Stoner Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 Good God, would everyone please remove their heads from Darcy Tucker's rear end and smell the... coffee?! Roses?! I don't know exactly how that expression goes, but... We might have more important things to talk about. Like Marty Biron's incredible game in Toronto the other night and what it means. Does he get the start tonight? Or does Ruff go back to Miller and try to get him going again? We all know the "book" on Marty, but is it possible, given how well he played earlier in the season for a long stretch, that he's a different goalie now and can be ridden to playoff success? Do you go with Miller, even if he's struggling, to give the guy the experience of playing at this time of year, knowing that Biron's not the future? Win now vs. get ready for the future?
hopeleslyobvious Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 Good God, would everyone please remove their heads from Darcy Tucker's rear end and smell the... coffee?! Roses?! I don't know exactly how that expression goes, but... We might have more important things to talk about. Like Marty Biron's incredible game in Toronto the other night and what it means. Does he get the start tonight? Or does Ruff go back to Miller and try to get him going again? We all know the "book" on Marty, but is it possible, given how well he played earlier in the season for a long stretch, that he's a different goalie now and can be ridden to playoff success? Do you go with Miller, even if he's struggling, to give the guy the experience of playing at this time of year, knowing that Biron's not the future? Win now vs. get ready for the future? Ok, I am biased towards Miller...but not to the point where I can ignore Marty's great game the other night. He really did it all. He even came up in the big pressure situation in the shootout (where he has struggled a bit earlier this year). I was very impressed with what he showed me in the shootout. Earlier in the year, and in his career in such situations (shootouts, penalty shots, breakaways late in the game, etc), he seemed to lack a lot of confidence and gave up a lot of goals because of it. Monday night he appeared confident, and got Sundin and Tucker both to bite and go after the 5-hole. So I think Biron has at least earned the start tonight. This is not to say that Miller shouldn't get another shot. I would go with Miller Friday against Philly. You have to split this weekend up. Miller will have almost a week's rest going into Friday's 4 point game against Philly, and Biron will have an extra day before his next start. Then wait and see how things pan out this weekend before deciding who starts the Montreal game. Thinking about the situation of his last hot streak, the best thing for him might be a little competition. He appears to play his best when he has something to prove.
shrader Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 I think Miller could use some time off. The only way he's going to bounce back is through practice. It's probably better to run him through a series of practices with no games in between. He'll never regain his confidence by practicing, then going out and getting shelled, and then practicing again.
nfreeman Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 I'm not that confident in Marty, but I'd start him tonight and for that matter on Friday if we win tonight and Marty plays well. I think it will get Miller good and PO'd, which hopefully will help him focus. Miller hasn't played terribly but he's clearly not as sharp as he was pre-Olympics. We need him at 100% sharpness to make a deep run in the playoffs. Go Sabres. Big opportunity to right the ship tonight. Bonus prediction: Peters dresses again and the line of Gaustad, Mair and Peters flies around hitting people. Likely rematch between Peters and McGrattan.
frisky Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 What I heard on NHL Live on Sirius on the way to work today was that Marty will be starting in goal tonight.
hopeleslyobvious Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 I think Miller could use some time off. The only way he's going to bounce back is through practice. It's probably better to run him through a series of practices with no games in between. He'll never regain his confidence by practicing, then going out and getting shelled, and then practicing again. I definately agree with you. I think I said something similar a few days ago. I would go find the tread, but I'm lazy. I think he has had enough time off to be ready to go Friday. I think no matter what Friday and Saturday should be split up. If Biron plays well tonight, I would give him the start against Ottawa. We match up much better against Philly, and it could be a confidence building game. Also, he can get away with a pretty good game. Against Ottawa he needs to play his best.
Rabbit151 Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 You all know my feeling on this. We need a hot goalie. It's Biron turn til he poohs the bed.
scottnc Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 I think it's tough to say after one game that we have a controversy on our hands. Yes Marty played a great game and he deserves the start tonight. As other's have said, Miller needs a little time off. I don't buy only giving Miller the so called "easy" game against Philly though. Miller played incredibly, without much help mind you, in the loss to Ottawa that started this skid. I still believe he will be the horse we ride in the playoffs.
hopeleslyobvious Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 I think it's tough to say after one game that we have a controversy on our hands. Yes Marty played a great game and he deserves the start tonight. As other's have said, Miller needs a little time off. I don't buy only giving Miller the so called "easy" game against Philly though. Miller played incredibly, without much help mind you, in the loss to Ottawa that started this skid. I still believe he will be the horse we ride in the playoffs. I still think Miller needs to be on top of his game for us to be successful in the playoffs as well. When Miller is on top of his game, he can be one of the best in the league. A 2 month hot streak is not a fluke. I think a number of factors have contributed to this slump. When he was on his hot streak, he had something to prove to the world. And he did a pretty good job of it too. But the last couple of games before the Olympic Break he started to look really worn out. He didn't have his best game against Carolina. In fact, that was pretty much the first time he didn't look unbeatable in a shootout. Up until that game, I believe that Forsberg was the only one who scored on him in a shootout (Someone who's not feeling lazy and wants to look it up can correct me if I'm wrong). So, he goes into the break, and he's probably not feeling great about himself. He gets over 2 weeks to sit and think about it, and not much work during the break. He comes back and due to inactivity, or the loss of a little confidence, or both he struggles a little. Then, March has been such a busy month that there really hasn't been enough time for him to work out the kinks in practice and build his confidence back up. I agree with Shrader that he needs some practice time to get back on his game. So looking at the history of earlier this year, being pushed by Marty getting a couple starts might really get him going.
LabattBlue Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 Biron will get shelled tonight 8-1. Miller will stand on his head against Philly in a 4-1 win and then he will lose to Ottawa 5-0. Which brings us right back where we've been for the last two weeks, wondering if we have the goaltending to make a run in the playoffs. :P
hopeleslyobvious Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 Biron will get shelled tonight 8-1. Miller will stand on his head against Philly in a 4-1 win and then he will lose to Ottawa 5-0. Which brings us right back where we've been for the last two weeks, wondering if we have the goaltending to make a run in the playoffs. :P :o Ugh, I hope you're not right.
Knightrider Posted April 5, 2006 Report Posted April 5, 2006 Starting Biron tonight avoids the controversy. If Biron wins, he's the starter. If he loses, Miller's still starting... Personally, kicking the snot out the Otters is more importantant than winning tonight. Wouldn't it be ironic if Alfredson got hurt again tonight? :wacko: Geez, I feel like Toddkaz saying stuff like that.
deluca67 Posted April 6, 2006 Report Posted April 6, 2006 What controversy? The goalie that plays better starts. This isn't football where it's a big deal which QB starts. ;)
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