GAME DAY: Ottawa Senators @ Buffalo Sabres - 7:30pm ET - Fri. Oct. 22nd, 2010

I thought the salaries of hurt players counted against the cap unless they were on LTIR. If that's the case, we don't get a break from either Leclaire or Kuba

SeawaySensFan wrote:

PKC wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:Call-ups are not the solution anyhow. The existing roster just has to pick it up. Gonchar needs to be the PP savior we hoped for, Spezza needs to be a PPG player, Karlsson has to be a step above "sucky", Fisher needs to produce...

Basically a slight improvement from everyone in the lineup should do the trick.

So what you're saying is, if everyone plays to the potential they can play to, that this team will be fine?

Not even. Just a slight improvement from what they are bringing right now. For example, Kovalev and Foligno should do something instead of nothing.

Don't tell Kovalev, he thinks he'd doing just fine right now.

But seriously, Foligno and Regin have been the biggest disappointments so far because these guys were supposed to help take some of the scoring load off guys like Spezza, Fisher, Alfredsson and Michalek. They aren't doing their part and that's why this team is in the Dung. Once everyone gets on the same page and people start putting the puck in the net on a regular basis and we can get any kind of consistency out of the defensemen (who should be a competitive group) then we'll be able to close the gap in the standings.

It could be a lot worse. This team isn't the case of an "if" it's the case of a "when".

PKC wrote:

shabbs wrote:Z. Smith was sent down... so we're only carrying a 22-man roster.

Is that counting Kuba and Leclaire or no?

With both those guys its at 23...and I don't think they put Kuba on LTIR (my understanding is that's the only way to officially take off a roster spot through injury and thus the cap space).

So in order to call up butler, they gotta send someone else down. Won't happen till Leclaire or Kuba gets back

TheAvatar wrote:I thought the salaries of hurt players counted against the cap unless they were on LTIR. If that's the case, we don't get a break from either Leclaire or Kuba

It's weird, the Senators website lists both Leclaire and Kuba on the IR.

Michallica wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:

Michallica wrote:

shabbs wrote:Leafs lost tonight... the good luck charm is already working...

I made a change too....who's to say the credit shouldn't go to me?

Careful about asking for credit before the game. If we lose, you might get blame instead of credit

But they were already losing If anything, it had no effect. bah!

Ah ... but ... they might have won if you hadn't changed. We already know for a fact that Shabb's GDT has a positive influence on the outcome but compound effects are unknown ... you couldn't let it be could you ...

PKC wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:I thought the salaries of hurt players counted against the cap unless they were on LTIR. If that's the case, we don't get a break from either Leclaire or Kuba

It's weird, the Senators website lists both Leclaire and Kuba on the IR.

Long term though?

Edit : or maybe I'm wrong and it doesn't matter.

TheAvatar wrote:

PKC wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:I thought the salaries of hurt players counted against the cap unless they were on LTIR. If that's the case, we don't get a break from either Leclaire or Kuba

It's weird, the Senators website lists both Leclaire and Kuba on the IR.

Long term though?

Edit : or maybe I'm wrong and it doesn't matter.

I have no idea dude. I'm confused.

PKC wrote:

shabbs wrote:Z. Smith was sent down... so we're only carrying a 22-man roster.

Is that counting Kuba and Leclaire or no?

Yes, they count as they are not on LTIR. IR still counts as a roster player. And I miscalculated earlier, it's a 23-man roster with Z. Smith down.

Series of updates added:
- Elliott starts
- Hale in, Lee out
- New defensive pairings:

Phillips - Gonchar
Campoli - Carkner
Hale - Karlsson

TheAvatar wrote:I thought the salaries of hurt players counted against the cap unless they were on LTIR. If that's the case, we don't get a break from either Leclaire or Kuba

LTIR is just the start.

PKC wrote:

TheAvatar wrote:I thought the salaries of hurt players counted against the cap unless they were on LTIR. If that's the case, we don't get a break from either Leclaire or Kuba

It's weird, the Senators website lists both Leclaire and Kuba on the IR.

IR just means they are gone for at least 10 days, and a lot of the time it's retoroactive to when the injury happened so by the time the guy gets on the IR he can come off a few days later. When someone is on the IR I believe you can increase your roster beyond the 23 allowed, but you still count their cap.

So only Gonchar plays his off-side (which he's done many times in the past).

Karlsson gets his third (or is it fourth?) partner this season. That can't be good.

Has Miller been confirmed to start?

shabbs wrote:Series of updates added:
- Elliott starts
- Hale in, Lee out
- New defensive pairings:

Phillips - Gonchar
Campoli - Carkner
Hale - Karlsson

Ok, that 3rd pairing does not look any better to me at all. Man, we have some work to do!

wprager wrote:So only Gonchar plays his off-side (which he's done many times in the past).

Karlsson gets his third (or is it fourth?) partner this season. That can't be good.

Very good point about Karlsson. How is he supposed to grow into what he should become if he's given a different partner every game. There is a serious problem there.

Maybe the starter was named in this article, I haven't read it yet.

Bring on the fireworks tonight! It should be quite the game.

The atmosphere in HSBC Arena has been less than friendly for the Buffalo Sabres so far. Boring, losing hockey can't be salvaged by the heavy metal-volume of the arena's music or the incessant barrage of silly blooper videos foisted upon everyone in the house on a nightly basis.

The Sabres are 0-3-1 at home, tied for the worst record in friendly confines in the NHL. They're 2-1 on the road and coming off strong showings in Chicago and Atlanta.

The hope is that they'll continue that kind of play tonight when the Ottawa Senators are in town. All the Sabres have found downtown so far is a surly crowd filling the air with boos because they've seen one goal in the last two home games and a putrid power play that's 1 for 13.

"I don't think you can blame the fans," captain Craig Rivet said Thursday. "They're watching. They're passionate. They want to see a better effort. I don't think we gave a good enough effort to win any of those games. We've been the opposite on the road."

"We need our fans," said center Derek Roy. "We need them to stick behind us. Even on our power play, we need them. Believe me, all the guys in here are trying to work as hard as we can and we definitely need a win at home. Some of [the lack of atmosphere] is for sure our fault. We're going to address that for this game."

The Sabres have played a simple game on the road, but it's produced a lot of scoring chances. They've outshot their opponents, 119-65, in the three road games (opponents have a 121-118 edge in HSBC).

"When you go on the road, the pressure isn't there to perform and be fancy," Rivet said. "When teams play on the road, they play simple hockey, wait for opportunities, wait for the home team to make mistakes."

"We have to keep it simple at home," Roy said. "Move the puck, give it to our 'D,' let them make plays, get it in deep and work the other team. We're best in the zone when we move the puck and move guys."

Trying to break any kind of streak won't be easy against the Sabres' No. 1 nemesis. The Senators are 25-8-4 against the Sabres since the NHL lockout, but Buffalo has won the last two meetings, both at Scotiabank Place.

Ottawa has really dominated the Sabres here, as Buffalo is just 2-10-1 against the Senators in their last 13 at home (counting the three losses in the 2007 Eastern Conference finals). Ottawa has won its last four trips here.

Coach Lindy Ruff has been emphasizing pace and tempo with his team. The Sabres' quick passing game has been a hallmark of the three road games while the attack has slogged along at home due in part to poor passes and the lack of five-man units advancing the puck out of the defensive zone.

The team's 40-minute workout Thursday in the arena was a high-tempo affair, with Ruff banging his stick on the ice to keep the pace moving. He continually implored his players to sprint on and off the ice when it was time to change lines within a drill or to shift to a new one.
"We're squeezing our sticks a little too much. Guys are putting too much pressure on themselves to get results," Rivet said. "Sometimes by playing good team hockey and working hard, you'll get your chances and things will go your way. We need to be looser in a way but still have a high intensity out there."

"Those first four games at home, we just didn't work hard enough," added defenseman Tyler Myers. "Maybe we were tense, but we're feeling good right now. Our work ethic is where we want it to be and we just need to bring it home."

Ruff said he has one simple goal for tonight's game.

"It's to take what we had the last two road games and bring that back home," he said. "I like our focus. The intensity in practice has really gone up. The players realize we have to dig in. Adversity has hit us. [When] we've gone through stretches like this, it's been in the middle of the season. Hopefully, this gets it out of the way right away."


mharrington@buffnews.com

Something to note is that Elliott is 8-0 against Buffalo.

Miller to start.

Ryan Miller, meanwhile, will play for Buffalo. For the season, he's 2-3-1, 2.35 and .915. But, like his team, Miller has been much better of late