Lineup changes for tonight

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20031023/1043400.asp

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff is looking to spark his team by juggling the lines and scrambling the lineup.

Ruff will revert to dressing six defensemen after using seven the past two games. Forwards Jason Botterill and Domenic Pittis will play, although Ruff wouldn't reveal which regulars will get scratched. It will be Pittis' first game since being called up from Rochester prior to the trip.

A candidate to sit is right wing Maxim Afinogenov, who has managed only eight shots this season and is averaging just 13:08 of ice time.

Another possibility to sit is winger J.P. Dumont, who has only five shots. But there are a number of players Ruff could justify benching.

Holy crap, they're dressing Pittis. We're really in trouble...

This is why it hurts to not have Connolly, Hecht and Boulton. Ordinarily you wouldn't want to play Pittis or Botterill (bring up Gaustad), but Ruff has to do something to get a better effort.

Afinogenov is playing worse than he did last year.

A candidate to sit is right wing Maxim Afinogenov, who has managed only eight shots this season and is averaging just 13:08 of ice time.

Another possibility to sit is winger J.P. Dumont, who has only five shots. But there are a number of players Ruff could justify benching.

Ha, I think Ruff could justify benching just about anyone other than Drury. If he really wants to make a statement, he should bench Satan.

Great. Let's make our team even slower. One of the problems i'v seen, is we're way too slow. So, lets take off Afinogenov our fastest player for a real slow player Pittis. Makes great sence.

Maybe this way we can only lose 5-1?

This is why it hurts to not have Connolly, Hecht and Boulton. Ordinarily you wouldn't want to play Pittis or Botterill (bring up Gaustad), but Ruff has to do something to get a better effort.

Afinogenov is playing worse than he did last year.

Afinogonov is playing worse? He seems to be the only player that can reliably carry the puck into the offensive zone and try to set something up. It always looks like he's getting into the zone, but no one gets open for him to pass to...

Afinogenov is playing worse than he did last year.

Thus far, I've though Afinogenov has looked fast and dangerous. The problem is, that danger is an illusion. He can tear past a defense, pull 3 fancy moves in a row, but then he loses the puck or can't finish the play.

But unlike a guy like Dumont, at least he is creating chances. His main problem is finish. The man simply can't finish.

If we combined Kotalik's finishing ability with Afinogenov's fancy moves and play making ability, we'd have one hell of a player. Kotalik needs a guy to create the play, and Afinogenov needs one to finish it (but he also needs to learn how to get the puck there).

I dont get, the only players that have been consistantly skating hard are Drury and Afinogenov.. so now your gonna sit, probably your most explosive skater for a career ahler, yeah thats a real spark.... Tom G and Larry Quinn should spark the team buy getting rid or Ruff.

Thus far, I've though Afinogenov has looked fast and dangerous. The problem is, that danger is an illusion. He can tear past a defense, pull 3 fancy moves in a row, but then he loses the puck or can't finish the play.

But unlike a guy like Dumont, at least he is creating chances. His main problem is finish. The man simply can't finish.

If we combined Kotalik's finishing ability with Afinogenov's fancy moves and play making ability, we'd have one hell of a player. Kotalik needs a guy to create the play, and Afinogenov needs one to finish it (but he also needs to learn how to get the puck there).

He isn't creating chances. 8 shots and 1 assist in 6 games. Is he capable of more? Certainly.

Afinogonov is playing worse? He seems to be the only player that can reliably carry the puck into the offensive zone and try to set something up. It always looks like he's getting into the zone, but no one gets open for him to pass to...

Why does Max get the free pass and Connolly gets all the criticism?

Afinogenov has 8 lousy shots, 4 of which came in the Calgary game. He has 1 lousy assist in 6 games. He is playing worse than last year.

You cannot blame Afinogenov's inability to use his teammates on his teammates.

Carrying the puck is great if you don't turn it over to the other team. Speed is great if you actually use to create opportunities, rather than skate in circles before you give up the puck. Being busy doesn't mean you're working hard, smart or effective. If Afinogenov doesn't learn how to become an effective player this year, it is time to get rid of him. He'll be 25 next year. His upside will not be that great after that.

Great. Let's make our team even slower. One of the problems i'v seen, is we're way too slow. So, lets take off Afinogenov our fastest player for a real slow player Pittis. Makes great sence.

Maybe this way we can only lose 5-1?

Pittis isn't slow. Pittis is small. Botterill is slow.

Afinogenov has absolutely sucked. 1 assist in 6 games? You want to justify that? If Afinogenov wound up with 13 assists and no goals, you'd be happy?

And the reason we're slow isn't because we can't skate, it's because of positioning. If you saw the WVU / VT game last night, WVU looked much faster than VT. They played much faster than VT, while having lesser speed. WVU's slower LBs made Kevin Jones look slow because they took great angles. Afinogenov doesn't use his speed well at all. He should watch tapes of Glenn Anderson on the rush. When's the last time we saw Afinogenov skate around a defenseman? Half the time on a rush, that is what Afinogenov should be doing. If he can establish his superior speed in play, then he will get defensemen backing up. Once that happens, bingo, we have offense.

Pittis isn't slow. Pittis is small. Botterill is slow.

Afinogenov has absolutely sucked. 1 assist in 6 games? You want to justify that? If Afinogenov wound up with 13 assists and no goals, you'd be happy?

And the reason we're slow isn't because we can't skate, it's because of positioning. If you saw the WVU / VT game last night, WVU looked much faster than VT. They played much faster than VT, while having lesser speed. WVU's slower LBs made Kevin Jones look slow because they took great angles. Afinogenov doesn't use his speed well at all. He should watch tapes of Glenn Anderson on the rush. When's the last time we saw Afinogenov skate around a defenseman? Half the time on a rush, that is what Afinogenov should be doing. If he can establish his superior speed in play, then he will get defensemen backing up. Once that happens, bingo, we have offense.

Look you seem to be the only person in this room who thinks Afinogenov is playing badly. So enough with your arguments. We know you think he sucks this year, but he really hasn't. He's one of only a handfull of players who actually skate thier hearts out and try to make plays.

Is it his fault that the rest of the team is never in any position to accept a pass from him? And it's not like it's Max's job to go into the corners and dig the puck out like he's Bertuzzi. Max is a finisher. None of our p*ssy forwards are man enough to go to the corners and get the puck so they can feed it to him. I think it's ludicris to imply that Max is playing poorly.

And your logic of using stats as a basis for your argument is very poor. Conroy and Iginla have little if no points so far this year. Does that mean they suck too? Stats are very deceiving. I'm not trying to bash a fellow Sabre fan but Max is one of my favorite players and I'm just trying to back up the truth that he is playing great.

Tom G and Larry Quinn should spark the team buy getting rid or Ruff.

I couldn't agree more. Ruff has no clue what the hell he's doing.

I'm already losing interest in the Sabres.Ruff is a horrible coach and he should be blamed.I actually wouldn't mind a fire sale.Trade Zhitnik for a 2nd rounder, trade Brown and a 2nd for Scathard ( :joker: ) just do something to get this team on track.

Why does Max get the free pass and Connolly gets all the criticism?

Afinogenov has 8 lousy shots, 4 of which came in the Calgary game. He has 1 lousy assist in 6 games. He is playing worse than last year.

You cannot blame Afinogenov's inability to use his teammates on his teammates.

Carrying the puck is great if you don't turn it over to the other team. Speed is great if you actually use to create opportunities, rather than skate in circles before you give up the puck. Being busy doesn't mean you're working hard, smart or effective. If Afinogenov doesn't learn how to become an effective player this year, it is time to get rid of him. He'll be 25 next year. His upside will not be that great after that.

So you would rather keep Connolly, who doesn't even skate past anyone before turning over the puck? Afinogenov at least enters the zone and retains control for a while before turning it over. In fact, he skates circles around the defence before turning it over, which is pretty impressive since most players can't hold on to the puck that long in the offensive zone. And I don't think he's doing worse than say, most of the players on this team with more experience...

LaLa we all know that TC is your lover but what I don't understand is why you think your attempts at making Max look bad somehow makes TC look better. It's almost like you defend Timmah by attacking Max.

I'm not impressed with Max or Tim to this point. Both have alot of offensive talent, but can't take that next step.

You have to play Max because he has speed. If only he used his linemates instead of making figure eights on the ice, and turning over the puck. If Max doesn't breakout this year, its time to dump him.

Connolly should still turn into a decent playmaker. Alot of people don't care for this guy, but he still has more upside than Max.

I almost forgot J.P. Dumont was on this team. That says alot about how he's played thus far. If anyone should take a seat it's this guy.

Look you seem to be the only person in this room who thinks Afinogenov is playing badly. So enough with your arguments. We know you think he sucks this year, but he really hasn't. He's one of only a handfull of players who actually skate thier hearts out and try to make plays.

Is it his fault that the rest of the team is never in any position to accept a pass from him? And it's not like it's Max's job to go into the corners and dig the puck out like he's Bertuzzi. Max is a finisher. None of our p*ssy forwards are man enough to go to the corners and get the puck so they can feed it to him. I think it's ludicris to imply that Max is playing poorly.

And your logic of using stats as a basis for your argument is very poor. Conroy and Iginla have little if no points so far this year. Does that mean they suck too? Stats are very deceiving. I'm not trying to bash a fellow Sabre fan but Max is one of my favorite players and I'm just trying to back up the truth that he is playing great.



I think LALA's right. What does Afinogenov really bring to this team? A lot of sound and fury with no results. He just dycks around the top of the offensive zone with the puck and nothing ever results from it. 4+ years now. He doesn't finish, he doesn't even create chances. Bartovic is basically the same kind of player but at least he checks and plays some defense. I don't care that his teammates aren't in position to accept his passes. With his offensive skill, he should be putting himself in position to score from his teammates' passes. He's squandering his skill.

I say we should focus our attention on Dumont. Just what exactly does he bring to this team?

From my years of hockey experience, either watching or playing, I've learned to understand one thing. The team that works the hardest will win 9 times out of 10. The fact is, we cannot base the team's performance on one or two players. It is a team effort. Sure a couple of players have looked better than others, one is Drury. Another is Rory Fitzpatrick. Another in my opinion is Maxim Afinogenov. The fact is that this team does not come to play every night and you cannot win when key players take shifts off. I've seen Alexei Zhitnik, our best defenseman, get burned a few times due to lack of hustle. I've seen the point men jump in and get scoring chances because the forwards didn't backcheck. I've seen Biron, Miller, and Noronen let in soft goals. You can't fault just one player for the abysmal efforts we have seen most nights this season. Unfortunately, the blame gets placed on Lindy Ruff, but he is a coach, that is his job, to take the blame when the team plays bad and to accept the praise when the team shows up and plays well. Fact is having Connolly, or Boulton, or Hecht or whoever else is injured would not be helping this team any. They play with little or no heart. They don't work for the pucks in the corners. They don't cover their assignments. And even when the puck goes into the back of the net and the red light shines, they don't understand that they screwed up and they don't care enough to correct their mistakes. As far as I'm concerned Miroslav Satan is not playing like a captain, Alexei Zhitnik is not playing like the stalwart defenseman we all know he is, and Lindy Ruff is not the right coach for this team. I'm not jumping off the bandwagon and writing off this season by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to see changes. I want to see results. I want to see a motivated team who goes out with a purpose, with a mission. So far I have not seen that, and until I do, until the fans do, and until other teams do, the Buffalo Sabres will continue to add numbers to the L column.

can we please trade for Steve Kariya? He is what we need! :rolleyes:

Look you seem to be the only person in this room who thinks Afinogenov is playing badly. So enough with your arguments. We know you think he sucks this year, but he really hasn't. He's one of only a handfull of players who actually skate thier hearts out and try to make plays.

Is it his fault that the rest of the team is never in any position to accept a pass from him? And it's not like it's Max's job to go into the corners and dig the puck out like he's Bertuzzi. Max is a finisher. None of our p*ssy forwards are man enough to go to the corners and get the puck so they can feed it to him. I think it's ludicris to imply that Max is playing poorly.

And your logic of using stats as a basis for your argument is very poor. Conroy and Iginla have little if no points so far this year. Does that mean they suck too? Stats are very deceiving. I'm not trying to bash a fellow Sabre fan but Max is one of my favorite players and I'm just trying to back up the truth that he is playing great.

I know Max is one of your favorite players, otherwise you wouldn't be so blinded. 8 shots in 6 games is unacceptable. Conroy and Iginla haven't played well either. Max is anything but a finisher. He peaked at 21 goals.

Last night's results certainly spoke volumes about Ruff's move.

I am strictly guessing here but i would say style points.

Different subject what is your infatuation with Timmah???

I respect your opinion and do not mean that statement sarcastically. In a different thread you suggested that he has to decide between being Daigle or Yzerman. Stevie Y has always had heart...even when he came into the league and played on those lousy Red Wing teams...again I respect your opinion but I don't see Timmah having Stevie Y's heart.

I agree that it is style. Max is all style and little substance. He is not without talent. He'd be much more effective if he stopped figure skating in the offensive zone and made a beeline for the net.

Connolly? I'm not a fan of the way he's played. Who the hell could be? I am a fan of his talent, which is immense. There are few players who have the 1 on 1 skills he has. But hockey is 6 on 6, not 1 on 1. But he's only 22, and there are plenty of players that exploded after 22. I did see some improvement in aspects of his game last year, particularly his play in his own end. Offensively, he regressed terribly last year. He needs to learn how to use his speed too. He needs to shoot more and get in better shooting position. He needs to be less cute with the puck. Yet, offensively, he's matched Max's numbers, and is two years younger. I don't like seeing that double standard.

I lot of what people see as effort isn't. Max having his feet going a million miles a minute achieving nothing is not hard work. It's avoiding the unpleasant task of going to the net hard. Scott Stevens looks like he's doing nothing most of the time, but he's just so smart about positioning. Nobody would suggest he's lazy. I think a lot of Connolly's rep about lacking heart is simply perception. That wasn't his rep in Erie. That was Daigle's rep, coming out of juniors.

So you would rather keep Connolly, who doesn't even skate past anyone before turning over the puck? Afinogenov at least enters the zone and retains control for a while before turning it over. In fact, he skates circles around the defence before turning it over, which is pretty impressive since most players can't hold on to the puck that long in the offensive zone. And I don't think he's doing worse than say, most of the players on this team with more experience...

That's style over substance. Connolly and Afinogenov are very similar players. The main differences, in terms of style, is that Connolly tries to go 1 on 5 by being cute, while Afinogenov tries to go 1 on 5 by skating circles around people. Neither approach works.

The real differences? In terms of the present, Connolly is much better in his zone.

In terms of the future, Connolly is 2 years younger. He's got a much better chance at learning that hockey isn't 1 on 5.

And 1 point in 6 games is doing worse than most players on the team, including that offensive force Marty Biron.

I say we should focus our attention on Dumont. Just what exactly does he bring to this team?

Excellent point. We have a RW in the pressbox I am sure who his anxious to take his spot. I only listened to the game, but I didn't hear too much about Dumont.

From my years of hockey experience, either watching or playing, I've learned to understand one thing. The team that works the hardest will win 9 times out of 10. The fact is, we cannot base the team's performance on one or two players. It is a team effort. Sure a couple of players have looked better than others, one is Drury. Another is Rory Fitzpatrick. Another in my opinion is Maxim Afinogenov. The fact is that this team does not come to play every night and you cannot win when key players take shifts off. I've seen Alexei Zhitnik, our best defenseman, get burned a few times due to lack of hustle. I've seen the point men jump in and get scoring chances because the forwards didn't backcheck. I've seen Biron, Miller, and Noronen let in soft goals. You can't fault just one player for the abysmal efforts we have seen most nights this season. Unfortunately, the blame gets placed on Lindy Ruff, but he is a coach, that is his job, to take the blame when the team plays bad and to accept the praise when the team shows up and plays well. Fact is having Connolly, or Boulton, or Hecht or whoever else is injured would not be helping this team any. They play with little or no heart. They don't work for the pucks in the corners. They don't cover their assignments. And even when the puck goes into the back of the net and the red light shines, they don't understand that they screwed up and they don't care enough to correct their mistakes. As far as I'm concerned Miroslav Satan is not playing like a captain, Alexei Zhitnik is not playing like the stalwart defenseman we all know he is, and Lindy Ruff is not the right coach for this team. I'm not jumping off the bandwagon and writing off this season by any stretch of the imagination, but I want to see changes. I want to see results. I want to see a motivated team who goes out with a purpose, with a mission. So far I have not seen that, and until I do, until the fans do, and until other teams do, the Buffalo Sabres will continue to add numbers to the L column.

You saw changes last night. You saw Ruff bench Afinogenov, a move most people didn't like. It worked. You saw a motivated team. Ruff's been a much better coach when he's had the depth to sit people in the pressbox. He really didn't last night, but he needed a shock to the system after the Vancouver debacle. It worked. Great move.

How the hell has Afinogenov looked better than most players this year? If he scored on every shot this year, he wouldn't be leading the league in scoring. He has no goals. Marty Biron has as many points in fewer games.

Connolly, Hecht and Boulton don't play with heart? How many battles in the corners do we see Afinogenov win? Hecht and Connolly are decent in covering their assignments. Where Connolly sucks defensively is giving up the puck by turning it over in the offensive zone. He covers his assignments defensively well enough to have been our 4th leading PK last year. We were 5th in PK overall. (Yes I know about Barnes and V, but our PK started badly last year too.)

Works for me. Sounded as if my whipping boy, Botterill had a decent game, too.

From what I saw against the Ducks, he had another decent game. Sometimes it's good to be wrong.