Taro T

Have them ready to play against AZ, keep primarily getting the line matchups you need against the B's rather than abandoning that after 3 minutes of the 3rd, and they go minimum 1-3-1 the last 5 and likely 2-3-0. And simply show up for & win against the Yotes & the meltdowns we've been witnessing the last week don't happen. The other 3 games of the past 5, they were playing teams that were better than them but kept them competitive for the majority of each game. (Truth be told, the B's game was there too.) The premise of the OP is flawed IMHO. This team HAS been competitive in nearly every game. They've won roughly 1/2 of their games and they likely will be back at 0.500 by 11 PM Tuesday night. That's progress over past seasons. (Yes, we're at the point of the season things often go kerplewy, but IMHO this season feels different.) The weird thing to this season is 15 games in, they've only been in 1 game that went to OT. They haven't picked up that "dreaded" loser point yet this year. But had 3 of the L's come in OT/SO then tomorrow's W would essentially have them at 0.600 which is almost exactly where they need to be to not just have an improved season but a playoff qualifying game season. Even with all the excuses decried above.

On TV, yes. In person, the uni actually works.

So, over 13,000 people is "no one." Riiiiiggght. <_< (Sorry, the emojis pull down stopped working on this tablet a week or 2 ago.) Attendance is significantly better than last season. There were no games anywhere close to the attendance they've had the last 2 games in the 1st 1/2 of the year last year. (Edit: the Loafs game might've been up there, but that's the only one even remotely close.) Attendance stunk coming out of THE lockout. By the end of the year the barn was sold out nightly & there was a waiting list for tix by the time that year was over. Attendance will pick up as the season wears on & next year's attendance will be better than this year's attendance. They're playing entertaining games and will be back to winning as early as Tuesday. And there was no way attendance was going to be significantly better than it is at this point in this year even if they'd brought in Trotz and paid for FAs up to the cap. They're on the upswing. Demand for seats is up significantly. This no one will continue going to games. Last year, literally couldn't even give away tix to 2 games and overall ended up subsidizing people going to the games we couldn't attend. This year know that every game the seats will be used & there will have to be a severe downturn in the economy to end up subsidizing other people's hockey fixes. Is it perfect? No. But it's way better than "no one" attending. And it is getting better.

No, they were "all over" the Sabres until they got the goal. They were not all over them the last 70 seconds of the period, nor the opening shifts of the 3rd.

Nobody is going? The last 2 games had very close to a full barn. Attendance is still worse than a normal year but not nearly as significantly as last year except for 2 games so far. But between '79 & '06, attendance was always worse in the fall than after the calendar flip. Attendance will pick up late January/ February and will be better next year.

Right. But now w/ Clague down, Jokiharju is the only extra D-man & per last night Okposo is the only extra F. Both were presumably not 100%. They likely aren't going to have no healthy backups on the big team, so am assuming Jokiharju is as a point where he could play if needed and that Okposo isn't. This team is very close to the cap floor; there isn't really any reason for them to only have 22 healthy bodies at this point of the season. So, am assuming a F will be brought in to have a healthy F available to play Tuesday should a forward's pregame meal not sit well.

Thought Davies going down was due to Jokiharju returning. Expecting this is due Okposo not being fully available & them having no healthy 13th F. Wonder who gets the call up? Sheahan is the veteran down there. Biro has been on fire and earned it. Somebody else maybe?

But Boston DIDN'T score on that next shift. The Rat Faced Git punched Lyubushkin in the face battling for position in front of the Sabres net on that next shift & Buusch got called for roughing reacting to it. The B's then scored on the 3rd shift of the PP. But the B's didn't dominate the end of the period beyond that goal & they didn't dominate the beginning of the 3rd. And, again, IMHO, the game changed on the 5th shift of the 3rd when the B's started to consistently get the matchups they wanted. THAT is where the game changed. And that is on the coach stubbornly refusing to coach.

EVERY team lets a game or 2 slip away. But, like you say, the Sabres margin for error is much slimmer than most and that Yotes game needs to be the exception. And, yes, the game was frustrating as all get out.

When they win at least 3 of the next 4, if not all 4, people will be talking playoffs again. Both takes seem to be overreactions.

Finally saw the DeBrusk shot that seemed in during the game. It absolutely hit the post. But it hit the post so hard, the post moved which is why it seemed the netting moved. Because it had when the net itself moved. Don't recall ever having seen that one before.

Lyubushkin was playing well and then w/in 3 games he got injured though he's played through it for the most part and the team's better defensive D-man also went out injured. So, not only is he still learning the Sabres system, he's also finding himself playing tougher minutes while being at, what, 80%. Not surprising at all his play has tailed off since the Western road trip. When he was signed, though it was a good move but expected he'd be better next year than this one as he'd be fully acclimated. The injury seems to make that a reasonably safe assumption.

Just posted it in the game thread, but the unis look WAY better in person than on TV. They were sharp seeing them in person. But the white pants & white socks w/ b&g looked REALLY weird w/ the HFC sweaters in warmups.

Didn't read the rest of this thread, so don't know if somebody already made this observation. Thought it would be a mistake playing the Mittelstadt line against the Bergeron line, but that was a brilliant decision. They gave them almost no scoring opportunities & still got some chances of their own. Though, obviously they couldn't finish any of them. But it had Boston so frustrated they moved Pasternack back onto the top line late in the 1st IIRC. Actually all 4 line matchups were inspired. Thompson's line vs Hall & Kreji with Cozens line against Coyle and the Asplund line against their big banging line. You knew Boston wanted to have Bergeron going against Thompson as when they got caught out there on a Dahlin stretch pass that didn't work and went for icing that B's line couldn't hop the boards quickly enough. Can't recall if they got any shots on net that one, but they had a couple of shot attempts. And Power's crosscheck in the 1st which led to the SH goal came when Boston got Bergeron vs Tage. And, until Dahlin blocked a shot off his boot, the B's had all of 10 shots through ~35 minutes. Yeah, the B's tied it after Lyubushkin went for roughing and the top 2 PKing D weren't available. But through 40 the Sabres had for the most part outplayed them. At that point, Granato got outcoached. The B's started the 3rd with the Hall line, so Buffalo started Tage's line & they were followed with Bergeron vs Mitts. So far so good. But then with the 4th line change, the Bergeron line took the ice next but rather than flip to Mitts, Granato put the Thompson line out. They couldn't slow that top line & the B's started to control play. They also managed to get Cozens line rather than the 4th line out against their heavy line. Another mismatch. Totally get that Granato doesn't want to play scared, but not sure how getting favorable matchups at home is showing fear. Getting an advantage is smart, not fearful IMHO. Really believe the Sabres could've won if he'd've kept forcing the better matchups. If they play like this on Tuesday, it'll be a loooong night for the Nucks. A couple other observations. Only 40% of the fans were B fans. Expected we might've been outnumbered before the game started. Not the case - cool. The reverse retro unis seem strange on TV but are REALLY sharp in person. No passengers at all today. Mitts & Krebs had maybe their best games of the year. Tuch was doing good things. No idea why the linesman called him off-side on the PK at the end. He played it perfect & everybody was onside by the time he touched it. The Sabres were fast tonight. Players seemed comfortable in knowing where their linemates & D partner were going to be. Though never felt comfortable watching Bryson & Fitzgerald on the ice together. Very glad watching them head to the bench after their shift was done. They played pretty well overall, but had their moments. Right before the Cozens line got the myriad of chances early in the 3rd (no idea how Kincaid kept them all out) it really looked like the B's had scored. Was expecting a call from TO stopping play at any moment. So obviously it wasn't in, but would really like to see it again. The B's fans near us were absolutely certain it had gone in. Had no idea why Granato challenged the puck getting played with a high stick & then they showed the replay and have no idea why the goal wasn't overturned. Bad end result, but fun game overall. Just wish they'd've continued getting the matchups in the 3rd.

Fack it. Expecting a Sabres win tonight. The crowd being 60% B's fans will light a fire for the home team, just like they usually beat the Loafs at home. Yes, the Bergeron line will score 3, but the Sabres will eliminate the damage from the other lines. Thompson's line gets 2, Mittelstadt's and Cozens 1 each, and Dahlin goes off the board and gets the empty netter rather than just an assist on one. 5-3 good guys.

YOU stated "Jack was right in his steadfast stance." You now stating that it doesn't matter whether it was the right decision does not change the fact that you don't know whether he did or didn't make the right decision. Nowhere near enough information yet & it really won't be known whether the decision was correct until we know whether the disk holds up.

With all due respect, they've lacked 2 of the top 5 every game since the middle of the Vancouver game and at least 3 of the top 5 in 1/2 of the other games since then. All of those games except the 2-3 the Lyubushkin missed have had him playing as a shell of himself. That's a crazy bad run of injuries not even 10% of the way into the season. Which has left them with a true 1 most games, a rookie, an injured 4/5, and 3-4 6-9's. That's a crazy amount of injuries at a single position. And, for all the hand wringing around here, this team is still at the mythical DeLuca 0.500 even w/ the D injuries. IF they do fall below 0.500 tomorrow, really doubt that'll be the case for long.

We went to the open practice a few times. You're right, it was a blast. They did some really screwy stuff in the penalty shot competition.

Rodgers & Lawrence are two REALLY ugly chick's. Hilarious that they have Murray barely in the frame. Why did they call Jones Dimes? That one went right overhead.

Bizarre injury situation for them. No forwards with any missed games but the D has just about literally been decimated. Wonder if when Jokiharju is back it'd make sense to sit Lyubushkin for a few days to get him healed up.

Would really give this rebuild a huge chance of being successful if he can do it. Having a 1C plus Cozens, Mittelstadt, Savoie, Krebs, Asplund, & Kulich available gives them a very good chance of having C's 2-4 all filled with guys that are at the top end of those slots. Also helps fill a W slot or 2 too.

@mjd1001 explained it pretty well ~ 1/2 a page up.

Yes he was. Again, team employee. He actually even practiced with them occassionally.

Very good post. Samuelsson absolutely is important and really believe his absence is what caused the 2nd period of the Vancouver game to go kerplewy and the entire Seattle game to be even worse. They didn't know how to TRY to cover for hs absence. But it's not just losing him. This team has lost all of their top 5 at times with the exception of a rookie. And though the 4/5 guy has been back, he's been playing through an injury. And, though that rookie will be a stud, he does his Garry Galley get the primary assist on a breakaway or 2 for the other team imitation on a nightly basis because he's still a rookie and his coach WANTS him doing that so he learns what works & what doesn't work at this level. (Which, while in theory it will make him a better player quicker than if he wasn't trying to make those passes, it doesn't give the paying customers the warm fuzzies.) When Dahlin was out, they were playing an injured 4/5, a rookie, a 6, a 6/7, a 6/7/8, and a 7/8/9. Along w/ at least 3 F's under the age of 21. Nobody is built to survive that.

Probably depends on whether the emergency backup is an employee of the team. That Zamboni driver a few years back likely was the Loafs full time emergency option. If the team doesn't have a staffer that can fill in, they'll likely run w/ somebody local that played high level junior or college but now has a "real" job. (That's how my friend was one of the Amerks fallback guys.)