thesportsbuff Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Not making excuses but anybody else think Vanek is playing hurt?? Someone pointed out a couple games ago how Vanek looked like he was in pain every time play stopped, and tonight he laid the stick on a Canes player and then he was the one keeled over, wincing in pain for a few moments. Maybe there was a little more to missing that game last week than just having "the flu." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunomatic Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Not making excuses but anybody else think Vanek is playing hurt?? Someone pointed out a couple games ago how Vanek looked like he was in pain every time play stopped, and tonight he laid the stick on a Canes player and then he was the one keeled over, wincing in pain for a few moments. Maybe there was a little more to missing that game last week than just having "the flu." He took a shot upper body tonight from the puck off a sabres d-man from the point. Is that the play where he winced in pain doubled over? I saw that one and thought the worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 He took a shot upper body tonight from the puck off a sabres d-man from the point. Is that the play where he winced in pain doubled over? I saw that one and thought the worst. Nope. Saw that one too, though, and it didn't look good at first. But this was earlier in the second period (I believe) and even the Versus announcers pointed it out and showed a replay. It wasn't much of a slash or collision or whatever it was, but Vanek was the one who initiated and skated away in agony for a few moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRobertEichel Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 For those fans wearing rose-colored glasses and quick to offer the fatigue excuse, here's the reality: starting this Saturday, the Sabres will have to play 12 games in 22 days, 10 of which are back-to-backs. If these guys were too tired to get it up for such a critical game tonight with 48 hours rest, how are they going to perform over the next few weeks? Their point lead on 8th place is tenuous, to put it mildly. Perhaps I really am a pessimist and not a realist, but I have serious doubts that the presence of Pegula and Boyes alone were enough to change an entire team culture of choking in such a short amount of time. There are still too many cancers on this team like Connolly, Pominville, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabresMojo Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 For those fans wearing rose-colored glasses and quick to offer the fatigue excuse, here's the reality: starting this Saturday, the Sabres will have to play 12 games in 22 days, 10 of which are back-to-backs. If these guys were too tired to get it up for such a critical game tonight with 48 hours rest, how are they going to perform over the next few weeks? Their point lead on 8th place is tenuous, to put it mildly. Perhaps I really am a pessimist and not a realist, but I have serious doubts that the presence of Pegula and Boyes alone were enough to change an entire team culture of choking in such a short amount of time. There are still too many cancers on this team like Connolly, Pominville, etc. I agree on the part about us having to stepup for the games coming up and the 12 in 22 and 10 B2B. BUT the Pegula and Boyes factor is still there I believe...we seem to be getting hurt now, players not 100%...the mention of Vanek not being 100% is something of a concern. I dont think he is 100% at all, nor is Stafford...we need these guys for the playoffs and they are workin their ###### off. As for Tim and Pommers...I have no idea about Pommers but Tim should have gone but w/ DR out for the year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FogBat Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 For those fans wearing rose-colored glasses and quick to offer the fatigue excuse, here's the reality: starting this Saturday, the Sabres will have to play 12 games in 22 days, 10 of which are back-to-backs. If these guys were too tired to get it up for such a critical game tonight with 48 hours rest, how are they going to perform over the next few weeks? Their point lead on 8th place is tenuous, to put it mildly. Perhaps I really am a pessimist and not a realist, but I have serious doubts that the presence of Pegula and Boyes alone were enough to change an entire team culture of choking in such a short amount of time. There are still too many cancers on this team like Connolly, Pominville, etc. I think that a lot of people were hoping for a Ty Pennington-type of Extreme Makeover to happen overnight. Whoever thought this had some really unrealistic expectations. Seems to me that Pegula knows what's supposed to happen. However, we can't just wave a magic wand over a problem and expect immediate results. (If you want that, go call one of the nutjob "faith healers" over at TBN.) Granted, every one of us would like to see some dramatic personnel changes (and I'm sure they're bound to happen over time). But we have to also remember that Tightwad Tom and LQ aren't here to call the shots anymore. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robviously Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 For those fans wearing rose-colored glasses and quick to offer the fatigue excuse, here's the reality: starting this Saturday, the Sabres will have to play 12 games in 22 days, 10 of which are back-to-backs. If these guys were too tired to get it up for such a critical game tonight with 48 hours rest, how are they going to perform over the next few weeks? Their point lead on 8th place is tenuous, to put it mildly. Perhaps I really am a pessimist and not a realist, but I have serious doubts that the presence of Pegula and Boyes alone were enough to change an entire team culture of choking in such a short amount of time. There are still too many cancers on this team like Connolly, Pominville, etc. This next game is going to be HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaLaLaFontaine Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Tonight we lost a4point game. We have another one against Carolina left. This we will loose too. It seems to be that tey own us. Nevertheless we have the playoffs in our hands, if we can do it we really earned them. LaLaLaFontaine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristian Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 At least they won't have to worry about home ice, should they make the playoffs. Brutal home record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Did anyone else get the feeling that the Sabres were out-gameplanned last night? It seemed like Carolina was very successful in solving our D zone breakouts. They had answers for most of our faceoff plays. And they did a pretty decent job of keeping us at the perimeter for stretches. And of course, the PP was ineffectual. Again. It looked to me like Carolina knew what this team was going to do before we did it. My understanding is that during the grind of the regular season there isn't much individual team gameplanning but in the playoffs team tendencies are broken down and tactics developed to counter them. It certainly appears to me that Maurice treated this like a playoff game and gameplanned for it. Lindy may not have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvelo Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Buffalo must lead the league in failed clearing attempts. Don't they ever learn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 They just looked tired last night. Didn't go to the net enough, Boyes disappeared, Stafford was back to his old shrinking violet self and they their passes were off. Sekera didn't have any legs and you could go on. They just looked disjointed despite the fact that they tried to push through it. The effort was there, but the follow through was weak. It showed especially on their shots... no zip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Being reported on other message boards that during his press conference, Lindy stated that he told the team to cut down on physical play because Carolina is diving. :wallbash: So how were they supposed to win? Ice Capades style? He ain't going nowhere! Could Lindy's defenders please explain this quote to me? What is he going to tell them come playoff time when the going gets a lot tougher? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derrico Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 For those fans wearing rose-colored glasses and quick to offer the fatigue excuse, here's the reality: starting this Saturday, the Sabres will have to play 12 games in 22 days, 10 of which are back-to-backs. If these guys were too tired to get it up for such a critical game tonight with 48 hours rest, how are they going to perform over the next few weeks? Their point lead on 8th place is tenuous, to put it mildly. Perhaps I really am a pessimist and not a realist, but I have serious doubts that the presence of Pegula and Boyes alone were enough to change an entire team culture of choking in such a short amount of time. There are still too many cancers on this team like Connolly, Pominville, etc. I didn't think they had a terrible game. In my opinion Ward was unbelievable and it's not like we didn't have any chances to score. Thought we played very poorly the first ten minutes of the game but were even if not the better team after that. I'll agree with you on Connolly and Pommers but we played good enough to atleast get a point and easily could have won that game had it not been for their tender. Just out of curiosity, who's going to be the whiping goat next season? Surely the Tin Man will be gone and I'm not sure where all the negative energy will be directed to. It's starting to look like Pomminstein.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R_Dudley Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Did anyone else get the feeling that the Sabres were out-gameplanned last night? It seemed like Carolina was very successful in solving our D zone breakouts. They had answers for most of our faceoff plays. And they did a pretty decent job of keeping us at the perimeter for stretches. And of course, the PP was ineffectual. Again. It looked to me like Carolina knew what this team was going to do before we did it. My understanding is that during the grind of the regular season there isn't much individual team gameplanning but in the playoffs team tendencies are broken down and tactics developed to counter them. It certainly appears to me that Maurice treated this like a playoff game and gameplanned for it. Lindy may not have? Good post. I agree with this assessment and even the VS announcers talked about Carolina using the half wall on PP's against Bflo's pk. I'll bet Carolina scouted the OTT game and believe they did prepare a specific game plan while Bflo did not. Additional scouting/coaches is something I think PEGS can afford to do for Buffalo w/o worrying about the cap. I hope they are looking at it if they have not already started. That said Bflo still had more than their fair share of chances to score and win this game w/o specific game planning, I don't think the line up changes are helping the cause either as IMO Boyes makes a better winger then center and I am pretty sure we have other forwards still playing hurt e.g Vanek, Stafford. My last observation is that Mancari played some good physical hockey last night it is a shame if as may have been reported Lindy told the players to stop being physical cause Canes were diving. I personally think Bflo plays better when they play with that edge vs w/o it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallawaySabres Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Miller outplayed Ward and it wasn't even close. Carolina had so many 1 on ones with Miller and he stopped every one. Our guys were shooting blindly and a little kick here and a little kick there was pretty much all Ward had to do. I expect to see Miller in the net Saturday and Sunday after a big rest and hopefully this rest will jump start the team for the final playoff push. People have to remember that Carolina had been crapping the bed MUCH worse than the Sabres recently and they needed this game even more. No game is going to be a gimme and I would be shocked if Buffalo didn't win both games this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craze Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 I personally don't think that the team looked that bad last night. I've seen worse this year and I've seen them win playing worse. They did have 40 shots and yes they weren't great shots but that at least means they were spending some time in the zone. I actually thought Connolly played well which is a shocker. They just couldn't finish anything. I think if Vanek had just deposited the puck after that great move, it would have broken things Buffalo's way. 99% of the time I'm not in the "we didn't get any bounces or breaks" camp but in this one, they just needed one lucky bounce to break the ice. Certainly a dissapointing result but I think they can come back from this. They do still control their own destiny and who would have thought that a couple of weeks ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CallawaySabres Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Just a little tidbit from a conversation with Ted Black last night - "Boyes was NOT the guy we were going after although we are happy to have him. We were going after something much bigger. Big changes are coming soon." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Just a little tidbit from a conversation with Ted Black last night - "Boyes was NOT the guy we were going after although we are happy to have him. We were going after something much bigger. Big changes are coming soon." Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 once again, why the hell is the top official even trying to make that call!? they got it right, but i have never seen a call get reversed in an NHL game...these guys are clearly flustered.. The low guy watches the puck and the high ref looks for calls. That's how it always works. So that was a pretty miserable game last night. I thought both teams looked awful. The shot stat was misleading since Buffalo was taking a lot of soft wristers from the perimeter. Luckily that one's out of the way because I'd rather not watch another game as boring as that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Just a little tidbit from a conversation with Ted Black last night - "Boyes was NOT the guy we were going after although we are happy to have him. We were going after something much bigger. Big changes are coming soon." SCHWING!!! GO SABRES!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Tough loss last night but I have no problem with the effort or Miller. It was just one of those nights where Cam Ward was not letting anything in, period. Carolina is always a thorn in our side. They seem to win the big games vs. Buffalo dating back to that epic playoff series and Ward > Miller when they go head to head. Hopefully Carolina craps the bed against the Leafs, Islanders and Sens their next 3 games. Luckily they have 5 more games against Southeast Division rivals which is not an easy division this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realist Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 So that was a pretty miserable game last night. I thought both teams looked awful. The shot stat was misleading since Buffalo was taking a lot of soft wristers from the perimeter. Luckily that one's out of the way because I'd rather not watch another game as boring as that one. This is exactly what I saw last night. They had one good 5 minute spurt in the 1st period where Ward came up huge and that was it. Sure they had 40 shots, but how many were from almost impossible angles. There was no sustained pressure. They took the shot and Carolina took it right back out. Buffalo gets it back, takes a shot, and it comes right back out. Usually those games are exciting end to end back and forth hockey, not this one. Most shots were taken from far out or impossible angles and no one was ever in front for a rebound. And if you're afraid to play tough because the other team has been diving lately, then that diving strategy for the Canes worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 Just a little tidbit from a conversation with Ted Black last night - "Boyes was NOT the guy we were going after although we are happy to have him. We were going after something much bigger. Big changes are coming soon." ...shhh don't tell people that. They will start being negative and talking about Indian food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 16, 2011 Report Share Posted March 16, 2011 This is exactly what I saw last night. They had one good 5 minute spurt in the 1st period where Ward came up huge and that was it. Sure they had 40 shots, but how many were from almost impossible angles. There was no sustained pressure. They took the shot and Carolina took it right back out. Buffalo gets it back, takes a shot, and it comes right back out. Usually those games are exciting end to end back and forth hockey, not this one. Most shots were taken from far out or impossible angles and no one was ever in front for a rebound. And if you're afraid to play tough because the other team has been diving lately, then that diving strategy for the Canes worked. Quick draw won back to Mancari lined up just behind the hash mark. Quick wrist shot. Wash, rinse, repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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