McNabb looked good except where he was beaten wide twice. Regehr needs to teach him up on how to keep those players on the outside. I love the fact that you can't enter the zone, pass the puck past him (without getting smashed) like 95% of the D in the league.
I liked Stafford's game tonight better then a lot of other nights. He actually even tried driving to the net which is his strength, but the Islanders d-man shut him down. He's got to start finding the back of the net though. He's on pace for 14 goals and 42 points that's not good enough, not even close.
I liked Stafford's game tonight better then a lot of other nights. He actually even tried driving to the net which is his strength, but the Islanders d-man shut him down. He's got to start finding the back of the net though. He's on pace for 14 goals and 42 points that's not good enough, not even close.
He needs to be hypnotized into thinking he's in another contract season.
So rather than running a train on our favorite whipping boy(s), hows about someone answer these:
-Why do we consistently get outworked by the Islanders? This has been going on for years despite their seemingly less talented club.
-When do we start holding the offensive players accountable who are making more than $25k more than the league minimum?
Pominville: 1 goal in 5 games
Vanek: 1 goal in 8 games
Roy: 0 goals in 7 games
Stafford: 0 goals in 11 games
Leino: 1 goal in 23 games
Gerbe: 0 goals in 12 games
Gaustad: 1 goal in 24 games
How is this good enough?
$28.6m in cap hit right there. When do we start allocating blame to all those guys (rather than just Leino and Roy)? Why aren't people asking more of Gaustad and Gerbe? Because they work hard? **** that. As usual, fans confusing effort and achievement.
Where is the core to score that big goal?
But, by all means, let's blame all this team's ills on the $550k defenseman, who, while playing poorly is not relied nearly as much as the above "core" players.
So rather than running a train on our favorite whipping boy(s), hows about someone answer these:
-Why do we consistently get outworked by the Islanders? This has been going on for years despite their seemingly less talented club.
-When do we start holding the offensive players accountable who are making more than $25k more than the league minimum?
Pominville: 1 goal in 5 games
Vanek: 1 goal in 8 games
Roy: 0 goals in 7 games
Stafford: 0 goals in 11 games
Leino: 1 goal in 23 games
Gerbe: 0 goals in 12 games
Gaustad: 1 goal in 24 games
How is this good enough?
$28.6m in cap hit right there. When do we start allocating blame to all those guys (rather than just Leino and Roy)? Why aren't people asking more of Gaustad and Gerbe? Because they work hard? **** that.
Where is the core to score that big goal?
But, by all means, let's blame all this team's ills on the $550k defenseman, who, while playing poorly is not relied nearly as much as the above "core" players.
I'm prepared to rally with you. This is just unacceptable - I think a lot of is just goes unnoticed because of things like expectations, and obvious performance. Vanek and Poms may be in a slump these past few games, but they still play hard and have had chances, etc...
Leino, Stafford, Roy are the biggest culprits right now for me. Roy is just dreadful, can't believe he's still seen as a top player.
People talk about how when this team was healthy they were not playing great, but they were still tied for the most wins in the NHL.
People loved talking about how well the Sabres were doing IN SPITE of how poorly they were playing---after all, they had the most wins, etc. etc.
Fact is, a couple weeks ago, the Sabres had played more games then most teams around them in the rankings. That is, the teams around them had anywhere from 1-3 games-in-hand on the Sabres, which at this point in the season, is a big advantage when assessing just based on point totals.
Now that most teams around them have played AS MANY games, suddenly the Sabres are very middle-of-the-pack, barely clinging to 7th or 8th. And December is chock full of quality opponents.
Hopefully Ryan Miller will soon be back to pick up where he left off and......oh wait.....uh.... nevermind.
People loved talking about how well the Sabres were doing IN SPITE of how poorly they were playing---after all, they had the most wins, etc. etc.
Fact is, a couple weeks ago, the Sabres had played more games then most teams around them in the rankings. That is, the teams around them had anywhere from 1-3 games-in-hand on the Sabres, which at this point in the season, is a big advantage when assessing just based on point totals.
Now that most teams around them have played AS MANY games, suddenly the Sabres are very middle-of-the-pack, barely clinging to 7th or 8th. And December is chock full of quality opponents.
Hopefully Ryan Miller will soon be back to pick up where he left off and......oh wait.....uh.... nevermind.
They're 3 points out of 2nd in the east. Miller(if he's not traded) will get them some wins.
They're 3 points out of 2nd in the east. Miller(if he's not traded) will get them some wins.
They're also 3 points out of 12th. And 3 of the teams right behind them have played less games. Pretty tenuous position when you consider how quality-packed the December schedule is.
And if Miller picks up where he left off, the team is doomed.
