Am I the only one that is still a little nervous?

[Dr. Lecter]

4 points combined in 3 games between the Sabres and Carolina should not be difficult but after seeing the way the Bruins choked last night and the way the Flyers could not knock off the Rangers, it looks like the Sabres might need to win 2 of these last three to get in.

I guess the good news is that they can move to 6th tonight with a win and Montreal loss to Chicago (in regulation). They can also wrap up a spot tomorrow with a win and Carolina loss to the Red Wings tomorrow.


But damn, I just want this over and done with.

[chernobylwraiths]

freaking Bruins choked

I am nervous too, but just a little.

[Dr. Lecter]

The good news - a regulation win tonight knocks the magic number down to 1.

[SabreEleven]

But damn, I just want this over and done with.

That's What She Said.

[SabreEleven]

The Rangers coming back like that sucks but coming back like that against the Bruins makes it better. Now the Bruins can start on a nice down slide that lasts through the playoffs.

[The King]

The Bruins didnt choke... they can never beat Henrik.

[Dr. Lecter]

The Bruins didnt choke... they can never beat Henrik.
They did last night. 3 times.

And then they gave up 5 unanswered.

They choked.

[The King]

They did last night. 3 times.

And then they gave up 5 unanswered.

They choked.

think he's like 21-3 all time against the B's.

[SabreEleven]

Bruins had a 3-0 lead...That's a choke

[The King]

Not against a team still fighting for a playoff spot it's not. IMO

[SabreEleven]

So I guess the Oilers didn't choke against the Bills in 93.

[The King]

that was a playoff game, turd burglar.

This was a between a team that's clinched the division and a team trying to hold onto a playoff spot.

[THATHURMANATOR]

Idiot Bruins....

[trapezeus]

i'm not nervous per se, but i was kind of hoping that these last three games were going to be "light". in terms of nothing on the line.

this is probably where people apologize to OP about his squandered points posts. a couple games where the sabrse didn't lose points at the last second and they are sitting pretty.

[Dr. Lecter]

i'm not nervous per se, but i was kind of hoping that these last three games were going to be "light". in terms of nothing on the line.

this is probably where people apologize to OP about his squandered points posts. a couple games where the sabrse didn't lose points at the last second and they are sitting pretty.
I don't get the "lose points" thing. All teams lose points like that. The Sabres have "gained points" that way.Do they have to give them back?

[OpIv37]

no, you are definitely not the only one who is still a little nervous.

The only good thing is that we control our own destiny- if we win 2 of 3, then it doesn't matter. It would be nice to get some help from Montreal, Carolina and NYR lossses, but it's also nice to not need them to get in.

If we win tonight, the NYR win last night could be a blessing in disguise because it makes it that much harder for Carolina to get in.

[MikeInRoch]

I'm completely petrified.

[OpIv37]

I don't get the "lose points" thing. All teams lose points like that. The Sabres have "gained points" that way.Do they have to give them back?

we lost a point against Carolina when Vanek missed that breakaway a month ago or so. We lost a point when we allowed the Caps to tie the game late in the third on Saturday then win it in OT. We lost a point when we blew that 3-1 lead with 2 min left. We gave Carolina a free point when we couldn't finish them in regulation on Sunday.

10 extra minutes of good hockey spread out over a month and we'd have a playoff spot clinched. That's what I've been complaining about and that's what Trap's talking about as far as giving points away.

[Dr. Lecter]

we lost a point against Carolina when Vanek missed that breakaway a month ago or so. We lost a point when we allowed the Caps to tie the game late in the third on Saturday then win it in OT. We lost a point when we blew that 3-1 lead with 2 min left. We gave Carolina a free point when we couldn't finish them in regulation on Sunday.

10 extra minutes of good hockey spread out over a month and we'd have a playoff spot clinched. That's what I've been complaining about and that's what Trap's talking about as far as giving points away.
And what about the times they tied it late? Did they steal those points?

It is a two way street.

[OpIv37]

I'm completely petrified.

it comes with being a Buffalo sports fan. We've seen so many epic collapses that we almost expect it to happen. At the very least, we're not shocked when it does.

[OpIv37]

And what about the times they tied it late? Did they steal those points?

It is a two way street.

no, it's really not. The goal is to win, and sometimes in a tight playoff race the goal is to win in regulation. Accomplishing that goal allowed them to be in this position.

If they hadn't tied it late and got those extra points, they'd be out of the playoff race and we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

If they had accomplished the goal more times, then they would have a playoff spot locked up and we wouldn't be having this other discussion for other reasons.

Are you really suggesting that it's unreasonable or pessimistic to ask for 10 extra minutes of good hockey over the course of a month?

[Jan Reimers]

Why wouldn't we be worried? We're in a very tight race, with our next two games against better teams than us, at least in the standings - the Lightning and the Flyers. Our three competitors have not packed it in, but are making it tough.

Miller is iffy for the final three games, and definitely won't play again tonight. We have other injuries as well, and last game we needed Butler's first goal in a year, and Gragnani's first ever, to eke out a win.

We've been better on the road than at home this year, so of course 2 of our last 3 are at home.

Nervous? Hell yes!

[psubills62]

no, it's really not. The goal is to win, and sometimes in a tight playoff race the goal is to win in regulation. Accomplishing that goal allowed them to be in this position.

If they hadn't tied it late and got those extra points, they'd be out of the playoff race and we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

If they had accomplished the goal more times, then they would have a playoff spot locked up and we wouldn't be having this other discussion for other reasons.

Are you really suggesting that it's unreasonable or pessimistic to ask for 10 extra minutes of good hockey over the course of a month?
Why wouldn't we be having this conversation? I'm pretty sure you and maybe a couple other people would be saying "if only they could have played that 10 extra minutes of good hockey, they'd be in a position to make the playoffs!"

I'm having difficulty figuring out exactly why this isn't a two way street. Let me see if I can get this straight in terms of relative importance for our available options:

1. Locking up playoff spot
2. Controlling own destiny in a tight, but manageable playoff race
3. Being out of playoffs

So are you saying 1 is more important than 2 by a greater amount than 2 is more important than 3?

[OpIv37]

Why wouldn't we be having this conversation? I'm pretty sure you and maybe a couple other people would be saying "if only they could have played that 10 extra minutes of good hockey, they'd be in a position to make the playoffs!"

I'm having difficulty figuring out exactly why this isn't a two way street. Let me see if I can get this straight in terms of relative importance for our available options:

1. Locking up playoff spot
2. Controlling own destiny in a tight, but manageable playoff race
3. Being out of playoffs

So are you saying 1 is more important than 2 by a greater amount than 2 is more important than 3?

Huh?

You're talking about it in terms of the playoff picture. I was talking about it in terms of the individual game.

The goal of each individual game is to win the game. In games where we've come back late and got points, we accomplished that goal.

In games where we gave away leads late and lost points, we failed to accomplish the goal.

Accomplish the goal more times, the playoff picture takes care if itself. Yes, there were times that the Sabres came back late and "stole" points that they otherwise wouldn't have gotten, but that does not get them off the hook for the fact that 10 extra minutes of good hockey over a month would have gotten them the 3 or 4 extra points we need right now. It's quite simple, really.

I'm really sick of this "it's ok to lose this game because we won some other game and we can't win 'em all" mentality around here. If you can't see how choking in those 4 games had direct impact on our current playoff position, then I don't know what to tell you.

[psubills62]

Huh?

You're talking about it in terms of the playoff picture. I was talking about it in terms of the individual game.

The goal of each individual game is to win the game. In games where we've come back late and got points, we accomplished that goal.

In games where we gave away leads late and lost points, we failed to accomplish the goal.

Accomplish the goal more times, the playoff picture takes care if itself. Yes, there were times that the Sabres came back late and "stole" points that they otherwise wouldn't have gotten, but that does not get them off the hook for the fact that 10 extra minutes of good hockey over a month would have gotten them the 3 or 4 extra points we need right now. It's quite simple, really.

I'm really sick of this "it's ok to lose this game because we won some other game and we can't win 'em all" mentality around here. If you can't see how choking in those 4 games had direct impact on our current playoff position, then I don't know what to tell you. It may not "get them off the hook" in your eyes, but it helps balance things out. It's a two way street because if they hadn't "stolen" as many points as they did, then they'd need a heck of a lot more than 3 or 4 extra points, and probably would be out of the playoffs.

Where did anyone say it's OK to lose a game?

Obviously how we've done in certain games has had an effect on our playoff position. It's just that some of the realists around here know that both wins and losses have had a direct impact on our current playoff position. And if you can't see that, I don't know what to tell you.

[OpIv37]

It may not "get them off the hook" in your eyes, but it helps balance things out. It's a two way street because if they hadn't "stolen" as many points as they did, then they'd need a heck of a lot more than 3 or 4 extra points, and probably would be out of the playoffs.

Where did anyone say it's OK to lose a game?

Obviously how we've done in certain games has had an effect on our playoff position. It's just that some of the realists around here know that both wins and losses have had a direct impact on our current playoff position. And if you can't see that, I don't know what to tell you.

The point you're missing is that the goal is to WIN the game. There were several times where we failed to accomplish the goal, and that's what's hurting us in the playoff race right now.

10 extra minutes of good hockey and we don't have this problem. It's really not too much to ask. It's not unreasonable at all. It's not realistic to give them credit for what they did do while just ignoring their failures, so don't try to turn this realism thing around on me with twisted logic.

[psubills62]

The point you're missing is that the goal is to WIN the game. There were several times where we failed to accomplish the goal, and that's what's hurting us in the playoff race right now.

10 extra minutes of good hockey and we don't have this problem. It's really not too much to ask. It's not unreasonable at all. It's not realistic to give them credit for what they did do while just ignoring their failures, so don't try to turn this realism thing around on me with twisted logic.
I know the goal is to win. I, and plenty of others, are more than willing to admit they've had piss-poor losses. Nobody's ignoring it, you're just paying those losses attention enough for all of us.

Like I said, both wins and losses have contributed to their current position. It's not twisted logic, it's the truth.

[Dr. Lecter]

no, it's really not. The goal is to win, and sometimes in a tight playoff race the goal is to win in regulation. Accomplishing that goal allowed them to be in this position.

If they hadn't tied it late and got those extra points, they'd be out of the playoff race and we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

If they had accomplished the goal more times, then they would have a playoff spot locked up and we wouldn't be having this other discussion for other reasons.

Are you really suggesting that it's unreasonable or pessimistic to ask for 10 extra minutes of good hockey over the course of a month?


My point is that, over the course of the year, all teams give up later goals and all teams score late goals. It is part of the game. You are focusing on one side of the issue - the Sabres. But the teams that they are playing are in the same situation. They want to score in the last minute or stop the Sabres from scoring.

It is a two way street - not one way.

[OpIv37]

My point is that, over the course of the year, all teams give up later goals and all teams score late goals. It is part of the game. You are focusing on one side of the issue - the Sabres. But the teams that they are playing are in the same situation. They want to score in the last minute or stop the Sabres from scoring.

It is a two way street - not one way.

Of course I'm focusing on one side of the situation. I'm a Sabres fan, not a fan of those other teams.

What our opponents do or do not do does not excuse the Sabres from the times when they failed to accomplish the goal. Every team is in the same situation at some point, and the fans of every team have a right to be pissed off when it happens.

[trapezeus]

to be fair to the sabres, the last couple weeks, they've been in the same situation a couple times this week. where if they lost they would have really been up ****'s creek and they got what they needed. hopefully, for 3 more games, they have that in them. however, a loss in regulation by the canes would be mighty sweet.

[Nighthawk]

Until this team proves they have the balls to close out this thing and wrap up a playoff position, I will be worried. I know all to well what this team is about...the positive is that they have a ton of youth who are scratching and clawing to stay up here and win. Having Hecht, Grier out of the linup is not really a bad thing.

[OpIv37]

Until this team proves they have the balls to close out this thing and wrap up a playoff position, I will be worried. I know all to well what this team is about...the positive is that they have a ton of youth who are scratching and clawing to stay up here and win. Having Hecht, Grier out of the linup is not really a bad thing.

wow, funny that you mention Hecht. I knew that Grier was a scratch but I didn't even notice that Hecht wasn't out there against Carolina. That about sums up his relevance.

[G Wolly]

He hasn't played since the last game in Toronto a couple weeks ago.

[DMBcrew36]

Ryan Callahan has a broken ankle -- huge blow to the NY Rangers.

[TheBrownBear]

Heck yes, I'm nervous. Won't stop feeling that way until they officially lock up a playoff spot. Then I'll take a deep breath and start getting nervous all over again.

Tonight is huge. A point is an absolute necessity imo.

[G Wolly]

Tonight is huge. A point is an absolute necessity imo.

That's not even an opinion.

That's a fact.

[SkateZilla]

Magic Number right now is 3 Pts to Clinch.

[Dr. Lecter]

Magic Number right now is 3 Pts to Clinch.
Only if two of them come via a non-shootout win

[SkateZilla]

Only if two of them come via a non-shootout win


Oops, Thanks for that .
We have to have 3Pts, and 1 Win. as Carolina can tie us at 91 but that would give them 1 more win which is the first Tiebreaker...

[Cleve]

How bad is Miller hurt? Could he play if Enroth were not available? I like Enroth, and he's done a great job, but Miller is our best shot at a playoff berth at this critical juncture. Hopefully this isn't a "soft" injury where he could play if he wanted to.