Missed Opportunity

A golden opportunity was there for the taking but the Buffalo Sabres threw it away.  The Sabres trailed the Bruins by two points in the standings and they led by two goals after two periods, but they allowed the Boston Bruins to come back and win in a shootout.  I am glad I didn't have the opportunity to watch this game because listening was bad enough.  Because I was unable to watch I'll give you some observations from other blogs and sites.

The Ultimate Sports Road Trip had this to say...

"We didn’t deserve a point. Ryan (Miller) got us a point. I think we all realize that" fumed Lindy Ruff after the game, where he called out the entire team for their lackadaisical effort. "Third period? We didn’t play well in with the third or first periods" said Ruff. He specifically mentioned the lack of capitalizing on scoring chances, and in particular described Boston’s tying goal late in the third. "We turned a 3 on 2 into a 2 on 1 and almost a breakaway.... We have to find out why, find out why our energy level was so low."

Sounds to me like Lindy was not pleased with the effort, I couldn't imagine why...being out-shot 17-1 in the third period might have something to do with it.

From Fox Sports.com...

Playing their third game in four nights, the Sabres ran out of gas, particularly in the third period, when they were outshot 17-1. Their one and only shot came with 2:45 left when Ales Kotalik's weak shot from the right circle was easily stopped by Auld.

"We didn't have much for legs. We put ourselves in a bad spot," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "It was disappointing. We didn't deserve a point tonight."

Ruff, though, did credit Miller, who stopped 35 shots but squandered a chance to win his 100th career game.

Miller had a different perspective.

"I'm not really happy right now," Miller said. "It's just unacceptable. We're not letting ourselves off the hook on this one."

I criticized Miller for publicly bashing his team earlier in the season but this time I applaud him.  As I stated above I did not see the game but losing a game like this is unacceptable.

Kevin at Bfloblog wasn't happy either...

Then in the third period they decided that a good strategy would be to not shoot the puck, no matter what. There were three or four chances with players within 15 feet and with a clear shooting lane who decided to try a touch pass instead of putting the puck on the net. It was like Norman Dale took over, but he ordered 15 passes before shooting instead of five.

They played like a bunch of pansies in the third period, and they deserved to lose.

That being said, they did get a point and gained ground on the Rangers...

I think you get the point, it's not a good time to be a Sabres fan right now.  Is it going to far if I say I'm embarrassed?  Next game is Sunday at 6pm against the Florida Panthers.