3rd and 4th lines and defense men were scoring. Boston puts 4 guys across the blue line making it almost impossible to skate the puck in. We could have won easily, if we adapted and played against the bruins game. I didn’t think Rask played to his best, although he was still very good. Plenty of rebounds not enough people at the net. The portland guys are dangerous, not physically but speed wise they can skate by players without missing a stride. I hope they trade Miller only because he does deserve better, and he’s a good enough guy were I’d like to see him get rewarded for his effort. Seems like too many sabres don’t care if they win or not just as long as they get their check.
They started beefing up this year but didn’t get big enough. Mondator can S my D, that wasn’t the first time I’ve watched him lose an edge in his own zone and turn the puck over. Boston had time to get deep, set up, and put the last nail in.
Miller, Kaleta, and Gerbe looked good. Vanek played like he wanted it.
Kaleta always looks good, he plays hard, hits hard and isn’t afraid to take a hit to make a play. Vanek has the most drive even after being hurt and still got a goal.
Regier must go.
Hopefully they resign Grier. He’s a beast and was our best skater by far in my opinion.
Trade Connoly, and Roy. Those two not showing up are the reason why they lost the series. Add to the fact that the so-called playoff acquisition (Torres) was scratched the last two games and it’s no wonder we’re out.
Curious why you say that? He brought in guys like Dumont, Briere, Drury, Vanek, Myers and Ennis for next to nothing just to name a few. Even Torres was playing pretty well IMO when he was wrongly benched. We lost a bunch of those guys, but is it really Regier’s fault that ownership isn’t willing to pay for the undiscovered talent he finds?
I’d like to see what the guys we have now could do with a coach who has more than one universal system he hopes will work in all games. Yeah, the Lindy System we’ve watched for far too many years works against most teams, but when he runs into a team that has it figured out he’s hopeless lost trying to make adjustments. Simply breaking up lines that have good chemistry while telling them to play the same style that isn’t working doesn’t help anything.
You can’t win playoff games with ZERO goals on the power play in 6 full games.
Oh don’t worry, I had that covered 
Can’t agree more, I love that man. <3
Exactly, and how many of those players are still here??? Instead we have Roy and Connolly and we’re stuck with them for a couple more years still. Regier is too loyal to some players and lets the actual good players walk out the door. Sure, he signed Vanek long-term, but only because Edmonton’s offer sheet forced him too.
Myers and Ennnis are turning out to be great picks so far. I’ll throw Gerbe in with them too. Hell, there’s your two replacement forwards for Connolly and Roy! At least they showed up to play!!
I don’t know how you can pin it on Ruff. He’s a great coach. He can’t play the game himself. When his top two centers don’t show and the power play damn near costs us goals more than anything, it makes things difficult. Then add into the equation that Vanek was hurt and Hecht didn’t play at all, and that’s how we find ourselves looking forward to Bills minicamp (ugh!).
How can I blame Ruff? Simple for two reasons.
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Because the power play is all about coaching. It’s far less about the fluid play of 5 on 5 where player skill and instincts are key and much more about set plays.
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Because when his system doesn’t work, like when we play a bigger team, he doesn’t have an answer other than shuffling lines and screwing up the chemistry guys get by playing together.
“The longest tenured coach in the league” shouldn’t be something you’re proud of with Buffalo’s lack of playoff success. He’s been the head coach since 1997, and we’ve been in the playoffs 7 times and missed them 5.
True, but our PP has been awful since we let our old assistant coach leave a few years back. I don’t know why, but his name is slipping my mind at the moment. He ran a good PP and since then, it’s been garbage. Not trying to defend Ruff here though, he should have brought the PP back up to shape in those past few years, but he hasn’t.
the power play is beyond terrible, no other team in the league has problems to that degree over a sustained period of time, we are better 5 on 5 than with a man advantage, that makes no fucking sense and is piss poor
just more Buffalo mediocrity and disappointment
thumbs up to Miller , Grier and a few other peeps who ‘wanted’ to win
Wow, Washington chokes!
I know, I cannot believe Montreal! Insane number of blocked shots, they just willed their way to win that series. First time in NHL history an 8th seed has come back to win over a #1 seed after being down 3-1.
Halak…
Well I got all the East coast wrong, and all the west coast right…
Yeah I was all off on the East. Only predicted Pittsburgh correctly. Didn’t do as bad in the west although I would have liked to see LA and Phoenix move on.
2nd Round prediction
In the East I think Montreal will give Pittsburgh a run but ultimately end up like Ottawa. Pittsburgh’s PP just seems to click and I think they will get the best of Montreal’s PK in 6 games. Philly and Boston will be a good series, and I think it will go 7 games. Rask was strong against Buffalo but Boucher was equally impressive against the Devils. I think Philly’s layoff is going to hurt them though. Boston will jump out to an early series lead and hang on to win in 7.
Out west, Detroit showed in game 7 just how well they can play when they want to hit the “ON” button. I think they’ll take the Sharks in 6. San Jose just is not a strong playoff team, and they hardly ever make it farther than the 2nd round. Chicago and Vancouver should be another good series. Goaltending will be huge in this series. Niemi is not a playoff proven goalie. Luongo has proven again and again he can lead a team to the playoffs, but not through the playoffs. I’m picking Chicago in 7.
Hopefully, my picks this round will be a little more accurate. 1st round was embarrassing, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen all Division Champions in the East get knocked out in the first round.
i was the only one to pick against the Sabres… betting against buffalo works every time 
i’d like to see another Wings/Penguins finals…
here’s a little trivia for you… the only other time in history where the same 2 teams played in 3 consecutive Stanley Cups was back in 53-54, 54-55, 55-56 (Detroit & Montreal)
here’s my 2nd round predictions
Pittsburgh #4 vs Montreal #8 - Pittsburgh in 5
Boston #6 vs Philly #7 - Boston in 7
San Jose #1 vs Detroit #5 - Detroit in 6
Chicago #2 vs Vancouver #3 - Chicago in 7
You might be getting your wish, Sabres picked up only one more year of Ruff.
I like your predictions…I think Boston might be able to take the east despite lack of scoring…Though they do have Savard back for round 2.
Pittsburgh #4 vs Montreal #8 -Montreal in 6
Boston #6 vs Philly #7 - Philly in 5 (Boston’s rookie goaltender cracks under pressure)
Since when?
I’m saying he’s going to crack in this series. Remember Carry Price with Montreal in the 08/09 playoffs? He was spectacular against Boston, then cracked in the 2nd round against Philly. The Stanley Cup playoffs are a lot of weight to put on the shoulders of a young rookie.