I hope nobody misconstrues that I think Miller is at fault for anything more than a few soft goals so far this season. It's simply that on-ice shrugging that points out other players that irks me. I've always liked his interviews, even if he sounded a little too snippy, because he generally didn't single anyone out - usually talked "team". He's played very well at times and I'm not worried about him putting together another above average season. It's just those poor goals here and there that he seems to get caught un-focused, or surprised. The rest of the team has looked sloppy in the d-zone, undetermined in the o-zone, and mentally unprepared at times.

They can all get it together in short time, it's not like they're 3-9-2 like last season.

Exactly. Take the last game, didn't play his best, let in some softies. Play Enroth the next game, Miller the following. Miller plays well, then keeps going till he either has a bad game or needs a break.

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--Scott

I'm willing to bet that on this schedule, Enroth plays well next game, Miller plays well the game after that, and then shows up in mediocre form for the next. I haven't looked at the schedule yet, but there's a fair chance that we'll be in a back to back situation then, in which case Enroth would/should be playing the 2nd game anyways.

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The team that's in front of Miller has won him games that he's had no business winning too. Like the good ol' Briere/Drury days. That team in front of him won him more than half his "W's" those seasons. And honestly you can't put the SV% and GAA into play when we are only 10 games in. There great stats don't get me wrong but those numbers can be really different come playoff time

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"If you want to know what I've been doing lately, I've been driving around from Tim Horton's to Tim Horton's, rolling up the rim. Haven't won anything yet. Thanks." - Lindy Ruff

His on-ice shrugging could also be him being frustrated with himself. Like how Vanek is always visibly frustrated when he misses a shot or something.

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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

Nah, he does it after a screen or a tip.

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#1 Hockey Nation.

Vokoun put up very solid numbers while he played on Florida and that's not easy to do. The tell-all stat is save percentage. If you're able to maintain this stat while letting in 4 goals a game or losing 30 games in a season, then you're a top tier goaltender. So if Miller has a solid save percentage while we're losing, he's not to blame.

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#1 Hockey Nation.

That's a really good, really fair breakdown and way of looking at it with some perspective.

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I don't think there's any one stat that really tells the story. Though Save% is probably closest. Consider a system that gives up a ton of shots, but keeps them all to the outside. You're going to boost your Save% in that type of system.

You just have to watch the games. And I don't know enough about goaltending to really know when Miller is on or when he's off, save for the general feel I get. So I take the impression I got, and listen to what the coach is saying, etc.

Ham

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Do you believe yet?

i said the same damn thing last year and got bitched at! what the fuck?

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miller had 2 "bad" seasons, 07-08 being the glaring hole in his resume. in 06-07, the sabres did nothing that resembled defense. it was "rush 5 men up the ice and let miller do the rest" and it worked. millers numbers wernt pretty, but he was very solid for a team that was caught up ice ALOT.

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I somewhat agreed with you. I know that some stats don't tell the full story unless you watch a game. For example, Tavares may score 35-40 goals this season, but how many of these will be great goals or just tap-ins on an open net?

There may be some teams that defend really well and limit shots to dirty angles, but the only example I can think of right now is New Jersey. That being said, I'm not going to say that Brodeur shouldn't have the numbers that he does because his team was amazing. I think most of us will agree that, in his prime, Brodeur was one of the greats.

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The Rangers are a team that does that too, a reason why Lundy's stats are always so high.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

The Rangers are a team that does that too, a reason why Lundy's stats are always so high.[/quote]
It may help his stats, but he's an elite goaltender (top 5). I'm willing to argue this until I can't argue anymore.

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I am, you know I am. I am Canadian.
#1 Hockey Nation.

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"If you want to know what I've been doing lately, I've been driving around from Tim Horton's to Tim Horton's, rolling up the rim. Haven't won anything yet. Thanks." - Lindy Ruff

What do you mean "what if"? We've all watched the games and we know what kind of shots Miller has faced. The Montreal game alone proves that the quality of shots he's faced has been legit.

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#1 Hockey Nation.

As long as he is okay with admitting his own suckage, which he is, i am okay with millers criticizing of his teammates. But man, it's a loooooong season and I think it would serve everyone better if he was less of a dick about that shit and more supportive. Positivity, in the long run, ALWAYS wins over negativity. Let the coaches coach, control what you can control and be constructive and supportive.

I'm inclined to cut Miller more slack than other players because he's a super star and a goalie. So, whatever makes him happy and and comfortable playing, is also cool with me. I like Vanek's approach a little better.

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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

It's a Ryan Miller thread, better get the kid gloves out!

Let's go bitch at Vanek for thirty pages for dropping one f-bomb.

I'm glad some people are realistic enough to harp on Miller, deserved or not. He's always gotten pedestal treatment.

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Your singling out that one game. Like I said before not in every game he faces a decent amount of good shots. I'm just saying SV% and GAA at this point are not great things to look at to give Miller the benefit of the doubt. If you can exempt Wins this early on this season, you can do the same with SV% and GAA. Plus Ottawa and Toronto both have starting goalies with pretty bad SV% and GAA's and yet they are performing at a pretty good level.

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"If you want to know what I've been doing lately, I've been driving around from Tim Horton's to Tim Horton's, rolling up the rim. Haven't won anything yet. Thanks." - Lindy Ruff

YA totally agree with you. He's a great goalie. But some of the goals that he's let in the last few games a top NHL netminder should be able to save those.

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"If you want to know what I've been doing lately, I've been driving around from Tim Horton's to Tim Horton's, rolling up the rim. Haven't won anything yet. Thanks." - Lindy Ruff