miller time?

[BlackGold]

So anyone have any logical reasons that they can share on why miller will finish the season strong? All I've got is a gut feeling (or maybe it is wishful thinking) :-)

[blayze]

Certainly possible, the only logical reason is that he's historically been an elite goalie and he's also a fierce competitor. He's the only guy in the Sabres dressing room who's shown any fire during their freefall.

I think Bryzgalov and Miller are two prime candidates for a bounceback in the 2nd half.

[St. Patrick]

Certainly possible, the only logical reason is that he's historically been an elite goalie and he's also a fierce competitor. He's the only guy in the Sabres dressing room who's shown any fire during their freefall.

I think Bryzgalov and Miller are two prime candidates for a bounceback in the 2nd half.

I still have a hard time with granting Miller 'elite status' (and I know I am in the very small minority on this.

However, simply looking at his numbers I don't see it. This is his 7th season as the starter (and aged 32). In that time he's posted exactly one season with a GAA below 2.50 and one season with a save percentage about .920. I would expect an elite goalie to be consistently better than that. In an era where we still see sub 2.00 GAAs no less.

I realize there is a bunch or arguments to be made re Sabres team, he is a workhorse, he wins 30+ games (which starter doesn't?), etc. etc.

If we are going to call Miller elite then welcome Cam Ward to the club as well. He also has 1 sub 2.50 GAA season and 1 season at .920+ save percentage, and also usually wins 30+.

Not crapping on Miller (or Ward). But when I think of the elite goalies I think of the ones able to keep solid peripherals consistently. Miller is still living off his one superb season in 2009-10. Other than that one season can we really call him an elite goalie?

I do think he is much better than his numbers indicate now and would assume they come back to earth a bit in second half.

[letangerang58]

I still have a hard time with granting Miller 'elite status' (and I know I am in the very small minority on this.

However, simply looking at his numbers I don't see it. This is his 7th season as the starter (and aged 32). In that time he's posted exactly one season with a GAA below 2.50 and one season with a save percentage about .920. I would expect an elite goalie to be consistently better than that. In an era where we still see sub 2.00 GAAs no less.

I realize there is a bunch or arguments to be made re Sabres team, he is a workhorse, he wins 30+ games (which starter doesn't?), etc. etc.

If we are going to call Miller elite then welcome Cam Ward to the club as well. He also has 1 sub 2.50 GAA season and 1 season at .920+ save percentage, and also usually wins 30+.

Not crapping on Miller (or Ward). But when I think of the elite goalies I think of the ones able to keep solid peripherals consistently. Miller is still living off his one superb season in 2009-10. Other than that one season can we really call him an elite goalie?

I do think he is much better than his numbers indicate now and would assume they come back to earth a bit in second half.

I second this.

[letangerang58]

I think Buffalo needs to seriously retool their bottom 6. They have multiple non-checkers playing checking roles. Brad "I like" Boyes and Ville Lamo aren't the greatest players to have in these checking roles. Not to mention all the youngsters they have in the bottom 6. They should have gone for Talbot in the summer not Leino. I think the best thing Buffalo could do is offer up a player like Nathan Gerbe to a team like who is really deep like Nashville or St. Louis for a handful of bottom 6 guys.

Their defense will be bad until they fix this problem which will hurt Miller.

[lektrix]

Bounce back for 2H? That was 3 weeks ago. We're already entering the second third. It's time for these guys to wake the F up!

[letangerang58]

So what do you guys think? Is anyone starting him today. I'm thinking of starting him.

[Front89]

Absolutely...Miller has allowed 2 goals in the last 3 games and looked fantastic vs. the Rangers on 2/1. The team has gotten more healthy and seem to have come off the all-star break with renewed energy/urgency. They still struggle to score, play leaky defense, take stupid penalties etc. which hurts Miller, but I see Miller having his confidence back.