Buffalo Sabres 1-0 Philadelphia Flyers: Buffalo Answers Call Again
by Rafal Ladysz on Apr 21, 2011 12:19 AM EDT
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PrintIt might be the first playoff game the Buffalo Sabres had to win, but their regular season was filled with these urgent moments. Victory for the Philadelphia Flyers meant that one foot would be into the next round for the defending Eastern Conference Champions. Ignoring Game Two, the goaltenders have been stellar and their duel has shown that the room for error is excruciatingly minimal. Ryan Miller's pedigree left people shaking their heads, as did Brian Boucher's counter-punch.
Nathan Gerbe drilled Blair Betts less than a minute into the game, getting the audience involved and loud. To add further sting, Patrick Kaleta rammed James Van Riemsdyk against the boards and surely, more than a few listeners heard Harry Neale accidentally refer to him as (John) Vanbiesbrouck. With their energy, Buffalo came out to a flying start and hemmed their opponents in their end. Boucher chants were echoed throughout the arena and as quickly as they started, Mike Weber's infraction silenced them.
On the powerplay, the puck lost itself in the middle of a scramble and it came loose for Ville Leino. Were it not for Chris Butler's quick thinking, Philadelphia's unit would have celebrated their advantage. Jason Pominville opened his account for the postseason after a heads-up play from Tyler Ennis behind the net and a Rob Niedermayer dish. Just minutes later, Tyler Myers slid to block a shot from Van Riemsdyk, as the Flyers were stretching the ice beautifully with their long passes.
Although Myers and Brad Boyes rattled the iron, the leading club was on thin ice towards the end of the period - metaphorically speaking. A suspect idea from Marc-Andre Gragnani nearly proved costly, as he decided to connect with Miller to ease the pressure. Only the goaltender didn't make his move and Philadelphia recovered it outside of the trapezoid area to almost equalize. For the visitors, Jeff Carter left early because he and Myers innocently bumped knees while crossing paths.
Gragnani, almost a mirror image of Andrej Sekera, found Niedermayer with a firm pass early in the second period. As instrumental as the veteran was on Pominville's marker, he was equally poor on this chance, waiting far too long to shoot and Boucher wasn't troubled at all. Philadelphia came out with purpose and positivity, outworking the home side to loose pucks and winning races. What chances did come Buffalo's way were squandered, notably a two-on-one involving Mike Grier and Cody McCormick.
Darroll Powe brushed a shot off the post and Daniel Carcillo bumped into Ryan Miller, resulting in a glove-hand retaliation. Peter Laviolette became disgusted with the fact that Weber was not penalized for taking down Carcillo, as offsetting minors were called instead for the other two. When Kaleta skated at Mike Richards to throw a hit, the captain braced himself by lifting his elbow; worthy of two minutes - not the five.
The penalty carried over into the third frame, but the Flyers were standing up the Buffalo forwards on the blue line and hunting down them down. Two shots on the five-minute major gave Boucher little of a workload and his teammates found extra life from the penalty kill. Humorously, Kaleta invited Nikolai Zherdev to have a seat by opening the door to Buffalo's bench and the Ukrainian fell inside his enemy's quarters. While line changes blocked him from getting out fast, he made it back to the right side.
They say that good players don't follow the puck, it follows them. Claude Giroux's possession time didn't seem to subside, as his guile and patience were embodied from start to finish. But it was Daniel Briere, so often a tormentor of Buffalo, who had the opening he craved. Paul Gaustad's error rewarded him with a break-away without the actual break-away. All by himself, Briere was in disbelief because his fakes didn't fool Miller and the electricity from the crowd let him know.
In the dying moments, Ennis delicately flicked a pass to himself above the defenseman's reach and met it, but Boucher was equal to the task. Coming back, Richards fanned on his release somewhat and Miller recovered the shot despite being off his feet. Then, Thomas Vanek's fluid movement to get free was undone by Kaleta's crashing of the net before he tried his luck on Boucher. Chances flowed for both sides but the enthralling match had reached its limit for goals.
As it drew to a close, Kimmo Timonen put his stick where it did not belong on Gerbe and hacked his delicate region. How the league looks at that will be interesting. Everybody on the ice found themselves short on controlled emotions. Scott Hartnell wanted to halt Gerbe's altercation with Timonen, but apparently wasn't interested in challenging Gaustad to another fight. In the end, it was of small significance by comparison to the final score.
With four games down, the Sabres are alive and back in a frantic series that promises to bring more of the same in its remainder.
Man Of The Match: Ryan Miller. Got better as the night wore on and saved well to deny Briere and Richards. Indebted to his defensemen for their shot-blocking early on, but amazingly ensured that one goal would do the job like he did in Game One. Stamped his authority on the match and deserved the clean sheet.
Flop Of The Match: Kimmo Timonen. Normally a quiet and inspirational rearguard, he lost the plot after the concluding whistle. Very strange choice from the 36-year-old and easy to see why Gerbe didn't skate away.
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I applaud your objectivity
but disagree that the Richards elbow should have been 2 rather than 5. That was a cheap, cowardly move – raising your elbow to the head just because you don’t want to get hit. In the regular season he may have gotten a misconduct.
by Frank Reich Revolution on Apr 21, 2011 12:31 AM EDT reply actions
Richards
He was chirping at the refs all game. He’d be better served (as would Philly) to shut his mouth and keep his elbows down and just play. Too bad the Sabres couldn’t muster but a couple shots with Phillys best PKer in the box, but in the end, it mattered not! Friday is going to be “good” for sure. Can’t wait!
by buffaloparks on Apr 21, 2011 12:41 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I appreciate your respect towards my trying to stay unbiased.
I read the Flyers recap of today’s game and they said Gerbe took a run at Timonen, which showed Buffalo’s true colors. I guess they missed Timonen taking a crack at his cup. That’s the broad street bitches at their best. They do something gutless and won’t even admit it.
http://twitter.com/RafalLadysz
by Rafal Ladysz on Apr 21, 2011 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions
Rafal, Timonen’s spearing wasn’t shown at all on CSN, so none of them have seen it.
On the Mike Weber bandwagon!
Sabres took the scenic route, but they still MADE IT TO THE PLAYOFFS!!!1
It's all over ESPN
And VS, and TSN.CA…..get on the internet or turn on a television and watch the play.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
Yea their recap is a joke
Not really sure what Kaleta even did in this game, maybe one of their invaders can explain to me…
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
That’s exactly the thing the league claims they’re trying to eliminate but they have consistently given free passes to star players on large market teams over such infractions. I have no doubt they will do so again in this instance.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
The league has never considered San Jose a large market.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
How many star players in large market are guilty of such infractions though?
I can’t think of any off the top of my head. Heatley’s the closest I can think of before this Richards incident and he was suspended for 2.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
Ovechkin
He may not be in a large market but, along with Crosby, he is one of the faces of the league.
I know he charges like it's going out of style
but is he guilty of a head-targeted hit?
Save Jenrry Mejia!
He’s gotten two game misconducts in games against the Sabres for headhunting without being suspended by the league for them. The second one took Kaleta out of action for months with a concussion. Ovechkin was finally suspended shortly thereafter for another headhunting incident, this time against Brian Campbell of the Blackhawks.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
IIRC, that wasn't headhunting (checks where the primary point of contact is the head)
it was boarding (hitting from behind).
Save Jenrry Mejia!
agreed
richards should be forced to sit the next one.
and get off Butler’s jock. Implying that that guy thinks at all, let alone quickly, is absurd. He definitively cost us game 3, and in this game, his wild shots and loose puck handling got us in trouble a number of times. He’s easily the worst player on the ice, and to not qualify any good play he makes with a reference to his overall crappiness severely undermines your credibility. #34 is constantly oblivious to where his teammates are, takes ridiculous shots —which have been rewarded in just 2/86 games (..or he may have sat a couple…), loses the puck on the blueline all the time (or as in tonight’s game, simply skates it out during a PP), and can’t pass for shit.
Never thought I’d say this, but Sekera needs to return ASAP.
he saved a sure goal in the first period, whether you like it or not
http://twitter.com/RafalLadysz
by Rafal Ladysz on Apr 21, 2011 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions
I think you should get off Butler's jock...
Blaming him for Game 2 is a bit rash. The puck got stuck on wet ice, and he got (minorly) hooked on the play. But after he turned it over, who helped him out? Miller let Hartnell walk out in front and no one covered up in front on Briere.
And Richards should not be suspended. 5 minute major was the right call and should be enough.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
He’s easily the worst player on the ice,
Sanity. It is what you lack.
by twoeightnine on Apr 21, 2011 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions
Does anyone here have the ability to upload Timonen's alleged nut shot on YouTube?
As was mentioned in the gameday thread here, CSN Philly never showed it.
If it is bad as you say it is, then I, a Flyers fan, agree Timonen should be suspended for it. However, I cannot say for sure until I have seen it for myself, and unfortunately, I have yet to be afforded that opportunity.
Writer at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Keep Hope Alive
Can’t find a version of it, but this is from the Flyers’ game thread
I live in the horrible horrible zone of the world that both gets CSN Washington while somehow also being in the CSN Philly blackout zone (so I can’t even watch via NHL GameCenter). So I’m watching the first round via bootleg streams, and tonight I was treated to the MSG feed.
I hate to say that Timonen’s alleged "stick burying" is 100% true. They showed a replay after the fracas. I was pretty shocked. They didn’t give the clip any context, so I’m unsure what exactly prompted this highly un-Kimmo-like action.
by RogueLeader on Apr 21, 2011 1:56 AM EDT up reply actions
by maestro110584 on Apr 21, 2011 7:36 AM EDT up reply actions
Miller,Kaleta,Gerbe and Pommerdoodle
Miller shutout, Gerbe hit of game, Pommer GW and Kaleta opening the bench door for Zherdev! A special shout out to Miller punching a couple Flyers already in this series. Lets go Buffalo!
Rookies are like teabags...you don't know what you're gonna get until you put them in hot water. -Harry Neale
Agreed on Kaleta. They are acting at BSH like Kaleta stomped on Zherdev’s throat. I thought it was just funny. Remember when Marty Turco did that earlier this year to a member of the Blues? That was funny, don’t even act like you didn’t laugh when that happened. It even made TSN’s That’s Hockey 2Nite’s awards for “Lighter Side Moment of the Year”. Lighten up Philly, that shit was funny, and no one got hurt.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
Agreed on Kaleta. They are acting at BSH like Kaleta stomped on Zherdev’s throat. I thought it was just funny. Remember when Marty Turco did that earlier this year to a member of the Blues? That was funny, don’t even act like you didn’t laugh when that happened. It even made TSN’s That’s Hockey 2Nite’s awards for “Lighter Side Moment of the Year”. Lighten up Philly, that shit was funny, and no one got hurt.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
Agreed on Kaleta. They are acting at BSH like Kaleta stomped on Zherdev’s throat. I thought it was just funny. Remember when Marty Turco did that earlier this year to a member of the Blues? That was funny, don’t even act like you didn’t laugh when that happened. It even made TSN’s That’s Hockey 2Nite’s awards for “Lighter Side Moment of the Year”. Lighten up Philly, that shit was funny, and no one got hurt.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
oh lord SBN is cloning comments more than once now!
On the Mike Weber bandwagon!
Sabres took the scenic route, but they still MADE IT TO THE PLAYOFFS!!!1
Yikes
I apologize, I swear I only hit post once….
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
What is wrong with the folks over at Phillys SB nation?
They’re acting like Kaleta is some kind of joke.
by TrentEdwardsHoF2018 on Apr 21, 2011 2:23 AM EDT reply actions
Nikolai Zherdev’s weight opened the door to Buffalo’s bench and the Ukrainian fell inside his enemy’s quarters
And some of you are wondering why we Patrick Kaleta think is in a class with Sean Avery. Another example would be the run he took at Mike Richards after Richards passed the puck, which prompted the now controversial 5-minute elbow penalty call from the notoriously awful official Francois St. Laurent.
Writer at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Keep Hope Alive
Even if it was a "run" at Richards, Richards took the bitch way out throwing that elbow.
And Kaleta’s door action was brilliant. You know you’d love it it that was Carcillo doing it.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
No, that is not true
I would call it a dirty move if Carcillo did it. Because it is.
This may surprise you because I am a classless, fight-loving, Santa-booing Philly fan, but I believe Briere to be a dirty player. I like his goals, but his dirty, cheap stick infractions annoy me to no end.
Richards passed the puck. Kaleta had more than enough opportunity to hold up. He did not. Richards, knowing that Kaleta, a dirty player capable of great arm, was coming at him, turned around and braced himself, in part by getting his elbow out. What Chris Kunitz did to Simon Gagne was a bitch move. What Richards did was a 2-minute elbowing minor. For it to be a major penatly, there needs to an intent to “foul” the opponent with the elbow (Rule 45). It is admittedly vague, but I do not see self-defense in this instance is “fouling” the opponent.
Writer at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Keep Hope Alive
Stop taking yourself so seriously. You demonstrate your level of intelligence well enough in the context of your posts — prefacing your posts with smug disclaimers about your objectivity isn’t going to trick anybody into thinking you’re smart.
You don’t see self defense as fouling? That’s your interpretation of the rule? So in your opinion, if a player is about to check you, warding him off with your stick is appropriate? Or perhaps buffering the blow with the bottom of your skates is better? You sir, are a moron.
Putting your elbow up in anticipation of a hit is about as dirty as it gets in hockey. Checking is part of the game and to play by basically refusing to take them, not only are you cowardly, you absolutely risk injuring players each and every time you do it. He didn’t put his elbow “out”, he made a deliberate and calculated attempt to put his elbow up and into the face of the oncoming player. That’s not a bracing move.. Or perhaps you could explain how it is? I’d surely be interested to know what added balance you can achieve by throwing one of your elbows up?
Or here’s better project, Mr. Objective —take a look at videos of what is typically deemed minor elbowing and make the case that there are often instances where far more vicious attacks result in just two minutes. I anticipate that you will have difficulty doing this as vicious elbows, like the one that dirtbag Richards threw, are not a big part of the game. I’d love to be surprised though.
by Dred Scott on Apr 21, 2011 6:08 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
You don’t see self defense as fouling
Not in this particular instance. No.
if a player is about to check you, warding him off with your stick is appropriate? Or perhaps buffering the blow with the bottom of your skates is better?But I did not say this.
You sir, are a moron.All 21 years of my life I have been looking for confirmation about what I am from you. Thank you. My life is now complete.
Checking is part of the gameYes it is. Trying to hit a player long after he passed the puck is not. See the video for yourself.
He didn’t put his elbow "out", he made a deliberate and calculated attempt to put his elbow up and into the face of the oncoming player. That’s not a bracing move..Or perhaps you could explain how it is? I’d surely be interested to know what added balance you can achieve by throwing one of your elbows up?But making a 90 degree turn to avoid an oncoming player going for an illegal hit is. It so happened he got his elbow up. Probably intentional, yes, but should have been a minor penalty.
Or here’s better project, Mr. Objective —take a look at videos of what is typically deemed minor elbowing and make the case that there are often instances where far more vicious attacks result in just two minutes. I anticipate that you will have difficulty doing this as vicious elbows, like the one that dirtbag Richards threw, are not a big part of the game. I’d love to be surprised though.You. Cannot. Be. Serious.
Writer at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Keep Hope Alive
While I don’t agree with the way Dred Scott portrayed his argument, I do agree that you (and other Flyers fans) are making Kaleta out to be some super-villain that he is not. Go back and watch the last 4 games and you will see several hits, by both sides, that are as late, if not later than Kaleta’s attempted hit. Kaleta at least knows the rules and coasted in to make the hit. Richards, cowardly, threw up his elbow at Kaleta’s face. It deserved a major, and I wouldn’t be upset if we got that same call. Richards intended to deliver a blow with his elbow to Kaleta’s face. That is a major.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
by willgarr15 on Apr 21, 2011 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Kaleta is a guy that is easy to hate, but you would love on your home team. He is a frustrating player, and you are mocking fans for voicing their frustration as ill will towards Kaleta. I’m sure you’ve never bad mouthed a player that’s irritating to play against ever. Everyone gets on a high horse every now and then, we’re people, we have the tendency to make bad decisions and say dumb things when frustrated.
Kaleta is a thorn in Philly’s side, they are venting in their way about, OMG it’s totally normal human behavior, how shocking.
Teaching Travis how to Dougie since 2011.
Geoff has Boosh, Mike's got Powe, Nodl is all mine!
They aren’t voicing frustration, they are going beyond and attacking his person. Your author said “He is a terrible person.” I’m the first to admit I would hate Kaleta if he played for one of my hated teams and would probably like (I won’t say love, because unlike Kaleta, he actually spends more time in the box then he causes from the opposition) Carcillo if he came up in the Sabres organization. However, for them to just place all the blame on Kaleta for this game is just off-base and ridiculous. If Kaleta pulled the move that Richards did, people around here would be PISSED that Kaleta would pull such a bone-head move.
To your point there were people around here last year that wanted Chara’s head on a stick (I did before and after but not for this) for putting Ennis into the bench during the first round last year. I did not. I thought it wasn’t really that out of the realm of playoff hockey to be that big of a deal. So, don’t accuse me of being as blind as philly fans are now when things are frustrating. I try very hard to not shoot off about a loss until I’ve had time to digest it. I’m sure everyone is frustrated, but what I’m trying to say is relax, and actually look at the events from last night now that we’ve all had time to digest and lower our blood-pressure and analyze them. Kaleta did his job for us last night, but to be honest he was half as cheap and dirty as Carcillo cross-checking and interfering with Miller on several occasions. Kaleta laid a couple LEGAL body checks and opened a bench door (and if we want to go real far, tried to avoid Boucher when he lost an edge and crashed into the net, he easily could have at the least swatted Boucher’s legs with his stick while falling and made it look “innocent” like Carcillo did). That isn’t even opinion, that is a fact. Go back and watch the game again if you can’t see it past your orange-colored glasses.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
So, don’t accuse me of being as blind as philly fans are now when things are frustrating.
We are both individuals, we should not be judged by the most vocal members of a mob, because, well, they tend to be the least intelligent. There is also something called tongue and cheek, you see it a lot in Travis’s writing. I’m not accusing you of anything besides at some point in your life over reacting to an irritating/frustrating player and bad mouthing them…and you wanted Chara’s head on a stick in general, so there you go (I do, you do it, we all do it despite our best efforts). We are humans, we get wrapped up in things despite our best efforts not to…no need for everyone to act holier than thou about everything (this isn’t directed to you necessarily, just everyone in general in every sports community). They vent in ways that help relieve the frustration., if Kaleta is so offended by the attack on his person, he can always file a slander suit.
That isn’t even opinion, that is a fact. Go back and watch the game again if you can’t see it past your orange-colored glasses.
I don’t know if you noticed, but I didn’t make one claim on here about Game 4 as far as who was dirty or cheap. All I said was that Kaleta is a frustrating player to play against. Please try to keep your anger with other people’s statements separate from our conversation if at all possible. I am just making a commentary on people in general. One side over reacts, the other sides gets high and mighty. It’s ridiculous IMO, but it happens every time. I’m not sure why you feel the need to take a shot at me; I watched the game, I have my opinions, I agree with somethings, I disagree with others…but I’m not going to get in to a fight over my opinions of other people’s actions, so I’m keeping them to myself.
Teaching Travis how to Dougie since 2011.
Geoff has Boosh, Mike's got Powe, Nodl is all mine!
I don’t necessarily disagree with much of what you’ve said but I do take an issue with you coming to our site and trying to promote rationality here when irrationality runs rampant on your own site. As you said, we’re all humans – maybe we just want to be a little irrational, overreact a little, from time to time. If you’re really concerned with people overreacting you need to read the comments from your own site. Here’s a quick sample.
Miller is an asshole. We’ve known it for a while, the rest of the world is getting introduced to it. I would pay to see him get tea bagged by Ron Jeremy.
I say if Carter is still hurt next game, we dress Jody Shelly to come out on the ice once and beat the shit out of someone (Kaleta). Then we can just play with 11 forwards the rest of the way… unless of course another asskicking is needed.
Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, Millers rapin everybody!
my issue is this: why is it that Buffalo’s piece of shit gets all the respect in the world when someone harms him, while our (I won’t call him a piece of shit, but you see what I mean) ends up in the box for getting mauled all game??
That was a small sampling from one article’s comments. I’m not saying you’re personally responsible for all your fellow fans, but if someone’s taking a blowtorch to your house are you going to slap the cigarette out of his mouth and say “careful! that could cause a fire!”? I’m sorry, that wasn’t a very good analogy. My point is – you’re upset with us for taking things too far and your own site is taking things way far-er, and in much less logical ways.
Willgarr made an entirely rational argument
While I don’t agree with the way Dred Scott portrayed his argument, I do agree that you (and other Flyers fans) are making Kaleta out to be some super-villain that he is not. Go back and watch the last 4 games and you will see several hits, by both sides, that are as late, if not later than Kaleta’s attempted hit. Kaleta at least knows the rules and coasted in to make the hit. Richards, cowardly, threw up his elbow at Kaleta’s face. It deserved a major, and I wouldn’t be upset if we got that same call. Richards intended to deliver a blow with his elbow to Kaleta’s face. That is a major.
and you goaded him into overreacting with your incredibly facetious response. I can’t in good conscience sit by and let you pretend you’re the one being more level-headed when you’re clearly fanning the flames.
"The horse jumped over the f#@king fence."
- KV
by TEMSON on Apr 21, 2011 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree…and I am on BSH trying to get people to be a little less ridiculous. I just haven’t gone to the post game thread because there is too much there to shift through…just check out my comments on the other threads (Morning Fly By and the one on St. Laurent) there is only so much ridiculousness you can try to control. It’s not like I’m just on here posting.
I was just really trying to get people to take it easy on Justin (it was a continuation of the whole thread, not just the one response…I put it where I thought it flowed logically), and my only facetious portion of the response was about never badmouthing a player….which was my other point. Kaleta plays a role very effectively, and that role affects fans as well as players. In no way did I goad him, I was facetious to prove a point that we all do it, and used it in only one sentence of my initial response. Then I just mocked the idea that people get upset over human nature as if it was somehow shocking to see it.
I don’t really care who is more level headed. I know I’m not level headed when people over react to human nature…nor to a pretend to be (hence why I commented).
Teaching Travis how to Dougie since 2011.
Geoff has Boosh, Mike's got Powe, Nodl is all mine!
In my opinion, being facetious (even if only briefly as you claim) is goading. But if you see it differently I guess that’s the end of it.
"The horse jumped over the f#@king fence."
- KV
If you care, I’m getting raped by members of BSH for trying to be rationale.
And that’s fine if you consider even a little bit goading, then to you it’s goading, and I’m sorry. But you also made it seem like the entire response was snark, when it wasn’t. I typically use a little sarcasm to make points on SBN, but I should remember to be more polite when making my point as a guest on another team’s blog. My apologies.
Teaching Travis how to Dougie since 2011.
Geoff has Boosh, Mike's got Powe, Nodl is all mine!
Also, I’ve spent more time today defending Ubiquitous on BSH than I have spent commenting over here. So it’s not like I just look for BSH community members to stick up for…if I feel people are being ridiculous to someone I generally point it out. And if people think I’m being ridiculous, I’m okay with others calling me out on it.
Teaching Travis how to Dougie since 2011.
Geoff has Boosh, Mike's got Powe, Nodl is all mine!
Yeah, and most of them aren’t really serious about wanted to put Shelley in to goon it up.
Putting a one-handed pronger in to goon it up, however, seems to be ok with them.
On the Mike Weber bandwagon!
Sabres took the scenic route, but they still MADE IT TO THE PLAYOFFS!!!1
I think I’m for a one-handed Pronger too. In fact, are there any other players who can’t really play they’d like to put in their lineup? Maybe a one-legged Forsberg could make a comeback for them.
"The horse jumped over the f#@king fence."
- KV
This
I wish I could rec on mobile.
Enjoys long walks on the beach, Molson Canadian, and making the playoffs.
by AcesNines on Apr 21, 2011 2:01 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
if you view full website instead of the mobile website you should be able to mobile REC – no?
When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts.
by J2 on Apr 21, 2011 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Yikes, thanks for the defense while I was out fellas
DLJr…sorry to lump you in with most of the other Philly fools over-reacting their asses off over at BSH and to lump you in with Justin. However, you came to defend his responses so I kept the argument going on you, though most of my points were directed at him. I just want you to know that I try to take the emotion out of it before I spout off about the games or the players.
I’m not trying to pretend like Kaleta is a saint, but the guy is good at what he does. The fact that he is a known pest and known as someone who lives on the edge, he has a pretty damn good PIM +/-. I don’t know the numbers, but I’m sure Carcillo with his 986 PIM in 282 GP cannot be on the + side of that equation. The fact that people (not necessarily you) are complaining about Kaleta like he played the dirtiest game ever makes me laugh out loud because I thought your pest, Carcillo, was worse last night. Honestly and objectively as I can possibly look at it, that is how I feel about both of their games last night.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
That’s the thing, I think Kaleta is excellent at what he does, absolutely excellent. I’d take him on the Flyers in a heart beat. The guy plays his role very well, he gets players off their game. I’m just surprised that people are shocked when a player that can take other players off their game can get fans to spew vitriol. Just part of how effective he is (not that making fanbases over react is a hockey skill, but you get the point).
I think Carcillo got a bit of a raw deal, but that was watching it live with my Uncle from California who I haven’t seen in 9 years…so it wasn’t like I can swear by what I see. I also tend to think, after all his diving in the playoffs last year, Carcillo has really f’d himself in the eyes of most refs. So I have a preconceived notion he won’t get the calls he should…so I’m not 100% unbiased when watching him play. Last year he was a beast though 3.0 Penalties drawn per 60 versus 1.2 penalties taken. This year he only drew 1.5 per 60 while taking 1.6. So something did change…and I think the crap he pulled in last years playoffs did play some part in that (it was honestly embarrassing as a fan to watch), along with Carcillo being on a short leash this year for playing time.
Anyway, I enjoy coming over and reading things from the Sabre perspective, and appreciate the hospitality.
Teaching Travis how to Dougie since 2011.
Geoff has Boosh, Mike's got Powe, Nodl is all mine!
just going over this really quick —did you post a link to a an elbow that got a player suspended as evidence that typical elbows that deserve minor penalties are more vicious than Richards’?
by Dred Scott on Apr 21, 2011 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
This guy is so dumb that he posted 4 videos of elbows that league came back and either suspended the player or subsequently made a rule allowing them to suspend…He also, in defense of his ridiculous take on a rule, decided that in “this particular instance” his take is correct —that’s not how formal logic works dude. Either “self-defense” cannot be considered “intent to foul” or it can. You can define a new criteria for why this doesn’t violate the rule, but you can’t just say that “in this particular case, I’m right”.
….and you went from saying that it was a bracing move, to accepting the intentionality of it, yet didn’t differ on your view of the hit at all. Why post that shit originally if it was so insignificant?
You have to be kidding. In what way was what Kaleta did in any way dangerous to Zherdev? I’ll admit it would probably annoy me if it happened to a Sabre but you can’t honestly claim Kaleta put Zherdev in any kind of danger for injury (unless you’re willing to blatantly lie). Richards and Kimonen on the other hand both tried intentionally to injure opposing players – and again, there’s no way you can deny that unless you’re ok with lying through your teeth.
I think its patently absurd that the notoriously “tough” Flyers are whining about the officiating (as though they didn’t watch game 2) and cheap shots (as though they aren’t the ones most frequently committing them).
Hopefully the league sits Richards and Kimonen, though I doubt they will. Neither deserves to be on the ice if they can’t play fair. Those plays were gutless and honorless (I know, not a word, you get the point).
"The horse jumped over the f#@king fence."
- KV
Didn’t say it was dangerous. Just dirty.
And pointing out that what Rafal said in the recap about “Zherdev’s weight” causing the door to open and is a factual inaccuracy.
Writer at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Keep Hope Alive
My point remains, Flyers fans are acting as though Kaleta opening the door is a HUGE deal. It was a non-issue. Dirty elbows and spears are a big deal – they should be dealt with by the league.
"The horse jumped over the f#@king fence."
- KV
You said:
Or here’s better project, Mr. Objective —take a look at videos of what is typically deemed minor elbowing and make the case that there are often instances where far more vicious attacks result in just two minutes. I anticipate that you will have difficulty doing this as vicious elbows, like the one that dirtbag Richards threw, are not a big part of the game. I’d love to be surprised though.
implying in-game penalties, as was the context of our discussion beforehand. I came back with links to videos of four vicious elbows, all attacking, more blatant offenses than Richards’s elbow last night, and each of which got two minutes or less during the game, for whatever reason (three of the above were penalized, and only two actual elbowing penalties). There are instances where elbows have gotten 5 (Matt Cooke’s hit on McDonough that he is still suspended for, being one of them), but a lot of instances of elbows like that punished only after the fact. We had never mentioned out-of-game discipline before on this thread, so I treated everything as in the game discipline. If you had implied post-game discipline as well, then I apologize for not doing my due diligence on that matter.
Lastly, while I have come on here and we have disagreed on the subject matter, not once have I insulted anybody personally. You do not know me, I do not know you. Insulting someone over a hockey opinion is needless and it only devalues the point you are trying to make. If you want me to take your opinions seriously, you are going to have to stop that because it takes away from the discussion.
Writer at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Keep Hope Alive
Oops
This was supposed to be a reply to Dred Scott’s comment, not yours, TEMSON. My apologies for that. I clicked the wrong comment by mistake.
Writer at SB Nation's Philadelphia Union blog, The Brotherly Game. Follow me on Twitter.
Keep Hope Alive
Your inability to think rationally takes away from the conversation —me calling you dumb perhaps only detracts from the conversation in the sense that there’s no need to restate the obvious. And I could care less whether you take my opinions seriously.
If you’re too stupid to realize that suspending a player based on a play (i.e. vicious elbow) is the league communicating that they found that play to be worthy of punishment exceeding 2 minutes in the box..well then you should probably find a new job.
You make a valid point about in-game vs post-game punishment. However, if I were you, I’d count my blessings because that 5 minute major might have saved Richards from being suspended for a game. Kerry Frasor said on TSN that he thinks the penalty doled out during the game affects Campbell’s decisions in retrospect. I think he will feel that the Flyers paid the punishment by having to be down a man for 5 minutes and will not suspend Richards, when they should have.
Also, the fact that other referees didn’t do their jobs and give a more viscious elbow a major penalty does not make the actions of last nights referee wrong, but I can understand your frustration in that context. All I know is that if a Sabre pulled a move like that in that game I would have been pissed at said player, not the referee.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
The lifting of the automatic suspension against Chara last season...
…simply blows this entire argument out of the water. Campbell has amply shown that he is more than willing to overrule his officials in the playoffs to ensure that star players remain on the ice.
"I could have conquered Europe, all of it, but I had women in my life." - King Henry II of England
All I know is that if a Sabre pulled a move like that in that game I would have been pissed at said player, not the referee.
The funniest part of this whole thing is, we as fans always complain about consistency, but Laurent has been consistent with blows to the head this year (small sample size, but still). He seems like the kind of guy, if he thinks it was a blow tot he head, he’s going to make the 5minute call. So whether I liked the way the game was called or not in game 4, I have to give him credit for consistency.
Teaching Travis how to Dougie since 2011.
Geoff has Boosh, Mike's got Powe, Nodl is all mine!
Oh Stop It!!!
You need to RELAX. Kaleta is in no where near the class of Sean Avery. Kaleta keeps his shit between the glass. He may hit that second or so too late, but so does everyone in the playoffs. His behavior throughout this series makes him look like a damn SAINT compared to Scott Hartnell and Dan Carcillo. Richards was a coward when he threw his elbow into Kaleta’s face. Coward. Take the hit, don’t be a pussy. And stop acting like Kaleta did something so awful by opening the door on Zherdev. Two months ago you guys hated that guy anyways! It was a funny move, no one got hurt, so move on.
And while I’m at it I’ll add my rant on the Laviolette, Carcillo, Weber, Miller situation from the 2nd period…….First of all, Carcillo should have been called for goaltender interference. He hooked (on purpose) Miller’s blocker and goal stick with his while the shot was coming. He then slashed Miller when there wasn’t even a rebound in the vacinity. Then, Miller blasted Carcillo in the face, roughing on Miller. Then Carcillo went limp like a dead fish and Weber face-washed him, which Carcillo embellished the hell out of and fell to the ground. Carcillo then all of the sudden had life again and jumped up at Miller, which Weber quickly stopped with another face-wash. Carcillo then bitched out and swung behind the referee so that he wouldn’t actually have to fight Mike Weber, because even though Carcillo racks up penalty minutes like they’re going out of style, he is not tough, and Weber would have dropped him into next week. Laviolette then proceeded to make a circus out of it, with his ridiculous Bruce Pearl-esque orange tie.
So get off your high horse, and stop acting like you got hosed by the referees. You still had more PPs than we did last night. Two calls went against you, cry me a river! Our first penalty was a joke, I saw a Philly defender make that same move 3 times last night and no call at all. That’s hockey. Suck it up. The truth is you couldn’t beat Miller, Period!
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
I appreciate you pointing that out.
In all honesty, I only saw the play once yesterday and that was during the period itself. The angle I got was straight on Zherdev and I couldn’t see what happened behind him. I’ve made a change to the reference of this situation in the article.
http://twitter.com/RafalLadysz
by Rafal Ladysz on Apr 21, 2011 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions
Kaleta probably knew Zherdev would fall if he opened the door but he also had to, in my opinion, because his teammates were coming off the ice. If Zherdev hadn’t been there, he probably would have done the same thing.
by Gareth Braxton on Apr 21, 2011 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions
Love it.
All tied up. Boys are fired up. There is true hate in the ice. Myers dragging “Captain” Richards. Gerbe not backing down from Timonens nut shot. Miller giving it back to “Captain” Richards. Nieds playing like he’s 25. Grier and Kaleta hitting everything that moves. Gerbe and his opening shift check.
Playoff hockey baby. Best of 3 now.
Lets Go Buff a lo!!!
by bflo on Apr 21, 2011 8:03 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
That about sums it up!
Can’t wait for Friday!
by buffaloparks on Apr 21, 2011 10:39 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Myers dragging Richards was classic.
It was like he was dragging a child having a hissy fit to time-out.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
by Ogre39666 on Apr 21, 2011 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
For those who have yet to see Timonen's stick work
Here is a Puck Daddy post mostly about Kaleta but also has the Timonen clip.
Save Jenrry Mejia!
One last thing on Kaleta
I’ve now seen this play over and over and over again and every time it gets funnier. He didn’t even look at Zherdev when he opened the door. Just stone-faced. Great move, very funny. Lighten up Philly, no one got hurt, let’s take the lighter side of things for once and take a second to collectively laugh at Zherdev falling.
"Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup" - Terry Pegula
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