First Time I Can Remember

[WanderingEye]

Any discussion I see of the players on the ice not wanting to fight Lucic because he's too tough instantly reminds me of Stafford stepping up to Neil after the Drury hit. Stafford had no prayer of winning that fight but he went for it anyway to send a message that the entire team was going to stick up for each other no matter who they were. That was what was missing. They don't need to be a team of goons but at least put in more effort than the half hearted "lemme at him" act that took place.

[HopefulFuture]

Actually, you make no sense. If an individual decides that there is something else they would prefer to be doing instead of watching a Sabres game, then they are more than welcome to do so. Last time I checked, people are allowed to have opinions and feelings, and are allowed to act freely in a free society. Dismissing his complaint that he is discouraged and lacked desire to watch the team at the moment doesn't make him a bad fan, it makes you irrational and close-minded.

Funny you should state this last part.

Not that I agree with the poster who states your not a true fan, but I can remember a thread I started about the Enroth vs Miller debate and how I was of the "opinion" that Miller was expendable, but I ran across alot of irrational and close-minded posts myself, your included.....interesting, interesting indeed.

 

Let me ask you something serious, are your posts built to suit the situation, or are they actually original thoughts?

Serious question by the way given what I've run across here.

 

And I was one of the folks that gave your post here a thumbs up, because I happen to agree.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

You know I'm disgusted as well. I live right by bean town and so many bruin fans are busting my chops it's crazy. I'm so sick to know that the team will not stand up for each other. I bet Lindy was sick to see the team just let it happen. What I want to know is what is being said behind closed doors. Is this a sign to Ryan that he needs to pick it up or are they really this soft? You know for years the Sabres have been labeled as soft. I really hope Kassian and that group of young guys are listening and reading that their team is considered soft with no backbone. I will not wear my Sabres jersey until I feel they started to get a pair. This does not make me not a fan, but the opposite. A team or franchise needs to put out a product that paople want. If the Sabres are putting out a soft team, then yes they need to change the style. If the fans didn't bitch or complain then the slug would still be around...... The fans need to address this to Darcey and let him know we want a team with a pair. I realize they are winning and that is a good thing. But when the season really start s in April, how long do you think they will last getting pushed around like that. This team needs a couple good enforcers and that is the truth. McCormick has been called out along with Gaustead and Kaleta. What will they do about it? If it's any indication, Enroth was charged into as well against the Canadiens and again nothing was done. That has to change and the attitude of the Sabres needs to change NOW!

 

Welcome to the board.

 

I have not watched a Sabres or Bills game for about 10 years ... that is when I got rid of my TV ... it really is a waste of time.

 

I am still a Sabres fan though and have been for 40+ years.

 

As for the the highlighted part of your post ...

 

Enroth (IMHO) played Cole into the hit, in order to try to draw a penalty. That hit was nothing like the Miller hit and the Sabres response / lack of response was correct in that situation.

[Stormin Norman]

I think Darcy's plan was to build a tougher team through the draft. The Amerks right now have three heavyweights who should all be NHL players -- Kassian, Foligno, and McNabb. They might have a fourth if Riley Boychuk can be a fourth-line Cody McCormick type.

 

I think our timeline is out of whack right now because we went from rebuilding to trying to win the Cup in 2011-2012. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, Darcy does to toughen up this year's team before the playoffs.

 

I find this to be a very thoughtful post. I am not sure you can suddenly build a gritty lineup, even if you know it's a weakness. I admit impatience here, because two first-round exits speak volumes about our mental and physical fortitude for a playoff run.

[nbash]

Enroth (IMHO) played Cole into the hit, in order to try to draw a penalty. That hit was nothing like the Miller hit and the Sabres response / lack of response was correct in that situation.

 

Spoken like a man with no TV to watch a road game.

[darksabre]

Funny you should state this last part.

Not that I agree with the poster who states your not a true fan, but I can remember a thread I started about the Enroth vs Miller debate and how I was of the "opinion" that Miller was expendable, but I ran across alot of irrational and close-minded posts myself, your included.....interesting, interesting indeed.

 

Let me ask you something serious, are your posts built to suit the situation, or are they actually original thoughts?

Serious question by the way given what I've run across here.

 

And I was one of the folks that gave your post here a thumbs up, because I happen to agree.

 

None of my posts are irrational or close minded.

[korab rules]

None of my posts are irrational or close minded.

Its so typical and closed minded that you would think so.

[shrader]

None of my posts are irrational or close minded.

 

You may be dumb, but ######, you're not irrational or close minded. :D

[JJFIVEOH]

Thank you. It was like watching the game last night, and Milbury and Jones were all over the Sabres..could have sworn they were dead last in the NHL if I did not know better.Yes, i wish they would have responded, just so the endless drivel from internet tough guys, most who would quiver and hide at the thought of Lucic pounding them into submission(me included) would not have started.

 

My quite ample gut tells me this was a good test of adversity for the boys, they responded in the 3rd last night, and this will bring them tighter as a team. Great lesson in game 15..as opposed to game 4 in the ECF

 

I guess it's just BFLO's turn this week to get slammed by the media. When they get a story to focus on they run with it and usually go to extremes. It was sick listening to those guys on Versus. I was never a big fan of Milbury, now I'm even less (if that's possible). I think you're right, it might end up being a good thing that all this has happened in the last week. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

[JJFIVEOH]

I think you're missing the point here. This team can win games, hell, this team can probably win the division without changing anything. The problem a lot of fans have is that there seems to be a lack of courage and hard work on the team. And those two values are very important to the people of Buffalo.

 

I'm not missing the point. I've noticed the Sabres have been a little soft at times so far this year. Yet, they're still winning games. This team has so much talent that even when they play poorly they win. My point is that this whole situation has been blown out of proportion. The Boston game is done and over with, and yet the media took the opportunity to slam the Sabres because they have been playing poorly at times. Did anybody notice how Versus mentioned that the Sabres record is 11-6 and they are leading the division now? Neither did I......

 

That's the media's job to try and garnish ratings so they take a story and run with it. Every team has it's ups and downs where they don't play up to their potential. Wasn't it just a couple weeks ago when the media was talking about whether or not Julien should be fired? Wow, how things have changed. The media makes it out like the Sabres are in line with Columbus. Yet take a team like Vancouver whos Golden Boy Robbie Lou is sitting in 31st place in GAA and 34th in save %. Do you know who their leading scorer is? Up until the last game it was Christopher Higgins who was a 3rd line castoff by the Panthers. Do you hear about all this from the media? Not yet...... but you will. Soon as they get a story to run with they will take the opportunity to slam the Canucks.

 

This whole situation with the Sabres is not as bad as people make it out to be. It's just that when the national media gets involved the locals jump on their wagon because they seem to think the national media actually has some credibility. I got news for ya............ they don't. They don't make stories because they are legit, they make stories because it gets them ratings.

[darksabre]

Its so typical and closed minded that you would think so.

 

:oops:

 

My bad.

 

You may be dumb, but ######, you're not irrational or close minded. :D

 

Hey! I resemble that remark! :angry:

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Hahhahaha, it's funny. Everyone and their grandmothers have been all upset over how this team is 'soft' and don't have each other's backs. Some have even questioned the coach for this. Others are offended that the league is somehow 'laughing' at the Sabres for Saturday. So I thought, let's see what fans are talking about on other message boards. I feel that with Washington's goaltending they are now the true class of the east. So I Google Washington Capitals message board and selected the first one that comes up. The very top thread that is being discussed??

 

"Kind of Says it all". A quote from Ryan Carter who injured Mike Green "Usually if you run a guy like Green somebody will come up and say something. Nobody said anything to me"

 

Caps fans are having the exact same discussion that we are having about our team right now. Do I wish we had a tougher team? Absolutely! I just think that this is the 'new' NHL were you just don't see bench clearing brawls and 'an eye for an eye' like you would see back in the 70's, 80' and early 90's. We can sit here and discuss not watching this team or believe they are not that good but hey, this is your Buffalo Sabres. I have no problem with posters questioning the teams 'heart', strength or anything else. Of course real fans do that all the time, if you weren't a fan you wouldn't even be on this message board in the first place. But don't we think that some of the comments and threads made about how people aren't even watching the games is a little too far? If you're not happy with the Sabres response, I think it may be the NHL product you have issues with because according to this discussion fans of one of the best teams in the east feel the same way about their group too. Let's give it more than 17 games to stop watching this club. Sorry for the rant.

 

Washington IS the Sabres circa '06-'07.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

YOUR city and EVERYONE ELSE'S city is represented by a bunch of mercenaries. These players are no more Buffalo than Phil Kessel is Toronto or Ilya Kovalchuk is New Jersey. People look to these teams for entertainment and that's it. If anyone is looking to them for any sort of self-esteem boost, they're severely misguided.

 

Then why is anyone here?

 

 

Go to a Flyers board or a Coyotes board.

 

 

I am a Sabres fan because I was bred and born in Buffalo. They represent ME. Which is why I used to be so vocal as to how disgusted I was with them. I have no direct control over who the GM, coach or players are. My only control is my pockbook and my opinion, supported by facts.

 

Just like having a kid who is a crackhead and steals grandma's TV.....you're stuck with them forever.

[spndnchz]

The truth is, the Sabres' have pretty much always been built for and by talent and speed, and good gamemanship, all traits to be applauded and lauded. Unfortunately, the NHL has always been unable, or unwilling to protect it's star players, while letting goons dictate the next ugly situation. Hell, the Bruins lost Savard and then Horton to ugly hits, and did absolutely nothing in reply. They should know how cheap shots affect a team, but I do not feel Lucic and/or Chara are the brightest lights on the Christmas tree! I have to admit I do miss having a Rob Ray, Larry Playfair (who I loved) or even Andrew Peters (who was a good fighter til Lindy tried to get him to lose a whole bunch of weight and become a hockey player!). Truth is NO team has any reply for Lucic or Chara, and that will remain problematic for some time to come. In the meantime, the team has a good record considering that both individually and collectively, they have not played very well. With all the newcomers and changes, it will take time, but we can certainly look ahead to better days and better plays down the road. Still a damn good team in my books. And no, I am not embarrassed to be a Sabre fan. It's the NHL that should be embarrassed yet again...but then again, we should be use to Bettman and the rest of idiots running the sport.

 

Or told him to stop the 'roids.

 

And with this post ...

 

You are now back to square one ...

 

A zero / neutral rating ...

 

LGR 4 GM!!

 

Get a room.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Or told him to stop the 'roids.

 

I give him credit for coming public with the story.

 

What's Gaustad's excuse then?

[tom webster]

I give him credit for coming public with the story.

 

What's Gaustad's excuse then?

 

Like Schoenfeld before him, maturity, God and family sometimes change a man.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

Like Schoenfeld before him, maturity, God and family sometimes change a man.

 

No, I'm talking about the weight loss.

 

His first years here, he was bigger. He was a threat standing in front of the net on the PP and was hard to move. Lindy wanted him down to work on his skating so he could go two ways.

 

And sometimes "maturity" because of family is really just an excuse to not do the tough thing in defense of others because you are too selfish and don't want to risk what is your own. There's a reason our soldiers are the age they are.

[tom webster]

No, I'm talking about the weight loss.

 

His first years here, he was bigger. He was a threat standing in front of the net on the PP and was hard to move. Lindy wanted him down to work on his skating so he could go two ways.

 

And sometimes "maturity" because of family is really just an excuse to not do the tough thing in defense of others because you are too selfish and don't want to risk what is your own. There's a reason our soldiers are the age they are.

 

 

And sometimes like Schoenfeld said many years ago, you just don't want your kids thinking your a goon(just para-phrasing).

 

As for Gaustad, my explanation has always been the same. When a guy plays 8 mintes and makes a play or two everyone thinks that will correlate to 3 or 4 plays when they play 15 minutes. In my mind he's always been kind of the same and has plateaued(?) at what he will be. Everyone expecting Keith Primeau just has to accept.

[Ghost of Dwight Drane]

And sometimes like Schoenfeld said many years ago, you just don't want your kids thinking your a goon(just para-phrasing).

 

As for Gaustad, my explanation has always been the same. When a guy plays 8 mintes and makes a play or two everyone thinks that will correlate to 3 or 4 plays when they play 15 minutes. In my mind he's always been kind of the same and has plateaued(?) at what he will be. Everyone expecting Keith Primeau just has to accept.

 

I will be the first to admit I missed on him. But he was under mandate to get smaller.

 

And for Schonny....guys get old, make some money (not nearly as much in the old days), and lose a bit of passion and drive. Playfair was throwing them even when he was on fumes. We brought in Clark Gillies who was a HOF'r and he went ape for the team. If anything, he was the case of a guy maturing over time and understanding only a few are willing to do what needs to be done in uncomfortable situations, and sometimes that is much more valuable than just scoring goals.

[mamahides thecookies]

Hey thanks. I read the posts all the time but just started to get more invovled is all. I think they still should start to man up to these type of times and show a team effort is all I'm getting at.

[X. Benedict]

And sometimes like Schoenfeld said many years ago, you just don't want your kids thinking your a goon(just para-phrasing).

 

As for Gaustad, my explanation has always been the same. When a guy plays 8 mintes and makes a play or two everyone thinks that will correlate to 3 or 4 plays when they play 15 minutes. In my mind he's always been kind of the same and has plateaued(?) at what he will be. Everyone expecting Keith Primeau just has to accept.

A lot of it is this and

 

A 4th line wing playing corners for 4 shifts a period requires different conditioning than a 3rd line center playing 7 and covering the middle and working the top on PK.

[johnyvegas]

I was also surprised at how i felt as the Montreal game started. I found myself just not quite as excited for the game. Then not quite as fired up as we rallied late to tie it then win. I really thought that so far this season I had seen glimpses of them backing each other up, clearing the crease, protecting Miller and generally playing a bit more determined to not be the softies of the league. When Miller got ran and nothing happened, i just felt disappointment. Kind of like the disappointment you feel when your kid makes a bad choice. You don't love him any less, you'll always support him but it just funks you up for a while and then it takes some time and some better choices for you to gain your confidence and pride in them again.

 

Granted, this team is winning games but the Miller incident just shows this team has the same problem that it's had for years. Toughness. They can rack up regular season wins year after year but it becomes painfully obvious as soon as the puck drops on the first playoff game, that they just don't have the grit needed to win in the post season. I'm just not sure they have the personnel or the balls to make the right choices when it really matters.

 

And in one of the many threads on this topic i saw some suggesting that the Sabres showed class or took the 'high road' by not responding. Let me say that I love a clean game. I hate cheating, lying and dirty play. I hate when we have players like that on our team. But let's not kids ourself about what happened. If someone backs down from a fight due to their high moral standards or busts out with, "I'm a lover not a fighter".. 99% of the time it just means they're a pu$$.

 

I’d love to believe that this was the lesson, the galvanizing moment.. but we’ve seen it before haven’t we.. only time will tell.

[LastPommerFan]

YOUR city and EVERYONE ELSE'S city is represented by a bunch of mercenaries. These players are no more Buffalo than Phil Kessel is Toronto or Ilya Kovalchuk is New Jersey. People look to these teams for entertainment and that's it. If anyone is looking to them for any sort of self-esteem boost, they're severely misguided.

 

This comment has been bothering me all day (before you get all full of yourself, I drove for 9 hours today, and this happened to be one of the last things I read before I left)

 

As I was thinking about it, I realized, it doesn't matter where the players are from, because it's not about the individual players (95%+ of whom are not from buffalo). If the team plane went down in the everglades on the approach to Miami and everyone died (except Pommer, I can't bring myself to even imagine that), we'd all be heartbroken for the tragedy, but we'd come out even stronger in our love for the team at the next game they were able to field a team. That's because we're not necessarily a fan of the players (Except Pommer), we're a fan of the crest they wear. It's not the "mercenary" names on the back of the jersey that represent the city of Buffalo (and Rochester and western NY and Southern Ontario) it's the Beast and Swords on the front. That's why we get so upset when they don't live up to our values. They're wearing a logo that represents us. And when they put forth a performance like the one in Boston, they bring shame to a symbol (and for the last 5 years or so THE Symbol) of our hometowns. So I think it is reasonable to react the way we do. We want them to win, but beyond that, we want them to win FOR us, with our values. That's why we get emotional when we see the "Better Days" video. This town is tough. It's been through a lot, and we're hoping for our tough Hockey team, that's been through a lot (remember that plane crash?) to bring some better days, show us that even without the grain silos and steal mills and film factories, if we work hard, watch out for each other, and stay true to our values, we can still be champions.

[LGR4GM]

Look at the hits stats Ghost posted yesterday in one of the threads. Regher has an equal number of hits to the rest of the starting 5 defensemen, combined. Look at the number of times you see a player reaching for a puck rather than skating hard to it.

 

Are they working harder than I do at my job, probably. But they are not working nearly hard enough to live up to their collective potential.

There were 2 plays in the First period of the Montreal game. 1 where a guy was coming down the half wall and MAG went in with his stick and the guy blew past him and got a shot off. 2 in the exact same spot a guy got to the half-wall and BAM! Weber pasted him against the boards and guess what? the puck was recovered by the sabres and skated out of the zone... that is why i hate MAG as a defense and love Weber, that 1 play epitomizes the differences btw physical and soft.

[LGR4GM]

You obviously have no idea what's going on in FL. But, I digress.............

The Florida Panthers went out and got every available vet on the backside of his contract they could, to keep the cap hit up but the actual salary down, in an effort to get some known names into their arena and stimulate interest in a team that is built to be 7-11th seed every year with no possible ability to win a championship unless current and future draft picks magically turn into guys like Stamkos, Toews, or Crosby... But, I digress..........

 

 

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." Thomas Jefferson 1776 -

It translates to being a fan in this way. If your team is content to be mediocre and not achieve the ultimate goal (a championship) then it is your right as a fan of that team to stop spending money on it, stop watching it, stop caring about it, until a new direction is taken by that team.

 

If the Sabres had gone out this summer and traded Stafford, Roy, Miller and whoever else and got a bunch of 1st rounders with the intent to rebuild and create a champion because they felt it was the best way to do it, then I as a fan would have suffered through a year or 2 or 3 of meh because on the horizon was the prospect and the goal of winning a cup. That is what makes Pegula such a lovable owner, he wants to win the stanley cup. Every fan wants their team to win it all and if they choose to be less interested during years where the team doesn't care about winning it all then that is their right. They only become bandwagon fans when they chose to route for the best team each year.

 

I commend any fan who is strong enough to stand up and say "if you aren't going to try and win it all than I am not going to give you my time, money, tears, or heart until you return the favor"