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Here comes a huge test for this team.


Claude Balls

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November does look pretty harsh, especially with the injuiries...agree if the Sabres come out and play at a .500 level clip during this month, I think they'll be ok.

 

yeah, but will we be ok? :death: :lol:

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I hope that they can do better than .500 as I think they are a good enough team to win much more than they lose. Even with the injuries, I think we can still keep pumping. Looking at the calendar, it also looks like only 3 are away games with a clump of 6 straight home games. So travel shouldn't be as much a factor including the fact that all the away games aren't that far away. I think that most important is to play some better hockey than they have been lately. They look to me as they have been sliding steadily but still managing to win. Playing more solid games as a whole with more discipline will be a significant factor on how November turns out.

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10-14 days from max's injury would put him back BEFORE thanksgiving... that's the week we play the leafs again. Look for some major revenge factor there. We're already 4 games into the tallinder injury? We're what, 2-1-1? not too shabby so far. My personal feeling is that we'll be just fine. going .500 would be nothing short of a major disappointment. it's not out of the question to have 7 or less regulation losses by Christmas (when tallinder would probably be back).

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The boys just need to play better than the past few games. I think with so many games this close together, if they can start off with a few wins, they can get on a roll and play with momentum throughout this stretch. If they have to keep coming from behind it's going to catch up with them. 7-3 would be sweet, but you know there will be some more OT and shoot-outs thrown in there.

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The boys just need to play better than the past few games. I think with so many games this close together, if they can start off with a few wins, they can get on a roll and play with momentum throughout this stretch. If they have to keep coming from behind it's going to catch up with them. 7-3 would be sweet, but you know there will be some more OT and shoot-outs thrown in there.

 

 

well, florida and philly are a couple good teams to get on a roll against!

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It will be a test, no doubt, but they played nearly half a season without Briere and Dumont last year, some of it without Miller too, and they were fine. Not because they are just so great, but because they busted their ass.

I expect nothing less this year. I think a nice busy stretch without 4 or 5 days off in a row will actually help ... I see no reason why they can't win 7 of the next 10. If they go .500 over this stretch, it will not be because of injuries, it will be because they did not play well.

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The boys just need to play better than the past few games. I think with so many games this close together, if they can start off with a few wins, they can get on a roll and play with momentum throughout this stretch. If they have to keep coming from behind it's going to catch up with them. 7-3 would be sweet, but you know there will be some more OT and shoot-outs thrown in there.

Except for the stupid penalties and so-so penalty killing, I thought the game against the Rangers was one of their best efforts this season from start to finish.

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Except for the stupid penalties and so-so penalty killing, I thought the game against the Rangers was one of their best efforts this season from start to finish.

A LOT of teams have "so-so penalty killing" against the Strangers. I'm more concerned about the stupid penalties than I am the result of taking the stupid penalties.

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Tough schedule, but with 6 home games & 4 road games, I see no reason why the Sabres can't

get at least 12 points from this stretch.

 

Nov 10 vs Florida 8:00 pm Buy Tickets FSFL, MSG

Nov 11 at Philadelphia 7:00 pm Buy Tickets MSG, CSP

Nov 13 at Carolina 7:00 pm Buy Tickets MSG

Nov 15 vs Ottawa 7:00 pm Buy Tickets TSN, MSG

Nov 17 vs Pittsburgh 8:00 pm Buy Tickets TSN, MSG

Nov 18 at Ottawa 7:00 pm Buy Tickets CBC, MSG

Nov 20 vs Tampa Bay 7:00 pm Buy Tickets MSG

Nov 22 vs Toronto 7:00 pm Buy Tickets TSN, MSG

Nov 24 vs Montreal 8:00 pm Buy Tickets RDS, MSG

Nov 26 at NY Rangers 7:00 pm Buy Tickets MSG, MSG

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After looking at the opponents I feel like the Sabres, if they are playing well, and the special teams are clicking (on both ends) should be looking to pick up around 12-15 of a possible 20 points.

 

Not that any games in November are "must win" the ones that I will be very interested to see how they perform are the following:

 

Nov 10 - FLA: The Sabres really struggled vs. Florida last season, and it will be interesting to see how they respond to playing again after such a long layoff.

 

Nov 13-17: These 3 games in 5 nights should be really interesting, simply because I like what Pittsburgh is turning into, and I think Ottawa is a good "measuring stick" game. Not in the same sense as last year, where we were measuring up to them, but rather to see how they measure up to us.

 

Nov 24 - MON: I know everyone will be excited to host the Leafs yet again, but I'm looking forward to the Montreal game. We absolutely stunned them in the opener, and I feel like if there is a team that I wouldn't necessarily want to have to match up against in the playoffs, its Le Habitants. It's cool that the BUF-TOR games will be relevant for the first time since '99, but I think the season series between Montreal and Buffalo will actually be more entertaining.

 

My predictions:

Wins - FLA, PHI, PITT, OTT (11-18), TB, TOR, NYR

Losses - CAR, OTT, MON

 

Here's to having some hockey to watch! (AND talk about!)

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A LOT of teams have "so-so penalty killing" against the Strangers. I'm more concerned about the stupid penalties than I am the result of taking the stupid penalties.

Bingo. We've taken some lazy & dumb penalties lately - especially ones where our guys get lazy in open ice, hooking someone rather than use their speed and catch up to them. We stay out of the box, get the legs going and make teams try to keep up with us - they take bad penalties and we can kill them on the PP (or at least wear them down and beat them 5-on-5.)

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What a brutal part of the schedule the Sabres are entering. Time to see how good this team really is. With the injuries, anything over 500 will be a nice result.

 

Go Sabres :beer:

 

 

This team is totally unfazed by injuries, I really think they could replace half the team and it would have little effect. 7-3 or 8-2 is a realisitc goal for this team. They still are better than 90% of the teams in the NHL without Max or Henrik. That fact, plus their absolute hatred for losing makes it hard to see them being happy to settle for merely being .500....remember this is a team that has gone 56-16-7 since starting last year 8 and 9....To think they are going to lose 5 games in any 10 game stretch this season is hard to believe...

 

As far as "what this team is made of"? Does that question even need to be answered anymore? Hasn't it already been answered ad nauseum by this team?

 

Its made of players that can cope with having 4 of their top 6 defensemen out, plus one of their most dynamic players in Connolly out in game 7 of the Conference Finals, and take a 1 goal lead into the 3rd period on the road. That question shouldn't even need to be asked anymore. It's like the kid in grade school asking the teacher the same question for the 20th time and all the kids turning around and shouting the answer out to him while the teacher just laughs and shakes his head in amusement....

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This team is totally unfazed by injuries, I really think they could replace half the team and it would have little effect. 7-3 or 8-2 is a realisitc goal for this team. They still are better than 90% of the teams in the NHL without Max or Henrik. That fact, plus their absolute hatred for losing makes it hard to see them being happy to settle for merely being .500....remember this is a team that has gone 56-16-7 since starting last year 8 and 9....To think they are going to lose 5 games in any 10 game stretch this season is hard to believe...

 

As far as "what this team is made of"? Does that question even need to be answered anymore? Hasn't it already been answered ad nauseum by this team?

 

First off, I am the biggest Sabres fan, and have been for 35 years.

 

Yes, it has to be answered. How many games have they dominated? 1 against Philly. Now with the injuries we will see what they are made of playing 10 games in 17 days. So they have won 12 games so far! I guess to you that translates into a Stanely Cup and why should we bother playing the rest of the season?. This stretch coming up will not be easy and it will show the true charachter of this team for the season, I believe. Their record don't mean dick right now.

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Their record don't mean dick right now.

Actually, their record means a lot. We can afford to have these rough times with injuries and harsh stretches of games when we win those games that we SHOULD win. That is what we've done for the most part this season, to the tune of a 12-1-1 record. We could go .500 for the rest of the season and still get 93 points.

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