waldo Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Nice game tonight: 1. But there were stretches where the Islanders had too much of the run of play. 2. Nice of the Sabres to stand up when Miller and Gerbe took sticks to their faces and the refs did nothing. 3. Upthread, someone mentioned the uncalled interference w/ Gerbe, and that person is right. 4. Weber can turn a boxing match into a wrestling contest pretty well. And it looks like he's a hell of a wrestler. And what a great, clean, open-ice hit. In years past, Cap'n Crunch would have jumped into that one with a leading elbow or shoulder. Weber stayed within the letter and spirit of the new rules and laid out a good one. 5. Can anyone who had the benefit of commentary fill me in on what was going on between Parenteau and Kaleta? The initial confrontation was in the "blind corner" from my seats, and I didn't see what led to the second one, either. The third time, it had to do with no. 3 above. 6. Miller looked great. Especially focusing on the quality, rather than quantity, of some of the shots he faced. Great job. 7. There are some players who, I think, are playing for the privilege of being Sabres next season. Drew Stafford ain't one of them. 8. Ehrhoff impresses me more every game. 9. Leino got chippy a few times tonight! That was kind of fun to see. 10. The effort--the team-wide effort--on the Myers goal was fantastic. It's nice to see the D-man jump working out, because I love that strategy. And when Miller is on his game, the team can afford to do it more. 11. Saw a win with his dad for the first time in about forever. It was nice to take him to a game and not leave with ten minutes left in the third. (We did leave a little early, but he needs a little extra time.) You should take him to the next home game too..that one has the potential to be way more entertaining. fyi..thanks for the post . your take is always entertaining. I think Martin realized it was a clean hit, but felt compelled to make the statement anyway, so he permitted the hug me contest to persist. His way of backing away politiely .
waldo Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 I can't really agree with anything stated above. Last year they got the added boost of a new owner who said he was going to make them winners so there is that. Also last year they played the 3 headed goalie monster of Philly. If they squeak in this year they will be playing the 2 time vezina winner or a guy who has a great shot at winning it this year. Further more if they do not sell and then become mathematically eliminated with 10 games to go, we have failed once again to maximize our assets and get any sort of return for players who will reach their peak value within the next 6 days. 4) Jason Pominville is our best, smartest, and most valuable player IMHO I agree with your take on POM. Jason has always had excellent skill sets..He has grown as a result of his time with 26 and this year he has jumped a class imo .. Both wingers have excellent instincts, hands, vision, creativity and are unselfish with the puck , thus the chemistry. Pom has developed enough to be the scoring/playmaking anchor for a second line should they choose to go in that direction but i would not seperate them right now . The sinfull part is that Roy can play an unselfish game at center too and we watched the three of them work last night when Roy is in playmaker mode. (Did you notice that after his goal 26 delivered the puck four times to Roy when he was going to the net in an attempt to get him a goal / Pom plays the same way. Had Roy played last nights game consitently for the past few years there is no doubt in anyones mind that he is a legit one center . He has it in him if he can resist that shoot first mode that seems to overwhelmn him. He would still get his goals/pts. Especially with those guys. Their finesse game does not work so well against physical teams but when paired up against teams that give them space ...wow. I am not sure he is most valuable but he is in the top three.
ROCBuffalo Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 I might be the only one to say this, but Stafford skated extremely hard last night, well at least harder and faster then I saw him skate all year. Just wondering if anyone else felt the same way. It finally looked like he was caring. He was shooting, skating well, and checking. Maybe he knows he is about to be traded. Also, as I represent Amerks................Kassian......come on man! Put that in the net!! Love seeing him in a sabres uniform.
Doohicksie Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Kaleta didn't replace Peters. The only reason he was put on the ice during "obvious fight situations" was because his linemates were the main pugilists on the team, as sad as that was. Incorrect. His linemates typically played with a different third person on the line, and Peters was only inserted when things were getting rough. The point anyway is that Peters was far from a complete player. Kaleta is a player you can depend on at any point during a game. He's not a liability, and the more he plays, the more he surprises with his abilities and (dare I say it) skill.
2ForTripping Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 I have to agree with this. I don't have all the time in the world to do a full scale analysis but here is the top 14 draft picks in 2008. I chose this as the draft year because a) I only have time to do one, b) you mention Myers and c) The players have now had 3+ years in their teams system. 1. Stamkos - top pick, great player obviously 2. Doughty - very good Dman 3. Bogosian - I know he has a cup and he is good, but I was thinking he'd be slightly better at this point 4. Pietrangelo - He's been a good offensive Dman in St. Louis 5. Luke Schenn - Had a nice rookie season but is already looking like a bust being a healthy scratch in recent games 6. Nikita Filatov - Not even playing in the NHL right now (has played 9 total NHL games) 7. Colin Wilson - Stats look ok (I must admit, playing in Nashville I don't see him much) 8. Mikkel Boedker - Again a guy playing out west but doesn't look very impressive. LW with 23 goals and 62 points in 186 games. 9. Josh Bailey - Currently has 6 goals and 8 assists in 60 games. Not effective Center at this point in his career. 10. Cody Hodgson - Finally cracked the Canuks lineup as a regular Center this year. 15 goals and 17 assists. 11. Kyle Beach - Still playing the the AHL. 12. Tyler Myers - Rookie of the Year, top pair Dman. In conclusion, the point seems to stand (atleast in 08). Once you get out of the top 3 or 4 picks, it's pretty much a crap shoot. bogosian has a cup? to wear ? drink from?
Doohicksie Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 I might be the only one to say this, but Stafford skated extremely hard last night, well at least harder and faster then I saw him skate all year. Just wondering if anyone else felt the same way. It finally looked like he was caring. He was shooting, skating well, and checking. Maybe he knows he is about to be traded. Also, as I represent Amerks................Kassian......come on man! Put that in the net!! Love seeing him in a sabres uniform. I think Staff has been skating hard all year, but when the team isn't doing well he becomes a scapegoat, partly because he raised expectations last year with his goal scoring combined with the disappointment he's had this year... I think the biggest difference is that he was lucky last year and incredibly unlucky this year, but this year the whole team hasn't functioned well together for long stretches. Anyway, I think Stafford isn't as bad as the criticism he gets on this forum. However.... when Kassian missed that goal yesterday, the thought that popped into my head was... "Oh look: the new Stafford!" :D
TrueBlueGED Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 I think Staff has been skating hard all year, but when the team isn't doing well he becomes a scapegoat, partly because he raised expectations last year with his goal scoring combined with the disappointment he's had this year... I think the biggest difference is that he was lucky last year and incredibly unlucky this year, but this year the whole team hasn't functioned well together for long stretches. Anyway, I think Stafford isn't as bad as the criticism he gets on this forum. However.... when Kassian missed that goal yesterday, the thought that popped into my head was... "Oh look: the new Stafford!" :D I typically don't have a problem with Stafford's skating (not to say I think he goes 110%, just not my main complaint), I have a problem (and I think most others do as well) with his battle for loose pucks along the boards. If he has the puck and gets challenged, he almost always coughs it up. If the puck is loose in the corner and goes in for it, he almost never comes out with possession. He obviously isn't a physical monster, but he has enough size, strength, and skill to win more battles than he loses. Except he doesn't try hard enough, so he loses.
Doohicksie Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Yeah..... I can kind of see that. Then again, if you're comparing him to Ennis or Gerbe, you have to realize that their puck possession and recovery are far above average, almost Datsyukian.
ROCBuffalo Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Yeah..... I can kind of see that. Then again, if you're comparing him to Ennis or Gerbe, you have to realize that their puck possession and recovery are far above average, almost Datsyukian. Quite right, but Gerbe loses the puck way more then he takes the puck away. I love his speed and aggressiveness and is awesome to watch. But he gets thrown off the puck cause of his size. If stafford had the energy Gerbe had, Stafford would be a great player. Yesterday I saw Stafford actually hitting and skating in the same game. Great to see that cause I think he has talent but is kinda a Wussy (with a P). @Doohickie.....come on now.....don't play Kassian like that, but imagine if Kassian had Staffords talent with his toughness. Make for a great player who misses the net! :censored:
inkman Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Incorrect. His linemates typically played with a different third person on the line, and Peters was only inserted when things were getting rough. The point anyway is that Peters was far from a complete player. Kaleta is a player you can depend on at any point during a game. He's not a liability, and the more he plays, the more he surprises with his abilities and (dare I say it) skill. Thanks for correcting me? I guess my point was that Kaleta was never counted on as an enforcer.
LastPommerFan Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Would it be correct to separate agitators (Kaleta, Avery, Barnaby, etc.) and enforcers (Ray, Peters, Bolton)?
inkman Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Would it be correct to separate agitators (Kaleta, Avery, Barnaby, etc.) and enforcers (Ray, Peters, Bolton)? Yes, although it was an uphill battle to convince some.
apuszczalowski Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 exactly, Kaleta isn't an enforcer. There are few of those left in the league anymore with the instigator rule. An enforcer was the guy with limited hockey skills, and better boxing skills whose job it was to go out onto the ice and get into a fight to protect the teams "stars". An agitator is a guy who is willing to throw hits and get dirty to try and get the other team agrevated and take a penalty. They may drop the gloves occasionally, but usually they don't use their fists, they just try and get under your skin to hurt you mentally, not physically.
JJFIVEOH Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Proving the point again. Squeaking into the playoffs or just missing screws up your draft because it becomes a crapshoot. So his point holds no water at all. Not to mention WE DIDNT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS IN 08! How do you figure? Is this team a bottom 3 team? No! And you know it. Do you think this team will finish behind Tampa, NY, Montreal, Carolina? They won't, and that's the only way to get a top 3 pick. My point was proven to a T. Yeah we didn't make the playoffs in 08 but my point was we didn't have a top 3 pick. You might want this team to completely tank so we have a top 3 pick but in reality it's never going to happen. Nobody knows what will happen to the rest of the first rounders, as we said, it's a crapshoot. We're just as likely to get a great player picking 14th as we are 6th.
Doohicksie Posted February 22, 2012 Report Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks for correcting me? I guess my point was that Kaleta was never counted on as an enforcer. Well, okay. I'll give you that. In my mind, I see Kaleta as a replacement for Peters, maybe not so much as an enforcer but as a tough guy. Kaleta is more of a tough guy in terms of being a sandpaper guy-- that guy that who rubs you the wrong way and you can't stand to play against. Pat Verbeek, Steve Ott, Sean Avery are guys like that. Peters was a tough guy, but more in the sense that he was thrown out there as the obvious fighter. Maybe Kaleta didn't replace Peters in terms of roles, but in my mind, Peters was the face of grit on the team at one point, now it's Kaleta. Sorry for the curt "Incorrect." It's a habit I picked up on another forum. On there it is kind of an abbreviation for, "I'm sorry, old chum, but I must admit that I view that matter differently than you do." EDIT: And obviously, I wrote the above before reading LastPommerFan's post and the discussion that followed. I can buy into what you guys say, and maybe that's the point... there used to be a role for a full-time guy like that when Peters was here. That role is kind of gone, although teams tend to depend on the big guys on the team to share that role (Weber, et al, these days). Now with the deletion of the "full time" fighter, the agitator is that much more important. And Kaleta's a good one, and not a bad player.
spndnchz Posted February 22, 2012 Author Report Posted February 22, 2012 Quite right, but Gerbe loses the puck way more then he takes the puck away. I love his speed and aggressiveness and is awesome to watch. But he gets thrown off the puck cause of his size. If stafford had the energy Gerbe had, Stafford would be a great player. Yesterday I saw Stafford actually hitting and skating in the same game. Great to see that cause I think he has talent but is kinda a Wussy (with a P). @Doohickie.....come on now.....don't play Kassian like that, but imagine if Kassian had Staffords talent with his toughness. Make for a great player who misses the net! :censored: The stats would say you are wrong.
ROCBuffalo Posted February 23, 2012 Report Posted February 23, 2012 The stats would say you are wrong. Your probably right, I am not sure how to look up those stats. I am not a hater of Gerbe I actually like him, but he gets thrown of the puck a lot, and tries to make the move around a defender and usually ends up flat on the ice. Yes he can draw a penalty when that happens, but the ref's catch on that this guy is 5"6 and is easily pushed down. I hope I am wrong it is just something I notice when he plays. But I also notice how aggressive he is despite his size, which everyone on the team should take notice.
Sabres Fan in NS Posted February 23, 2012 Report Posted February 23, 2012 The stats would say you are wrong. Your probably right, ... One thing I have learned in my short time as a member of this board and the considerably longer time I spent lurking prior to joining is ... One should never question Chz when she states something as fact. She does her research and knows her stuff.
ROCBuffalo Posted February 23, 2012 Report Posted February 23, 2012 One thing I have learned in my short time as a member of this board and the considerably longer time I spent lurking prior to joining is ... One should never question Chz when she states something as fact. She does her research and knows her stuff. Which is why I didn't argue. She only has thousands of more posts than I do.............lol
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