jwhit34 Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 By all accounts the Islanders look legitimately improved. They are off to a good start and the offseason moves, paired with the return of John Tavares, point to a really good shot at the playoffs. The St. Louis Blues are a potentially different story. While they have games in hand, today they sit in a tie for last in the west with 7 points, which puts them tied for 25th overall. Everyone presumed St. Louis would be good, could they fall into the lottery? Tonight's shutout loss makes it 5 for the season. The NHL record for most times shut out is 16. I am not sure what is worse, the fact that Gionta, Moulson, Stewart and Stafford are 0 for 80 in terms of shots on goal for the season or that none of the 4 had a shot on goal vs. Toronto tonight. 11 goals (includes 1 credited for shootout win) in 10 games. Quote
Johnny DangerFace Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 I say the islanders will still end up sucking! And the blues will have an injury-riddled year with a non-playoff year :) Quote
Brawndo Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 I say the islanders will still end up sucking! And the blues will have an injury-riddled year with a non-playoff year :) I hope you are right on both accounts Quote
Kristian Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 yes we'll pick 1 - 2 - 3 Maybe we'll win 20 games next season, then :P No draft pick is gonna turn this team around, they need to start adding some legitimate players through FA, seeing as we have virtually nothing to trade with. What bothers me most, is that losing has become this team's identity, barring one or two flukey seasons, since Black Sunday. Quote
SabresBillsFan Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Islanders are a much improved team and barring any injuries I think they make the playoffs. St Louis is and will get better and will make it in. It's all up to us Now. Quote
Huckleberry Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Islanders are a much improved team and barring any injuries I think they make the playoffs. St Louis is and will get better and will make it in. It's all up to us Now. I got it covered, breaking out last years tavaras voodoo doll again. Quote
krt88 Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Islanders need to stay healthy and in this league that is tough. They do not have a lot of depth and its a long way til April. I doubt very much we'll get a top 5 pick from them based on how they are playing but you never know what key player or two goes down. Quote
X. Benedict Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 Early days for the Isles. Not a bad team, but in not seeing the playoffs as a lock. They may come back to earth. Quote
That Aud Smell Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 Uncle Fenwick says a larger sample size for the Blues will yield a playoff team. (They sit top 5 in the overall Fenwick.) I'd be stunned if St. Louis wound up with a lottery pick. Quote
sicknfla Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 These picks will be high teens low twentys at best. My early season prediction is we have 2, 19, and 23. Isles out in 1st round Blues out in 2nd. Quote
Huckleberry Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 These picks will be high teens low twentys at best. My early season prediction is we have 2, 19, and 23. Isles out in 1st round Blues out in 2nd. Don't know, i can see the isles do very well, there aren't any clear cut winners in the east as of now. Except maybe tampa. Quote
Taro T Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 Uncle Fenwick says a larger sample size for the Blues will yield a playoff team. (They sit top 5 in the overall Fenwick.) I'd be stunned if St. Louis wound up with a lottery pick. Agreed. I'd also be somewhat surprised if the Isles pick isn't a lottery pick. There's plenty of time for them to go full-blown Is-land-ers. Quote
nfreeman Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Sabres don't morally deserve the stroke of luck that a 2nd or 3rd lottery pick would be. The hockey gods don't forget. Quote
qwksndmonster Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Sabres don't morally deserve the stroke of luck that a 2nd or 3rd lottery pick would be. The hockey gods don't forget. Do we as fans not deserve that? And why do the Penguins deserve things then? Quote
Robviously Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Sabres don't morally deserve the stroke of luck that a 2nd or 3rd lottery pick would be. The hockey gods don't forget. Maybe the Sabres don't, but the city of Buffalo certainly does. If ever a city deserved a miracle..... Quote
TrueBlueGED Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Sabres don't morally deserve the stroke of luck that a 2nd or 3rd lottery pick would be. The hockey gods don't forget. Maybe we didn't last year...but this year? I honestly am not sure what more Murray could have done, which is realistic on planet earth, to get better this season. We brought back some quality vets, held onto expiring contracts, traded futures for Gorges, and basically everybody agreed that the team would be better this year. It's not like a Seguin-caliber player was traded this year and we didn't even try. Under your premise, the hockey gods were angry at Darcy for trying to be terrible...are they going to hold us accountable when Darcy was fired and the guy who replaced him tried to ice a better team? Quote
LGR4GM Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Sabres don't morally deserve the stroke of luck that a 2nd or 3rd lottery pick would be. The hockey gods don't forget. So the skate in the crease and the injury plague of the 06 playoffs are the hockey gods punishing us for tanking in 2014? Just curious because at this point the hockey gods owe us. Quote
Robviously Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 So the skate in the crease and the injury plague of the 06 playoffs are the hockey gods punishing us for tanking in 2014? Just curious because at this point the hockey gods owe us. The Flyers also scored a playoff goal on a puck that went through the side of the net in 2000. This thread can easily turn into an airing of grievances with the Hockey Gods..... According to this list, the Sabres are involved in three of the five most controversial goals in NHL playoff history. And on the wrong side of all of them. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1138723-nhl-5-most-controversial-goals-in-playoff-history/page/2 Quote
nfreeman Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 Do we as fans not deserve that? And why do the Penguins deserve things then? Maybe the Sabres don't, but the city of Buffalo certainly does. If ever a city deserved a miracle..... I agree that the fans and the city are deserving. Get ready for a PAFan/GoDD explosion, but I think TP is our cosmic reward -- i.e. we aren't going to lose our teams and eventually those teams will be top-drawer contenders. But there's still a fair amount of pain between here and there to atone for the sins of the last decade. Maybe we didn't last year...but this year? I honestly am not sure what more Murray could have done, which is realistic on planet earth, to get better this season. We brought back some quality vets, held onto expiring contracts, traded futures for Gorges, and basically everybody agreed that the team would be better this year. It's not like a Seguin-caliber player was traded this year and we didn't even try. Under your premise, the hockey gods were angry at Darcy for trying to be terrible...are they going to hold us accountable when Darcy was fired and the guy who replaced him tried to ice a better team? You're right that TM has held up his end. It's just too soon for him to reap the big juicy reward that McDavid would represent. He's gotta earn it over time, and we all need to pay the price for not riding DR out of town on a rail in the spring of 2012. Quote
Stoner Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 Agreed. I'd also be somewhat surprised if the Isles pick isn't a lottery pick. There's plenty of time for them to go full-blown Is-land-ers. Two things trending against the Isles are that Halak, apparently, hasn't been as advertised — they score a ton of goals, but they're giving up more than they did last year — and November is coming. Novembers have been incredibly destructive for that franchise for quite a few years. Dare I say it's been The Wreck of the Thomas Fitzgerald over there? Quote
nfreeman Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 So the skate in the crease and the injury plague of the 06 playoffs are the hockey gods punishing us for tanking in 2014? Just curious because at this point the hockey gods owe us. Dallas was a better team than the Sabres. The skate in the crease hurt, but let's remember that a team comprised of Dominik and a bunch of string and rubber bands, owned by a group of criminals that wouldn't pay to bring in any forwards who could score, would still have needed to score the next goal to force game 7, and then to have won game 7 on the road. The injury plague of the 2006 playoffs really hurt. That was a magical year with a sour ending. Maybe it was the hockey gods testing the franchise with some adversity to see whether they could handle it -- and maybe they didn't like the results. Quote
Stoner Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 The Flyers also scored a playoff goal on a puck that went through the side of the net in 2000. This thread can easily turn into an airing of grievances with the Hockey Gods..... According to this list, the Sabres are involved in three of the five most controversial goals in NHL playoff history. And on the wrong side of all of them. http://bleacherrepor...-history/page/2 Holy moly, I can't think of what the third one would be. Quote
Taro T Posted October 29, 2014 Report Posted October 29, 2014 Holy moly, I can't think of what the third one would be. Bondra's "goal" to break the shutout streak. (Honorable mention to the non-icing icing goal.) Quote
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