Sabres vs Panthers

[jp...]

So far not a bad game...

 

Glad to see Paille playing, doesn't look out of place at all...

 

This guy going to be a good soldier for Buffalo for years to come...

 

Damn, Florida just scored

[Stoner]

Not watching... listening. Sabres don't seem to have it tonight. Need a spark.

[pwner]

Martin Biron is showing his true self.

[jp...]

Martin Biron is showing his true self.

 

Yah, Marty sucks :rolleyes:

 

And if the Sabres loose tonite, i think they should fire Ruff... :rolleyes:

[letsgobuffalo45]

That 2nd Florida goal was all on Marty, but he has made some huge saves, despite allowing 3 through 2 periods of play so far.

 

Lets hope the Powerplay can bail us out.

[Guest Amazing Grant]

Not to rag on Biron, but I should point out that it isn't unexpected for him to start playing sloppier once his job is in question (ie: when Miller or Noronen start breathing down his neck). It's happened before.

[LabattBlue]

Marty was getting too cute with the puck on the 2nd goal. He's behind the net, there is a Sabre right there who he could leave it for, but instead fires it right to a Panther which in turn leads to a goal.

 

After 2 periods, other than Paille, Gaustad & Mair, I don't see much effort against one of the leagues lesser lights. Washington poured 55 shots on these turkeys just a couple of nights ago.

[blugold43]

i thought the all-rookie line looked good in the first period. that was an interesting wrinkle by ruff...to me, at least.

[Guest ofiba]

sabres need a big time play in this one. they are playing flat.

[jayg]

What a stinker. Can't win em all but would sure be nice!

[PromoTheRobot]

Is there a goal that ISN'T Biron's fault? :blink: You rag on him but no mention of Pominville giving up the breakaway when the Sabres are on the powerplay. Or the Sabres D leaving the Florida guy alone on the first goal. I won't blame (but you will) Biron for the second goal when his clearing pass was kept in. Three Sabres covering one Panther, and letting a guy go on the rebound.

 

No goalie is perfect, and sometimes the team in front of him should take some heat. Having said that....congrats to the Sabres for a great streak. Let's hope they can get back on track in Tampa tomorrow.

 

PTR

[deluca67]

I would rather come up flat against a team like the Panthers then against a team in a playoff spot.

 

Young Team + South Beach = Loss.

 

I am suprised the Panthers aren't undefeated at home.

[PromoTheRobot]

I would rather come up flat against a team like the Panthers then against a team in a playoff spot.

 

Young Team + South Beach = Loss.

 

I am suprised the Panthers aren't undefeated at home.

How much free time do players get when the are on the road? Do you think they flew out early to get some golf in? Sunrise is nowhere near South Beach. The Panthers are more a Ft.Lauderdale/West Palm Beach team than a Miami team.

 

PTR

[deluca67]

How much free time do players get when the are on the road? Do you think they flew out early to get some golf in? Sunrise is nowhere near South Beach. The Panthers are more a Ft.Lauderdale/West Palm Beach team than a Miami team.

 

PTR

Didn't they go early? I thought they hit Florida yesterday.

 

Anyway. I doubt any of them went near a Miami strip club.

[Stoner]

Yes, they flew down there after the Philly game. "While his teammates enjoyed Tuesday off with South Florida diversions such as sunbathing and tennis, Buffalo Sabres co-captain Daniel Briere was back in Western New York, trying to figure out what's wrong with him," wrote beat writer Tim Graham. Unfortunately, over the years, a vacation within a season has not yielded good results very often.

 

As for Marty, I'm not about to say I told you so yet, but there are some chinks showing in his game, and they started showing up more frequently the closer Ryan got to playing. Grant is right. This is Marty's MO. Surely, Ryan gets the start in Tampa, and if he's very good, he can take a big step toward winning the job back.

[Saber61]

well ya know even if all biron did was secure us a head start in the late playoff race that fine by me... i think he played great over his run and can play great but he's very finnicky as to when he wants to actually play or take a night off... and if they see him laying over the rest of the team follows... thats why there was a lack of offense i would think.

[Taro T]

Marty doesn't owe any of us any apologies. He's played some of the best hockey of his NHL career over these past 2 months. Some of that was breaks he got, some of it is skill, but like Glenn Hall used to say "I'd rather be lucky than good any day".

 

Ryan is the #1 guy for this team, and I truly expect to see Marty moved before the season is over in a package for a top 4 (min) defenseman, but let's give the guy his due. He played very well for the Sabres and they played well for him.

 

Maybe we can see an Edwards / Sauve sort of thing before Marty gets moved. I'd be surprised if it happens, but Marty has earned a few more starts for this team. Ryan has earned the bulk of them, but I would really like to see Marty get a start at least every 4 games. When Edwards and Sauve were the tandem, the team played better defense when Sauve was in (probably because they didn't have as much faith in him as in Edwards; I can't be the only geezer to remember the Edwards save on Acton) but overall they managed to win a lot of games for both goalies.

 

I think this team would be well served to play both goalies (and still give Mika a few games when he becomes the #2 man if in fact Marty is moved).

[hopeleslyobvious]

Is there a goal that ISN'T Biron's fault? :blink: You rag on him but no mention of Pominville giving up the breakaway when the Sabres are on the powerplay. Or the Sabres D leaving the Florida guy alone on the first goal. I won't blame (but you will) Biron for the second goal when his clearing pass was kept in. Three Sabres covering one Panther, and letting a guy go on the rebound.

 

No goalie is perfect, and sometimes the team in front of him should take some heat. Having said that....congrats to the Sabres for a great streak. Let's hope they can get back on track in Tampa tomorrow.

 

PTR

Yes, there are goals that are not Biron's fault. He's played great lately, but showed signs of weakness against Pittsburgh, and again tonight.

 

The second goal WAS Biron's fault.

 

And as for Pominville...well that's what happens when you play forwards on the point. Sometimes things like that just happen.

[deluca67]

The good thing is that the Sens lost.

 

The bad thing is that the Sens lost.

 

The Sabres were due for a game like that. And Florida has been playng better, 5-5 in their last 10.

 

As far as Marty? The guy loses his first start 14 games and people are ragging on him? The team in front of him played sloppy. Turn overs, bad lazy penalties and soft play in the zone. Even on the second goal there was plenty of bame to go around. It's up to the blueliners to communicate with the goal on that play.

 

Come back with Miller tonight and Marty on Monday.

[Kristian]

 

The Sabres were due for a game like that. And Florida has been playng better, 5-5 in their last 10.

 

I'm usually quick to dump on Biron, and although he should have his skates nailed to the crease sometimes for his lack of puckhandling skills, you can't really pin last night on him.

 

Like DeLuca mentioned, they were due for one of these.

 

What does worry me though, is how he will bounce back from this. Personally I don't think there's much to bounce back from, but as someone mentioned, Marty has a history of coming apart when he's under pressure for the starting job. Hope that wasn't the case last night.

 

Go with Miller tonight, let Marty have the next one unless Miller plays absolutely out of this world, in which case you go with the hot goalie.

[Eleven]

Martin Biron is showing his true self.

Sure, that makes sense. Let's work with a one game sample, in which Biron is 0-1, rather than a 21-game sample, in which he's 15-5-1. The one game clearly would demonstrate his "true self"

 

I also think it's a good idea to get worked up over one loss in the last three weeks. Most NHL teams are able to go months and months without losing. Also, most NHL teams win games in which they score only once.

 

But I guess the Sabres' shooters--'cept Vanek of course--showed their "true selves" last night.

[BuffalOhio]

i thought the all-rookie line looked good in the first period. that was an interesting wrinkle by ruff...to me, at least.

He should have never toyed with the Roy/Afinogenov/Vanek line. That has been there best line in the last few games.

 

There seemed to be no chemistry on any of the lines, either.

[Corp000085]

who gets the start tonight?? i say miller...

 

 

on the surface you can't take last night's game as a representitive sample of biron, but if you dig deeper you can. He's been horrible when he's had breathing on his neck. Also, he's huge trade bate now. one more game like last night will taint that. Play miller and trade marty after the trade freeze. Last night might have been a one game fluke, however, i wouldn't risk our standing that it wasn't. Biron has been a streaky goalie that is soft under the pressure of playing better than the backup. 15-5-1 with no backup is very impressive but it did nothing to alter history. Expect the sabres to come out and grind out a victory tonight, expect miller to start, and expect to say goodbye to marty.

 

edit: i'll edit in some clarification... This is not a rj vs. flutie type of debate with miller vs. marty... miller was named the starter, and played to deserve to be. marty also played to be the backup (ie sucking). then he played well when miller got hurt. The end result WILL be the same... Miller will be the starter going into the playoffs. The only difference between the end result now and what it was projected in october is now we'll get a player and a draft pick as opposed to a bag of pucks. Marty, i've always liked you.. you're a likeable guy, a decent goalie... however, you just can't handle the internal pressure and i'm not willing to go all in on you.

[LabattBlue]

Sure, that makes sense. Let's work with a one game sample, in which Biron is 0-1, rather than a 21-game sample, in which he's 15-5-1. The one game clearly would demonstrate his "true self"

 

I also think it's a good idea to get worked up over one loss in the last three weeks. Most NHL teams are able to go months and months without losing. Also, most NHL teams win games in which they score only once.

 

But I guess the Sabres' shooters--'cept Vanek of course--showed their "true selves" last night.

I wouldn't say I was getting "worked up" over the loss and I realize the Sabres aren't going to win EVERY game, but I was disappointed that they put out that kind of effort against one of the leagues bottom feeders.

 

I continue to be concerned though about the Sabres even strength play. A big reason why the Sabres had this streak was due to the success of the PP, but the PP can't be counted on to bail them out every game.

[shrader]

The second goal WAS Biron's fault.

Obviously he didn't help things, but the two Sabres who couldn't tie up the goal scorer in front of the net didn't help out either.

 

The one I'm surprised that no one mentioned was the shorthanded goal. It looked to me like he was a little bit off to the right, showing Stumpel a little more net. It may have been the camera angle though. Either way, that was a great shot by Stumpel.