LabattBlue Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Game thoughts... -A terrible game all the way around at HOME against the woeful Leafs without Sundin & Antropov with the playoffs on the line. :angry: :angry: -Miller just not good enough. -The Kotalik experiment at center has to end. Move Gaustad back to center and move either Paille or Bernier on the wing with Hecht and Pominville. -Pominville has been great, but on the PP tonight it looked like he had rookie jitters the way he was handling the puck. -The PP strategy CANNOT revolve around floating shots to the front of the net and hoping Vanek tips the puck. -Other than Kaleta, not much hitting from the Sabres. -Max seems to really have tailed off after skating like a mad man when he first came back from the injury. -In summary, I thought the Sabres would come out flying after the great comeback the other night. Instead, the Leafs fans went home happy and the Sabres fans are left wondering which team they will see with two games left against Boston, Montreal & Ottawa.
hopeleslyobvious Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 No, I don't expect Brodeur like numbers. I just expect a GAA around 2.00 not 2.6. He seems to have more four goal nights than 2 goal nights. Their is a lot of room for improvement on this team and Miller is one of the Players that needs to work on his game. He consistently has trouble with shots from more than 10 feet and with shots on his glove side. I also think he has a problem freezing the puck/ controlling his rebounds. As I have said before what is so frustrating with him is his flashes of brilliance. He is just so inconsistent it is madding. Seeing that no goalie in the league has a 2.00 right now, I'd say your expectations are pretty unreasonable. Just looking at the top 3 in GAA, they all play on teams with very good defenses. Something tells me that if you put Miller behind a defense like that you might see similar numbers.
RayFinkle Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 -In summary, I thought the Sabres would come out flying after the great comeback the other night. Instead, the Leafs fans went home happy and the Sabres fans are left wondering which team they will see with two games left against Boston, Montreal & Ottawa. They came out sky high and dominated the game early. They just didn't get the bounces. Toronto capitalized on their chances, end of story. The Sabres certainly didn't come out flat, although the ended that way.
rbochan Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 ...-Miller just not good enough... Yes. Hurray for Captain Swiss.
LabattBlue Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 They came out sky high and dominated the game early. They just didn't get the bounces. Toronto capitalized on their chances, end of story. The Sabres certainly didn't come out flat, although the ended that way. We must have watched different games because I did not see any Sabre domination in the 1st period.
hopeleslyobvious Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Just another thought...Miller has almost started 30 games in a row. Every goalie needs a few nights off in there...I know Brodeur says he doesn't but he also seemed to disappear in the playoffs 2 years in a row.
carpandean Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 -The Kotalik experiment at center has to end. Move Gaustad back to center and move either Paille or Bernier on the wing with Hecht and Pominville. F**k it, call up Zagrapan or Hunter from the Amerks to center the third line, then stick Max in the press box. I like Gaustad up with Hecht and Pominville.
sabregoats Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 I said around 2, but yes point taken, if he played on a more defensive team he may have a slightly lower GAA. I am not the biggest fan of Miller because of his inconsistency. Some games he is really on but for many games he is just average or below average. I would love to see him start playing the way we all know he can, but I just don't see it happening. I think like the rest of the team Miller just isn't mentally tough enough. I think his struggles this year can be pinned on the lack of leadership on the team. This team needs a solid leader, because that is what they are used to. Hopefully they found the guy(s) in Pommers and Hecht, and next year the team will be stronger. I fear that this season is all but over as it is going to be tough to climb back into eight at this point.
Claude Balls Posted March 22, 2008 Author Report Posted March 22, 2008 Well on the plus side, I get to bring Catherine Bell back. :rolleyes:
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 See what you did! :angry: :angry: ;)
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Ya... Great Rayzer... Now they will lose 4-1! :o :o ;) ;) I figure I would balance this with a little humility... :D BUMP! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: BTW... I have/had the Slugs losing this one! Last seven of the season I have. OTT- W OTT- L MTL-L BOS-W TOR-W MTL-W BOS-W :ph34r:
apuszczalowski Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 I said around 2, but yes point taken, if he played on a more defensive team he may have a slightly lower GAA. I am not the biggest fan of Miller because of his inconsistency. Some games he is really on but for many games he is just average or below average. I would love to see him start playing the way we all know he can, but I just don't see it happening. I think like the rest of the team Miller just isn't mentally tough enough. I think his struggles this year can be pinned on the lack of leadership on the team. This team needs a solid leader, because that is what they are used to. Hopefully they found the guy(s) in Pommers and Hecht, and next year the team will be stronger. I fear that this season is all but over as it is going to be tough to climb back into eight at this point. With an NHL defence playing in front of him, it will happen, but with the AHL defence, he is going to have to be Hasek like to even give them a chance, and he needs more consistency from the goal scorers. It seems like some days they come out and "Blow there load" when it comes to scoring goals (like Thursday) and then for a while after that they "can't get it up" and score more then once
ExiledInIllinois Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 With an NHL defence playing in front of him, it will happen, but with the AHL defence, he is going to have to be Hasek like to even give them a chance, and he needs more consistency from the goal scorers. It seems like some days they come out and "Blow there load" when it comes to scoring goals (like Thursday) and then for a while after that they "can't get it up" and score more then once Toskala was dynamite... Pommers could have tied the game in all reality!
apuszczalowski Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Toskala was dynamite... Pommers could have tied the game in all reality! He was, and I think with a bit better of a team in Toronto, Toskala and Raycroft can be a great tandem. Raycroft can't handle a full time starting job (a former co worker was a Bruins fan and we were talking one day, and even he said Raycroft is good, but he needs a game or 2 off a week or else he gets bad), and Toskala is a really good goalie, unfortunatly for Toronto fans (but good thing for guys like me that hate them) their former GM loved those no-trade clauses and handed them out like candy, screwing them over long term and leaving them with a mediocre team infront of those goalies
Kristian Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Game thoughts... -Miller just not good enough. -Max seems to really have tailed off after skating like a mad man when he first came back from the injury. 1. That's 8 goals in two games. Worked last night, bit us in the behind tonight. You won't win many when letting in 4 goals. 2. Don't say that, he took a delightfully moronic offensive zone, dead-play, retalliation penalty to start off the Leafs. The fact that Lindy didn't bench his worthless behind the rest of the way has me furious.
cdexchange Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 He consistently has trouble with shots from more than 10 feet and with shots on his glove side. Agreed.
LabattBlue Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 With an NHL defence playing in front of him, it will happen, but with the AHL defence, he is going to have to be Hasek like to even give them a chance, and he needs more consistency from the goal scorers. It seems like some days they come out and "Blow there load" when it comes to scoring goals (like Thursday) and then for a while after that they "can't get it up" and score more then once Just something to consider...the "AHL defense"(Webere, Sekera & Funk) that you believe is the root cause of all Miller's woes have actually played as well as, if not better, than the "NHL defense"(Tallinder, Lydman & Pratt) on the blueline.
Mike Oxhurtz Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Well on the plus side, I get to bring Catherine Bell back. :rolleyes: Yes, bringing back Catherine is a great thing!!! :rolleyes:
apuszczalowski Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Just something to consider...the "AHL defense"(Webere, Sekera & Funk) that you believe is the root cause of all Miller's woes have actually played as well as, if not better, than the "NHL defense"(Tallinder, Lydman & Pratt) on the blueline. I never said that Tallinder, Lydman & Pratt were an NHL defence either. How many of those guys would be top defencemen on another team? We know one of them wouldn't be (Pratt) since no one wanted him to start the season and he's a Sabre only because they desperatly needed a body on the blueline. Weber, Sekera, and Funk have played well, for inexperienced AHLer's playing in the NHL, but they haven't exactly been playing to a point where they have made the team better on defence. They have just been a little better then the what the Sabres have left, and thats not saying much. i also don't believe its the root, Miller always lets in a softie or 2 during a game but having the defence he has in front of him isn't helping him out much
snoop Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 We must have watched different games because I did not see any Sabre domination in the 1st period. Really? I saw total domination with Toskala being the difference in the game - and bad luck.
evil_otto Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Well on the plus side, I get to bring Catherine Bell back. :rolleyes: Catherine Bell thread? After all, something will need to replace Hayden in post apocalyptic SabreSpace :).
jrsarkov Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Long off-season ahead. more than 150 days to the bills' regular season opener and more than 180 days to the NHL regular season opener. I agree that Miller needs a night off here and again. maybe getting a back-up needs to be a priority. obviously, this team has no faith in T-BO, and for good reason. at the same time, losses against the isles and jackets to open the season way back in october, are the difference right now in points between being in or out.
LabattBlue Posted March 22, 2008 Report Posted March 22, 2008 Really? I saw total domination with Toskala being the difference in the game - and bad luck. The question was about the Sabres dominating the first period. The Leafs had 3 good chances before the Sabres even realized the puck was dropped. Completely not ready to play the game. Much like last year, based on the 3rd period of the TB game, the Sabres think they can win by playing 10 minutes of hockey. I'm not sure why people feel that Toskala was so great. Yes the Sabres outshot the Leafs, but his best save of the night was on Pominville after the game was already decided.
inkman Posted March 24, 2008 Report Posted March 24, 2008 F**k it, call up Zagrapan or Hunter... Maybe Hunter as he is more 3rd ine material. Zags is a scorer who isn't scorng at a good enough clip in the AHL to warrant being put in your top 6 in the NHL.
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