matter2003 Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 It seems to me that Buffalo is just bored playing against other teams sometimes... They try to play pickup hockey it appears and try to make all the fancy passes like they are in a 4-on-1 drill instead of just sending the puck in and going to get it... I have said this before, but I really think they are too impressed with their own abilities and think they can just show up on the ice and the other team will shake in terror...like they are believing their own press clippings... Anyways, hopefully the all-star break does them some good---they really need to stop playing lackadaisical hockey and get back to giving a good effort most nights.... Obviously its not panic mode, because I am confident that when it comes down to crunch time they will get it going, but its a little annoying to see them drop games in this fashion...its one thing if the other team just beats you, quite another when you get outworked and outplayed... That being said, our next game is against the laziest team in the NHL in Tampa Bay and we always smoke them...
Allan in MD Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 I think it's being bored with the other teams in the sense that the Sabres are convinced they can coast a bit, no matter who they play, and come back in the end to win. Much of this, I believe, is the result of the Ottawa series in last year's playoffs. In that one particular game, they did the impossible. That sort of result, against a very good team, plus the early success this year, was, in a sense, detrimental. The team developed a mindset that said adversity is not a problem for us. Now, however, they are faced with teams gunning for them, adjusting to them, and knowing that the Sabres can be banged around and also get sloppy. Take advantage of it. Plus, the injuries to Tallinder have really been detrimentral. He came back from the broken arm, and they immediately started winning consistently again. He goes down, and things start to deteriorate again. The team needs to learn from all of this, and adjust as the opposition has. Lindy probably needs to sit some guys and send appropriate messages, as he did in the playoffs with Vanek. Plus the special teams problems must be fixed. They really miss Connolly on the power play. Either he returns or you attempt to find someone else to run the show. All good teams have their down times. That's natural. But the mindset thing, on top of everything else, I agree is a bigger problem that must be addressed. Merely pulling switch when things get rough and expecting a quick fix to occur is obviously no longer working well.
Fronz1103 Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 well here is some irony from last nights game we lose to the leafs, when we usually win vs. anyone on most night, but both of our goals came on the power play. On most nights this season...we're struggling to get consistant offensive pressure w/ the man advantage. So i guess what I'm trying to say is that if there is any positive to our performance against toronto we can say that our powerplay might be on the verge of a bit of a revival. (figers crossed!) I want to remind everyone about "peaking too early" IMHO i think had Buffalo came out and whooped the Leafs on the second game in two nights this team would be on the verge of peaking. We all know what happens to teams who give too much in the regular season come play-off time.(i.e. Ottawa, Detroit, etc.) However, I'm not saying that it is 'ok' that a team gets out played on a given nihgt, but they cannot let it become a habit. In that sense i believe that if the Sabres lose a game here and there because of being outplayed its not the end of the world, they are a driven team steared by motivated leaders(i.e. Ruff, Drury)If they have a bad night, they will respond 9 times out of 10 the next game. Which means that Tampa Bay... it sucks to be you, good luck tomorrow caz the Sabres will come out flying, and I can say that with 90% confidence. GO Sabres
chileanseabass Posted January 12, 2007 Report Posted January 12, 2007 That being said, our next game is against the laziest team in the NHL in Tampa Bay and we always smoke them... tampa has really turned things around of late. lecavalier and st. louis are arguably the best duo in the nhl right now, and the team is finally playing like it cares. i think it'll be a good battle. but another buffalo blow out wouldn't be bad either....
matter2003 Posted January 13, 2007 Author Report Posted January 13, 2007 tampa has really turned things around of late. lecavalier and st. louis are arguably the best duo in the nhl right now, and the team is finally playing like it cares. i think it'll be a good battle. but another buffalo blow out wouldn't be bad either.... Tampa Bay scares me about as much as a group of pick up hockey players do---for some reason this is a team we always seem to have our way with...
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