Doohickie Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 When Tallinder was injured and discussions listed the best D-men on the team, I put Campbell first and Tallinder somewhere in the top-middle. Since Tallinder has been back, I have to admit, he is the class of the squad. Our penalty kill went for worrisome to 100% kills since he's been back, and his speed getting back into the play when it seems he's caught hopelessly up ice is impressive. Don't get me wrong; Campbell is still one of the horses this team will ride deep into the playoffs, but with Tallinder in the lineup the Sabres are unstoppable. Another way to look at it is that you're playing most of the game with either Tallinder-Lydman or Campbell-Spacek/Teppo out there, and very few minutes of Kalinin (who I still maintain is a liability on D). I kind of wish we'd move Kalinin in a trade for someone who's more of a bruising enforcer but I doubt anyone would want him (maybe if we threw in someone from Rochester....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad1 Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 When Tallinder was injured and discussions listed the best D-men on the team, I put Campbell first and Tallinder somewhere in the top-middle. Since Tallinder has been back, I have to admit, he is the class of the squad. Our penalty kill went for worrisome to 100% kills since he's been back, and his speed getting back into the play when it seems he's caught hopelessly up ice is impressive. Don't get me wrong; Campbell is still one of the horses this team will ride deep into the playoffs, but with Tallinder in the lineup the Sabres are unstoppable. Another way to look at it is that you're playing most of the game with either Tallinder-Lydman or Campbell-Spacek/Teppo out there, and very few minutes of Kalinin (who I still maintain is a liability on D). I kind of wish we'd move Kalinin in a trade for someone who's more of a bruising enforcer but I doubt anyone would want him (maybe if we threw in someone from Rochester....) Tallinder is the better D-man, but why play these guys off one another? If Tallinder wasn't injured for half the season, the Sabres would probably be sending both to the all star game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 When Tallinder was injured and discussions listed the best D-men on the team, I put Campbell first and Tallinder somewhere in the top-middle. Since Tallinder has been back, I have to admit, he is the class of the squad. Our penalty kill went for worrisome to 100% kills since he's been back, and his speed getting back into the play when it seems he's caught hopelessly up ice is impressive. Don't get me wrong; Campbell is still one of the horses this team will ride deep into the playoffs, but with Tallinder in the lineup the Sabres are unstoppable. Another way to look at it is that you're playing most of the game with either Tallinder-Lydman or Campbell-Spacek/Teppo out there, and very few minutes of Kalinin (who I still maintain is a liability on D). I kind of wish we'd move Kalinin in a trade for someone who's more of a bruising enforcer but I doubt anyone would want him (maybe if we threw in someone from Rochester....) Sorry, but this is way off base. Kalinin averages nearly 20 min. of ice time per game. Lindy doesn't give that kind of ice time to someone who is a "liability on D". He's 26 and is signed for 2 more years after this one at a cap hit of $2 million per year. He's a top 4 defenseman on at least 25 teams in the NHL. If we made him available for a trade, teams would be lined up for him. With that said, I agree with you on Tallinder. He's a great player and is the best defenseman we've got -- which is a real statement, because our defense is very strong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardSauve Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 All of the talk of Pronger and Niedermeyer out west and Lidstrom and Chelios in Detroit is fine with me. No other team can roll 6 defensemen that can call themselves half as good as ours. Everyone wants to mention the Sabres speed or their goaltending, but what will ultimately win the Sabres the Stanley Cup is their defense. And, while Tallinder was down and Lydman was having headaches, I looked at it as a positive. God forbid they are forced to call up guys from Rochester in the playoffs like last year, but at least they have been able to get guys like Paetsch and Ryan some real game experience. My New Year's Resolution is to keep everything positive this year, and I am POSITIVELY talking about the playoffs in early January. How cool is that? Seriously! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Sorry, but this is way off base. Maybe... but whenever you see a D-man making a big mistake, it seems to be either Paetsch (who's still learning) or Kalinin. Kalinin is a great playmaker and is perhaps the best on the offensive rush (at least on the nights when Soupy's spin-o-rama isn't working), but if I would have to rate our D, it would be: 1a: Tallinder 1b: Campbell 2a: Lydman 2b: Spacek 2c: Teppo 6: Kalinin Maybe he is a pretty good D, but it seems to me he makes a lot more mistakes in the defensive zone than the rest of those guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesportsbuff Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Maybe... but whenever you see a D-man making a big mistake, it seems to be either Paetsch (who's still learning) or Kalinin. Kalinin is a great playmaker and is perhaps the best on the offensive rush (at least on the nights when Soupy's spin-o-rama isn't working), but if I would have to rate our D, it would be: 1a: Tallinder 1b: Campbell 2a: Lydman 2b: Spacek 2c: Teppo 6: Kalinin Maybe he is a pretty good D, but it seems to me he makes a lot more mistakes in the defensive zone than the rest of those guys. I disagree, Paetsch made very few "big mistakes" that I saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 OK I had a longer response in my typical long-winded fashion (shocker I know) but my browser crashed ... basically it said ... Cut Kalinin some slack ... he is +25 over the last season and a half ... his mistakes are no worse than the one Campbell made the other day against Atlanta that gave them their only goal ... he's not as steady as the others yet, but he's not a BAD player ... remember, a year ago the jury was out on Campbell and Max ... and Kalinin is still younger than both of them. I don't think it's time to give up on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jad1 Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 OK I had a longer response in my typical long-winded fashion (shocker I know) but my browser crashed ... basically it said ... Cut Kalinin some slack ... he is +25 over the last season and a half ... his mistakes are no worse than the one Campbell made the other day against Atlanta that gave them their only goal ... he's not as steady as the others yet, but he's not a BAD player ... remember, a year ago the jury was out on Campbell and Max ... and Kalinin is still younger than both of them. I don't think it's time to give up on him. No doubt. Somebody has to be on the third defensive line, and the team could do much worse than Kalinin. The guy has talent and potential. Keep in mind Campbell was a -14 last year. So at best, he progresses along the same arc as Campbell and forces himself into a top 2 pairing (nervous Lydman?). At worst, he logs some strong minutes at the 5th or 6th defensive position through the playoffs, and maybe gets moved to free up cap space in the off season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X. Benedict Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Apart from the PK - I think Kalinin is playing better than McKee was at this time last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 2, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 Okay, so I looked at the stats and I guess all you Dimitri-lovers have a point: His +/- and minutes per game are worse than the other 5 D-men, but only by a little bit. For a 6th D, that's certainly not bad. But.... but.... when he makes mistakes they just seem so...... "OMG WHAT'S HE DOING???!!! :doh:" bad. Considering his stats, though, the only explanation I can come up with is that Ryan must be playing his best when Kalinin steps on the ice. :nana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 I think Kalinin's occasional brain cramps just are magnified because as a whole the Sabres are SO solid now, Kalinin included. Go back and watch a few games with ol' #42 in them, and you'll see what a "OMG WHAT'S HE DOING???!!!" bad play looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 I think Kalinin's occasional brain cramps just are magnified because as a whole the Sabres are SO solid now, Kalinin included. Go back and watch a few games with ol' #42 in them, and you'll see what a "OMG WHAT'S HE DOING???!!!" bad play looks like. WTF would ANYONE bring up that number in the middle of what is shaping up to be one of the coolest seasons (and hopefully THE coolest to date) in Sabres history. :angry: At least you didn't refer to him by name. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 WTF would ANYONE bring up that number in the middle of what is shaping up to be one of the coolest seasons (and hopefully THE coolest to date) in Sabres history. :angry: At least you didn't refer to him by name. ;) I was scolded by DeLuca like 15 months ago for mentioning the name ... so I went with the number ... It's OK dave ... he can't hurt you anymore. I promise. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 I was scolded by DeLuca like 15 months ago for mentioning the name ... so I went with the number ... It's OK dave ... he can't hurt you anymore. I promise. ;) It wasn't DeLuca who scolded you. :censored: :censored: :censored: Is there a way to set up a duel on TSS? :lol: ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 #42. Biggest PUSS-E in the league! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 It wasn't DeLuca who scolded you. :censored: :censored: :censored: Are you sure? Maybe i just assumed it was him because he and I never seemed to agree on anything at that time ... he was still in his "Darcy is a moron for letting Miro go, who is going to score goals?" Phase ... Ah those were the days ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Gack.... I have to confess I don't know who 42 was. :blink: If his name is not to be mentioned, someone please PM me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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