nfreeman

OK, so there are slumps, and there are injuries, but Dahln is 24 and this stretch of 7 games -- almost 10% of an NHL season -- is by far the worst he's ever played. From the Athletic after the win over Chicago, to which Dahlin contributed zero: He's gone from "the next Bobby Orr" to "15% better than Bryson." WTF is going on?

Dude.

They were getting decent-to-good goaltending but crappy scoring before the last 2 games. Then it flipped to crappy goaltending but good scoring. Time for both factors to show up, and FFS for the special teams, which are a coaching indicator, to get out of the basement.

Bump! The Sabres stink again, but I'm about to deploy some ribeyes on my brand-new grill. And it's Friday night. (And the Sabres are going to start winning some games. They got their goal-scoring going, but lost the goaltending. The scoring will remain and the goaltending will return.)

Now you're just being contrary. Did you watch the game vs Florida? If so, you'd know that Greenie did much more than score a goal.

As I said in the GDT, Greenway was a major force last night vs the Panthers. If he keeps that up I'm going to want the Sabres to re-sign him and if they don't someone will definitely give him a good contract. As for him being a Lindy-type player: I agree with that, but I also think Greenie was one of the guys who were far away from being their best last year under Donnie G, which was really most of the team, with a variety of playing styles. I think Lindy will get more, sometimes much more, from almost all of them. One solid win and I'm very optimistic!

My 2 cents: - That's 2 good efforts in 2 home games so far under Lindy. - Greenway was a force. He's a UFA next summer. If he keeps playing this way, someone will pay him well -- and I'd be happy for it to be the Sabres. - Quinn also played very well -- that was the guy that many here expect to turn into a star this season. - Lindy's shakeup move was, as it turned out, not to bench Samuelsson in favor of Gilbert, but to play Gilbert by dressing 7 D and mostly playing 3 forward lines. It worked quite well. The Sabres were not intimidated by the Panthers, who generally play a very physical game and usually push the Sabres around. - I'd be happy to see the same lineup vs. Pittsburgh on Wednesday. - The Sabres again got good goaltending. - I thought the top 2 lines were both pretty good. Cozens' line didn't score but had a ton of chances, most of which were created by nice little plays by Quinn. Kulich also is looking more comfortable and effective. Cozens hasn't finished yet but he is playing hard and it will come. - The 3rd line was also very effective. They need a bit more finish from Zucker and McLeod. - 3-game-in-4 nights roadie coming up, vs Pittsburgh, CBJ and Chicago. Get 2 wins and we're 1 under DeLuca .500 with some momentum and some promise. Go Sabres.

I agree that it's too early to determine that Lindy has vanquished the home ice malaise -- just trying to post it into existence -- although they did look better vs. LA than they did in 75% of their home games last year. As for the tension and people waiting to boo -- I can certainly believe it, but I think it's just human nature after this many years of suckitude. Definitely agree that winning is the only cure. This, absolutely. Almost all of the people who spend the money and the time to attend the games are there because they love the Sabres. It's the same reason most of the posters here hang out here. Awesome. Also awesome.

Nonono. That is over. Lindy has vanquished it. They delivered a good effort vs the Kings and will do so again tonight. They need Dahlin, TT, Cozens and Quinn to find their mojos and start producing. At least 1 of them is going to do so tonight. I'm kinda hoping Lindy benches Samuelsson for that idiotic penalty that gave the Kings the 5-on-3 and plays Gilbert, who gets in at least 2 fights and fires everyone up. It is ON.

Abso-freakin'-lutely. I am not as down on KA as many others here, but if they poop the bed again this season he needs to go and this time I would like a real GM brought in.

This is pretty much where I am as well. I want them to make the playoffs as much as anyone does, and I fully recognize that they are digging a hole, but realistically it takes time for a new coach to get a team playing the way he wants them to. In the meantime there was a lot to like about the way they played vs. the Kings other than the final result. Of course, it's still possible that they get discouraged and quit. We'll see. I think your criticisms of Cozens are overstated, but I agree with dropping him from the top PP unit -- they need to make a change there. I'd nominate Kulich for that spot on the right half-wall (Olofsson's old spot). I liked what I saw from him against the Kings. OTOH, it's hard to argue with any of this. Or this!

This is obnoxious. Do not communicate like this here.

Well, our 2 local teams are now 0-5 in their last 5 games. Awesome. Having said that, I thought the Sabres were much better last night than they were in Prague -- although the Kings are not nearly at the Devils' level. Still, they played hard and created a lot of chances. The PP was terrible again though and that was the difference in the game. I'll ask again: has Dahlin made a single play this year befitting a $12MM per year player? Has he played better than, say, Jokiharju? Has he remotely resembled a captain of a real team? I don't think he's mailing it in, but I think he's shrinking from the moment and showing zero mental toughness and is perhaps overwhelmed. Glass half full: if they keep producing efforts like that, I think they'll win their fair share. Lindy needs to help them get their confidence back. Once they find their mojo, they'll start finishing chances and games.

Holy mackerel I hope they don't come out in a coma like they did in pretty much every home game and every important game last year.

We sit here stranded, though we all do our best to deny it.

As the great Marv Levy said (in quoting a Scottish ballad):

Oh, yeah. A beautiful fall weekend and our sports teams served up a fat, stinky 3-loss pile of poop. At least it provided some incentive to go outside. I'm not giving up on either team yet but there sure are some ominous signs.

Well, I'm glad @Spun had a good time.

This is starting to feel like a classic 0-3 Buffalo sports weekend of glory.

Yes. I bet we see Gilbert dressed, probably for Joki, next game.

Well, that was an extremely disappointing showing by the Sabres, who got outplayed — although not as badly as yesterday IMHO — by the Devils for most of the game and then basically panicked and quit in the third period when they fell behind 2-1. Also a poor showing by certain posters who felt the need to bring politics into this thread, although I appreciate the vast majority who left it alone. I’m out walking the dog now, but will take further steps on this when I get back to my computer. In the meantime, I wonder if someone can tell me exactly why Dahlin is making $11 million a year.

Well that was a huge disappointment. They started OK but NJ’s forecheck took over the game about 6 min in and the Sabres got completely worked on both ends for the next 20-25 min of game time. Then it was 3-0 and the game was over. And they aren’t doing anything this year if TT and Tuch don’t start playing like they give a crap. From the Athletic: I think we’ll see Levi and Kulich tomorrow and I’d guess Lindy ripped them a new one after the game.

Awesome. Enjoy and please post from Prague and from the games! Photos would be cool too.

Well, I've had high hopes for Rosen, based mostly on his AHL production last year and the reported speed/skill package, but from the limited amount of preseason action I saw, Kulich, Helenius and Östlund are all better than he is. I did not like Rosen's decision-making in the offensive zone at all. Hopefully another year in the A will help.

Top 50 30+ goals Yo Mamma