It's been two years since the Sabres were in the playoffs last.
It seems like longer, at least to me. It's only the second year in a row that I've had to stand by and watch my team take an early summer, but it still grates. Especially those last few games, where we still could make it, if the Rags had the grace to lose for us . . . When it came down to that (ironically enough, like it did last season), I knew we were out. You can't rely on another team to lose so you can make the playoffs. It's not how it works.
Still, I'm watching. I love hockey too much to not watch the playoffs, even if my heart's not in it. It's kind of funny, watching amongst my friends who are Sabre fans what teams they're rooting for. We all have different favourites, aside from Buffalo, and it's interesting to see how we all branch out differently. Of course, it is annoying when we don't agree. It'd be so much simpler with the Sabres in it . . .
Honestly, watching these games, it feels empty. I can't explain it, it's just . . . I don't care unless the Sabres are in it. Even if my second favourite team wins the Cup, it won't mean anything to me. I mean, I'll be happier than if a team I hate wins it. But seeing Zdeno Chara lift the Cup above his head, it won't mean anything to me.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
When Progression Halts it becomes Stagnant
Repost from NHL Connect blog on 2/12/09
There is no excuse for the Sabres’ play against the Senators. In seventh place in the Eastern Conference and undoubtedly trying to climb up the standings for more of a foothold in the playoff race, the Sabres dropped a second consecutive game to the Senators.
Wednesday’s was a winnable game. The Ottawa Senators are not the team that crushed the Buffalo Sabres and gave them heartache in the 06-07 season. They are an underachieving, struggling team and have seen four coaches since.
Against the 13th place Senators, the Sabres should have had little trouble dispatching a rookie goaltender with their veteran forwards and snipers. Though admittedly missing the offensive leadership of Thomas Vanek, the Sabres have more than enough firepower to replace him while he’s gone.
With a win, the Sabres could have earned two points for 64, two necessary points in the playoff race that would mean tying the Canadiens in points and closing within 1 point of the Rangers and Flyers, both with 65.
Instead, the Sabres played a mostly uninspired and lazy game. Ryan Miller lent his full effort in the loss, but was rewarded with three goals against and numerous attempts from the Senators to plow him over while his forwards and special teams lacked any punch to score with 12 power play opportunities.
The game didn’t lack in physicality, however, and the Senators and Sabres seem to build more bad-blood as time goes on- whereas two years ago Chris Neil was Enemy Number One, these days it seems as Jarkko Ruutu would like to place himself in the beloved position, tackling Patrick Kaleta, running Miller, and biting Andrew Peters- no doubt that what he does, he does well. The next two contests in Kanata will be entertaining for sure.
But for the immediate future, if the Sabres don’t play with fire in their blood, the fans who spent their money to come to the game on Friday won’t have to worry about the game, the power-house San Jose Sharks will take care of the bite-less Sabres easily. Maybe Lindy Ruff shouldn’t worry about benching Dan Paille, who has only reached 19 goals as a plateau in a season and has never been looked at to be a top line producer, and start worrying about his supposed “big guns” like Jason Pominville who hasn’t scored in 16 games, and Jochen Hecht, who has 1 goal in 8 games and just 3 in his past 27.
If the Sabres continue to struggle so needlessly, there might be different options for management to look at in the future.
With the trade deadline looming, Regier may look to make a few moves to bolster his team to do some good and look like the hockey club he built from shambles when he took over in 1996 to the powerhouse that sensationalized the league in 2006.
With the right forward in the line-up, the Sabres might be set to for a play off run, but not without the effort. Not with out the team work.
As a fan of this team who has both lived and died on what the Sabres have done, I never thought this thought until this season, when every time the perfect team could not get it done and I had no answers left in my wracked brain:
Lindy Ruff might not be the answer.
Edit: "Might" doesn't mean "fire Lindy now", it means, as a team, we have options and since firing every last one of our under achievers is improbable, a coaching change might be in our best interest in the future, whether we make the play offs or not.
-Marilyn
There is no excuse for the Sabres’ play against the Senators. In seventh place in the Eastern Conference and undoubtedly trying to climb up the standings for more of a foothold in the playoff race, the Sabres dropped a second consecutive game to the Senators.
Wednesday’s was a winnable game. The Ottawa Senators are not the team that crushed the Buffalo Sabres and gave them heartache in the 06-07 season. They are an underachieving, struggling team and have seen four coaches since.
Against the 13th place Senators, the Sabres should have had little trouble dispatching a rookie goaltender with their veteran forwards and snipers. Though admittedly missing the offensive leadership of Thomas Vanek, the Sabres have more than enough firepower to replace him while he’s gone.
With a win, the Sabres could have earned two points for 64, two necessary points in the playoff race that would mean tying the Canadiens in points and closing within 1 point of the Rangers and Flyers, both with 65.
Instead, the Sabres played a mostly uninspired and lazy game. Ryan Miller lent his full effort in the loss, but was rewarded with three goals against and numerous attempts from the Senators to plow him over while his forwards and special teams lacked any punch to score with 12 power play opportunities.
The game didn’t lack in physicality, however, and the Senators and Sabres seem to build more bad-blood as time goes on- whereas two years ago Chris Neil was Enemy Number One, these days it seems as Jarkko Ruutu would like to place himself in the beloved position, tackling Patrick Kaleta, running Miller, and biting Andrew Peters- no doubt that what he does, he does well. The next two contests in Kanata will be entertaining for sure.
But for the immediate future, if the Sabres don’t play with fire in their blood, the fans who spent their money to come to the game on Friday won’t have to worry about the game, the power-house San Jose Sharks will take care of the bite-less Sabres easily. Maybe Lindy Ruff shouldn’t worry about benching Dan Paille, who has only reached 19 goals as a plateau in a season and has never been looked at to be a top line producer, and start worrying about his supposed “big guns” like Jason Pominville who hasn’t scored in 16 games, and Jochen Hecht, who has 1 goal in 8 games and just 3 in his past 27.
If the Sabres continue to struggle so needlessly, there might be different options for management to look at in the future.
With the trade deadline looming, Regier may look to make a few moves to bolster his team to do some good and look like the hockey club he built from shambles when he took over in 1996 to the powerhouse that sensationalized the league in 2006.
With the right forward in the line-up, the Sabres might be set to for a play off run, but not without the effort. Not with out the team work.
As a fan of this team who has both lived and died on what the Sabres have done, I never thought this thought until this season, when every time the perfect team could not get it done and I had no answers left in my wracked brain:
Lindy Ruff might not be the answer.
Edit: "Might" doesn't mean "fire Lindy now", it means, as a team, we have options and since firing every last one of our under achievers is improbable, a coaching change might be in our best interest in the future, whether we make the play offs or not.
-Marilyn
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