LabattBlue

Sabres win 5-3. :beer:

Game thoughts... -Solid 60 minute effort. Dominating in both zones. Very few good opportunities for Boston. -Crowd was into the game. Good to see the fans "alive" after a 3 game losing streak. -Briere is money...$$$$ -Paetsch as a 4th liner and extra dman(if needed) is a 100% better option than Peters in the lineup. Hopefully we will only see Peters for another 5 or 10 games from here on out. -Note to Kotalik...When you come down the wing with the puck can you change it up every now and then? I don't mind if he can get a hard shot off, but time after time, it's a lame ass wrist shot. How about carrying the puck into the corner and behind the net and attempting to make a pass from there? How about trying to drive to the net? He is a very frustrating player to watch. -Glad Tallinder is back. I didn't expect to see him back this fast. He does make a big difference. GO SABRES!!!!

If you define capable as paying a backup 2.2 mil for a 3.17 GAA and a .892 save percentage, then you are correct, we have a capable backup. <_<

I disagree. The safe play is always to move the puck up along the boards. This is what they are taught. If you want an answer to the problem, ask yourself where the right winger was on that play.

Two other thoughts until Tuesday... Do we have any player who can stay on their skates. I swear that every 30 seconds there is another Sabre laying on the ice. What exactly does this team work on in practice. I think it is time for Lindy to march into the shower room with a bunch of hockey sticks and go ballistic like the manager from Bull Durham. Bunch of lollygaggers. :thumbsup:

Darcy...Keep convincing yourself that this team is great and that you don't need to make any moves except for waiting(I mean praying) that Connolly comes back. Too many passengers again...Pominville, Roy, Drury, Max, Vanek, the 4th line and just when you thought good goaltending would steal you two points...Miller falls apart in the 3rd period. Very disappointing EFFORT once again. :thumbdown:

You're right. The Peters v. Shelley fight really lit a fire under the troops. <_< Peters can lose all the weight he wants, he still has no skills and is always 2 or 3 steps behind the play. He can't hit what he can't catch. If you really believe that Peters playing more is the difference between the Sabres winning and losing, think again.

Like I said, 5 out of 6 on the road coming out of the break and they better have their #%^$#! together.... Maybe tomorrow. :thumbdown:

I only watched some of the 1st and 2nd periods, but my favorite part was the interview with Edge from WWE. :lol: :lol: PS Rail Cam sucks. Somebody needs to take a sledge hammer to it. :thumbdown:

Skills competition. What a great production... -An electronic clock that doesn't work for the fastest skater competition, so they have to use a stop watch. -A camera angle from inside the net that was used repeatedly for the accuracy contest despite the fact that you couldn't see the targets from this angle. -Score kept going up and down during the final shootout..1 point, no 3 points, no 1 point. -Coming back from commercial only to find the next event already started. Note to Bettman...this isn't the NBA(where you came from). Drop the skills competition/young stars game and stick with 1 night for the all-star game. PS on the young stars game(and probably the allsar game tonight). It's okay if there is no hitting, but do you have to make a mockery of it by going half speed and just hang out at the other teams blue line. What a joke.

It was 4 on 2 what did you what from Kalinin and Teppo??

I lied. One more thing to say... Lindy had two rookies(McArther & Stafford) out there when the winning goal was scored. I guess you also didn't care much that the team battled back from a 3-0 deficit to get ZERO points out of the game.

Only one thing to say... Just horrible awareness on the Sabres part. They fight back to make it 3-3, they are only a few minutes away from getting at least one point and they give up a 4-2 rush which results in a goal. Get your friggin' heads in the game. :angry: Thank god for the all star break.

Game thoughts... -Your co-captains shouldn't be taking dumb penalties. Lead by example guys! -PP? There is not much left to say. Two shorthanded breakaways given up, one which ended up in the net. -Vancouver gift wrapped two points for the Sabres by resting Luongo and putting in some journeyman scrub. The Sabres almost blew the opportunity. -I thought Roy had another solid game. -1st period very good. 2nd period embarrassing. Last 10 minutes of the game very good. Is it just not possible for this team to play without having a LONG brain cramp during the game. -I was at the game and the crowd just wasn't in it, which was surprising for a Friday night. -The shootout is very exciting to me, but they have to eliminate the delay between OT and the start of the shootout. Get rid of the zamboni resurface and let the coaches fill out their slips in 1 minute or less. -The busload of "25 and under" people in the 100 level cheering for the Canucks were giving the security guards a handful. I would have been pissed if I was sitting behind or in front of them. Sabre fans need to reclaim the 4 sections directly behind the faceoff circles. This always seems to be where the busloads of Canadiens invade every time one of "their" teams come to town. -Hopefully that is the last time we will see "around the world". :angry: In summary....a win is a win. Despite playing a against a minor league goalie and a team that has been red hot, the Sabres found a way to win. I'll be very interested to see how they play tonight. I expect to see Biron in the nets.

Canucks have nothing left in the tank after last night when they only managed 14 shots against Ottawa. Sabres 3-1

One other thing...Did the referees forget that they are supposed to be calling all infractions? The game reminded of how things were pre-lockout. :wallbash: :wallbash:

Game thoughts... -Miller was outstanding. The save he made with his stick is highlight reel material for the next twenty years. -Sabres played better in the 2nd and 3rd periods, but overall a pretty weak effort against another borderline playoff team. -Max seemed like he was in a funk over not being picked for the all-star game. Did not seem to have that zip in his step. -3 weak efforts to Thomas' glove side in the shootout. How about mixing it up a little boys? -I thought Paille was solid filling in for Gaustad. Have no fear though...when Gaustad is healthy Peters will stay in the lineup and Paille will be back in Rochester. I expect the Sabres to come home fighting mad and pound the Bruins 6-1 on Wednesday. There recent home efforts have been below average and it's time to get the joint jumping.

Nobody's TURNING on them. Just calling a spade a spade. Since when can't you be critical of a team when they are not playing well. <_< PS This isn't a recent problem. The EFFORT hasn't been there most of the season,.

Summary after one period... Good...Unbelievably lucky to be tied 2-2 Bad...Just about everything else. Two horrible PP's, outskated, outplayed, outworked, etc... I don't want to hear the term "hardest working team in hockey" used to refer to the Sabres again this year. Stuff? What stuff? The fact that they don't want to give a solid EFFORT? Lindy has a problem that seems to be growing and he better nip it in the bud before it gets out of control. PS Max, Drury(even with his assist) and Briere all INVISIBLE in the first period.

I missed most of the game because I was at a party where they wanted the football game on. :angry: That being said, I caught the last 15 minutes when I got home(I should have stuck with the football game), but I read in the morning news that they had 30 GIVEAWAYS!! I'm not sure if the Sabres are gripping the sticks too tight at home, but 3 home losses in a row to AVERAGE BORDERLINE playoff teams isn't inspiring my confidence in them at all. Nothing more to say. :bag:

A couple more thoughts... - The Sabres ALWAYS suck with the 2 man advantage. It doesn't help when your best faceoff man gets schooled by the opponent twice in a row. - We continue to be very weak along the boards. I don't see a lot of one on one battles for the puck being won even in games that the Sabres are coming out on top. It doesn't matter how many big saves you make if you can't make the average save when the game is on the line in the 3rd period. PS Marty was very good, but it's not like he faced 50 shots in the game. Describing his performance as incredible is a bit of a reach.

That exactly the point. They have become accustomed to winning games without putting in a good effort. Now it seems like they don't want to give the effort needed to win on nights where a few spurts of firepower can't get them a win.

- Classic Marty in the 3rd period. Big saves, followed by weak ass goals. 10 years in the league and the guy still doesn't know how to play angles(3rd goal). -Two home games. Two poor efforts. -I noticed how the Peters fight really swung the momentum of the game. <_< -Games against Pit, Chi & 2 games against a depleted Toronto team and all we get is 4 points. Maybe next time Toronto can have a few more players out of the lineup in order for the Sabres to have a chance. no comment ;)

There was one thing that the refs did get right on the Vanek goal and that was no quick whistle. It seems to be a growing trend where the refs are blowing the play dead WAY TOO QUICK when the puck is being handled by the goalie.

Throw some blame at Campbell also. Instead of being in front of the net where he should have been, he was lollygagging somewhere else. It's a good thing Campbell is going to the all star game because maybe he can pick up a few pointers from the best in the game. The guy is in a slump and is making at least a couple bad decisions every period. Let's see...the Leafs are missing Peca, Ponikoravsky, Antropov, Wellwood, White & Tucker, yet they look like the "hardest working team in hockey". I'm waiting for the Lorentz excuse generator to tell me how the Sabres "don't have their legs tonight". They need a BIG 3rd period. GO SABRES!!! I'd be surprised if Tallinder is back by mid February. High ankle sprains can take a long time to heal.