GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

[Eleven]

WHAT A GREAT GAME>>> THIS IS THE NEW NHL AND I LOVE IT..

 

That's the key as far as I'm concerned. We saw tonight what the whole league will be in a couple of years, and it was terrific.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

That's the key as far as I'm concerned. We saw tonight what the whole league will be in a couple of years, and it was terrific.

 

Lets hope so........... :beer:

[hopeleslyobvious]

A few observations:

 

1. Atlanta is either the 2nd or 3rd best team in the East (fighting it out with Carolina). They have speed, opportunistic scoring and really good goaltending. Sound familiar? They also have strong veteran leadership in Mellanby and Holik.

 

2. I hate to say it, but this was Miller's worst game of the season. He made some big saves but Atlanta's 3rd and 4th goals were both softies and momentum-killers.

 

3. I thought Briere was the best Sabre tonight.

 

4. Pominville is always in the right place. He missed a couple of good opportunities -- but he was in the right spot to create the opportunities. He just didn't convert those -- but he did put in a goal and 2 assists.

 

5. The transition game wasn't nearly as crisp without Tallinder and the resulting shuffle of the defense pairings. No game until thurs., so lots of time to practice.

 

6. Roy and Hecht both gutted it up and didn't appear hampered by their injuries.

 

7. All in all that was a pretty exciting game. It was just so GD deflating -- every time we scored, they'd come right back within a minute or 2 to retake the lead.

 

8. Still -- we don't quit. What a great effort to tie it up. And the OT was thrilling.

 

Go Sabres.

 

 

Watching the recording now. I am sorry, but I am still trying to figure out how you expected Miller to stop number 3...Strong bounce off the boards to the other side of the net. Am I missing something? Also, honestly, how can you say that this is Miller's worst game of the year? I am now near the end of the second, and I have seen him bail the team out of mistakes several times now.

[hopeleslyobvious]

Just watched goal 4. Not really sure why one of the best goal scorers in the game scoring from the slot is a softie...I am watching on a slingbox. Maybe I'm missing something because of the picture quality?

[Corp000085]

Just watched goal 4. Not really sure why one of the best goal scorers in the game scoring from the slot is a softie...I am watching on a slingbox. Maybe I'm missing something because of the picture quality?

 

 

all the atlanta goals came off of turnovers or bad bounces. none can be pinned directly on miller. you could tell that he was taking it hard though after the game... usually when miller gets pissed he comes out firing. hopefully we'll get another streak started against boston

[inkman]

I know your intentions are benign but the term "streak" is really starting to grind on me.

[Corp000085]

I know your intentions are benign but the term "streak" is really starting to grind on me.

 

hopefully they won't lose 2 in a row though. that streak would grind on everybody

[Spandrel]

all the atlanta goals came off of turnovers or bad bounces. none can be pinned directly on miller. you could tell that he was taking it hard though after the game... usually when miller gets pissed he comes out firing. hopefully we'll get another streak started against boston

 

Atlanta must have cashed in all of their "lucky bounce" tokens for the season, as far as I could see. It was just one of those games where you are going to have to work for everything you get.

 

As far as I'm concerned, this game was awesome. This was the kind of game where a lesser team could have easily have folded it in and lost 5-1 or something. The fact that we were able to put 4 goals in net when very little was going our way was a credit to how hard this team works out there. Every goal the Thrashers scored seemed to be the result of a bounce that served up the shot on a plate. What are you going to do? And, despite it all, we still get 1-point out of it.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

Atlanta must have cashed in all of their "lucky bounce" tokens for the season, as far as I could see. It was just one of those games where you are going to have to work for everything you get.

 

As far as I'm concerned, this game was awesome. This was the kind of game where a lesser team could have easily have folded it in and lost 5-1 or something. The fact that we were able to put 4 goals in net when very little was going our way was a credit to how hard this team works out there. Every goal the Thrashers scored seemed to be the result of a bounce that served up the shot on a plate. What are you going to do? And, despite it all, we still get 1-point out of it.

 

Agreed man, they had bounces at every part of the rink........... :censored:

[LabattBlue]

I DVR'ed the game and have not watched it, but did see the highlights...

 

I love the offensive attack the Sabres are using, but when forwards don't backcheck, bad things will happen. Case in point...Atlanta's first two goals where a forward was allowed to roam down the middle of the slot with a Sabre gliding behind them. Miller can't bail them out every time.

 

 

That being said, it was great to say the Sabres come from behind four times and earn a point!

 

 

GO SABRES!!!

[hopeleslyobvious]

I DVR'ed the game and have not watched it, but did see the highlights...

 

I love the offensive attack the Sabres are using, but when forwards don't backcheck, bad things will happen. Case in point...Atlanta's first two goals where a forward was allowed to roam down the middle of the slot with a Sabre gliding behind them. Miller can't bail them out every time.

That being said, it was great to say the Sabres come from behind four times and earn a point!

GO SABRES!!!

 

Agreed.

[Taro T]

Agreed man, they had bounces at every part of the rink........... :censored:

I don't know that I'd say most of Atlanta's goals were due to bounces. They were due to bad plays by the Sabres.

 

The 1st goal was a big rebound by Miller, but Briere never even thought about covering Holik.

 

The 2nd goal was Max leaving a drop pass with what seemed to be 4 Sabres in front of him. The only person close to it was Holik. Mellanby then beat Ryan on a shot I thought should have been stopped.

 

The 3rd goal was initially set up because Peters towards the end of a shift decided to ice the puck rather than skate 2 more strides and dump it after he got past the red line. The Sabres forced a low percentage shot that Miller covered on that ensuing faceoff, but the Thrashers got the good bounce on the next faceoff. Even with the bounce, Drury has to be more aware of who and what is around him.

 

The 4th goal, when I saw it live, I thought "how in the world did Kovalchuk get back onsides". I was looking at it as an absolutely amazing play by him, because there was no way a linesman would blow that call. Right? Wrong. He was clearly offsides, but at that point in the game, the Sabres needed to fight through that one. They didn't.

 

The Sabres made several other poor / boneheaded plays that Miller did bail them out of. The breakaway late in the 1st being the most obvious example.

 

Unfortunately, while the Sabres gave Atlanta probably 8 solid scoring chances, Atlanta buried 1/2 of them. The Sabres had far more chances, but couldn't get the puck to bounce their way once they were near the net.

 

I'd say the Sabres controlled the play ~2/3 of the time, but the mistakes they made caused Atlanta to be the better team. It was a fun game to be at, even though it ended bad. It was pretty cool when the team acknowledged the fans cheers at the end of the game. It was also cool that, although the Sabres were playing a very good team and making a lot of mistakes that would bury a lesser team, they managed to get a point out of the game.

 

97-0-1 anyone? ;)

[DR HOLLIDAY]

I don't know that I'd say most of Atlanta's goals were due to bounces. They were due to bad plays by the Sabres.

 

The 1st goal was a big rebound by Miller, but Briere never even thought about covering Holik.

 

The 2nd goal was Max leaving a drop pass with what seemed to be 4 Sabres in front of him. The only person close to it was Holik. Mellanby then beat Ryan on a shot I thought should have been stopped.

 

The 3rd goal was initially set up because Peters towards the end of a shift decided to ice the puck rather than skate 2 more strides and dump it after he got past the red line. The Sabres forced a low percentage shot that Miller covered on that ensuing faceoff, but the Thrashers got the good bounce on the next faceoff. Even with the bounce, Drury has to be more aware of who and what is around him.

 

The 4th goal, when I saw it live, I thought "how in the world did Kovalchuk get back onsides". I was looking at it as an absolutely amazing play by him, because there was no way a linesman would blow that call. Right? Wrong. He was clearly offsides, but at that point in the game, the Sabres needed to fight through that one. They didn't.

 

The Sabres made several other poor / boneheaded plays that Miller did bail them out of. The breakaway late in the 1st being the most obvious example.

 

Unfortunately, while the Sabres gave Atlanta probably 8 solid scoring chances, Atlanta buried 1/2 of them. The Sabres had far more chances, but couldn't get the puck to bounce their way once they were near the net.

 

I'd say the Sabres controlled the play ~2/3 of the time, but the mistakes they made caused Atlanta to be the better team. It was a fun game to be at, even though it ended bad. It was pretty cool when the team acknowledged the fans cheers at the end of the game. It was also cool that, although the Sabres were playing a very good team and making a lot of mistakes that would bury a lesser team, they managed to get a point out of the game.

 

97-0-1 anyone? ;)

 

I wasn't talking about every goal, but the one off the boards was lucky as hell and the Sabres had really bad bounces infront of Atlanta's net, games over with, time to look to the next one....... :beer:

[nfreeman]

I don't know that I'd say most of Atlanta's goals were due to bounces. They were due to bad plays by the Sabres.

 

The 1st goal was a big rebound by Miller, but Briere never even thought about covering Holik.

 

The 2nd goal was Max leaving a drop pass with what seemed to be 4 Sabres in front of him. The only person close to it was Holik. Mellanby then beat Ryan on a shot I thought should have been stopped.

 

The 3rd goal was initially set up because Peters towards the end of a shift decided to ice the puck rather than skate 2 more strides and dump it after he got past the red line. The Sabres forced a low percentage shot that Miller covered on that ensuing faceoff, but the Thrashers got the good bounce on the next faceoff. Even with the bounce, Drury has to be more aware of who and what is around him.

 

The 4th goal, when I saw it live, I thought "how in the world did Kovalchuk get back onsides". I was looking at it as an absolutely amazing play by him, because there was no way a linesman would blow that call. Right? Wrong. He was clearly offsides, but at that point in the game, the Sabres needed to fight through that one. They didn't.

 

The Sabres made several other poor / boneheaded plays that Miller did bail them out of. The breakaway late in the 1st being the most obvious example.

 

Unfortunately, while the Sabres gave Atlanta probably 8 solid scoring chances, Atlanta buried 1/2 of them. The Sabres had far more chances, but couldn't get the puck to bounce their way once they were near the net.

 

I'd say the Sabres controlled the play ~2/3 of the time, but the mistakes they made caused Atlanta to be the better team. It was a fun game to be at, even though it ended bad. It was pretty cool when the team acknowledged the fans cheers at the end of the game. It was also cool that, although the Sabres were playing a very good team and making a lot of mistakes that would bury a lesser team, they managed to get a point out of the game.

 

97-0-1 anyone? ;)

 

Et tu, Dave? Has DeLuca gotten to you? I went back to the Tivo on this one -- it was Roy that inexplicably iced the puck, not Peters (although Peters was on the ice at the time).

 

I'll have to go back and check on whether Kovalchuk was offsides on the 4th goal. I watched it again a couple of times, but didn't focus on this issue. What I did conclude was that (i) Teppo coughed it up on the outlet pass, (ii) Atlanta kept it in a good long time thereafter leading up to the goal and (iii) although Kovalchuk is a sniper, it was a stoppable shot that Miller in fact got his glove on but didn't snag.

 

Now, I'm as big a fan of Miller's as anyone here, but I thought this was a disappointing showing by him. I fully expect him to come back PO'd and sharp on thurs.

[slapshot1619]

I would also attribute some missed chances(sabres) to a VERY VERY Good performance of Lehtonen. He was on his game today. Miller seemed alittle off early on.

[Taro T]

Et tu, Dave? Has DeLuca gotten to you? I went back to the Tivo on this one -- it was Roy that inexplicably iced the puck, not Peters (although Peters was on the ice at the time).

 

I'll have to go back and check on whether Kovalchuk was offsides on the 4th goal. I watched it again a couple of times, but didn't focus on this issue. What I did conclude was that (i) Teppo coughed it up on the outlet pass, (ii) Atlanta kept it in a good long time thereafter leading up to the goal and (iii) although Kovalchuk is a sniper, it was a stoppable shot that Miller in fact got his glove on but didn't snag.

 

Now, I'm as big a fan of Miller's as anyone here, but I thought this was a disappointing showing by him. I fully expect him to come back PO'd and sharp on thurs.

Well, I will have to take your word for it, but when I saw it live I was certain it was Peters who sent it down ice. The people sitting next to me thought the same thing.

 

I got a chance to see it on TV the next day in a restaurant, and still thought it was 76. (But in fairness I was at a bad angle to see the TV.)

 

Regardless, it was a horrible play and the Thrashers capitalized on it. If it was Roy who did it, it's even worse because he would have just come off the bench and was fresh.

[nfreeman]

Well, I will have to take your word for it, but when I saw it live I was certain it was Peters who sent it down ice. The people sitting next to me thought the same thing.

 

I got a chance to see it on TV the next day in a restaurant, and still thought it was 76. (But in fairness I was at a bad angle to see the TV.)

 

Regardless, it was a horrible play and the Thrashers capitalized on it. If it was Roy who did it, it's even worse because he would have just come off the bench and was fresh.

 

I appreciate your giving me the benefit of the doubt. Just to be sure, I checked again and it was definitely Roy.

 

Also, I checked the Kovalchuk goal and he was definitely offside. It was close, but a clear offside, so we got hosed.

 

Onward and upward.

[hopeleslyobvious]

I appreciate your giving me the benefit of the doubt. Just to be sure, I checked again and it was definitely Roy.

 

Also, I checked the Kovalchuk goal and he was definitely offside. It was close, but a clear offside, so we got hosed.

 

Onward and upward.

 

Yeah the linesman dropped the ball on that one. I could see it on my Slingbox, and I didn't have the fastest connection in the world that night, so it was more like enhanced radio than TV :lol: