I know Detroit has been 1st in the league some years and they were out within 2 rounds. You can have the best team all year long, but if they're not a playoff ready team, they're not going anywhere.

I think Darcy has a playoff ready team. Mike Grier, Craig Rivet, Vanek, Pominville, Miller... they all have playoff experience. Miller turns it up a notch in the playoffs, and the way he is playing now, if he turns it up in the playoffs, we could sweep everyone (knock on wood). Still, that being said, you never know what will happen in the playoffs.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

Detroit Red Wings? The Detroit Red Wings?

Since Lindy and Darcy took the helm, the Detroit Red Wings:

Division Champions: 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09.

Conference Champions: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2008–09.

Presidents' Trophy: 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08

Stanley Cup Champions: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2007–08.

And I'm not going to get nit-picky by listing playoff-depth comparisons...

THAT. Is "competitive"...Still wanna talk about how Darcy and Lindy compare to a good team that "doesn't always win the Cup"?

*shrug*

Whatever. We've become content with less and less...some of us, that is.

We're so easy to please...So they take advantage of us. (management.) We can't stand NOT to see a Sabres game, buy jerseys and memerolbilia, even if the Sabres suck.
Man, it's gonna be crazy when we win the Cup...

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"Ah...composite sticks...you can't beat 'em...unless you have a wooden one..."-Harry Neale

In Pegula We We Trust!

Um guys the Wings ARE a dynasty.

How was Darcy right? There are lots of games to bep layed we're still a PO contender and by FAR not up for a cup run. If you really believe Miller, Vanek and a healthy Gaustad are enough to beat some of the juggernauts namely Detroit, San Jose or Pittsburgh you better wake up soon!

Yes, this team is showing more grit, worke thic which is a good sign but the playoffs are a whole different story and right now there are still games to be played. So one step at time and then another. Personally I could see us getting past the 1st round but wait till other games are showing their playoff hockey..

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Sloppy seconds = 6 games "clean" headhunting = nothing
it's obvious Bettman and Campbell are Pens cocksuckers

It's very presumptive of you guys to know what this team is going to do in the playoffs.....since it's DECEMBER.

O RLY? How presumptive of you to know what month it isn't when we are already in the play... wait.

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"Call a cop he robbed Delmore blind!!!"
Rick Jeanerette after Marty Biron's diving save back in 2000.

"I'm going to go to the spa and have a hot tub and massage and relax," Miller said. "That's it, and it's back to work tomorrow." Ryan Miller after clinching the North East division.

I take my lickings for not sucking their dicks all the time as well(introspect has become a sin here). I'm content with the team right now, but I want the fucking cup, NO less. Management has CERTAINLY made mistakes, and maybe all management does. While Darcy may a good GM and Lindy a good coach it matters not. What it takes to get the cup is what matters(and that's all).

I guess me and ice are older guys and I don't intend to apologize for it, but at some point there must be accountability(we've seen enough trust me). You only get so many tries before it becomes redundant. The playoffs aren't that far away, so I'll reserve judgment on these 2 until then(for everyone's sanity). Getting in is one thing, doing anything is another. So ,FOR NOW, it's Darcy and Lindy ROCK!



I know!! We are probably gonna punch each other instead of kiss. Either way it's gonna feel AMAZING.

If the playoffs were today we would easily win the Cup due to Miller alone.

The end.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

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"Go out and run 'em."
- Lindy Ruff, 23 Feb. 2007

I don't think anything is ever a part of any GM's master plan... Whether the team he desires actually works or not is entirely out of his hands. He can put the pieces together, but that doesn't mean they'll move their feet.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

That right there is poetry.

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"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." ~ Han Solo


We truly are not worthy of Miller!

because it worked out swimmingly the last time we tried ridding a goalie to the cup

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Check out my website: http://www.artistzero.com

"That wasn't very nice...I do believe you killed my hat."

Driver of the FIRE LINDY RUFF Bandwagon since 2008.

Yeah, obvious... But, really. Every team in the NHL was put together by a GM. I'm not quite sure how to word this and have it both make sense and not be incredibly obvious, so I think that I am just going to say that all the gripe about and praise of Regier is pointless, because the team speaks for itself. What they do is not dependent on Regier. He put them together; so what? Should he be demonized for not putting together an offsensive juggernaut when the team is still winning, anyway, and it's not offense that wins championships in the first place? Should he be effusively praised because he put together a team that is currently winning, a lot, and because he drafted Ryan Miller and because he created a team that is more likely to win a championship than some of its predecessors were because it's more defense-oriented? Just let it be, and let the team play, and give Regier credit or ridicule for putting together the players, not the play. All of this "they've been doing great so far this year!" and "let's wait and see where they go in the postseason" is just pointless to me, when it comes to discussions about Regier's capabilities as a GM.

I guess, really, having a good GM is crucial, but it's not as crucial as having a GM that isn't terrible. That doesn't really communicate fully what I'm trying to say, but it's good enough.

I'm going to edit this to add that Regier should be judged based on the fact that he drafted the best goaltender in the NHL, the best rookie defenseman and one of the best defenseman period, and brought in the leadership that this team lacked for so long. Those are the players our team revolves around. If Detroit is to receive credit for all the fantastic drafting they've done throughout the years, Regier should not be ignored for drafting Miller, Myers, Vanek, and the majority of the rest of the team. To say that he got lucky is to say that Detroit's dynasty/domination has been an accident. He has yet to draft or bring in a true offensive star, true; but he has drafted a superb goaltender and defenseman. Still, the team lacks a true offensive spark, and it's not necessarily because the players aren't stepping up; that could be placed on Regier's shoulders for not bringing one or drafting one, though Vanek could be one, to be honest; in that sense, the onus to improve is on at least one player and is not Regier's fault. It is not entirely to his credit, either, that certain players have performed as well as they have, but it is his credit for bringing them to the team in whatever means he did, based on their individual performances. How they perform as a team and how cohesive they are as a unit, how that affects their play, where they are in the standings, is not on him. That is the coach and the players.

Again, having a good GM is crucial, but it's not as crucial as having a GM that isn't terrible.


And... yeah. I don't know.

It is what it is (OK, I just added that to be ridiculous).

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

HUSH, YOU.

That was entirely tongue-in-cheek, anyway. Hahaha.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

Well, let's look at certain things we're achieving this year:

When leading after 2 periods, the Sabres are 14-0-0.
2007-08, they were 24-1-5
2008-09, they were 27-1-6

One-goal games this year, the Sabres are 8-1-2
2007-08, they were 14-6-12
2008-09, they were 16-7-9

Granted, our percentages can go down, and I understand that it is early in the season, but please hear me out when I say that this is a much better team than we've been seeing in the past couple of years. The one-goal games have been ugly in the past two years, and we seemingly never win them. They also had a thing for not taking care of leads, which they've certainly gotten better at.

For those saying we got off to a fast start: A fast start is what I would call last year, when the Sabres were 8-2-2 in their first 12 games, and then we know what happened after that. Mediocrity.

This year, in December, we still lead our division (albeit not by much) and we still have many games in hand with teams like Boston, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, etc. We are one of six teams without 10 regulation losses yet this year. This team has that EFFORT we haven't seen in years. We've beaten Washington, New Jersey, and we're undefeated in the Western Conference, teams we're generally unfamiliar with.

The least I can say about this team is that is something above mediocrity, which is what we've been dealing with for so long.

The thing I am most impressed with is one-goal games. If you can win those in the regular season, that goes along way in the playoffs.

And forgive me for the Detroit comment. Would it have been better if I used San Jose?

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

I wholeheartedly agree with every sentiment expressed in this post. I also agree with the objective facts, because disagreeing is… Well, I suppose it’s possible, but… not really. I keep telling myself that it’s too early to be thinking postseason and daily remind myself not to think that far ahead, but it’s HARD when I know that the things this team is best at are the things that cause teams to go deep into the playoffs, that their strengths are exactly the strengths they've needed all along to do that, and that this isn’t just a fast start, because if it were it would be long gone by now.



Was this directed at me? Just wondering, because I referenced Detroit in the post prior to this one. If it was, I wasn’t connecting it to anything you said; I just used Detroit ‘cause it’s the first team that came to my mind as one that is essentially a textbook on how to draft wisely. I don’t even remember your referencing Detroit anywhere, probably because I pay little attention to who authors are when perusing posts, unless it’s an easily-recognizable writing style by which the author is obvious.

If not, ignore that.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran