Paul Hamilton on WGR this morning...

[LabattBlue]

"The Sabres were out of gas the last two games". Does this guy really believe the stuff he says. How can they be out of gas during the first round of the playoffs and if they had won, how would they have gone any further if they were "out of gas".

 

Bottom line...the team laid two eggs in games where they could have eliminated the Flyers. My worst fear coming into the series is what doomed the Sabres...Buffalo's defense(and the coaching staff) could not handle the Flyers forecheck.

[spndnchz]

He seemed to be creating the story himself in the post game pressers. The first question he asked everyone was"It seemed the team was out of gas". I'll admit they were slower, but mostly because they had Roy, Hecht and Grier either beat up or not in playoff shape.

[That Aud Smell]

i have less of a problem with hamilton saying that on an op-ed basis than i do with vogl writing this in his post-game "report":

 

The Sabres just ran out of energy. They spent four months climbing the standings to get to the playoffs. They competed during every minute of the first six games, with each team winning three times.

 

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabres-nhl/article404198.ece

 

i didn't really see a team that had run out of energy -- i saw a team that got overwhelmed by a superior opponent.

[LastPommerFan]

I don't think they ran out of gas so much as they ran into philly. This is the East Champions virtually intact from their run last year.

 

And yes, it is the forecheck that did them in. Briere especially benefited from this. Several (I want to say 3 of 6) of his goals were a direct result of his ability to stay back behind the last defenceman and wait as the flyers forecheck prevented the clear and fed him the puck from the wall.

 

Classic case of exploiting weakness. Philly knew we had 5 defensemen under the age of 25. They pushed and we showed our age. Last night it seemed as though we couldn't clear the puck if it was already sitting on the blue line.

[obstructedorangeseats]

I don't think they ran out of gas so much as they ran into philly. This is the East Champions virtually intact from their run last year.

 

And yes, it is the forecheck that did them in. Briere especially benefited from this. Several (I want to say 3 of 6) of his goals were a direct result of his ability to stay back behind the last defenceman and wait as the flyers forecheck prevented the clear and fed him the puck from the wall.

 

Classic case of exploiting weakness. Philly knew we had 5 defensemen under the age of 25. They pushed and we showed our age. Last night it seemed as though we couldn't clear the puck if it was already sitting on the blue line.

 

All of this. I think too many people were (are?) trying to rationalize the loss with these types of comments ('out of gas') when in reality Philly exposed some of the glaring weaknesses of a Sabres team that eked its way into the playoffs. The Sabres gave Philly a run for their money, for sure, but the last two games of this series really showed the talent gap.

[DumbPuck]

All of this. I think too many people were (are?) trying to rationalize the loss with these types of comments ('out of gas') when in reality Philly exposed some of the glaring weaknesses of a Sabres team that irked its way into the playoffs. The Sabres gave Philly a run for their money, for sure, but the last two games of this series really showed the talent gap.

 

This...

 

Also, as I posted in another thread, Buffalo's physicality all but disappeared in games 6 and 7. I don't think it was anything new that the Flyers had a great forecheck. But I quite recall that in the more competitive games in the series we were getting some heavy hits in. By game 6 and game 7 we just basically allowed the FLyers to literally FLY around unchecked. Not fun to watch.

[Realist]

I thought it was pretty obvious Philly was just the better team, the relentless forecheck and Buffalo's inability to counter that did them in. Even the games Buffalo won, that forecheck of the Flyers was just coming in waves.

[SwampD]

I thought it was pretty obvious Philly was just the better team, the relentless forecheck and Buffalo's inability to counter that did them in. Even the games Buffalo won, that forecheck of the Flyers was just coming in waves.

It also didn't help that Philly took out our #1 and #2 penalty killers.

[apuszczalowski]

This...

 

Also, as I posted in another thread, Buffalo's physicality all but disappeared in games 6 and 7. I don't think it was anything new that the Flyers had a great forecheck. But I quite recall that in the more competitive games in the series we were getting some heavy hits in. By game 6 and game 7 we just basically allowed the FLyers to literally FLY around unchecked. Not fun to watch.

There was a reason for that, everytime they got physical, they were put in the box for 2. So the choice was be physical and play a man down, or let the Flyers walk all over them

 

It was embarrassing to watch the Flyers take out Connolly and Briere try to take out Niedermeyer, then Buffalo does nothing except continue to let Briere sit behind the net and score at will

[DumbPuck]

There was a reason for that, everytime they got physical, they were put in the box for 2. So the choice was be physical and play a man down, or let the Flyers walk all over them

 

It was embarrassing to watch the Flyers take out Connolly and Briere try to take out Niedermeyer, then Buffalo does nothing except continue to let Briere sit behind the net and score at will

 

Makes sense. Perhaps Lindy was concerned (rightfully so) about our PK after Pominville and Connolly were taken out and told the boys to be less physical.

[thesportsbuff]

Speaking of Boyes....

[Knightrider]

"The Sabres were out of gas the last two games". Does this guy really believe the stuff he says. How can they be out of gas during the first round of the playoffs and if they had won, how would they have gone any further if they were "out of gas".

 

Bottom line...the team laid two eggs in games where they could have eliminated the Flyers. My worst fear coming into the series is what doomed the Sabres...Buffalo's defense(and the coaching staff) could not handle the Flyers forecheck.

 

That was what I thought I saw. Up till the middle of game 6 I thought they matched up pretty well.

 

Tampa / Pitt

Boston / Montreal

Chicago / Vancouver

LA / SJ

Anaheim / Nashville

Washington / NY

Detroit / Phoenix

 

Yup every other series had at least one 3 day break. NY/ Washington, Boston/Montreal, Tampa/Pitt had 2 three day breaks. I wish I knew where the original full 7 game schedules were.

 

When you consider that the Flyers took the month of March off, while Buffalo had been in desperation mode since probably February, it is certainly possible that they had nothing left in the tank after playing 7 games in 12 days.

 

There is no doubt in my mind though that Philly had the more skilled skaters.

[K-9]

I don't think they ran out of gas so much as they ran into philly. This is the East Champions virtually intact from their run last year.

 

And yes, it is the forecheck that did them in. Briere especially benefited from this. Several (I want to say 3 of 6) of his goals were a direct result of his ability to stay back behind the last defenceman and wait as the flyers forecheck prevented the clear and fed him the puck from the wall.

 

Classic case of exploiting weakness. Philly knew we had 5 defensemen under the age of 25. They pushed and we showed our age. Last night it seemed as though we couldn't clear the puck if it was already sitting on the blue line.

 

Nice nutshell. There is really no reason to further analyze the seven game story of this series. It was seven straight games of constant forechecking pressure by four Philly lines on every shift. I wonder what the puck possession time differential was.

 

Our young D was exploited but I see it paying dividends down the road.

 

GO SABRES!!!

[apuszczalowski]

i don't see whats so wrong in what he said, i agree with it.

 

If you watched the game, the Sabres had nothing left and it looked like very few of them showed up or even cared about playing last night

[shrader]

i don't see whats so wrong in what he said, i agree with it.

 

If you watched the game, the Sabres had nothing left and it looked like very few of them showed up or even cared about playing last night

 

You could see it on their faces even early in the game. Some may call it being out of gas, others will call it being overwhelmed. It's really just a matter of semantics, we're all pretty much talking about the same thing here.

[samothyev]

How many back to back games did these guys have coming down the stretch? It seemed like every Friday and Saturday night I was sitting here watching the Sabres. I think with them losing Pommers and TC it definitely deflated any jump they had. I knew Roy and Hecht were basically just filling positions without being in game shape. Grier just seems to have lost it totally but I am not convinved he was really even ready to come back when he was inserted for the 1st round. Bottom line is yes they did run out of steam, Philly's forecheck is the reason for it. No breathing room at all.

 

The thing that bothers me the most is they didn't even seem to care they were getting the a$$'s handed to them last night. Stafford was atrocious this whole series, no show much like the season. I think he is dead weight and both the Sabres and he would do well paring ways. I just hope DR can get someting other than a conditional or even just a straight up draft pick. Butler couldn't do anything right last night, he scared me during the season, seemed to pull it together, and totally went back to his ways the last 2 games.

 

I ma done rambling!

[That Aud Smell]

i don't see whats so wrong in what he said, i agree with it.

 

If you watched the game, the Sabres had nothing left and it looked like very few of them showed up or even cared about playing last night

You could see it on their faces even early in the game. Some may call it being out of gas, others will call it being overwhelmed. It's really just a matter of semantics, we're all pretty much talking about the same thing here.

 

it's not just semantics, IMO.

 

"out of gas" means that the team could've (would've) beaten the flyers in a 7-game series, if only they'd had something left in the tank.

 

"overwhelmed" means that the flyers were the better team and finally dispatched the sabres after coming at them in wave after punishing wave.

 

i am firmly in the camp of "overwhelmed." even when the sabres won - especially in that 1-0 shutout at home - i came away feeling as though the team had cheated death. which was a fun feeling. not saying i knew it was too good to last, but i also knew that if we pulled off the upset, it was going be a case of stealing a series from a better team. 9 times out of 10, the better team wins a 7-game series. and that's what happened here.

[Weave]

How about, they were out of gas because they were overwhelmed. It wasn't about schedule down the stretch or anything like that. Philly's forecheck just plain beat them down.

[X. Benedict]

He seemed to be creating the story himself in the post game pressers. The first question he asked everyone was"It seemed the team was out of gas". I'll admit they were slower, but mostly because they had Roy, Hecht and Grier either beat up or not in playoff shape.

 

I think it was pretty clear 4 shifts in that Buffalo's skaters had no legs.

 

Roy had no burst.

Hecht had no legs.

Grier's knee is shot.

 

 

Ennis-Gerbe-Vanek-Boyes-Stafford-Mancari-Gaustad-McCormick

 

Ruff had no choice but to throw out lines that hadn't worked together all year. Sad end. But like chess...you are limited when the major

pieces come off the board.

[shrader]

I think it was pretty clear 4 shifts in that Buffalo's skaters had no legs.

 

Roy had no burst.

Hecht had no legs.

Grier's knee is shot.

 

 

Ennis-Gerbe-Vanek-Boyes-Stafford-Mancari-Gaustad-McCormick

 

Ruff had no choice but to throw out lines that hadn't worked together all year. Sad end. But like chess...you are limited when the major

pieces come off the board.

 

4 shifts in, was that the 4 on 4? Right at that moment I knew this game was hopeless.

[X. Benedict]

4 shifts in, was that the 4 on 4? Right at that moment I knew this game was hopeless.

 

That was it....Lindy sent Hecht and Roy out on the 4x4 ...those guys were skating in mud.

 

I felt that sinking feeling right away. They were playing decoy to spring Vanek...it was worth a shot.

[wonderbread]

4 shifts in, was that the 4 on 4? Right at that moment I knew this game was hopeless.

Me too. I hated the feeling. I shut off my phone.

[JCBoston]

Nice nutshell. There is really no reason to further analyze the seven game story of this series. It was seven straight games of constant forechecking pressure by four Philly lines on every shift. I wonder what the puck possession time differential was.

 

Our young D was exploited but I see it paying dividends down the road.

 

GO SABRES!!!

 

The formula for beating the Sabres the last couple of years has been to put pressure on the defense. Pressure the defense into turnovers or just keep the cycle going and wear 'em down. On the backcheck, pressure the wingers on the half-wall and prevent the Sabres from establishing the forecheck.

 

It was better this year than last, when the Bruins destroyed us with this technique. The Sabres still have this weakness on the top two forward lines, but it's not so much of a factor when your defense is supporting the transition game. In games 6 and 7, our transition game was blown up because the defense was shot.

 

We'll be better next year for this experience, but we still need one or two more big, strong steady d-men. I love Sekera (when he's "on") and Gragnani and Leopold played well... but I'd rather drop one of them in exchange for someone that's better in the corner. Like a Steve Montador that doesn't suck.

[Robviously]

The formula for beating the Sabres the last couple of years has been to put pressure on the defense. Pressure the defense into turnovers or just keep the cycle going and wear 'em down. On the backcheck, pressure the wingers on the half-wall and prevent the Sabres from establishing the forecheck.

 

It was better this year than last, when the Bruins destroyed us with this technique. The Sabres still have this weakness on the top two forward lines, but it's not so much of a factor when your defense is supporting the transition game. In games 6 and 7, our transition game was blown up because the defense was shot.

 

We'll be better next year for this experience, but we still need one or two more big, strong steady d-men. I love Sekera (when he's "on") and Gragnani and Leopold played well... but I'd rather drop one of them in exchange for someone that's better in the corner. Like a Steve Montador that doesn't suck.

Montador had a horrible series but he was good for us for most of this season and led the team in plus/minus.

[LastPommerFan]

The formula for beating the Sabres the last couple of years has been to put pressure on the defense. Pressure the defense into turnovers or just keep the cycle going and wear 'em down. On the backcheck, pressure the wingers on the half-wall and prevent the Sabres from establishing the forecheck.

 

It was better this year than last, when the Bruins destroyed us with this technique. The Sabres still have this weakness on the top two forward lines, but it's not so much of a factor when your defense is supporting the transition game. In games 6 and 7, our transition game was blown up because the defense was shot.

 

We'll be better next year for this experience, but we still need one or two more big, strong steady d-men. I love Sekera (when he's "on") and Gragnani and Leopold played well... but I'd rather drop one of them in exchange for someone that's better in the corner. Like a Steve Montador that doesn't suck.

 

Evets Rodatnom would be my first target for an FA aquisition come July 1.