Sabres vs. Sens and Refs...

[smokinandjokin]

HUGE win. You just knew Miller would come back strong. Don Cherry said he deserved all three stars. Our offense stole one game, and our goalie stole another. By the way, there was some big-time hitting going on in that game. Everyone on both teams was paying the price to play the puck.

 

Giving up that 2-0 lead to Philly could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The Sabres slept with a smile dreaming about a sweep, and then woke up and the series was 2-2. Not only was it a lesson learned on how hard it is to win on the road, but also that a 2-0 lead can be fleeting. Hopefully Ruff keeps that fresh in their minds, and also makes note of Montreal taking the first two in Raleigh and proceeding to lose four straight to the Katrinas, including three at home. I don't think there's any doubt Ottawa had the better of the action in the first two games...There is some serious work yet to be done to finish them off. A win by Buffalo in Game 3, the odds say should just about do it, but if Ottawa wins, this thing becomes a long dogfight.

 

And of course commenting on the hit, no problem here. Connolly actually saw him at the last second and crouched a little bit, putting his head right in the crunch zone. He may have been better off not seeing him at all and taking that shoulder/arm right in the chest. Please don't complain about shotty refereeing and cheap hits. Chara got away with a few, but for the most part, it was the Sabres' own idiocy that got them sent to the box. Big hits and borderline 'cheap' hits are going to happen both ways. Seeing the same players for six straight games, you're not exactly making buddies out there. The cheapest hit of the night may have been McKee reaching out to go knee-on-knee with the Sens player.

[LongLiveRalph]

Giving up that 2-0 lead to Philly could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.  The Sabres slept with a smile dreaming about a sweep, and then woke up and the series was 2-2.  Not only was it a lesson learned on how hard it is to win on the road, but also that a 2-0 lead can be fleeting.  Hopefully Ruff keeps that fresh in their minds, and also makes note of Montreal taking the first two in Raleigh and proceeding to lose four straight to the Katrinas, including three at home.  I don't think there's any doubt Ottawa had the better of the action in the first two games...There is some serious work yet to be done to finish them off.  A win by Buffalo in Game 3, the odds say should just about do it, but if Ottawa wins, this thing becomes a long dogfight.

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Game 3 will be enormous. Sabres need to put the foot on the throat. I agree, that Philly series going 2-0 and then 2-2 could help them out. In 1999 the Ottawa team would've folded up shop (actually, they did!) Something tells me this Sens team is going to fly and go hard until they shake hands.

 

Please don't complain about shotty refereeing and cheap hits.  Chara got away with a few, but for the most part, it was the Sabres' own idiocy that got them sent to the box.  Big hits and borderline 'cheap' hits are going to happen both ways.  Seeing the same players for six straight games, you're not exactly making buddies out there.  The cheapest hit of the night may have been McKee reaching out to go knee-on-knee with the Sens player.

687035[/snapback]

 

I agree, Sabres looked undisciplined. Maybe the PP's were uneven, but Ottawa was also the aggressor, forcing the action and drawing the calls. That's the way it goes. This thread did read like a Flyers board, complaining about big hits (in the playoffs??? Come on people!) and complaining about the refs. Nobody wants to see cheap hockey, but if Connolly were to be out for the series, that's a huge advantage for Ottawa. Players know that when they see him staring at the puck in between the blues. McKee's hit was questionable. He's got to avoid that and not stick his leg out there. Not only does he get two minutes, he could also do up his own knee, or draw a retaliation knee blast to Briere, etc.

[BuffOrange]

smokin,

I'm not sure I agree with the popular notion that the Sabres ever fell asleep last round. I was actually pleasantly surprised that they played as hard as they did in Game 3 in Philly, they just got a couple of freak bounces go against them. Game 4 Forsberg put the team on his back which great players do sometimes, and Miller gave up a couple soft goals. I didn't really interperate that as a lack of effort.

 

As I said last series, 2-1 is as close as a series can be after 3 games so they cannot let up. I'm not convinced coming home up 2-0 is a better situation than hitting the road up 2-0 because if you drop Game 3, there's a lot more pressure to win Game 4 at home as opposed to being up 2-1 on the road.

[smokinandjokin]

smokin,

I'm not sure I agree with the popular notion that the Sabres ever fell asleep last round.  I was actually pleasantly surprised that they played as hard as they did in Game 3 in Philly, they just got a couple of freak bounces go against them.  Game 4 Forsberg put the team on his back which great players do sometimes, and Miller gave up a couple soft goals.  I didn't really interperate that as a lack of effort. 

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I don't think they fell asleep on the ice. Philly was fortunate and the Sabres were probably the better team in both games. However, I do think Buffalo was reading their clippings and had a sweep on the mind. Every player on the ice was not taking hits to move the puck. Maybe Philly's goon tactics after game 2 got out of hand worked, because the Sabres were looking over their shoulder and sliding sloppy passes to avoid checks. They looked at times like they didn't want to get hurt, because they knew they had another series coming up. Couple that with a few bad bounces, and your 2-0 cushion is gone.

 

The redeeming factor about this series compared to Round 1 is that the Sabres were going on the road coming off their most dominating performance, the 8-2 win in Game 2. They knew they were the better team. In this series, I think it's clear Ottawa has had the run of the play, and the Sabres don't feel like they've put their best total effort out there yet. A win in game 3 would be absolutely impressive, and could end the Senators. If a semi-sharp Miller shows up and holds them to 3 per game, I like the Sabres chances of getting 4 on Emery.

[Dan Gross]

 

His GAA wasn't stellar this year. I'll give him his props, though, with the exception of games 3 and 4 in the first round and came one of this series, he's looked servicable.

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Yup, because you can tell everything about a player's performance from the stat sheet. And as far as GAA goes, remember you are in the "new NHL," where Miller's "weak" GAA still puts him in 11th in the league...not exactly scraping the bottom...I think sub-2.0 GAA over 40+ games is a thing of the past...

 

Is he Hasek? No (he's actually playing, not tending to the 13th "groin injury" of his career)...has he reached his prime yet? No. Has he had something to do with the Sabres setting a team record for wins? I guess not, by your reckoning...

[meazza]

A forearm to the head is considered a clean hit?  I didn't know that was legal.  Thanks for the expert advice.

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if that wasn't a legal hit, then all of scott stevens great hits especially the two that took out big #88 would also have been illegal.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

I'm not too concerned with the Sabres winning. If this season has proven anything, it's that the team has loads of heart, as well as talent. Being up 2-0 in the series and winning ON THE ROAD is huge! Now they'll come back to Buffalo with the home crowd, last line change, last stick on the ice on faceoffs, and hopefully the refs on their side.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Yup, because you can tell everything about a player's performance from the stat sheet.    And as far as GAA goes, remember you are in the "new NHL,"  where Miller's "weak" GAA still puts him in 11th in the league...not exactly scraping the bottom...I think sub-2.0 GAA over 40+ games is a thing of the past...

 

Is he Hasek?  No (he's actually playing, not tending to the 13th "groin injury" of his career)...has he reached his prime yet?  No.  Has he had something to do with the Sabres setting a team record for wins?  I guess not, by your reckoning...

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Never mind the ridiculous scoring advantage his team had. Not too hard to win when your offense is 5th best in the league with a 3.37 Goals for average.

 

If you can't hold your opponent to under 3.37 goals against, you're sucking.

 

Note, I gave Miller his props for his mostly solid playoff performance and excellent job last night. Don't let that get in the way of your little holier-than-thou rant.

[MadBuffaloDisease]

Note, I gave Miller his props for his mostly solid playoff performance and excellent job last night.

I'm sure Ryan is sleeping better at night, as a result.

[stinky finger]

I love the passion folks but Connelly got what he deserved.  He turned into the middle with the puck at speed and got decked.  Clean hit, and TC had his knees bent, putting himself even further in harm's way.  Bet he never does that again.  Saying anything else is like saying Campbell's hit wasn't clean.

 

Still, the officiating did suck.

686901[/snapback]

I was wondering how many posts I'd read before someone mentioned this. Did we already forget the cheese that Campbell layed on that umburger?

[apuszczalowski]

There were some brutal calls last night, like getting called twice for tripping cause a senators player skated into a Sabre and fell over.

 

But the Connolley hit was clean just like the Uemberger hit.

 

and JSP, are you saying Millers team had a huge scoring advantage over the Sens? One of the top scoring teams?

[Dan Gross]

t.

and JSP, are you saying Millers team had a huge scoring advantage over the Sens? One of the top scoring teams?

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No, I think he's saying that if the Sabres weren't such a high scoring team we'd be hurting with him in goal because he's weak, except for half the playoff games (like last night) where he has been adequate.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

No, I think he's saying that if  the Sabres weren't such a high scoring team we'd be hurting with him in goal because he's weak, except for half the playoff games (like last night) where he has been adequate.

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Last night he was stellar, and I've said so. But to say he's been anything other than adequate in goal isn't exactly representative. He was DREADFUL in games 3/4 of the Flyer series and Game 1 of this series. He didn't really have to work too hard in games 1/2 of the Flyer series, and game 5, either.

 

he gives up an awful lot of big rebounds, wtih the exception of last night...that's something I'd like to see improve.

[Alaska Darin]

Never mind the ridiculous scoring advantage his team had. Not too hard to win when your offense is 5th best in the league with a 3.37 Goals for average.

 

If you can't hold your opponent to under 3.37 goals against, you're sucking.

 

Note, I gave Miller his props for his mostly solid playoff performance and excellent job last night. Don't let that get in the way of your little holier-than-thou rant.

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The reason that the team was able to have a 3.37 scoring average is directly attributed to the goaltending. We were able to take alot more chances in the offensive zone (forechecking two deep and the third lower than normal) and our forwards were better able to counterattack from our zone because they had the confidence that Miller would handle his job (Biron did too but we definitely played a bit more reserved when he was in net).

 

Miller has been spectacular most of the season. His lows were attributable to poor positional defense (and fuggin' Rory Fitzpatrick) and perhaps that Lindy stayed with him a bit too much. I've watched virtually every Sabres game this season (the only exception was the non-televised anywhere Atlanta game) and Miller has rarely been the reason we've lost games.

[Crap Throwing Monkey]

Miller has been spectacular most of the season.  His lows were attributable to poor positional defense (and fuggin' Rory Fitzpatrick) and perhaps that Lindy stayed with him a bit too much.  I've watched virtually every Sabres game this season (the only exception was the non-televised anywhere Atlanta game) and Miller has rarely been the reason we've lost games.

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I second that for every game I've seen (not nearly as many as I'd like). I've seen him give up very few goals that weren't attributable to some atrocious defensive breakdown.

[Dan Gross]

The reason that the team was able to have a 3.37 scoring average is directly attributed to the goaltending.  We were able to take alot more chances in the offensive zone (forechecking two deep and the third lower than normal) and our forwards were better able to counterattack from our zone because they had the confidence that Miller would handle his job (Biron did too but we definitely played a bit more reserved when he was in net).

 

Miller has been spectacular most of the season.  His lows were attributable to poor positional defense (and fuggin' Rory Fitzpatrick) and perhaps that Lindy stayed with him a bit too much.  I've watched virtually every Sabres game this season (the only exception was the non-televised anywhere Atlanta game) and Miller has rarely been the reason we've lost games.

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BUT BUT BUT his GAA isn't even top 10! He barely scratches the top 10 with his save %age man! Don't muddle things with game play, look at the stats!

[Alaska Darin]

BUT BUT BUT his GAA isn't even top 10!  He barely scratches the top 10 with his save %age man!  Don't muddle things with game play, look at the stats!

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You'll have to excuse me - I know alot about hockey, virtually none of which has anything to do with statistics.

[Crap Throwing Monkey]

You'll have to excuse me - I know alot about hockey, virtually none of which has anything to do with statistics. 

687701[/snapback]

 

I just managed to see the highlights from last night's game (I was so busy trying to set up the other TV - wife had the one working one claimed for 24 - that I forgot about the friggin' game. ) Confirm or deny: it looked to me like Miller was goaltending more aggressively than usual. Yes? No? Looked like it worked for him, too.

 

And the Sabres look virtually unstoppable on odd-man breaks the past few games. I'd love to see their scoring percentage overall on such...

[Mile High]

So get this. I'm on my way to Charleston for vacation manana and.. I'm pretty sure I'll see NO games while i'm there. So I had to, yes had to delete the Miami home game, Cinncy away game and Kill Bill 1 and 2 from my TIVO to make room for games 4,5,6 and 7. I'm not sure that all of those games will even be played (knock on wood) but it's set just in case.

[Alaska Darin]

I just managed to see the highlights from last night's game (I was so busy trying to set up the other TV - wife had the one working one claimed for 24 - that I forgot about the friggin' game.   )  Confirm or deny: it looked to me like Miller was goaltending more aggressively than usual.  Yes?  No?  Looked like it worked for him, too. 

 

And the Sabres look virtually unstoppable on odd-man breaks the past few games.  I'd love to see their scoring percentage overall on such...

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I'd have to say he was reading the play as well as he did during his best regular season stretches. He gets in the most trouble when he plays too aggressively, to be honest. The last losing streak he spent alot of time trying to find the right balance.

 

To me it looked like he was more aggressive in Game one, which is why there were so many easy backdoor plays - he wasn't using his stick properly in regards to the passing lane and Lord knows neither were the people lining up on defense (I refuse to call them defensemen after that performance).

 

For whatever reason this team runs odd man rushes as well as any team in my recent memory. In this series it's as much because of Emery as anything, I'd say. Briere absolutely wasted him on the first goal last night - dude ended up on his face with his hips facing the rafters. He honestly couldn't have played that any worse and proven to me he'd ever had skates on before.

 

You know a team is clicking when you see a goal like Derek Roy's second on Friday night. He did his job to get across the crease and drive the far post, but the impressive thing was his directional change to go parallel to the goal line and increase his shot angle, giving him about twice as much net to hit. That's a play only really confident guys make.