wallybarthman

I think we Sabres fans are very sensitive on this topic as we had two instances in our history where a goal was allowed that should have been (99 vs the Stars) and a goal that wasn't a goal allowed to stand (2000 vs Philly) when it went through the side of the net. So far, it seems that the NHL is only capable of screwing the Sabres over - getting it wrong when it works against us and taking our goals away from us. The irony is I like the rule. I remember one instance in the 98 run (I think against Washington in the playoffs) where a Capitals player didn't tag up - didn't even come close to it actually and scored. In that case, it wasn't a discretionary call - the linesman just plain missed it. All of our "offsides" this season were so close you can see why the linesman ruled the play on sides because the player's forward momentum carried them into the zone as the puck entered the zone. All three you've needed instant replay AND slow motion to make the "correct" call. If you watch it at full speed, it's inconclusive (which is what the linesman essentially ruled) and therefore shouldn't be overturned. I know we can't make a rule of not using slow motion for reviewing offsides (and we certainly wouldn't want that rule for goals) but I think it's a valid point that slow motion provides something that the human eye can't and is it worth it for an offsides call that in real time is about .1 second tops.

Nice to see the NHL's outstanding tradition of terrible one-sided officiating is continuing. What a bunch of frekin morons.

I'm still trying to figure out where the OBVIOUS FREKIN HOOKING CALL where Ennis got pulled off the puck was? Morons with stripes that's all we've got tonight.

In fairness, if you can't score at least three goals you can't blame your goalie.

#facepalm

Another slash, another no call..... what the heck is going on? These aren't even close calls the Refs are letting go.

These Refs blow..... tripping and holding the stick are not against the rules anymore.

Someone in the preseason (Duff, May, Koziol, etc.) said that hardest adjustment for Sabres fans this year was going to be less than outstanding goaltending. That prophecy has come true.

What penalty? The Refs screwed us on the sequence - there should have been THREE FREKIN CALLS against the Devils before they got that goal.

That's the problem with a guy who is used to doing TV being simulcast on the radio. It's a particular problem with road games because there's no horn or crowd.

Right now there are no broadcast plans for any of the Sabres games that have been announced. The ended up streaming the intra-squad scrimmage but they've announced nothing about the pre-season. The catch is that MSG has the rights to broadcast the Sabres, so they can't go ahead and do their own stream like they did for the intra-squad scrimmage.

I've watched the hit from Kaleta a lot - tried to remove my blue/goal glasses and here are my thoughts: It was stupid stupid stupid - if he's five feet further or five feet closer to the boards the admittedly light cross check doesn't do anything and the game goes on. As far as "dirty" hits go, this is pretty low on the list even for Kaleta (and even for the game - the hit on Ennis in OT was far worse because it was a shot to the head). What made it bad was the way Richards fell. Speaking of which, Richards didn't sell the hit - he feel down awkwardly because he wasn't expecting it. The penalty ended up being more about him falling and less about the hit. That being said, if Richards bounces up and the play continues it's a two-minute penalty. Kaleta should not be suspended for this hit, but will be. There was no intent to injure and in the grand scheme of hits this year that have gone unsuspended theres no way Kaleta deserves a suspension. But he will be suspended because of reputation and the fact that Shanahan seems to really enjoy screwing the Sabres (I'm just saying - he'll never have credibility with Buffalo because of the Lucic incident and the highly questionable suspension to Meyers last spring that was motivated more by the Board of Governors meeting than what Meyers actually did).

And Prust crushed Vanek with a cross check and they didn't call that one either... again, it's great to be in Montreal.

I love playing in Montreal....

I remember hearing during the whole Jim Basille bringing an NHL team to Ontario that 20% of the Sabres season tickets were owned by Canadians. That being said, Toronto games fetch a nice price on stubhub and I'm guessing there are opportunistic Sabres fans.