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Die By The Blade Doghouse: February 4, 2010

In our second published installment regarding the doghouse, more people are nominated to potentially earn a stay in the infamous place that served as motivation for previously chosen players. For a game or two, Chris Butler, Adam Mair, Derek Roy and, to a certain length, Steve Montador, became better performers once their stays ended. Only this time, we will take a gander elsewhere for a few choices.

The first candidate is yours truly and I'll fill everyone in with the reason. I left yesterday's game thread while Buffalo was trailing 2-0 and later checked the boxscore to see that the Sabres had evened up the match with two goals in less than a minute. I returned to the thread and a few followers suggested I stay out because of how well the group performed upon my exit. I promised them that if Ottawa won in regulation, I'd put myself in the doghouse and surely enough Daniel Alfredsson made sure of that with a late game-winner. My fate is in your hands. Be merciful.

Up next is Lindy Ruff for throwing out the fourth line in the final minute of regulation against Alfredsson's unit. I don't deny the coach's smarts behind the bench but this was a head scratching moment.

Third, we have Andrej Sekera who got carried away (probably because of the excitement from his goal earlier) and forgot about his defensive responsibilities on two occasions. As a result, Ottawa opened the scoring because of his miscue and later the Senators captain had a tap-in at the side of the net to swipe away two points from Buffalo. Because of his goal, I'll place an option with the fourth line if some would rather blame the whole group as opposed to singling out Sekera.

Lastly, Toni Lydman's giveaway down low in the second period led to Jason Spezza's first goal. Leave your votes in the poll below and if I missed anyone, feel free to let out your frustrations in the comments. To show what a good sport I am, I will begin by voting myself in the doghouse as promised.

Poll
Who should be in the doghouse in your opinion?
Rafal Ladysz
19 votes
Lindy Ruff
30 votes
Andrej Sekera
22 votes
The Fourth Line
24 votes
Toni Lydman
20 votes

115 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 10 comments |

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Can I vote all of the above?

Hahaha just kidding Rafal.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Feb 4, 2010 11:31 AM EST reply actions  

We’re all gonna need to be at the top of our game next senators game.

Rafal’s going to need to chew out the sabres every time they make a mistake, Andy is going to have to polish that jersey, I’m gonna put all my sabres stuff on my couch, and Dave is going to have to write the most epic game thread post ever.

I’ll also bust out my Spezza voodoo doll and put all the needles in his wrists so he can’t shoot, just for good measure.

March 26th better be marked as “revenge day” on your calendars

Not even the Toronto Maple Leafs could kill my optimism

by Ubiquitous on Feb 4, 2010 11:54 AM EST reply actions  

agreed. March 26th is a friday night. We need as much people on that game thread with all their goodluck stuff.

"Be a wuss at home! Be a man on Rumblings!" - Kurupt

by bflo on Feb 4, 2010 12:29 PM EST up reply actions  

Lydman has deserved the dog house for a while

His second period give away was inexcusable, I have been saying since before the road trip that Sekera needs to be playing. He missed Alfredsson on the last goal but he adds another defenseman that can handle the puck and score and he adds to one of the deficiencies of this team, the power play.

by Dawgy780 on Feb 4, 2010 2:38 PM EST reply actions  

Lindy’s in the doghouse because he is the coach and, as such, is responsible for putting his best players on the ice at crucial times.

But, really, the whole team is responsible. They are unfocused and unprofessional. They are unwilling, perhaps, unable, to do what is necessary to win.

The bubble has burst and the team is headed downward in the standings. Who knows how much further they may sink. I do hope, however, that they do not, I repeat, do not make the playoffs. They will only embarrass themselves and us fans by being trounced in the first round.

by Geolover on Feb 4, 2010 5:11 PM EST reply actions  

The bubble has burst and the team is headed downward in the standings. Who knows how much further they may sink. I do hope, however, that they do not, I repeat, do not make the playoffs. They will only embarrass themselves and us fans by being trounced in the first round.

How can you call yourself a fan and in the same breath say you hope they don’t make the playoffs? If you were truly a fan of the Buffalo Sabres you would be cheering the team as far as they can go and not hoping for them to lose.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Feb 4, 2010 5:44 PM EST reply actions  

I didn’t say I was hoping they would lose in the playoffs. I am hoping they do not make the playoffs, because the will lose. Of course, I will be cheering for them to win as I always do, but I know they will disappoint me in the crucial games, because this team always loses the big ones. The makeup of the team needs to change.

by Geolover on Feb 4, 2010 6:03 PM EST up reply actions  

How is losing in the playoffs more embarrassing than not making the playoffs? Especially after being in a 2nd place tie in the conference earlier in the season? I would think that kind of downward spiral would be far worse than an early exit.

I think we could easily make it through the first round. Using a “if the season ended today” mentality, the first round matchups would be: WAS/TBL, NJD/PHI, BUF/MTL, and PIT/OTT. Now I know that the likelihood of those being the actual matchups 2 months from now, but I would love that first round matchup. So far this season we are 3-0-1 against the Habs, dropping only the season opener. Assuming they take care of the Flyers in the first round, we would then be looking at taking on the New Jersey Kovalchuks in the Confrerence Semis. We are 2-1 against NJ this year (1-0 at NJ). Conference Finals would be what worry me, taking on (again, in this hypothetical scenario) Washington, Pittsburgh, or they who shall not be named.

…I’m just sayin….

by The Burl 8 on Feb 5, 2010 1:13 PM EST up reply actions  

negative nancy

man I hope you got some good reverse psychology working for ya…I agree with D.O. root them on as far as they may go. You never know, hockey like all sports is weird, underdogs win all the time, one strange bounce could change the outcome of a playoff game or series.

Get rid of the ugly slug.

by North Java Sabra on Feb 4, 2010 7:04 PM EST reply actions  

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