I wish.

[deluca67]

I wish Erik Cole, Hasek and others were healthy for these playoffs.

 

If the Sabres are going to win this thing I would like for them to beat the best teams with their best players in the lineup.

 

And by the way. I thought the Red Wings were going to be one of those teams crushed under the new CBA. It's funny. The top of the two Conferences look very familar. The more things change the more they stay the same.

 

My pick for the Westt? Nashville. Buffalo revenge for 'Home Run Throwback'.

[Eleven]

I wish Erik Cole, Hasek and others were healthy for these playoffs.

 

If the Sabres are going to win this thing I would like for them to beat the best teams with their best players in the lineup.

 

And by the way. I thought the Red Wings were going to be one of those teams crushed under the new CBA. It's funny. The top of the two Conferences look very familar. The more things change the more they stay the same.

 

My pick for the Westt? Nashville. Buffalo revenge for 'Home Run Throwback'.

 

I appreciate what you're saying. But I also wish the Sabs had been healthy the whole year. Maybe then we'd have a different idea of who the "best teams" are.

 

As for Nashville, without Vokoun, that undermines the first two sentences of your post, you know?

 

Not being contrary; just standing up for the Sabres. I don't care whom they beat, or how healthy the teams are. Buffalo has overcome a lot of injuries to get to this point.

[deluca67]

I appreciate what you're saying. But I also wish the Sabs had been healthy the whole year. Maybe then we'd have a different idea of who the "best teams" are.

 

As for Nashville, without Vokoun, that undermines the first two sentences of your post, you know?

 

Not being contrary; just standing up for the Sabres. I don't care whom they beat, or how healthy the teams are. Buffalo has overcome a lot of injuries to get to this point.

 

I'm not saying the Sabres are not one of the "best teams". Just the opposite. I think the Sabres are good enough to beat anyone. I just want the teams that the Sabres beat to be 100%.

 

As far as Nashville? I think they are good enough to make it even without Vokoun. They are the best 'home' team in the NHL. The way to win in the playoffs is to win all your home games and steal one on the road.

[Taro T]

I wish Erik Cole, Hasek and others were healthy for these playoffs.

 

If the Sabres are going to win this thing I would like for them to beat the best teams with their best players in the lineup.

 

And by the way. I thought the Red Wings were going to be one of those teams crushed under the new CBA. It's funny. The top of the two Conferences look very familar. The more things change the more they stay the same.

 

My pick for the Westt? Nashville. Buffalo revenge for 'Home Run Throwback'.

DeLuca, I understand the sentiment, but don't fully agree with it.

 

IF the Sabres do win it all this year, they will have, by definition, beaten the best teams at this time. They will have beaten the 2nd best team in the East and the best team in the West.

 

Might somebody else have been better if the playoffs were held at a different time? Quite possibly.

 

Will anybody, except a handful of fans from the "better" team, remember that somebody like Cole was missing? Probably a few hard core schmucks like myself, but that will be it.

 

Do I feel bad for Carolina that they're without one of their leaders like Cole? To a large degree, yes. The guy is a great hockey player and is young enough that Carolina could reasonably have expected him to be available come playoff time.

 

Do I feel bad for Ottawa that they're without Dom? To a large degree, not really. He is what he is: a 41 year old goalie that has had injury issues the past couple of seasons and sat out all of last year. Ottawa knew they wouldn't have him start all the games they wanted him to, but they rolled the dice expecting him to have his issues earlier in the season and be back at nearly 100% by playoff time. He might come back, but it looks less likely every day.

 

Do I wish an injury on any player in the playoffs? H*ll no. I actually hope like you do that the best players play. But I won't cry if someone important on another team gets hurt, just like I don't expect any Flyer fans to cry if the Sabres lose someone.

 

Injuries are part of the game. If you can't overcome them, you didn't put together a good enough team.

 

Remember, in '99 Satan, Hasek, and Warrener all were hurt for part of the playoffs. It didn't matter to the Leafs or Dallas. Modano and Hull were playing hurt as well. It didn't matter to the Sabres. You play the best you have available and know the other guy will do the same.

 

No one is completely healthy at this point in the season, but the better organizations have more depth and can overcome more adversity.

[Stoner]

I wish... I wish that standing next to me right now would be Ted Darling.

[topshelfcookies]

I wish...that the league doesn't find a way to screw us over this year.

 

I stopped by Barnes & Noble yesterday, and was reading a few excerpts from "Counsel in the Crease", a book written by one of the Sabres chief legal officers, who has been intimately involved with the team since their inception. Reading his accounts of what happened over the course of the "No Goal" Cup Finals was not only nauseating, but depressing.

 

His account of what transpired after "No Goal II" (LeClair's phantom goal in Philly) the next season brought back some horrible feelings, but mainly just served as fuel for my "beat Philly fire".

 

If you haven't read the book, I don't know if it's worth buying...it's long and there's lots of legal jargon, but it's ABSOLUTELY worth browsing through with a cup of coffee at B&N on an off day during this playoff stretch. Just look in the Sports section...it'll be there.

[haseoke]

i wish....that we would just win this goddamn cup. oops, we're gonna. so much for wistfulness.

[apuszczalowski]

I wish Erik Cole, Hasek and others were healthy for these playoffs.

 

If the Sabres are going to win this thing I would like for them to beat the best teams with their best players in the lineup.

 

And by the way. I thought the Red Wings were going to be one of those teams crushed under the new CBA. It's funny. The top of the two Conferences look very familar. The more things change the more they stay the same.

 

My pick for the Westt? Nashville. Buffalo revenge for 'Home Run Throwback'.

 

Maybe if we have to face them in the next round we could tell the sens or canes that we will wait til they get their star players back before we play them, or we will sit one of our stars to match them. This way a win won't be tainted cause the other team couldn't win without their top guy.

 

Buffalo went on a huge tear when their #1 goalie went down, and has played many games without most of their top players (Briere, connolly, Dumont, Hecht were all injured for parts of this season and the sabres still won) I won't cry for another team just cause they are missing a top player or consider our wins tainted just because we beat them without one of their best players. Thats the way the game goes, and if a team cannot win without one or two of their top players, they aren't that good in the first place.

 

Its not like those players were injured by the Buffalo Sabres intentionally so that we would not have to face them.

[Two or less]

.... and I wish that we stayed healthy all year long, 100%, and were the #1 seed, but, life isn't perfect and you go thru bumps in the road all the time. And well, you get over it. Who's to say Emery won't out preform Hasek anyways? Although, for a the ignorant and cocky side of me, i kinda do wish we play Hasek in the Eastern Conference finals, but i could careless who we play, we gotta win games and that's the bottom line, i'm not worried about if Primeau and/or Forsberg are on the ice for Philly, it doesn't bother me one bit, just like it wouldn't bother Philly fans if Hecht or Briere were out hurt....

[fushetti]

I wish... I wish that standing next to me right now would be Ted Darling.

 

HHAHA u forget to include the split second of Jeanneret breaking down. Its more like this "I wish, I wish that standing next to me right now (split second of jeanneret losing it, jowels shake violently) would be ted darling"

 

Play the tape! even better in super slow mo

 

I wish all of you a happy and healthy playoff season. I'll see y'all at some playoff games this year! woo effing hooo! Its like a second xmas season!

[BetweenThePipes00]

I hear DeLuca, but no one remembers who was hurt, they only remember the winner. No one (oustide of us) remembers Danny Gare's injury may have cost us the Cup in 1980 ... or that If Warrenner doesn't break his leg, Darryl Shannon doesn't get beat to the outside for Dallas' only real goal in Game 6 because he is watching from the press box ...

If the Sabres win the Cup and someone really wants to claim it was because Cole or Hasek was hurt, well, just give them the finger with the ring on it, baby. They can never take it away.

 

Living in nashville I have seen a lot of the Preds and I can't see them making it ... they give up WAY too many shots and they are also banged up beyond Vokoun (Zdlicky is a big loss and not expected to be back at this point...)

 

I read Counsel in the Crease ... it was good but LOTS of legal jargon you have to weed through ... but still very interesting.

[nfreeman]

I don't think DeLuca's crying for any other team, and I don't think our hypothetical win over Ottawa would be tainted if Dominik doesn't play. All the same, I'd prefer to beat those CSs with Dominik as opposed to Emery. Not because I have any animus towards Dominik -- he was an amazing player, he gave us everything he had, and he did a hell of a lot for the franchise and the city -- but because I'd like to make it crystal clear to him and everyone else that we don't need him or any other one guy to win in the playoffs.

 

Also, Ottawa with Dominik is one of the best teams I've ever seen and it would be pretty sweet to take them out on the way to the finals.

 

Go Sabres.