topshelfcookies

I'm surprised to see you say that about Kalinin dave! I ws really impressed with his play tonight. I thought he was hitting effectively, doing a nice job clearing the zone and pinching when he needed to. Also, I thought he played great in front of the net... I was trying to watch him when he was out there (I was watching on TV, so I didn't always have a great view), but he seemed to be doing a good job tying up his man, and playing his man, not simply watching the puck. I agree that the Knuble goal could have been prevented by Kalinin clearing the zone, but how does everyone on the ice ignore Knuble and let him get free? Lydman was horrible last night. Tony is funny like that...he'll toss in a really really horrible performance seemingly once every 10-15 games or so, then he returns to his solid, quiet, responsible play. For what it's worth, I felt that every single Sabre Defenseman looked pretty jittery for the first two periods. They all seemed to settle down a bit in the third and OT, but at the outset they seemed very tepid. Wow. I just used tepid talking about hockey. What the hell's the matter with me? I NEED A BEER! haha

I can't get the chat to work either... Any suggestions?

I'm getting so psyched for tonight...however, has anyone else thought about some possible rust (on both teams) for the first few shifts tonight? Or will adrenaline simply carry everyone through? - Few Things To Watch For Tonight - When the Sabres struggle, I feel you notice it most in their passing...it's simply not crisp. When the team is "ON" passes are right on the tape and their transition game is outstanding. Usually the nights when the passing is sloppy, it comes after a stretch of no practices...which shouldn't be the case tonight, as I imagine they've been able to get some good work in these last few days. When the club is playing well the Sabres clear their own zone surprisingly quickly. Think back to the last 4-5 games, vs MON, OTT, TOR, CAR...all those teams were pretty much getting just one shot off per rush/posession before the puck was cleared or picked off by a backchecking forward. If Philly is able to start establishing a forecheck tonight and is getting multiple shots and scoring chances each shift, that's when it's obvious the Sabres are on their game. Finally, as everyone has noted...SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL TEAMS. Looking at the stats from last night's games, all the games were called pretty evenly, and featured penalties right up into the 3rd period. I feel this is a good sign for the Sabres. One interesting note however, no penalties were called during any of the OT periods last night...

I logged on to the Leafs message board the night that Tucker took his cheap shot on Hecht. They were well over 100 posts for that game. I must say, very few of them had anything intelligent to say and it seemed like there were at least 30 some posts complaining about Leafs TV. I think an awful lot of the Bills game day threads are filled with junk posts as well. Also...I think the fact that tonight was a weeknight game, that didn't seem to have too much of a buzz surrounding it hurts the posting numbers. I get the feeling lots of people are taking it easy lately waiting for the playoffs to start. Can't say that I blame them. Good point about the chat room effect too. I was dumb to ignore that.

I missed the 1st period due to work as well, but caught the final two. In Lindy's postgame remarks he said that by the Sabres stats, Miller only faced one real scoring chance in the 1st. Montreal really carried much of the play in the 2nd period, and man...every chance, Miller was right there. Miller was giving up very few rebounds, and flat out robbed one Canadien on a cross-crease save. Also made a real nice save on a backhanded shot on a rush, where he stacked the pads. Also, you have to give some cred to the Sabres stellar defensive play. There was rarely a Canadien left open, and Montreal had tons of passes intercepted by the Sabres in their own zone. The PK also looked very strong tonight as well. Still, another strong game by Miller. I thought he looked like he was getting back to his old self.

I agree with Strow...I really have not liked Lydman's play over the course of the past 3-4 games. He just seems a step or two behind, and hasn't been overly effective in front of the net. I have liked the way Fitzpatrick has been playing lately...I wouldn't mind seeing him stay in the lineup tonight and give Tony a few days off. I think part of Lydman's poor play might stem from the fact that he never got any rest during the Olympics, and has been slightly banged up since then. Then again, perhaps these last 3 days off were all he needed. I'm looking for a strong effort tonight by the boys...they should come out flying and really have their legs. While it might not be getting alot of press (at least not as much as the Philly and Ottawa games last weekend were) I feel that this is a very important game for the Sabres. A solid win tonight against a hot team would prove that the Sabres are finally out of their post-olympic funk, and are ready for the second season to start.

I feel pleasantly surprised this evening...I thought it was a very honest effort by the Sabres, against a team that was pretty banged up. Even still, the Sabres were able to capitalize and played one of their more complete games since the Olympic break. I didn't think that Vanek neccessarily played a crappy game...he had two nice assists, though he did seem lost at times and appeared content with just floating at others. I think Thomas tends to "look" worse when on the ice with a guy like Gaustad, whose legs just never stop moving. Vanek plays a very different role than Gaustad does, so to compare the two is unfair, but I think a result of them being on the ice together makes it look like Vanek isn't skating hard. Anyways...this was the 4th game that I really liked the way we played defensively, which I feel is a good sign. Finally... WELCOME BACK RYAN MILLER. He finally was the difference in a game - in a positive sense. Ballsy move by Lindy to start Miller vs both Philly and Ottawa. I think that by doing so, he confirmed that Ruff (and the organization's top brass) feel that Miller will be THE guy for the postseason. It's moves like these that make me feel so appreciative that we have Ruff here. Anyways...I'm out to booze it up a little bit...nice game by the boys tonight!

So much for our 2 pages worth of discussion. I don't mind the move by Ruff though...like I stated in the other thread about the goalie situation, I think now that the team is finally playing Sabres-type hockey once more, Miller will look better.

I agree...I think tonight's win is hugely important for this team. I absolutley agree that Ottawa wasn't at full strength (duh), and therefore can't necessarily be viewed from the perspective of "Buffalo beat Ottawa", because that was a very different Ottawa team tonight. That being said...it was hugely important for the Sabres because for now the second consecutive game, the Sabres played strong, Buffalo Sabres-like hockey, came from behind twice and I thought generally controlled play in both ends. This type of effort and game gives you reason to feel confident that this team is finally out of the woods in terms of their slump, and getting primed for the second season. Great game for the Goatheads.

OH BABY! Ladies and Gents...the Buffalo Sabres are BACK! Now that's the team we remember...and I don't care if Ottawa was without half their D or not...that was a hard faught, gritty effort. And...what an OT! The Sabres just absolutely took it to them

PA- What NHL team was in Colorado in '79? I didn't think that Denver had hockey until Quebec moved there in the 90s.

Does anyone feel like this is a more important game tonight, as opposed to last weeks matchup vs. the Sens? I feel that last weeks game was certainly bigger...more hype, the Sabres were rolling, they could catch Ottawa, etc, but I think tonight is more IMPORTANT for the Sabres. If they had won last week, it would have been great to be in first place for a bit, though it was a position they probably would have relinquished at some point in the near future. Last week, the Sabres had all the pressure in the world on them, were almost "due" to loose after winning 8 in a row, and wanted to take the next step in their progression against Ottawa - from winning at home, to winning on the road. Tonight, the Sabres have none of those things hanging over their collective Goat Heads, which I feel almost makes it more important for them to get a victory. They aren't due to lose. They haven't been playing excellenty...but at the same time, they played well against the Canes. They're at home. Oh, and Ottawa is without Frankenchara (or is it Charastein?) What do you guys think?

I know what you mean, I was just 6 when it happened. I remember hearing about it (vaguely), but as I've grown up in Buffalo I've always felt almost disappointed that I missed it. On the other hand, I've heard it's just so awful you really don't want to see video of it. The picture that was posted is absolutely sickening. That being said, you can find a video of the play here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4848559356076208908 There is another version, which cuts to a secondary camera and shows a bit more of Malarchuk, however, just be careful. The site has a ton of ads for "sexy" girls...I'm just saying it might not be the best site to visit while at work. That said, here's the link http://weakgame.com/media_2242_Goalies_Neck_Cut.html The resolution is pretty bad, and the brightness seems way off, but I think you at least get a sense of it.

I sort of agree with DeLuca on this one. I think for the past two weeks, we had seemingly getting EVERY bounce to go our way. Cross-ice passes weren't getting deflected or hopping over sticks, pucks were hitting the post and finding their way in, etc etc. I think that tonight the Sabres didn't neccessarily get outplayed (as they did in the OTT and ATL games), just fell victim to a couple of really strange goals. I think Miller stops the 4th Carolina goal 99 times out of 100. My only complaint is the lack of production from our PP unit. While I understand that the team is once again in the midst of one of the most grueling portions of their schedule, AND Lindy obviously has been tending to Madeline and his family (and rightfully so), but boy...it seems to me they sure could use a good hard session of PP practice. Like it or not, this team still lives and dies by it's PP. While they've gotten significantly better in 5-5 situations in comparison to November and December, the Sabres still struggle when the PP isn't clicking. I know this isn't any huge revelation...most teams find it hard to win games when the PP isn't working right, all I'm saying is I think Lindy should switch things up, and have a good solid practice as opposed to letting everyone go with just light, optional morning skates. He doesn't have to run them ragged...but it sure looks like they need some skill work before Friday.

August 1, 2005 was a better day! Miroslav Satan became a National Hockey League free agent Sunday when the Buffalo Sabres declined to make a qualifying offer of $3.8 million to the high-scoring, 30-year-old right wing. 'We will not qualify Miro,' Sabres general manager Darcy Regier announced at a late afternoon news conference in HSBC Arena.

For the guys that went to the game and might have missed postgame comments: Sounds like Connolly could have played tonight if it was the playoffs. Doctor's advice was to let him rest up for a couple games, sounds like he'll most likely be back on Sunday. If Jochen can't go, I hope we toss in Peters for the Ottawa game. I like the idea of having a scrapper in what I would imagine will be a tight, physical game. But boy, you sure do notice a difference with Timmy and Jochen off the ice. Granted, this was a very different style of game, much tighter and more defensive minded, but it makes a difference not to have a couple of playmakers and finishers out there. In his post-game comments, Lindy alluded to the fact that he would have preferred to be playing Ottawa with a full club, not down two big parts of the team. Either way, Saturday can't come fast enough!

Anyone interested in dumping 2 tickets to the March 22nd game? Also, if you have any other tickets available that you are looking to sell for face value...let me know!

The ONLY thing which would have made tonight better, would be if the Sabres were wearing their Blue and Gold for tonight. I figure that the team will come out with all the guys wearing the Blue and Gold #16 jerseys for the pregame ceremony, like they did for Gare's night, but man, how great would it have been if they were doing a REAL throwback night, and played in throwback jerseys. Also, I noticed the other night that the Canadiens and Leafs were playing on a Saturday night and they had reversed the current uniform standard. The Leafs were home, and wearing a throwback style jersey, which was white, and the Habs were therefore wearing their classic "away" red jerseys. It just looked so much better. It would have been a blast to see the boys in the white helmets, white jerseys with blue and gold trim, blue pants and white striped socks and the Leafs in their "blues". Maybe next year...(though I suppose even then, the Sabres home unis will be the all blue versions). Alas

I have a feeling this could be fun...Miller's rested, the forwards are rested, Jochen and Danny are back. Let's light the lamp! And man, how much does it suck it's not on TV?

Has anyone heard if Marty or Miller will be in net tonight? I wouldn't mind seeing Marty tonight, and playing Miller vs Carolina. PTS, I agree, tonight's going to be a bit of a bland game. The Sabres have had an awful lot of trouble getting anything going against teams that really key on the trap.

I also was at the game with my brother and father, sat up in 319. The attendance figure was about that...a little over 18,000. Some empty seats in the 200's, but the 100's and 300's were absolutely packed. GREAT game. There was a definite buzz in the arena and the crowd was pretty into it for the most part. No wave tonight, but Let's Go Buffalo got started 4-5 times without the help of the ribbon boards/organ. All in all, good game. The Lightning just couldn't skate with the Sabres for the majority of the game - TB had hardly any forecheck going, other than some moments during the first 12 mins of the 2nd period. Otherwise, it was just all Sabres. They pretty much just kept the action in the Tampa zone. As we were walking out of the arena, we all turned to each other and commented that the team is just so much fun to watch, yet it's hard to really put a finger on why. They seem to just never take a night off, the power play is almost always clicking and they don't take too many penalties. Yet, it seems as if it should be a more complicated explanation as to why they're so good, or at least there should be a couple guys that are really carrying this team, but it's just not the case. Anyways, it's nights like these that get you psyched for May and June.

Going to the game tonight, and so excited. First game in over a month. 1. Any news on who Lindy is starting in net tonight? 2. Any news on how close the game is to being sold out? I've seen the ads in the paper the last few weeks, and it's pretty obvious the game isn't a sellout, but does anyone know how close they are?