JujuFish Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 PP time. If ever there were a time to for the PP to click, now is it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 power play ... good or bad? Can we decline it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Oh great, the PP... (he says, fingers crossed and hoping for a reverse jinx...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JujuFish Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Bah...humbug. Sabres need to seriously start getting their heads on straight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BetweenThePipes00 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Thank God it's January and not April ... very frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Ugh. What an anti-climactic finish. Has the offense suddenly gone south? PP has got to get better, and I was glad to see Roby call attention to Kotalik's inability to hit the net from the blueline on the PP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JujuFish Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I've got good news, guys. I go back to New Jersey tomorrow. Buffalo always seems to do poorly while I'm in WNY. They're now 7-5-1 while I've been here. They were 1-1-1 when I was here for a week earlier in the season. They were 0-4 when I was here in March. I must conclude that I am a jinx for the Sabres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeleslyobvious Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Thank God it's January and not April Exactly. Everyone needs to keep a deep breath and relax. As I've said before and I'm sure I will have to say a few more times. It's an 82 game season. There are going to be ups and downs. We're on a down right now. The important part is to make the ups last longer than the downs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I've got good news, guys. I go back to New Jersey tomorrow. Buffalo always seems to do poorly while I'm in WNY. They're now 7-5-1 while I've been here. They were 1-1-1 when I was here for a week earlier in the season. They were 0-4 when I was here in March. I must conclude that I am a jinx for the Sabres. Then I guess I speak for everyone when I say "get the hell out of here, and don't come back until July..." :nana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnRobertEichel Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Exactly. Everyone needs to keep a deep breath and relax. As I've said before and I'm sure I will have to say a few more times. It's an 82 game season. There are going to be ups and downs. We're on a down right now. The important part is to make the ups last longer than the downs. That...or the rest of the league has now finally figured out how to slow down our offense. Belak called our team out as a bunch of pu$$ies who can be muscled around, and so far we are not responding well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SabreInFla Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Above all else, we have to get the special teams going. It has hit the point where it is costing us games that we should win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffalOhio Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 How many giveaways can they have in one game? Jeesus! Kalinin is the worst at giving the puck away. How many times does he just plain whiff when he's passing the puck. Brutal. Just Brutal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeleslyobvious Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 That...or the rest of the league has now finally figured out how to slow down our offense. Belak called our team out as a bunch of pu$$ies who can be muscled around, and so far we are not responding well. That's the same thing everyone was saying at the end of our road trip out West last year. They will snap out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottnc Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 That's the same thing everyone was saying at the end of our road trip out West last year. They will snap out of it. I agree. Let's put everything in perspective. Yes, we're not playing our best lately, but we're still 9 points better than the rest of the entire conference. They will snap out of this funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 When is Henrik due back in the line-up? :( The Sabres are vexing to no ends... Amazing what the great start did... Even after today... Sure Ottawa inches close but is still (11) points beyond... The Habs are still (10) off... And the Leafs are (19) off still... We have even have a couple games in hand over Ottawa and one over the Loafs... So the divison is still well below. Seems when we tank... The divison has bad outings? Well Ottawa played the Habs... Somebody had to win... :D In the Conference things are tighter... Yet, NJ and ATL are (7) off with ATL having played two more games! I still like to win the overall... Yet... A "cat-bird" seed can be 2 and 3 also... Hope they don't fall though... Still NOT bad... Even know things look ugly, very ugly... Actually FUGLY at times for the Sabres... That strong start seems to be going far in the war of attrition to out pace some teams... And yes... I scoreboard watch... The Ducks had issues with the Avs at home, losing 3-2... The Pred seem to be on a tear and have tied the Sabres with an identical record and points!.... And played the same number of games... Maybe the Sabres need teams breathing down their neck to get it going again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 That's the same thing everyone was saying at the end of our road trip out West last year. They will snap out of it. I agree. Let's put everything in perspective. Yes, we're not playing our best lately, but we're still 9 points better than the rest of the entire conference. They will snap out of this funk. Hey, I am all for not hitting the panic button as much as the next guy.... Buuuut, this team has now lost four of six, so in my eyes, it's no longer an issue of "just a rough patch" or "no big deal." To be honest I am getting concerned again, because losing games is bad enough, but the manner we have lost these recent ones is disturbing. Our offense has disappeared (12 goals over the last 5 games); some of our D are looking shaky (Teppo looks to me like he really needs a night or two off, and Kalinin has been his usual inconsistent self) and the PP has become a full-on, official nightmare. I am nervous that this is (or is the start of) one of those slumps that could bite us on the ass in the race for home-ice advantage. Our conference lead is down to 7 points with no games in hand (NJ and Buf have both played 45 games); our division lead is still OK, 10 pts with no games in hand (Mon has also played 45 games.) As much as the optimist in me wants to say no problem, it'll get better, Lindy will turn it around, the realist in me (that nagging Buffalo sports fan voice in my head that is waiting for our hearts to be ripped out again) keeps saying look out, this is different, here comes the stumble.... God, sometimes I hate being a Buffalo fan. Too many years of "almost," "bad refs," "so close" "wait till next year" - all those bad Buffalo sports memories and karma are ingrained into my soul and they drive me crazy as I try to enjoy this team and their regular season run. :censored: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabattBlue Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I missed most of the game because I was at a party where they wanted the football game on. :angry: That being said, I caught the last 15 minutes when I got home(I should have stuck with the football game), but I read in the morning news that they had 30 GIVEAWAYS!! I'm not sure if the Sabres are gripping the sticks too tight at home, but 3 home losses in a row to AVERAGE BORDERLINE playoff teams isn't inspiring my confidence in them at all. Nothing more to say. :bag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeleslyobvious Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 Hey, I am all for not hitting the panic button as much as the next guy.... Buuuut, this team has now lost four of six, so in my eyes, it's no longer an issue of "just a rough patch" or "no big deal." To be honest I am getting concerned again, because losing games is bad enough, but the manner we have lost these recent ones is disturbing. Our offense has disappeared (12 goals over the last 5 games); some of our D are looking shaky (Teppo looks to me like he really needs a night or two off, and Kalinin has been his usual inconsistent self) and the PP has become a full-on, official nightmare. I am nervous that this is (or is the start of) one of those slumps that could bite us on the ass in the race for home-ice advantage. Our conference lead is down to 7 points with no games in hand (NJ and Buf have both played 45 games); our division lead is still OK, 10 pts with no games in hand (Mon has also played 45 games.) As much as the optimist in me wants to say no problem, it'll get better, Lindy will turn it around, the realist in me (that nagging Buffalo sports fan voice in my head that is waiting for our hearts to be ripped out again) keeps saying look out, this is different, here comes the stumble.... God, sometimes I hate being a Buffalo fan. Too many years of "almost," "bad refs," "so close" "wait till next year" - all those bad Buffalo sports memories and karma are ingrained into my soul and they drive me crazy as I try to enjoy this team and their regular season run. :censored: You need to tell the Buffalo sports fan in you that it's not being rational. We had worse stretches last year, and a very similar team and turned things around just fine. Would you rather the Sabres stumble now or in April? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmwolf21 Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 You need to tell the Buffalo sports fan in you that it's not being rational. We had worse stretches last year, and a very similar team and turned things around just fine. Would you rather the Sabres stumble now or in April? I am trying to keep things in perspective, but just like Cubs fans, us Buffalo fans are always watching with baited breath - always waiting for the other shoe to drop.... FWIW, I wouldn't call this a similar team. As we have dissected quite a bit lately, this team is softer than last year's version - guys like McKee, Dumont and Grier did provide much more grit than this year's team has. I'm not pressing the panic button yet, but I am also not ignoring the warning signs and the little flashing red "alert" lights going off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeleslyobvious Posted January 14, 2007 Report Share Posted January 14, 2007 I am trying to keep things in perspective, but just like Cubs fans, us Buffalo fans are always watching with baited breath - always waiting for the other shoe to drop.... FWIW, I wouldn't call this a similar team. As we have dissected quite a bit lately, this team is softer than last year's version - guys like McKee, Dumont and Grier did provide much more grit than this year's team has. I'm not pressing the panic button yet, but I am also not ignoring the warning signs and the little flashing red "alert" lights going off... I think the argument about grit is valid, but a bit overstated: Last year everyone was saying the same thing. The Sabres don't have enough grit to succeed. They will run into a team with grit and not be able to compete. We saw that in the first round last year...I think we did just fine. Another thought comes to mind for the "we need more grit" people. That is not this team's style. Even if the team adds a few grit guys, they are not going to win playing that style. There are some other things to keep in mind. The three losses everyone complains about are: Jay McKee: Spacek was a great replacement IMHO. He doesn't have as much grit, but he weighs more than McKee, he moves the puck better and skates better. Mike Grier: This loss hurt IMHO, but I think Gaustad has answered the call in the last few weeks when he moved into Grier's old spot with Drury. JP Dumont: This is the least persuasive one IMHO. The team succeeded without Dumont in the lineup for about half the season last year. Something that people don't consider: Mair adds a lot of grit to this team. He missed a significant portion of last season, and most of the playoffs. When Connolly comes back, the team will effectively be able to roll 4 lines again. If he's back before playoff time, I think this is much more important than any gritty player can add. When other teams shorten their benches in the playoffs and we roll 4 lines, it's going to be very hard for them to keep up, especially in a OT game or a long series. The motto during the Philly series last year was "You can't hit what you can't catch. I think it still holds true, and many have lost sight of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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