GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

[FogBat]

No kidding.

 

Forget the 'what went wrong' BS and let's make the necessary changes for the future.

 

It is unacceptable to miss the playoffs.

 

Unacceptable.

 

Get to work Darcy.

Don't encourage him. After all, Darcy and LQ have one thing in common with a politician: How do you know that they're lying? Their lips are moving.

[FogBat]

Well, how many Sabres fans want to tell

to the entire organization?

 

FTR, I won't be here for the final game. It's pointless. I'd be surprised if the GDT for Bruins at Sabres lasts longer than 2-3 pages.

[Kevbeau]

Nice to see Paille show up tonight too. He actually looked like a 1st round talent out there.

 

Also, I don't understand all the animosity for Tallinder. He's our most consistent d-man and is a bargain at what he's making. Yeah, he didn't develop into a Norris candidate like the expectations that were put on him, but he's a legit top pairing guy IMO. If Darcy wanted to move him, he's have plenty of interested teams.

[Swedesessed]

Glad to know from the get go that you're an idiot.

 

 

Really? A 5-13-3 and a 3.10 GAA for the season, nah, Lalime has nothing to do with it

 

Guess the stats really do lie, how stupid of me to place some blame on our elite backup <_<

 

Valliquette for the Rangers went 5-5-2...what if he has Lalime's winning percentage? He would be what, 2-6-3 and you know what, THEY would be out of the playoffs.

 

Habs goaltenders are BOTH over .500.

 

But I digress.

 

Regier and Co need to understand that value of having a solid backup netminder...you almost know Miller will get dinged up at some point, or be out for a couple of weeks based on his history, but Regier continues to try to get by on the cheap.

[darksabre]

Really? A 5-13-3 and a 3.10 GAA for the season, nah, Lalime has nothing to do with it

 

Guess the stats really do lie, how stupid of me to place some blame on our elite backup <_<

 

Valliquette for the Rangers went 5-5-2...what if he has Lalime's winning percentage? He would be what, 2-6-3 and you know what, THEY would be out of the playoffs.

 

Habs goaltenders are BOTH over .500.

 

But I digress.

 

Regier and Co need to understand that value of having a solid backup netminder...you almost know Miller will get dinged up at some point, or be out for a couple of weeks based on his history, but Regier continues to try to get by on the cheap.

 

Valliquette has the RANGERS in front of him, not the SABRES. When Lalime looked good the Sabres threw it away with lousy efforts. Lalime did his job this season and played backup. The unfortunate part for him is that this team hung him out to dry on most occasions. Lalime's record is not a reflection of HIS play this season. It's not just Lalime out there, there's a whole team involved in Lalime's losses.

 

And if you can't see that you truly are ignorant. You're comparing winning team's goaltenders to a mediocre team's goaltenders. Apples to Oranges.

[Swedesessed]

Valliquette has the RANGERS in front of him, not the SABRES. When Lalime looked good the Sabres threw it away with lousy efforts. Lalime did his job this season and played backup. The unfortunate part for him is that this team hung him out to dry on most occasions. Lalime's record is not a reflection of HIS play this season. It's not just Lalime out there, there's a whole team involved in Lalime's losses.

 

And if you can't see that you truly are ignorant. You're comparing winning team's goaltenders to a mediocre team's goaltenders. Apples to Oranges.

Lalime's record is not a reflection of HIS play this season.

 

Are you related to Lalime? Were there games Lalime played well and lost? Yes of course, but 5-13-3 and a 3.10GAA does NOT lie. Sorry.

 

You act as if the Rangers and Habs are so much better then the Sabres....winning teams vs mediocre teams and we are all separated by what, a couple of OT losses or a win or two?

 

Unbelievable.

 

I did not realize the Habs and Rangers were juggernauts. Sorry :doh:

[JujuFish]

And if you can't see that you truly are ignorant. You're comparing winning team's goaltenders to a mediocre team's goaltenders. Apples to Oranges.

Uh, no. The Rangers are just as mediocre as the Sabres. Hell, Buffalo was 3-1 against the Rags.

[Kristian]

Are you related to Lalime? Were there games Lalime played well and lost? Yes of course, but 5-13-3 and a 3.10GAA does NOT lie. Sorry.

 

You act as if the Rangers and Habs are so much better then the Sabres....winning teams vs mediocre teams and we are all separated by what, a couple of OT losses or a win or two?

 

Unbelievable.

 

I did not realize the Habs and Rangers were juggernauts. Sorry :doh:

 

Still doesn't change that if you think Lalime is the reason this team misses the playoffs again, one has to wonder if you watched a game all season.

 

Was Lalime great? By no means, but having a sub-par backup is the LEAST of this teams problems.

 

Funny place to lay the blame, considering how many players didn't live up to expectations this year.

 

Try shifting some blame towards two of this team's so-called go to guys, Hecht and Pominville, before blaming the backup goaltender.

 

I can think of at least 4-5 reasons off the top of my head why we miss the playoffs this year, and Lalime probably doesn't even make my top 10.

 

I don't mean any disrespect here, but blame someone who was supposed to make a difference and didn't, rather than the backup.

[Swedesessed]

Still doesn't change that if you think Lalime is the reason this team misses the playoffs again, one has to wonder if you watched a game all season.

 

Was Lalime great? By no means, but having a sub-par backup is the LEAST of this teams problems.

 

Funny place to lay the blame, considering how many players didn't live up to expectations this year.

 

Try shifting some blame towards two of this team's so-called go to guys, Hecht and Pominville, before blaming the backup goaltender.

 

I can think of at least 4-5 reasons off the top of my head why we miss the playoffs this year, and Lalime probably doesn't even make my top 10.

 

 

I am not suggesting that I do not agree with you that others should be blamed...absolutely...Pomer finally got going when it was too late...but LEAST of the problems or not even in the Top 10? I respectfully disagree there. The record is right there in black and white.

 

Why are so many here defending Lalime anyway?

[Kristian]

I am not suggesting that I do not agree with you that others should be blamed...absolutely...Pomer finally got going when it was too late...but LEAST of the problems or not even in the Top 10? I respectfully disagree there. The record is right there in black and white.

Why are so many here defending Lalime anyway?

 

I'm not saying I wouldn't have liked Lalime to play better, I certainly would.

 

I just think the entire makeup and attitude of the team is the reason we're not in the postseason yet again, and not that the backup didn't play .500 hockey.

[darksabre]

I am not suggesting that I do not agree with you that others should be blamed...absolutely...Pomer finally got going when it was too late...but LEAST of the problems or not even in the Top 10? I respectfully disagree there. The record is right there in black and white.

 

Why are so many here defending Lalime anyway?

 

Because he's not the reason we aren't in the playoffs. That's why. Go back and reread Kristian's post. Then reread it again. And then take a nap, and reread it again. There is no reason to lay any blame on a broken old backup who was brought with the sole purpose of playing to give Miller a rest now and then. Lalime is an average goaltender who did an average job. You act like you expected him to bail this team out like Miller does when they have their big defensive lapses every game. Blaming a back up goaltender like Lalime for the Sabres lack of success is like blaming a child's failure in grade school on a substitute teacher they once had.

[FogBat]

Valliquette has the RANGERS in front of him, not the SABRES. When Lalime looked good the Sabres threw it away with lousy efforts. Lalime did his job this season and played backup. The unfortunate part for him is that this team hung him out to dry on most occasions. Lalime's record is not a reflection of HIS play this season. It's not just Lalime out there, there's a whole team involved in Lalime's losses.

 

And if you can't see that you truly are ignorant. You're comparing winning team's goaltenders to a mediocre team's goaltenders. Apples to Oranges.

I began to wonder how many sections of this posting I wanted to bold to reinforce your arguments. Then I realized that I would then have to bold everything because everything you said was spot on.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself. :beer:

[Swedesessed]

Because he's not the reason we aren't in the playoffs. That's why. Go back and reread Kristian's post. Then reread it again. And then take a nap, and reread it again. There is no reason to lay any blame on a broken old backup who was brought with the sole purpose of playing to give Miller a rest now and then. Lalime is an average goaltender who did an average job. You act like you expected him to bail this team out like Miller does when they have their big defensive lapses every game. Blaming a back up goaltender like Lalime for the Sabres lack of success is like blaming a child's failure in grade school on a substitute teacher they once had.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

That is all I needed to see.

[darksabre]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

That is all I needed to see.

 

You see about as well as Governor Patterson.

[SwampD]

When we trade Lalime this off season, I'm buying my playoff tickets the very next day.

[carpandean]

Picking up where I left off in the thread about goaltending and defense...

 

Is Lalime the reason that we missed the playoffs? Yes. But, so are Miller's injury, Vanek's injury, Connolly missing the first half of the season, the flu bug, too many back-to-backs, Miller having a few bad games, etc., etc., etc. We're mediocre right now, so any one of a hundred little things made them just miss instead of squeaking in. Is Lalime the reason why they collected 55% of points? No. He was probably enough that we didn't quite get 56.7%, which is needed for the playoffs, but so is each one of those things mentioned. What we need is a team that collects 60-65%, so that the little things like those going wrong just mean that they only get home ice through the Conference Semis instead of the Conference Finals.

 

That said, if Lalime's injury is bad enough that he has to retire, I will feel bad for him (he truly seems like a good guy), but I'll happily call for them to extend Tellqvist. He played solidly and seems to handle long breaks better.

[thesportsbuff]

Lalime cost us the season, there's no doubt about it. He played pretty good for a stretch of 3-4 games but the rest of the time was typical garbage goals and rebounds that Miller likely would have stopped. Not trying to make excuses, I think we all know that even if the team had gotten in we'd be dealing with the same disappointment after the first round, but those 26 points Lalime gave away in his 13 losses sure would have helped us out.

 

all teams deal with injuries all season long, i understand that. when connolly was out, they were still an alright team. With Vanek out, they were still a pretty solid team since Connolly had stepped up. But when your starting goaltender goes down -- well that's just buffalo.

[FogBat]

You see about as well as Governor Patterson.

you never do disappoint. effective but crass.

[FogBat]

Lalime cost us the season, there's no doubt about it. He played pretty good for a stretch of 3-4 games but the rest of the time was typical garbage goals and rebounds that Miller likely would have stopped. Not trying to make excuses, I think we all know that even if the team had gotten in we'd be dealing with the same disappointment after the first round, but those 26 points Lalime gave away in his 13 losses sure would have helped us out.

 

all teams deal with injuries all season long, i understand that. when connolly was out, they were still an alright team. With Vanek out, they were still a pretty solid team since Connolly had stepped up. But when your starting goaltender goes down -- well that's just buffalo.

Did you forget about the 05-06 season when Miller went down and this guy went on a phenomenal win streak?

[darksabre]

you never do disappoint. effective but crass.

 

I'm channeling PA today. B-)

[SwampD]

Lalime cost us the season, there's no doubt about it. He played pretty good for a stretch of 3-4 games but the rest of the time was typical garbage goals and rebounds that Miller likely would have stopped. Not trying to make excuses, I think we all know that even if the team had gotten in we'd be dealing with the same disappointment after the first round, but those 26 points Lalime gave away in his 13 losses sure would have helped us out.

 

all teams deal with injuries all season long, i understand that. when connolly was out, they were still an alright team. With Vanek out, they were still a pretty solid team since Connolly had stepped up. But when your starting goaltender goes down -- well that's just buffalo.

:blink:

When Miller went down we were in 8th place(tied with the Rags and Florida). Hardly a powerhouse. Carolina and the Pens weren't even in at that time. They played better...we didn't. Our big push was a four game win streak all against teams not even in the playoffs. Lalime/Miller is irrelevant. the team in front of them stunk.

 

Did you forget about the 05-06 season when Miller went down and this guy went on a phenomenal win streak?

I'm guessing that Lalime of this year would have done the same with that team in front of him.

[billsrcursed]

:blink:

When Miller went down we were in 8th place(tied with the Rags and Florida). Hardly a powerhouse. Carolina and the Pens weren't even in at that time. They played better...we didn't. Our big push was a four game win streak all against teams not even in the playoffs. Lalime/Miller is irrelevant. the team in front of them stunk.

I'm guessing that Lalime of this year would have done the same with that team in front of him.

 

 

This about sums it up.

 

Putting blame on Lalime is like blaming Stevie Johnson for the Bills not making the playoffs last year, and he had a TD in a game...... and don't give me that apples to oranges crap either, I F*N hate fruits!!!!

[NowDoYouBelieve]

This about sums it up.

 

Putting blame on Lalime is like blaming Stevie Johnson for the Bills not making the playoffs last year, and he had a TD in a game...... and don't give me that apples to oranges crap either, I F*N hate fruits!!!!

 

You can't blame Lalime, but you can't absolve him either. It was partially his fault. He was significantly worse in net than Miller was this year, and when your backup is forced to start 25% of the team's games, he has to step up his game. Lalime didn't.

 

5-13-3 with a 3.10 GAA and a .900 save percentage...sure, you can blame some of those losses on the offense's inability to score goals, but with those statitistics he simply didn't help the team, plain and simple.

[billsrcursed]

You can't blame Lalime, but you can't absolve him either. It was partially his fault. He was significantly worse in net than Miller was this year, and when your backup is forced to start 25% of the team's games, he has to step up his game. Lalime didn't.

 

5-13-3 with a 3.10 GAA and a .900 save percentage...sure, you can blame some of those losses on the offense's inability to score goals, but with those statitistics he simply didn't help the team, plain and simple.

 

O.k., I should have clarified that he was a part of the problem, I surely didn't mean he was blame free. Every single player on this roster contributed to us not making the playoffs.

 

My point was Lalime did what he was supposed to do behind a team that was afraid of contact. Anyone expecting anything more is dreaming. Look at our back ups the last 3 years. It's no coincidence they went elsewhere and played better...

[Kristian]

Did you forget about the 05-06 season when Miller went down and this guy went on a phenomenal win streak?

 

And yet he had almost identical numbers to Lalimes numbers this year.

 

2.88 GAA, .905 SV%

 

Let's not pretend Biron was anything special. He was a backup who played on a special team, and he knew the players in front of him really well, since he played here for years before someone came in and took the starting job away from him. The team still needed to score 3 goals a night to win with him in net that year, and a year later they needed to score 4 a night.

 

Lalime is a backup on a team that is in no way special, and as such his W/L column reflects that, despite the fact that he still stops 9 out of 10 shots. Something which was more than enough for Marty to win in 05-06 and 06-07.

 

So why can Miller post a winning record with these guys? Simple - He's a better goalie, which is why he's the starter.

 

I've been on Miller's case in the past with what would seem an inability to stop point shots, but I honestly think Ryan would be downright scary on a team that could clear the front of the net for him, so that he could see all those pointshots that always seem to go in against him.

 

But I also know Darcy does not believe in such antics.