Official Buffalo Sabres Thread

[serge 904]

I think it was just a cut on the bridge of his nose. Like Fuber said he returned later on. He probably just went off to stop the bleeding.Big win last night after the deadline deal. I would definitely rather have Campbell in my line up than Bernier but if we can't sign him we may as well get some value for him now rather than lose him at the end of the year for nothing. I really hope Regier gets Miller signed up and doesn't let him go. He is the one guy we just can't afford to lose. Goaltending is the toughest position to fill in the NHL. I think he will get it done as we did give Hasek the big contract when he was playing well in Buffalo.Big game tonight against the Canadians.

This is really gross but its that time of year where I think I really need to cheer for the Habs tonight..I cant believe that but I have to...We need to catch Buffalo..Yuk yuk.....I cant even think about what I just wrote..damn...

[Whiter Sr 0]

All the teams we wanted to lose won last night (Boston, Rangers and the Flyers)I guess we just have to take care of our own business tonight (Montreal).As far as the Leafs go I would worry more about catching the Islanders and Washington first and getting to 10th before you start worrying about a playoff spot.

[serge 904]

All the teams we wanted to lose won last night (Boston, Rangers and the Flyers)I guess we just have to take care of our own business tonight (Montreal).As far as the Leafs go I would worry more about catching the Islanders and Washington first and getting to 10th before you start worrying about a playoff spot.

ok ....Dont say you werent warned...We are coming, like a locomotive in the heat of the night...BOOYASHAKKA

[Whiter Sr 0]

With the loss to the Red Wings last night the Sabres are on the outside looking in. It seems like all the other 3 teams they are chasing have been hot lately.Watching the highlights it looked to me like Miller wasa very focused and will be the key to a big run in the home stretch.They have 16 games remaining8 at home - Wash, NYR, Caro, TB, Tor, Ott, MTL, Bos, 8 away - Philly, Caro, Pitt, Toronto, Ottawa, Tor, Mtl, BosSabres are 3 points back of the Flyers, and 5 points back of Boston and the Rangers but Boston has 2 games in hand.I think if they go 11-5 they would be a lock to get in as long as they beat a few of the teams ahead of them in the process.The streak will start tomorrow night in Philly.

[serge 904]

With the loss to the Red Wings last night the Sabres are on the outside looking in. It seems like all the other 3 teams they are chasing have been hot lately.Watching the highlights it looked to me like Miller wasa very focused and will be the key to a big run in the home stretch.They have 16 games remaining8 at home - Wash, NYR, Caro, TB, Tor, Ott, MTL, Bos, 8 away - Philly, Caro, Pitt, Toronto, Ottawa, Tor, Mtl, BosSabres are 3 points back of the Flyers, and 5 points back of Boston and the Rangers but Boston has 2 games in hand.I think if they go 11-5 they would be a lock to get in as long as they beat a few of the teams ahead of them in the process.The streak will start tomorrow night in Philly.

good luck Mr Sabre...The games against the Sabres(we have 3 left) our huge for us...

[Whiter Sr 0]

Big game tonight vs the Flyers for the Sabres. The last time they played the Sabres squandered a 3 goal lead and lose in OT to give the Flyers their first win in about 12 games.The next 16 are crucialThe Sabres need 20 points in the next 16 to make it in.I have marked the important/easy games with wins which should get them in.ScheduleMar 4 - @ Philly WINMar 5 - Home Wash Mar 8 - @ Caro Mar 10 - Home NYR WINMar 12 - @ Pitt Mar 14 - Home Caro WINMar 15 - @ Tor WINMar 19 - Home TB WINMar 21 - Home Tor WINMar 25 - Home Ott Mar 27 - @ Ott Mar 28 - Home Mtl WINMar 30 - Home Bos WINApr 1 - @ Tor WINApr 3 - @ Mtl Apr 5 - @ Bos WINGO Sabres GO

[serge 904]

There is no way you are going to win 5 in a row against the leafs..

[digitalmonkey 929]

Big game tonight vs the Flyers for the Sabres. The last time they played the Sabres squandered a 3 goal lead and lose in OT to give the Flyers their first win in about 12 games.The next 16 are crucialThe Sabres need 20 points in the next 16 to make it in.I have marked the important/easy games with wins which should get them in.ScheduleMar 4 - @ Philly WINMar 5 - Home Wash Mar 8 - @ Caro Mar 10 - Home NYR WINMar 12 - @ Pitt Mar 14 - Home Caro WINMar 15 - @ Tor WINMar 19 - Home TB WINMar 21 - Home Tor WINMar 25 - Home Ott Mar 27 - @ Ott Mar 28 - Home Mtl WINMar 30 - Home Bos WINApr 1 - @ Tor WINApr 3 - @ Mtl Apr 5 - @ Bos WINGO Sabres GO

Am I the only one who thinks 20 points in 16 games may not be enough?

[troyomac 0]

Am I the only one who thinks 20 points in 16 games may not be enough?

It's gotta be 92 minimum. So I agree with you.

[serge 904]

It's gotta be 92 minimum. So I agree with you.

I think there are so many combos that its hard to say..For example Leafs play the Sabres 3 times...If one of those teams sweeps those three, the loser will have a very rough time making the playoffs, regardless of other games.

[serge 904]

Thank you Maxim Afinogenov for coming back right in time for this playoff series and clinching my victory...Lets continue the scoring..

[ajs510 122]

Wow, it's almost unfathomable how the refs could possibly have missed the fact that Derek Roy was on the ice illegally when he scored the game winner. It was 4 on 4, and the replay very clearly shows that he jumped on the ice way early on a change to get behind the defense for the breakaway. It looked exactly like a guy streaking out of the penalty box behind the D after a PK, except he wasn't in the box at all, he was on the bench. http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=231239&hubname= (Video available here)I'll obviously take it, and Buffalo beat up on Philly in the 3rd after that to score two more in any event, but you have to wonder if it would have been the same game without that.Just an incredible breakdown from the refs and everyone else involved, I can't believe even John Stevens didn't catch it until after the game was already over. Should have been an obvious Too Many Men penalty, but the refs never spotted it. Wouldn't surprise me if you see a lot more of this in the next couple games, until the calls start getting more consistent again.

[Zach6668 513]

The refs have been awesome all year.

[Zach6668 513]

lol oh god, I just watched the highlights... that's not even close... wow... when the puck finds a player who is that wide open, the refs should always immediately ask themselves 'wtf is going on'. Like, a casual hockey observer has to have it in his head that something is ****ed up when he's that open, like how does the ref not do a quick look around and see all 5 Sabres, I don't get it.

[ajs510 122]

lol oh god, I just watched the highlights... that's not even close... wow... when the puck finds a player who is that wide open, the refs should always immediately ask themselves 'wtf is going on'. Like, a casual hockey observer has to have it in his head that something is ****ed up when he's that open, like how does the ref not do a quick look around and see all 5 Sabres, I don't get it.

I just can't figure out how NOBODY realized that something was amiss there. I didn't watch the game, so I couldn't tell you if even the announcers knew the goal shouldn't have counted.

[digitalmonkey 929]

The refs missed an obvious Too Many Men call against San Jose the other night when they played Montreal. I don't have time to see if it's the same crew.

[Whiter Sr 0]

Am I the only one who thinks 20 points in 16 games may not be enough?

I just thought it would be close based on the fact that the wins I picked were against all the teams that they needed to catch. I have updated my signature to 22 points which is probably closer to accurate.

[Whiter Sr 0]

I just can't figure out how NOBODY realized that something was amiss there. I didn't watch the game, so I couldn't tell you if even the announcers knew the goal shouldn't have counted.

I just watched the replay quickly last night but watching it again on TSN it is pretty clear there were too many men. I don't know how all 4 refs could miss that as linesman can make that call as well.

[Whiter Sr 0]

We're not out of it yet.Watched the game last week against Washington on TSN. IT was very frustrating to watch. The Sabres carried the play in Washington's end but never really generated many scoring chances. It just seemed like everytime the Capitals got a rush it was an odd man rush so they completely outchanced the Sabres and deserved to win. There were way too many bad defensive plays.Don't count us out yet though

[ajs510 122]

It seriously just blows my mind how fast this team has fallen apart. At this point I don't know if its better to be rooting for the almost unattainable #8 seed (just to get bounced by Jersey or Pittsburgh in the 1st round), or just hope the team continues to plummet far enough to get into the Bottom 5 lottery. At this point it's looking like a Top Ten pick is more likely than a playoff spot, and that's just depressing as hell. The worst part is that the team will still make money this season, so Larry Quinn's job will be safe. Serge, let me know where to ship your $$$, there's no way in hell I can win our bet.

[coesillian 0]

It seriously just blows my mind how fast this team has fallen apart.

Ya, losing Drury and Briere was a shocking and now with Cambell gone this team isn't at all what is was 2 year ago.yikes!

[ajs510 122]

Ya, losing Drury and Briere was a shocking and now with Cambell gone this team isn't at all what is was 2 year ago.yikes!

The worst part is that they're nowhere near as bad of a team as they're playing, they clearly just gave up after Campbell got traded (not sure I can bring myself to blame them, although it was the only right move for the team). You look at Buffalo and you look at Washington, Buffalo is a markedly better team but Washington wants it far more and it shows, they're winning the close games whereas Buffalo just gives up if things don't go the right way for them.

[Zach6668 513]

I agree. They are playing way worse than they should be. I think it has a lot to do with how injured their defense is, though. There must have been a dozen clear giveaways up the middle last night trying to clear the zone. I couldn't believe how horrendous they were with the first pass out of the zone last night. Stamkos one time?

[Whiter Sr 0]

I agree. They are playing way worse than they should be. I think it has a lot to do with how injured their defense is, though. There must have been a dozen clear giveaways up the middle last night trying to clear the zone. I couldn't believe how horrendous they were with the first pass out of the zone last night. Stamkos one time?

If they get him they'll sign him for 3 years and then have to give him up as a RFA at least they'll get some picks in return.

[ajs510 122]

I agree. They are playing way worse than they should be. I think it has a lot to do with how injured their defense is, though. There must have been a dozen clear giveaways up the middle last night trying to clear the zone. I couldn't believe how horrendous they were with the first pass out of the zone last night. Stamkos one time?

Consensus was that Sekera/Weber played the best out of any of the defensemen though, so I don't buy the "banged up hockey team" theory at all. It's just no heart. They've given up for the year.