Game Discussion Thread

[spndnchz]

The banged-up Buffalo Sabres are searching for consistency as they try to stay in playoff position in a crowded Eastern Conference.

 

Playing just their second home game in nearly four weeks probably can't hurt.

 

Coming off their longest road trip of the season, the Sabres will now play five of their next six at HSBC Arena, starting on Wednesday against the Northeast Division rival Toronto Maple Leafs.

 

Game at 7:30pm

 

I'm in a Suite for this one. :thumbsup:

[R_Dudley]

Hey SpndnChz, whats your record for starting the GDT ? I hope were not blaming you for the loss tonight ;)

 

'Thinking out loud'..... Suit statement, Hmmm :censored: .... must resist comment :bag:

 

Okay back to the game, too lazy to look it up but based on recollection we haven't faired too well on these first back home games after the road, add in; the length and distance of the trip and the sailor just got off the ship factors (for those players with significant others) and I'm feeling they show problems having their legs tonight.

I hope I'm wrong but this game does have a high potential craptastic value.

What I am hoping is millers day off has him ready for a team I not convinced will be and the fact Toronto played last night and I'm predicting

a wild 2-1 Bflo win on the back of Miller.....

 

GO Sabres.

[carpandean]

Florida won last night putting them one point behind with a game-in-hand. That means 7th place and 8th place are not well defined at this point. They could be ahead, even or behind us through 51 games.

 

Pens and Carolina both lost last night, giving us four and two point leads, respectively, with a game-in-hand on each.

 

We need to stay up on the Panthers and we absolutely need to get as much separation as possible from the other two. All it will take is a short hot-streak by one of them or cold streak by us to put us right back on the outside looking in. We have some very tough games coming up (Montreal, Rangers, Sharks, etc., and even a team that plays us strong every time, Ottawa), so we need to get every point that we can. We can't squander opportunities against weaker teams. They have to come out strong tonight. With a strong effort, their chances are good, but if they come out slow and let the Leafs get ahead or even just hang in there ...

[spndnchz]

Hey SpndnChz, whats your record for starting the GDT ? I hope were not blaming you for the loss tonight ;)

 

'Thinking out loud'..... Suit statement, Hmmm :censored: .... must resist comment :bag:

 

Okay back to the game, too lazy to look it up but based on recollection we haven't faired too well on these first back home games after the road, add in; the length and distance of the trip and the sailor just got off the ship factors (for those players with significant others) and I'm feeling they show problems having their legs tonight.

I hope I'm wrong but this game does have a high potential craptastic value.

What I am hoping is millers day off has him ready for a team I not convinced will be and the fact Toronto played last night and I'm predicting

a wild 2-1 Bflo win on the back of Miller.....

 

GO Sabres.

I'm 1-0, last thread start was Dallas, we won in the shootout. Last time I was in a suite I got to ask LQ about Timmay. I may have to apologize if I see him again. :chris:

[BeeWhy5]

Hey SpndnChz, whats your record for starting the GDT ? I hope were not blaming you for the loss tonight ;)

 

'Thinking out loud'..... Suit statement, Hmmm :censored: .... must resist comment :bag:

 

Okay back to the game, too lazy to look it up but based on recollection we haven't faired too well on these first back home games after the road, add in; the length and distance of the trip and the sailor just got off the ship factors (for those players with significant others) and I'm feeling they show problems having their legs tonight.

I hope I'm wrong but this game does have a high potential craptastic value.

What I am hoping is millers day off has him ready for a team I not convinced will be and the fact Toronto played last night and I'm predicting

a wild 2-1 Bflo win on the back of Miller.....

 

GO Sabres.

 

Miller has just been so impressive, I don't see him letting down the boys tonight. Connolly with 1, Roy with 1, someone else with 1, 3-1 Sabres W. GO SABRES!!

[carpandean]

I'm 1-0, last thread start was Dallas, we won in the shootout. Last time I was in a suite I got to ask LQ about Timmay. I may have to apologize if I see him again. :chris:

Nothing to apologize for. It's not like Timmy can go back and replay the 34 games that he missed earlier in the season or the 44 that he missed last year (not to mention all of the "first couple of games back" where he didn't contribute much.) LQ/DR messed up in not having another option at center (better than Hecht) in place for all of those games. Plus, there are still 31 games left for him to miss if he gets injured again. It's not like you didn't know that he contributes when healthy when you talked to LQ the first time, right? I hope Timmy goes through the rest of the season healthy, but if he doesn't and we miss the playoffs with Hecht as our second-line center, they'll cry about bad luck. Bulls**t! Betting against long odds (especially without a proportionally high payoff if you beat them) and losing is not bad luck; it's bad decision making.

[nobody]

Does Quinn go walking around to all of the suites to get free food or something?

[R_Dudley]

I'm 1-0, last thread start was Dallas, we won in the shootout. Last time I was in a suite I got to ask LQ about Timmay. I may have to apologize if I see him again. :chris:

 

Oh you said in a "suite" last time, not in a "suit" .. :blush:, bad misguided wishful thinking, of all the things I've lost through the years I miss my mind the most ..... :rolleyes:

 

Okay keep the winning streak alive and you get too start more GDT's and never apologize for having a opinion unlesss of course you deliver it in a mean harsh way... :)

[carpandean]

I forgot to say that the Sabres need to punish the Leafs for blowing a two-goal lead against Florida, letting the Pathers tie it up in the final minute and beat them in OT. :angry:

[bleedblueandgold]

We get to welcome Brad May back tonight!!! Go Sabres!!

[deluca67]

Two points are a must. These are points the Sabres have to bank. They left six points back on the road that they can't get back. No excuses, they can not leave points on the ice tonight.

[spndnchz]

Does Quinn go walking around to all of the suites to get free food or something?

If you walk around the suite hallway between periods you'll most likely see a few of these people.

Golly, Perreault, Martin, LQ, DR, Playfair, probably others but I don't recognize them.

 

Oh, and that HuuuuuuuuGe guy.

[NowDoYouBelieve]

Two points are a must. These are points the Sabres have to bank. They left six points back on the road that they can't get back. No excuses, they can not leave points on the ice tonight.

 

That's glass half empty. I like to think that they picked up 6 points on the road trip. 3-3 on a lengthy roadie against some quality teams isn't half bad. Well, I guess on a technical level, it is HALF bad.

[ROC Sabres]

Marlboro man back in the lineup tonight and Gragnani sent down.

 

per wgr:

Teppo Numminen returns from a broken jaw to play against Toronto. Buffalo had 8 defensemen at the morning skate. Rookie Marc-Andre Gragnani has been sent back down to Portland of the AHL.

 

Henrik Tallinder and Jochen Hecht both practiced, but did so on a limited basis. Ryan Miller will get the start in goal.

[NowDoYouBelieve]

Marlboro man back in the lineup tonight and Gragnani sent down.

 

per wgr:

Teppo Numminen returns from a broken jaw to play against Toronto. Buffalo had 8 defensemen at the morning skate. Rookie Marc-Andre Gragnani has been sent back down to Portland of the AHL.

 

Henrik Tallinder and Jochen Hecht both practiced, but did so on a limited basis. Ryan Miller will get the start in goal.

 

It's good to see one of the veterans back on the blue line. We simply couldn't clear the zone against the Quackers. I 'm sure we'll be seeing more from Gragnani in the coming seasons.

[spndnchz]

The Leafs called up rookie Justin Pogge to play in goal tonight. His third NHL start.

 

Light'em up boys! Although looking at his bio he's not too shabby.

[ROC Sabres]

The Leafs called up rookie Justin Pogge to play in goal tonight. His third NHL start.

 

Light'em up boys! Although looking at his bio he's not too shabby.

We played against him in the preseason. Not really worth mentioning since both teams still had a lot of their AHL players up at the time but just a reminder.

Link

[inkman]

Marlboro man back in the lineup tonight and Gragnani sent down.

I 'm sure we'll be seeing more from Gragnani in the coming seasons.

Why did he get sent down over Weber?

[sjb012]

The "legs being tired" excuse does not fly tonight. The Leafs played last night, while the Sabres got a full night sleep in Anaheim on Monday night and rolled back into town comfortably yesterday afternoon. I am not saying the Sabres shouldn't have some fatigue, but a team with a losing record, like Toronto, having their heart ripped out in the third and OT last night is ripe for the pickin'!

 

Pogge will be an interesting test..didn't we face him in the pre-season? Too lazy to look but if memory serves me correct.

 

Same salt and vinegar in their game as last game and we pound them.

[deluca67]

That's glass half empty. I like to think that they picked up 6 points on the road trip. 3-3 on a lengthy roadie against some quality teams isn't half bad. Well, I guess on a technical level, it is HALF bad.

If the Sabres were fighting for playoff position instead of their playoff lives I might agree.

[spndnchz]

Oh you said in a "suite" last time, not in a "suit" .. :blush:, bad misguided wishful thinking, of all the things I've lost through the years I miss my mind the most ..... :rolleyes:

 

Okay keep the winning streak alive and you get too start more GDT's and never apologize for having a opinion unlesss of course you deliver it in a mean harsh way... :)

Sounds like U wish I wore a suit? HMMMM.... must.... resist.... comment..... :nana: :bag:

[carpandean]

That's glass half empty. I like to think that they picked up 6 points on the road trip. 3-3 on a lengthy roadie against some quality teams isn't half bad. Well, I guess on a technical level, it is HALF bad.

Put it this way: since the lockout teams have needed 92-93 points to make the playoffs. Before the six games, we had 51 points in 45 games, meaning that we needed roughly 42 points (5 points over "0.500") in 37 games. Now, we have 57 points in 51 games, meaning that we need roughly 36 points (5 points over "0.500") in 31 games. We need the same points about "0.500" now that we needed then and have less games to do it in. Now, you can argue that you expect to be a little lower on the road than at home, but if we're counting on getting all of those 5 points in the 17 remaining home games, we could be in trouble. That's 11-6-0 or 10-5-2 or 9-4-4 (etc.) at home and we'd still have to make 0.500 on the road.

 

It wasn't as bad as a six-game road trip could have been, but we're worse off than before the trip. Looking at the new year, we've gone 9-5, so we've gained 4 of the 9 points above "0.500" that we needed. That is very good, especially given the schedule, but the first eight games (6-2), helped a lot more than the last six. We need to start accumulating those extra points to make sure that we are playing in the second half of April and, possibly, beyond.

 

For reference, this is points net of a 93 points (playoff) pace:

 

Obviously, teams are a little below this pace right now, since we are just below, but are in 7th (maybe 8th through 51 games.)

[Spudz]

Carpandean,

 

It's great when you put up the chart. I love seeing organized data :thumbsup:

 

Really gives a visual of how they are performing. Wish we could sticky that someplace to keep it up.

[Mbossy]

I'm 1-0, last thread start was Dallas, we won in the shootout. Last time I was in a suite I got to ask LQ about Timmay. I may have to apologize if I see him again. :chris:

My financial guy got me suites too, maybe I see you?

 

Does Quinn go walking around to all of the suites to get free food or something?

Collecting sugar packets for TG.

 

Why did he get sent down over Weber?

I agree with you. With the shoddy play by Weber recently why not play Grags?

[nobody]

My financial guy got me suites too, maybe I see you?

 

If you have a image device (can't really say camera anymore because I imagine more people now only have their cell phone as their image device rather then an actual camera) take pictures. ;)