I dont care what anyone says, hitting doesn't equal winning. Hitting = tough to play against, but not wins, 9 of the 16 playoff teams are in the bottom half of the league in hitting. So that pretty much throws that out.

It's pretty simple actually, Goals For per Game...look at that stat. It explains a lot about why our season is the way it is. Also look at our give aways (410) vs takeaways (293) that also should explain a lot.

Control the puck, you win the game. Another fun stat, we're 3rd in minor penalties, and that needs to be fixed, because our PK is 82% which isn't horrible, but when you figure we're taking 4 minors a game or more, those PPGA start to add up

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

Lydman didn't just suddenly get better when he left the Sabres. He was always a great defensive defenseman.

Well meow 10 of the top 16 teams in the Hits department are in the playoffs right now so it means maybe a little bit more than you suspect. Basically I agree with what you said, hits alone are not going to get you into the playoffs. Teams that hit a lot are generally considered tougher to play against.


Don't pay attention to minor penalties, look instead at Times Short handed. Because of coincidental minors. that raw stat is not very telling. The Sabres are the 11th most short handed team, almost top 3rd in the league so yeah that is a bit much. However, the Sabres are 12th in PP opportunities so it's pretty much a wash as far as the discipline game goes.

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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

The more you have the puck on your stick the less hitting you do.

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Wheelhouse

Hits only count if the other player loses the puck also. And hits are only done on the defensive side of the game.

A big stat is to look at is shots for and shots against and the goals for to the shots for.

We are getting plenty of shots and have a good edge in shots against also. We just aren't finding the back of the net like we should is our biggest problem.

Blocked shots, well we honestly are blocking a decent amount of shots. It might not say in the stats, but when your shots against are lower, your blocked shots may be a bit lower because the other team isn't shooting it as much.

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Um....how much does our defense cough the puck up this year? Our defense isn't good.

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I think some of you guys might be too easy going with the teams defensive zone play. I think this team would benefit from a more aggressive approach. And maybe a few more aggressive forwards as well. See: Kassian, Zachery

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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

Yeah but in those instances when you need to man up and fight for the puck the Sabres are weak. Like off of faceoffs, in the corners, and in front of the net. It's pretty bad. It's pretty awful. Pretty fucking awful, actually.

So yeah I agree with you actually.

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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

I never mentioned our defensive zone coverage and play, I was simply talking stats, if you watch the games you clearly know how bad our team can play at times in our end and other times they look excellent.

It's never consistent enough with our team this year. They are great for 2 games, bad for 5 games but somehow manage to win games, or they don't play well enough the entire game to hold a lead or put the game out of reach.

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Well yeah, I see it too. And it's not hopeless. The thing about stats is that they can be changed, especially with like 40 games left.

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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

Thanks. I don't know why I always mix that up.

Players that hit = better. Hitting may not equal winning, but it makes a player better. Better all around players equal a better team. Almost all of the true best players in the league have a secondary skill that helps their team wins. A lot of scorers on this team do not.

If you don't want hitting in this game, might as well play curling.

I didn't say anything about not wanting hitting, but it doesn't equal winning. You can hit the shit out of the other team, but until we clean up turn overs in our own zone, and missed shots, there's no point in even talking about needing be to physical. Flat out you dont score, you dont win...when you are 40+ games in and dont have a 20 goal scorer yet, you need to evaluate the talent on your team. We have 2 guys that can score consistently right now, and thats Vanek and Stafford, and with nobody else around them doing much, they are the targets of other teams top pairings every night.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

Pretty much, and hitting does not equal a better player at all.

The misconception that hitting equals winning is just plain bullshit. The stat I would want most is time of possession before all others, well except goal scoring and goals against, because the longer you have the puck, the more chances you'll get and more opportunities you'll have.

The more hits you have, the more you're chasing the puck carrier.

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But Skyline, in 1993 teams won on hitting..oh wait its 18 years later? The game didn't change, oh fuck the defenders can skate now? Oh damn, guys can stick handle better now? Oh wait though, enforcers are still relevant...oh shit, they aren't? Well, this game is for pussies, should be curling...

Bring back the days of goons boarding people, and guys running at each other left and right, and 1-0 games, that shit was awesome. After that we can go watch paint dry, and read the dictionary.

You guys wanna watch a train wreck, check out roller derby, it's played on skates, with girls, and hitting, it's right up your alley.

/sarcasm

You want to see some fantastic hockey, turn on VS, MSG, NHL Network, or TSN...because this season some of the best hockey I've seen is being played, just not in Buffalo.

Another fun fact to mull over, the past 5 Cup champs, ranked 25th (Chicago), 6th (Pit), 25th (Det), 10th (ANA), 25th (Car)

So none of those teams are in the top 5 in hitting, 3 of which were 25th in the league, and they all managed to win cups...something tells me Hitting isn't exactly the key to winning

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

Fixed.

Lol, that was mostly a jab for the people who bitch about us not having ice girls, but interns to sweep the ice...wanna see tits, go to Rick's Tally Ho.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

I think most people here were hoping at least one of them would stay. I think almost everyone preferred Lydman over Tallinder.

I wish Loods was still here. But there is so much more wrong with this team than just losing him.

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--Scott

not true.

You can hit on the forecheck and sustain o-zone time and cause turnovers which leads to more shots and goals and wins. therefore hitting can help a team win. it also separates players form the puck in the d-zone

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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

Hitting for the sake of hitting = bad.

Hitting for the sake of creating pressure and disrupting a defense = good.