GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

[mercury]

Right, but wasn't the net still empty?

 

No.

[SwampD]

I want to be a part of a group too. What other options are there?

How about Gaustad's Green Team.

[Stoner]

I wish I hadn't jokingly made the comment about Vanek serving the penalty. It has the tinfoil hat brigade all up in arms again. Anyway, Kennedy is the center for our top defensive line. I'm not aware of the amount of time he has been on the ice for a PK, but he's going to be a much better option than Vanek thanks to being one of the teams better defensive options. He's also got the ability to take a faceoff. You never know what can happen, so that's a skill you want available to you in case you need it on the long PK.

 

As for Stafford, I didn't notice him out there, but it was probably right when the penalty was about to expire. They get Connolly and Stafford out there so that when Vanek steps out of the box, a regular line is in place.

 

 

I think it was wjag who complained earlier about Vanek stepping out of the ice and immediately icing a puck at one point. That was a very weak call. It was a very soft dump and the defenseman stopped chasing it as it approached the goal line. Should have been waived off.

 

Again, you'll have to tell Lindy how great a penalty killer Kennedy can be, because before last night he had virtually no PK time all season. Stafford had a few seconds all season but was out for half a minute to start the five-minute kill.

 

Doesn't everyone have the ability to take a faceoff? :) (Kennedy sucks at it, by the way.)

[Stoner]

Please, go play a game of hockey and come back and tell me that what MacArthur did wasn't a perfectly reasonable hockey play. I have no problem with players on this team getting hurt from hockey plays. If Mac had gone to the boards like that, I wouldn't be complaining. That play was a "#%^$#! happens" incident. Like two players looking the other direction and plowing into each other. This wasn't Chris Drury getting creamed, or Campbell wrecking R.J. Umberger, or Kaleta jumping to make any number of his hits. This was two players trying to out-muscle each other for the puck, and it ended undesirably.

 

You guys are trying to draw a line between penalizing players for injuring other players, and penalizing players for playing hockey, and it's not working. Sorry.

 

Go play an NHL game and come back. Sorry, I hate when people try to relate what happens in a beer league to the pros.

 

Didn't MacArthur drive whatshisname into the boards? You speak of juries. Wouldn't a non-hockey jury rule that MacArthur caused the dude to be driven into the boards?

[Stoner]

Right, but wasn't the net still empty?

 

I'm obsessageboarding already, so I'm not going to look it up. Doesn't really matter. The game was over. This was mop-up duty.

[SwampD]

Go play an NHL game and come back. Sorry, I hate when people try to relate what happens in a beer league to the pros.

 

Didn't MacArthur drive whatshisname into the boards? You speak of juries. Wouldn't a non-hockey jury rule that MacArthur caused the dude to be driven into the boards?

That's why it's a jury of peers.

[Stoner]

How about Gaustad's Green Team.

 

I'm Paul Gaustabuffasabres. hehe

[Stoner]

That's why it's a jury of peers.

 

Touché.

 

Mr. Avery, has the jury reached a decision?

[wonderbread]

Touché.

 

Mr. Avery, has the jury reached a decision?

 

 

Yes your honor the defendant is taking up somebodys sloppy seconds.

[LabattBlue]

I can almost buy into some people not standing AND cheering after a goal for a early to mid-season mid-week game against and NHL bottom feeder, but I hate the crowd shots after a goal where some people are doing neither. If you are just going to sit there and not make ANY effort to cheer, stay home!

[deluca67]

Please, go play a game of hockey and come back and tell me that what MacArthur did wasn't a perfectly reasonable hockey play. I have no problem with players on this team getting hurt from hockey plays. If Mac had gone to the boards like that, I wouldn't be complaining. That play was a "#%^$#! happens" incident. Like two players looking the other direction and plowing into each other. This wasn't Chris Drury getting creamed, or Campbell wrecking R.J. Umberger, or Kaleta jumping to make any number of his hits. This was two players trying to out-muscle each other for the puck, and it ended undesirably.

 

You guys are trying to draw a line between penalizing players for injuring other players, and penalizing players for playing hockey, and it's not working. Sorry.

It was a player who lost position shoving a player that worked harder to gain position into the boards. It wasn't a "hockey play" it was a lazy play. The "hockey play" would have been for MacArthur not to give up position so easily and then take the lazy way out. There are dozens of "hockey plays" that happen each night and some that result in injuries. They don't get mentioned because they are recognized as "hockey play." What MacArthur did was the wrong play not "hockey."

[carpandean]

Every time I watch the video, it looks like MacArthur is trying for the usual shoulder-to-shoulder, lets see who wins the battle for the puck type hit. Reddox tried to get in there first and ends up under Clarke's hit. The hit to Reddox's back was done as much to keep himself from falling on Reddox as anything. In fact, he ends up planting his own face into the boards in the process. I've seen a lot of dirty hits to the back, but at most, I would say that Clarke simply misjudged what Reddox was going to do (and vice versa.) Unfortunate, but not dirty. Penalty? Yes. Suspension? No.

 

You may say that I have Sabres blinders on, but I've said of other hits, by other teams, that it wasn't intentional. Look at the OV play on Briere. That was even more deliberate and I still don't believe that OV meant to plow Danny's face into the boards. There, I'm sure that he meant to bump him, but not to send him flying. Here, it wasn't even that bad. Clarke tried to battle for the puck, as usual, but because of how they actual met, ended up helping Reddox into the boards.

[shrader]

I can almost buy into some people not standing AND cheering after a goal for a early to mid-season mid-week game against and NHL bottom feeder, but I hate the crowd shots after a goal where some people are doing neither. If you are just going to sit there and not make ANY effort to cheer, stay home!

 

Everybody has the right to react to the game however they want. If we started keeping out all of the fans who don't act exactly as we'd like them to, every league would shut down. I've moved to a very quiet analytical approach to the way I watch the college games I go to. Does that mean I shouldn't be there even though I enjoy every second of it?

[SwampD]

It was a player who lost position shoving a player that worked harder to gain position into the boards. It wasn't a "hockey play" it was a lazy play. The "hockey play" would have been for MacArthur not to give up position so easily and then take the lazy way out. There are dozens of "hockey plays" that happen each night and some that result in injuries. They don't get mentioned because they are recognized as "hockey play." What MacArthur did was the wrong play not "hockey."

So now all you have to do is turn your back on the guy you are battling and you've gained postition? I will be surprised if Mac gets a suspension.

[LabattBlue]

Everybody has the right to react to the game however they want. If we started keeping out all of the fans who don't act exactly as we'd like them to, every league would shut down. I've moved to a very quiet analytical approach to the way I watch the college games I go to. Does that mean I shouldn't be there even though I enjoy every second of it?

Wanting to see some ANY form of cheering after a goal is scored is asking too much? <_<

[shrader]

Wanting to see some ANY form of cheering after a goal is scored is asking too much? <_<

 

Different people react different ways though. It is kind of funny though how the camera men always seem to pick the wrong section.

[deluca67]

So now all you have to do is turn your back on the guy you are battling and you've gained postition? I will be surprised if Mac gets a suspension.

"Position" would be putting yourself between the puck and your opponent.

[wonderbread]

Different people react different ways though. It is kind of funny though how the camera men always seem to pick the wrong section.

Not really when you take thier track record into account for missing almost every behind the play scrum. That and anytime there is a confrontation they are always about 10 seconds to late to get it. My favorite is RJ screaming about the action and the camera man has a close up of <insert random player here>. MSG camera guys suck giant donkey .

[...]

Wanting to see some ANY form of cheering after a goal is scored is asking too much? <_<

 

 

There has not been a time in the past several seasons that I have been to a game and not HAD to stand up to see what was going on after a Sabres goal.

 

I don't know what you saw, but depending on where you are sitting in the arena, it's possible an entire section will miss the play and not know a goal has been scored. All of a sudden, people all around you are cheering and the horn is going off and all you can do is look up at the big TV to see what happened.

 

I'm thinking specifically of the 100 level sections directly behind the nets - and even more specifically the end that sees the Sabres goalie in the first and third.

 

Beyond this, I don't know what you expect from people - if they were yelling and cheering and overly vocal then the crowd would be criticized for being stupid idiots who will cheer at anything.

 

Games aren't cheap, the people who go are spending the money, and their time, the way they want to. When the Sabres are playing well, people get into it. When the Sabres are sucking, the crowd lets the team know they're sucking. What do you want?

 

Should tickets only go to morons who will cheer and yell even when the game tempo is down? Do you want a dozen more idiots who bang on the glass when a player is near them (God, that's more annoying live than on TV)? Do you want drunken tools causing fights and/or yelling obscenities all game?

 

If you start getting that, then I would argue ticket sales would suffer, because there are A LOT of families there and parents, like myself, will stop bringing the kids if that environment develops.

[Eleven]

There always are fans of opposing teams at Sabres games. Even Coyotes fans. They are not always wearing jerseys, either. Maybe they're not celebrating when the Sabres score. And in the lower bowl, there usually are people who are attending the game because they're in Buffalo on business and just needed something to do. Sometimes, it's their first NHL game ever.

[shrader]

Not really when you take thier track record into account for missing almost every behind the play scrum. That and anytime there is a confrontation they are always about 10 seconds to late to get it. My favorite is RJ screaming about the action and the camera man has a close up of <insert random player here>. MSG camera guys suck giant donkey .

 

The camera work does seem to be worse this year so far. I can't count the number of times the main camera continues to pan down the ice even though the defenseman kept the puck in at the blueline.

[nobody]

Not really when you take thier track record into account for missing almost every behind the play scrum. That and anytime there is a confrontation they are always about 10 seconds to late to get it. My favorite is RJ screaming about the action and the camera man has a close up of <insert random player here>. MSG camera guys suck giant donkey .

 

 

I wonder if they are told not to show the scrums right away.

[nobody]

Ruff is killing Vaneks game even more so this year then ever before.

[LabattBlue]

 

 

Should tickets only go to morons who will cheer and yell even when the game tempo is down? Do you want a dozen more idiots who bang on the glass when a player is near them (God, that's more annoying live than on TV)? Do you want drunken tools causing fights and/or yelling obscenities all game?

 

If you start getting that, then I would argue ticket sales would suffer, because there are A LOT of families there and parents, like myself, will stop bringing the kids if that environment develops.

Go back and read my post. I am talking about when A GOAL IS SCORED, not "when the game tempo is down". As far as not knowing if the puck went in the net, no matter where you are sitting, there are going to be goals scored where you cannot see the puck going into the net, but it is pretty obvious when one is scored by the player reaction or the goal horn.

 

I'm not sure why you bring up the people who bang on the glass? How is that relevant to the discussion?

[Mbossy]

Go back and read my post. I am talking about when A GOAL IS SCORED, not "when the game tempo is down". As far as not knowing if the puck went in the net, no matter where you are sitting, there are going to be goals scored where you cannot see the puck going into the net, but it is pretty obvious when one is scored by the player reaction or the goal horn.

 

I'm not sure why you bring up the people who bang on the glass? How is that relevant to the discussion?

I thought I've heard this before.

 

Even if it's just for a few seconds. Stand up, clap. Sit down. It doesn't take all that much energy. (Unless you are drunk and will spill your beer while standing behind me. In which case give the "I'm drunk" hand signal and stay seated).