blugold43 Posted March 17, 2006 Report Posted March 17, 2006 i respect the hockey knowledge here, so please discuss. i still think we needed a bad-ass stand up defenseman or two like hatcher or chara. of course, if they continue to call penalties maybe we'll be ok....hmm.... :huh:
deluca67 Posted March 17, 2006 Report Posted March 17, 2006 i respect the hockey knowledge here, so please discuss. i still think we needed a bad-ass stand up defenseman or two like hatcher or chara. of course, if they continue to call penalties maybe we'll be ok....hmm.... :huh: They have all they need. They roll four lines. They have great special teams. They have very good goaltending. They are playing and beating teams that are fighting for their playoff lives.
Rock DJ Posted March 17, 2006 Report Posted March 17, 2006 I also would have liked to pick up another defenseman. But if Kalinin continues to play like everyone knows he can, then it will be essentially the same thing. Saturday night will be a very telling game. The battle for first will have almost the same pressure as the playoffs. This team certainly has all the pieces in place to make a solid run. Sabres last 10 - 8-1-1 Sens last 10 - 8-1-1
inkman Posted March 17, 2006 Report Posted March 17, 2006 They have all they need. They roll four lines. They have great special teams. They have very good goaltending. They are playing and beating teams that are fighting for their playoff lives. I'll be interested in seeing if the style of play that is currently being upheld will also be allowed in the playoffs. The NHL has a way of shooting itself in the foot and I could see them reverting to the old clutch-n-grab style pre-lockout. If that happens, the Sabres aren't big and strong enough to fight through the BS. If the current style of play does fly in the post season, then this team should fair well barring any injuries.
Knightrider Posted March 17, 2006 Report Posted March 17, 2006 Since the break, they're playing a game nearly every other night, which is similar to the playoffs. The games with the Bruins were pretty much Boston's playoffs. Same thing with the two games with Toronto, and the games with Tampa, and Atlanta... They lost only one of those. They're young, which means they should be in better condition, and no one player getting injured will ruin their chances. That's been proven time and time again this season. Yeah, I'd say they were built for the playoffs.
blugold43 Posted March 17, 2006 Author Report Posted March 17, 2006 I'll be interested in seeing if the style of play that is currently being upheld will also be allowed in the playoffs. The NHL has a way of shooting itself in the foot and I could see them reverting to the old clutch-n-grab style pre-lockout. If that happens, the Sabres aren't big and strong enough to fight through the BS. If the current style of play does fly in the post season, then this team should fair well barring any injuries. i guess that is my concern...hopefully the league realizes what a good thing they have created by enforcing their own rules. if they stop doing it because the playoffs are "different," we're in trouble. i think this team has as good a chance as any the way the game is being called right now. if the refs put their whistles away, we could easily go out in the first round.
topshelfcookies Posted March 17, 2006 Report Posted March 17, 2006 I absolutley feel that this team is built for the playoffs, for many of the same reasons mentioned above. It's still puzzling to me as to why people are so apprehensive about the League and officials simply pocketing their whistltes come playoff time. The instances where officials would simply not call anything deep into the third period, or during tight games have been few and far between. I think the NHL realizes that for them to once again gain notoriety in the US, having a fast-paced, high scoring playoffs with open skating and very little clutching and grabbing is essential. I think that this year's playoffs will be outstanding. Every "big" game I've seen this year, be it one the Sabres are playing in, or games on Hockey Night in Canada, has had some great skating, but also a good dose of physical intensity. That being said, the Sabres have proved that they can play a variety of games. There isn't any one type of game that suits the Sabres well. The '99 team relied so heavily on Dom, that if a team somehow ever managed to go up by 2 goals, it felt as if it was lights out. These Sabres can win tight checking defensive games (like last night vs a desperate Toronto team), a wide-open shootout (the Philly and Tampa games from last week), games where their PP is clicking (3-6 vs Boston the other night) and games where their PP isn't "on". The Sabres are currently the 4th best offense in the league (Goals/Game)! 4th!!!!! They're the best team in the East at coming from behind, and seem to be lights out when scoring 1st as well. These guys have shown an ability to win in just about every type of situation, vs every team in the league. Last night on the postgame show, someone asked how far this team needs to get before you don't feel disappointed in their season. When the host said "Win the Cup" I was a bit taken back at first...it seems so huge to say that. But who do you see beating us in a 7 game series?
Stoner Posted March 17, 2006 Report Posted March 17, 2006 Maybe the concern isn't so much that the league will, as a policy, order that the games be called differently in the playoffs, but that you'll have some rogue referee who, at the worst possible time, will just say to himself, "Oh, hell no, I'm not going to let a power play decide Game 7 of the conference finals (or the Cup finals)," the consequences for him professionally be damned. Some of these guys are old-time purists -- can a skunk change his stripe? And if you think that's a conspiracy theory, I give you Don Koharski's "warning" to Darius Kasparaitis late in Game 7 against the Pens in 2001.
Taro T Posted March 18, 2006 Report Posted March 18, 2006 Maybe the concern isn't so much that the league will, as a policy, order that the games be called differently in the playoffs, but that you'll have some rogue referee who, at the worst possible time, will just say to himself, "Oh, hell no, I'm not going to let a power play decide Game 7 of the conference finals (or the Cup finals)," the consequences for him professionally be damned. Some of these guys are old-time purists -- can a skunk change his stripe? And if you think that's a conspiracy theory, I give you Don Koharski's "warning" to Darius Kasparaitis late in Game 7 against the Pens in 2001. My guess is that as the playoffs go on, the refs that get to move on to the next rounds will be the ones calling games the tightest. So I don't expect to see Koharski past the 1st round, if he even gets in. He is still hit or miss terrible.
bob_sauve28 Posted March 18, 2006 Report Posted March 18, 2006 They have all they need. They roll four lines. They have great special teams. They have very good goaltending. They are playing and beating teams that are fighting for their playoff lives. I'll add something else. Since I turned 30 a few years back I noticed the body does not let you do the same things it could once do. The Sabres are young and hungry. Those battles in the corner, that extra long shift and that mental advantage gained from being in tip top shape really means the difference in many cases to winning and losing. i respect the hockey knowledge here, so please discuss. i still think we needed a bad-ass stand up defenseman or two like hatcher or chara. of course, if they continue to call penalties maybe we'll be ok....hmm.... :huh: Also, I'd say, what about the other top teams? They played well in this NHL. Are we expecting a Philly or New Jersey to suddenly turn into the best playoff team? I have a hard time seeing that.
Bring Back Sanderson Posted March 18, 2006 Report Posted March 18, 2006 My guess is that as the playoffs go on, the refs that get to move on to the next rounds will be the ones calling games the tightest. So I don't expect to see Koharski past the 1st round, if he even gets in. He is still hit or miss terrible. Great point, something I never considered. I hope that will be the case. Add Scumbag Marouelli to the list with Koharski. However, if the calling of the games isn't tight, I do think Buffalo has some problems...they're just not as physical as most teams in the Conference and that showed last night vs Toronto. Maybe it's because Toronto was desparate, I don't know...and I know Buffalo still won, even with the brutal officiating...but I do fear that in a 7 game series that is that physical (even if it's clean physical play), Sabres would start dropping like flies. There's no way to prove it one way or the other right now, but until it's discredited it's a valid concern.
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