GAME 1 Reactions

[topshelfcookies]

Wow! Welcome back Playoff Hockey!

 

Great game...lots of fun...here are just some random, unorganized thoughts/observations.

 

1. Thought the white out was alright, though it was less cool when I turned to ESPN during an intermission break, and saw the Miami Heat pulling the same "Whiteout" gimmick. At an NBA playoff game. Blah.

2. I loved the huge STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS banner that was hung above the JumboTron.

3. This was a great win...I have to imagine this will go a long way for some of the young guys confidence.

4. I really liked that Lindy didn't ignore the 4th line of Vanek-Gaustad-Pominville. They were pretty effective, drew at least 2 power plays and had I think 2 or 3 really nice scoring chances.

5. Campbell's hit was UNREAL.

 

6. I know that this is a different team, but MAN. From the time Philly tied it, I just had this sinking feeling of "Here we go, same old Sabres...they'll find a way to loose this game". This team has surprised everyone all year, and continued to do so tonight. I think this is exactly the type of game that Buffalo teams of the past would have lost.

 

GREAT WIN.

[apuszczalowski]

I can't speak right now, this team is gonna give me a heart attack if they keep playing like this. Can't wait til I'm back there for game 2!!!!!!!!!!

 

That hit was unreal and the arena just exlpoded when it happened

 

The refs were pretty bad, calling absolutly nothing. And there had to be something wrong with the ice cause everyone was falling all over the place.

 

There are gonna be some brawls coming up in this series, this was only the beginning

[jzmack]

 

5. Campbell's hit was UNREAL.

 

 

Unreal? I don't think there is a word in the english vocabulary that is sufficient for that hit. WoW!!!!

[Larry Playfair]

wowowowowowowowow! Talk about stressful.

 

The hit was...lights out.

 

Esche was amazing, unbelievable, he did everything but win it for them.

 

Hecht is such a difference maker out there. I wonder what % he is, b.c he was still faster then a lot of Flyers.

 

My boy Breire - clutch!

[Goodfella25]

Absolutely fantastic game (obviously I am biased). That hit is a great example of what playoff hockey is all about, and I'm glad to see it come from a Sabres player rather than a Flyer. This could be a closer series than many of us predicted but I still say we take them in 6 games. The refs really messed up bad tonight with the non-calls but I doubt that will continue. Overall though, what a game! Glad to be a fan of this team

[JujuFish]

Man, I wish I could have watched this game. Oh well. It's great that we won. My power went out shortly after the first overtime ended, so I went to the store and Buffalo had won by the time I got back.

All I have to say is that there is no way Esche plays the whole series this way. With the way Buffalo dominated play, once Esche is back to his normal self, it's all over.

[Peace Frog]

I'm down here in Dallas so I've been liistening to the games on NHL.com since I refuse to listen to anybody call the game except for RJ. And what a play by play called by Jeanneret! "He scoooooooooooorrrrrresssss! Daniel Briere! Daniel Briere! "

[PASabreFan]

I wondered about the ice too. Maybe some people who were there could comment on what it looked like in person. I know there was a concert the night before. And with the spate of really warm weather, maybe that played into it. But players at times were having problems getting the puck to settle down. I attributed it to nerves.

 

Refs didn't call anything? You're not going to do better than nine power plays! But I agree some calls were let go, both ways actually.

 

topshelf, good comment on the Gaustad line. Paul had THAT look in his eyes. And it was good to see Vanek a bit more involved. I think his time is coming.

[deluca67]

The Sabres had a legit 30 scoring chances.

 

I think Philly coming out and trying to "bully" the Sabres kept the Sabres heads in the game. The Sabres found themselves in a fight early so there was time to be nervous.

 

That said. Lydman might want t skip the video meetings.

 

As for all the talk about the lack of "grey beards" on the roster. I think every player is now a grizzeled vet after that game.

 

Things come around full circle. The Sabres last palyoff game was an OT loss against the Pens and they come back five years later and win in OT at home. ;)

[mrjsbu96]

I wondered about the ice too. Maybe some people who were there could comment on what it looked like in person. I know there was a concert the night before. And with the spate of really warm weather, maybe that played into it. But players at times were having problems getting the puck to settle down. I attributed it to nerves.

 

Refs didn't call anything? You're not going to do better than nine power plays! But I agree some calls were let go, both ways actually.

 

topshelf, good comment on the Gaustad line. Paul had THAT look in his eyes. And it was good to see Vanek a bit more involved. I think his time is coming.

 

 

i'm going to have to go back and watch the game again b/c i don't know how the officials could have called any more penalties than they did? i guarantee had roles been reversed and philly scored their first goal the way we did (Kotalik used his stick on Forsberg) the heads of some buffalo fans would have exploded. all i can recall from watching it live last night is they let some of the stickwork/hooking go that was either behind the play or the sabres kept possession and i am cool with that. too many pp's can get old and eventually you get the rap of a team that can only win via the pp.

 

my biggest thought after one game is that this young, untested team got a real good taste of the playoffs and most importantly came out on top. it would have been a real downer to lose after playing that well.

[Taro T]

i'm going to have to go back and watch the game again b/c i don't know how the officials could have called any more penalties than they did? i guarantee had roles been reversed and philly scored their first goal the way we did (Kotalik used his stick on Forsberg) the heads of some buffalo fans would have exploded. all i can recall from watching it live last night is they let some of the stickwork/hooking go that was either behind the play or the sabres kept possession and i am cool with that. too many pp's can get old and eventually you get the rap of a team that can only win via the pp.

 

my biggest thought after one game is that this young, untested team got a real good taste of the playoffs and most importantly came out on top. it would have been a real downer to lose after playing that well.

The officials could have called a LOT more penalties. Marouelli is HORRIBLE. Yes, he and LaRue called penalties in OT, but they let a LOT of stuff go that was called in at least 5 of the other series (can't speak for the Montreal game nor the Dallas game as I didn't get to watch either).

 

I was very pleased to see the Sabres escape with the win because they shouldn't get stuck w/ Marouelli again. Having refs that WILL call the penalties that are supposed to be called will doom the Flyers.

[X. Benedict]

The officials could have called a LOT more penalties. Marouelli is HORRIBLE. Yes, he and LaRue called penalties in OT, but they let a LOT of stuff go that was called in at least 5 of the other series (can't speak for the Montreal game nor the Dallas game as I didn't get to watch either).

 

I was very pleased to see the Sabres escape with the win because they shouldn't get stuck w/ Marouelli again. Having refs that WILL call the penalties that are supposed to be called will doom the Flyers.

 

Marouelli looked gassed at the end of the game. It would be interesting to find out how far he skated last night.

[Taro T]

Marouelli looked gassed at the end of the game. It would be interesting to find out how far he skated last night.

Good question. Hopefully he gets a lot of time to rest up before his next game. I'm thinking 5 months should have him good to go.

[Spandrel]

I also had that sinking feeling the second they called that penalty on Lydman for lobbing the puck stupidly into the seats. I could see that PP equalizer coming from a mile away.

 

But, in what seems to be the norm for this season, we find a way to win games that look like they are slipping away from us. I think Philly was frustrated that they were unable to take advantage of a phenomenol effort by Esche and our inability to finish on the power play. Though Philly fans would argue otherwise, I think we saw the best effort that Esche is going to give them all series, and it wasn't enough to win.

 

Flyers fans are going to be frustrated because they had a chance to steal a game in which they were outskated and outplayed most of the night, but the truth is that regardless of the refs and the hit on Umberger, Buffalo was the better team and got the win. I think that is Buffalo's M.O. this year. They frustrate you by winning games that you think you should have won. Game 2 should be interesting, and Game 3 in Philly could be ugly.

[topshelfcookies]

Regarding the ice:

I'm sure that the concert the night before didn't help matters. The concert didn't end until about 11pm, and there was an awful lot of setup to complete before the morning skates. They used an "End Concert" setup, where the stage was at one end, all the glass was off the dashers, and one entire end of the arena seats were collapsed and the boards removed. There were no seats on the floor...just general admission for a bunch of teeny-boppers and their moms.

 

Thing is...I can't imagine the ice will be much better Monday either, what with the Bandits playing this afternoon. At least for the Bandits, the basic setup (benches, seats, dashers, glass, nets, etc) remain intact, minimizing the amount of traffic on the ice when they make the conversion. Also, the afternoon game should help the arena staff have a bit more time to harden up the ice before tomorrow night. They'll have almost a full 24 hours before game time.

 

Spandrel, I agree with the frustration Flyer fans must be experiencing. I think we would have been just as frustrated if the Sabres hadn't pulled this out. Philly managed to do what they needed to, in order to give themselves the chance to steal a game on the road...great PK, great goaltending and some timely scoring. While the Sabres outplayed Philly for long stretches, the Flyers didn't allow Buffalo to finish them off. While we couldn't convert any of our odd-man rushes, or pounce on the huge rebounds Esche was giving up, gotta give credit to Philly for playing a part in that. They were doing a good job of tying up sticks and bodies.

[gregkash]

I was impressed with Kotalik's play... he really stepped it up... and.. uh... did some hitting.

[sabre31_98]

Watching the game, it was evident that the Sabres were full of butterflies. I figured after the first goal they would settle down but they were just a little bit off. Passes weren't crisp, skill players (mainly Briere and Max) made one move too many until they turned over the puck, and they just didn't have it. Briere and Lydman had horrible games (even though Briere had 15 shots and the GW) and the fact that they were able to win shows that this team really does have the talent and depth to go far. The win was crucial; if they had lost after having a 2 goal lead would have really stung and stayed with this team. That they won should pay dividends for the rest of the playoffs. I have a feeling they will come out much stronger tomorrow and not so tentative. I know Lindy will get them mentally ready. Watch out Philly!

[topshelfcookies]

Nice signature Gregkash! haha

[gregkash]

i just went through the process of changing every signature/profile/anything i have to the countdown.

[blugold43]

 

 

But, in what seems to be the norm for this season, we find a way to win games that look like they are slipping away from us. I think Philly was frustrated that they were unable to take advantage of a phenomenol effort by Esche and our inability to finish on the power play. Though Philly fans would argue otherwise, I think we saw the best effort that Esche is going to give them all series, and it wasn't enough to win.

 

 

that's what i'm thinking too...we skated circles around them and that was legit. esche's bernie parent impression was not. there is no way he can keep that up for 4 games, let alone 7. but i believe the sabres can keep creating chances.

[hopeleslyobvious]

Ok, I just got back from Buffalo, and I had a blast at the game. Here are some of my thoughts:

 

The ice:

Definately was a problem, a lot of guys were struggling with the puck and losing an edge, even on fresh ice. I hope they can get that fixed for tomorrow.

 

The game:

It was a great game. I was impressed by the way they kept firing away at Esche. I knew sooner or later they would get one past him. I thought Miller had a solid game too. You could tell he had some jitters, but I thought he made some big saves in OT (at least it looked that way from where I was sitting). Having the game end like that was definately worth the 6 hours in the car each way.

 

The fans:

I liked the white out. It was nice to be up in the 300's, and it was nice to see a loud crowd, however why did we have to have 2 David Puddys behind us? I was at the game with my dad and fiancee, and the 2 drunk guys behind us were awful. They were foul mouthed despite the fact that there were kids around us. My dad and fiancee were both offended, so they decided we weren't into the game, and we didn't understand it was the first playoff game in 5 years, and accused me of not being a fan. At which point I asked them how many games they made it out to this year, which they declined to answer (my guess is 0). Oh they also decided I wanted them to be quiet, at which point I explained to them that they could be as loud as they want (I sure wasn't being quiet), but to just watch their language. Apparently this seemed to work, because they decided to be friends with me (wasn't I thrilled). Oh, and one kept going to the bathroom to throw up. I am not sure why I am telling this story, I just wanted to share.

[topshelfcookies]

As Puddy says man..."Gotta support the team"!

 

There are few situations in life that are as awkward as drunk, vulgar men sitting near little kids at sporting events.

[Taro T]

As Puddy says man..."Gotta support the team"!

 

There are few situations in life that are as awkward as drunk, vulgar men sitting near little kids at sporting events.

There are few of us here that AREN'T drunk and vulgar. The key is, it takes all of 6 seconds to scan the fans around you to see if you need to refrain from teaching a 6 year old new vocabulary words or annoying someone that will obviously be annoyed. Drunk and vulgar is a fact of life. Drunk, vulgar, and STUPID is more or less a description of a TYPICAL Loafs or Phlyers fan. Sabres fans should, at most, meet the requirements to be included in 2 of the 3 clubs. I've met very few Sabres fans that can join all 3 clubs (although there are some that do qualify). Those that do qualify for all 3, I think we should see how they look in orange because it definitely suits them.

[topshelfcookies]

Good point Dave.

 

I don't care if guys get hammered at sporting events...I've done it myself too. But at least take a look around to see if there are kids before you start using crappy language, and if someone asks you to quit swearing, have the courtesy to not make a big deal about it.

 

If they ask you to stop cheering...that's another story. Hoplessly- sounds like you handled it right on.