The number was 3 on February 15th when Miller and Sully went at it in the locker room. It's at 7 one month later.

Sorry. But this is the first time since I've been able to vent about it since the game ended on the internets.

And I'm not roids, just some stuff Barry Bonds gave me.

I know I'll be back on Tuesday to hope and pray this was just an anomaly. See ya then.

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Rest in Peace Nani. 10/3/10

Gerbacity



"Grier coming in over the line. He leaves it to Gaustad. The shot. THEY SCOOOREE!! RING UP ANOTHER ONE FOR THE GOOSE!!! HONK IF YA HEAR THE GOOSE!! 3-0 BUFFALO!"

7 times they've given up 2 goal leads AND lost? Or just 7 times they gave up two goal leads?

EDIT: I'm confused. The Sabres beat the Canadians 3-2 in a shootout on February 15th.

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Wheelhouse

Sorry, Feb 13th, the game that Miller gave up 7 to the Islanders.

Ah right. Tough game. Miller was making his 31st consecutive start. Islanders were playing awesome hockey. They beat the Penguins 9-3 just before.

But I'm going back and reading articles and I can't seem to find mention of that being the 3rd time they gave up a 2 goal lead for a loss.

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Wheelhouse

Last year, didn't they have some incredible record with a 2-goal lead during the regular season? Then they blew 2-goal leads in 2 out of the 3 games with the Bruins in the playoffs. I don't feel this statistic really translates into anything except lost points during the season that could affect their playoff chances. What's more important is how they respond. And given their record since January, they've bounced back strong from tough losses pretty consistently.

I don't think they lost yesterday's game due to a lack of mental toughness. They weren't backing off in the 3rd period - and even outshot Nashville in the period. The late goals by Nashville weren't the result of a dominant effort that intimidated the Sabres. The first goal was bad judgment by Sekera and equally poor play by Miller, not to mention an idiotic referee that should have blown the whistle earlier. The 2nd goal was a lost face-off and a tough deflection, but a stop Miller probably should have made.

That's on me, I misread a quote. The stat is two goal leads blown, not necessarily all losses.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/colum ... 341056.ece

Feb 14th:



http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/colum ... 372308.ece

March 20th:


I'll have to back track how many of these ended up in losses, but I think the overarching point is still valid. Blowing this many 2 goal leads is the sign of a mentally weak team. Yes, I know you'll counter that if any of these games were wins they were able to recover, but the fact remains that while this is going to happen now and then, 4 times in a month isn't a good sign, regardless of outcome.

Okay:

Sabres Flyers. 5-2 loss on January 11th. Blew a 2 goal lead.

Sabres Penguins. 3-2 loss on February 4th. Blew a 2 goal lead.

Sabres Islanders. 7-6 overtime loss on February 13th. Blew a 2 goal lead.

Sabres Red Wings. 3-2 overtime loss February 26th. Blew a 2 goal lead.

Sabres Preds. 4-3 Overtime loss March 21st. Blew a 2 goal lead.

So it's been 5 times during their recent playoff run. I guess it was out of my head because it's been almost a month since it happened last.

Still, like X Pens fan said, it's a pretty simple fix. Get pissed off in your own zone near the end of a game and this doesn't happen.

They showed some emotion last night that's contrary to what they showed after those other losses mentioned above. And that's a good thing.

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Wheelhouse

Requires more research I guess.

Sulladouche and Harrington both have the number at 7, with 4 since 2/13.

You want to blame the players that made mistakes fine, you can do that. For me, I've had enough of referees dictating the outcome of games. This year has been absolutely horrible. I can, without putting much effort into it, think of 4 blatant calls that were missed early in the game and this does not count the hose job done on The Preds 2nd goal. When the goalie has his glove on the puck, the play is dead...end of story.

Refs like Frasier, Hogarth and the likes should come out of retirement and show these young guys how to call a damn game. I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

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"Every time I think you say the dumbest thing ever...you keep on talkin' " - Hank Hill
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula

How can you say they're mentally weak? Doesn't the ability to crawl out of a 10 point hole in late December to put themselves into a playoff position speak to mental toughness? What about the 8 games they've won in OT or shootout since January? Didn't pulling out those wins require mental toughness as well?

The statement of lack of mental toughness holds no validity in the overall picture of what they have done in the past 2 and a half months.

A team that has blown that many 2 goal leads is showing signs of mental weakness.

I'm not saying they don't deserve credit for digging out of the hole they were in. They do. However, it's clear to me that this team can be very soft between the ears at times.

Thanks man. I think the coaches are telling them not to do anything aggressive because they are afraid of being victimized by Dives or the ever popular late 3rd period "even up call" for the trailing team. But having a two goal lead should not be the green light for soft defensive zone play, especially with this young group of blue liners. I say give them less to think about, have them play aggressive and yeah a penalty is going to happen but don't blame your players or the refs, just kill the penalty and collect the 2 points. And if you don't well at least you lost fighting and not playing scared.

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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 concur. And I suspect that has more to do with the coaching then the players, and both parties need to change.

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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

Two TO's caused those goals. I didn't watch the game but caught the highlights.

Sekera needed to chip it out around behind the net, didn't and lost it and it went in, the OT goal, Myers needs his stick on the ice earlier to get that puck out.

Simple as that, our defense is still relatively young, they are still going to make mistakes even after really strong games.

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Agreed. I mentioned that about Myers in another thread last night.

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Wheelhouse

I also concur. I really feel that it's a "prevent defense" that the coaching staff has conjured up. I don't know why they keep going to it when it is not affective (at least by this team). I would think that if you want some sort of prevent defense you would go into a full trap and clog up the neutral zone. If that's what they're trying they are failing miserably. I could only assume that Lindy is concerned that if they press too hard that they'll give up an odd man rush (which was also a recurring issue the last couple seasons).

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I still think it's pretty damn funny that Vanek couldn't get a goal. He had so many chances, after each one he's like "GET IN THE NET YOU DIRTY WHORE!"

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

This loss was NOT because they held back and played boring in the 3rd. They went at Nashville the same way as Atlanta, but just couldn't find the net. They had the chances, and one promising thing from that game was the dominant effort from Connolly-Vanek-Pominville. They generated chances over and over again, but only scored once. Vanek could've made it 8-2 all by himself, but shit happens. The game was lost on shoddy indivual plays in the d-zone and Miller not being at the top of his game (perhaps from injury?).

Funny, I heard it was because he was whipped and his getting engaged.


/sarcasm.

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy