Ruff night for Lindy

I expected the comments on our Sabres-Thrashers live blog to be pretty rip-roaring and I'll give it up to you folks because you didn't disappoint. Lots of insight, lots of raw venom, lots of quick quips too. Some excellent Sunday reading.

Maybe I'm egging on all of your ire but I wonder how many of you read Bucky Gleason's Inside The NHL column in Sunday's paper. In it, Bucky learns exclusively from minority owner Larry Quinn that the Sabres are expected to keep Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier next season even if they miss the playoffs for the second year in a row and for the fifth time in seven years.

Would love to know, however, what Quinn thought about Ruff after Saturday night's debacle. We've all seen coaches get fired in this league for far less than blowing a two-goal lead at home to the Thrashers in the final six minutes with the tying goal scored in the last four seconds. Maybe Quinn & Co. can say that's a fluke that never happens happens much. Oh, wait a minute, it happened to the Sabres Dec. 27 against the Islanders too. Also at home. Thrashers and Islanders. Not like letting the Bruins and Caps come back on you now, is it?

I wanted to see some real anger from Ruff after last night's game. But he seemed as defeated as his team. He tried to say the Thrashers didn't have any real good chances in the last minute, which was true. There were no shots on goal until Ron Hainsey's point drive. But the Sabres never got the puck out of the zone for the entire final minute either. It looked like that 76-second shift in Philly last month. How many weak clearing passes will this team make? When is sombody going to demand the puck in the final seconds and get it out of the zone?

Here's a novel thought: When is this team going to take advantage of somebody's empty net?

Why do we keep seeing soft plays from the likes of Jason Pominville, Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman late in games? How about Craig Rivet or Paul Gaustad on the ice in the late going instead? Dominic Moore? Bad clearing attempt and then got run over in the corner. No help.

Who puts guys on the ice in the late going? Ruff. You can crab about Regier not doing much at the deadline (cue up the "they sure missed Kotalik in the shootout" cracks) but this one was on Ruff. What should never happen has happened twice in the same season against lousy teams.

Yes, the Thrashers are lousy. Don't tell me about their winning streak. They're 13th in the East, they were 48 hours removed from a game in Edmonton and their best player was home hurt. Ruff tried to say the Sabres played a strong game offensively. What was he watching for the first 34 minutes? I say they did nothing until Derek Roy woke them up.

Yes, the Sabres got a point. Yes, they lost ground to no one in the East Saturday. But Ruff certainly didn't distinguish himself at the end of this one. Or after it. He should be happy the owners and the GM -- and, frankly, many of the fans -- have his back. Because lots of coaches are sent packing for a lot less than what we're seeing.

---Mike Harrington

(Photo: James P. McCoy/Buffalo News)

Comments

[Vandy Adam]

"For all the die hard Ruff supporters, all your arguments are subjective, simply put, the hard facts are he hasn't been successful."

Only if
a) You have a selective memory.
or
b) You consider anything short of winning the Stanley Cup a failure.

The guy has taken this team, which never spends to the cap, to the Eastern Conference Finals not once, not twice, not even three times, but four times in the last eleven seasons. And he hasn't proven he can be successful?

What is it that his players were so good those years that we had deep playoff runs? That would require you to make the argument that when the Sabres have a good year, it's because of their players and when they have a bad year, it's because of their coach. That doesn't seem fair.

[Sniper]

For all the die hard Ruff supporters, all your arguments are subjective, simply put, the hard facts are he hasn't been successful. I don't believe Ruff is a terrible coach, and I certainly don't believe he is responsible for this big mess called the Sabres. But Ruff has had more than a decade of opportunities, and he's in the weeds again.
Anyone who argues that the coach has little impact, is just a fool that has never played on a competitive level.
The coach, in hockey, has a huge impact on the play, it may not look that way from your living room, but that is a fact.
Personally, I feel that Regier is is just incompetent, and Ruff is burnt out.
In no way is this letting this bunch of sorry players of the hook.
I just don't understand these "go to the grave" with Ruff fans. Is it that they are afraid of change? 11 years, a huge cast of players, and we always wind up in the same place. Mediocre play, and a core of Ruff diehards blaming everyone but the coach.
And, I will reiterate, it is not all on Ruff, by any measure, but he's not the innocent lamb in this lousy stew.
Nice article Mike, thanks.

[Louis M]

Dave, so if the Sabres lose tonight, (which they will), I guess you will finally see the light. We can expect the same kind of game from the Sabres that we see whenever they play Ottawa. The Sabres know the Sens have their number!! The Sabres will come out with a lack-luster effort in the first period. Get behind, and continue to take dumb penalties and lose the game on special teams. Then Ruff will come out and state " We couldn't get our feet under us in the first period, and we couldn't recover. It's disappointing when that happens. The guys are down on themselves and know they have dug themselves a bigger hole tonight". "We'll be alright if we can somehow win and get on a roll". The only player I can predict of bringing it every game is Kaleta. Too bad those sitting on the bench can't feed off his play. The Sabres need 3 more Kaleta's on the squad. One one each line. Sadly this teams only true identity is that of a soft team. "ARE YOU LISTENING....KURUBA"

[tj]

Mike, best blog post I've read yet.

I'm tired of hearing how irreplaceable Ruff is, that there's no one out there who'd be better, blah blah blah. EVERYONE's replaceable by someone who could do a better job.

The fact of the matter is, this organization shoots for mediocrity and this is epitomized in its coach - has been for years. How many times have you heard Ruff say "we've got to win 2 of 3, 3 of 4" after a loss? Anyone think Detroit doesn't plan to win every single game?

Ruff is undoubtedly a good coach, but he also happens to be the most over-f***in'-rated one out there, too.

[Dave]

If we manage to beat Ottawa tonight, just wait and see everyone....the blog will be a ghost town, as so many of the "fans" here will only post in anger and not in joy.

[Louis M]

There are some guys in Portland that would give you more heart and soul than the current bunch of "vetrans" maybe some call ups and a send/sit downs are in order here. I hate watching the lack of effort. It's getting so bad now, I can predict ( with uncanny accuracy) when the sabres are about to get scored upon or take a dumb penalty. My son often asks me to "stop that" because he thinks I have this "magical curse upon the Sabres" I tell him "no it's just so obvious that the Sabres are soft and never attacks the puck or the man" This current Sabres team is soft as a pee wee team, and I bet they could out hit the heartless Sabres and win in the corners and along the halfwall. This team is an embarrisment to the city of Buffalo. I get laughed at wearing my Sabres jersey down here in Texas so I just don't bother wearing it anymore. I'm so upset at the direction this team is going in. I expected more at the trading deadline and received nothing but....giving Connally a raise, (stupid move) Moore....who hasn't produced anything to date...and a back up to the back up goaltender... Yeah, good job of making me a believer. Mr. G you gotta do something drastic to bring me back into become a fan once again. You lost me! I hate watching your team!!!

[Rick]

They are two points out. Not twenty. Do any of you consider we lost our goalie? Leave Lindy alone. And there is no room on the bandwagon for you doubters when we go in and rip Ottawa to pieces. Im gonna shove you off of it.

[ElmaGolf]

Sorry Vandy - I've been sparing the Edge my essays for the most part this year, but the "doltish" comments and "walking away" touched on something I felt pretty passionate about.

[Vandy Adam]

I love when Sabres Edge threads turn into essay contests.

I agree with ElmaGolf...no, that's it.

[ElmaGolf]

"You just don't have the courage to walk away and find something better."

Excuses, I guess that comment finally makes me understand that you & I have a fundamental difference of what it means to be a fan.

Find something better?

IMO, The WHOLE point of professional sports is a medium to provide a shared bond & sense of community. If the deep emotions that were felt after the San Jose game didn't prove that, nothing will.

We watch sports so we can share our joys, disappointments, frustrations and (I'll say it) HOPE for a better result. It gives the people of WNY (and dedicated transplants) something to have emotions about and bonds them over a common goal.

How do you "move on"?

Are you going to support the Penguins? Seriously - tell me if you'd have even a fraction of emotions watching a game in a bar when you're the ONLY person there pulling for them to win. It would feel pretty empty. My in-laws live in St. Pete, so I'm a Tampa Bay Rays "fan". But, since I have a very small group of people to share that with, my joys over the wins and despair over the World Series elimination was only 1/10th of the anger I felt over Saturday's Regular Season Loss.

Put another way, I'd much rather have a team to complain about with my neighbors than some distant team to celebrate with far away relatives.

You seem to equate "walking away" from the Sabres with a Divorce. I'd equate the Sabres more to a "family member", and you really can't walk away. Sure, my brother may screw up or even go to jail, but he'd still be my brother.

Does that make me a DOLT, as you have so pleasantly put it?

Do you really think I'll stop going to games and sharing this experience with my neighbors, just because they aren't winning the Cup? When I take my 4 year old to a game, should I scowl the whole time because the Sabres haven't spent to the Cap? I fell in love with hockey in the 70s, sitting in the Oranges at preseason games (my family couldn't afford to go to Regular Season games). It didn't matter to me that the games didn't count in the standings or that I was watching Morris Titanic. I loved cheering with the fans, taking part in the chants, and having my parents' friends tee me up by asking "how'd the Sabres do last night" because they knew how much I loved the game.

So, Excuses, if you really think you can "walk away and find something better", go ahead. I just don't think that's realistic. I live here in WNY and my friends & neighbors come together to bond over the Sabres performance, for better or worse.

And don't think I'm saying that being a fan mean you don't have the right to complain. We can criticize our family, but I think that sometimes the tone here gets way too oversimplified and there is an overabundance of fickleness and knee jerk pessimism.

But if you can only be happy sharing this experience if the Sabres win the Cup, I think it is sad, because you miss the real victory of sharing a bond with your fellow Sabres fans. Put another way - quit focusing so much about the destination and enjoy the trip with your friends and neighbors.

[Hambone Johnson]

Excuses - you obviously don't have season tickets so the cap is free money to you. For those that actually pay to support the team, when the team spends more the season ticket holders spend more. Not sure if you were aware that the economy is collapsing. It's not necessarily a very smart move to try to spend money like it's a video game right now. Furthermore, the cap is going DOWN next year. So you want us to max out our cap room so we have no room to add or re-sign our young players? Yeah, that sounds like a great move.

Just wait for this summer when all your favorite capped out teams have to buy out $4 million players in order to stay under the cap.

You spew the same tired comments every day with absolutely no idea the trickle down effect of that kind of spending. But what do you care? You sit at home grinding it out on your leather *** watching MSG and complaining about the product. Keep doing that and complaining about Quinn. Nobody cares.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Dave,

I guess I did not really mean to kick you, I missed the obvious. I intended to kick Larry. I don't know Larry but if his reputation fits him, he reads this stuff (ego). So, I take some humor away from spoiling his breakfast. That ego comment will have him looking over his shoulder all day...HAH!

I believe Quinn's coment was downright rude, and it set me off. "This town deserves a winner". Please. THAT was the insult to end all insults. The absolutely shameful part is that some people bought it, hook line and sinker. There's one born every minute.

And I also see your discontent as the only way to influence change. These guys WILL continue to sell you short until you say NO. So if I can outrage you, I influence change. Probably pushing on a rope, but I don't walk away easily. You can easily walk away and ignore my posts so I am not that worried about you.

BTW, The Family Dog would have more sense than the doltish Excuses fans and move to where it is better appreciated. Now, before you say it, I will move on as my apathy has grown. I plan on moving on after the free agency period. Can't resist the chance to kick old Quinny a few more times before then.

Deep down, you know he is going to disappoint you. You just don't have the courage to walk away and find something better. Let me say it again...deep down, you know he is going to disappoint you.

I know your first instinct will be to celebrate my eventual leaving. My guess is this time next year you will be moaning about the viability of The Excuses. I will be on Spring Break with my family with the dough I saved on these clowns. Think about that.

If you think about it; and I'm fairly certain you won't, there are hundreds, if not thousands of fans like me who are tired of the excuses offered by these charlatans. They are tired of being played for their loyalty to two guys who really don't care whether we win or lose, only if they make money. At the end of the day I am a capitalist who really does understand that. I just refuse to be lied to repeatedly and take it lying down.

They make every excuse in the world to cover up how they refuse to commit to winning. And that is insulting. Just admit it, we are committed to being a low risk, low cost, average team. But that doesn't "sell" and I refuse to believe they can't make money spending to the cap. Now, I hope they wallow in their misery of losses. They constructed this disaster.

Keep telling yourself it isn't true. Of course, you can simply ignore my posts, my dog would.

[rick]

Bench Pomminville. Please.

[Dave]

Seriously. Buffalo Excuses, I understand you're upset, but that's really no reason to come in here and repeatedly slam Sabres' fans. It's gotten to the point that your behavior is downright rude.

[The Family Dog]

Excuses,

When you take a break from berating your "favorite" team, can you please take some time out of your day to kick me?

Appreciate it.

[Vandy Adam]

Buffalo Excuses,

How recent are those cap numbers that you posted?

[Mike In Florida]

The way the Sabres are playing is going to save me some money next year. I won't be getting the NHL Center Ice because it turns into frustration and its not worth it. The Bill saved me money on the NFL Sunday ticket that I didn't miss this year after the Bills did their thing by losing all those games after the first 5.

Mike I do agree with you, Ruff should be held to the Buffalo standard and Reiger needs to step up and get some tougher players that want to play and appreciate the game and what they are getting paid. The current roster is way to soft and won't win very many games this year or in the future. The roster needs a complete overall.

The question is, how much cap space will the Sabres have this summer to go shopping????????????????

[Vegas Sabre Fan]

Wasn't it sometime last August or September that Tom G. made the public comment that "Making the playoffs was not an option this year".
Must have been an idle comment just to get some public exposure in the political arena.
He couldn't give a "rats behind" whether or not this team makes the playoffs.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Some of you will remember the Phoenix game and the extra curricular activities that happened when Shane Doan was up in arms after the hit by Kaleta. He whined about how "players are going to get hurt" completely ignoring the fact that Klee hit Afinogenov in a more dangerous way earlier in the game.

I said I would go and post on the Phoenix board and got a reply. Here is my message and the reply.

My post:

"Buffalo Fan here. Shane Doan was not angry about our running up the score, he was angry about Pat Kaleta checking somoene into the boards. He was heard to say "That's how people get hurt". The hit was no less violent than the hit on Maxim Afinogenov was earlier in the game by Klee (I think). Shane, if you really are indignant, talk to Klee as that hit set up the other. For Phoenix fans, that's how hockey goes. If you get cheap and the refs don't do something about it, the other team will...and did. Shane is a "tough guy" who knows this. He was just frustrated that his team lost."

A reply:

"And how many championships have you won in Buffalo????? BTW- One of North America's ugliest cities. Not to mention the weather!"

Pretty tough to argue with the retort. Anyone who has argued sports defending Buffalo in virtually any other town, has heard this stuffed back at them. Made me feel like a dolt for evening trying to take The Excuses back.

Thanks for the good wishes Larry. We do deserve a winner here, only we have no hope you are the one to deliver it.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Chad,

"Pray Ryan Miller returns soon".

So, we've exhausted all "hope" and are now PRAYING???

I'll say this, it will probably take a miracle for this ownership to "deliver" The Cup to the the "town that deserves a winner".

BTW, is Quinn a Lawyer too? You two think alot alike.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Lou,

Great analogy until you consider that The Yankees are the most succesful team in Sports History. Or also consider that The Excuses only need to spend another 6 (not 60) million bucks, yes we are that close to spending what the dastardly TOP 10 Teams spend. Or heaven forbid you digest the fact that there is no way you can stop The Yankees (or The TOP 10 teams) from spending.

Now, I know you disagree with everything I say so I will repeat myself. You are either more annoyed or maybe I will get through to you. Either way, I win or chuckle.

With a bakers dozen (13) games to play, The Excuses are 16th overall in a 30 game league. VERY average.

Top 10 teams, there is average unused cap space of $0.8 Million.

2nd Tier Teams - $3.8 Million

Bottom 3rd Tier - $6.6 Million

The correlation is striking.

You know the interesting anectdotal part of all this? Guess who moved up the most since Feb 3rd (The last time I published the stat)? Vancouver. Any takers why???

How about the signing of Mats Sundin for $8.6 Million. 15 points over 18 games. That says nothing about the; dare I say, LEADERSHIP that was brought to the table. The Canuck are 14-3-1 over that time and have moved up to 5th in their conference. 2 points out of 4th (and home ice for a series) and 5 points out of their division lead. Calgary incidentally took notice and wnet out and made moves of their own (not WITHIN their own as in the case of Connolly).

Now I know Chad will jump on the fact that Sundin would never play in Buffalo, but there are other players who would dance with us if we only extended our alligator arm and wallet to them. Chad, when you do, please explain why some players will NEVER come to Buffalo.

Keep the excuses flowing Quinny...Some fans will interpret your excuses as justification.

Enjoy your cheap hockey fans. It's all you are gonna get from this AVERAGE ownership.

[lounotinafghanistananymore]

wow, disagree with so many of these posts. usually with anything buffaloexcuses says.

too many disagreements to respond to though.

1st. i've had a lot of bad coaches and won, and alot of good coaches and lost. i agree with the tortella, laviolette, etc. comment and i believe a coaches tenure should be justified by winning. however how much REALLY boils down to a coach. look at Gretzky. greatest thing ever on skates, sucks in a tie.

2nd. comment is about the cap. justify spending every cent you can. justify it. you don't have to have the highest payroll to win. look at the satan of baseball, yankees.

[DWIGHT]

i bet the same people defending ruff(which really is tiresome)are the first to yell for the recent bill's coaches scalp.. rightfully so.. BUT.. why is ruff not held to the same standard? its always. "he needs better players".. ok.. would'nt that same premise apply to the bills.. perhaps better players?

[jan]

I'm taking the fact that Miller's beginning to work out on the ice as a sign he'll be back soon. Maybe the rest of the team can find some heart, grit and desperation, etc. and keep fighting for a spot until Miller returns.

[Chad]

We interrupt this complaining for some actual hockey discussion. Here’s one man’s opinion about what the Sabres need to do to give them the best chance of making the playoffs this season. If your opinion is that the Sabres need to fire every suit and trade 3/4 of their team, this post probably isn’t for you:

1) Stop playing Pominville and Hecht with Connolly or Roy. Ruff is wasting his two best playmakers when he puts them with Hecht and Pominville. Move those two down to the 3rd line with Gaustad. Pominville seems to respond better playing with Goose, anyways. Here are some startling numbers about Pominville. He hasn’t scored a 5-on-5 goal since January 1st (the goal against San Jose, though technically even strength, was scored at 6-on-5). He hasn’t scored a 5-on-5 goal against a team currently sitting in the playoffs since November 19th against Boston. And we’re wasting the talents of Roy and Connolly on this guy because…?

2) Move Paille to a line with Roy and Afinogenov. That was the team’s best line in the Montreal game. Roy seems to be hitting his stride, and that would only help Paille. I’ve been highly critical of Paille this year, and justifiably so, even dubbing him the Invisible Dan at one point. However, he finally seems to be coming around. He has goals in two consecutive games, and four in the last ten. The assists on three of those four goals were from Roy or Connolly—maybe if you play Paille with a good center, he’ll score. Stop playing him with Mair and Kaleta. He wasn’t earning more playing time for awhile, but he is now. Reward him. He is a +4 in the last four games, so his defense seems to be coming back, as well.

3) Call-up Tim Kennedy. What are they waiting for? The kid is hotter than a pistol over the last two months. He can help on the PP more than Jochen Hecht, he’s a good two-way player. We’ve seen the spark Giroux has given the Flyers. Interesting stat: Buffalo is 7-4-0 in games that Kennedy and Gerbe have played in. If I can look that up in 30 seconds, I have to think Darcy Regier knows it, too. Give it a try, it certainly won’t hurt the team to have another playmaker in the lineup. Don’t tell me he can’t help the team more than a 5 min/night guy like Adam Mair. What good is Mair’s toughness if he’s sitting on the bench for 55 mins and Lindy is afraid of retaliating against teams?

4) Pray Ryan Miller returns soon. After the Rangers game, Buffalo was one point out of 5th and rising, a fact that will no doubt go conveniently unmentioned for the remainder of the season and through the summer if Buffalo misses the playoffs. Lalime’s win% before the injury was .250 (5 of 20 pts) and since the injury is .444 (8 of 18 pts). Miller started 50 games, and earned 63 of a possible 100 pts for a .630 win%, which is top 10 in the NHL, just like his SV% is (average goaltender my hat…bye bye argument that he only wins because of the great teams around him). So, extrapolating from Miller’s year-to-date win%, Buffalo would have earned 11 or 12 pts of 18 which, not so amazingly, puts them in the playoffs. Lalime hasn’t been bad, but were you expecting him to carry us to the playoffs? Would you expect Carolina to make the playoffs if Leighton was in goal? New York if Valiquette was in goal? These guys are backups for a reason.

[pgr88]

Pomminville is too soft. For scrums along the boards, he just comes in gently, only poking with his stick.

On rushes into the opposing end, he will not go further than 2 feet away from the boards. How about trying to go to the net once in a while, Jason?

[dumbunny]

First off,if Tom G. really wants to build a Stanley Cup team here it appears that he may need to fire Quinn along with the Turtle and Regier going by this new info.I`ve been calling for this to happen for 2 years now and even the shills at WGR are beginning to discuss the possibility.Bout time brainiacs!!

[Tim]

I love Lindy first as a quality person, and secondly as a super hockey guy. But let's be real here: if the Sabes miss the playoffs, or even if they squeak in and exit early (either is very likely), our friend Lindy HAS to go. Sorry. My only hope is that Quinn does the decent thing and also fires himself. HE is more to blame for this mess we're in than anyone.

[Rick]

Is it Lindy's fault we got robbed blind by their goalie on several occasions? No. If you want to point fingers for the mess ups, point the finger at one guy. Lydman. He has to be better. Keep him off the ice when the game is one the line. Keep Spacek out there til he is ready to drop. And Sekera. Lalime should have got the puck out of there when he had his glove on it with 3 seconds left. But all in all he played well and so did the Sabres. Hockey has alot of luck involved in it. We will go in and beat Ottawa. Lalime will be pumped for this one Im sure. We need Miller back if for nothing more than a apark. Leave Ruff alone. He is a great coach. who the heck would you replace him with? Try and answer that question. Keep Lindy and Ill keep buying tickets. We will win with him.

[Vandy Adam]

Ruff doesn't have the talent to go deep right now. When he does, we've seen what he can do: four conference championship appearances in eleven years. I put the onus on the players. Is it Ruff's fault that Pominville can't put the puck in the net? That Tallinder hasn't been the same player since 2006? That Afinogenov is a shell of himself?

Canning the coach is the easy answer, the real problem is about a dozen players in that locker room. If you want to argue that Regier needs to go because he has assembled (or more accurately, disassembled) this team, I think you could make a case, but firing Ruff after all the success he's had here? I think we would regret that decision. It's not a matter of sentimentality, the guy has had a lot of success on a team that never spends to the cap.

[roy]

23, 48, et al are an issue here because they were never replaced. and as for 48, the flyers are loaded WITHOUT him. i think the bottom line is they are simply overrating players, coaching and management, and 5 out of 7 will scream loudly. sadly, the preposterous arrogance will push them to have an empty offseason and come back leaning on iron tim, pommers and yokey. woo hoo!

[Hambone Johnson]

Chad - my thoughts exactly on Miller. If he was in net for that goal, Ruff and Pominville would not even be a topic. But being the backup, Lalime got a free pass.

From the five minute mark to the faceoff in our zone with a minute left, Buffalo was the team applying pressure and taking command. Those four minutes were primarily spent in atl's zone. Even the 6 on 5 didn't create quality chances. We didn't clear the zone but we kept them to the outside the entire time. The last shot never should have gotten through, and that's the only reason for this state of panic.

If nothing else, maybe the majority of sabre fans will take away one thing from this season: Miller is a lot better than average and will turn out to be a much better investment than 23 and 48.

[CalgarySabre2]

And the flip side of the out of town update from Buffalo Excuses: For the Flyers, Biron was NOT in net and Briere was back in the line up. Shock of schocks: Flyers lost. Briere's contribution to the game: he was in the penalty box for high sticking on the Rangers' winning goal. A home and home series and he was outscored by Sean Avery! So maybe the blind squirrel lucked into something in letting #48 go and watching the Flyers have to pay him for the next 8 years. I know it is a small thing to laugh about, but we need all the smiles we can get folks.

[Don H]

I really don't know if Ruff is a good coach. Some of the things he does or does not do bother me because he seems slow to make corrections. However, I don't think this team is lackadaisical or lacks heart; I think they lack overall quickness in reacting to situations. Other teams seem a step faster in getting to the puck both on offense and defense. Whatever the problem, this has been another disappointing season.

[Chad]

Hambone, good points all around and good to see you on the boards again. Your opinions have been missed this season. You make a good point that none of this discussion would be occurring if Lalime just smothers that point shot and freezes the puck. I guess that answers Beavis's question about the last time we saw a soft goal from the point. The answer: last night, with four seconds left. And can you imagine what the posts would have looked like if Miller had given up that goal. I'm guessing the words "Mister" and "Softee" and "average" ("at best," of course, b/c that adds more validity to any statement) would be dominating these boards right now.

Jay- I agree. I posed that exact question to Gleason in the chat the other day but he passed it over or didn't get to it. These guys don't demand the most from each other and I think, at least in part, that is a result of them being too good of friends and afraid to call each other out. And, unfortunately, those outside that tight-knit group don't have the level of play, and by extension, the clout to make much of a difference. Accountability is definitely a problem.

[Hambone Johnson]

For those that don't watch other teams in the conference, here is a news flash: all but three teams are either inconsistent or bad. There really isn't much difference between the 5th and 13th seeds. Look at last night. Wash lost a two goal 3rd period lead to Car; Fla did the same against TB; Pitt did the same against Ottawa. This doesn't excuse buffalo, but it's ridiculous to hear the outrage like it's ONLY buffalo that this happens to.

[Gene]

How many times can one guy, meaning Pominville, fan on a shot? Every time hes out there he fans on the puck. Whether its on the point on the power play or in this case a hugely important clear. I mean he's a pro. Or so we're told.

[Jay]

I'm just sick of how this organization bends over backwards to coddle the players here. That locker room is way too comfortable. Why should we expect any of the so-called "core" group to mature into real leaders on the ice or in the locker room if they are continued to be protected? No one really loses much ice time - unless your named Afinogenov (and he should have by the way). Is that because of a lack of overall talent in the organization? Or is the coach just too stubborn to sit certain players until too late? And how about the 25 guys wearing Blue and Gold - where is the pride - if not in the team for you play for, then just for yourself? Continuing to let bad teams beat you in your own building?? Embarrassing.

Blame goes all-around in this mess, folks.

[Buffalo Excuses]

BTW,

My deleted post was a defense of Ruff. This is Tommy and Larry's fault. And I am GLAD they are going to "lose money" this year.

[Buffalo Excuses]

Larry Quinn Quote:

"This town deserves a winner. They have supported us unbelievably, and these are really tough times. One way or another, we have to get them a winner.”

Larry, here's an update for you:

Pittsburgh won today. They are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. Kunitz, their trading deadline acquisition had a hatrick in a MUST WIN game against BOSTON.

Rangers won today. They are 5-3-2 in their last 10. Avery, their LATEST acquisition had 2 PPGs in a MUST WIN game vs the FLYERS.

Your team in it's last 10 games? 4-4-2 and just lost to freaking ATLANTA in a MUST WIN game without their leading goal scorer. IN "crunch time" your team gave up 2 points to NYR and 6 points to Pens.

Winners...and...LOSERS.

Keep shoveling it Larry, but some of us know it aint snow!

Buffalo fans are dolts. Absolute dolts. And there's one born every minute.

[The Ghost of Tim Horton]

Perhaps we should all buy toy microphones and mail them to Golly, so he can chew on them when we don't make the playoffs.

[Chet Zeshonski]

Which of the following is more likely to result in the Buffalo Sabres making another Stanley Cup appearance?

OPTION A: The Sabres fire Lindy Ruff, keep the same group of players, and change coaches.

OPTION B: The Sabres get rid of this dead weight, get some better players, and keep Lindy Ruff.

The answer is obvious. Ruff has never lost a playoff series in which he's had the better team. He's won a couple in which he had the inferior squad. Just wipe the underachievers off this roster, or get rid of Darcy Regier so someone else can do it.

[TJ]

While I was a little surprised at no blow-ups from Ruff, let's also put ourselves in his shoes for a minute, Mike:

1. Ruff could have ripped Lalime for the huge rebound kicked right into the slot on the SHG, with no traffic in front - everyone was ripping on Spacek for not getting the shot through but the 1st shot that Lalime stopped on the breakaway was one he could have - and should have - kicked to one of the two corners. But, with no signs of Miller coming back and Tellqvist being even less of an option, what was Ruff supposed to do - rip Lalime and kill his confidence in the few games left?

2. Ruff could also have ripped on Pominville - one of his co-captains last year - for the awful clear or lazy backcheck on the SHG. But, Pominville's confidence is already in the dumps - being ripped by his coach for two obvious failures won't help the cause in him turning his play around in the next 2-3 weeks.

We've all seen Ruff show signs of a slow boil but he bites his tongue to avoid hitting the wrong buttons with his team. This team knows the predicament it's in and the feeling of missing out last year - there's no reason to tell them they're losers and chokes after a loss like last year, as much as the media and fans alike want to.

And, Mike, I'm really surprised at you implying Ruff - or any coach - makes that big a difference. As the saying goes, the coach can coach but in the end, it's the players who make - or don't make - the plays.

[roy]

yup, the team is undertalented. blame: obvious. yup, ruff puts them on the ice. blame: obvious. regier is the incompetent blind squirrel who happened upon good fortune 4 years ago. ruff, however, has watched it deteriorate and completely sold out. why is he not angry now? because he wants his job and already tried the angry tack.

[george]

Mike, you're out of your mind about Lindy. We could dig up Vince Lombardi and he couldn't get anything out of this group of dogs. Who would you have Lindy put out there? Goose, Mair and Kaleta are the only guys that play with any heart. How often can you run them out there? The rest of the team has played dumb, uninspired and lackadaisical hockey all year. Lindy can only play the players that Darcy and by extension, Quinn and Golisano give him. You can't polish a turd.

[BuffBall]

how about someone post fans comments in the Sabre lockeroom for all to read !!!!

Nothing else seems to wake them up.

[NVRob]

It is far past the time to get rid of Pominville!
Not only does he give up the clear, he merely glides into the play instead of aggressively trying to check the tying goal scorer - pathetic!

[Hambone Johnson]

The ironic part is that nobody would be complaining if lalime would have stopped the 55 foot unscreened point shot. Pominville's play in the corner was brutal but nothing compared to lalime letting that shot get through. Backup or not - no excuse on that one.

[br]

Thank you for posting this. He should be gone. Whether it is getting the team up for big games, not keeping lines, not going after the lousy "leaders" that have had a terrible year ... he's done a terrible job the last couple of years, and he hardly ever gets criticized. He's become too comfortable ... get rid of him now.

[DWIGHT]

the fans in buffalo should be insulted by quinn's arrogance!.. keeping these two on board and telling the fans they deserve a winner is a total crock!.. its so disingenuous, i cannot believe the fan's are allowing themselves to be played as fools!