Confirmed: Miller may play this weekend

[spndnchz]

My points about Miller being out:

 

1) I'd rather have him play than Enroth.

 

2) I'd like to see him with the team, like Kaleta it keeps the spirit up.

 

3) I'm not worried about Enroth's play

 

4) The team plays well in front of Enroth, less defensive pinching. This works well against a team like Washington that hasn't been scoring 'much' this year. A low scoring game, or a game where you don't need 4 goals to win. A team like Tampa I would think you see more piinching because Tampa scores more.

 

5) We all know Ruff doesn't like to mess with what works. If Enroth wins in Washington, we see him Sunday.

 

6) I'd rather have a slightly tired Enroth than a LaLime.

 

7) Miller being out is no excuse not to win and IDT TPegs would say it is/was.

[Stoner]

My points about Miller being out:

 

1) I'd rather have him play than Enroth.

 

2) I'd like to see him with the team, like Kaleta it keeps the spirit up.

 

3) I'm not worried about Enroth's play

 

4) The team plays well in front of Enroth, less defensive pinching. This works well against a team like Washington that hasn't been scoring 'much' this year. A low scoring game, or a game where you don't need 4 goals to win. A team like Tampa I would think you see more piinching because Tampa scores more.

 

5) We all know Ruff doesn't like to mess with what works. If Enroth wins in Washington, we see him Sunday.

 

6) I'd rather have a slightly tired Enroth than a LaLime.

 

7) Miller being out is no excuse not to win and IDT TPegs would say it is/was.

 

7. He's on record as suggesting Miller's injury is the reason the Sabres missed the playoffs in 08-09.

[darksabre]

What nonsense, except yours in this post?

 

Who said "freebie" was a jab at Miller?

 

I wasn't aiming my comment at you specifically, but since you seem to be looking over your shoulder like every Amherst mom on Main Street expecting to get mugged, then let us.

 

The games you play in these threads are fantastic. You make posts that on their face seem to be rebuttals or contradictions to others, but you purposely leave out little pieces that would cause your opinion to fall one way or another, so that if anyone calls you on it you can say "Oh, I didn't actually say that." or "This is my real opinion now that you've provided me plenty of material to make an argument out of."

 

It's astounding. You would drive some of the best lawyers in the world up a wall. The way you structure posts in order to trap other posters into pre-meditated discourse is genius. Which is why I don't even bother trying to discuss anything with you once you're whipped into a frenzy, because it's a complete waste of energy to try and determine what you're actually saying, or thinking, on the other side of the computer screen. And this isn't an insult. It's me bowing to your labyrinth of a mind out of respect. You've made an internet career out of being impossible.

 

Conn Sonar, Crazy Ivan!

[spndnchz]

7. He's on record as suggesting Miller's injury is the reason the Sabres missed the playoffs in 08-09.

 

My point:

 

Miller's injury and having LaLime play is one thing.

Miller's injury and Enroth playing, different story.

[LET"S GO BUFFALO]

What do you think is the more pressing need for the Sabres: #1 center or #2 goalie? Or are you one of the FNG geniuses who thinks the Sabres can get Malkin for Pommer and Hecht?

 

First thing I know the Sabres and they don't usually trade away the top talent for other players...this team is mostly home grown...I would not want malkin on my team...if we are going big we should be making a push for Inginla...this is the only player we should try to give up top talent for because he is all around the best player that would perhaps be available

[LGR4GM]

7. He's on record as suggesting Miller's injury is the reason the Sabres missed the playoffs in 08-09.

Miller's injury is totally the reason we missed the playoffs then and we all know it. Not to mention we sucked as a team because we are unable to trade for or acquire the center talent we need to compete.

[LET"S GO BUFFALO]

My point:

 

Miller's injury and having LaLime play is one thing.

Miller's injury and Enroth playing, different story.

 

 

Thank you...Enroth is the first goalie i can remember since maybe Biron ( and I have more confidence in Enroth then Biron) that I didn't feel really made are chances of winning much less likely then our number one goal tender...Enroth will give you a chance to win every night and that is about all you can ask from a goalie

[darksabre]

Thank you...Enroth is the first goalie i can remember since maybe Biron ( and I have more confidence in Enroth then Biron) that I didn't feel really made are chances of winning much less likely then our number one goal tender...Enroth will give you a chance to win every night and that is about all you can ask from a goalie

 

Enroth's sample size is much too small to back that notion up yet. Give him 20-30 more games and let's see what his numbers look like. If he's the next Cory Schneider then I'm in.

[LET"S GO BUFFALO]

Enroth's sample size is much too small to back that notion up yet. Give him 20-30 more games and let's see what his numbers look like. If he's the next Cory Schneider then I'm in.

 

That's an adequate argument...my thoughts are based on two things...in his 7 or so games this season(sorry to stat nuts i dont have the exact number) He has either taken us to OT or lost by a goal ( besides his first game but im not counting that based on i havent seen that occur since)...that is pretty substantial to me enough for me to say that he gives us a chance to win every night...second as a fan I feel that he holds my confidence, beyond that of Lalime or even Biron did in the past...I feel that we are not at any disadvantage against Washington tomorrow at all

[cdexchange]

WGR just officially posted it to their FB feed...Miller not on plane.

[wjag]

WGR just officially posted it to their FB feed...Miller not on plane.

 

Okay I'm officially worried.

[spndnchz]

WGR just officially posted it to their FB feed...Miller not on plane.

 

Vogl saying the same thing. SO LR says he'll be there with the team (never said he'd play) but he's not on the plane. So maybe he's driving? That would lend more to concussion/can't fly.

 

I <3 a good soap opera.

[nfreeman]

7. He's on record as suggesting Miller's injury is the reason the Sabres missed the playoffs in 08-09.

Do you disagree?

 

Perhaps a better way of asking is whether the Sabres would have made it if Miller hadn't been injured.

 

Now, you may think that the team was inherently weak that year, and should have been strong enough to withstand Miller's injury, since every team gets hit with injuries, but the bottom line is that the Sabres weren't strong enough without him that year.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

My point:

 

Miller's injury and having LaLime play is one thing.

Miller's injury and Enroth playing, different story.

 

Today it is.....come next Friday?

 

As much as I lambaste Ruff for burning out Miller....you need to put your guy in there at the end. I think the Sabres have a better chance with Miller. Maybe we get lucky and there aren't enough games for Enroth or the team to figure out they are doomed and it will be a fun story ala Steve Shields. I just find it crazy that consensus seems to be you aren't any worse off playing Enroth.

 

What if the storyline on Monday is, Sabres down a point....Lalime to start next game? It isn't out of the realm of possibility.

[thesportsbuff]

What if the storyline on Monday is, Sabres down a point....Lalime to start next game? It isn't out of the realm of possibility.

 

thats when i put a bullet thru my brain and call it a season

[LET"S GO BUFFALO]

Today it is.....come next Friday?

 

As much as I lambaste Ruff for burning out Miller....you need to put your guy in there at the end. I think the Sabres have a better chance with Miller. Maybe we get lucky and there aren't enough games for Enroth or the team to figure out they are doomed and it will be a fun story ala Steve Shields. I just find it crazy that consensus seems to be you aren't any worse off playing Enroth.

 

What if the storyline on Monday is, Sabres down a point....Lalime to start next game? It isn't out of the realm of possibility.

 

 

It somewhat is to me because there is no way that Enroth plays poorly enough in 2 games for Lalime to be our only option... that would mean we get smoked by a team and Enroth is pulled in a game...I just don't see our defense in these must win games letting that happen or Enroth playing that poorly and if it does then we probably don't deserve to be in the playoffs and Miller would not be the reason that we would have been there

[wjag]

Today it is.....come next Friday?

 

As much as I lambaste Ruff for burning out Miller....you need to put your guy in there at the end. I think the Sabres have a better chance with Miller. Maybe we get lucky and there aren't enough games for Enroth or the team to figure out they are doomed and it will be a fun story ala Steve Shields. I just find it crazy that consensus seems to be you aren't any worse off playing Enroth.

 

What if the storyline on Monday is, Sabres down a point....Lalime to start next game? It isn't out of the realm of possibility.

 

I get your point. I clearly think Miller is a better option. But as I said previously, I think Enroth could be "protected" against Washington. I don't think the Sabres can keep doing that though. Teams will adjust. Washington will want to push. A good defense could play a disciplined enough game to keep the Sabres in it. As X pointed out, the Washington D is a bit under manned.

 

I don't think the same coccoon strategy will work against Carolina. The Staal line will crack that defense. They are more deliberate and have more patience. I'd rather see Miller in there and a full court press against Carolina.

 

I think they should sell out to beat Washington and hope the Isles do us a solid.

 

That sure puts a dent in the euphoria of the NYR win.

[Robviously]

Do you disagree?

 

Perhaps a better way of asking is whether the Sabres would have made it if Miller hadn't been injured.

 

Now, you may think that the team was inherently weak that year, and should have been strong enough to withstand Miller's injury, since every team gets hit with injuries, but the bottom line is that the Sabres weren't strong enough without him that year.

I don't know if they would have even made it with him healthy. Their plan for that year, just like their plan last year, was to run Miller into the ground hoping he could be the reason they slipped into the playoffs. They never seem to consider that him having him start as many games as humanly possible could result in performance issues due to fatigue (physical or mental) or injury.

 

The point is this: Their plan sucked. I hated hearing Quinn and Regier whine about Miller's injury when the point is that they built a bad team and were counting on a goalie starting 75 games to get into the playoffs. And then, what, win the Stanley Cup that way? What a joke.

 

And these are the same imbeciles who re-signed a back-up goalie that they have so little faith in, that they don't want to let him play in games EVER.

 

I hope Pegula comes up with an actual plan to win this team a Stanley Cup. The whole "Play Ryan Miller 75 Times a Year" thing that Golisano/Quinn/Regier/Ruff came up with was just plain stupid.

[Taro T]

I don't know if they would have even made it with him healthy. Their plan for that year, just like their plan last year, was to run Miller into the ground hoping he could be the reason they slipped into the playoffs. They never seem to consider that him having him start as many games as humanly possible could result in performance issues due to fatigue (physical or mental) or injury.

 

The point is this: Their plan sucked. I hated hearing Quinn and Regier whine about Miller's injury when the point is that they built a bad team and were counting on a goalie starting 75 games to get into the playoffs. And then, what, win the Stanley Cup that way? What a joke.

 

And these are the same imbeciles who re-signed a back-up goalie that they have so little faith in, that they don't want to let him play in games EVER.

 

I hope Pegula comes up with an actual plan to win this team a Stanley Cup. The whole "Play Ryan Miller 75 Times a Year" thing that Golisano/Quinn/Regier/Ruff came up with was just plain stupid.

I'm expecting that that particular plan (the goalie portion of it at any rate) for next year already is in place. Miller plays 57-62 and Enroth plays 20-25 is what I'm expecting.

 

 

And my 2 cents on the current injury, I'm not happy that he isn't travelling w/ the team (if that in fact is true). But I have no problem at all with them NOT stating what the injury is. I'm pretty certain he's been fighting an injury to his left shoulder most of the season and had just recently started to recover from it. Last week he could actually catch the puck (which he hadn't done very often, at least not cleanly), by the time Phaneuf shot 2 minutes in, he couldn't. I don't recall him getting it banged against the Devils, but wonder if he didn't hurt it then and then REALLY hurt it when Phaneuf took the shot in the 3rd. If his shoulder is messed up and he WON'T be catching the puck / moving his catching arm well; I definitely don't want to give teams that are already planning on shooting there any more reason to do so.

 

If his shoulder is injured, keep playing Enroth until the shoulder is recovered or until a 80-90% Miller is deemed to be better than a 100% Enroth. As I've posted before, I really hate playing the starter when he's injured when there is a healthy quality backup.

[nfreeman]

First thing I know the Sabres and they don't usually trade away the top talent for other players...this team is mostly home grown...I would not want malkin on my team...if we are going big we should be making a push for Inginla...this is the only player we should try to give up top talent for because he is all around the best player that would perhaps be available

Well, you may or may not agree that things are different under TP than they were under TG/LQ, but if you want to bring in a guy like Iginla (which I agree would be a great move, although next to impossible unless they unload Pommer because Iginla makes $7MM per year), it's going to cost a young player with star potential like Enroth -- although in this case not Enroth because Calgary has Kipper. So maybe Ennis or Kassian.

 

In any case, I take it you've backed off the assertion that Miller's injury is a fake designed to conceal a benching?

 

Today it is.....come next Friday?

 

As much as I lambaste Ruff for burning out Miller....you need to put your guy in there at the end. I think the Sabres have a better chance with Miller. Maybe we get lucky and there aren't enough games for Enroth or the team to figure out they are doomed and it will be a fun story ala Steve Shields. I just find it crazy that consensus seems to be you aren't any worse off playing Enroth.

 

What if the storyline on Monday is, Sabres down a point....Lalime to start next game? It isn't out of the realm of possibility.

I agree that it's crazy, although it's far from a consensus. If pressed I suspect fewer than 5 posters here would say this.

 

You're quite right that the Sabres are far from out of the woods. They're 3 points away from nowhere and heading into a very tough 4-game stretch. Enroth could easily fall off the table this weekend, as could the Sabres' up-and-down defense corps.

 

I don't know if they would have even made it with him healthy. Their plan for that year, just like their plan last year, was to run Miller into the ground hoping he could be the reason they slipped into the playoffs. They never seem to consider that him having him start as many games as humanly possible could result in performance issues due to fatigue (physical or mental) or injury.

 

The point is this: Their plan sucked. I hated hearing Quinn and Regier whine about Miller's injury when the point is that they built a bad team and were counting on a goalie starting 75 games to get into the playoffs. And then, what, win the Stanley Cup that way? What a joke.

 

And these are the same imbeciles who re-signed a back-up goalie that they have so little faith in, that they don't want to let him play in games EVER.

 

I hope Pegula comes up with an actual plan to win this team a Stanley Cup. The whole "Play Ryan Miller 75 Times a Year" thing that Golisano/Quinn/Regier/Ruff came up with was just plain stupid.

While I don't really agree that their plan was to ride Miller (I think it was essentially not to lose money and to make do with what they had), I agree 100% with the bolded part.

 

I also think TP fully intends on going after the cup hard, and that Sabres fans are going to be happy with his efforts.

[LGR4GM]

tpegs and black have already indicated stuff is going to change majorily this summer and that includes players going away because they are slackers. Miller is getting a backup and it will probably be enroth and the sabres will get some centers because cup contender currently does not equal buffalo sabres. Winning is not a goal it is a belief so be patient

[Taro T]

tpegs and black have already indicated stuff is going to change majorily this summer and that includes players going away because they are slackers. Miller is getting a backup and it will probably be enroth and the sabres will get some centers because cup contender currently does not equal buffalo sabres. Winning is not a goal it is a belief so be patient

While I really do like that quote I can't help but think it could be interpreted literally into a 'if we believe we're winning, then we are.' :huh: (It works for the Panthers, right? ;))

 

I think the quote would have been stronger if it were something more along the lines of 'winning is not a goal, it's a culture.'

[LGR4GM]

While I really do like that quote I can't help but think it could be interpreted literally into a 'if we believe we're winning, then we are.' :huh: (It works for the Panthers, right? ;))

 

I think the quote would have been stronger if it were something more along the lines of 'winning is not a goal, it's a culture.'

I would be more worried if Black wasn't the president and if the sabres hadnt seriously considered moving tc but kept him because of center issues. The reason for existence is to win the stanley cup.

[thesportsbuff]

While I really do like that quote I can't help but think it could be interpreted literally into a 'if we believe we're winning, then we are.' :huh: (It works for the Panthers, right? ;))

 

I think the quote would have been stronger if it were something more along the lines of 'winning is not a goal, it's a culture.'

 

I've hated that quote since the beginning. I've just attributed to the fact that TP is clearly not a great public speaker. Same with the "Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup."

 

But it's all good as long as he's got deep pockets!

[BuffalOhio]

I don't think this is a concussion, at all. The Rolston shot wasn't that bad. I think he either bruised or chipped his collarbone on the Phaneuf shot, and now it's swollen and sore. Just my guess. I'm definitely concerned, but not as much as I would be if Lalime was going to play (gaaaaaahhhhh!).

 

Although a concussion might be a shorter-term injury at this point. Crap!