Post-Game Talk (GBU): Well... It WAS Pardy time ...

[thekenneth]

What can I say, sabres played like **** and made it close, and the goals scored on the sabres were NOT very good for the most part. enroth should play for a european league now who'd want him?

 

[wunderpanda]

G- Vanek, Pomers,

B- defensive zone, neutral zone, faceoffs

U- hodgson, ennis, stafford, myers

not to continue beating a dead horse, but our secondary scoring doesn't exist. time to put grigs on the top line, move coho to 2nd line with ennis on the wing and admit that foligno is a 3rd line guy for now.

 

[Step]

Hey fellas - sorry for the troll.

For what it's worth, I think Myers was a beast tonight. Reminded me of why he won the Calder.

 

[jfb392]

G- Vanek, Pomers,

B- defensive zone, neutral zone, faceoffs

U- hodgson, ennis, stafford, myers

not to continue beating a dead horse, but our secondary scoring doesn't exist. time to put grigs on the top line, move coho to 2nd line with ennis on the wing and admit that foligno is a 3rd line guy for now.

Or get a coach that know how to best utilize the players given to him..
Ennis was so successful last year because he and his line were being fed offensive zone starts.
This year he's being leaned on by Ruff to start in the defensive zone, which makes him utterly useless as it's not a role he's suited for.
Ideally, the Vanek line would lean offensive, the Ennis line would be specialized again, and a checking line would be formed with some combination of Hecht, Ott, and a third forward like Gerbe and do the defensive work that Ennis is being relied on to do.

Grigorenko has done nothing to deserve top line minutes and frankly shouldn't have ever been kept on the roster as he fits nowhere on a team that is utilized correctly, but that's long in the past.
He's 18 and still needs to be sheltered, but even then, he just doesn't have what it takes to be as effective as some want him to be right now.
He's a step behind in every facet of the game and the fact that's slow by nature doesn't help things.
He still needs to learn how to make the most of his shifts.
Also if he were to center the top line, he'd get murdered at the dot and would stand no chance against fellow top line forwards in one on one battles (he already loses just about every one).

 

[zenthusiast]

Man, Jhonas. I weep for what may have happened to this kid. Even in 11 straight losses last year he played well. He just looks like his confidence has been shattered now. I don't know if you can attribute that to coaching or not but there was a point where he could have been a low-level starter in this league and now he's hardly a capable backup.

e: Add to his subpar play getting hung out to dry by his D and thrown under the bus by his coach. It reminds me of Miller's tears after that Detroit shellacking.

e2:
Jhonas EnrothVerified account
‏@JEnroth125
I know I gotta be better. I'm not going to quit tho. I'm gonna work hard and find my way back.

 

[ryanbiggame*]

No Latendresse or Gonchar either. Zack Smith is currently centering their second line. Should tell of the Sens' offensive depth right now with the injuries.

The Phillips goal falls solely on Enroth easily. I can't blame him for Karlsson's at all. He was hung out to dry on Neil's too. Alfredsson's is the only other one Enroth could've stopped and even that one I can't crucify him for. He was left out to dry more often than not, but point taken, he's not been good in either of his starts this year and has been average or below in the past 17 as noted as he only has one win in that span. Part of it has been Enroth and another part the team leaving him out to dry.

I miss Biron.

Biron. Ah, this poster talks about the "good days" of sabres hockey.

 

[Jim Bob]

Where are the people that were ready to dump Miller after Enroth's hot start?



Last night was like when you see the car wreck coming and you can't do anything about it.

At least the lockout will shorten the agony this season....

 

[Presten]

Where are the people that were ready to dump Miller after Enroth's hot start?



Last night was like when you see the car wreck coming and you can't do anything about it.

At least the lockout will shorten the agony this season....

I really have a hard time blaming Enroth after watching some of the #1 goalies around the league struggling in their first games after the lockout - especially when he's playing with this lackluster defense in front of him. Bad goaltending ain't the primary reason why this team has allowed the most goals against in the league. This team really needs a shutdown center, some gritty D's and a new coach.

 

[RattleYourSabre]

I can't put my finger on why, but it always seems like we start out okay defensively for the most part... And then it's like everyone gets down because we didn't score an early goal and the floodgates open.

Or, we score an early goal and everyone gets too happy... And the floodgates open.

This team really isn't very good right now.

G:
-Pardy looked decent. Definitely brought a level of energy to the ice

OK:
-Weber has been halfway decent defensively. I actually think our D would be better with a core of: Ehrhoff, Sulzer, Sekera, Weber, Pardy, and I guess Myers.

B:
-Passing/Receiving has been sloppy. We can't seem to keep a handle on the puck.
-Faceoffs. One of our worst faceoff guys was our best last night and he still wasn't good enough.
-Keeping the puck too long and then making poor decisions with it. Weber comes to mind.

U:
-Enroth. Although I wouldn't say this game was UGLY for him (I'd argue bad), in his last seventeen he's won just once. And while I think the win/loss stat is a stupid measure for goalies, when you're 1-12-4 it becomes a bit more relevant.

 

[Zip15]

Good:

- Myers with his second strong game in a row
- Stafford looking much better
- Pardy looking okay
- Grigorenko with another solid performance, given where he started. At least he's coming around. I've seen a few people continue to say he looks awful, and I disagree with that big-time. He looks like a rookie center adjusting to the vast differences of the NHL when compared to MJ. He looks more and more dangerous.

I thought he looked better in the offensive zone, but he still made a few errors in the defensive zone. He turned over the puck twice near the blue line and that led directly to unconverted scoring chances. Had those gone in, he would've been in just about everyone's "bad" section tonight. I'm still waiting for the Grigs-Ennis-Stafford line.

Bad:

- Foligno...nonchalance and complacency galore. He was the dead weight on that line tonight
- Brennan is here for one basic reason: apparently, he has a good shot. Fulton Reed's 1 outta 5 isn't a "good shot". It's a hard shot. Inaccuracy diminishes any shred of decency with regards to shooting

I understand that physical players get cut much more slack in Buffalo, but Foligno's lackluster play for most of the early season has been one of the under-discussed topics around here. He's had some flashes (3rd period @Washington springs to mind) but he's not bringing close to the effort he had last season, nor is he making the plays he was last year. I recognized that FES couldn't keep up the unsustainable shooting percentage they had as a line last year, and that Foligno will probably never eclipse 40-45 pts as an NHL player, but he's been poor this season, and I think I'm being kind.

If this organization had any gall (or depth), they'd send him back to Rochester for a week or two. IIRC, I recall Amerks fans talking about Foligno had cooled off significantly during the month preceding the end of the lockout, and that looks to have carried over.

So nice to see some actual input regarding the game rather than a slightly different version of the same post ad naseum...

G: Myers was better

B: Team defense is still atrocious, no team allows clear shots from the slot more than this one
Our offense refuses to crash the net and all three forwards chase the puck behind the net leaving no one in front for a pass
More of the same not cashing in on their opportunities
U: Enroth is not a capable backup and it makes me laugh that people wanted to trade Miller and hand over the reigns to him. LOL!

This has been a problem for a couple of years. I'm just waiting for opposing forwards to being construction of single-family homes in our slot. They'd probably have the time and space to do so.

And that might endanger his 31st in the NHL 3.11 GAA.

Given that he'll probably be facing 35-40 shots per game behind this trashbag of a defensive hockey club, a 3.00 GAA might not be that bad.

 

[Zip15]

Not sure how many actually thought this team had a chance to make the playoffs this year, but I'll just paint an ugly picture here for the hell of it:

If you believe work like this, .560 hockey will likely get you 8th, meaning you're looking at around .560 * [48 * 2] = 54 points.
As one can easily see, they're not even close with their current .350 pace.
With 76 points still available, they'd need a .618 pace or the equivalent of 23 wins in their remaining 38.
While that may seem somewhat doable, remember, that's just for 8th.

What an impressive hole they've dug.

What's more, three of our division rivals (MTL, OTT, BOS) currently sit 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively, in Fenwick--that is, they're dominant possession teams. Where's Buffalo? 26th. Toronto is 23rd.

We're clearly the 4th or 5th best team in the division right now. This team "ain't goin' nowhere."

 

[Lock3Boys]

What's more, three of our division rivals (MTL, OTT, BOS) currently sit 3rd, 4th, and 5th, respectively, in Fenwick--that is, they're dominant possession teams. Where's Buffalo? 26th. Toronto is 23rd.

We're clearly the 4th or 5th best team in the division right now. This team "ain't goin' nowhere."

As usual, great post. Love the last sentence tho, made me laugh.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Yep...it looks really bleak right now. I thought they had a shot at the playoffs, honestly, but everything had to go right. This is just as bad as their mid season funk last year.

I hope we keep Pardy, get rid of Leopold, let Regher walk, and give McNabb a shot next year. The defense could be much more defensively sound.

 

[Dubi Doo]

Enroth has now lost 14 in a row I think. LOL

Didn't he start like 15-1, or something like that? What a complete 180.

 

[imyourhuckleberry]

If we arn't at rock bottom I'd say this is where we are....

 

[HockeyH3aven]

There is such a lack of urgency and intensity in this teams game. Almost feels like we're watching a rec league game when I switch over to watch other teams.

 

[Luceni]

The thing that upset me the most: When Vanek got crushed into the boards by an Senator, noone stood up for vanek.

Hell, our key-player got crushed and nobody cared about it. I'm sick of this *******.

 

[BowieSabresFan]

The thing that upset me the most: When Vanek got crushed into the boards by an Senator, noone stood up for vanek.

Hell, our key-player got crushed and nobody cared about it. I'm sick of this *******.

He didn't get crushed. It really was not that bad of a hit, and was only made somewhat worse by the akwardness of it.

Also, didn't Foligno go over after the hit and toss a few shoves around? It wasn't a full-scale assault, but really all the situation warranted.

 

[slip]

The thing that upset me the most: When Vanek got crushed into the boards by an Senator, noone stood up for vanek.

Hell, our key-player got crushed and nobody cared about it. I'm sick of this *******.

Evidently you didn't get the memo that the Sabres are tougher than ever.

Didn't you see Scott beat Thornton? What about Ott the agitator?

There's a new attitude around these parts, so either embrace it, or keep you honest observations about a clear lack of team toughness to yourself.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

The thing that upset me the most: When Vanek got crushed into the boards by an Senator, noone stood up for vanek.

Hell, our key-player got crushed and nobody cared about it. I'm sick of this *******.

Foligno made note of it.

 

[SackTastic]

Foligno made sure it was known that wasn't ok, and didn't take a penalty to kill a PP.

Had Vanek stayed down I'm confident Foligno would have ramped it up.

 

[Chainshot]

The more this team plays, the more I hope Leopold doesn't irrevokably kill his trade value. The guy's lost out there. I didn't mind Pardy-Myers. Weber-Leopold though, combined with Hodgson continuing to make poor d-zone puck decisions... ack.

Enroth wasn't terrible this time out.

While I'd like to think they're going to attempt to maximize some trade values, I worry that yet again, Regier will convince Black and above that this is an issue with injury and YET AGAIN not prune heavily. They're so bad, my son has attempted to start rooting for the Bruins. In my house.

 

[Chainshot]

There is such a lack of urgency and intensity in this teams game. Almost feels like we're watching a rec league game when I switch over to watch other teams.

Much like last year, they look like a bunch who have quit on the coach.

 

[Zip15]

The more this team plays, the more I hope Leopold doesn't irrevokably kill his trade value. The guy's lost out there. I didn't mind Pardy-Myers. Weber-Leopold though, combined with Hodgson continuing to make poor d-zone puck decisions... ack.

Enroth wasn't terrible this time out.

While I'd like to think they're going to attempt to maximize some trade values, I worry that yet again, Regier will convince Black and above that this is an issue with injury and YET AGAIN not prune heavily. They're so bad, my son has attempted to start rooting for the Bruins. In my house.

"We lost our top defensive defenseman..." (Regehr)

"We lost our top defensive forward..." (Kaleta)

"One of our better defensive forwards wasn't ever 100%..." (Gerbe)

"We dug ourselves a hole early in the season while a lot of guys were getting up to speed..." (the case for just about every team, guys)

"In a short season, so much is determined by health, and we just weren't healthy and we put ourselves in a bad position..."

Things you'll hear after the season.

 

[Myllz]

The more this team plays, the more I hope Leopold doesn't irrevokably kill his trade value. The guy's lost out there. I didn't mind Pardy-Myers. Weber-Leopold though, combined with Hodgson continuing to make poor d-zone puck decisions... ack.

Enroth wasn't terrible this time out.

While I'd like to think they're going to attempt to maximize some trade values, I worry that yet again, Regier will convince Black and above that this is an issue with injury and YET AGAIN not prune heavily. They're so bad, my son has attempted to start rooting for the Bruins. In my house.

That's how my brother became a Bruins fan in the 90's.