GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

[Knightrider]

I can't believe we're this far into the season and we have yet to play Pittsburgh.

 

 

I can't believe we're this far into the season and I haven't started a GDT till today.

 

 

Will we see the team we saw against the Caps and Hawks, or will we see the team that lost to the Sens? Frankly, I'm not sure the team that beat the Leafs last night will be good enough to beat the Pens, either.

 

Regardless, LETS GO BUFFALO!

[ParkMeadow]

I'd be more than happy to see the Sabres team that beat the Pens last year on Thanksgiving weekend. I was in town and got to go to that one (my first and only so far at the Arena); we had seats on the glass in the corner and it was AWESOME!

 

PM

[carpandean]

Lindy gave Myers the night off yesterday (well, relatively speaking, as he only had 22:24 TOI), so I'm expecting big minutes from "Big Easy" tonight.

[Stoner]

I was surprised to learn in Bucky's Penguin reacharound column that the Sabres had the same shot at Crosby that Pittsburgh did. Sort of shoots down the idea that Pittsburgh got good by being bad while the Sabres were punished for being middle of the pack.

[SDS]

 

I can't believe we're this far into the season and I haven't started a GDT till today.

 

who are you again? :unsure:

[deluca67]

I hope the Sabres decide to give Miller the start. I want to see this team go against arguably the best team in hockey at 100%.

[carpandean]

I was surprised to learn in Bucky's Penguin reacharound column that the Sabres had the same shot at Crosby that Pittsburgh did. Sort of shoots down the idea that Pittsburgh got good by being bad while the Sabres were punished for being middle of the pack.

I've always been careful to say "by being bad and getting lucky in the Crosby draft." They still got to be in the group with the most balls (which also included the Sabres) by being bad. They also still got Malkin, Fleury, Staal and even Whitney, who they used in an important trade for their cup run last year, by being bad. I don't think that shoots down that idea at all.

[Knightrider]

who are you again? :unsure:

 

 

Ouch. :ph34r: I'm here in spirit.

 

While most of the economy has been bad this year, our company could not hire enough people... And it takes a lot of work to get a new hire up to speed where they can actually contribute. This week has been kind of nice though, because a lot of people are burning their time off.

[Stoner]

I've always been careful to say "by being bad and getting lucky in the Crosby draft." They still got to be in the group with the most balls (which also included the Sabres) by being bad. They also still got Malkin, Fleury, Staal and even Whitney, who they used in an important trade for their cup run last year, by being bad. I don't think that shoots down that idea at all.

How did the Sabres end up with the highest chance of getting Crosby? This was the lockout draft -- the last season before the lockout, the Sabres had 85 points.

 

For those who like conspiracies:

 

"The actual drawing of the lottery was done behind closed doors 'in a secure location,' according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly - before the televised unveiling."

[nfreeman]

Lindy gave Myers the night off yesterday (well, relatively speaking, as he only had 22:24 TOI), so I'm expecting big minutes from "Big Easy" tonight.

Absolutely, but does Lindy match up Myers/Tallinder against Crosby's line, or Malkin's?

 

On a somewhat related note, Sekera had the 2nd-most ice time on the team last night. He's really come on strong in the past couple of weeks.

 

Also, Montador was #3. I think that makes Montador a top 4 defenseman on the #3 team in the NHL in goals-against, but don't tell DeLuca.

[shrader]

How did the Sabres end up with the highest chance of getting Crosby? This was the lockout draft -- the last season before the lockout, the Sabres had 85 points.

 

For those who like conspiracies:

 

"The actual drawing of the lottery was done behind closed doors 'in a secure location,' according to deputy commissioner Bill Daly - before the televised unveiling."

 

It was a weighted lottery system. Each team started with 3 balls (freaks!). One ball was taken away for each time they had the 1st overall pick in the last five years or each time they made the playoffs in the previous three seasons. They could only take two balls away, so each team would still have a shot. The Penguins did have the first pick in one of those drafts (Fleury), but they traded for that pick. I think I'm slightly off on the criteria, but that was the basic idea. The Sabres hadn't made the playoffs in three years and they never had the first overall pick, so they had the highest chance.

[Stoner]

OK, so this was the draft with the balls. The so-called Crosby Sweepstakes. Each team started with three balls. One ball was deducted for each playoff appearance a team had the previous three years and one for each number-one pick the previous four years. They wanted to help the weak sisters but also not reward teams that had gotten lucky in the draft in recent years. (This is per the CBC web site, and now I realize part of it can't be right, since the Pens did draft the top pick, Fleury, during that period of time.)

 

It was kind of strange. Montreal had one ball but ended up picking fifth. The Sabres had three balls but picked 13th.

 

The secret drawing irks me. Why not do it on TV?

[shrader]

The secret drawing irks me. Why not do it on TV?

 

Well first of all it was the NHL coming out of the lockout, so no one was watching. Anyway, they don't do it live on tv because it is anti-climactic. They want to show the drawings in reverse order from 30-1, but in the drawing itself, the first pick is the one drawn first. So if they show that, you see one pick and then you turn it off. The reverse order builds a little drama.

[ROC Sabres]

Wow. Penguins... Crosby... NOT ON VERSUS!

 

What's the world coming to. :rolleyes:

 

Very happy that I get to hear RJ and not the Crosby Show.

[Stoner]

Well first of all it was the NHL coming out of the lockout, so no one was watching. Anyway, they don't do it live on tv because it is anti-climactic. They want to show the drawings in reverse order from 30-1, but in the drawing itself, the first pick is the one drawn first. So if they show that, you see one pick and then you turn it off. The reverse order builds a little drama.

 

Was the drawing itself taped? Was there any transparency at all?

[shrader]

Was the drawing itself taped? Was there any transparency at all?

 

I'm sure it was monitored in some way, the same way they monitor the state lottery drawings. I know they had some form of broadcast for the reverse order announcement. I watched/listened to that at work.

[shrader]

Wow. Penguins... Crosby... NOT ON VERSUS!

 

What's the world coming to. :rolleyes:

 

Very happy that I get to hear RJ and not the Crosby Show.

 

I'd hate to ruin a perfectly good mini-rant by pointing out that Vs doesn't do weekend games.

[Stoner]

Absolutely, but does Lindy match up Myers/Tallinder against Crosby's line, or Malkin's?

 

On a somewhat related note, Sekera had the 2nd-most ice time on the team last night. He's really come on strong in the past couple of weeks.

 

Also, Montador was #3. I think that makes Montador a top 4 defenseman on the #3 team in the NHL in goals-against, but don't tell DeLuca.

 

I'll quibble, because that's what we do here. Montador's ice time suggests he's solid third pairing defenseman. He sees little special teams time. He's also second-worst in plus-minus among defensemen.

 

With all that having been said (hehe), I really have liked his play. A nice surprise. And off the ice, his interviews suggest he's an easy going guy with a good sense of humor, something this lockerroom probably has been missing.

 

Montador, Grier, Kennedy, Myers. The New Fab Four>The Old Fab Five.

[Stoner]

I'm sure it was monitored in some way, the same way they monitor the state lottery drawings. I know they had some form of broadcast for the reverse order announcement. I watched/listened to that at work.

 

Kramer: It's all supervised!

 

I'll say it. The fix was in for Pissburgh. No one is THAT lucky.

[shrader]

Kramer: It's all supervised!

 

I'll say it. The fix was in for Pissburgh. No one is THAT lucky.

 

Why would they want to fix it for Pittsburgh though, especially when the Rangers had three balls too? Too obvious? But I'll take this a step further. They knew Malkin was going to be an elite player too, so they fixed that draft lottery too and "screwed over" Pittsburgh, allowing them to still have the best shot at Crosby. They also installed a rule years back that allowed only Kasparitis to throw pucks over the glass. They then shined a laser pointer in Hasek's eye which made him miss that floating shot.

 

Jagr was actually a robot created by the NHL. All his power resided in the mullet. Once he moved on to Washington, they were forced to remove the mullet.

[carpandean]

Absolutely, but does Lindy match up Myers/Tallinder against Crosby's line, or Malkin's?

Myers will play against both as much as possible, just over 35 minutes; Tallinder will try to stay out as much as he can, just over 25 minutes; and the other four will fill in when needed. Big East FTW!! :thumbsup:

[deluca67]

Absolutely, but does Lindy match up Myers/Tallinder against Crosby's line, or Malkin's?

 

On a somewhat related note, Sekera had the 2nd-most ice time on the team last night. He's really come on strong in the past couple of weeks.

 

Also, Montador was #3. I think that makes Montador a top 4 defenseman on the #3 team in the NHL in goals-against, but don't tell DeLuca.

He is 5th in TOI out of the Sabres defenseman. I do like your logic. If the Sabres run into a rash of injuries and Ellis happens to be in the top six in ice time he must be a "top six" forward.

 

Interesting stats, Chicago and New Jersey who lead the league in gga are also 1-2 in shots allowed per game. The Sabres are tied for 17th at 30.5 per game. Which is better then the 31.4 last season and not as good as the 28.4 from two seasons ago. Just some numbers for you stat guys that seem to show the only difference is Ryan Miller's play.

[SwampD]

Well first of all it was the NHL coming out of the lockout, so no one was watching. Anyway, they don't do it live on tv because it is anti-climactic. They want to show the drawings in reverse order from 30-1, but in the drawing itself, the first pick is the one drawn first. So if they show that, you see one pick and then you turn it off. The reverse order builds a little drama.

Yeah, but Buffalo was out of Bankruptcy trouble by then and Pitt wasn't. The League always makes sure the team in trouble does well the next year (see Buff., Fla., Car., Az., etc...). ;)

[wjag]

I missed the last two, so I'm ready for some football..

[blugold43]

pittsburgh is another team i hate worse than ottowa (i guess the only other one besides philly). can we please come out with a little fire in our belly tonight, boys? if we get another first period like we got from them last night and it will be 3-0, not 1-0, going into intermission.

 

cmon guys, i'm snowed in down here...give me something to cheer for...