It Is Starting Again

[wjag]

Reading the Carolina press this morning I am struck by the deja vu of this series. We have yet another opponent waking up the day after and saying we were the better team last night except on the scoreboard. We out shot them. They just got the lucky bounces and we didn't. They made their breaks and we didn't.

 

And maybe, just maybe that is the defining character of this team this year. Make no mistake, the Sabres hustle all game. Whether it is in the defensive zone or on the rushes. But it is their style that is throwing off the other teams. They play for opportunities. They let you think you are winning because the games flow suggests if you play in their end and out shoot them then you think you are having the better of it.

 

What separates this team from others this year is two things, they are one step faster and play as one. Look at yesterday, 3-2 and two of the goals scored by the defense. It wasn't Drury and Pominville (although both played well) that caught them, it was the other guys. And the definition of the other guys changes every night.

 

And that is what defines the play. You can't take a shift off against the Sabres or they will make you pay. Sure they let you pummel them like a punching bag, but just when you take your eye off the bag, it swings back and knocks you down.

 

In the post game interview, you say, jeez we looked great in the first and third and just couldn't get it thru the defense and thru the goal tender. Lucky team. Deja Vu..

[Kristian]

Carolina needs to stop worrying about bounces, cause they ain't seen nothing yet.

 

I saw a trillion knocklepucks, bouncers and deflections end up on Carolina sticks last night, so if this is their definition of NOT getting the bounces, they're in for a rough ride.

 

Commodore's goal for instance, how many sticks did that one hit for Pete's sake?

 

BTW, that goal was inexcusable - you 're up 3-1 with 4 to go, and you get a PP. Yet, three forwards chase or two d-men into our zone and puts pressure on us, while our own fowards are hanging around in the neutral zone.

 

WTF??! You don't go for 4-1 for #%^$#!'s sake, you pass it around for 2 mins!! That means getting your @ss back and help out your D.

[Orange Seats]

Let them get together with Ottawa next week and gripe.

 

"I just don't get it. How did we lose?"

 

 

I love the shot count argument as well. Shots don't count unless they go in folks. I could throw a bunch of pucks at the net too, but I don't have the skill to make them go in. Neither did the Canes yesterday, and hopefully, tomorrow.

[Stoner]

This is an interesting discussion. Is this really the Sabres' style, philosophy or intended way of playing, or do they just have an uncanny ability right now to keep the puck out of the net and score the timely goal? I've never heard Lindy say this was the method of their madness. We all know the Sabres' game is what they did in the second period. Some how, some way, they need to do more of that more often. Eliminating the terrible turnovers from Game 1 and getting the power play going are also critical, especially if we're going to be down to Doug Janik on defense.

 

I don't mind opposing teams saying they outplayed us. It just reflects their frustration, which plays to our advantage. Carolina looked totally flummoxed yesterday -- too many passes, fanning on open nets. The sticks are tightening already.

 

By the way, I'm not complaining! We all love this "style" -- until it stops working. Having the opponent buzz the net for minutes on end is just so nerve-wracking.

[wjag]

I certainly was much more relaxed in the second period then the third yesterday (until Mckee gave us the game). Watching a team block 29 shots is crazy. This will only attrit the team over time. I'll take a victory in any manner the Sabres choose to serve it up, but this style is brutual to watch. It may not be their declared style, but this has now happened in five of the last six games. The only time it didn't happen was when they gave up the early goal to Ottawa in game four. That makes it a declared style in my book.

[matter2003]

yeh i agree

[nfreeman]

I'm as big a Lindy fan as anyone, but I'm not sure I agree that we are intentionally playing the rope-a-dope vs. Carolina. As I mentioned in another thread, Lindy mentioned yesterday in his press conference that he didn't think we played that well in game 1 except for the 2nd period. I think he would much prefer that we take it to them on the forecheck as we did in the 2nd period.

 

I think Lindy views Carolina as not as good of a defensive team as Ottawa was, and therefore more susceptible to a sustained forecheck. I think this is absolutely the case, and if we play a bit harder and more crisply on offense we should be in good shape in this series.

 

Also, another one of the similarities I see between our team and the Hurricanes is the quick counterpunch -- it seemed like whenever we made a lousy pass in the neutral zone they were right back in our zone on the attack. We need to be more focused on offense so we aren't relying on the mighty Miller to bail us out so often.

 

With all of that said, I feel pretty good about yesterday (duh). Miller looked VERY sharp, Cam Ward looked just OK, we got one on the road already without playing our A game, we are hearing some promising things about Kalinin and Connolly returning this year, and Briere looked like he is getting loose.

 

Go Sabres.

[Stoner]

Well, I don't know about all that, but it sure was fun to read! Good post. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. There's no way in Hell the plan is to get outshot 11-1 in the first 10 minutes of the third period. Yup, we got 'em right where we want 'em! :)

 

Now I'm wondering why Ruff wasn't a coaching genius when he employed the same "strategy" with Dominik Hasek in goal. As I recall, most considered him an average coach with a great goaltender. :)

[rickshaw]

The bottom line is we were a bit rusty in the first and had to absorb the home team coming out very hard in the third, trying to tie it.

 

But bounces come and go. I saw us ring one of the crossbar in the 3rd, and Hecht just miss the open net on the rebound. I saw us go up 3-1 and their d-man save a goal on the goal line.

 

I saw their fluky 2nd goal. It goes both ways.

 

We won, that's all that matters. We need to make adustments, of course. Let the other team think they outplayed us with their 4 extra shots. All I know is, we win our home games, we're in the Finals!

 

Oh, and doing it with guys getting injured makes it even sweeter. Take Staal out of their lineup and one of their top d-men and let's see Carolina's performance.

[fushetti]

The ice sucked, pucks were bouncing over their sticks, and we're better overall.

 

Nuff Said

 

Sabres in 5. ;)

[MartyHavlatismyGOD]

Instead of going in detail to describe their style, you coulda just said 'they trap like hoes' nad itd mean the exact same thing! Congrats on the win, i dont think Carolina will last all that long.

[hopeleslyobvious]

I love the shot count argument as well. Shots don't count unless they go in folks. I could throw a bunch of pucks at the net too, but I don't have the skill to make them go in. Neither did the Canes yesterday, and hopefully, tomorrow.

 

Shots on goal are an important stat. You're kidding yourself if you think it's not. If it's a difference of a few shots, it's not a big deal, but if a team has 10 more shots than the other it shows they pretty much dominated play. It's also pretty indicative of what end the puck was in for a lot of the game.

 

I don't think it says anything about a lack of skill on the part of the team with more shots either. The Canes have plenty of offensive firepower. Miller was just on his game yesterday.

[wjag]

I think you need to look at three stats when trying to decide: shots on goal, blocked shots and misses. Miller saved 29, Sabres blocked another 29 and then there are the countless shots likes Staals or was it Stillman, who just missed but we all held our breath when he unleashed it with seconds to play.

 

Its the 29 blocks that have me worried. As heroic as it sounds, its also foolish. We are down to 5 defensemen. Taking a puck in say the ankle to block it might cost us yet another one. The Defense blocked 24 of those shots yesterday I think.

 

If we were playing in the other end of the rink, we wouldn't be putting our players between the net and the puck as often. We would also be getting more powerplays and maybe even converting one now and then.

 

But as I said previously, I'll take a win any way the Sabres want to serve it up. I just hope we have enough bodies to get through seven more wins.

[deluca67]

The only stat that matters is 'goals for'. ;) :D :P

 

I think all the talk about how much respect the Canes had before the series is tossed out the window.

 

I hope the Canes do think they were the "better team". The Sabres have nothing to lose in games 2. They will be relaxed while the grips the Canes have on their sticks wil get a bit tighter. ;)

[Allan in MD]

They can all be the "better team" as long as we win.

[Eleven]

 

If we were playing in the other end of the rink, we wouldn't be putting our players between the net and the puck as often. We would also be getting more powerplays and maybe even converting one now and then.

.

 

Right on. Noticeable difference between the Filly series and the Ottawa series (and now Carolina Game 1).

[Kristian]

Right on. Noticeable difference between the Filly series and the Ottawa series (and now Carolina Game 1).

 

Here's what puzzles me though :

 

It seems we only ever play in our own end when we're ahead. Now, it might make sense to nurse a lead, but what I noticed in the Ottawa series is that as soon as Ottawa tied it up, The Sabres came back with speed, forechecking and pressure. This happened pretty much every game, barring one or two. And while Ottawa spent a lot more time in our zone than we in theirs, they were also trailing a heckuva lot more.

 

Now, I'm not saying that this is intentional, but they do seem to be able to crank it up a notch when they need to.

 

While I certainly don't enjoy all the play in our own zone, I do feel pretty good every time they counter an opposition goal with some sustained pressure of their own. 2nd Period last night was a pretty good example I think, and the 2nd period in game 4 against Ottawa.