Taro T

They said during the broadcast that Bass was 0-3 in warmups kicking into the wind and 2 of the misses were from inside 40 yards. The XP he missed was also into the wind. That is where he got that from.

Focused MORE on D than they had last year. They aren't getting confused with Aisles anytime soon.

Which breeds questions, in a year that the Sabres state THEY are focusing more on D (and personally believe they are), why are the Amerks NOT doing so? (Basing that on comments from people that watch them regularly; will likely get the Amerks package for the 2nd 1/2 of the season but didn't want to pay the full price.) If it's because they want the kids to "learn" offense first and will then teach them D at the NHL level, with the rest of the NHLers presumably having picked up their defensive system, how do they expect that to work? Understood what the Sabres were trying to do the past 2 years (whether it was right or wrong, understood what they were trying), but don't see how they can be teaching a portion of the system in one locale and the full system in the other. Or ARE the Amerks playing the system the Sabres are also playing? It doesn't seem to be the case, but are they? If they aren't, is it because they plan to implement the system in stages in Ra-cha-cha in a single year; like they did over a couple in Buffalo (to middling success to date). The Amerks have a good record (8-4-2) (5th best win %age in the East; 9th best overall) but not great.

Any word on whether it's UPL or Levi between the pipes tonight?

Have heard it referred to as the Giant Bedpan. That's probably a tribute to the medical corridor downtown or to ECMC which is located not too far from the stadium, right? 😟 (Can't be because it kinda looks like a giant bedpan in stadium renderings.) 🤣

Lot's of good places for Beef on Weck in Buffalo. Schwabl's is the best IMHO.

You don't need to know how many games they've played any more than you do with that other to understand the NHL 0.600 vs the other. Look at the standings page. Is the percentage of points >= 0.600? Yes, well then, you're good to go. No, well then get cracking. The 12 in 10 is simply a measuring stick for how they're doing now. And, it's awesome that the Sabres met that metric you cherish so last year, because it put them in the playoffs, right? 🫨

Swamp, really wasn't sure what emoji to use for your post. After watching it, the feelings run the full gamut. Hopefully you appreciate the context in which that "awesome" was given. Knew for a long time that your daughter was severely autistic. Never really grasped just how fully encompassing it truly was/is. Having coached kids that are on the spectrum (several moderater and at least 1 that was close to severe), thought I understood (to a degree, never expected to fully understand the actual living it day to day, knew not living through it that the full experience was beyond being a part of it for a few hours here or there); but it was not even close. It's truly amazing what you and your wife and your daughter have been through and hearing your wife say that you two battled through for 14 years just makes it moreso. Sorry for not understanding and appreciating what you were really going through for so long. Thank you for sharing this. It was enlightening. And it is so appropriate that you're sharing this at Thanksgiving. (I realize that's just because of when the other lady's podcast came out; that you weren't putting this out specifically for that; and that you'd told us when the book came out that it is available.) It really makes one think. That video was the post of the year. Thank you again.

Samuelsson letting the Jet skate past him like it was a Sunday afternoon free skate session on the 2nd goal had nothing to do with not understanding a defensive system (complex or simple). It was simply a careless lack of awareness. Power dipping out of the way of the floater heading towards his shoulder had nothing to do with not understanding a defensive system. They both were lazy plays. Not sure why they gave up the breakaway at the end of the 1st, didn't rewatch how Connor got cleanly away, know Dahlin was the chaser; but that needs to be better too. Comrie bailed the brain fart out that time. Presuming Jokiharju is healthy tomorrow, would seriously consider running with Dahlin-Jokiharju (though personally hate that pairing, even more than Power-Jokiharju), R Johnson-Samuelsson, Power-E Johnson. Give them some accountability and also more importantly, give Power the opportunity to have a solid defensive D-man as his partner. Power settling down, especially as they continue to ask him to do more, would help them tremendously. Once he seems comfortable out there again, they go back to the pairings Granato would prefer to run. (Would make similar changes to the PP units as well, bumping at least 1 guy off the top unit and another off the 2nd unit - pretty easy to guess who they are. But that's a subject for a different thread.)

What, you have them losing in Chicago tomorrow? Seems a bit prematurely pessimistic.

1st period, other than the breakaway, a wrap around, and 1 cross ice pass that didn't connect the D really did a good job of keeping high danger chances down. And Comrie rose to the challenge. 2nd period, that 1st goal against they all were just off enough that it ended up in the net. Johnson played it ok, he forced the pass back to the trailer; Power didn't let him just sprint through and took the pass away that would've allowed a breakaway; Jost just couldn't quite get back quick enough to disrupt the shot, but he seemed to cause the shot to be rushed a bit. Thought Comrie would like to have it back, it wasn't a good goal but it wasn't horrible on his part. The 2nd goal, Samuelsson HAS TO cover the guy coming back door. Dahlin had the puck carrier and the C covered. ALL Samuelsson has to do is keep the other guy from getting past him. The 3rd goal, Power, if you're going to screen but have a chance to block the shot, you have to make the effort to block it. You can't duck out of the way. Doing that causes just enough hesitation from your goalie to cost a game. Be better. And after that, they kept chances down again. Defensively they played well for about 54 minutes. But those brain farts in the other 6 killed them. Thought the PK finally played well again for the first time in a couple of weeks. But they are just about as bad at preventing entries as the PP is at entering. They let the other team build up a full head of steam and then just walk right into the slot. They have to fix this issue on both PP & PK. It's going to be a huge issue (if it isn't already). Go into Chicago and get the W they really need and give themselves something to build on heading into Washington.

Benson's been getting that reffing all season. He should legitimately have 1 penalty against. Both trips called against him were garbage.

Pretty sure you know.

This game against the Jets is so huge. If they actually can put a hurting on them, and the Jets D is designed to make like hard on mobile QB's and they know the Bills O very well so always expect a close game regardless of how good or bad either team is, then they really could force their way into the post season even though the D has been decimated. If they screw this game up this weekend, put a fork in them.

The system CAN be complex. But it needs to become second nature to them. There can't be literally 8 white boards worth of info that the players are supposed to be thinking about when they're on the ice for their 45 or so seconds. If there's 8 boards worth of keys that the players need to be THINKING about, they can't be anywhere close to their best. There's a reason that teams have their farm clubs run the same system that the parent team runs (regardless of whether the personnel are necessarily right for the system being run); it's so that the players that get called up can just hit the ice already knowing what's expected of them and how they're to read plays and more importantly, how their teammates will be reading the plays.

A big part of the problem under Bylsma, besides still having a general lack of talent, was that Goober had about 8 white boards worth of stuff for the players to be thinking about every game. Give them general structures and plans for how to breakout, forecheck, or defend but don't mire them down with details. The game is too fast to have players "thinking" on the ice. Having to think slows reaction and make things seem passive. (Even worse than they might actually be.)

Even with the 2 game losing streak, this team is 4-3-1 in its last 8. If he is actually healthy, expecting Comrie gets tonight's start. Granato likes to let guys get action against teams they have history with.

That's possible. Not sure it's correct but it seems plausible.

They aren't wearing the full on referee/zebra unis. They're using the orange tiger helmets on the rest of the ref/zebra unis.

Yeah, there doesn't seem to be much help as replacements for the 4th line down in Ra-cha-cha. Would be nice to see them bring at least a line's worth each summer so that if there are injuries to that line or guys aren't getting done there's a plan B for them as well. Thing is, those type of guys are a lot easier to find than high end skill is to find. Whether it be via FA or trade, that is something that should be obtainable. No, don't know why they don't already have someone to fill that role. Would seem to have been a fairly easy add. (And, really haven't watched any Amerks this year. Inky, K9, or one of the others here that are watching the Amerks regularly know better whether they do have somebody for that role already that people just haven't been talking about.)

Just started watching the Bungles Crows game and the Bungles are wearing their Zebra unis but with their Tiger helmets. Looks kinda like the old Fantasy Island animal act where the trainer made a tiger ride on the back of a horse. Except this tiger is riding on a zebra. Exotic.

Henry was good. So was Miro's girlfriend. Know you couldn't stand Doug Allen, but Dougie was good and consistent. Wasn't awesome but he didn't drag them out like so many of his replacements have done. His signature tweak to the US anthem wasn't major. He didn't want to be the star.

Those of us that don't go to HF Boards?

Goaltending, for the most part, has been good enough. Would it be great to have obtained say a Saros or even a Varlamov, yes. Would it still be something that Adams should be looking to improve, yes. As he should be looking to bring in about 3 other pieces as well. But guarantee you that, were those other 4 issues fixed with the exact same goaltending they've gotten to date, they'd be above the NHL 0.600 they need to be at. Just fix those top 2 and they're very likely there. And, not saying that goaltending won't become the downfall should the team fail to reach the playoffs. But, 16 games in, the team has had bigger problems than the goaltending.

Would say a complete lack of a competent PP is the team's biggest issue. The team's 2nd biggest issue is the team D is still way too accomodating to cross-ice and back door passes that leave the goalies hung out to dry. The team's 3rd biggest issue is being without an entire line's worth of top 6 F's combined with trying to play a more responsible defensive game is leaving them scoring too few goals on too many occassions. The team's 4th biggest issue is that without both of the really long F's Thompson &/or Tuch disrupting passing lanes on the PK that the PK has been giving up a goal every game for the last 4 or 5. When the PP is clicking at about 10%, the PP needs to be at 90% (IF the calls are going both ways, and so far this year, they aren't; young teams don't get calls and teams the refs still perceive as bad don't get calls either; they have to simply accept there's not much they can do to change either situation until they actually get some more win streaks together; chicken and egg issue) to keep from needing to dominate the scoring at 5v5 which they aren't doing right now. MAYBE with Thompson out of the lineup the PP will be forced to become creative and thus useful. Wouldn't put money on it, but we can hope. The team D IS actually better than last season. But the breakdowns are still major too often. Expecting that will improve as the season goes on. Don't know the answer to the 3rd issue short of getting healthy & getting more than one line clicking on any given night. The 4th is going to be an issue until they get to a point that they trust the goalies to make the big save should they adjust to a more aggressive PK &/or both Thompson and Tuch are back and playing healthy. But even with the issues, this team is still in the mix. Get closer to last year's road team and they can muddle through while figuring out the home ice issues.