I knew Miller was going to burn out...

[OpIv37]

but I figured it wouldn't be until AFTER the Olympics. In the last just over 7 periods he's played (Washington, Ottawa, 1 against the Penguins), he's allowed 10 goals.

He's the only reason this team is in first right now, and when he struggles, the rest of this ****ty team isn't capable of picking up the slack.

[SabreEleven]

What a ****ty effort by the whole team.

[SabreEleven]

Stafford on the penalty shot? Really? Didn't he just a sit a game for his ****ty play? He hasn't scored in 15 games...bad choice.

[SabreEleven]

Kennedy should be taking this.

[hydro]

Stafford on the penalty shot? Really? Didn't he just a sit a game for his ****ty play? He hasn't scored in 15 games...bad choice.

But he scored. Had to pick a guy on the ice.

[SabreEleven]

But he scored. Had to pick a guy on the ice.

I was wrong but I'm pretty sure Kennedy was on the ice when the play happened

[SabreEleven]

I just rewound it...Kennedy wasn't on the ice. It was Guastad and MacArthur.

[DrGraves]

ottawa has our number, and the caps/pens have the best players in the league... calm down.

[Ebenezer]

ottawa has our number, and the caps/pens have the best players in the league... calm down.
sabres v Ott, Pitts, Wash

W-L GF-GA
1-7 11-19

they have only lost 8 games against the rest of the league.

[OpIv37]

ottawa has our number, and the caps/pens have the best players in the league... calm down.

and if we can't beat the best players in the league, guess what? More of the same ****.

Oh and btw, it was 3-0 and Miller got pulled WITHOUT Crosby and Malkin scoring, and Ovechkin didn't score any of the first 3 goals in the Caps game either. In fact, I believe he wasn't even on the ice for two of them.

And why should I relax? This is the same **** that's been going on all year. The team can't score and relies on Miller. He's a great goalie but he's only one man. He can't win by himself, and that's exactly what we're seeing right now.

[OpIv37]

sabres v Ott, Pitts, Wash

W-L GF-GA
1-7 11-19

they have only lost 8 games against the rest of the league.

Guess what? We won't get to play Toronto, NYI or Carolina in the playoffs.

[Dozerdog]

Lalime and Stafford were great!

[OpIv37]

I don't ****ing believe it. I was right about Miller, but wrong about the rest of them. It's still frustrating that this team can't play a full 60 minutes, but at least they came together when it counted and got the W in regulation.

[Ebenezer]

Scoreboard....4-3...Op, do us all a favor...*****, ***** everyday....multiple times...that way Buffalo keeps winning.

[hydro]

Scoreboard....4-3...Op, do us all a favor...*****, ***** everyday....multiple times...that way Buffalo keeps winning.

He really does seem to motivate them!

[Ebenezer]

He really does seem to motivate them!
Lindy should hire him!!

[SabreEleven]

Miller getting pulled and Lalime getting the win could be the best thing to happen to this team in the long run. Lalime could get more playing time resting Miller for the playoffs....

[Dozerdog]

Lalime is finally looking like a solid backup.

I'll be honest- I tuned into the game around 8 PM- we were already down 3-0 and I saw Lalime in net. My first reaction was WTF Lindy? It's the Pens and Miller shoulda started!

Then I looked up the box score on ESPN.......

[OpIv37]

Scoreboard....4-3...Op, do us all a favor...*****, ***** everyday....multiple times...that way Buffalo keeps winning.
yeah, worked real well against the Caps and the Senators....

[ddaryl]

this team is definitely missing something...

I agree they never play a full 60 minutes, and they can't beat certain teams and that will definitely make them pay come playoff time...

This team is winning, but it is very obvious that this team is not a stanley cup contender at this junction.

[Dr. Lecter]

Awesome thread.

[snow1989]

I don't see any reason for panic *shrug*. People complain Miller plays too often...so maybe he is a bit fatigued ( it happens, he's human ) so Lalime gets some time and of late he's done well enough. Defensively, we can be solid so long as they avoid the running around they sometimes get into. Offensively, not a juggernaut and we definitely haven't put many 60 minute games together....but, at least there hasn't been a 'simple giving up' at times...they've battled back. It amazes me that some will complain about not winning...then complain how the win is gained. Frankly, I don't care so long as the "W" goes up.

[RockStar36]

Wow Op...You really go above and beyond with threads like these.

It's a long season, guys have bad nights. The Penguins are supposed to be one of the best teams in the league and they have beat Buffalo in a SO against the backup and then blew a 3-0 lead. And isn't Fleury supposed to be a top goaltender?

[OpIv37]

Wow Op...You really go above and beyond with threads like these.

It's a long season, guys have bad nights. The Penguins are supposed to be one of the best teams in the league and they have beat Buffalo in a SO against the backup and then blew a 3-0 lead. And isn't Fleury supposed to be a top goaltender?

Once again.... why does it seem like the worst nights always come against the best teams? Maybe because, despite the record, the Sabres still aren't one of the best teams. And think about the implications of that for the playoffs.....

And if you read my initial post, it's not ONE bad night. It's 3 consecutive mediocre-to-bad outings for Miller. Isn't Miller supposed to be a top goaltender?

[Dr. Lecter]

Once again.... why does it seem like the worst nights always come against the best teams? Maybe because, despite the record, the Sabres still aren't one of the best teams. And think about the implications of that for the playoffs.....

And if you read my initial post, it's not ONE bad night. It's 3 consecutive mediocre-to-bad outings for Miller. Isn't Miller supposed to be a top goaltender?

And Lalime has had 4 good outings (3 of which were outstanding) in a row.

Make him the starter!!!

Point is, even goalies like Hasek and Brodeur have had mini-slumps.

[Dr. Lecter]

One other question:

He allowed 2 goals against Ottawa. Is 2 goals a game too many now and is that a sub-par performance?

Are you serious about that? 2 goals is too many in a game?

[OpIv37]

And Lalime has had 4 good outings (3 of which were outstanding) in a row.

Make him the starter!!!

Point is, even goalies like Hasek and Brodeur have had mini-slumps.

Point is, this team isn't good enough to survive a mini-slump. We're 1-1-1 during Miller's mini slump, with both the loss and the OT loss coming against teams competing with us for playoff positioning.

[Dr. Lecter]

Point is, this team isn't good enough to survive a mini-slump. We're 1-1-1 during Miller's mini slump, with both the loss and the OT loss coming against teams competing with us for playoff positioning.

Point is this team is 7 points ahead of Boston (Boston has a game in hand), 8 points ahead of Ottawa, 3 behind New Jersey (New Jersey has 2 in hand), 1 behind Pittsburgh (Sabres have one in hand) and 2 behind Washington while they are 13 points ahead of the 9th place team in the East.

If the Sabres were 8 behind Ottawa you would call me crazy if I said the Sabres were competing with them for payoff positioning, would you not?

[OpIv37]

One other question:

He allowed 2 goals against Ottawa. Is 2 goals a game too many now and is that a sub-par performance?

Are you serious about that? 2 goals is too many in a game?

two goals when their best player is out and our team is incapable of scoring more than 2 is too many. Is it an unreasonable expectation? Possibly, but that's the whole problem. The team depends on Miller allowing 2 or less to win.

[OpIv37]

Point is this team is 7 points ahead of Boston (Boston has a game in hand), 8 points ahead of Ottawa, 3 behind New Jersey (New Jersey has 2 in hand), 1 behind Pittsburgh (Sabres have one in hand) and 2 behind Washington while they are 13 points ahead of the 9th place team in the East.

If the Sabres were 8 behind Ottawa you would call me crazy if I said the Sabres were competing with them for payoff positioning, would you not?

Ottawa is 2nd in the division. We're first. Trust me- they're targeting us whether we think it's realistic or not. And if we had won that game, it would be more than 8 points. Letting other teams hang around-in a game or in the standings- often has disastrous results.

[Dr. Lecter]

Ottawa is 2nd in the division. We're first. Trust me- they're targeting us whether we think it's realistic or not. And if we had won that game, it would be more than 8 points. Letting other teams hang around-in a game or in the standings- often has disastrous results.

If the Sabres were 8 behind Ottawa and I said they were competing with them for playoff positioning you would call bull****.

Yes or no?

NHL teams rarely go 82-0. You are *****ing about a season for the Sabres that is exceeding any of expectations. (or did you expect them to be a top 4 team in the East and a top 6 team overall at this point?)

And Ottawa is 3rd. Not 2nd.

[OpIv37]

If the Sabres were 8 behind Ottawa and I said they were competing with them for playoff positioning you would call bull****.

Yes or no?

NHL teams rarely go 82-0. You are *****ing about a season for the Sabres that is exceeding any of expectations. (or did you expect them to be a top 4 team in the East and a top 6 team overall at this point?)

And Ottawa is 3rd. Not 2nd.


Well they were 2nd going into that game.

I know teams never go 82-0. But this team rarely puts in 60 minutes, they rely on Miller too much, the top "scorers" range from streaky to invisible, and the PP sucks (although it does seem to be improving slightly since the coaching change). They lack an Ovechkin or a Crosby, which most teams don't have, so it would be fine if the rest of the team offered balanced scoring, but they don't.

I just see too many problems carrying over from last year and too many guys not pulling their weight to truly believe in this team right now.

[hydro]

Yet he still doesn't answer Lecter's question :shakeno:

[RockStar36]

Wow...wow wow wow.

First of all, Miller stopped all 19 shots in the first period against Ottawa while the Sabres registed a whopping ONE shot. So if you want to hang that game on Miller, pass the crack pipe this way.

Second of all, I love how you wanna slam Miller around for a mini-slump, yet you were the first to celebrate and gloat when he shut Washington out in the prior meeting. But you're right, he can't beat the good teams.

What would you be saying this morning as a Pittsburgh fan seeing that Fleury pissed away a 3 goal lead?

[Dr. Lecter]

Well they were 2nd going into that game.

I know teams never go 82-0. But this team rarely puts in 60 minutes, they rely on Miller too much, the top "scorers" range from streaky to invisible, and the PP sucks (although it does seem to be improving slightly since the coaching change). They lack an Ovechkin or a Crosby, which most teams don't have, so it would be fine if the rest of the team offered balanced scoring, but they don't.

I just see too many problems carrying over from last year and too many guys not pulling their weight to truly believe in this team right now.

Actually their scoring is very balanced. Look at the leading goal scorers an how many guys have 6+ goals. Grier. Pominville, Vanek. MacArthur. Gaustad. Stafford. Connolly. Roy. Hecht. Kaleta. That is the definition of balanced.

The scoring is balanced and comes from different players every night. It is the teams like Pittsburgh that don't have balanced scoring.

And if you think last year's team comes back last night, you are insane.

Not to mention the back-up goaltending has now had 4 very good to excellent games in a row.

And you refuse to answer this question:

Where did you expect the team to be right now in the standings? Are they exceeding your expectations? yes or no?

You avoid questions more than a politician. You have lived in Washington too long.

[Dr. Lecter]

Yet he still doesn't answer Lecter's question :shakeno:

Exactly.

If the Sabres were 8 behind Ottawa and I said (or hydro said or RS said or Mikey) that the Sabres were competing with them for playoff positioning, what would your response be?

You would call bull **** on it.

[RockStar36]

Exactly.

If the Sabres were 8 behind Ottawa and I said (or hydro said or RS said or Mikey) that the Sabres were competing with them for playoff positioning, what would your response be?

You would call bull **** on it.

My favorite point in all of this is how he rags the Sabres consistently, despite being in first place just about halfway through the season, yet he still roots for the Bills and Notre Dame, neither of which could even wish to be half this good right now.

[Dr. Lecter]

I can picture this:

Sabres win the Cup in game 7, via a 1-0 OT victory. Montador scores the goal and he *****es that it was not Vanek, Pominville, Roy, Connolly, etc.

Not to mention it took them 7 games and OT to win.......

[DMBcrew36]

I cannot endorse this thread. Any claims that Miller has burnt out are crazy. He's going to have an occasional off night - he's human.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Op can you just chill the **** out for once?

[DMBcrew36]

Op can you just chill the **** out for once?

I'm on board with Op that we need more scoring. But MILLER is the only one I'm not worried about, right now.

[THATHURMANATOR]

I'm on board with Op that we need more scoring. But MILLER is the only one I'm not worried about, right now.
Agreed.

[OpIv37]

Yet he still doesn't answer Lecter's question :shakeno:

It's a BS question meant to trap me.

If we were 8 points out of the div lead and I said there was no chance we'd catch up, he'd be telling me the season isn't even half over yet and there's plenty of time. But since we're up and Ottawa's down, he's acting like there's no chance they could catch up.

[OpIv37]

Wow...wow wow wow.

First of all, Miller stopped all 19 shots in the first period against Ottawa while the Sabres registed a whopping ONE shot. So if you want to hang that game on Miller, pass the crack pipe this way.


Wow, some people are dense.

Don't you get it? This is exactly the problem. The team relies on Miller too much. He gives them 19 saves in a period and they reward him with NOTHING.




Second of all, I love how you wanna slam Miller around for a mini-slump, yet you were the first to celebrate and gloat when he shut Washington out in the prior meeting. But you're right, he can't beat the good teams.

What would you be saying this morning as a Pittsburgh fan seeing that Fleury pissed away a 3 goal lead?

What Miller did a month ago has nothing to do with whether or not he's in a mini slump now. And it's not that Miller can't beat the good teams-it's that the rest of the team can't keep up.

And if I were a Pittsburgh fan, I'd be livid, as any good fan should be.

[Dr. Lecter]

It's a BS question meant to trap me.

If we were 8 points out of the div lead and I said there was no chance we'd catch up, he'd be telling me the season isn't even half over yet and there's plenty of time. But since we're up and Ottawa's down, he's acting like there's no chance they could catch up.

I never said that. Or anything remotely close. Of course they can catch up. Because the season is not over. Duh. You know I did not say that nor did I imply it.All I said is that right now they are 8 behind the Sabres,while you said they were currently battling them for payoff positioning, which is not CURRENTLY the case.

But you are very good at squirming your way out, because you know you would say it was over if the Sabres were 8 behind halfway through the season.

Where exactly did you think the Sabres would be at this point of the season in East or NE standings?

[Dr. Lecter]

Wow, some people are dense.

Don't you get it? This is exactly the problem. The team relies on Miller too much. He gives them 19 saves in a period and they reward him with NOTHING.






Yes, some people are dense.

First it was Miller's fault, now it is not.

Ottawa was evidence that is burnt out, according to you. Now you say it wasn't.

Which way is it?

[Dr. Lecter]

And I am still trying to figure out how 7 periods (when they were not all bad, but that is besides the point) is being burnt out.

[Dr. Lecter]

BTW, The Sabre are also only 3 points from leading the entire NHL.

So they are closer to being the best team in the league than they are Ottawa.

Just a bit of interesting information. Means little right now, but interesting nonetheless.

[RockStar36]

BTW, The Sabre are also only 3 points from leading the entire NHL.

So they are closer to being the best team in the league than they are Ottawa.

Just a bit of interesting information. Means little right now, but interesting nonetheless.

Stop drinking the kool aid and sell your season tickets.

This team is GARBAGE.

[OpIv37]

Yes, some people are dense.

First it was Miller's fault, now it is not.

Ottawa was evidence that is burnt out, according to you. Now you say it wasn't.

Which way is it?

10 goals in just over 7 periods. If that's not burning out, I don't know what to tell you.

And saying Miller's struggling over the last 10 periods isn't the same as saying he cost us the Ottawa game- you're trying to paint me into a corner.

[OpIv37]

Stop drinking the kool aid and sell your season tickets.

This team is GARBAGE.

The team isn't garbage. I like Miller, Gaustad, Grier, Myers, and to a lesser extent, Kaleta, Montador and Rivet.

The top two lines are garbage. And overall, they're not good enough to do any damage in the playoffs and certainly not good enough to win the Cup.

[Dr. Lecter]

10 goals in just over 7 periods. If that's not burning out, I don't know what to tell you.

And saying Miller's struggling over the last 10 periods isn't the same as saying he cost us the Ottawa game- you're trying to paint me into a corner.

Except 8 of those goals came in 4 periods. You are skewing the numbers to make your point.

No doubt it was a bad 4 periods. But it was not all 7 that were bad.

I don't how to make it any more simple for you.

[Dr. Lecter]

The team isn't garbage. I like Miller, Gaustad, Grier, Myers, and to a lesser extent, Kaleta, Montador and Rivet.

The top two lines are garbage. And overall, they're not good enough to do any damage in the playoffs and certainly not good enough to win the Cup.

I don't know how you can like Rivet ahead of Tallinder this year. Rivet has been meh. Tallinder has been very good.

And the top two lines now are better than the top two lines were in 1999.

[OpIv37]

Except 8 of those goals came in 4 periods. You are skewing the numbers to make your point.

No doubt it was a bad 4 periods. But it was not all 7 that were bad.

I don't how to make it any more simple for you.

wait, I'm skewing the numbers? I took the last 7 periods that he played. Now you're the one trying to nitpick within that span. But if you want to do that, fine. Out of the last 7 periods Miller played, four of them were absolutely atrocious. It's not fair to ask Miller to win games by himself, but no one else is doing anything so he has to. 4 bad periods out of 7 isn't going to get the job done.

[RockStar36]

I don't know how you can like Rivet ahead of Tallinder this year. Rivet has been meh. Tallinder has been very good.

And the top two lines now are better than the top two lines were in 1999.

I'm guessing that is attributed to the whole "I only watch 10 games a year" factor.

Rivet has been less than impressive this year.

[Dr. Lecter]

wait, I'm skewing the numbers? I took the last 7 periods that he played. Now you're the one trying to nitpick within that span. But if you want to do that, fine. Out of the last 7 periods Miller played, four of them were absolutely atrocious. It's not fair to ask Miller to win games by himself, but no one else is doing anything so he has to. 4 bad periods out of 7 isn't going to get the job done.

So he not allowed to have any down time at all?

And you should read about last night's game. The team saved Miller's ass. They won the game without him

In fact, in the last 4 games Lalime has played, the Sabres have 7 out of a possible 8 points.

That hardly sounds like a team that has to have Miller win all of theri games for them.

[OpIv37]

I don't know how you can like Rivet ahead of Tallinder this year. Rivet has been meh. Tallinder has been very good.

And the top two lines now are better than the top two lines were in 1999.

I should have included Tallinder- he's definitely upped his game this year.

[OpIv37]

I'm guessing that is attributed to the whole "I only watch 10 games a year" factor.

Rivet has been less than impressive this year.

for the record, I watch a lot more than 10 games now that I found the online feeds. I don't get to see every game, but I've probably seen 15 straight through and portions of another 10.

[OpIv37]

So he not allowed to have any down time at all?

And you should read about last night's game. The team saved Miller's ass. They won the game without him

In fact, in the last 4 games Lalime has played, the Sabres have 7 out of a possible 8 points.

That hardly sounds like a team that has to have Miller win all of theri games for them.

he's not allowed to have 4 down periods in a 7 period stretch.

No one is.

As far as Lalime's 4, that's 4 out of 39 played so far. In the rest of them, they've largely relied on Miller.

[Dr. Lecter]

he's not allowed to have 4 down periods in a 7 period stretch.

No one is.

As far as Lalime's 4, that's 4 out of 39 played so far. In the rest of them, they've largely relied on Miller.

And in those 39 he has done very well.

So is it big picture or small picture? Is the entire season or just recetn history? Because for the team you are using the entire season and for Miller you are using recent history to make your point.

Are you saying that Broduer and Hasek never had 4 down periods?

Hell, RS posted a thread today about Brodeur having some struggles.

It happens. Goalies, even very good ones, even the greats, have bad stretches.

[helmetguy]

I think the REAL isssue is "Sniper Envy." The Sabres don't have Ovenchicken or Cindy Crosby, so Op just needs to *****.

[OpIv37]

And in those 39 he has done very well.

So is it big picture or small picture? Is the entire season or just recetn history? Because for the team you are using the entire season and for Miller you are using recent history to make your point.

Are you saying that Broduer and Hasek never had 4 down periods?

Hell, RS posted a thread today about Brodeur having some struggles.

It happens. Goalies, even very good ones, even the greats, have bad stretches.

The big picture is that the team relies on Miller to win, and so far he's largely been good enough for the team to win. The smaller picture is that lately Miller has struggled and the team has been very mediocre in those games.

Back to the big picture: Miller tends to struggle late in seasons due to being overused- and the small picture shows that when Miller struggles, the team is mediocre.

It's really not that complicated.

[OpIv37]

I think the REAL isssue is "Sniper Envy." The Sabres don't have Ovenchicken or Cindy Crosby, so Op just needs to *****.

We wouldn't need a Crosby or Ovechkin if we had 3-4 guys on the top two lines who could consistently carry their load of the scoring. But we don't. Forget about a sniper. Right now, we just need to find someone who could be the kid from A Christmas Story with his air rifle.

[RockStar36]

The big picture is that the team relies on Miller to win, and so far he's largely been good enough for the team to win. The smaller picture is that lately Miller has struggled and the team has been very mediocre in those games.

Back to the big picture: Miller tends to struggle late in seasons due to being overused- and the small picture shows that when Miller struggles, the team is mediocre.

It's really not that complicated.

I agree. I said the same thing over the weekend. When Miller has an off night, I almost expect a loss.

But I don't see how that was your point in this thread. The title itself says Miller is burning out, which is the farthest thing from the truth.

He wore out two seasons ago and you act like it happened yesterday.