Taro T

Which Ehrhoff move? Bringing him in or punting him? Bringing him in was clearly not Regier's call (or if it was his call, it was heartily endorsed by the boss who loved Ehrhoff). Cutting him was likely Regier's Murray's call as doubt that anyone above him in a non-hockey department role would've said the Sabres needed to buy him out rather than trade him due to the monstrous cap penalty that would've been incurred when Christian finally retired with time remaining on the original deal. Doubt they would've fully understood the repercussions of what a trade likely would've meant about 1 year ago. Or, are you referring to the broader concept of who came up with the plan that would bring on "suffering?"

He's only played 37 games. If he really would be better off playing in juniors, they could send him down and he wouldn't earn an accrued year of NHL service. He's burned a year of the ELC but for 2 more games is no closer to RFA w/ arbitration rights nor UFA status. (Don't believe he was placed on IR earlier in the year that he was out a few games. If he was on IR for at least 3 games then the accrued season boat has sailed.) And regaardless of the accrued season issue, he can always get sent back down to Juniors. Just he can't come back until his team's season is over except on an emergency basis.

He flat out couldn't be any worse. (Speaking as an AC. The jury hasn't even been sent notices as to how he'd be as a HC at this time.)

And it looks like this kid went to bed about 30 seconds before Peterka got the goal that got them going. 2 totally different games. And the play by Clifton to keep it from going to 4-1 doesn't seem to be getting as much love as it should. For the 1st time this year, Levi actually had one of his defensemen keep a sure goal out of the net rather than bouncing something that would've gone harmlessly past the post right into the far side of the net. That was the last time a shot had Levi beat last night. He still wasn't controlling rebounds as well as he would like to have been controlling them, but he wasn't beat again a single time last night.

Not disagreeing nor disputing what either of you are saying. Just throwing out a bit more info. When LA was coming through the neutral zone and into the Sabres zone, the King that's just inside the Sabres blue line HAD been ahead of Kopitar and Mittelstadt had been covering him while he was the most dangerous uncovered King on the rush. But he curled to give the puck carrier (Kempe?) another option and when he did, Mittelstadt did not look back to see Kopitar breaking in hard towards the far post but rather turned towards the King that Dahlin had been 1 on 1 with as Dahlin started to move a bit towards the puck carrier presumably anticipating the possibility that the puck carrier smoked the D (Bryson?) that had him. And in that decision by Mittelstadt, Anze was left all alone. It's a very interesting thought that Mittelstadt actually did what he's being coached to do which is to help with the more easily accessed (via pass from the current puck carrier) threat than the more dangerous threat. Not sure I'm completly buying it as Mittelstadt NEVER looked away from the play in front of him to even know that Kopitar hadn't stepped up to rejoin the attack of the rush as his teammate turned and held the Sabres blue line. Had Mitts looked that way and THEN made the decision he did end up making would give it more credence that he did what they wanted him to do.

Yeah. Will watch the last half of the game tomorrow. Too friggin' late.

Yes, but likely not tonight.

Yep. The long layoff got him off his game. When he's off, that low glove side shot is kryptonite. He absolutely has to have that 3rd one and the 2nd one was bad too. Let him get it back. He wasn't on his game in his Ra-cha-cha game either. Let him spend February in the A and see where he and the Sabres are at come March and put him where it makes sense at that point.

Will catch the full game. Probably right after dinner tomorrow night.

Actually, pretty sure it wouldn't take any effort at all.

But conversely, they're 16-3-1 when they score 1st. Which has to be pretty high on the list. And, basically, we can all turn the TV off pretty early in the game if all that we care about is whether they win or lose. What, somebody scored? Guess we can chalk that one up. 😉

Hoping it continues, none the less. 😉

Le sigh.

At least there are only 2 more games to the AS break. Survive these next 2. Seriously consider a shakeup in the coaching staff. (Wanted the PP coach gone last year. That move needs to happen yesterday.) Definitely need better assistants. Maybe Granato needs to go too. But focus on playing the right way after the AS break and make sure the players realize that they're at minimum playing for their beloved Granato's job and quite possibly their own jobs as well. See how they can play with the sense of urgency of things ARE going to change if they don't change. Let the guys that should've been the leaders this season officially become the leaders next season. (Presumes they don't totally screw the pooch down the stretch. Expect they can avoid doing that.) Really like Girgensons and will be sad to see him go, but he and Okposo need to be gone at the end of the year at the latest. There are a lot of guys on this team that have been leaders at lower levels and they now need the opportunity to step up. The younger guys have deferred to Okposo for too long. They need to step up. They've already suffered through the kids growing pains these past 3 years. There's still some more growing pains for those that aren't (or just barely are) legally allowed to drink after home games; but expect the worst of them can be past provided they fix the coaching issues. Don't see a reason to blow it up once again unless we want to add ANOTHER 3-4 years to this drought. 17 years was the magic # for the Pegulas other major franchise, realize that'll be here before we realize but really don't want to see them do another reset. Kulich likely makes the team next year. At most that is how many rookies should be added to next year's roster. Still would like a vet top 4D brought in. If that costs some of the assets that Adams has accumulated, so be it.

Whatevs.

Fully agree with that.

And what goes around comes around. Blink-182 was SOOOOOOO close. Nobody loves you when you're twenty-two, they all shout out go #### you. What's their age again, what's their age again?

IF UPL is going to get all 3 games on this California trip, agree with starting him tonight. (And join @Brawndo's calls for having Levi in the AHL.) But if the plan is to give Levi one of these next 2 games, why not give your backup goalie the horrible team that is currently imploding and your starter the good team that's going through a rough patch? The idea is to try to win as many games as you can from this point forward, and if you're playing your #1 against the bad team and your #2 against the good team it seems you're going to be looking at a lower expected points than if you do it the other way. Maybe somebody else can explain the logic behind it? (And again, if they think there's a realistic chance that they start UPL all 3 games, then by all means, start him tonight. But IF that's the plan, then why have Levi travel all week and not get any games once again? (Realizing Ra-cha-cha doesn't play until Friday, but the Sabres won't be back for either Amerk game this weekend.)

Don't disagree that teams play the Sabres PP very aggressively, because they do. And absolutely agree that the Sabres run an absolutely awfully structured PP w/ too much of the movement coming from near the blueline. But, personally don't attribute those SHG against as being due to Dahlin being the PP QB. At least 2 of the SH goals against (and probably quite a few more, but 2 are firmly planted in memory (at least for now)) were from somebody else other than Dahlin losing the puck at the BL. Tuch turned the last one over and there was a turnover at the left boards w/ Dahlin not involved that resulted in the other one that is springing to mind. (The other 6 seem to be fading in memory like so much else of this season.) So, if the comment was railing on the Sabres PP structure, please continue on. If it was railing on Dahlin losing the puck at the BL too often, don't believe that is actually the case. Sorry for not twigging to your intent immediately.

Strictly as an FYI, that hot stretch for Thompson was right in the middle of the 6-7 week stretch that the PP was hitting at 34%. Might be a SIMDGE of a correlation there. 😉

That concern is very legit. Expecting that Adams believes when the "core" are actually in their primes that it will be a truly formidible one. But the risk that they aren't / won't be is there and if they aren't it'll cost a lot of the accumulated future capital to fix that. Mildly surprised that Mittelstadt hasn't been extended yet. Suppose it's hard to sell the public (and Adams bosses) on locking up another "key piece" when the team has taken such a step back from last year. But the Cozens deal got worked on in February; expecting Adams will sit down with Casey's agent over the AS break to see what they can hammer out.

Am not fully convinced that the team doesn't develop talent well. The bigger issue is the Sabres develop the talent at higher levels (in large part the NHL: Mittelstadt, Thompson, Cozens, Dahlin, Power, Levi, Benson just ottomh all playing significant portions of either their D1 or D2 season in Buffalo not to mention guys that they've moved on from that also were in Buffalo for D1 or D2 year) than 90%+ of the NHL does so all the growing pains that come with learning to play as a professional are on full display at the highest level available. It's an interesting experiment to which we are all held hostage as the organization tests the mettle of its young players at the highest level of competition available. Mittelstadt when he reached his 24th birthday started to excel in that environment. Would he have excelled in it earlier or later had he played 1 more year of NCAA hockey and then had a year of the AHL under his belt before coming to Buffalo? The same question can be asked of the other young kids as well. Adams seems to be banking on them being able to reach their peaks quicker by being here while also not driving away the love of hockey in his players that are in their primes/ past their primes (and the fanbase as well) while enduring the growing pains that come with young players developing. In many ways the Sabres are the 21st Century's Eulers East, but since sending Eichel packing having not been sending any of the other youngsters out the door (yet) as they continue to accumulate young talent that he believes will eventually mature with a critical mass of that talent. EVENTUALLY the plan almost has to succeed PROVIDED the losing endured while getting to there doesn't burn everybody out before that point is reached. It COULD actually work, but will the cost in lost seasons and lost love of the game have been worth it if it does? And, we need to keep in mind that the plan seeming to ALMOST having to succeed at some point isn't the same is it having to succeed at some point. The anxiety of not knowing that this necessarily will succeed is high and if it doesn't succeed we'll have watched 4 or 5 more years (on top of the earlier 7 or 8) wasted as we get ready for another rebuild. This month is going to be so interesting to watch, because if UPL has finally gotten out of his own head and really is a midtier (or dare we suggest better) starter maybe there is the critical mass of talent in front of him that the Sabres can be next year's juggernaut from seemingly out of nowhere with just a couple of tweaks here or there. (And, flat out, Matt Ellis being reassigned is a tweak that needed to happen months ago.)

Still believe that Ukka Pukka Dukka has a nice flow to it. And it could even become 6K3A (or for our Canadian friends, 6K3eh).

No, there WAS a thread about it on this site. That disappeared sometime last week.

Several of the NHL's fighter used steroids (John Kordic who died presumably from their usage being the most notable) or synthetic steroids (Andrew Peters who admitted to using Andro when it was not on the NHL's banned substance list). Have never heard a credible rumor that players from other skills categories used them. Though would be shocked if NONE of them used them for a bit at some point in their development / careers, but expect it is an extremely small percentage of players that have used them. Would expect a very few might have used steroids or HGH after hitting adolesence to get a jump on others in their age cohort or that some have used HGH to speed injury recovery. And no, don't expect for a moment that Thompson is/was using anything illegal.