis? Unless Miller can finish the season with a 1.80 GAA, making the playoffs won't be an easy task.

I imagine the guy who drives the zamboni could do a pretty good job at that. Not sure if he can skate or take draws though, but as far as leadership goes, I fell confident he'll be an improvement.

Agree. We're calling Hecht a center now? We must be desperate. IMHO Hecht at center has always been a horrible experiment at best, except for on the PK. That said, I agree that he can add something to the team, provided he never goes above the 3rd line, and provided he never plays center.

Again. That said, it's easy to be an armchair GM, and although Roy is gone I have to agree this is probably one of the worst Sabres rosters I ever saw. I'm willing to accept sucking for a while if it means management plans on rebuilding, which seems to be the case. What was truly hard, was having to watch them suck, with management firmly believing they had a good roster. If ever there was that famed 3-year plan, I'd say it's been out the window for a while now, though.

A few of those injuries happened against Ottawa, though. To me, the one that *truly* got away, was 2007 - Everyone was healthy, heck even the stars aligned for a moment and a few doubtful calls went in our favor against the Rangers. That team was just so used to not having to work hard in order to win, they were taken to 6 games by a very average Rangers team, they were 7 seconds away from playing an elimination game at MSG, and then proceeded to be manhandled physcially by a no way intimidating Ottawa team, who in turn were eaten alive by the Ducks in the finals. Sorry for straying off-topic.

True. Never understood why people just consider it a given that we would've beaten Edmonton in the finals either, that Oilers team was playing some fine hockey, and took the 'Canes to 7 games with their backup in net. But yeah, ancient history now.

That one is so true, it shouldn't even be funny :clapping:

You're preaching to the choir ;) Nobody will disagree that other teams have to face the exact same obstacles as the Sabres, it's just that this front office have had a history of molding every little bump in the road into a viable excuse for not meeting expectations. Larry Quinn was the true master of excuses, and while Darcy will never be as bad as Larry the Moron, he does seem to have picked up a nasty habit of trying to blame every poor season on things other teams seem to handle just fine.

I magine there'll be a string of injuries to blame as well.

I think the Sabres need a cup.