Miller called out by Cherry

[Rabbit151]

Did anyone see Don Cherry on Coach's Corner on Friday night? You want to talk about Connolly, Roy, Stafford and so on. And, people are right to do that, those guys did not show up. But, lets face it, we only thought Buffalo had a chance because of Miller.

 

He was beaten by Rask, Rask was better. Cherry showed the between the legs goal that tied it in Boston, and called out Miller saying something to the effect of elite goalies don't let those in in the third period of a crucial game. He went on to ask what Miller has won in the way of a championship. I thought he did in college..but hey, Don doesn't always get it right.

 

I have to say tho, I agreed. It's easy to look at who didn't show up in that series...but not much blame went to Miller. The seeing-eye floater from Chara in game 2 should've been stopped but he got caught back in his net...when he should've been out 2, 3 feet like he had been doing all year. And, blowing two, two goal leads? Sorry, elite goalies don't have that happen...or at least, they rebound and win the series.

 

I like the guy, I think his game improved a lot this year, but he did not have a good enough playoffs. No question about it.

[Corp000085]

He played well enough to keep us in games despite the forwards' lack of production, but he didn't play well enough to overcome their lack of production. Win as a team, lose as a team... You can't blame this one on Miller, even though he wasn't good enough to overcome.

[Sam Williams]

Did anyone see Don Cherry on Coach's Corner on Friday night? You want to talk about Connolly, Roy, Stafford and so on. And, people are right to do that, those guys did not show up. But, lets face it, we only thought Buffalo had a chance because of Miller.

 

He was beaten by Rask, Rask was better. Cherry showed the between the legs goal that tied it in Boston, and called out Miller saying something to the effect of elite goalies don't let those in in the third period of a crucial game. He went on to ask what Miller has won in the way of a championship. I thought he did in college..but hey, Don doesn't always get it right.

 

I have to say tho, I agreed. It's easy to look at who didn't show up in that series...but not much blame went to Miller. The seeing-eye floater from Chara in game 2 should've been stopped but he got caught back in his net...when he should've been out 2, 3 feet like he had been doing all year. And, blowing two, two goal leads? Sorry, elite goalies don't have that happen...or at least, they rebound and win the series.

 

I like the guy, I think his game improved a lot this year, but he did not have a good enough playoffs. No question about it.

 

 

Im sorry, Don Cherry is entertaining and all ... but if your not playing for a canadian team, wasn't born in Canada, Or didn't play in Canada at some point... then chances are that Don Cherry will not respect you as a hockey player. You didn't hear him making any mention of how poorly Brodeur played in the playoffs , now did we?

[matter2003]

Did anyone see Don Cherry on Coach's Corner on Friday night? You want to talk about Connolly, Roy, Stafford and so on. And, people are right to do that, those guys did not show up. But, lets face it, we only thought Buffalo had a chance because of Miller.

 

He was beaten by Rask, Rask was better. Cherry showed the between the legs goal that tied it in Boston, and called out Miller saying something to the effect of elite goalies don't let those in in the third period of a crucial game. He went on to ask what Miller has won in the way of a championship. I thought he did in college..but hey, Don doesn't always get it right.

 

I have to say tho, I agreed. It's easy to look at who didn't show up in that series...but not much blame went to Miller. The seeing-eye floater from Chara in game 2 should've been stopped but he got caught back in his net...when he should've been out 2, 3 feet like he had been doing all year. And, blowing two, two goal leads? Sorry, elite goalies don't have that happen...or at least, they rebound and win the series.

 

I like the guy, I think his game improved a lot this year, but he did not have a good enough playoffs. No question about it.

 

After watching Halak singlehandedly do in the Caps, its really hard to argue that Miller was good, but not as good as he could have been...

[bunomatic]

Miller got outplayed by a rookie goalie but to be fair Miller had no support from his offence.True,Don Cherry is pro Canadian but he's also pro Boston to a fault and that was really what the whole rant was about.He probably threw a few Orr references in there as well.Cherry really sucks Orrs backside.He really looks like a fruit in a suit.

[FogBat]

Im sorry, Don Cherry is entertaining and all ... but if your not playing for a canadian team, wasn't born in Canada, Or didn't play in Canada at some point... then chances are that Don Cherry will not respect you as a hockey player. You didn't hear him making any mention of how poorly Brodeur played in the playoffs , now did we?

Hmmm. Very interesting observation. It's been said that Don Cherry is a very patriotic Canadian, and that proves it even further.

 

I'm just glad I didn't get the CBC during the Winter Olympics.

[SwampD]

If someone could have found a way to put it in the net or if our power play could have mustered a single goal in that double overtime game, we would have said Miller stole that one. There is no way, as much as some would like, to blame this series on Miller.

[PASabreFan]

If someone could have found a way to put it in the net or if our power play could have mustered a single goal in that double overtime game, we would have said Miller stole that one. There is no way, as much as some would like, to blame this series on Miller.

 

Criticism always seems to get equated with "blame." I don't think Miller was great in the series, but I wouldn't blame him for the loss.

[SwampD]

Criticism always seems to get equated with "blame." I don't think Miller was great in the series, but I wouldn't blame him for the loss.

Fair enough.

[carpandean]

It's hard to say that he was outplayed. Yeah, that goal to it in Game 4 wasn't great, but between that and the game winner, Rask made one highlight reel goal, while Miller had to make 4. Miller wasn't his best throughout the series, but how many times did Rask face shorthanded 2-on-1's and breakaways? Miller faced more in one PP than Rask did all series. Rask played well enough behind the team that wanted it more to win a couple of close games against Miller behind the team that didn't. Rask is a very good young goalie and I wouldn't say that Miller outplayed him, but comparing their performances isn't apples-to-apples ... and that points to what's really wrong with this team.

[blugold43]

If someone could have found a way to put it in the net or if our power play could have mustered a single goal in that double overtime game, we would have said Miller stole that one. There is no way, as much as some would like, to blame this series on Miller.

the sabres loss was 100% special teams. 0 pp goals and some weak penalty killing. that 4 on 3 made me vomit.

[bob_sauve28]

I'm sort of glad someone brought this up. I do not blame Miller, but I think its funny that a team that was so hurting at forward that they had to trade for Dan Paille and sign Miro Satan scored a fair number of goals against us. And they had 5 today against a Philly team that was shutting down people of late! Our PP was a joke, but who would have thought Boston would have scored so may goals. I figured Miller would have had at least one shut out, and in game five he should have.

 

 

Its all about getting hot at the right time

[thesportsbuff]

Don Cherry says stuff like this to get a rise of out people like you.

 

Miller played pretty well. A few shots he overcommitted, and some of those resulted in goals. Once in a while he made a spectacular save. Other times he wasn't really to blame for the goals.

 

Someone in the last 48 hours --and i don't recall if it was on this board, on tv, radio, wherever--- mentioned that it's hard to justify putting a TON of money into an elite goaltender when there's really not that much of a difference in skill within say the top 10 goalies in the league.

 

I've often wondered the same thing. Tukka Rask came out of no where and DID outplay Miller.. not saying he's better than Miller but he made more saves and his team won. It just makes you wonder how much you can put on the goalies shoulders. In my mind, anybody good enough to start in the NHL is probably capable of "getting hot" and taking their team on a deep playoff run, or at least good enough to stop shots if your offense/defense is playing well.

[Eleven]

Miller did not have a great series. That said, Cherry might just be a little partial to the Bruins sometimes, you know?

[VansTheMans]

I lost all respect of Don Cherry (the little I ever had for him) last season.

 

Rewind back to the game where Vanek broke his jaw. In that game, Vanek had a hat trick. Lindy put him out on the ice later in the 3rd period, and that is when Vanek broke his jaw blocking a shot.

 

Don Cherry replayed the video, then with a smug smile said something along the lines of, "Ruff got greedy putting Vanek out there to get him a 4th goal. The hockey gods don't like that". Screw that.

 

Lost all respect for him that day. He's a smug Canadian b*stard with an agenda against most AMERICAN teams.

[FearTheReaper]

I lost all respect of Don Cherry (the little I ever had for him) last season.

 

Rewind back to the game where Vanek broke his jaw. In that game, Vanek had a hat trick. Lindy put him out on the ice later in the 3rd period, and that is when Vanek broke his jaw blocking a shot.

 

Don Cherry replayed the video, then with a smug smile said something along the lines of, "Ruff got greedy putting Vanek out there to get him a 4th goal. The hockey gods don't like that". Screw that.

 

Lost all respect for him that day. He's a smug Canadian b*stard with an agenda against most AMERICAN teams.

 

Wait number 87 wasn't looking for a 4th goal that night right?

[Marvelo]

Im sorry, Don Cherry is entertaining and all ... but if your not playing for a canadian team, wasn't born in Canada, Or didn't play in Canada at some point... then chances are that Don Cherry will not respect you as a hockey player. You didn't hear him making any mention of how poorly Brodeur played in the playoffs , now did we?

 

Brodeur has won championships, Miller has not. This is the prime of Miller's career. Brodeur is in the twilight. Brodeur has proved himself many times over of being one of the top goalies of all time. Plus Brodeur performed without the help of an offensive juggernaut in NJ.

 

Miller had a great series as a USA goalie and he is a sentimental favorite because he performed for the USA. But he hasn't proven anything to me and if anything, I think is over-hyped. He was good vs. the Bruins, sometimes great. But he was also not-so-great in critical times and that's what you need to be an elite goalie.

 

I think you trade Miller to a San Jose or a Western Conference team now while his trade value is the highest.

[BlueNGold]

Does anyone else think that Cherry is a F---ING MORON! DAMN WHY CAN'T WE GET HIS UGLY A__ MUG OFF THE TV. TIME FOR BARRY MELROSE TO GO TOO. I am sure that there are plenty of others that can actually talk intelligently about hockey. Don Cherry you can kiss my A__. Ok, I feel better now. :thumbsup:

[nobody]

Rask led the league in save percentage and goals against in the regular season (maybe he would or maybe he wouldn't if he played a full season.) Rask was better in the series against the Sabres.

[apuszczalowski]

Don Cherry says stuff like this to get a rise of out people like you.

 

Miller played pretty well. A few shots he overcommitted, and some of those resulted in goals. Once in a while he made a spectacular save. Other times he wasn't really to blame for the goals.

 

Someone in the last 48 hours --and i don't recall if it was on this board, on tv, radio, wherever--- mentioned that it's hard to justify putting a TON of money into an elite goaltender when there's really not that much of a difference in skill within say the top 10 goalies in the league.

 

I've often wondered the same thing. Tukka Rask came out of no where and DID outplay Miller.. not saying he's better than Miller but he made more saves and his team won. It just makes you wonder how much you can put on the goalies shoulders. In my mind, anybody good enough to start in the NHL is probably capable of "getting hot" and taking their team on a deep playoff run, or at least good enough to stop shots if your offense/defense is playing well.

Everyone keeps coming out and saying this, but is it really true? Did he really outplay Miller or was he helped by having a better team infront of him? Looking at the stats from the series, Miller faced 204 Shots, allowing 15 goals (had a GAA f 2.34 and a save % of .926). Rask in the series faced 193 shots and allowed 14 goals (including yesterdays game, his GAA is 2,36 anda Save % of .921). Just looking at the stats, I would say that they were pretty even. Now if you watched the games, you could see that the Bruins were much better infront of their goalie then Buffalo. Buffalo hung in that series getting almost 0 contribution from its "Top 5" (I say top 5 cause Vanek did play pretty good when playing) and having a non existent powerplay.

 

Rask had a great series, and made some tremendous saves, but I wouldn't say he outplayed Miller, just like I wouldn't say Miller outplayed Rask. Great play from the guys infront can make a goalies performance look even better. How many times can you say that Buffalo really tested Rask and that he had to come up and make an incredible save? I can think of one, and that was the diving save on Grier. Otherwise he mostly made more routine saves, and had a good defence there to block shots and clear rebouds. How many times did Miller have to come up with huge saves with Boston players coming in 2-1 or on breakaways?

 

As for Don, he's a mouth with ugly suits. He is bias towards Canadians and doesn't like the Euro Players. He is there cause he gets people to tune in cause they want to hear him say something that might be controversial (similar to Stern listeners)

 

Brodeur deserves to face criticism for his performance in the playoffs and the Olympics. He is supposed to be an elite goaltender, he was nominated for the vezina, and yet he gets a pass cause he is older and won championships in the past? No one is debating his past, they are talking about what he did this year, and his team was dumped from the playoffs very early by a team that made the playoffs at the last second playing their 6th string goalie. Miller plays equally as well as his opponents goalie, while playing on a weaker team, after carrying the US Hockey team to the Gold medal game, andhe deserves to get criticized for not carrying his weak team further because in his short career as a starter he hasn't won a cup yet?

[apuszczalowski]

Rask led the league in save percentage and goals against in the regular season (maybe he would or maybe he wouldn't if he played a full season.) Rask was better in the series against the Sabres.

Rask was not better, he was helped by a better team in front of him. Rask only played in only half of his teams games so leading the league in categories isn't exactly something that can be used to prove he is a better goalie

[Eleven]

Everyone keeps coming out and saying this, but is it really true? Did he really outplay Miller or was he helped by having a better team infront of him? Looking at the stats from the series, Miller faced 204 Shots, allowing 15 goals (had a GAA f 2.34 and a save % of .926). Rask in the series faced 193 shots and allowed 14 goals (including yesterdays game, his GAA is 2,36 anda Save % of .921). Just looking at the stats, I would say that they were pretty even. Now if you watched the games, you could see that the Bruins were much better infront of their goalie then Buffalo. Buffalo hung in that series getting almost 0 contribution from its "Top 5" (I say top 5 cause Vanek did play pretty good when playing) and having a non existent powerplay.

 

Rask had a great series, and made some tremendous saves, but I wouldn't say he outplayed Miller, just like I wouldn't say Miller outplayed Rask. Great play from the guys infront can make a goalies performance look even better. How many times can you say that Buffalo really tested Rask and that he had to come up and make an incredible save? I can think of one, and that was the diving save on Grier. Otherwise he mostly made more routine saves, and had a good defence there to block shots and clear rebouds. How many times did Miller have to come up with huge saves with Boston players coming in 2-1 or on breakaways?

 

As for Don, he's a mouth with ugly suits. He is bias towards Canadians and doesn't like the Euro Players. He is there cause he gets people to tune in cause they want to hear him say something that might be controversial (similar to Stern listeners)

 

Brodeur deserves to face criticism for his performance in the playoffs and the Olympics. He is supposed to be an elite goaltender, he was nominated for the vezina, and yet he gets a pass cause he is older and won championships in the past? No one is debating his past, they are talking about what he did this year, and his team was dumped from the playoffs very early by a team that made the playoffs at the last second playing their 6th string goalie. Miller plays equally as well as his opponents goalie, while playing on a weaker team, after carrying the US Hockey team to the Gold medal game, andhe deserves to get criticized for not carrying his weak team further because in his short career as a starter he hasn't won a cup yet?

 

You can't include yesterday's game, where Rask allowed four goals, in evaluating who the better goalie was in the Sabres-Bruins series. And I don't think that Cherry's well-documented pro-Canadian (really, sometimes it's pro-North American), anti-European bias played a role in his comments, either. Rask is Finnish, not Canadian. Any comparison between Miller and Brodeur will be valid if and when Miller starts approaching Brodeur in wins, Cups, and shutouts.

 

That said, I'd rather have Miller than either Brodeur or Rask with the Sabres right now. Brodeur's career is coming to a close, and Rask could very well turn out to be a one-season stud like so many "this is the next star" goalies of the last few years. Miller is consistently a top 5 NHL goaltender and will be for some time.

 

And THAT said, Rask outplayed Miller in a six-game series. Big deal. I can think of several periods in the series where the Sabres had great pressure, great shots, and the only reason goals weren't scored was because of Rask's play. Why are we so afraid to acknowledge that the goalie got outplayed, while so quick to say that the forwards and defensemen got outplayed? It's ok. The guy played a long season, had a deep and successful Olympic run, and didn't play as well as another guy who happened to be streaking just at the wrong time. Happens. Miller was the best Sabre throughout the series, but that doesn't mean that he was better than the other team's goaltender, and it doesn't make him immune to criticism.

[nobody]

Rask was not better, he was helped by a better team in front of him. Rask only played in only half of his teams games so leading the league in categories isn't exactly something that can be used to prove he is a better goalie

 

 

Rask wasn't helped by better team in front of him - he played against a weaker team that didn't take advantage of their chances they were given.

 

 

Half a season is a good number of games. It's not like he only played 10 or 20 games. But I did comment on that in my post.

[thesportsbuff]

Everyone keeps coming out and saying this, but is it really true? Did he really outplay Miller or was he helped by having a better team infront of him? Looking at the stats from the series, Miller faced 204 Shots, allowing 15 goals (had a GAA f 2.34 and a save % of .926). Rask in the series faced 193 shots and allowed 14 goals (including yesterdays game, his GAA is 2,36 anda Save % of .921). Just looking at the stats, I would say that they were pretty even. Now if you watched the games, you could see that the Bruins were much better infront of their goalie then Buffalo. Buffalo hung in that series getting almost 0 contribution from its "Top 5" (I say top 5 cause Vanek did play pretty good when playing) and having a non existent powerplay.

 

Rask had a great series, and made some tremendous saves, but I wouldn't say he outplayed Miller, just like I wouldn't say Miller outplayed Rask. Great play from the guys infront can make a goalies performance look even better. How many times can you say that Buffalo really tested Rask and that he had to come up and make an incredible save? I can think of one, and that was the diving save on Grier. Otherwise he mostly made more routine saves, and had a good defence there to block shots and clear rebouds. How many times did Miller have to come up with huge saves with Boston players coming in 2-1 or on breakaways?

 

 

those stats mean nothing to me. you know why? Boston is playing in the second round, and Buffalo isn't. You can look at statistics and defend Miller ALL day, but HE made more mistakes than Rask did. And to me, that's him getting outplayed by Rask. I don't care how many "tremendous" saves either of the goalies made -- Rask was very calm and had great positioning the entire series. Miller was way too aggressive on several occasions, and a good number of these occasions led to goals.

 

I'm not saying the fault lies solely on Miller, or even AT ALL on Miller, cause obviously if we had Vanek, Pommer, Roy, Connolly, etc. potting goals we would have won. But that wasn't the case. Miller made more mistakes and it cost his team.

 

Your theory that Miller played better because Rask only had to make "routine" saves is ridiculous. You generally don't have to make "tremendous" saves when youre always in perfect position. Miller likes to lolligag 30 ft out of the net, and he got caught off guard when rebounds or blocked shots floated towards the open side of the ice.

 

I'd take a goalie who will make every "routine" save over a goalie that will make great saves once in a while.

[PASabreFan]

You can't include yesterday's game, where Rask allowed four goals, in evaluating who the better goalie was in the Sabres-Bruins series. And I don't think that Cherry's well-documented pro-Canadian (really, sometimes it's pro-North American), anti-European bias played a role in his comments, either. Rask is Finnish, not Canadian. Any comparison between Miller and Brodeur will be valid if and when Miller starts approaching Brodeur in wins, Cups, and shutouts.

 

That said, I'd rather have Miller than either Brodeur or Rask with the Sabres right now. Brodeur's career is coming to a close, and Rask could very well turn out to be a one-season stud like so many "this is the next star" goalies of the last few years. Miller is consistently a top 5 NHL goaltender and will be for some time.

 

And THAT said, Rask outplayed Miller in a six-game series. Big deal. I can think of several periods in the series where the Sabres had great pressure, great shots, and the only reason goals weren't scored was because of Rask's play. Why are we so afraid to acknowledge that the goalie got outplayed, while so quick to say that the forwards and defensemen got outplayed? It's ok. The guy played a long season, had a deep and successful Olympic run, and didn't play as well as another guy who happened to be streaking just at the wrong time. Happens. Miller was the best Sabre throughout the series, but that doesn't mean that he was better than the other team's goaltender, and it doesn't make him immune to criticism.

 

Rask made a lot of tremendous in-tight saves that didn't get a lot of attention.

 

I'll agree with most of your post except the part about Miller consistently being a top five goalie. The numbers before this season clearly don't support that claim.