NHL Playoffs thread...

[GOBILLS78]

Felt like I was watching the Bills.

[Simon]

the end is near for the 2010 Sabres, I'm afraid.

 

 

too small, too soft, not enough intensity, not built for the playoffs.

congrats Darcy - you built a team in your own timid image.

A team that soft should be bursting at the seams with speed and skill. The Sabres have neither.

It's time for guys like Pominzinger, Connoly, Lydman, Kennedy and Mair to seek employment elsewhere.

[DPR4444]

A team that soft should be bursting at the seams with speed and skill. The Sabres have neither.

It's time for guys like Pominzinger, Connoly, Lydman, Kennedy and Mair to seek employment elsewhere.

 

don't forget Softord -- I mean, Stafford.

[LongLiveRalph]

A team that soft should be bursting at the seams with speed and skill. The Sabres have neither.

It's time for guys like Pominzinger, Connoly, Lydman, Kennedy and Mair to seek employment elsewhere.

 

Mair is the least of their problems and is the type of player they need more of. He's a 4th liner and earns everything he gets. Getting rid of Mair and replacing him with another Pominville/Connolly/Stafford type would be a problem. We have enough guys who like to hang around the fringes and hope everything comes easily.

 

Kaleta's lack of ice time has been shocking considering the lack of intensity the Sabres have shown, and the way the series has been going.

 

Lydman has been excellent, not kidding...Rivet is the worst player on the ice everytime he's out there. Lindy will probably rotate 4 defensemen and give the Rivet-Sekera pairing about 5 minutes (or less) in game 4. At least that's what he should do.

 

Remember when Campbell hit Umberger in 2006? The other four players on Philly chased Campbell down the ice, and a skirmish ensued as they all wanted a piece of him. Ellis gets popped tonight in much the same fashion (by the same player who injured Vanek) and the four Sabres stand around and hope someone else does something about it. It's a joke.

[DPR4444]

Remember when Campbell hit Umberger in 2006? The other four players on Philly chased Campbell down the ice, and a skirmish ensued as they all wanted a piece of him. Ellis gets popped tonight in much the same fashion (by the same player who injured Vanek) and the four Sabres stand around and hope someone else does something about it. It's a joke.

 

 

and an embarrassment. when your team gets outhit and pushed around by a small European player (Svotoka? Sbotoka?), there is definitely a problem/

[meazza]

Well, that pretty much sucked in both Boston and Montreal. Thphppht.

 

I actually watched that live.

[Buftex]

Mair is the least of their problems and is the type of player they need more of. He's a 4th liner and earns everything he gets. Getting rid of Mair and replacing him with another Pominville/Connolly/Stafford type would be a problem. We have enough guys who like to hang around the fringes and hope everything comes easily.

 

Kaleta's lack of ice time has been shocking considering the lack of intensity the Sabres have shown, and the way the series has been going.

 

Lydman has been excellent, not kidding...Rivet is the worst player on the ice everytime he's out there. Lindy will probably rotate 4 defensemen and give the Rivet-Sekera pairing about 5 minutes (or less) in game 4. At least that's what he should do.

 

Remember when Campbell hit Umberger in 2006? The other four players on Philly chased Campbell down the ice, and a skirmish ensued as they all wanted a piece of him. Ellis gets popped tonight in much the same fashion (by the same player who injured Vanek) and the four Sabres stand around and hope someone else does something about it. It's a joke.

 

 

Mair gets a bum rap...he may not be real skilled, but he will fight...something most of his teammates don't seem to be willing to do, many nights...terrible effort by the Sabres tonight...Boston dominated them from start to finish. C'mon Lindy...light a fire under these taffy-asses!

[Chandler#81]

I shaved this morning..

[dib]

I think my best chance to see the Sabres win the Cup is to watch "Bruce Almighty" again.

[LewPort71]

I shaved this morning..

 

 

My razor will probably get a work out on Friday AM.

Mrs. Lew likes the beard too....even in its

early scruffy stage

[DrDawkinstein]

I shaved this morning..

 

fer reals?!?!? its only game 3 guys!!

[LongLiveRalph]

fer reals?!?!? its only game 3 guys!!

 

Seriously! Win tomorrow and they're in pretty good shape. They still have some guy named Ryan Miller...

[bills_fan]

Seriously! Win tomorrow and they're in pretty good shape. They still have some guy named Ryan Miller...

 

 

Yes, surrounded by a bunch of soft smurfs (with a few exceptions). Hello, the team's best player not named Miller gets run on the ice and there is no response? When Drury was upended against Ottawa, Stafford went nuts against the Senators and Lindy sent out the goon squad for the very next shift. When Campbell lit up Umberger, 4 Flyers skated after Campbell. When Vanek is run into the boards and slashed the Sabres do...nothing?

 

Boston is being led by a 42 year old Mark Recchi showing the team how to be pros. That guy for us was Drury, who we still have not replaced. Better get a real veteran leader in here this offseason or it will be more of the same. And we will waste Miller's prime same as we wasted Hasek's.

[BuffOrange]

Yes, surrounded by a bunch of soft smurfs (with a few exceptions). Hello, the team's best player not named Miller gets run on the ice and there is no response? When Drury was upended against Ottawa, Stafford went nuts against the Senators and Lindy sent out the goon squad for the very next shift. When Campbell lit up Umberger, 4 Flyers skated after Campbell. When Vanek is run into the boards and slashed the Sabres do...nothing?

 

Boston is being led by a 42 year old Mark Recchi showing the team how to be pros. That guy for us was Drury, who we still have not replaced. Better get a real veteran leader in here this offseason or it will be more of the same. And we will waste Miller's prime same as we wasted Hasek's.

 

Yup. As for 'winning tomorrow & being in good shape' - that is true I suppose for this series - against the lowest scoring team in the playoffs. But even if they're to win this series they don't look like a team that can seriously compete for the big prize in a tournament that appears to have no great teams. It's another sad missed opportunity.

[LongLiveRalph]

Yup. As for 'winning tomorrow & being in good shape' - that is true I suppose for this series - against the lowest scoring team in the playoffs. But even if they're to win this series they don't look like a team that can seriously compete for the big prize in a tournament that appears to have no great teams. It's another sad missed opportunity.

 

Oh yeah I was definitely only talking about this series. I have been critical all season of this Sabres team, and catching serious flak for it because "they're in 1st place, what more do you want."

 

I mentioned earlier in this thread that they were missing major pieces to be a Cup contender and few people jumped all over me. Perhaps it was just the pre-playoffs optimism and the excitement of being back in the postseason.

 

It would be nice to see them advance, only because of the man between the pipes. He gives them a chance every night. But in a very mediocre East, the stars play for two teams, who will be tough to beat. The Sabres "no #1 line" motto is cute but it just doesn't pass the eye test. When you have a bunch of guys who only score 1 goal every 8 games, who gets the goals in a 7 game series? You need some stars to win, backed up by two lines of guys who get nasty, earn every inch of space on the ice, and take no bullshiit.

 

At least when the Sabres had Hasek, they prided themselves on being the "hardest working team in hockey" and actually focused on being a horribly difficult team to play against. They wanted to be physical, ugly, fight, and then when you fought your way into a scoring area, you had to beat the Dominator. They were tough to play against, you knew you were in for a 60 minute grind. Other than lighting the lamp on Miller, this Sabres team appears to be incredibly easy to play against. They want nothing to do with battles.

[BuffOrange]

Oh yeah I was definitely only talking about this series. I have been critical all season of this Sabres team, and catching serious flak for it because "they're in 1st place, what more do you want."

 

I mentioned earlier in this thread that they were missing major pieces to be a Cup contender and few people jumped all over me. Perhaps it was just the pre-playoffs optimism and the excitement of being back in the postseason.

 

Yah, that happens a lot here. When the Bills were 5-1 and anyone pointed out flaws, they were "morons who can't enjoy life".

 

It would be nice to see them advance, only because of the man between the pipes. He gives them a chance every night. But in a very mediocre East, the stars play for two teams, who will be tough to beat. The Sabres "no #1 line" motto is cute but it just doesn't pass the eye test. When you have a bunch of guys who only score 1 goal every 8 games, who gets the goals in a 7 game series? You need some stars to win, backed up by two lines of guys who get nasty, earn every inch of space on the ice, and take no bullshiit.

 

At least when the Sabres had Hasek, they prided themselves on being the "hardest working team in hockey" and actually focused on being a horribly difficult team to play against. They wanted to be physical, ugly, fight, and then when you fought your way into a scoring area, you had to beat the Dominator. They were tough to play against, you knew you were in for a 60 minute grind. Other than lighting the lamp on Miller, this Sabres team appears to be incredibly easy to play against. They want nothing to do with battles.

 

Right. I don't fancy myself a hockey expert but I don't really understand what they had in mind when building the team, seeing they lack both skill and size. I guess they're like the fantasy owner who overvalues his own players (Roy, Pominville, Rivet, etc).

Ruff I like overall, but he is I guess is untouchable wrt criticism? The PP is brutal just as the President's Trophy team was in the playoffs vs. the Rangers/Sens.

[PastaJoe]

Sabres have called up some muscle...

 

BOSTON -- The Sabres, with the status of forwards Matt Ellis and Thomas Vanek in doubt, have recalled Cody McCormick.

 

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound forward was signed last summer for organizational depth, and he should get his first chance to show why Wednesday in Game Four against Boston.

 

McCormick had 17 goals and 29 points with 168 penalty minutes in 66 games with Portland this season. McCormick had no points, nine PIMs and nine shots in the Pirates' first three postseason games against Manchester.

 

The 27-year-old has four games of NHL playoff experience, skating with Colorado in 2008. He had one assist and seven penalty minutes.

[Simon]

Mair is the least of their problems and is the type of player they need more of. He's a 4th liner and earns everything he gets. Getting rid of Mair and replacing him with another Pominville/Connolly/Stafford type would be a problem. We have enough guys who like to hang around the fringes and hope everything comes easily.

 

Lydman has been excellent, not kidding...Rivet is the worst player on the ice everytime he's out there. Lindy will probably rotate 4 defensemen and give the Rivet-Sekera pairing about 5 minutes (or less) in game 4. At least that's what he should do.

 

I don't have a problem with Mair in particular; I just think that between Grier, Goose, Torres and Kaleta we've got enough more than enough guys to fill that role, and in most cases fill it somewhat better. I don't dislike him, he's just a bit of a redundancy with this club.

I do have a problem with Lydman. I like his skill set well enough but he's not nearly productive enough to be that soft. And he's often an atrocious decision-maker with the puck on his stick. You can either be aggressive on D, aggressive on O, or both. But Toni is neither and the Sabres can do better.

[Heels20X6]

Well, I've returned home from the Pens-Sens game here in Ottawa. All I can say is if you do get by Boston (and seeing as Philly is a near lock to get by NJ) may whatever God you believe in have mercy on you as the fix is in....the Sabres will not get a single, crucial call against Gary's team. Some of the calls tonight were baffling. The worst of which while the Sens were attempting to mount a comeback and Chris Kunitz throws the puck out of his end. The blind mice gather to discuss and determine that a Sens player tipped it. The replay CLEARLY shows there isn't a Sens player within TEN FEET OF KUNITZ.

 

Screw it, the fix is in. Bettman is going to make sure it's the Caps vs. the Pens in the Conference Finals. Most likely facing his reclamation project, the Phoenix Coyotes....

 

Best of luck against Boston tomorrow. Make it a series, my team didn't.

[Buftex]

I dunno, the Sabres have had an edge in 2, maybe 2.5 of the last 9 periods of hockey they have played...it doesn't feel right...Saturday's game was embarrassing.