Taro T

Does this mean we're no longer worried about his "low" rate of point production? Asking for a friend.

For an extra hour drive, there's always Syracuse.

Have a buddy that's a huge Bills fan living there. Wonder if he'll go to both games.

Well, like Yogi used to say, when you come to a fork in the road, take it. 😉

Don't agree, which is fine. There are degrees to most plays and for an assisted crashing into a goalie it can go anywhere from a Pens 'ooh, we brushed shoulders, now watch the shoulder-first dive through your goalie's mask' to a 50-50 thing, to what we had here where the Sen was not going to even be in the crease had Dahlin not done something you teach your Squirts not to do - don't drive your opponent through your own goalie. If McAvoy does something that painfully stupid, though the expectation is that Jack Edwards would call for Krebs' immediate execution and praise St. McAvoy for defending his goalie from the intruding horde (huh? Wtf were you watching, Jack?). Unless one of their power tools like the Rat Faced Git were out there, Peyton probably survives the incident. And this is all the most hypothetical of hypotheticals as it is truly doubtful Krebs has the puck on Kincaid's doorstep w/ both McAvoy and the 1st line on the ice. 😉

98% sure Lyubushkin is injured (and not just hurt) which is why the consistent drumbeat to put him in the pressbox for a week after Samuelsson is back. He's of almost no use right now and is costing the team goals it can't afford to give up but he's still better than Fitzgerald even now. Wasn't editorializing on Okposo, just happened to think of it now and threw it in there for whatever it's worth. And to the 3rd paragraph - that's where the big fear of prioritizing development over wins fits in: nobody's losing their resolve over a few 2 game losing streaks when they have some victories over good clubs in the rear view mirror and they're seeing strides being made. But should a 7 game L streak wind its way up to, say, 12 games then even for a guy like Tuch that desperately wanted to be a part of this rebuild, it becomes a long drive into the office for a morning skate or practice.

And only 7 regulars that are 27 or older and 2 of them are the goalies. (Suppose Hinostroza could be added, but as he's the 13th F when all are healthy didn't include him.) As we all know, these guys are skewed crazily towards youth.

Even in a "it's the result of the play, not the intent nor even the reason for the play" league, it is really difficult to justify pounding on the Sen when Dahlin sent him full force over & through his goalie. Without Dahlin having a Risto moment UPL is still an Amerk.

YES! Good day sir; have you a few moments to learn of the gospel of the DeLuca 0.500 and how it can improve your life?

Faaaack. Any word on how long Comrie will be out?

Don't believe it's complacency so much as they're gripping the sticks too tight leading to bad shots & bad passes which kills the offense and ends up becoming an amplified feedback loop. And at that point they now all try to do it themselves and nobody except the true 1st liners win those 1v1 battles cleanly consistently. Being forced to have Power on the 1st D pairing because they have no other remotely adequate options with Samuelsson out, Lyubushkin a shell of himself (hoping it's playing through that injury that has him playing so brutally; if it's mental, we're hosed, just sitting a couple of games won't make it better), and Bryson exposed for being the 6/7 he is. Getting Samuelsson back will help a lot as the top pairing should be able to pick back up as a true top pairing & Power can anchor the 2nd pairing. Should Buusch get his issues sorted out they can have an effective 2nd pair and still like Jokiharju & Bryson (or Pilut) as a true 3rd pairing but don't like any of them as a 1st or 2nd pairing guy. Anybody else notice the 2 games they've looked the most lost out there were 2 of the 3 games Okposo missed? Coincidence, correlation, or causation?

Agreed, they are too young. And there's a concern that with such reliance on youth they're set up to be Edmonton (pre-McJesus) East. That said, and definitely don't want to see this suffering going forward - next year they need to be playoff caliber & still believe they can be in the mix even w/ this annoyingly frustrating stretch this year. But (and they'd better be fun before then) the kids here now should be fun to watch when they start hitting their primes. And there should be kids stepping into the lower roles and because of their raw talent levels should be contributing as well.

Anybody else up for contributing to a Go Fund Me account to get Blue to become a Bruins fan? 😉

You said after Christmas. It appears the Yotes games are sold out this year. They are capped at 5,000 seats. So, they aren't selling any more tix after this Christmas. The Sabres have sold at least somewhere north of 6,500 seats to every game this season. They will sell more after Christmas (not necessarily many, but at least some) as they have available ticket inventory. So, the Sabres will sell more than the Yotes after Christmas. You going for some other time frame in the next 3 years while the Yotes are still the 2ndary tenants on a college campus? The result will be the same.

Well, that's just because you don't understand that those are the exact same thing. Heck, being 7-3-7 is probably worse because it gives the fans a false impression that the team is good. Just get back on that 82 point pace (providing they aren't so pathetic as to lose a game in OT rather than regulation, they'd then need an 83 point pace to be good) & all will be well. And remember, it would be better to be 10-10-0 from here than to go to 9-3-8 from your theoretical 17 game start. All hail the DeLuca 0.500!

Actually, it is an exaggeration. The Sabres have already sold more than 5,000 seats to every home game this season. The Yotes can't say the same.

No, no, no. We've been told for years that DeLuca 0.500 is some mythical wonderment that means a team is good. Surely, it must be.

Would have to look closer at some really bad teams from the past to say that for sure. Don't forget, for the vast majority of the NHL's history anywhere from 2/3's to nearly 4/5ths of all teams made the playoffs. Just because teams made the playoffs didn't mean they weren't awful. The Sabres fans have the misfortune of supporting a team who's owner decided a tank was a good idea when only 1/2 of the teams make the playoffs. But, yeah, this is a historically futile team. Hoping they find a way to shock the Loafs and get heading back in the right direction.

Not only 0.500. DELUCA 0.500!!! They were there 3 games ago. They can be back in no time & then all will be swell. (They'll be on pace to miss the playoffs by 14 points, but they'll have won as many as they lost.)

2 weeks ago? Heck, they were playing hockey against Boston 2 games ago. It was a loss, but it was a hockey game. Tonight wasn't. This could have been the worst game of the Granato era since Ullmark returned to action.

He was. Should've watched Moonshiners instead. Just as dumb as the last 2 Sabres games but nowhere near as annoying.

Well, maybe Moe-ray-all will be looking past them. Otherwise 90's night could easily become the 10th in a row.

Get that it's a development year again, but on a 6 game losing streak, in a 1 goal game, why isn't the bench shortened especially w/ Girgensons down. How difficult would it be to nail Krebs & Bjork to the bench while ut's a 1 goal game? You have to get A W before anybody is going to be doing ANY developing.

He can get back on track offensively hopefully, as he's still ridiculously young, but yes, he's been trending that way. Fast, good at 1v1 battles, aggressive, & hands that just aren't working like they should. He can still get the offense going, but thought he'd start doing so this year. (Really surprised to see your comment. Thought this kid was the only one thinking that way.)

Lyubushkin HAS to get shut down when Samuelsson comes back. He's better than the 6, 7, & 8 that have played a lot of hockey but not at 70-80% which is what he's been playing at since taking that shot off the leg. Play the big 3 25+ each & Jokiharju 19-20 while Buusch is out but they can get through 3 games that way then bump Henri back to the 3rd pair & either Bryson or Pilut out of the lineup.