Watch Out!!! The Fearless Sabres Will Go Far & Deep Into Playoffs!!!

[azbiker]

Sabres are for real!!!

The Sabres looked a little rusty in the first period, they really weren't skating very well and let the Hurricanes take it to them. But once again, they were able to score the important first goal of the game. These kids cannot be stopped. As a life long Sabres fan, I am loving the ride. I have been to two games so far in the playoffs, the first game of the Flyers series and the third game of the Ottawa series, both OT wins. I am going again this Wednesday, hopefully this time it does not go into overtime as my heart can not take much more of this. I can't wait!

The Sabres did not play their best yesterday, Fitzy made a bad pass out of his zone that let Carolina back into the game. He won't make that mistake again! If we win Monday night and go home 2-0, HSBC will be rocking Wednesday night. Hopefully Teppo is okay and can play, I am a little concerned that we will have to play Janik(sp) on the defence, with Fitzy already back there, the other 4 main stays will have to log a lot of minutes.

Go Sabres!! I believe!!!

 

[Scenicdrive]

The Sabres did not come to play the first 40 minutes tonight but the Hurricanes did. The latter was a better and more desperate team. It is no surprise that the Sabres lost tonight. If the Sabres played like they did in the third period the entire game, the result could have been very different.

Some interesting observations in the playoff series here, when the Sabres did not have the service of defenseman Teppo Numminen, they did not do as well. When they let the opponent scored the first goal, as in game 4 with the Senators and tonight, they lost. In period three, Ryan Miller let in a seemingly harmless shot when he thought he had it in his glove but didn’t. As it turned out, that was the difference of the game. But this is not to knock on Miller, the game is a team effort. Miller was strong most of time. Tonight the Sabres lost as a team. The series is one a piece now. If the young Sabres regroup in their own home turf and win all their home games, they will be in good shape to win the series.

 

[Scenicdrive]

Young Sabres, Please Show Us What You Are Made Of!!!

If game two of the Eastern Conference final is a statement game from the Hurricanes, the young Sabres better show the world what they are made of in game three tomorrow. Sure they did not have the service of one of their best offensive player in Connolly and they are seriously shorted handed in the defensemen department for not having Kalinen and Numminen. But that is no excuse to play such an uninspired first 40 minutes in game two.

There is no reason to think that the young Sabres cannot prevail over the more experienced Hurricanes. Lindy Ruff and his coaching staff need to get his charges to focus on playing winning hockey. They need to out skate, out shoot, out determine, and out hustle the Hurricanes. Look for the fearless Sabres to reach in deep within themselves, use their superior speed, make game three as their statement game, and win it to deny Hurricanes’ momentum.

 

[Scenicdrive]

The young Sabres won game three primarily because of their exceptional play in the second period. They weathered the storm brought forth by the ferocious Hurricanes in the third period and hanged on to win 4-3. The good doc thinks the winning formula dictates that they should pour on the Hurricanes ferociously in game four this coming Friday just like they did in period 2 of tonight’s game. Thus the formula of winning all home games may work out well for the fearless Sabres. Hope some of the injured defesnsemen can come back and play the remaining games in the series. Regardless, it is time for the fearless Sabres to turn on their jet engines in game 4 this Friday and answer the challenge posed by the formidable Hurricanes.

Neo Sabres, uporei ei dunamei na einai me sas!!! (Young Sabres, may the force be with you!!!)

 

[Hard Idle]

I watched this game and it was great. It seems both teams have now played their best one time. I'd say the Sabers A-game has been slightly more impressive than the Canes'. What remains to be seen is what happens if they both bring their A-Games on the same night.

As I said before the series, these two clubs bring alot of the same qualities to the table. In the past two games, they have both had a taste of their own medecine. The difference may come down to who handles it better.

Of course, if the Sabers keep losing defensemen, they'l have a considerably more daunting task on their hands.

So far they have responded well, I think the prevailling inexperience helps them. It's like they don't know enough to know how much trouble they could be in. There are almost no players in the lineup burdened by the memories of past failures & dissapointments.

 

[Swords69]

angry sex...

I was most angry with the Canes in this game. They proved to be their own worst enemy.
Carolina must do one single thing to make a series out of this, and win.
Pick up the loose pucks first

Hmmm... maybe I'll have to make that appt. with Badkat for after the Stanley Cup makes the trip across the lake to Buffalo. If she's upset now she'll be positively livid when that 'young' Sabres team brings home that venerable, old cup!!

I have only one more word on Game 3 with the 'Canes...

{am I gloating?? is that unseemly?? will I regret it... in the morning??}

 

[Scenicdrive]

Of course, if the Sabers keep losing defensemen, they'l have a considerably more daunting task on their hands.

One can imagine in the Hurricanes’ camp, a lot of Carolina players are taking pleasure on all these Sabres’ injuries, especially in the defense with Tallinder, Numminen, and Kalinen out of line up. At the very least, a wounded Sabres’ team is not as formidable as a healthy Sabres’ team.

But fear not. To the young Sabres, this is about courage. This is about fighting through adversities upon adversities. This is about against all odds but never back down. This is about winning two more series for the Stanley Cup. This is about the deep conviction entrenched in their collective soul that they are winners. This is about what heroes are made of. And deep down inside, the young Sabres believe in themselves. They will have to dig deep within themselves, win two more games to take this series.

To the purest Cinderella team of the Eastern Conference, may the force be with you!!! Go Sabres!!!

 

[azbiker]

Sabres are on Fire!!!

What a game tonight, I was one of the lucky 18,000+ to be at HSBC and the place was going crazy in the second period. It didn't start off that way, especially after the Canes scored the 1st goal, but the fans bounced back. Everytime the Canes scored, prior to the puck being dropped at centre the fans were chanting "Lets go Buffalo" to show the team that they believed in them and were behind them. Then the onslaught of the second period. The hitting, the goals, the place was going crazy, very loud, I still don't have my voice back.

I didn't notice that Tallinder was not in the game for the last 6 minutes and just heard today that he is done for the year. Tough break, but I still believe that the Sabres can win the Cup. All year they have had these injuries and yet, they still refuse to quit or they just don't know any better.

I want the Stanley Cup in Buffalo!! And I think that this is the year.

Go Sabres!!! Oh Uh, Sabres on the war path!!!

 

[Scenicdrive]

I was most angry with the Canes in this game. They proved to be their own worst enemy.
Carolina must do one single thing to make a series out of this, and win.
Pick up the loose pucks first....
I certainly hope they come out much harder Friday, and win the races to loose pucks.

Darling, the good doc hopes you are right about the Hurricanes being their own worst enemy. Ok, we can let the Hurricanes pick up the loose pucks first but then the opportunistic Sabres will steal them from the Hurricanes, score, and win.

 

[Toronto Passions]

Gerber is now the man again, so we shall see what happens.

Btw, there have been so many changes in net these playoffs for so many teams. Whatever happened to that #1 guy? It's all for the best though. It keeps everyone on their toes this way, and nobody is safe.

 

[shack]

Gerber is now the man again, so we shall see what happens.

Have they announced him as the starter for the next game? I thought they pulled Ward out of mercy seeing as he was getting shelled due to no defence in the 2nd.

Buffalo is getting thin on the blue line. They'd better hope Numminen can play through his groin tonight.

 

[slowandeasy]

The Sabres, with the Devils are the two teams in the Eastern Conference to peak at the right time for the playoffs. The Sabres won back to back shut outs with a convincing 4-0 win against the Hurricanes tonight. The Sabres will play the Flyers for the first round starting this Saturady and should be able to defeat the Flyers and go into the next round. The way things go, it may very well be the Sabres against the Devils in the Conference Final. The Devils are a formidable team as of now but the good doc will take the fearless Sabres to win the Conference title if they hit all the cylinders in full stride. If so, the Sabres can beat any team in the Western Conference and shall take the Stanley Cup home this time around.

Feeling pretty good about yourself right now, huh???

 

[ottawasub]

Buffalo is getting thin on the blue line. They'd better hope Numminen can play through his groin tonight.

Teppo won`t play tonight. He tried skating in the morning practice and didn`t feel healthy. It`s going to be tough tonight, with three defencemen who in reality aren`t playoff calibre. Expect Lydman, McKee and Campbell to log a ton of icetime, Ruff may go with five forwards on the power-play a lot to give those three guys some rest. It`s so bad he was seriously considering putting Pominville on defence tonight.

 

[Scenicdrive]

Teppo won`t play tonight. He tried skating in the morning practice and didn`t feel healthy. It`s going to be tough tonight, with three defencemen who in reality aren`t playoff calibre. Expect Lydman, McKee and Campbell to log a ton of icetime, Ruff may go with five forwards on the power-play a lot to give those three guys some rest. It`s so bad he was seriously considering putting Pominville on defence tonight.

Injuries have indeed caught up with the young Sabres. Tonight the Hurricanes are a better team. Gerber was like a brick wall!!! The fearless Sabres tried but just could not solve him. Now the young Sabres better figure a way to win two games in the best of the three series. They better hope some of the injured players can come back and help out the team.

 

[Papi Chulo]

Edmonton is going ALL THE WAY!!!

 

[Mr. Lucky]

wow Sabers they lost 4-0

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Edmonton is going ALL THE WAY!!!

Damm right

 

[Scenicdrive]

The Sabers are like the Oilers. A team you never count out. None the less, I will do very well in the hockey pool for this night, and enjoyed this game very much.

The only concern toward Buffalo... I've never seen them so invisible before. Not even a 'go out fighting'. Still, just a game, and Carolina should come out very hard Sunday. Don't ever give Buffalo an Inch.

Kathleen Darling:

So the good doc’s pain is your gain eh? LOL!!! Carolina is fiercely competitive and certainly will listen to your advice of not giving Buffalo even an inch. Sometime we should play a game of reciprocal pleasure and enjoyment instead of just thinking about hockey, sweetheart. Would you be giving the good doc many inches then? LOL!!!

As expected and not surprisingly, the young Sabres were rather disjointed as a team in game 4. It is tall order indeed to expect some minor league defensemen from Rochester to become top notch major league blueliners overnight. Goalie Miller was ordinary when compared with the spectacular Gerber. The young Sabres just could not muster ‘the force’ to be with them. They certainly lost their leading edge when they were not sharp.

Nonetheless, the good doc hopes there is a silver lining beneath this 4 to 0 whipping from the Hurricanes. If this does not wake up the struggling, sleepwalking Sabres, the purest of the pure Cinderella story will come up short of its ultimate destination. Will the fearless Sabres rise to the occasion this coming Sunday??? If their history this season is any indication, they should rebound nicely from such dreadful defeat. Go Sabres!!!

 

[new2game]

The purest of Cinderella stories??

the purest of the pure Cinderella story will come up short of its ultimate destination.

...I think not..the Oilers are that, a team that spent the last 2 weeks of the season fighting for it's playoff lives...Then go and knock off the #1 point team in the league in Detroit, take out a rough physical San Jose team...and win 3 games in hostile territory in this last series...Destiny???....possibly for the Oilers...


N2G

 

[Scenicdrive]

The Criteria Of Purity For The Cinderella Teams

...I think not..the Oilers are that, a team that spent the last 2 weeks of the season fighting for it's playoff lives...Then go and knock off the #1 point team in the league in Detroit, take out a rough physical San Jose team...and win 3 games in hostile territory in this last series...Destiny???....possibly for the Oilers...


N2G

There is no doubt that any playoff team has to fight through tough opponents to have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. Anyone who understands hockey will give the Oilers a lot of credit for being such a determined, resilient team. That being said, the good doc just think it is difficult to say that just because the Oiler had to play the Red Wings, then the Sharks, and finally the Might Ducks made them the purest of the Cinderellas. Would the Sabres have a tougher time beating the same teams the Oilers beat? How about the Hurricanes? Now think of the Oilers having to match up and play the teams the Sabres played or the teams the Hurricanes contested with? What possibly could they be and who will be the purest Cinderella team? I think it will be anybody’s guess and thus it is difficult to use what you said as criteria for judging purity for Cinderella teams.

So what are my criteria for purity of Cinderella teams? As I mentioned in earlier posts, it is the Sabres low team budget (about 27 million) and no big name players which pile up wins upon wins that stand out. None of the Sabres players received more than three million dollars in salary, with Chris Drury being the highest paid player. Furthermore, the refusal for hired guns come playoff time is a major criterion. For the Oilers, come playoffs time, they traded for Pronger the ex-captain from St. Louis Blues and Roloson the goalie from Minnesota Wilds. This pays off big time for the Oilers!!! So assuming if they eventually won the Stanley Cup, the hire guns certainly played a major part in that.

Now what about the Sabres? GM Darcy Regier’s refusal for hired guns to shore up the team for the playoff run may ultimately do the Sabres in, given all these injuries they have lately. But it certainly makes the Sabres the purest among all existing final four in the Stanley Cup playoffs. If they win the Stanley Cup, they win it with the original roaster from the beginning of the season to the end. Whether they win the Stanley Cup or not, the criteria of low budget, no big name players, shorted-handed situations in defense and offense, as well as no hired guns certainly make their story the most impressive of all.