X. Benedict

No coach that has to consider OTT-ENNIS-Gerbe as the bottom part of your top 6 has a lot of options. I feel sorry for Rolston. He has one legit center in Hodgson and one apprentice center in Grigorenko. No coach is going to win too many games forming lines from that depth, especially on the road. Gambling on Ennis centering a second line of Foligno and Stafford was the season gamble. It lost. Rolston can't make a second or third line that is going to compete with most NHL rosters consistently until he has a center that can win the middle. Having said that. Darcy getting Hodgson for Kassian , Ott for Roy, and drafting Grigorenko and Girgeson were the right moves IMO. But those moves aren't necessarily going to pay off today. Sometimes you have to molt the skin to grow into a new one. But this is painful to watch. So.....it is a long winded way of saying ....my finger is pointing at Darcy. He watched his team ice a second line of Ennis-Ott-Gerbe. Without a last line change Buffalo is an easy team to match up against at forward from the 2nd through 4th lines. It's that simple.

Not sure if I like Gerbe and Ennis together in the D zone.

The guy has an ipod to keep him awake.

:)

hmmmm.......this is redefining ugly.

Those are some interesting lines. 3 new ones.

:lol: If he's scratched for Stu Bickel ....he is really hurt. Anyway....maybe he is concussed, in which case what ever happened to the dark room protocols the league was so passionate about 2 years ago. Honestly, I don't wish anything bad on Richards.

Form is relative in this case. The dude has been dusty since coming out of the lockout. Would love to see last seasons form come back.

Nobody is going to run the guy. You can bet he gets chirped though.

I think half the players in the league will see it one way and half the other. I'm not sure myself. I thought it looked slightly suspect. Either way, dumb move by Kaleta. What's a ref to do? so good call. Often that little downstroke Kaleta used is meant to hold up a player by barring the pants rather than push him toward the puck or into the boards. But I do think Richards will hear about it. That's just what happens.

True sir. I used to have a mind like a steel.....a steel tarp. But not anymore.

Of course. Man, i'm getting old.

There really is nothing to say about Kaleta publicly in that situation that could help the team. I'm sure Richards will get quite a few compliments on his acting ability from other teams this month. "amazing recovery" "they give you a Tony award for that" "you"re looking swell, Mikey!" "you must of been in a lot of pain to toss your gloves off like that, Mikey" to name a few. The refs hear it all too. ,

this is great!

It was embellished. Not that it matters. Everyone in the league saw it.

I've always wondered why they never simulcast Chuck Kaiton - the best radio only guy in the game.

I don't know. The NHL does not go out of its way to protect its stars. You practically have to maim somebody to get a 5 min major. (except for fighting). Really a 5 game suspension is a slap on the wrist for giving somebody a brain injury.

I think it was well within the range of what was fair. Kaleta plays on the edge....so that suspension is really the price of poker. He may have not been called for 20 questionable hits leading up to this. To those that think Kaleta is useless....watch the video, he just got done blocking Richards' pass. I like Kaleta on the team. With him and Ott on the team, nobody gets too comfy playing the Sabres. Would you want him on the team if players liked playing against him?

I just want to know if they got 5.

Five. I get it. I think it is excessive, but I can't say it is completely unreasonable. Serve it out, Patty. Then move on.

Generally speaking, a skater like Richards doesn't lose his feet with that contact. That's probably why an arm didn't go up from the Refs until well after the play. If Richards springs right back up, that is a non-call. Tough break. A 5 min major is a good call. I'm going to bet 50% of the league is going to see that and call it embellishment. Another 50% will look at it and think Kaleta deserved the 5, because frankly, its Kaleta. Just a hunch.

I think it should be 1 game. because it is Kaleta and he's a repeat, maybe 3. Many times that little hit is to hold a player up with a downstroke on the pants....no way Kaleta wanted to go down 5-3. I really don't think there was intent to injure. 5 min major was the right call. It cost Buffalo the game.

Good call. 2 min. But Ennis makes that turn to the boards pretty regularly. Those will catch up with him.

My point is really how arbitrary NHL justice is.

Kaleta should be suspended. It wasn't much, but that shouldn't matter. I don't think Kaleta was trying to do it any more than Mike Richards..... ;) (who was never suspended.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SHMEVwHuG4