Taro T

Would have to go back and review it, but thought the Rags PP goal was a backdoor play as well. But that was game 1, they've improved a lot since that game (which still only gave up 1 PP goal on 4 chances). Agree on Power. The funny thing is, he IS having a sophomore slump as he gets asked to do more than he was last year. But he's still far and away their 2nd best D-man. Not wishing any of this season away, but really looking forward to seeing what he'll end up doing next year when all this is starting to become old hat for him and also when he will likely FINALLY be nearly as strong as a person with a body that large should be. He can very much be a Lidstrom-style player. There also is a reasonable chance that R Johnson will be getting top 4 usage next year (at least at 5v5) which means Power can have either him or Samuelsson as his partner. Don't underestimate how much having a guy that SHOULD be top 4 as a partner will make him better. (Will also likely make the 3rd pairing better regardless of which 2 guys end up there.) Granato has definitely changed his coaching style to a degree. In tight games, the 3rd period is pretty much always 3 lines (and can drop to 2 at the very end). He also mixes lines much earlier in games when things aren't working. That used to always wait until the 3rd period (except when he wanted to get a guy some extra ice right before a TV timeout was due) but now that will happen earlier if things aren't working. He does occassionally match lines (last night being an example, after having the Thompson line play against the Foligno line to start the game, the Okposo line got matched up against that really heavy line when he could). He NEVER did that when development was the focus. Can't wait for tonight's game and Tuesday's as well. Expect they'll play a lot better tonight than they did last night. Hopefully they do and the better team gets the W too.

You bring up an interesting point about his attachment to his teammates and his coach. The reason he was the best HS hockey player in Minnesota was he wanted to stay with his friends on the HS Team rather than move to Major Junior or a Shattuck St Mary's. MAYBE that helps keep his cost down to the Cozens' level?

It seemed to be shift related because nearly positive Skinner started on that PP but came off at the 1st faceoff during the PP.

He was great in the playoffs when he was an Amerk. He took his game up a level in that run.

Well, that's the Q. HAS Johnson moved ahead of anybody in the top 6. He's playing on the 1st pair right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he is in the top 6. (McNabb early in is career was Doughty's primary partner on the Kings' top pairing but was only 5th in ice time.) It SEEMS he's ahead of Jokiharju on the pecking order but not sure whether that's wishful thinking or reality. IF they're willing to / going to go to a rotation with the D similar to the rotation they went to w/ the F's last year, keep him up. If they aren't ready to cycle through benching a vet every 3rd - 5th game, send him back and bring him up as soon as the next injury happens. Expecting Girardi and E. Johnson will have a lot of input on the decision.

Very possible. But regardless of how things play out this year, expect he's pencilled into Okposo's slot on next year's roster. They may decide they want to go outside to get a more veteran presence there if his play slides, but right now he has the inside track to that job. (And things can definitely change. Just barely over a year ago, it looked like that job was going to be Asplund's now. THAT didn't happen.)

It also gives Savoie a look at how much different the NHL game is from the AHL game and the WHL game. The puck found Savoie a lot in his 3-1/2 minutes of ice time. He was going to good spots to have the puck come to him. That's extremely encouraging. But he put it into a Wild player very often. (He did get one pass through that hit Krebs in the Buffalo on his chest. But maybe 2 others got through. Neither to a teammate in a high danger location.) He was fairly fortunate to not have had any assists on Wild goals as he set up at least 2 odd man rushes from the Wild blue line. He's going to be a very good player. And he'll get another look or 2, but if he plays like he did last night he won't get to 9 games. It really is a shame he can't stay in Ra-cha-cha this year because that seems to be where he belongs.

Because Skinner is a fixture and they continue to give Cozens time there as well. Thompson and Dahlin are not coming off that unit (nor should they even be considered for removal). Mittelstadt has (deservedly) moved up to that unit, but it'll be interesting to see if it's Mitts or Dylan that comes off when Tuch is healthy again. Expecting it's Cozens that comes off, but not positive that'll be the outcome. Would personally like to see Mittelstadt at the bumper, Peterka opposite Tommer, with either Tuch or Greenway down low. When Benson is healthy, try him at the bumper and move Mittelstadt down low. But can't see Granato EVER moving Skinner off that top PP unit. (Nor Okposo getting bumped off the 2nd unit while he's still here.) They try to claim it's a true meritocracy, but politics still play into some of the decisions.

Your comments on the PK overloading on the puck carrier on the goals is spot on. But interestingly, that is what the Wild were doing on the PK all game long and against the Sabres broken PP it was working. Pretty sure that having 2 men in the board battles vs 1 Sabre is what they do against other teams as well (haven't watched any other of their games than just this one, but have seen that they've been the worst PK in the league letting in goals on every 3rd PP attempt against heading into last night) and 2 things should've happened from the Sabres side - they should've supported the player in the 1 on 2 battle to even it up and a 3rd Sabre should've been ready to get the puck and either take the puck directly to the net on the now 3v2 or ready to pass it to whomever is the now open player (like the Wild were doing on their PP when the Sabres PK broke down). They didn't and the PP except for that one right at the end of the 2nd looked very discombobulated. Wiith the Wild's backup goalie in net, their PK was set up to fail if the Sabres were smarter on the PP. A really agressive PK can work (see Carolina's) but it absolutely needs a goalie that can stop the back door shot more often than not and also can stop the clean shot from the slot. And while Fleury might be able to be that guy, their backup isn't. They really need to learn to be less aggressive on the PK when they aren't playing PP's that have no clue. But on that 1st goal for the Wild, Kaprisov just barely snuck that puck under Levi. Levi is CLOSE to being good enough to stop most of those killer chances (and he did stop some others like that). Will be interesting to see if the Sabres PK does become more aggressive later in the season if Levi gets even better at stopping those chances.

3 prospects in the lineup and all playing very well you say? Sounds an awful lot like Levi, Benson (when healthy), and Johnson. 😉

Didn't read through the thread, apologies for comments that are redundant to what's already been posted. Once again they did a very good job on the HFC Night IMHO. One thing they might want to rethink though for next season is not taping the placards for people to show support for particular cancer survivors to the seats. The reason being, it was VERY obvious which seats in the building weren't filled. The 300's were nearly completely full, the 100's about 80-85% full. But the 200's were well under 50%. Still believe Levi's bad game against Calgary was due to him playing through whatever injury it was that kept him out for a week or so. He was lights out tonight. And this time (unlike the Loafs game that he played very well in too) the numbers align with the eye test. He was chosen as the 1st star and it was very well deserved. There were several "we're not worthy" moments. The other 2 stars were Skinner and Peterka. Believe Skinner deserved the 2nd star and based upon the way the media chooses the stars, yes JJ deserved the 3rd star. But holy cow, even though he didn't have any points, Mittelstadt was very good. And that play in the 1st where he skated around/through all the Wild then drove to the net will probably end up being the best play the Sabres have this season that DOESN'T result in a goal. And in the 3rd he was toying with the Wild. The puck was on a string for him tonight. Too bad Greenway's hands were absolute granite tonight because he could've had probably 4 goals off just feeds from Mitts alone. And Mitts wasn't the only one trying to feed him. Did like JJ's game, not implying he didn't play well and the play that sprung Skinner's breakaway was excellent. Was hoping after the 1st period that Cozens would drop the fishbowl and go with a full cage. It was clearly affecting his play. The puck was finding him all night but his hands were off. Girgensons had a strong game too. Not sure why he didn't get a call when his leg was taken out from under him after the shorthanded breakaway he got stoned on. Jost is playing effectively in his role. Liked Dahlin's game and both Johnsons too. Glad the dirty hit from Bogosian on the Big Johnson didn't do any real damage. Also still not sure why Foligno didn't get called for interference on that same sequence when he took Peterka out. Savoie got very little ice time, but didn't do much with what he got either. A lot of his passes got picked off, but at least he was getting the puck. When he gets another opportunity, hopefully he's settled down better. If not, he might not make it to game 9. Have been more impressed with Benson to date. But in fairness, it's too small a sample to really know what Savoie might be able to do. Mildly surprised at how much ice time Rousek got; particularly because he was taking time that Krebs had been getting in games like this earlier this year. Wouldn't be surprised if Krebs was around 6-7 minutes tonight. Rousek seemed to be playing responsibly but wasn't going to be generating any offense tonight. Could see him being groomed to take Okposo's spot next year. That 2nd period was the opposite of what seems to be the way things have gone for the Sabres the past couple of seasons. They were dominated for long stretches of that period, but courtesy of the Peterka intercept that he chipped up to Skinner who did not disappoint, they came out of the period up by a goal. This was a game they probably deserved to lose, but Levi didn't let it happen. And, it's good to see them come out on the good end of one of these. Go win in Pittsburgh and start moving up into a playoff position.

IF he were willing to sign for that, expect that he'd already be signed. He's going to get Thompson/Cozens money soon or he'll be eclipsing them in a couple of years. It's in the Sabres best interest to get him onto a Cozens-esque deal.

Really interested in seeing how Savoie looks and if Johnson the Younger can continue to look as well as he has in his 1st 2 games. Levi played well in TO. Will be interested to see how he plays against a team that (from the stat sheets, haven't watched them yet this year) seems to play a wide open game that DOESN'T have a Matthews on it. Also, presuming Tuch can't go, but Cozens can, am wondering if Cozens ends up centering Krebs and Rousek or if the 2nd line gets mixed in with his.

Am not "comparing" anything. Am pointing out that 20 games of 100+ point Gretzky and ONLY 20 games of Gretzky (who was still better than a point per game player for the 2 following years) wasn't worth nearly as much as people watching casually might have expected him to return. Also, am indirectly stating that even though this is a hypothetical, that contract term will go a long way towards dictating what any potential trade of McDavid might return for the Eulers. Teams trading for McDavid now are only guaranteed 2-1/2 seasons of him. The closer any trade gets to the end of the '25-'26 season will significantly affect the return.

As a purely hypothetical exercise, expect a trade for McDavid would not net the Eulers equivalent value in trade; it just can't. But it would net them more than the Sabres would want to give up. Expecting it would start with 2 of the next 3 Sabres 1st round picks, Cozens, another prospect/player that was acquired w/ a 1st rounder (would likely end up either Savoie or Benson, but Edmonton would be asking for Power to be that piece when the discussion starts), and 1 other slightly lesser piece (this year's 2nd rounder, Rousek, something of that general level). And giving up all that would be painful, but depending upon whether McDavid still considers Buffalo a place he'd like to be long term expect Adams would reluctantly part with that.

MHO, it's as simple as the Eulers have always (well, ever since Muckler left) been bad at drafting anywhere outside the top 5 picks (and even those are hit or miss more than they should be), so they have very little support for the Big Two, and Skinner, while a nice story last year, was a mirage. Maybe he becomes as good as he was getting credit for being last year; but the league is littered with 1 hit wonders in net, expect there's a better chance he's another than he'll be able to pull a Carter Hart and get back to his early pro self after a couple of down years.

Personally, expect that they are developing that mindset. They SAY they can & will win now, but they are in the process of actually believing that. Shutting out the Avs, actually getting a point in Left Turn Lane Land, and a couple of these other games are helping to make that an actual belief rather than just something they say.

EVERYBODY (but @shrader apparently & yours truly) forgets that Gretzky wasn't only traded TO LA. He was also traded FROM LA. Interestingly (or not), Ryan Johnson's dad Craig was one of the pieces that went to LA in that deal. The Kings got 1 1st rounder, 3 players, and another late round draft choice for the Great One. The package was that small because everybody knew he was just going to be a rental for the end of that season.

Would actually prefer the 2nd line to be the 2 way line that can shut opponents down than the 3rd or 4th line, but we're kind of getting into just semantics there. They are definitely working towards having 3 highly skilled lines. Whether the 4th line ends up a 2 way offensively inclined line or a defensively responsible tough to play against line like the Aisles 4th line remains to be seen. (And, that there aren't many guys that could fit that sort of role at present shouldn't be used as a reason to expect they won't be here in a year or 2. This team has a plethora of high end prospects and there isn't going to be room for everybody. Rather than trading all of the excess for futures to keep the pipeline replenished, some could get moved for Matt Martin style guys or those guys could come from FA.) Personally would be very interested in seeing if they could make 2 solidly 2 way lines for the middle 6 and believe that both Mitts and Cozens could center just such a line. That would give them the freedom to make pretty much any sort of 4th line they feel like running with. They already have 5 guys that could fit those middle 2 line roles if all were healthy - Mitts, Cozens, Greenway, Quinn, & Peterka. Could Krebs, Savoie, or Benson (or maybe even Rousek) help finish out rounding out 2 of those style lines?

But if you're looking depth, you have to include the injured guys in that IMHO. And Olofsson, Jost, Krebs AREN'T 7-9 (or whichever of those guys you're chosing as 7-9). The top 9 are Skinner, Thompson, Tuch, Greenway, Mittelstadt, Cozens, Peterka, Quinn, & likely Savoie. Take whichever 3 of those you want to say are 7-9 and throw in 3 of those others and THAT's the bottom half of the F lineup. The D is likely SLIGHTLY better, but it isn't like they're the '05-'07 Sabres D going up against the '14-'15 Sabres F's. Would say the Sabres are 14 NHL deep at F and 7-8 NHL deep at D. Again, it's pretty comparable. My 2 cents. YMMV.

They gave Mittelstadt Olofsson and Asplund last year and then Olofsson and Jost. Cozens got Frick and Frack. How exactly are they jerking Cozens around but coddling Mitts? The Loafs went all in on F's. They have completely ignored D (unless you want to include Reilly who is not good in his own end, which kind of is on brand for them) and wouldn't know a good goalie if one bit them in the arse. The Sabres have spread their $'s out on F's and D. And they seem to be all-in on the kid that they expect will get them out of goalie purgatory. Yes, they want to play uptempo, but they haven't built their team to be the next Loafs. Pretty sure Adams "ideal" model is Carolina, but Detroit and Chicago - 2 teams that stayed at the top for a long time had a lot of homegrown talent the the cores of their teams are also viewed as models of how to do it right. And, not the Yzerplan Wings, the Holland Wings that stayed good when the Cap 1st got implemented.

Yup. And then the 7th D rotation goes however you want out of Johnson, Johnson, Jokiarju, Clifton when all are healthy with either Samuelsson or Jokiharju moving to Dahlin's partner when Johnson the Younger is out and that call can be made based upon whether Muel-Power clicks as well as it should or not. If it's seriously solid, suffer through the 1 game every 5 with Ras-Joker and don't mess with the other pairing. If it's just OK, then slide both Muel and Joker up 1 pairing when Ryan is out. And Bryson is nowhere near that rotation and likely in Ra-cha-cha now that guys are getting ready to come off IR and the 23 man limit is once again limiting.

Disagree. They have 7 D that look reasonable/good in the NHL. They have 1 more low end NHLer and 2-3 more tweeners that are IMHO lesser NHLers than the Sabres current 4th liners. Lose 2 of those 7 D and in a best case you're playing Stillman and in a worst case you're playing Bryson 8 minutes wearing out Dahlin and Power (provided they're 2 of the healthy 5). They're already missing Quinn, Cozens, and now Tuch (not to mention Benson & until now Savoie plus even Biro is apparently injured) but only Olofsson is significantly out of his element (and that's as much from having become a headcase as it is being overmatched). (A case could be made that Okposo is too, but Adams and Granato seem happy to have him rolling along, so it doesn't really count against the overall team skill IMHO. (Self inflicted wounds don't mean better players aren't available within the organization.) But even with all that, the top 2 lines are still good, the 4th line is adequate at worst and getting Olofsson off the "3rd line" might allow even that to become adequate/reasonably good. And they could pull up either Rosen or Kulich to fill his slot if they wanted to do so. Bring Quinn, Cozens, and Tuch back into the lineup and you've got a top 9 (in no particular order) of Skinner, Thompson, Tuch, Greenway, Mittelstadt, Peterka, Quinn, Cozens, Savoie/Benson with Girgensons, Krebs/Jost, Okposo for the 4th line. That, right there has 2 guys sitting in the press box or moved back to Juniors before even going to the Kulich, Rosen, Rousek, Olofsson, Biro cards. The forwards are deeper, and so far that's been a good thing, as the injury bug so far has been plaguing the F's rather than the D like it did last year.

Probably Johnson. But could see a scenario where it's Jokiharju that comes out.

This. So much this. Though the Sabres can also get into an "overskill" game as well when playing lesser opponents where they look for the beautiful highlight reel goal rather than just sending the puck to the net when they have a good chance and working to gain the rebound should there be one. The 1st half of the 2nd period of the Moe-ray-all game is the definitive example of this. The Bills are pretty well defined too. The D will give up a long drive to start the game but then tighten up significantly. They will be very difficult to score on from the Red Zone. The O runs through Josh Allen almost exclusively (he's been a part of IIRC 17 of their last 18 TDs) and as he goes so goes the rest of the offense. They move the ball very well, but get drives stalled from either TOs or penalties. When the O doesn't shoot itself in the foot, it is deadly.