SabreFX

Milbury doesn't think a guy getting skate kicked in the abdomen and groin is reason enough for the trailing ref to blow the whistle.

They're so much smarter defensively with Enroth in net. Miller's composure isn't quite there tonight, but he's still putting in a solid effort and saving their butts. Bruins should have 5 or 6 by now. I hate how the Sabres have reverted to just standing in a little box directly in front of Miller.

What did Kaleta say? I hate that DirecTV cuts off the feed so soon after the horn sounds.

Roo-we-dull looked pretty good there on the one shift I've seen so far. Certainly smarter and more alive than Myers ever does.

At least the Amerks line continues to show signs of life. Let's hope they don't go all Foligno on us next season.

So Vanek came back too soon...again. He's great when he's at 100% which typically only lasts about 15 games thanks to the 50 cross checks he takes to the back and ribs per night, and he's kind of brutal the rest of the time when he's Mr. Grimace. His next team will have to invest either in some much needed back surgery (hey, maybe Darcy can pull another damaged-goods trade like the Roy for Ott one) or they'll be buying him some new body armor. Once again, expecting them to win 4 in a row was a bit too much.

If we have to have games on NBC, I will happily have Dave Strader and Brian Engblom call them talk during them than Doc, Ed, and Pierre by far. Sure, they mentioned Ovechkin more than any one Sabre, but their ramblings are at least mostly cohesive and Engblom is quick to praise a good play regardless of which team did it. They did seem to have some heavy man-crushes on Steve Sullivan though.

Ah, gotcha. I don't buy that excuse that the Pens fall apart without him. I'm not saying that's what you're saying, but some of the commentators have implied it even when those same people were the ones saying the Penguins had enough talent and depth to overcome Crosby's absence prior to them losing to Buffalo.

I didn't see the game. What did Orpik do/not do?

Penguins lost 6-1 to NYR. BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Look what Buffalo started.

My prediction: The Sabres will take an early 2-0 lead on goals by Ennis, stunning the Penguins who expected Buffalo to roll over as soon as the puck dropped. Rolston, finally realizing that the Sabres can't protect two or three goal leads, tells his team to go for the jugular. Luke Adam regains his confidence and scores two more. 4-2 Sabres after 1 period. The Penguins try to scare Buffalo into their usual shell in the first part of the 2nd period. Matt Cooke tries to take Kaleta's head off, but Patty sees it coming and turtles. Cooke misses and ends up cracking Iginla's skull. John Scott gets a game misconduct for yelling "OH SNAP!!!". The Penguins, in disarray, allow three more goals. 7-2 Sabres. A frustrated James Neal cross-checks Gerbe in the face repeatedly. Ref grabs Gerbe by the jersey and throws him in the box for embellishment. Penguins score on the powerplay. 7-3 Sabres. During the 2nd intermission, Milbury drops some F-bombs and is escorted out of the building. He punches a little kid on the way out. Third period gets underway. Myers accidently scores on Miller after tripping over his own big stupid feet. Miller gives him the standard "are you effing kidding me!?" look. 7-4 Sabres. Stafford, realizing he can make himself look good on NBC, cradles a pass that was going a whole foot-and-a-half away from his stick and scores. 8-4 Sabres. Marc-Andre Fleury, now in goal in relief of Vokoun, has flashbacks to last year's playoff series with Philly and is mentally shaken to the point that Jochen Hecht scores. 9-4 Sabres. Fleury leaves the game in tears. Vokoun back in goal. Rolston allows Myers to play right wing since he won't play D anymore anyway. Myers scores but is swiftly beaten up by Cooke. 10-4 Sabres. Refs penalize Cooke this time. On the powerplay, Pominville turns the puck over and the Penguins score short-handed. 10-5 Sabres. A closeup shot of Miller shows him mouthing the words "ugh, here we go again" and he prepares himself for the inevitable onslaught of Penguins shots. Penguins pull their goalie for the extra man. Ennis scores on the empty net for the hat trick! Sabres fans in attendance throw their hats. Time runs out. GAME OVER 11-5 Sabres. The Aftermath: Lemieux writes an angry letter to the league complaining about the disrespect the Sabres showed by scoring repeatedly on his team and ruining their streak and promises to do everything in his power to avenge it. Crosby, released from the hospital earlier today is reached for comment and mumbles something about Sabres fans throwing too many hats on the ice after Ennis' hatty. The NHL Board of Governors concurs and fines the Buffalo Sabres $30,000. Pegula digs in his pocket and pays it- cash. Shanahan announces that Kaleta is suspended 8 games for his role in Iginla's head injury. Sabres fans, excited after this win begin to wonder if this is a turning point for the team. It won't be. Ottawa scores 2 goals in the opening minute of Friday's game and everything returns to normal in Hockey Heaven.

Worry not Flyers fans, here are some of the struggling teams Buffalo has handed games to this season alone: Panthers, Capitals, Jets, Devils... What's that? Oh, your third string goalie is called up? We'll make him look like a Vezina contender. Your $tar player is in an embarrassing slump? We'll leave 'em open on the power-play and make sure to pass him the puck as much as possible. You question whether your designated goon is of enough value to even get you a 4th round draft pick? Tell him to shoot glove-side from the point, he's pretty much guaranteed one or two points for the night. Your vets are injured and have been replaced by nervous rookies with questionable talent? Go on, grab that trophy puck out of the back of the net for him, he'll want to show that to his grand-kids some day. I love the Buffalo Sabres and I hate feeling that what I've described above is more the norm, than the exception. Grrrrrrrr.

These are the guys who more often than not play like they want it. Our experienced guys? Not so much.

I like you guys. Those are the only acceptable answers.

What would we do with it?

The thought of a high draft pick for Buffalo is of no comfort to me. I don't want to wait X-number of years for a talented kid under just the right conditions to potentially develop into a really good player. I look at sucky Edmonton and their three consecutive #1s and I'm not like, "Wow, a #1 pick is what the Sabres need!" It helps, sure, but their high draft picks are hardly rocketing The Oilers to the top of the standings, or even playoff contention. I still think Edmonton should've traded their most recent #1 to fill their horrible hole at defense, and if it comes to it, I'd hope Buffalo would do the same. Enough with the potential results. You want results now? Trade that pick for something that will help NOW.

Looks like Rolston's message has grown stale.

Good points. I think I tend to forget Matt Ellis, not because I dislike him or anything, but maybe because McCormick's hard work is a little more apparent since it's more of a physical role which naturally gets more attention. I think you're right though.

I get that he's not the most talented guy on the roster, but if they're trying to address their effort problem, waiving one of the two or three guys who works consistently (okay, at least 80% of the time) better not be their idea of a solution.

Bob McKenzie ‏@TSNBobMcKenzie BUF puts Cody McCormick on waivers. Mike Harrington of TBN confirms he's on the ice at practice right now. I posted too slowly. Please lock thread, thanks!

Nice of Weber to respond to his benching by scoring on the rebound :wallbash: . Okay, second period- moving on!

That picture says it all. Neither of those two Boston guys is tied up, everybody is simply watching with their sticks up in the air, there's a guy all alone to Miller's right, The Sabre with the puck (Sulzer?) is trying to make the pass in front of his goal through traffic, and John Scott is the guy breaking out of the zone. Seems like it could work :wallbash: . The first Bruins goal was so predictable. My wife and I were yelling at the TV "spread out damn it, take a man! Go to them!" while four Sabres stood in a tight little square directly in front of Miller. The Bruins had all the time in the world to pass to each other and rip a shot from outside the circle. The longer they do that, the more likely it is that Miller will drop to his knees to find the puck through the tangle of his teammates' legs, leaving the top wide open. Every team so far has figured this out. If I remember correctly, it was on that same play that Sulzer crossed the crease while Miller was out of position and instead of moving out of his way, Miller had to skate around him. It was embarrassing to watch. And that was considered a decent first period for them. I did love the goal by Myers. Nothing fancy, no dekes, no bad pass to the blueline (or beyond) and he didn't waste time trying to switch to the forehand- just put a solid back hand on net and got rewarded.

Yep, if it was really his knee, they'd use the "lower body injury" line. C'mon, nobody leaves a game over a leg cramp. This isn't basketball for the love of Pete.

It's like they finally realized they're playing against a backup. I'm sick of seeing them make every other team's backups look like super stars.

:clapping: Nope, didn't pancake his yam-bag. Right knee after all.