Knee-Jerk Reaction: Game 3

Alright, that’s not how you do it, folks. The fans showed up, the arena was insane, and the Flyers were composed through it all. This team went to the Finals last year and it is comprised of a good many veterans, so to think that a loud crowd is going to throw them off their game is foolish. The crowd was there to energize the Sabres, and it didn’t work the way Sabre Nation would prefer…

I am such a big fan of what

Pat Kaleta

became last year, and he’s taking the bait and regressing to taking dumb penalties. Maybe he can’t stand the Flyers because he’s from Western New York…I doubt that. Whatever the reason, that blatant, late cross-check was needless and it murdered the momentum of the arena, and then the Flyers scored. Bad move.

Hahaha! Zherdev sucks and he never shows up in the playoffs. Whoops.

So, when I heard this afternoon that Brad Boyes was getting dropped to the “4th Line” with McCormick and Grier…am I the only one that thought that meant there would be MORE playing time? Sure enough, those three looked awesome.

With Kaleta hurt, I see it as something that could go either way. He’s physical and he scored in the first game, but I think he’s dug a reputation for himself that causes the refs to stare at him every time he’s on the ice. It’s too bad that he got injured, but it might be a blessing in disguise.

Big issue: Dan’s going to be That Guy. That wasn’t the big issue, this is: it is in fact Miller Time, and not in a good way. I’ve never been a fan of the hard time Ryan Miller gets in this town, the constant Mister Softee calls and the people that don’t like him because the Sabres signed a goaltender to $6 million. Do I think he should get that much? Hell no. Would I turn down money that big if my boss wanted to keep me at my job? Hell no. The other thing I hear all the time is just the opposite…Ryan couldn’t see it, he had no chance on it, it went off a stick, it deflected high.
How about this? In a tied series, Ryan Miller got schooled by Brian Boucher. Again.

Positive note: James van Riemsdyk was not named one of the stars of the game, for once.

That last point was just to break up a huge paragraph.
Checking the post-game show, all I’ve heard is “Boucher played really well,” “That first goal went off Weber‘s stick,” and “Butler lost the puck behind the net.” People said from day Negative One that Miller was going to have to bring his A game for the Sabres to win this series, and so far he’s had one good night out of three. I’m ready to ask the question: at what point do you put The Kid in? No, I don’t think Enroth is better than Miller…yet. But every other team in the league recognizes that relieving a goaltender can create a spark, can send a team a message. The Sabres instead insist that he’s always got to play through it…well, you’re running out of games.

Marc-Andre Gragnani had 2 assists…he’s got 4 points, leading the series. No, not leading the Sabres…leading the series. What was I just saying about putting The Kid in?

If you have a 5-on-3 you need to score to win. Unless you’re Philly in Game Two, of course.

The difference between good teams and bad teams is the mentality they bring in to a game after this. Their first pair of consecutive losses since February, they’re down 2 to 1 in the series, and they need this home game to even up the series before this series goes back to Philly. A weak team will fold and go down 3 to 1 before they get desperate, a playoff contender will do whatever it takes to even the series. So far this team has failed to go to overtime two games in a row…we’ll see what they’ve got left in Buffalo on Wednesday.

What did

Miller

say before the playoffs started? He wanted more out of the fans, he wanted support, he wanted them to make Buffalo a rough place to play? Five seconds into the game the arena was absolutely deafening, and by the way this was outside:

The fans showed up, Ryan. You’ve got Game Four to do the same.

If you want to remember what leading in the series feels like, stop on by Broad Street Buzz.