"Hopefully, it's the last one," co-captain Chris Drury [right] said. "I think the overall theme was, 'You're not going to win them all, but you certainly can control your effort, your focus and competitiveness.' We lacked that for a big chunk of six periods this weekend."The Captain speaks. Now the second person on the Sabres has spoken what a handful of us were thinking. He knows they were wrong, and maybe it only took Ryan Miller to get him to go public with it. Hopefully, a leader like Dru repeating what was said not three days ago may kick his linemates, the injured, and the healthy in the seat of the pants so they'll get into 'hero' mode. Nothing is better than watching these boys play with heart.
"This isn't a situation where we should be letting each other off the hook," goalie Ryan Miller said. "I think there were some situations where we weren't competing hard enough. I was a little ticked off after the game," Miller said. "Maybe I went a little too far, but I think everybody would say that we didn't compete hard enough to a man. And sometimes you've got to voice your opinion."
Miller seems to be saying his statements may have been too harsh. I know he knows they weren't but I think he is softening them up a bit so the Captains look like they feel the same thing beforehand. I'm sure they did, but they didn't voice it to the press first. He's also stating everyone is to blame, and no one is off the hook for not trying. Very admirable for a sophomore. Probably couldn't say it better or at a better time than he did. Kudos.
"He was right," co-captain Daniel Briere [right] said, referring to Miller. "We didn't play very well in front of him those two games."
Both Captains decided to say something, and I think that's excellent. I've never been prouder than now. The team is recognizing the problem and the three most important people on the roster are trying to fix that. I wouldn't be surprised if the playoffs do start tomorrow night and they play like they did in last year's playoffs.
Ruff said he wasn't aware of Miller's outburst. But he didn't disagree with his goalie. "It's OK to be angry," Ruff said. "As long as the player takes care of his area before speaking out, I'm OK with that. ... Everybody should be upset with what went on in those two games. And he should be one of them."
Nothing like a team banding together and the Coach right there behind him.
The last time we saw that was February 22nd. The Ottawa Brawl. And if we play that way all the time, we'd be unbeatable. I want to win 23 games in the remaining schedule.
We, the seventh man, have the power to make that happen. Stick with your team. Will them to work hard. The city of Buffalo is known for being hard working, blue collared good citizens. (Really, it is). Nothing would make us more happy for our team if they used the same elbow grease on the ice that we use at our desks, in our houses, outside in the lawn, what have you.
So here's to 23 more wins...and 16 of them starting April 11th.
Let's go, Sabres.
Play with the same amount of heart that we watch you with.
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