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If I were UPL after that game, I would be drinking too. I don’t care what he does in his off time. But he needs to do better or we need to cut the cord.

Must tie.

It's 4 o'clock, do you know where your children are?

Like he does in net. Ooh PEE…

Lindy pulled him to send a message - to the team in front of Lyon, not Lyon. Lindy also likes to play ‘hot hand’… ? I am done w UPL. 6 years and no consistency. That said, IDK why no Lyon as he is IMO best option w Ellis as backup

Kevyn utilizing a power move? If that is the case, he has more control over stuff than we realize

Passes the eye test. There are times that Byram and Timmons play well together, and it's even a significant portion of the time they're out there; but when they go bad they're Messy-Balls bad and unfortunately those times are significant portions of time too. For the most part, am ok (not good, but ok) with those 2 together when they're at home and they can more or less control which lines they're deployed against. But really don't like them on the road. Still would rather they had a more defensive defenseman up as an option, especially on the road, so they could break up Timmins and Byram, keep from putting Byram and Power together (who are even worse overall than Byram-Timmins via the eye test) and still give Byram somebody defensively responsible to help him out when they can't control matchups.

I was debating going today, but it's absolute whiteout down here in the southern tier and it's not worth the drive in for this team as is currently constructed. I'll watch from the couch and hope they don't suck

Ironically, the same reasons that the PK is working well - guys that are outnumbered getting into passing lanes and using active sticks to intercept or at least deflect passes rather than manning up on someone and trying to take the body are likely the same reasons that overall they seem to be giving up more goals 5v5 to date. When you're outmanned, taking the body on someone gives the other team an even more substantial edge. 5v4 becomes 4v3 or 3v2 when guys play an individual man. Getting in the passing lanes, especially when you have really big bodies (most of the PKers) or reeally high hockey IQ guys (like Benson), tends to limit scoring chances when you're down a man or 2. Throw in better goaltending than you've gotten in the past, and the PK ends up fairly effective. But at 5v5, taking space away from a guy or actually manhandling him will be more disruptive than simply trying to take away a passing lane. Still would prefer Wilford gone, but if they could limit his duties to ONLY running the PK, might not hate him sticking around. And, that he doesn't seem to understand, or at minimum he can't convince his troops (aka coaching them), that different situations require different tactics to be successful is a fairly damning reason to get rid of him. And personally expect having Wilford as a coach limits how much physical play Power will add to his game. He plays the way Wilford seems to want him to play. Tough to learn to add other tools to your toolbox when those aren't taught/emphasized.

You have to sit behind him to see it because he turns behind the net to do it. It just seems to be his way of zoning out. It probably comes form how he would do it riding a bike but standing still he could just drink straight on. Quirks of goaltenders.

Reading through the thread, I fully understand the Buffalo sports franchises customers frustration. Many of us are well old enough to remember the “almost did it”, “fell just short in spectacular, sometimes in major sports leagues historic events fashion”. The decades of wondering in the bottom of mediocrity or out right at the bottom of the barrel has shortened some patience. The French Connection Stanley Cup run, 4 Super Bowl losses in a row, the no infamous no goal event, the Drury/Breire run, and now, the KC stonewall of recent. Throw in that aforementioned years in the darkness and it rips the heart out of many, thick skins others, but ultimately, it is our bond as lifetime long Buffalo sports fans. In short, it is our Opus, our glue that binds. Pegula is going through something with his family I wish on no one. And while I am critical of his handling of the hockey club, I recognize it is only a game, and real life events supersede that. I support Terry, and I want him and his family to share in any success these sports franchises can achieve. I thank him for keeping the teams in Buffalo. With all of that said, to Terry, the Pegula family, if this ever gets read to them or even just mentioned, step aside Terry, hire an experienced hockey guy, staff, let them build the team. Give us the chance to share that moment with you when success comes.

Tage Thompson has also seemingly stopped doing all of these things again. It was like he was motivated when he heard he was a bubble USA Olympic team option and decided to show he could actually care and play stronger. I also believe the Sabres do not emphasize physical play and instead emphasize stick work. It's why they attempt to poke pucks free more than separate player from puck through checking. It's why they leave players open in front of the net because they believe by standing in front of the player they can intercept the pass or shot. Some players are good at the puck poking, they all seem to fail at intercepting the pass before the player in front of the goaltender can have an impact. Meh..

I've noticed it too, except for the perplexed look part. I think he purposely sprays it on himself to cool off. I've done the same on bicycle rides- drink some and spray some on myself.

The place I worked at was in Buff, on Delaware and Great Arrow, and was called the Boardwalk Cafe. It was a Turgeon Brother's restaurant with a bar/disco club right next to it and under the same management. They had a real train caboose as part of dining area. We used to see Rico, Luce, DesJardins, Schoeny, Korab, Carriere, and even Gil and Rene (on occasion) among others. They brought their wives and GF's on Sunday evening. We gave them an entire section for privacy, on Sunday night we would have closed the restaurant by midnight if not for them. Good natured group that had fun, and they "wanted to be there". I do recall that Jerry Korab was a guy that stood out in a crowd. He and his wife both really dressed up sharply.

Home game! We have a chance Now I'll have to look for that

This doesn't bother me that much. Not that much at all. The guys have lives and yeah you want them to be dedicated to their profession but... Any problem I have with UPL is I still don't think he's playing that well. And I don't think this is really contributing to his bad play.

I will likely miss some or all of this game. Due to work schedules we're doing our Thanksgiving dinner today.

Confusing statement. Does the coach get on the ice and push them around faster? I think a coach can help take motivated players to the next level but regardless of what is said in the locker room or on the bench the only motivation that really matters is when a player steps on the ice. Either they are going to put it all out there or they are not. A coach does not make Timmins make a bad pass, even Herb Brooks wouldn't have prevented that. Even if a coach does not hold a player accountable (and yes, that's on the coach) a player needs to hold themselves and their teammates accountable. Coaches can certainly negatively impact a team, but I don't see how it negatively impacts a player's willingness to spend their own energy. Even if they don't like the coach they should be doing it to spite the coach and because they hold themselves to their own personal higher standard.

Way to call it, John.

I hope UPL drinks beer better than the way he drinks out of his water bottle. It is hysterical how he does it. He holds it about a foot away from his mouth to the side. Opens the side of his mouth then gets about half a squeeze in his mouth and the rest on his neck and chest. He then looks at the bottle perplexed like it's not working right and puts it back in it's holder. It's fun to watch.

I'm not claiming to know, either, but it seems through his actions/inactions it doesn't appear that he is happy to be here as a hockey owner.

An apathetic owner can still hire quality hockey staff and allow them to operate within a reasonable set budget. That's what the Bruins' owner, Jacobs, does. (Not from an apathetic standpoint but from an operational standpoint.) In that way, his aloofness wouldn't be so damaging. If he has become so apathetic to his hockey franchise, why not simply sell it and pocket the immense profits he would accrue? It's weird and maddening to me.

TRADE HIM!