GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

[Chilly]

HopsGuy was watching the Florida feed and said in the IRC channel that he went apeshit on the ref.

[Corp000085]

I think he did...the shootout guys mentioned he might have been screened, but I think he just misplayed it.

 

BTW, did anyone see this:

 

 

 

Did Roberts go ape$hit on the officials after the GWG? I rewound the postgame show to see if they had anything on it, but no one has mentioned it...

 

 

 

that's some crazy stuff... i didn't see what happened though. must have been a verbal thing. anyone got a live game report on that??

 

 

by the way, i thought our defense has played well. paetsch, who had been shaky, has come around to being a decent defenseman... turning into yet another #7 guy who could be a #5 or #6 guy somewhere else. marty stunk tonight, which is bad news if you're a flyers phan.. i was also a little eased by lindy's post game... lydman had migranes and should be good to go tomorrow, miller will be good to go on monday.

[Bmwolf21]

that's some crazy stuff... i didn't see what happened though. must have been a verbal thing. anyone got a live game report on that??

by the way, i thought our defense has played well. paetsch, who had been shaky, has come around to being a decent defenseman... turning into yet another #7 guy who could be a #5 or #6 guy somewhere else. marty stunk tonight, which is bad news if you're a flyers phan.. i was also a little eased by lindy's post game... lydman had migranes and should be good to go tomorrow, miller will be good to go on monday.

The shootout guys and Lindy seemed to sugarcoat his performance, which made me wonder if I was being too harsh in thinking he wasn't on his game tonight. Glad others felt that way too...I don't want to have a one-man crusade against a player (not that anyone on here every does that... :doh:)

[wjag]

Six times we have fallen down by two goals and we are 6-0.... incredible..

 

Just watched Calgary finish off the Ducks too..

[JujuFish]

Six times we have fallen down by two goals and we are 6-0.... incredible..

 

Just watched Calgary finish off the Ducks too..

6-1 ;)

[X. Benedict]

The shootout guys and Lindy seemed to sugarcoat his performance, which made me wonder if I was being too harsh in thinking he wasn't on his game tonight. Glad others felt that way too...I don't want to have a one-man crusade against a player (not that anyone on here every does that... :doh:)

 

I didn't think Marty played badly.

The first and 4th goal he didn't have a chance.

The breakaway the guy made a good shot.

He played pretty well on the PK's.

 

I think Miller stops that breakaway shot. But you can't hang too much on Biron.

 

I thought that was one of Soupy's best games.

Not Spacek's best game.

 

I thought Gaustad played great and Vanek creates time out of nothing.

[inkman]

Neither am I, but some of them are tan as well. I don't think they cross-breed their colors either.

 

Damn racist cats! :lol:

[inkman]

I'm no zoologist or anything, but aren't panthers black? Yet these clowns were white and red?

 

Nope. The north american panther (a.k.a. where they get their name) is born with leopard like spots to help camoflauge (I know I butchered the sp) them until they can fend for themselves, gradually losing the spots and turning into one of these.

 

I believe black panthers are indiginous (sp?, again) to India and Asia, particularly jungle areas. Wikipedia tells us:

 

The black panther is the common name for a black specimen (a melanistic variant) of any of several species of cats. Zoologically speaking, the term panther is synonymous with leopard. The genus name Panthera is a taxonomic category that contains all the species of a particular group of felids. In North America, the term panther is commonly used for the puma; in Latin America it is most often used to mean a jaguar. Elsewhere in the world it refers to the leopard (originally individual animals with longer tails were deemed panthers and others were leopards; it is a common misconception that the term panther necessarily refers a melanistic individual).

 

Melanism is most common in jaguars (Panthera onca) - where it is due to a dominant gene mutation - and leopards (Panthera pardus) - where it is due to a recessive gene mutation. Close examination of one of these black cats will show that the typical markings are still there, and are simply hidden by the surplus of the black pigment melanin. Cats with melanism can co-exist with litter mates that do not have this condition. In cats that hunt mainly at night the condition is not detrimental. White panthers also exist, these being albino or leucistic individuals of the same three species.

 

It is probable that melanism is a favorable evolutionary mutation with a selective advantage under certain conditions for its possessor, since it is more commonly found in regions of dense forest, where light levels are lower. Melanism can also be linked to beneficial mutations in the immune system.

 

 

 

Melanistic cats rule!

[DR HOLLIDAY]

I was very happy that the boys took care of the game in OT because Marty is not the breakaway beast that Miller is................ :D

[nfreeman]

My 3 stars:

 

1. Vanek -- he really might score 40 this year. Continued strong hustle and willingness to pay the price at both ends and just great hands around the net.

 

2. Campbell -- he was all over the ice tonight. Great goal. Also, for a smallish defenseman, he still delivers more big hits than any other defenseman we have.

 

3. Roy -- didn't score but also seemed to be in the middle of the play, at both ends, all night.

 

Needed improvement:

 

Marty -- I like him a lot as a backup. Games like last night's are why no one is going to give us anything significant for him. If Miller is out for another 4-5 days I think we'll see Dennis (and I wouldn't be shocked to see him tonight). However, Lindy said that Miller will make the trip to Philly and Carolina, so this probably won't happen and Dennis will probably go back down today.

 

Paetsch -- iced the puck and then screened Marty on Florida's last goal. Also generally looked a little shaky IMHO and was minus-2.

 

Peters -- not his fault, but if he's only going to play 50 seconds, why not call up Paille?

 

Pominville -- pretty invisible, zero shots, whiffed on a great feed from Roy on a clean shorthanded 2-on-1, and a minus-3. With great power comes great responsibility.

 

Other thoughts:

 

-- we continue to get everyone's best game. FLA played pretty well in the neutral zone all night, doing a good job of taking away the speed transition game.

 

-- I am officially concerned abouth the PP. We had several power plays that were just awful. We should've buried them in the 3rd on the 5-on-3 after we went up 4-2, but we made bad decisions on passes and let them clear it several times. I don't think we got off more than 1 shot on that 5-on-3 and we definitely didn't have a scoring chance. Missing Max hurts but the PP was in a rut before his injury.

 

-- was the ice in poor shape last night? it seemed like pucks were hopping over sticks all night.

 

-- Vanek really might be on the verge of stardom. He still has some gaps in his game -- e.g. for such an offensively gifted player he doesn't seem to be a particularly good passer on a 2-on-1 -- but he is just money around the net. I am thinking that he might be the rare player that someone offers a big contract to as a RFA (which he will be after this season). So, we would still have the right to match, but if someone offered him $5+ million per year, we'd be put in a difficult situation. I can totally see someone (like Philly) doing this.

 

-- I didn't think Stafford showed much last night, after showing quite a bit vs. the Rangers. The Panthers played a much better defensive game and he wasn't able to overcome it like, e.g., Roy was. Not criticizing him -- just part of the learning experience.

 

-- all in all I thought the Sabres came out hustling and determined to play hard out of the gate and get a win against an inferior opponent. This was good to see as it continued the strong effort vs. the Rangers and was exactly the opposite of the consecutive mail-it-in showings vs. Toronto and Boston. The game was closer than it should've been b/c Florida capitalized on a few breaks and our goaltending was spotty.

 

-- I put the likelihood of Peters getting into a fight tonight at 90+%. Unless Philly has quit on the season already (which is quite possible), they will come out hitting, and Lindy will shoot the gun in response.

 

Go Sabres.

[inkman]

Wow, great post!

 

 

 

 

1. Vanek -- he really might score 40 this year. Continued strong hustle and willingness to pay the price at both ends and just great hands around the net.

 

Whole-heartedly agree. He is playing both ends of the ice, and his conditioning is so much better than last year. I was concerned about him after the playoffs but that benching really seemed to light a fire under his arse.

 

2. Campbell -- he was all over the ice tonight. Great goal. Also, for a smallish defenseman, he still delivers more big hits than any other defenseman we have.

 

If he's not an all-star, I don't know who is.

 

3. Roy -- didn't score but also seemed to be in the middle of the play, at both ends, all night.

 

Really coming into his own. I thought without Max he might struggle but it looks like he is taking his game to a different level.

 

 

Marty -- I like him a lot as a backup. Games like last night's are why no one is going to give us anything significant for him. If Miller is out for another 4-5 days I think we'll see Dennis (and I wouldn't be shocked to see him tonight). However, Lindy said that Miller will make the trip to Philly and Carolina, so this probably won't happen and Dennis will probably go back down today.

 

I've always thought Marty was a great goalie but I may have to revise my opinion to just good.

 

Paetsch -- iced the puck and then screened Marty on Florida's last goal. Also generally looked a little shaky IMHO and was minus-2.

 

After playing a couple of decent games, this did not come as a shocker. Who was he paired with? I don't recall it being Campbell but I could be wrong.

 

Peters -- not his fault, but if he's only going to play 50 seconds, why not call up Paille?

 

Can we end this already? Florida did not have anyone to fear on the ice last night. he shouldn't have played. I wonder how much the salary cap is affecting call ups.

 

Pominville -- pretty invisible, zero shots, whiffed on a great feed from Roy on a clean shorthanded 2-on-1, and a minus-3. With great power comes great responsibility.

 

I think Jason gets one game to be off. He's been Luc Robitalle every other game.

 

 

-- we continue to get everyone's best game. FLA played pretty well in the neutral zone all night, doing a good job of taking away the speed transition game.

 

Which is probably why we keep falling behind. Everyone comes and out shoots thier load :bag: , and is winded halfway through the second period.

 

-- I am officially concerned abouth the PP. We had several power plays that were just awful. We should've buried them in the 3rd on the 5-on-3 after we went up 4-2, but we made bad decisions on passes and let them clear it several times. I don't think we got off more than 1 shot on that 5-on-3 and we definitely didn't have a scoring chance. Missing Max hurts but the PP was in a rut before his injury.

 

Max is a key cog but Spacek has not been doing us any favors back there. Maybe they will move him off it.

 

-- was the ice in poor shape last night? it seemed like pucks were hopping over sticks all night.

 

I'd say this would be a strategy that other teams wold employ but last nights game was at home.

 

-- Vanek really might be on the verge of stardom. He still has some gaps in his game -- e.g. for such an offensively gifted player he doesn't seem to be a particularly good passer on a 2-on-1 -- but he is just money around the net. I am thinking that he might be the rare player that someone offers a big contract to as a RFA (which he will be after this season). So, we would still have the right to match, but if someone offered him $5+ million per year, we'd be put in a difficult situation. I can totally see someone (like Philly) doing this.

 

He would not help Philly as much as they would think. I can't picture him anywhere else. We'll see.

 

-- I didn't think Stafford showed much last night, after showing quite a bit vs. the Rangers. The Panthers played a much better defensive game and he wasn't able to overcome it like, e.g., Roy was. Not criticizing him -- just part of the learning experience.

 

Drew had pretty limited ice time last night, while Gaustad, Briere, Vanek and Roy were getting extra time.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

My 3 stars:

 

 

3. Roy -- didn't score but also seemed to be in the middle of the play, at both ends, all night.

 

 

 

You have to shoot to score, he needs to stop with the fancy passes and take some shots............THings will open up for him if he starts doing this.............. :beer:

 

 

 

Marty -- I like him a lot as a backup. Games like last night's are why no one is going to give us anything significant for him. If Miller is out for another 4-5 days I think we'll see Dennis (and I wouldn't be shocked to see him tonight). However, Lindy said that Miller will make the trip to Philly and Carolina, so this probably won't happen and Dennis will probably go back down today.

 

 

Can't be blamed for 3 goals that he gave up, and he needs to work off the rust, I think he played okay, not great, but okay...........He deserves to start while Miller is out, his attitude alone warrants that.

[inkman]

I think he did...the shootout guys mentioned he might have been screened, but I think he just misplayed it.

 

BTW, did anyone see this:

Did Roberts go ape$hit on the officials after the GWG? I rewound the postgame show to see if they had anything on it, but no one has mentioned it...

 

Roberts has always played on the egde of dirty but he was over the line on several occasions last night. Running guys, charging all over the place. He was out of control.

[X. Benedict]

 

Drew had pretty limited ice time last night, while Gaustad, Briere, Vanek and Roy were getting extra time.

 

I am guessing that Drew has a sprained wrist.

It doesn't look like he can snap that 20 ft. wrister.