Sabres @ Rangers (01/24)

[PTS]

Thank God JP is back! Just in time as well. This time is starting to fall into bad habits. Hopefully the enthusiasm Dumont brings will lift his teammates up as well. I hear Pyatt is a mere week away from returning which is great as well. The more healthy players we have, the harder the players on the bottom will have to work to stay on the team.

 

I don't like to make predictions but I think Sabres win 5-2 with JP getting a goal.

[PASabreFan]

Let's hope the Sabres don't read their press clippings. It seems like every road game for a month, the local papers do the "Sabres franchise comeback" story. Today, the New York Times has a piece on the Sabres' "renewal." The problem is, these stories of late are talking about a team the fans haven't seen in a month. Time to turn things around. Everything points to a better performance for the Sabres, but a win is going to be tough to get.

[Guest Hugebillsfan]

I say 6 -4 Rangers. JP will really help. I am glad they are back in the East.

As excited as I am about the season we are having, the reality is we are far behind the Sens, Van,Cal and Detroit.

We must get a little bigger and nastier on D before the deadline. Of course it would be nice if they opened up the purse strings for once, but we know they will not.

My last point, Marty will not bring much in return. Hocket Night In Canada said it the other day. Teams are now wondering if a trade for the goalies available are truly an upgrade. Marty had a nice run, but he is not a consistant world class goalie.

Sorry to be so negative, but this team showed their true colors on the West Coast.

Trust me it is hard for me as a homer to be this honest, but we aren't going anywhere this year.

[shrader]

I'm guessing Novotny was returned to Rochester to make room for JP? It should be interesting to see who Lindy puts Dumont out there with tonight. My guess is it'll be Drury and Grier. Either that or you bump Hecht down to that line and put JP with Alice and Connolly.

[LabattBlue]

I'm guessing Novotny was returned to Rochester to make room for JP? It should be interesting to see who Lindy puts Dumont out there with tonight. My guess is it'll be Drury and Grier. Either that or you bump Hecht down to that line and put JP with Alice and Connolly.

Boy I really hope that Lindy can still find a place in the lineup for Dynamo Peters if Dumont comes back. Maybe he can sit Vanek, Kotalik, Connoly or Max instead. I would hate to see Peters presence missing from the lineup. <_<

[Guest Punch Imlach]

Any objective analysis of the Sabres would show that the team needs more talent. I wish Darcy would pull the trigger on a goalie trade.

 

My ideal acquisition would be a hard working forward who can score. Young, but experienced. I know every team would like that, but the team needs more leadership and talent. Briere is sorely missed.

 

Ideally, the team could use two more "Drury" type players. I wish the Sabres would pony up the dough to make a Cup run rather than be satisfied with a possible playoff appearance and then a quit exit.

 

It seems their primary objective is to not lose money. Winning seems to be secondary.

[nfreeman]

Boy I really hope that Lindy can still find a place in the lineup for Dynamo Peters if Dumont comes back. Maybe he can sit Vanek, Kotalik, Connoly or Max instead. I would hate to see Peters presence missing from the lineup. <_<

 

 

Boy, everyone likes to take shots at Peters (Labatt, I'm not singling you out -- quite a few other posters do so as well). Peters is only doing his job, and it's probably the hardest job there is on the ice. Bottom line is that until the NHL bans fighting, we need a guy like him. Lindy knows it -- that's why Peters keeps dressing for games and why most teams still have a guy like him.

 

Peters wasn't the reason we lost to Van & Calgary. Those losses were due to team-wide floating -- ie we were a little too self-satisfied after beating LA and Edmonton.

 

I don't like the fact that teams still need fighters. I'd prefer a fighting ban and the roster spot going to another small, skilled guy, but until that happens I'm not going to criticize the sabres for having Peters.

 

Go Sabres.

[nfreeman]

I wish the Sabres would pony up the dough to make a Cup run rather than be satisfied with a possible playoff appearance and then a quit exit.

 

It seems their primary objective is to not lose money. Winning seems to be secondary.

 

 

What are these conclusions based on? We are still well short of the trading deadline. It's not like a bunch of highly-paid stars have been traded this year with the Sabres sitting on the sidelines.

 

Were you expecting Golisano to sign a bunch of expensive veteran free agents last offseason and commit to losing $10 - $20 million based on last year's financial results? ie just because he's rich, we the fans have a right to expect him to throw away millions of dollars in losses every year so we can get peter forsberg or teemu selanne or scott niedermayer? Life doesn't work like that.

 

Now that the sabres are selling out the arena regularly, I expect us to make a carefully targeted, economically sensible move or 2 before the trading deadline and again this coming off-season. Our total payroll will probably go up a bit, but will not approach the cap. We are not going to sign any $6 million players but I can see us picking up a $4 million or even $5 million player in the right situation.

 

If attendance continues to be strong and we fail to make any such moves, then I think you will have the right to criticize ownership. Until then you are just jumping to unjustified negative conclusions.

[shrader]

At the same time, this seems like a group that will be strong contenders for the next 4-5 years. Do you want to sacrifice some of that potential future right to make a run now? I don't think that's an easy call.

[PASabreFan]

Shrader, I don't think there are any 4-5 year windows in the NHL any more. It would be an interesting point to discuss though.

 

nfreeman, good points, but sometimes you have to spend money to make money. It's still premature to have this debate -- we will know by next opening night what direction Golisano is taking this team in.

[shrader]

Shrader, I don't think there are any 4-5 year windows in the NHL any more. It would be an interesting point to discuss though.

 

nfreeman, good points, but sometimes you have to spend money to make money. It's still premature to have this debate -- we will know by next opening night what direction Golisano is taking this team in.

Whatever the long term is, I think this team looks to be in good shape for that window. I would say that 4 years does seem like a good number though. Guys like Pominville, Vanek, Paille, Roy, Miller, and Gaustad are under Sabres control for at least that long. That's a solid core right there. The one think I notice right as I'm typing this, though, is that there are no defensemen on that list as of right now.

[hopeleslyobvious]

I say 6 -4 Rangers. JP will really help. I am glad they are back in the East.

As excited as I am about the season we are having, the reality is we are far behind the Sens, Van,Cal and Detroit.

We must get a little bigger and nastier on D before the deadline. Of course it would be nice if they opened up the purse strings for once, but we know they will not.

My last point, Marty will not bring much in return. Hocket Night In Canada said it the other day. Teams are now wondering if a trade for the goalies available are truly an upgrade. Marty had a nice run, but he is not a consistant world class goalie.

Sorry to be so negative, but this team showed their true colors on the West Coast.

Trust me it is hard for me as a homer to be this honest, but we aren't going anywhere this year.

6-4 Rangers? If anything I would expect this game to be a low scoring affair. Miller and Lundqvist are among the two best goalies in the league. If Lundqvist starts tonight (which it looks like he will), then it is going to be his 4th start in 6 nights. We can seriously take advantage of that. You should also consider that in the Sabres have 3 of a possible 4 points against the Rangers so far this year. They most likely would have won the second game in regulation if Noronnen had not hurt himself.

 

I don't think the team showed their "true colors" during the west coast swing. As many of us have pointed out before that the Sabres usually struggle during West Coast road trips. I think you are being too negative. Even taking away the fact that they were on the West coast, this is an 82 game season. It is going to be full of ups and downs. I think you're failing to look at the fact that even though the team has not been playing well as of late, they still have gotten 10 points in the last 10 games. The last 10 games have been kind of a low for this team. If they are still .500 in that time, I think we are in great shape. Looking at the last 3 games alone is even more unfair to the team.

 

Another factor to take into consideration is the return of Dumont. I think this is big tonight. First it will give the team a shot in the arm to get him back, even if he is limited to a 4th line role. Also, I would like to see him get some ice time on the PP. I think our PP's recent struggles have come from predictability. On the sabres.com board, people were complaining that Kotalik is not shooting on the PP, but I think he is not shooting because he is not getting a shot. With Briere and Dumont out of the lineup, the gameplan was get the puck to Kotalik at the point. I think everyone caught on to this, and made sure that he did not get a shooting lane. We've tried unsuccessfully to adapt the last few games by trying to work the puck down low, but I don't think we had enough firepower down there. With Dumont out there, things are much different. Even if he doesn't score on the PP, his presence alone might take some pressure off of Kotalik, which is definately a good thing.

[hopeleslyobvious]

I wish the Sabres would pony up the dough to make a Cup run rather than be satisfied with a possible playoff appearance and then a quit exit.

I don't think they are going to be making a quick exit. Right now, I don't think we could beat Ottawa. Philly would be tough, but we did beat them. Carolina is tough as well, but I think if we played them it would be a great series. We've played well against the Rangers in both games this year. We've struggled with the Devils, but I think if we play our game we can beat them. We are 3-0 against Tampa. We beat Atlanta. That represents the top 8 in the conference right now. While we're not cup contenders this year (yet...ask me again after the trading deadline), I can see this team going to the Conference semi-finals or Conference finals this year. we will hopefully be completely healthy by the time the playoffs roll around...and our youth is going to pay off big time during the post Olympic stretch. We can definately build some momentum there to carry us into the playoffs. I'm not saying we can't improve our team, but it seems like you are ruling them out completely already.

[Guest Punch Imlach]

I don't think they are going to be making a quick exit. Right now, I don't think we could beat Ottawa. Philly would be tough, but we did beat them. Carolina is tough as well, but I think if we played them it would be a great series. We've played well against the Rangers in both games this year. We've struggled with the Devils, but I think if we play our game we can beat them. We are 3-0 against Tampa. We beat Atlanta. That represents the top 8 in the conference right now. While we're not cup contenders this year (yet...ask me again after the trading deadline), I can see this team going to the Conference semi-finals or Conference finals this year. we will hopefully be completely healthy by the time the playoffs roll around...and our youth is going to pay off big time during the post Olympic stretch. We can definately build some momentum there to carry us into the playoffs. I'm not saying we can't improve our team, but it seems like you are ruling them out completely already.

By the very responses I've read, the Sabres look like they are not Cup contenders, but rather contenders to make the playoffs.

 

The standards are have been set so low in Buffalo for so many years that the fans are happy if the team is competitive. The fans should be asking management how they plan to win it all.

 

Ottawa went bankrupt like Buffalo, but they made moves; including a major move to get Heatley. The Sabres, with the current personnel, are vastly outgunned by the Senators. There are too many weak links in the lineup - guys who routinely go on 15-20 games scoring droughts.

 

I am not suggesting acquiring overpaid, aging veterans. I am suggesting that the 3 headed goalie drama be settled with a quality skater or two coming in. And another free agent or two. The seats won't be filled if they swoon at the end of the year and get booted from the playoffs in the 1st round.

 

I am suggesting that the guys brought up from Rochester are not ready yet to compete for the Cup. Rochester couldn't win the AHL let alone the NHL. They might be good eventually, but now they are inadequate.

 

The Sabres will be overmatched against several teams.

 

I am suggesting that they get somebody who can crack the top 50 in the league in scoring. Drury ranks highest at number 64. This is really pathetic that you guys are satisfied with the way things are going. They need to improve now.

 

I like the spirit and all, but talent is needed to actually believe they can win the Stanley Cup. That's the whole point.

[shrader]

Ottawa went bankrupt like Buffalo, but they made moves; including a major move to get Heatley. The Sabres, with the current personnel, are vastly outgunned by the Senators. There are too many weak links in the lineup - guys who routinely go on 15-20 games scoring droughts.

Ottawa also had the first overall pick for several years back to back and stocked up on players like Reddin and Phillips. That team was not built through free agency and trades, it was built through the draft. Their only major over the past few years was Hasek, and he signed a very cheap deal in hopes of winning. Hell, the Heatley trade was even a salary dump. Hossa was about to make a ton of money and they knew they had to move him.

[hopeleslyobvious]

By the very responses I've read, the Sabres look like they are not Cup contenders, but rather contenders to make the playoffs.

 

The standards are have been set so low in Buffalo for so many years that the fans are happy if the team is competitive. The fans should be asking management how they plan to win it all.

 

Ottawa went bankrupt like Buffalo, but they made moves; including a major move to get Heatley. The Sabres, with the current personnel, are vastly outgunned by the Senators. There are too many weak links in the lineup - guys who routinely go on 15-20 games scoring droughts.

 

I am not suggesting acquiring overpaid, aging veterans. I am suggesting that the 3 headed goalie drama be settled with a quality skater or two coming in. And another free agent or two. The seats won't be filled if they swoon at the end of the year and get booted from the playoffs in the 1st round.

 

I am suggesting that the guys brought up from Rochester are not ready yet to compete for the Cup. Rochester couldn't win the AHL let alone the NHL. They might be good eventually, but now they are inadequate.

 

The Sabres will be overmatched against several teams.

 

I am suggesting that they get somebody who can crack the top 50 in the league in scoring. Drury ranks highest at number 64. This is really pathetic that you guys are satisfied with the way things are going. They need to improve now.

 

I like the spirit and all, but talent is needed to actually believe they can win the Stanley Cup. That's the whole point.

Just contenders to make the playoffs? They are slumping, and still 5th in the conference. What happens when they heat up again?

 

I agree that they can't match up against Ottawa, but Ottawa is one team. If the season ended right now, the Sabres would be 5th in the Conference, and would have to play the Rangers in the first round. The Sabres are 1-0-1 against the Rangers. It should also be noted, that while the Rangers have 2 points on the Sabres, they have also played 2 more games.

 

I agree that winning the Cup is the ultimate goal, but another goal should be having a successful franchise in the long term. Look at how far this team has come since last season. How much will this core of players improve before next season?

 

Sure it would be nice to have a top 50 scorer, but I think you are looking at it the wrong way. A team is not as good as the sum of all it's parts. If you think it is, take a good look at Pittsburgh, or the pre-lockout Rangers. Another thing you are forgetting is that we have a top 50 scorer. Briere would be in the top 50 if he hadn't hurt himself. Besides, if I had the choice between a top 50 scorer and a good defenseman, I am going to take the defenseman.

[eliwhitneyradio]

I'd like to see a big game from Kotalik tonight. He should be pumped up to play against all his fellow countrymen on the Rangers that made the Czech Republic's Olympic team. The problem on the PP is they've been setting him up for one timers. He's better with a natural wrist shot. The one timers are for Campbell.

[Taro T]

By the very responses I've read, the Sabres look like they are not Cup contenders, but rather contenders to make the playoffs.

 

The standards are have been set so low in Buffalo for so many years that the fans are happy if the team is competitive. The fans should be asking management how they plan to win it all.

 

Ottawa went bankrupt like Buffalo, but they made moves; including a major move to get Heatley. The Sabres, with the current personnel, are vastly outgunned by the Senators. There are too many weak links in the lineup - guys who routinely go on 15-20 games scoring droughts.

 

I am not suggesting acquiring overpaid, aging veterans. I am suggesting that the 3 headed goalie drama be settled with a quality skater or two coming in. And another free agent or two. The seats won't be filled if they swoon at the end of the year and get booted from the playoffs in the 1st round.

 

I am suggesting that the guys brought up from Rochester are not ready yet to compete for the Cup. Rochester couldn't win the AHL let alone the NHL.  They might be good eventually, but now they are inadequate. 

 

The Sabres will be overmatched against several teams.

 

I am suggesting that they get somebody who can crack the top 50 in the league in scoring. Drury ranks highest at number 64. This is really pathetic that you guys are satisfied with the way things are going. They need to improve now.

 

I like the spirit and all, but talent is needed to actually believe they can win the Stanley Cup. That's the whole point.

Do you really need to check on a message board to realize that the Sabres are not bonafide Stanley Cup contenders this season?

 

I don't know how long you have been lurking here, but there are several regular posters to this board that have been asking the "how do the Sabres win it all" question and whether or not management truly has a goal of winning the SC. Many of us here have varying opinions on those subjects, but that does not prevent us from enjoying the run the Sabres have been on this season. If your sole criterion for a successful and / or enjoyable season is a SC victory parade, then the fans of 97% of the teams will not get any enjoyment out of their teams this year.

 

Comparing Buffalo to Ottawa is really foolish. Ottawa was pathetic for several seasons and then moved up to bad. Due to their extremely long run of icing bad teams and a very good scouting staff, they have managed to assemble a core of players, some of which were traded for key parts such as Chara and Heatley, that are truly legitimate contenders. Even though they are contenders now, however, and have been for a couple of seasons; without goaltending they have been huge disappointments in past seasons. If winning the Cup is your sole criterion for success, you may want to pick a team like NJ to hang your hat on rather than Ottawa, as they have won SC's while maintaining a budget (at least in past seasons).

 

Also, you will not get 2 quality skaters coming into the organization for Marty. You want a "top 50 scorer", but what are you willing to give up to get him? Do you even realize that Briere is that mythical "top 50 scorer" when he is healthy? Do you realize that several of the young guys may join him there in the next season or 2?

 

While there are several teams in the West that I do not believe the Sabres match up well against, right now of playoff caliber teams the only 2 teams that I think would definitely win a playoff series against the Sabres are the Sens and Devils. I don't have a good handle on how they match up with Carolina (but the homer in me says they can and would beat them), but I really like the matchups with TB and Atlanta, and expect that they would win a series against NY or the Flyers. They would beat Montreal and should beat Toronto if either gets in. Florida would kill them, but guess what, Florida is going golfing in May.

 

What team other than NJ (who they might face in the 1st round) or Ottawa (who they most likely won't face in the 1st round) overmatch the Sabres?

[Taro T]

I'm guessing Novotny was returned to Rochester to make room for JP?  It should be interesting to see who Lindy puts Dumont out there with tonight.  My guess is it'll be Drury and Grier.  Either that or you bump Hecht down to that line and put JP with Alice and Connolly.

My guess is that JP will primarily play on the 4th line while taking a regular shift on one of the pp units. I'd expect to see him take a few shifts with Timmy and Ales, but don't expect Lindy to go overboard on playing time for him.

 

Pitkanen came back from a similar injury this weekend and only played during the 1st half of the game due to stiffness. Sabres have a lot of games left, I doubt to see him get too much action tonight.

 

BTW, I'm expecting to see the Sabres come out on top in a close one. Stay out of the penalty box and good things should happen.

[LabattBlue]

 

Boy, everyone likes to take shots at Peters (Labatt, I'm not singling you out -- quite a few other posters do so as well). Peters is only doing his job, and it's probably the hardest job there is on the ice. Bottom line is that until the NHL bans fighting, we need a guy like him. Lindy knows it -- that's why Peters keeps dressing for games and why most teams still have a guy like him.

 

Peters wasn't the reason we lost to Van & Calgary. Those losses were due to team-wide floating -- ie we were a little too self-satisfied after beating LA and Edmonton.

 

I don't like the fact that teams still need fighters. I'd prefer a fighting ban and the roster spot going to another small, skilled guy, but until that happens I'm not going to criticize the sabres for having Peters.

 

Go Sabres.

You can single me out, that's okay! :) It just pisses me off that on nights when you ended up scoring one goal, that you dressed a guy like Peters who contributes zero offensively while you sent Novotny back to Rochester. Granted Novotny has no proven track record, but from an offensive standpoint he is the equivalent of Wayne Gretzy when compared to Peters.

 

I'll disagree that the Sabres need Peters as their resident tough guy. You have Gaustad who can drop them when needed and with fighting down to such a minimum, you just don't need a guy who can contribute NOTHING beyond being a goon. Keep him on the roster if you must(I'll even disagree there), but don't dress him unless the opposing team has just signed up the Hanson brothers. ;)

[KD in CT]

Hmmm......looks like the Sabres aren't the only team with a good young goaltender.

 

This kid has been getting people in NYC excited about the Rangers.

[LabattBlue]

Max...jaw dropping one play, frustrating as hell the next. Good period of hockey. Lot of hitting and inspired play by the Sabres.

[shrader]

Max...jaw dropping one play, frustrating as hell the next. Good period of hockey. Lot of hitting and inspired play by the Sabres.

I'd love to see that breakaway if he wasn't at the end of a shift. Oh well, 1-0 after one. I'll take it.

[KD in CT]

Max...jaw dropping one play, frustrating as hell the next. Good period of hockey. Lot of hitting and inspired play by the Sabres.

That breakaway was not inspiring, but outside of the last few minutes they really looked good. Good skating and puck movement.

[Larry Playfair]

tied! Jagr. damn.