GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

[thesportsbuff]

Agree with your post but technically only gave away one point.

 

this is true, my mistake.

[Sabre Dance]

I wouldn't describe his behavior as being mad. He is the fragile little kid he accused his teammates of being that time. Always has been.

 

He's not the coach, or the captain. How is it he has the right to constantly call out his teammates?

 

The coach and the team captain WON'T call out the rest of the team; someone needs to, so.....

 

Jeremy White just nailed it, for once. The mistakes the Sabres make around Miller are not as important as Miller not being able to cover up for them enough. Turnovers and system breakdowns in hockey are unavoidable. Miller is back there making what he makes with the ridiculous reputation that he has, to make big saves. That was the MO for Miller at the beginning of his career.

 

Wow - so the rest of the team can take the night off but you want the goaltender to bail them out after EVERY mistake? This team has no shutdown defenseman, they allow opposing forwards to crowd Miller game in and game out (and occasionally knock him down) and barely lift a finger to help. But the guys is supposed to pitch a shutout every time out. Wow - were you disappointed when you found out Miller couldn't walk on water?

 

The Sabres also want to play an aggressive, risk-taking, D-pinching game knowing Miller will bail them out.

 

I want a Ferrari. But, my salary won't support it. So I make do with what I have. If the Sabres don't have the players to play the style they want to, either get new players or play a different style.

 

There are no excuses. Make a save. And lose the attitude. The back story here is that Vogl notes the diva attitude the guy has when he has to come out of his personal dressing room, being fed caviar, to talk to the media. Olympics, saw the world, married an actress, spent the summer in Cali. Ryan is so Over Buffalo. The time was right last season to trade him. What more do you want to see now? Also, he's a sieve.

 

Mentally weak. Jerry Sullivan was running down the case for this. Goals allowed late in periods. Weak goals allowed to end playoff series, and playoff games. Goals allowed right after the Sabre score -- why? The best evidence is probably goals allowed late in the games when he has a shutout on the line.

 

/rant Jerry got me going.

 

Sure - trade him and put Lalime in goal for the playoff run. That'll help. Or maybe Enroth. Or maybe we can lure Rask away from Boston. Dream on.

 

Hey, I'm no Miller apologist, but it is a TEAM sport after all. He had an awful game, but so did the defense. I used to play goal and you feel bad enough when you let in some shaky goals. But when you get little to no defensive help as well, it pi$es you off. Instead of venting to the press, maybe Miller should have kept his comments in the locker room. But, if I just played my 31st straight game and then got asked a bunch of questions from guys who never played a minute of NHL hockey, I guess I'd want to vent, too.

[JJFIVEOH]

With all this chat on Miller this and Miller that, has anyone taken the time to actually digest the fact of just how horrible that defense can be in front of him. No goalie in the world can consistently stop, perfectly screened shots,weak side chances, wide open looks from the slot, or deflections from uncovered sticks. All goalies have good days and bad days, all let soft goals in, and there has been only two or three V Trophy winners in modern history that did not have an awesome defense in front of them. The Sabres defense is far from awesome. Thirty one games in a row is A ton of work.

 

You could probably tag him with one or two softies in that game...big deal given the lanes that were open,the quality of the scoring chances they were giving up and the fact he may have had an off night. Most goalies experience hot and cold streaks.The difference is in the quality of the defense in front of you when you are cold, can they pick you up. With the Sabres the answer is no. He is an excellent goaltender, not yet great. That will take a vastly improved defense in front of him. Anybody talking about trading Miller is just down right foolish.

 

I have to admit, the defense looked pretty poor last night. But, the defense has changed little from last year. Montador (I know he's out) is playing better this year, Myers is coming around, Sekera has improved (he's still plagued with big mistakes) and Leopold has been a pleasant addition. Miller was 2nd in GAA last year, this year he's 30th. Let's look at the common denominator here. Losing two defensemen and gaining one doesn't drop you from 2nd to 30th in the league in GAA.

[waldo]

I have to admit, the defense looked pretty poor last night. But, the defense has changed little from last year. Montador (I know he's out) is playing better this year, Myers is coming around, Sekera has improved (he's still plagued with big mistakes) and Leopold has been a pleasant addition. Miller was 2nd in GAA last year, this year he's 30th. Let's look at the common denominator here. Losing two defensemen and gaining one doesn't drop you from 2nd to 30th in the league in GAA.

 

Yeah it does. Tell me is the d better or worse this year vs. last? How about this year vs two years ago? Montador Leopold and Sekera are just average defensemen.(granted one is having a career year /lets see if he can do it back to back/ one is maybe a second pair defenseman at best, the other two third pair maybe) Look at the stats that matter. d zone giveaways...the shot charts...scoring chances ...odd man rushes...opposing team short handed scoring chances. screened goals...number of open chances from the slot..weak side goals..where are the goals scored from? Is Miller having an off year..compared to last year, yes...compared to his carreer, no..Has he been played too much this year....probably. Has his d been able to pick him up on off nights? no chance. They are just not that good. All goalies have slumps, some slumps are less noticable when you are surrounded by an effective d. That was my point. FYI.. He should have been pulled last night..Lindy was asleep. Two different perspectives thats all.

[Patty16]

Yeah it does. Tell me is the d better or worse this year vs. last? How about this year vs two years ago? Montador Leopold and Sekera are just average defensemen.(granted one is having a career year offensively /lets see if he can do it back to back) Look at the stats that matter. d zone giveaways...the shot charts...scoring chances ...odd man rushes...opposing team short handed scoring chances. screened goals...number of open chances from the slot....where are the goals scored from? Is Miller having an off year..compared to last year, yes...compared to his carreer, no..Has he been played too much this year....probably. Has his d been able to pick him up on off nights? no chance. they are just not that good. Thats was my point.

 

 

and a lot of the defensive woes have to do with bad support from the forwards in the defensive zone.

[BADMOFO518]

The coach and the team captain WON'T call out the rest of the team; someone needs to, so.....

 

 

 

Wow - so the rest of the team can take the night off but you want the goaltender to bail them out after EVERY mistake? This team has no shutdown defenseman, they allow opposing forwards to crowd Miller game in and game out (and occasionally knock him down) and barely lift a finger to help. But the guys is supposed to pitch a shutout every time out. Wow - were you disappointed when you found out Miller couldn't walk on water?

 

 

 

I want a Ferrari. But, my salary won't support it. So I make do with what I have. If the Sabres don't have the players to play the style they want to, either get new players or play a different style.

 

 

 

Sure - trade him and put Lalime in goal for the playoff run. That'll help. Or maybe Enroth. Or maybe we can lure Rask away from Boston. Dream on.

 

Hey, I'm no Miller apologist, but it is a TEAM sport after all. He had an awful game, but so did the defense. I used to play goal and you feel bad enough when you let in some shaky goals. But when you get little to no defensive help as well, it pi$es you off. Instead of venting to the press, maybe Miller should have kept his comments in the locker room. But, if I just played my 31st straight game and then got asked a bunch of questions from guys who never played a minute of NHL hockey, I guess I'd want to vent, too.

 

 

+1

[JJFIVEOH]

Yeah it does. Tell me is the d better or worse this year vs. last? How about this year vs two years ago? Montador Leopold and Sekera are just average defensemen.(granted one is having a career year /lets see if he can do it back to back/ one is maybe a second pair defenseman at best, the other two third pair maybe) Look at the stats that matter. d zone giveaways...the shot charts...scoring chances ...odd man rushes...opposing team short handed scoring chances. screened goals...number of open chances from the slot..weak side goals..where are the goals scored from? Is Miller having an off year..compared to last year, yes...compared to his carreer, no..Has he been played too much this year....probably. Has his d been able to pick him up on off nights? no chance. They are just not that good. All goalies have slumps, some slumps are less noticable when you are surrounded by an effective d. That was my point. FYI.. He should have been pulled last night..Lindy was asleep. Two different perspectives thats all.

 

I never said we had a great defensive core. They are slightly above average at best. However, if you take all those aspects I think you can find every team is guilty of them all to a pretty good extent. Regardless of whether they suck or they're great, I was comparing two different years. Personally, I don't think our defense is any worse than last year. I think as a defensive group they aren't as strong. I do think they have added more offense to their game though. So I think it's kind of balanced out. To answer your question, no, I don't think they are that much worse this year to the point where Miller's GAA dropped from 2nd to 30th.