It's time to make 'The Call'.

[deluca67]

The Sabres have a solid healthy defensemen just sitting around. Anyway James Patrick can get in the lineup?

 

I like the Idea of playing four forwards for part of the game. Rotate Pominville and Gaustad on the blue line. They are both smart players. Maybe even Hecht.

 

And lets get Adam Mair in the lineup and bang some bodies.

[BuffalOhio]

He's not on the roster, so I don't think you can add him. Nice thought though.

 

I don't want to see a forward playing a regular shift at D. Look at what happened when they got caught at the end of a power play with Kotalik and Jillson on the ice. Stillman scored his second goal as a direct result.

[deluca67]

He's not on the roster, so I don't think you can add him. Nice thought though.

 

I don't want to see a forward playing a regular shift at D. Look at what happened when they got caught at the end of a power play with Kotalik and Jillson on the ice. Stillman scored his second goal as a direct result.

 

But you wouldn't play Kotalik on the backline just like it wouldn't be Roy or Briere. Pominville on the other hand has practiced on the blueline this season.

 

Lindy is a great coach. Coach of the year in fact. I wouldn't be surprised if the Sabres decided to play a "trap" like system in Game Four. Trap and collaspe much like the Games against the Sens. Keep the Canes to the outside wait for a breakdown and take advantage of the Canes weak goaltending no matter who it is in net.

[BuffalOhio]

Keep the Canes to the outside wait for a breakdown and take advantage of the Canes weak goaltending no matter who it is in net.

 

I thought the Canes goaltending was unbelieveable last night. Not so sure that it's weak. That game should've been 8-1 at one point.

[LabattBlue]

The Sabres have a solid healthy defensemen just sitting around. Anyway James Patrick can get in the lineup?

 

I like the Idea of playing four forwards for part of the game. Rotate Pominville and Gaustad on the blue line. They are both smart players. Maybe even Hecht.

 

And lets get Adam Mair in the lineup and bang some bodies.

I'm not sure if they could add Patrick to the roster at this point, but I'd do it in a heartbeat. The guy played all year long in Europe, so he has to be in pretty good shape.

[Spandrel]

I'm beginning to wonder if Carolina thinks they can win this series by winning the "war of attrition". If we lose a defender every other night, we'll just run out, and they can win a 7-game series. We have little wiggle room on the blue-line now, and that only works to their advantage in a long series.

[Bmwolf21]

I thought the Canes goaltending was unbelieveable last night. Not so sure that it's weak. That game should've been 8-1 at one point.

Ward did keep it close, but he is starting to struggle a little, and I am wondering if he is the 3.68GAA, .882 SV% keeper we saw in the regular season. If Buffalo can keep up the intensity and keep pressing the attack, I think they can knock out Carolina in 5 or 6. Then it won't matter how many "D" are out.

 

FWIW, Ward has been lifted twice in his last five games:

 

May 24, 2006 vs. BUF L 4 26 22 .846 0 0 32:55 2 2 0

May 22, 2006 vs. BUF W 3 19 16 .842 0 0 60:00 0 3 0

May 20, 2006 vs. BUF L 3 27 24 .889 0 0 58:29 3 0 0

May 14, 2006 vs. NJD W 1 18 17 .944 0 0 60:00 1 0 0

May 13, 2006 vs. NJD L 4 17 13 .765 0 0 20:44 1 2 1

[apuszczalowski]

Pulling Ward was not a great move by Laviolette, Ward was not the problem. Its not his fault his team couldn't penalty kill all night. The guy was actually keeping them in the game for a while. I think it was a desperation move by the coach and it may end up biting him in the end when it actually affects Wards confidence

[shrader]

A couple points:

 

Even if it was possible to add Patrick to the roster, he has made it clear several times now that he is too slow for the game now. Sure, there's the experience factor, but he probably wouldn't add much over a guy like Jillson or Janik..

 

Pominville praticed on the blue line ONCE this year, DeLuca. I'm probably over-reading your post, but you make it sound like he's a seasoned defensive vet because of that one practice. The main question with putting him back there is does he add more to the game back there than Janik, Jillson, or Paetch (if healthy) would.

[Taro T]

A couple points:

 

Even if it was possible to add Patrick to the roster, he has made it clear several times now that he is too slow for the game now. Sure, there's the experience factor, but he probably wouldn't add much over a guy like Jillson or Janik..

 

Pominville praticed on the blue line ONCE this year, DeLuca. I'm probably over-reading your post, but you make it sound like he's a seasoned defensive vet because of that one practice. The main question with putting him back there is does he add more to the game back there than Janik, Jillson, or Paetch (if healthy) would.

Where Pominville might come in as a true emergency D-man is in a game where 2 of the 3 injured guys play but then for whatever reason can't go a full game. Rather than completely shorten his D-bench, I could see Lindy double shifting Pominville on the PP and perhaps even taking a short shift back on D when the Adams line is on the ice.

 

I doubt the scenario would occur, but I see that as being far more plausible than starting Pominville on D with Mair added into the lineup for a missing D-man.

 

Also, while the possibility of being down 3 key D-men is very bad, at least Lindy has the last change. By matching up the forwards well with what Carolina was putting on the ice (especially when the benches were far away in the 2nd), the Sabres kept the play in the Carolina end for extended portions of the 1st and pretty much the 1st 16 minutes of the 2nd. Maintaining that attack and pressure will go a long way toward making Jillson, Rory, and whoever else is out there look adequate to good.

[Spandrel]

Pulling Ward was not a great move by Laviolette, Ward was not the problem. Its not his fault his team couldn't penalty kill all night. The guy was actually keeping them in the game for a while. I think it was a desperation move by the coach and it may end up biting him in the end when it actually affects Wards confidence

 

On the NHL Radio post-game, the consensus was that LaVi is going to/should start Gerber Friday night, so Ward may be relegated to backup again. Juggling goal-tenders mid-series is hopefully a good sign for Buffalo. We'll have to see.

 

By the way, I agree that Ward had no support in the 2nd period when he was yanked, but Gerber came in and made a couple of big saves off the bat to keep them in it. So, I don't know.

[apuszczalowski]

On the NHL Radio post-game, the consensus was that LaVi is going to/should start Gerber Friday night, so Ward may be relegated to backup again. Juggling goal-tenders mid-series is hopefully a good sign for Buffalo. We'll have to see.

 

By the way, I agree that Ward had no support in the 2nd period when he was yanked, but Gerber came in and made a couple of big saves off the bat to keep them in it. So, I don't know.

I think it was more of a jerk reaction, desperation type move, not something a coach of the year candidate would do :D

[Campy]

That game should've been 8-1 at one point.

Yup. 'Bout five minutes in to the 2nd. :D

 

Ward's play reminded me of Emery in that game where the Sabres were bombing him. Had Ward not stood on his head it could have been 10-2 at the 2nd intermission.

 

I don't know if Ward's really that good or not - only time will tell - but man, he played great. That kid had nothing to hang his head about...

[Dan Gross]

I'm beginning to wonder if Carolina thinks they can win this series by winning the "war of attrition". If we lose a defender every other night, we'll just run out, and they can win a 7-game series. We have little wiggle room on the blue-line now, and that only works to their advantage in a long series.

 

Isn't that what Lavi did against the Amerks...? Just hope it doesn't work this time...

 

All we need to do is win at home....

[deluca67]

A couple points:

 

Even if it was possible to add Patrick to the roster, he has made it clear several times now that he is too slow for the game now. Sure, there's the experience factor, but he probably wouldn't add much over a guy like Jillson or Janik..

 

Pominville praticed on the blue line ONCE this year, DeLuca. I'm probably over-reading your post, but you make it sound like he's a seasoned defensive vet because of that one practice. The main question with putting him back there is does he add more to the game back there than Janik, Jillson, or Paetch (if healthy) would.

 

From what I was lead to beleive was that Pominville has been working on the defensive game most of the year to strengthen his role on the PP point.

 

The Sabres are in uncharted waters here. Being down your top three D is not somehting you plan on. So why not think outside the box.

 

No offense to Janik or Paetch, but they won't help the team by playing 4 minutes. Just because conventional wisedon says you need "six defensemen" doesn't mean you have to. Have your two top pairing and then play a four man line. say :

 

Gaustad

Pyatt

Pominville

Mair

 

As a four man fourth line.

 

With the last change you can spot them. I think they would have a strong forecheck going. You're not going to start them against the #1 line. You save them for Drury and Co..

 

Why not ;)

[BUFFALO_66]

I'm not sure if they could add Patrick to the roster at this point, but I'd do it in a heartbeat. The guy played all year long in Europe, so he has to be in pretty good shape.

The guy played all year long in Europe so that makes him not eligable to be picked up by anybody for the playoffs...