GDT - Leafs at Sabres 7pm

[LabattBlue]

I didn't see the game. Lets hear some impressions of Myers play?

[carpandean]

Too bad preseason means nothing, because starting with 7 out of 8 points is always good.

 

I missed Stafford getting hit, but his lip doesn't look so good.

[repster]

I didn't see the game. Lets hear some impressions of Myers play?

Leaf TV said he was the first star. I don't know if that was the same in the arena...

[carpandean]

I didn't see the game. Lets hear some impressions of Myers play?

The Leafs' announcers seemed to like him and he got the first star. I wasn't quite as impressed. Not that he looked bad; just green.

[jwcolour]

Sabres win 3-2.

 

I expected more fights?

 

Guess u can't fight your way to a win?

 

Leafs 2 of 3 stars? WTF?

 

I thought they said Myers and Pomminstein

[repster]

In the arena it was Patches #2 and Miller #1

[billsrcursed]

I thought they said Myers and Pomminstein

 

That's right.

 

Thought Butler looked shaky. Great job by Hecht/Grier/Goose. Love that line.

 

Myers looked average, didn't think he earned a star.

 

Pommers and Kennedy looked good as well. I also liked Montador's energy.

 

Cowan looked like he was playing for a spot, hope he keeps it up!

 

Miller looked pretty good for the most part. The penalty shot would have been a great save had he not whiffed on the shot. Miller was in great position for the save but couldn't adjust to the missed shot. Other than that, he was pretty good.

 

Stafford looks like a Fraggle with his lip busted, gross!

 

Pretty good game plan, although with Toronto keeping the net empty on the last 2 draws in their own end, I would have liked to have seen someone with a little more talent take the draw there. Preseason, though, so whatever...

[wonderbread]

I'm assuming you mean Gazoo? I had no idea that people mix that one up until I heard it a couple weeks ago.

 

 

Thats funny as my wife and I were talking about that little green guy tonight!

 

As far as the game. i think Butler and Myers look good. Unseasoned and made a few glaring errors but overal they both played a decent game. A little bit of seasoning and I could see Myers being a force. His one lazy pass in the sabres zone could have lead top a goal however. But on a plus note he was getting chippy w/ Powder all game.

 

Mkcormick (sp) added some scoring as was to coin a Dick Jauron phrase "obvious" But also had a decent fight. A welcome change after the android years. Different fighter different style! Hecht scored but looked unimpressive. Pommers was being challenged all game but didn't step up. Not that thats his role. Goose looked nasty with the C! (not that i'm convinced he's C material)

 

Hank dispeared for streches, Lydman looked decent. Roy dipsy doodled all game with big crocodile tears streaming down his face. Stafford's lip got mangled. Hard to look at for me. Overall solid game w/ out 2/3 of your top lines players.

[mercury]

NHL Network is blacked out for me. I'm in the Sabres TV market. Why is sabres.com promoting the fact that the game is on NHLN if you can't watch it in Buffalo?

 

Sure, but maybe a note about a local blackout would have been nice for the majority of fans who do live in and around Buffalo. I don't get it. Whose local broadcast is the blackout protecting?

 

Why would they note a blackout that didn't exist? The game was perfectly visible via NHL Network from Orchard Park.

[X. Benedict]

I didn't see the game. Lets hear some impressions of Myers play?

 

Myers and Kennedy have looked very good. It is going to be very hard to send either down.

Myers has been playing a simple game and never seems in a rush. He has freakish calm for

being a young D-man and dressing in the NHL. Kennedy really looks like he's gotten much stronger

and is playing stronger on the puck and has nice vision. Skating him at center should pay dividends later.

He's at least a solid third liner.

 

As for Myers.....he's the real deal. Nice shot, he got called on the penalty shot, but

it looked clean to me, that won't get called in the regular season...

.....he layed out like bonnie lies over an ocean. I won't be crazy

upset if he gets sent down....but he's going to be in blue and gold this year...the question

is will it be early or later.

 

Edit: friends saying it was Butler on the penalty shot...if so...my bad.

[darksabre]

Myers and Kennedy have looked very good. It is going to be very hard to send either down.

Myers has been playing a simple game and never seems in a rush. He has freakish calm for

being a young D-man and dressing in the NHL. Kennedy really looks like he's gotten much stronger

and is playing stronger on the puck and has nice vision. Skating him at center should pay dividends later.

He's at least a solid third liner.

 

As for Myers.....he's the real deal. Nice shot, he got called on the penalty shot, but

it looked clean to me, that won't get called in the regular season...

.....he layed out like bonnie lies over an ocean. I won't be crazy

upset if he gets sent down....but he's going to be in blue and gold this year...the question

is will it be early or later.

 

Edit: friends saying it was Butler on the penalty shot...if so...my bad.

 

No it was Myers. Tell your friends they're wrong.

[...]

It's so nice to have hockey back. It's also nice to have my beer pre-paid in Sabrebucks this year with my mini-pack. I'm sure it's part of the higher ticket prices, but at least I'm getting something as opposed to nothing.

 

 

You have your mini-pack card? WTF, Sabres! Where's mine!

[repster]

You have your mini-pack card? WTF, Sabres! Where's mine!

 

I don't have the card yet. The letter said it would be sent separately.

[...]

Okay, I was at the game - front and center section 320 row 1. Love those seats.

 

Cheers:

 

McCormick - I loved his game. I hope he stays up on a line somewhere.

 

Cowan - good game for him. Nothing flashy, but did nothing wrong, either.

 

Kennedy - I loved his effort. A little green, still, but I think a NHL roster spot would do him good.

 

Ellis - old reliable. He looked like he has been doing something to improve his skating as I thought he looked a lot faster out there than last season.

 

Grier - nothing special, but he was in the right places at the right time and didn't take a shift off. Exactly what we are expecting from him.

 

Gaustad - uhm, who is this Goose? A very different game than last season; more offensively minded.

 

Paetsch - wow, great game for Paetsch. I've always kind of liked him, and gave him a pass for having the roster slot last season. He looked really solid tonight.

 

Myers - I have to say I'm a little surprised because there seems to have been two different views of this guy: not ready or ready. Since I saw him at both camps, and caught the Detroit game broadcast, I DID hold the not ready view. However, I think after tonight I'm switching. For a big guy, the only time he stood out was during the one scrum (on the screen at the arena, they had an ice-level view of him holding off the Leaf - people giggled at the size difference). He handled that situation perfectly. Another time he had a nice shot from the point on net.

 

JJ Pommers - more hustle, more going to the net. This is the kind of play I expect out of him. Will it last? I hope.

 

Roy - was Roy.

 

Toronto cheers:

 

MacDonald - he looked really good, very sharp. The Sabres had to wear him down before he was going to let anything in. If he's a starter, then Toronto may very well have some decent goal tending to get them through games.

 

 

Jeers:

 

Miller - good game from Miller. He looked good for most of it and accomplished a few amazing robberies. However, from our vantage point at the arena, that penalty shot goal is not forgivable, even though they won the game.

 

Montador - he got beat several times leading to a rush. Was slow. I was stunned to hear after the second he had six of those shots on net (overhead the radio broadcast in the arena hallways - maybe I didn't hear it correctly...?). Sounds to me as though the media liked Montador's game. I can't understand why - he looked slow, and like his head wasn't in this game. A lot of shots were way off, or fanned on, or right into a Toronto D man. Eh.

 

Hecht - holy crap. Awful, no hustle, nothing. His brain is on Mars somewhere. I can't believe they're stuck with this chump. Pommers, Ellis and Paetsch have all improved their games and can skate circles around this joker. A shame.

 

Weber - I don't know. Another horrible give-away in front. I only noticed him that one time, in the first. Enough to make me shake my head.

 

 

Overall:

 

They're clearly working out new plays and strategies. And they were definitely going to the net. It looks as though they ARE trying to improve the team's total game. The PP set up I noticed from the Detroit game I noticed again - it's how they move a man across the point; looks as though four are going deeper leaving a man by himself back. Interesting.

 

I think this happened in the first, and I don't recall who was involved, but there was a super-slick play: three on two that started at the blue line where one of Sabres passed the puck to himself going forward and around a D man (and not off the boards) and fed it across the slot. It was an awesome play - too bad it didn't result in a goal.

 

Fun! I love hockey season!

[VansTheMans]

No it was Myers. Tell your friends they're wrong.

 

It was Myers. I was at the game.

 

Thoughts on the game:

 

-Tallinder is done. Get this guy off the team. He plays with no passion, and looks like Dmitri Kalinin (i.e. just going through the motions). He had a couple of decent plays here and there, but for the most part, he was just flat and lazy. Massively underachieving.

 

-Montador was absolutely terrible. He passed the freaking puck onto a Maple Leaf's stick 10 feet in front of Miller. Luckily Miller made a huge save and bailed his ass out. Montador was placed on the powerplay several times, and he looked very, very out of place. Unsure of what to do with the puck. He's not a powerplay dman, so I was a little clueless as to why he was placed there (maybe just to see what he could do?).

 

-Paetsch played well, especially on the power play. He has a knack for getting pucks to the net on the PP.

 

-Myers was excellent, this kid is ready. Bring him up. Another year in the juniors would be a waste of his time.

 

-Cowan was rocking #23...NOt sure how I feel about that. He played fairly well however. I liked his intensity (and his fight).

 

-Having Grier back on the team is HUGE. The Grier Goose Hecht line was our best line of the night. They were gritty every shift, and had a few scoring opportunities. Those guys look good together. I expect that to be our regular 3rd line when the season begins.

 

-The Sabres looked dominant the first 40 minutes...then failed to show up AT ALL in the final 20. Not a good sign for things ahead.

 

-Miller looked good.

 

-Seemed like the Sabres were DESTROYED in faceoffs. Anyone have stats on that?

 

-I like how Pommers played. He's willing to play down low, and he seems to be a very calming presence on the offense. Everything he does is very smooth, and very calculated.

 

-Drew Stafford was rocking a cage after the 1st period. Im assuming he got high sticked?

 

Overall, the things that stick with me the most are:

-Tallinder SUCKING.

-The Sabres dominating the first two periods, then giving up in the third (aka failing to play the full 60).

-Mike Grier looking GOOD.

-Being unimpressed with Montador.

[VansTheMans]

 

 

Weber - I don't know. Another horrible give-away in front. I only noticed him that one time, in the first. Enough to make me shake my head.

 

 

 

 

Weber didn't play. Weber is #6 now. That was Montador #4 that gave the puck away.

[...]

Weber didn't play. Weber is #6 now. That was Montador #4 that gave the puck away.

 

 

Ah. I blame my brother. I said "who the hell was that" - he said "Weber". No wonder I didn't notice him the rest of the game! I try to look at the names and not the numbers. My brother knows the numbers.

 

Regarding Stafford - he was hit in the first. Nothing criminal - typical hockey bump. He went back to the bench well before his shift was over. I didn't see him go back to the dressing room, and he was out again before the first was over. I noticed the cage when he came out in the second. According to LR, a lip injury from the Detroit game was busted open again in the first of this game.

[end the curse]

I thought Myers and Kennedy were outstanding. They both look like they've been in the league for years and are perfectly comfortable with the speed and size of the NHL.

 

Paetsch is making it tough on them to keep him off the roster. Lots of fight, and he's willing to do whatever it takes. A Lindy Ruff type of player who will play hard on offense, defense and hit you in the mouth if he gets a chance.

 

McCormick and Cowan are just what the pansies from last year needed...toughness, size and a relentless motor. Hope they somehow crack the roster.

 

I think Butler and Myers made a fantastic duo. They should be kept together.

 

Tallinder and Hecht look so out of place. Slow, soft, timid, lethargic and lacking any signs of life. Both of them are shot and need to be sent packing.

 

Miller is ready for opening night...he was very sharp.

[...]

Oh God, I have to add this:

 

The popcorn had to be a week old. They didn't even bother to warm it. I couldn't take it back and complain as my kids were looking forward to the popcorn all day.

 

But the Coke. Crap, the swill tasted like rancid medicine. What gives? I took that back, as my Coke can not taste like rancid swill. They poured another from a different fountain - tasted just as bad. They gave me my money back.

 

They had seriously better address the concessions issues before opening night. I've heard a lot of complaints about that this preseason.

[VansTheMans]

Oh God, I have to add this:

 

The popcorn had to be a week old. They didn't even bother to warm it. I couldn't take it back and complain as my kids were looking forward to the popcorn all day.

 

But the Coke. Crap, the swill tasted like rancid medicine. What gives? I took that back, as my Coke can not taste like rancid swill. They poured another from a different fountain - tasted just as bad. They gave me my money back.

 

They had seriously better address the concessions issues before opening night. I've heard a lot of complaints about that this preseason.

 

I rocked the water fountain. No water like free water. :thumbsup:

[VansTheMans]

Also, I thought Hecht had a solid game. He seemed to be putting forth some level of effort. He looked semi reinvigorated playing with Goose and Grier.

 

Tallinder though..yea. He's a walking corpse. He's Dmitri Kalinin. I can think of no other comparison.

[...]

I thought Hecht's game was tentative and lifeless. He was lucky MacDonald had the five hole open for that shot and it slipped underneath.

[wjag]

Sure was nice to see hockey again last night. Being preseason though, I couldn't put my usual 60 minutes of effort into it. From what I did see, I was left with a couple of impressions:

 

1. Macdonald played a great game. He was stoning some great shots by the Sabres.

2. The Sabres were getting some great shots on the net.

3. The Leafs were tired. It was clear that it was preseason and they played last night. The Sabres roster hopefuls were outplaying them badly in the 2nd.

4. Kennedy seems to be in the right place at the right time. He gets his shots on net. That kid is going to be a sniper.

5. Point shots were getting THROUGH and ON net.

 

I shut the game off after two and walked away thinking I like these Sabres. They look fresh and new. As someone else said, too bad these 7 points count for bupkus.

[end the curse]

Hecht had about as much life as a corpse.

[LabattBlue]

Okay, I was at the game - front and center section 320 row 1. Love those seats....

Thanks for the recap!