Yeah, I would agree that something has affected him other than team play because this team hasn't changed all that much from last year. Miller pulled wins out of his ass last year that he hasn't this year.

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It's his future wife. He shouldn't allowed to be married to anyone. He should be restrained to jerking off on a Saturday night.

(SQUANTO DON'T KILL ME. THIS IS SARCASM. PUT THE SWORD AWAY)

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

I want the -we are not worthy- miller back.

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HOCKEY IS BACK!

Yeah, I would agree that something has affected him other than team play because this team hasn't changed all that much from last year. Miller pulled wins out of his ass last year that he hasn't this year.

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My thought is that maybe his higher profile is somehow affecting him and he's trying too hard or thinking too much. There's no doubt in my mind that he's over-committing to shooters and getting himself way out of position a lot more than he used to. He used to always be in perfect position. That made him seem less flashy and helped him fly under the radar. When he started last season with his gaudy numbers and then played in the Olympics, he developed a MUCH bigger profile. That could have changed his mentality and started causing these problems. I think that has something to do with his less-than-stellar play recently.

But Miller is mentally strong! Unlike Thomas Vanek...

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

We all know you wanted his babies.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.

don't tempt him, he got pretty hot after that comment.

I don't mind that they are paying so much for goaltending. Miller is our best player, and you have to invest in your best players. People always complain that the Sabres are too cheap and don't pay for big players, but the fact is that Miller is one of the best goalies in the league so I don't think there is anything wrong with paying Miller that much. Goaltending may be a team position, but it goes both ways. Like I mentioned, Miller's play benefits from the team in front of him, but like DieHardFan mentioned, they also feed off Miller's presence in net.


I can agree with this too. Miller benefits from solid team play, and the team benefits from Miller's big saves. It definitely goes both ways.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

I dont think the girlfriend aspect should be dismissed so summarily. It certainly shouldn't lead one to kitten punching. It's perfectly valid to hypothesize that Ryan Miller has been affected in some way by his impending nuptials. Think about it, does ryan seem impetuous to you guys? Does he seem like the kind of guy who makes rash decisions, much less rash major life decisions? So perhaps he has been, and continues to, have his lady on his mind a lot. Perhaps she is occupying a portion of his overall attention and concentration which last year was dedicated to hockey? I really dont know why this idea has garnered so much scorn, it's perfectly reasonable.

Whether that is the sole reason for his sub par play is impossible to say, but it could be a contributing factor/the majority of responsibility.

And in my opinion, he is completely 'allowed' this. He's going through what is probably a really happy, emotional, life changing time period...good for him. If his game is suffering for it, that is a shame, but one season of less than superstar play is not going to change my overall positive opinion of him or his skills.

Absofuckingloutelynot.

You might be right, Yankee. I just don't think fans are in any position to make that call, you know? I mean what you said is perfectly plausible. But I think it's more annoying when fans have this mentality like, "Oh, he's engaged to an actress now, he thinks he's this big celebrity. He doesn't care about hockey or the Sabres anymore." That's what I think is obnoxious and just moronic. But yeah, it is plausible that he has a lot of exciting things going on in his life right now, and maybe it is affecting his game. Or maybe he's been in the league long enough to know how to set aside his personal life before and during a game where it isn't an issue. Who knows?

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Hey if Miller is gonna have a bad season, at least its when the rest of the team is having a bad season.... bring on Terry and some new blood and life into this franchise and look the hell out next year! or at worst the year after.... lol..... Miller will be fine... if not this season, certainly he'll straighten his shit out for 2011/12

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did his play suffer when he was dealing with the death of his cousin in october 2007? i seem to recall him struggling. so who knows.

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Getting married is a great way to want to be at home less and at the office more

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Hold my beer and watch this...

Nobody knows, but we do love to speculate.

And to again become an armchair psychologist, I do think maybe the attention he's getting is causing him some problems on the ice. I mean, I sure as shit would have a tough time dealing with a ton more attention than I'm used to. Miller has always seemed very within himself, but very serious at the same time. Maybe he thinks he has a responsibility to up his game based on the press he's finally getting. Maybe he he's not as focused on playing hockey and he's enjoying being a celebrity. Maybe he's realizing that there are things more important to him than hockey. Maybe he's injured more than we know.

My guess is he feels more pressure to perform than ever before. That he maybe, just maybe, isn't having as much fun doing it as before. That he maybe isn't quite so grounded in his skin right now, and is thinking about how others view him.

Did you mean to highlight both 'majority of responsibility' AND 'contributing factor'? Because to say that his engagement had ZERO impact on his 'hockey psyche' is just absurd, you certainly are not in his head, and cannot speak to this.

I dont know if you caught my thread a month or two (three?) ago about how i'm pondering asking my girlfriend to marry me, and I wanted ring advice? Well, i'm still thinking about it, thought about it quite a bit at work today (and on a sidenote, kind of confirmed for the tenth time for myself that this is what I want to do. Yay!) I still got my work done, but if i'm being honest my mind was not 100% on my work. This feels pretty natural, as i've got a large decision to ponder. Why do you so steadfastly believe that Ryan Miller is somehow immune to this utterly human reaction to a major life decision/change?

Oh, I definitely agree that the 'omgz his gf makes him jizz his pants 24/7 so he cant play hockeyz' is fucking retarded, and is wholly different than what i'm trying to say.

Ultimately, I agree 100% that none of us have a freaking clue, this is all speculation, and we all just want him to play his best. I think if this IS affecting his game, that he'll find a way to center himself and return to form.

He's just not dominating, he's not awful, but he's certainly not dominating. Who knows why? I think last season took a lot out of him, that's my guess. Pretty lame considering the fact that he had a long summer to recover electrolytes and stuff.



Could be an nagging injury that he's afraid of making worse. Something that maybe he would rather have repaired in the summer instead of right now. Could be that the mental focus isn't there for whatever reason. Maybe he just doesn't believe that the guys in front of him can score enough, and he's demoralized.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger