RazielSabre Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Your memories are kind of running together ... Bure was in NY in 2002-03 but Jagr wasn't there yet ... Jagr didn't get there until the middle of 03-04, and Lindros got hurt 3 games later so they really never played together either. But that is probably the team you are thinking of because it also had Kovalev, Messier in his last season and Leetch until he went to Toronto at the deadline. :oops: Probably, I drank alot during that period... :D EDIT: What does everyone think about how the defense will contribute this year? predictions for the D? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Amerk Posted July 30, 2011 Report Share Posted July 30, 2011 If the offense stays on par with last season, we will be fine. We only scored one fewer goal than the cup winners. What it will boil down to, is our defense and goaltending. If one of those two things had stepped up in games 6 or 7 against Philly, the series would have been ours. Ironically, the two teams that gave up the fewest goals in the season last year in the East and West, were the two teams that went to the big dance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 If the offense stays on par with last season, we will be fine. We only scored one fewer goal than the cup winners. What it will boil down to, is our defense and goaltending. If one of those two things had stepped up in games 6 or 7 against Philly, the series would have been ours. Ironically, the two teams that gave up the fewest goals in the season last year in the East and West, were the two teams that went to the big dance. Good stuff AA Welcome aboard. :beer: :beer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 If the offense stays on par with last season, we will be fine. We only scored one fewer goal than the cup winners. What it will boil down to, is our defense and goaltending. If one of those two things had stepped up in games 6 or 7 against Philly, the series would have been ours. Ironically, the two teams that gave up the fewest goals in the season last year in the East and West, were the two teams that went to the big dance. Welcome to the board. I agree with all of this except your usage of "ironically." Defense wins championships. There's nothing ironic about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Amerk Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Welcome to the board. I agree with all of this except your usage of "ironically." Defense wins championships. There's nothing ironic about it. For the most part, yes, defense wins championships. Such as Brodeur and the boring 99-00 trap-playing Devils. They only had one point-per-game player. Sometimes, offense DOES win the Cup. In 84-85, Gretzky had 200+ points for the Oilers, and Kurri and Coffey had 100+ each. Fuhr had a 3.87 GAA and .884 save %. The 91-92 Pens boasted 8 ppg players, and Barasso posted a 3.53 GAA and .885 save%. So, I mostly agree that defense and goaltending should be the primary focus, but a potent offense can sometimes win Cups. Having a good balance of both doesn't hurt either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Last April showed that the defense definitely needed improvement. But this team still isn't going anywhere until the top 6 can put a puck in the net late in playoff games. Heck, how about having the top 6 put pucks in the net after the 1st period? Hopefully Leino helps that out. But the other 5 still need to pick it up in pressure games, improved defense or no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloSoldier2010 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Last April showed that the defense definitely needed improvement. But this team still isn't going anywhere until the top 6 can put a puck in the net late in playoff games. Heck, how about having the top 6 put pucks in the net after the 1st period? Hopefully Leino helps that out. But the other 5 still need to pick it up in pressure games, improved defense or no. Vanek had 5 goals this post season in 7 games. He'll be fine. Leino is a force in the playoffs. Ennis isn't too shabby either. Gerbe can score under pressure. If Roy is healthy, i think he'll be okay too. With Grags and Hoff on the backend i think that will boost our scoring as well. I really don't think scoring will be an issue with our top 6. Grit is another story entirely, but that will be solved in a couple years when adam Foligno and Kass all crack into the lineup. I think our bottom 6 along with an infusion of grit on the blueline, courtesy of Robyn will go a long way to keep the lack of physicality in the top 6 a very small liability. Now that I'm thinking of it, what the top 6 lack in size they seem to mostly make up for in speed. There's two types of players that are tough to play against. skilled speedy guys, and big tough guys. I think we're sitting pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Vanek had 5 goals this post season in 7 games. He'll be fine. Leino is a force in the playoffs. Ennis isn't too shabby either. Gerbe can score under pressure. If Roy is healthy, i think he'll be okay too. With Grags and Hoff on the backend i think that will boost our scoring as well. I really don't think scoring will be an issue with our top 6. Grit is another story entirely, but that will be solved in a couple years when adam Foligno and Kass all crack into the lineup. I think our bottom 6 along with an infusion of grit on the blueline, courtesy of Robyn will go a long way to keep the lack of physicality in the top 6 a very small liability. Now that I'm thinking of it, what the top 6 lack in size they seem to mostly make up for in speed. There's two types of players that are tough to play against. skilled speedy guys, and big tough guys. I think we're sitting pretty. I understand the enthusiasm but assuming that this group is suddenly going to figure out how to get it done in April is assuming something that history hasn't shown before. I think their new defense is going to make each game in the playoffs close and hard fought, but they still need to score in April and they likely won't have a 3 headed group of backups to score against this time. Hopefully you are right that Ehrhoff helps the offense find the net. But our scoring last April was led by MAG, a defenseman, so I'm a bit pessimistic about it. Leino will definitely be leaned on here to lead the way. I guess my point in this thread is simple. I don't really care what this group does scoring-wise in the regular season. My expectations are for clutch goals from the top 6 in the playoffs. And my concern is, we haven't seen clutch goals from this group in the playoffs. My fear (well, not really fear but you know what I mean) is that this team is going to look like world beaters in the regular season and then get shut down in the playoffs. Statistically, we had a good year offensively last season. It sure didn't look like a potent team against the Flyers in the playoffs though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Amerk Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Statistically, we had a good year offensively last season. It sure didn't look like a potent team against the Flyers in the playoffs though. It seemed like that series was approached without any solid game planning. It appeared that some games, the Sabres were committed to playing a slow, patient, defensive game - and other games, they were aggressive and wanted to run and gun and play back and forth hockey with Philly. At any rate, we can all argue until our faces turn blue that the Sabres need this and/or that (more offense, more defense, more physicality, etc), but what they REALLY need is quality leadership. That's the difference. Someone the other players look up to, respect, and listen to. Miller may be partially filling this role, but they need a skater who can be that guy. I am not convinced the Sabres have that guy right now. Vanek, Goose, Pommers, and Myers may be close, but none of them are that true standout leadership guy at this time. The Cup winners I mentioned earlier (oilers, pens, devils) all had great leaders - Gretzky, Lemieux, Messier, Scott Stevens, Ron Francis, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 At any rate, we can all argue until our faces turn blue that the Sabres need this and/or that (more offense, more defense, more physicality, etc), but what they REALLY need is quality leadership. That's the difference. Someone the other players look up to, respect, and listen to. Miller may be partially filling this role, but they need a skater who can be that guy. I am not convinced the Sabres have that guy right now. Vanek, Goose, Pommers, and Myers may be close, but none of them are that true standout leadership guy at this time. Couldn't agree with you more. That's been a problem since Drury and Briere left. And I don't think they filled the void this offseason either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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