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GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

Knightrider

By Knightrider
in The Aud Club

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Bmwolf21 First Liner

Bmwolf21

Posted
Posted

Well folks, this one was frustrating and fun all at once. Definitely entertaining. Pommers redeemed himself after a few bonehead plays early on (and hopefully that gets him going again) Rivet was huge, and Miller, Roy and Pommer were clutch in the SO.

 

Have a good night, all.

SabresFan526 Third Liner

SabresFan526

Posted
Posted

Certainly an interesting game. Kind of reminded me of the 2006-2007 Sabres. Well, we got 2 critical points. And we beat the best team in the NHL. Not bad. I break the game down on positives and negatives tonight

 

Positives:

-Miller was solid in the shootout

-I though Pominville and Hecht both played better, which does not say much, but they were better players tonight than they have been for much of this season. Maybe it was because they were playing with Connolly tonight the hottest player on Buffalo. Nice to see Pominville get credited with the game tying goal.

-Last year, this was a game that the Sabres definitely would have lost. I'm not sure they should have won tonight, but they did and that's all that matters.

-The team went 3 for 6 on the power play tonight after the abysmal showing against Ottawa against the NHL's best team. I'll take it.

-Excellent start to the game with the first period

-The biggest key in the game is that the Sabres got shots through on net and had a lot of traffic in front of Nabokov which was the main reason for the Mair, Kotalik, Stafford, and Pominville goals. Shots made it through from the point with traffic and tip-ins in front of the net creating havoc. That's how you're going to score in the NHL today and the Sabres were very successful at that tonight.

-Edit: Forgot to mention Rivet. This is a game legends are made of. Rivet was absolutely fantastic tonight contributing 4 points out of 5 goals. Fantastic night for Rivet and pulling this team to a big win against his old team like a captain would do.

 

Negatives:

-How can you give up a 3 goal lead? This is the best team in hockey, when you have that kind of a lead, you have to put them away. I realize that because they are the best team in hockey, they can do this, but you still have to put them away when you have a 3 goal lead and even if they score, you can't let them take the lead.

-The play in the defensive zone in the second and third periods were absolutely awful. I don't know if they got cocky or what, but the play was terrible. Give credit to San Jose as they put a lot of pressure in the Buffalo zone, but the Sabres were running around and were not clearing the puck out of the zone and when they did, it was usually called for icing. The Sabres have to better at clearing the zone. And, you can't let Marleau sit in the goal crease expecting the puck to come to him to score. You just can't do that.

-Miller did not have a great game, but luckily neither did Nabokov. When the play in the defensive zone is bad, there are saves that you have to make to bail the team out. I realize Miller has been the main reason the team has had so much success this year, but I think his play recently has tailed off a little bit, meaning Sunday might be a good night to play Lalime against Carolina. He's got to make the save on the Pavelski go ahead goal. There are some other goals tonight that I think Miller could have made some saves on.

-The penalty killing has not been great for Buffalo in recent games. This is supposedly a top ranked PK unit, but they have been giving up quite a few PK goals in the last 5-6 games. They gave up 2 to Ottawa and again 2 tonight. That's 4 PP goals in the last 2 games. This is supposed to be a strength for the team.

-By and large the officiating was fine, but that penalty on Rivet for Setoguchi high-sticking Thornton was just awful. I wish you could use instant replay on penalties in addition to goals because that should never have happened and then Setoguchi scoring on the subsequent power play should not have happened which tied the game and gave San Jose the momentum. But, that just cannot happen.

 

The Sabres escaped with a win tonight and a very critical 2 points in a very entertaining game. I just wish it did not come down to the wire like it did as my blood pressure could have exploded. Now it's time to root for the Avalanche.

SabresFan526 Third Liner

SabresFan526

Posted
Posted
Roy's transition from forehand to backand on that shoot out goal was as fast as I've ever seen. :worthy:

 

 

And the way he lifted his leg to fake the wrist shot...that was sweet!

Looked an awful lot like Kotalik's patented move.

 

Speaking of which, would have been nice if he had used that move instead of a wrist shot. 4 out of the 5 shooters went with their forehand, which is odd because Kotalik and Stafford have had quite a bit of success this year by faking the wrister and going backhand top shelf, which is exactly what Roy did tonight. Oh well, you live you learn. We got the two points, so it doesn't matter.

thesportsbuff Second Liner

thesportsbuff

Posted
Posted
Looked an awful lot like Kotalik's patented move.

 

Speaking of which, would have been nice if he had used that move instead of a wrist shot. 4 out of the 5 shooters went with their forehand, which is odd because Kotalik and Stafford have had quite a bit of success this year by faking the wrister and going backhand top shelf, which is exactly what Roy did tonight. Oh well, you live you learn. We got the two points, so it doesn't matter.

 

I agree. I hear it over and over that the book is out on Kotalik's move... but it still works half the time. It's a nasty move. Whether you're expecting it or not, you're not always gonna be able to stop it.

... All Star

...

Posted
Posted

Wow, what a game. They were up, they were down, but in the end they showed HEART! Something this team has been missing. Between Lindy's morning interview and this game this team has scored some big points in the heart department.

 

And I almost want to take back what I said about Gerbe at the beginning of the thread: he was beastly tonight!

 

This game is just what we all needed.

ExiledInIllinois Third Liner

ExiledInIllinois

Posted
Posted
Wow, what a game. They were up, they were down, but in the end they showed HEART! Something this team has been missing. Between Lindy's morning interview and this game this team has scored some big points in the heart department.

 

And I almost want to take back what I said about Gerbe at the beginning of the thread: he was beastly tonight!

 

This game is just what we all needed.

 

True. And to be :04 and an empty net away from being just what we didn't need! Pretty amazing given it was against the best team in the league! :worthy:

carpandean First Liner

carpandean

Posted
Posted
True. And to be :04 and an empty net away from being just what we didn't need! Pretty amazing given it was against the best team in the league! :worthy:

Well put. The only way that I could have scripted it better and more exciting is if we started down 3-0, then came back to force OT with 0:04 left and won in a shootout. To go so high, then so low, then back to so high ... INSANE!!

billsrcursed Third Liner

billsrcursed

Posted
Posted
Wow, what a game. They were up, they were down, but in the end they showed HEART! Something this team has been missing. Between Lindy's morning interview and this game this team has scored some big points in the heart department.

 

And I almost want to take back what I said about Gerbe at the beginning of the thread: he was beastly tonight!

 

This game is just what we all needed.

 

 

I need to start trying to post before you because you ALWAYS post what I'm thinking! Gerbe was very good tonight. The team as a whole pulled it together, which I think SHOULD carry over to Sunday. If we can stay healthy, this team with Vanek and Goose has the potential to really make some noise. Consistency and sticking to the game plan will be key down the stretch. Great to see Sekera on the ice and it didn't appear that he held back at all. Great win!

nfreeman Hall of Famer

nfreeman

Posted
Posted

That was quite a win. A few notes:

 

1. I can see myself investing in a Rivet jersey.

 

2. Of all the boneheaded moves Tampa made last summer, dumping Boyle was probably the worst.

 

3. I really want to see Lalime on Sunday. Miller needs a break.

 

4. That was one of Roy's best games of the year.

 

5. Sekera started out pretty shaky but then seemed to settle down.

 

6. That win was far from a convincing statement that the Sabres are a playoff team, but given what's happened in the last 24 hours, it was very meaningful.

 

Go Sabres.

NowDoYouBelieve Third Liner

NowDoYouBelieve

Posted
Posted

This was more than a win for the Sabres. It was a win for a hurting city against possibly the NHL's best team. A great man died on that flight, one of the best men I ever knew. The only thing he loved more than the Sabres was his family and they are in a world of pain right now.

 

If you're wondering how the Sabres beat the Sharks tonight, I know the answer. If only for tonight, they had another player on their side. :cry:

... All Star

...

Posted
Posted

We'll see what Sunday brings. They're learning just how much Vanek means to the team - and what it means to "step up". If they can recognize and learn from the lessons of this game then we may have a legit shot at going deep. Maybe a hardcore slap in the mug like THIS game should have brought -- you know, we're all not here just to coast toward A destiny; that a Sabres game has meaning above and well beyond the bubble of the locker room; effort + effort = heart -- maybe its what these guys needed.

 

If they don't get it after tonight, then we should scrap the roster. But, seeing them all celebrate like that afterwards on the ice while the crowd was gushing, you have to be made of stone not to "get it".

carpandean First Liner

carpandean

Posted
Posted

Relive the magic thanks to YouTube!

 

Game tying goal:

 

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmTJUehk5vI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmTJUehk5vI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

Full shootout:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_KrDwsGDBI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_KrDwsGDBI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

I love Rivet's emotion after the goal. One other interesting note is that, as someone has mentioned after previous games, Rivet actually left the ice after Miller again. For years, Miller was always the last one off, but he has allowed the Craig to take that spot. I really am glad that he is our Captain.

darksabre Hall of Famer

darksabre

Posted
Posted

I'm so glad they won tonight. This night will have been one to remember. They needed to win one for this city and they did. And I hope they remember that they need to always come through like that, because this city needs them to. We need this team to be good.

 

I'll dare say this puts it up there with the Rangers game for greatest moment, for me anyways. They got it done when it looked like they couldn't.

 

What a rollercoaster.

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