Bruins vs. Sabres Recap: Sabres Lose Their First Shootout Of The Season

That’s the kind of effort I want to see from the Sabres!

was brutal to watch.

Pleasure to watch.

This team has a ways to go b4 it jells & team chemistry gets to where it needs to be. But the pieces are there & philosophy towards more O, less of the dreaded grinding play is easy to see.

That said: 1) Gerbe is the toughest player on the team & they need a 6’3 230lbr with a mean streak like him. 2) Sure #26 is great in front of the net but he’s also the best sniper on the team, put someone else w/good hands in front of the net(28?) on the PP to get hacked like a marked tree & let Vanek freelance around. A 50 goal scorer would be nice again. 3) #72 may be the best O talent since Vanek, how about Making the coaches develop his natural talent instead of sending him to the dog house or trying to turn him another grinding 2 way player. 4) Can we reunite a line of #9, 21 & 26; way more chemistry than trying to force a Pominville Vanek bond.

the punishment was delivered within the first two minutes of the game as he and Gaustad squared off

I don’t think punishment quite applies. Goose took most of the punches – which was to be expected. I’m glad he stood up, but he got more than he gave.

Once again, it was really hard to watch a solid effort by the team go to waste after the Sabres crumpled after yet another blown penalty call. The call on Roy, which should have actually gone to Peverley for holding the stick, sucked the life out of the team and gave Boston the game-tying goal which eventually led to their victory.

The Sabres HAVE to start playing better when the officials start playing favorites. They don’t. They have almost always packed it in when it starts happening. They simply can’t do that. They should go into the game knowing that the game isn’t going to be called fairly, knowing that they’re going to get a bogus penalty (or penalties) at crucial times and bear down. I knew as soon as it was Roy heading to the box that if Boston scored that the Sabres would lose. They have got to start taking the game away from the officials, and not the other way around.

I dunno, I’m more irritated they blew two 2 goal leads than happy they “fought” Lucic and Chara. But I had to go back to work when it was 3-1 just after the Brennan goal.

On the plus side, our defense are contributing offensively (seemingly even more than the forwards) in the past week or two.

Also, considering that we were playing against the hottest team in the league without Miller, Myers, Ennis, Weber, McCormick, Kaleta, or Boyes, a tie (essentially) is not bad at all. Let’s all consider how terribly the Sabres from any year before this year would be doing amidst that many injuries. Glad Pegula spent money on depth, that’s the smartest way to begin your 3-year Cup plan IMO.