NowDoYouBelieve Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Yeah too many people are piling on our backup goalie who is still trying to shake off the rust, but what about the 18 guys who have been playing just about every other night all season? Lydman? Hecht? Pominville? Where are these guys? Our forwards knew they had to step up their game in the absence of Vanek and Miller...so far they haven't responded. Or maybe it's a matter of talent more than effort? Well we did outshoot them 36-21, and stood up pretty well against a very physical team. Anybody would admit we outplayed them. Take away the shortie that never should have happened, and put our two pipes into the net and suddenly we won 4-2. But thems are the breaks. Today, we certainly didn't lose for a lack of effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 A 2 on 0A great tip directly in front of him because Pominville floats like a turd after eating too much salad And a puck going off Goose's skate into the goal (you'll see on the replay that that is what happend) None were soft. I just can't lay this on Lalime. I missed the game, but caught the post-game show on GR. Paul Hamilton confirms that the last goal was off of Gaustad, and that the first goal wasn't Lalime's fault. He said that Lalime played a good game, and although I see that the save percentage wasn't great, I gotta say that I trust Paul Hamilton's opinion on just about everything related to the Sabres. He called out Connolly and Lydman. I'll trust him on that, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethbridge Broncos Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 well the injuries hurt of course -- but it is the same old story -- they just dont have enough. the ducks made it look easy -- an easy going road game. the sabres are smoke and mirrors and too inconsistant and soft mentally and physically, with no leadership up front. rivet is a special player IMO - but he is one guy and he aint a forward. the forwards are cowards except gaustad who cant skate or handle pucks well enough to be a premier player. again, regier needs to trade for 2 or three vet forwards to play on a line up front. this roster with vanek is not good enough. they are average in every regard. the islanders got a 1st rounder for comrie and campoil. you better believe guerin will go for a 1st and a 2nd and a prospect. the sabres might make the playoff -- but they have a team that doesnt scare anyone. something is jsut off and wrong with the ingrediants here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I refuse to bust on Lalime yet but Lydman, Hecht, Pommers were complete garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristian Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Well we did outshoot them 36-21, and stood up pretty well against a very physical team. Anybody would admit we outplayed them. Take away the shortie that never should have happened, and put our two pipes into the net and suddenly we won 4-2. But thems are the breaks. Today, we certainly didn't lose for a lack of effort. You are 100% correct, these games happen, and there's nothing you can do but move on. This is also why they need to give an honest effort every night, cause even on nights when they're the better team, there's no guarantee that they'll automatically win, and this is what Ruff should be telling them now. And he just needs to put Pominville and Hecht on the 4th line with 2 minutes of ice time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcolour Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I refuse to bust on Lalime yet but Lydman, Hecht, Pommers were complete garbage. Lydman is always complete garbage. I'll take slow ass old Teppo over him any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpandean Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I'm just hoping that this game was a good warm up for Thursday's game and that Patty can get into that "rhythm" that every keeps talking about. While the two points tonight were just as big as the two points on Thursday, preventing two points for Carolina makes Thursday's game extra important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Lydman is always complete garbage. I'll take slow ass old Teppo over him any day. Take Lydman out of the lineup and see where the Sabres are at. Every time Lydman has a game with a turnover, he is the worst blueliner in the history of the NHL. If you think Teppo is a better defenseman than Lydman, you're dreaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Ever heard of the Buffalo Bandits? Pro lacrosse team? Won a championship last year? On pace for another one this year? Yeah, that gets me fired up. I walk around Philly/Delaware with my Bandits stuff and people step back!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 This team is amazing. They get embarrassed on Saturday night. They get called out in the paper and other media outlets for being pu$$ies and this is the best effort they can muster? This team has zero heart. If this team had any pride they would have come out with fire in their eyes. It is easy to pile on Lalime. What is the point? He is what he is. A back-up. He won't steal any points and he won't make that huge save when you need it most. If the defense makes a mistake it's going to hit the back of the net. The difference between Miller and Lalime is that Miller will make that save to keep the Sabres in a game they don't deserve to be in. If Lalime could do that he would be a starter in the NHL. Unless the Sabres come out and dominate a team you can expect Lalime to fail to make that crucial save when the Sabres need it the most and cost the Sabres points. It is just who he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patty16 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 i think the bottom line is that regardless of who is in goal, the sabres dont have the horses in the stable to be better than middle of the pack. You can talk about lack of physicality, but in reality this team cant finish, last night you had a ton of opportunities, but the fact remains that the sabres have too many two way guys and not enough talent up front. I picked two teams ahead of us philly and boston and they have 5 and 4 20 goal scorers, repectively, the sabres have 2. THis is a big deal and part of the reason they dont win more. THey dont have enough offensive talent. You can whine all day about lack of toughness, and i know everyoen loves mair kaleta and ellis but these guys play about 9 mins a night. Anaheim is one of the toughest teams in the league and they blow. Detroit is considered the class of the league every year, and dont tell me they are a bunch of bad ass tough guys, yes they have grit, but their top 3 centers all have at least 20 goals. The problem people, is that our 3rd line center has no offensive talent, gaustad has 11 goals and 19 points, yes he does things well. they have to ge tbetter up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 The problem people, is that our 3rd line center has no offensive talent, gaustad has 11 goals and 19 points, yes he does things well. they have to ge tbetter up front. 7 goals, not 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 7 goals, not 11. I would rather that Gaustad have 7 fighting majors instead of goals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patty16 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 7 goals, not 11. Oh haha, my bad, maybe its the eternal buffalo sportsfan optimist in me, or the fact that the guy who has played like 11 games actually has more goals than him. After this teams first line the dropoff is huge, and games like yesterday show why you cant win with talent like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 I would rather that Gaustad have 7 fighting majors instead of goals. Just another player who forgot what got him to the NHL to begin with. Look at Gaustad's penalty totals in juniors and in Rochester versus where they are now. He may be one of the few physical players the Sabres have, but he could have much more of an impact in this regard, IF HE WANTED TO. http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8468700 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spndnchz Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 A 2 on 0A great tip directly in front of him because Pominville floats like a turd after eating too much salad And a puck going off Goose's skate into the goal (you'll see on the replay that that is what happend) None were soft. I just can't lay this on Lalime. Word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 Yeah, that gets me fired up. I walk around Philly/Delaware with my Bandits stuff and people step back!! Oh, that's awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethbridge Broncos Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 "history of the NHL"? :unsure: Take Lydman out of the lineup and see where the Sabres are at. Every time Lydman has a game with a turnover, he is the worst blueliner in the history of the NHL. If you think Teppo is a better defenseman than Lydman, you're dreaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lethbridge Broncos Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 well said, there is a lack of fiber adn talent up front to get it done. the ducks controlled the sabres small forwards late in the game -- the sabres could not sustain anything. they need an entire line of vets who know how to generate offensive cycling and puck ragging in the offensive zone. the sabres play as individuals and have too many players who are NOT multi--talented. they need more balance -- insted they have most of the forwards playing without an identity and without structure. IN MY OPINION, i would move: Mair and Hecht and Sekara out of the lineup -- in trades. Mair is a passenger. Ellis should sit as a backup. Then a line of Afinogenov and two vet forwards (Guerin/ Weight/ Tkachuk, Halpren, etc) should be brought in . Ship a couple of the Portland defenders out (Card or Funk). i think the bottom line is that regardless of who is in goal, the sabres dont have the horses in the stable to be better than middle of the pack. You can talk about lack of physicality, but in reality this team cant finish, last night you had a ton of opportunities, but the fact remains that the sabres have too many two way guys and not enough talent up front. I picked two teams ahead of us philly and boston and they have 5 and 4 20 goal scorers, repectively, the sabres have 2. THis is a big deal and part of the reason they dont win more. THey dont have enough offensive talent. You can whine all day about lack of toughness, and i know everyoen loves mair kaleta and ellis but these guys play about 9 mins a night. Anaheim is one of the toughest teams in the league and they blow. Detroit is considered the class of the league every year, and dont tell me they are a bunch of bad ass tough guys, yes they have grit, but their top 3 centers all have at least 20 goals. The problem people, is that our 3rd line center has no offensive talent, gaustad has 11 goals and 19 points, yes he does things well. they have to ge tbetter up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristian Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 i think the bottom line is that regardless of who is in goal, the sabres dont have the horses in the stable to be better than middle of the pack. You can talk about lack of physicality, but in reality this team cant finish, last night you had a ton of opportunities, but the fact remains that the sabres have too many two way guys and not enough talent up front. I picked two teams ahead of us philly and boston and they have 5 and 4 20 goal scorers, repectively, the sabres have 2. THis is a big deal and part of the reason they dont win more. THey dont have enough offensive talent. You can whine all day about lack of toughness, and i know everyoen loves mair kaleta and ellis but these guys play about 9 mins a night. Anaheim is one of the toughest teams in the league and they blow. Detroit is considered the class of the league every year, and dont tell me they are a bunch of bad ass tough guys, yes they have grit, but their top 3 centers all have at least 20 goals. The problem people, is that our 3rd line center has no offensive talent, gaustad has 11 goals and 19 points, yes he does things well. they have to ge tbetter up front. And all of those guys are Curtis Brown-caliber two-way guys, i.e. 2nd tier at best. But what really makes me wonder : With all the two-way players we have, am I the only one who finds it odd that we can't ice a legitimate shutdown-line? It's "Vanilla" all over again. We want to be too much of it all, and as a result we turn out to be average at everything. We have average offense, average defense, average special teams (a bad PP and a good PK, makes for average special teams in my book). The only place in which we excel just a little, is goaltending where I rate us from "above average" to "good", but to make it anywhere in this league you absolutely need above average goaltending, so that hardly gives us an edge anywhere. Well, perhaps over Philly it does, but they've got offense we can only dream of these days, so that evens out. This is not a rant, so don't take it as one. It's just a rundown of the situation as I currently see it. The Sabres are an average team in almost every respect, so no wonder we end up playing average hockey. Last night was one of our better games though, and it still got away from us. That's exactly why you can't take nights off, cause you can't expect to automatically win because you outplay your opponent for the better part of a game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 well said, there is a lack of fiber adn talent up front to get it done. the ducks controlled the sabres small forwards late in the game -- the sabres could not sustain anything. they need an entire line of vets who know how to generate offensive cycling and puck ragging in the offensive zone. the sabres play as individuals and have too many players who are NOT multi--talented. they need more balance -- insted they have most of the forwards playing without an identity and without structure. IN MY OPINION, i would move: Mair and Hecht and Sekara out of the lineup -- in trades. Mair is a passenger. Ellis should sit as a backup. Then a line of Afinogenov and two vet forwards (Guerin/ Weight/ Tkachuk, Halpren, etc) should be brought in . Ship a couple of the Portland defenders out (Card or Funk). The Sabres need more talent across the board. Bringing in a couple of vets won't put the Sabres into the playoffs at this point. The Sabres should be looking to the future at this point. What they need to do is start cleaning house. Connolly, Spacek, Kotalik, Max and Tallinder should all be moved. All, with the exception of Max, should have value to playoff teams looking to make a run. Connolly and Kotalik can help teams on the power play. Spacek and Tallinder both have a great deal of playoff experience which is valuable come playoff time. It's time to put away the pom-poms and take a serious realistic look at where the team stands right now. They have players that don't fit into the long term plans. This is a good time to take the hit and move out players whose value may never be as high as it is right now or may be lost to free agency. The Sabres have a chance to load up on prospects and picks. They should keep an eye towards the future and make the deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampD Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 The Sabres need more talent across the board. Bringing in a couple of vets won't put the Sabres into the playoffs at this point. The Sabres should be looking to the future at this point. What they need to do is start cleaning house. Connolly, Spacek, Kotalik, Max and Tallinder should all be moved. All, with the exception of Max, should have value to playoff teams looking to make a run. Connolly and Kotalik can help teams on the power play. Spacek and Tallinder both have a great deal of playoff experience which is valuable come playoff time. It's time to put away the pom-poms and take a serious realistic look at where the team stands right now. They have players that don't fit into the long term plans. This is a good time to take the hit and move out players whose value may never be as high as it is right now or may be lost to free agency. The Sabres have a chance to load up on prospects and picks. They should keep an eye towards the future and make the deals. The Sabres are in the playoffs at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 And all of those guys are Curtis Brown-caliber two-way guys, i.e. 2nd tier at best. But what really makes me wonder : With all the two-way players we have, am I the only one who finds it odd that we can't ice a legitimate shutdown-line? It's "Vanilla" all over again. We want to be too much of it all, and as a result we turn out to be average at everything. We have average offense, average defense, average special teams (a bad PP and a good PK, makes for average special teams in my book). The only place in which we excel just a little, is goaltending where I rate us from "above average" to "good", but to make it anywhere in this league you absolutely need above average goaltending, so that hardly gives us an edge anywhere. Well, perhaps over Philly it does, but they've got offense we can only dream of these days, so that evens out. This is not a rant, so don't take it as one. It's just a rundown of the situation as I currently see it. The Sabres are an average team in almost every respect, so no wonder we end up playing average hockey. Last night was one of our better games though, and it still got away from us. That's exactly why you can't take nights off, cause you can't expect to automatically win because you outplay your opponent for the better part of a game. That is a excellent point that seems to get lost when posters excuse away efforts like the last Canes game. Other teams will be stepping up their game even more as the playoff race stays tight right to the end. I just don't see the Sabres as having that next gear or level right now. They seem to be willing to go about their business as usual. Play a couple of decent games here and taking a night off there. .500 hockey won't get it done. It doesn't matter who is in the lineup. Those that are in the lineup need to step up huge and play out of character and they need to do it every night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 well said, there is a lack of fiber adn talent up front to get it done. the ducks controlled the sabres small forwards late in the game -- the sabres could not sustain anything. they need an entire line of vets who know how to generate offensive cycling and puck ragging in the offensive zone. the sabres play as individuals and have too many players who are NOT multi--talented. they need more balance -- insted they have most of the forwards playing without an identity and without structure. IN MY OPINION, i would move: Mair and Hecht and Sekara out of the lineup -- in trades. Mair is a passenger. Ellis should sit as a backup. Then a line of Afinogenov and two vet forwards (Guerin/ Weight/ Tkachuk, Halpren, etc) should be brought in . Ship a couple of the Portland defenders out (Card or Funk). Wow. :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deluca67 Posted February 25, 2009 Report Share Posted February 25, 2009 The Sabres are in the playoffs at this point. No they are not. A team is not in the playoffs until they get that X next to their name in the standings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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