Plain and Simple

[mchurchfie]

Ruff and his staff got outcoached. He has one of the best rosters in The NHL and he couldn't counter Ottawa's stategy nor could he get his players to play hard for him. Ottawa knows exactly what Buffalo is doing before they even do it. They know all of Buffalo's tendencies, weakpoints, and strongpoints...someone did their homework pretty good. Lindy has done a lot of good things as a coach but I give him a D- for this debacle.

[Philagape]

I'm starting to think Lindy can't win a Cup. In 1999 it was all Hasek, and after the lockout he's been blessed with a extremely skilled team that has wilted now. Last year we were the upstarts, but the mental aspect of being the favorites has overwhelmed this team.
The two aspects of coaching are strategy and motivation, and both have been an incredible, historic failure.

[Meathead]

id have to agree

the sabres have as much if not more talent as the sens but it meant nothing this series. they were thoroughly outplayed in seven of the nine periods and only spectacular goaltending kept them in the games

the sabres clearly could not handle the pressure of being the favorite coming into the playoffs. thats all coaching right there

but im still in lindys corner. hes got a young team on his hands and they certainly arent the first to fold under the pressure of being the top dog. he cant go out there and play himself and theres only so much he can do to get it into these guys heads they have to have the fire in their bellies

its too bad but i think the sabres had to go through this lesson (ie. sens last year). they thought they could just turn it on when they had to and now they finally know they cant. hopefully next year they wont take it for granted again like they did here

[OpIv37]

the fact that the Sabres couldn't even get it over the blue line and sustain pressure for the majority of the game is just further proof that coaching has a lot to do with it.

[camelcowboy]

The real shame is that this team which can be so effective against opponents 5 on 5 just plain sucks on the power play. Ruff's power play has never really been that good for any of his teams and now its costing the sabres now. How can you beat a team that can take penalties on you impede your fast skating team with no fear of being scored on. You need the power play to a least keep the other team honest. It's been a complete joke for the sabres.

[Michael82]

Scott Arniel is missed BIG TIME! If I'm Darcy....I would fire Brian McCutcheon and try to find another guy like Arniel who knows how power plays and special teams work.

[Ebenezer]

Except for last year's playoffs, Ottawa has had our number for a long time. It would have been interesting had Hasek been healthy last year instead of them having to rely on Emery what would have happened.

[Meathead]

if hasek played for them the way hes playing now its probably another sweep last year

[Earthquake Enyart]

I'd never thought I'd say this, but Ottawa is the tougher team.