LTS

I lied. Still watching. If the team can put in the effort so can I right?

Enjoy the 3rd. I'm out of gas. Super enjoyable game to thus point.

That was nice.

Ok. Ok. Ok. I can live with this.

Because they are in Canada? :w00t:

I should be getting home from youth hockey practice just in time to catch the start of the game...

So much of it is this. Edmonton looked like the Sabres do most nights with their inability to complete passes. They were a mess. I'll give the Sabres credit because they looked better against Calgary as well and the Flames are not the mess the Oilers are. We need to see this kind of effort sustained. I don't know that the bottom 6 can realistically do that.

Unfortunately I think it hurts... the Sharks might be inclined to ride this out and preserve their prospects and picks in the hopes of retooling their roster faster. Kane would give them a last chance shot this year.

Because of the issues with Jack in the past I still find myself watching the back end of the play when the opposition gets the puck and begins moving up the ice. In the past we all knew he was not putting everything into it however I've not seen any of that lately. As is natural, when the puck is moving up the ice, there will be a separation in players. As the opposition crosses the blue line and gaps tighten up I have been noticing that #15 is in the mix, regardless of where he started back on the rush. He's been moving all over the ice as well. It's wonderful to see. What I think really seals the deal for him however is that his scoring has not declined but actually increased since he decided to play a more complete game. So many players believe that if they focus on offense their scoring will increase and if they were to raise the focus on defense it will decline. It's clearly not happening. Pretty sure it took Ovechkin something like 8 seasons and 52 coaches before he decided to play that way. It's wonderful to see because he will be the highest paid player and they'll want to give him the "C". He's starting to look like he has earned it.

Hell yeah. That was worth staying up. Good night everyone. Sleep with your smiles on.

Here comes PA with a comment on a whistle for a tied up puck. Damn. Beat me.

Resting players and rewarding the team and some players for a good game.

I think the MSG sound tech just pipes in random people yelling things in the sound mix. Like a YouTube video of kids in a lunch room.

I was at that Boston game. Vendor took a group of us in a limo from Rochester. We had club level seats. Their VP cane in from Boston and was running his mouth a bit. It didn't last long after the puck dropped. We all had many beers and a chuckle. But yeah, a heck of a game.

Hosting a raging kegger for the Super Bowl officials. Think like Bachelor Party but this time the mule lives.

This thread is a microsecond away from devolving into a litany of narratives that define the 201x years. The biggest issue everyone SHOULD focus on here is that the locker room is toxic.

I wouldn't be surprised if his knee was injured on the initial hit and that caused him to not have his balance and then his head gets nailed to the ice.

Like a day old Big Mac on its way back up?

You know what... I like the drive to the net there.. Penalty be damned. Granted if prefer Baptiste to hold up more but at least he was committed to getting to the net.

See the last play. Give and go, Okposo to Eichel. :) Tkachuk, 2 minutes for embellishment?

If you have MSG on cable you can use the MSG GO App now.

Almost wonder if we should have a thread about this concept.... playing guilty. https://www.bardown.com/this-quote-about-players-partying-in-vegas-is-the-last-thing-we-expected-from-torts-1.974859

I'm sure I'll be watching.. for how long is another story. Ultimately it's hockey.. and I love hockey.

I don't see much has changed with the power play except the speed with which the puck is being moved. Lately the power play has started to look more like it did last year. That said, last years PP efficiency was the 7th highest in the last 10 years of the NHL (not including this year). The Caps hold 4 of the top 7 positions and only Pittsburgh and Detroit in 07-08 were better. I think there is a lack of confidence and second guessing themselves that leads to split second indecisions and thus less time on the power play to get set up. Phil's so called system is something that has to be learned over time. It's not instantaneous. Moreover, each guy has to get it. If they don't then other players have to start compensating for what one or more guys are not doing on the ice. This again comes down to talent. I don't know that everyone on the team gets it and perhaps more importantly it might be that every player can't play the system. As such, Housley may be doing the best that he can with this group of players. Think about it, the key players stayed the same, the supporting cast underwent a few changes and not much has changed. I can't explain why the Sabres give up the blue line, they did it a lot last year as well. It could be that teams are attacking with numbers and our forwards are backchecking more rather than being in defensive position. The general rule of thumb is that you only go for contact when you have superior numbers. Anything even you play contain and anything less you play zone. I'll readily admit I expected the team to be better. I'm ready to admit that I was probably a little optimistic in that expectation. The idea was that Bylsma and Murray were the issue and it would be fixed quickly. The reality is that Housley and Botterill may fix everything but it wasn't going to be this season. Rather than pull up the prospects from Rochester he left them down there and put together a team that can be successful in the AHL. He brought in small FA signings to bolster up the roster in Buffalo for this year. He took the time to evaluate who was capable of what and I we're left with waiting to see how he really molds this team in the coming months.

Yes, imagine that. I actually watch the games. Bodies in front of the net. This actually has been happening when possible. The biggest problem the power play had initially was that it could not get established in the zone. Until it is established no one is going to the front of the net. They work the boards trying to get the top 3 set up so the other 2 float into the high slot and in front of the net. Even if they managed to get established they were sloppy and slow with puck movement which left little to no chance of a shot occurring. Lately they've actually been better. If you have evidence that Phil Housley is coaching the power play to not put a body in front then please present it. Otherwise what I see is a bunch of the same players not playing clean hockey. Backup goaltenders - the Sabres have been seeing backup goaltenders for years, through 4 coaches now. Hardly a point to bring up against Housley. When you suck you see the backup, they've sucked for a long time. This team has sucked at scoring for years. Through 42 games this years team was outscoring last years team at even strength. The power play was the glaring difference. We discussed that. This is actually pretty easy to address. Eichel is finally playing a full ice game. His scoring has stayed the same and he's been much more responsible defensively. You point out 5 names and there are 18 skaters a night. You want to know why this team is not winning? A horrible power play, bad defense, and absolutely no secondary scoring. Here is the points per game readout of the offense each year back to 14-15. Eichel - .96 .93 .69 Kane - .78 .61 .54 .59 (w/ Jets) ROR - .67 .76 .84 .67 (w/ Avs) KO - .59 .69 .81 .85 (last two w/ Islanders) Risto - .49 .57 .50 .26 Reino - .35 .59 .53 I'm not even going to bother looking at how the rest of the lineup scores because I know the answer. They don't. The top PPG players on the Sabres of the regular lineup are listed above. Only Pominville is above Reinhart at .43. Looking at the bottom 10 in goals for this season in the NHL and using the Sam Reinhart cut-off line of .35 PPG and players of minimum 20 games played. Here is a comparison. Sabres - 103GF, 7 players .35 or better Coyotes - 113GF, 9 players .35 or better Detroit - 117GF, 9 players .35 or better Canadiens - 118GF, 11 players, .35 or better Columbus - 120GF, 13 players, .35 or better Ottawa - 120GF, 11 players, .35 or better Vancouver - 121GF, 10 players .35 or better Sharks - 125GF, 10 players .35 or better Hurricanes - 126GF, 11 players .35 or better Anaheim - 127GF, 12 players .35 or better For reference, past Sabre teams who had players who played 40 games or more and scored .35 or better. 2016-17 - 8 players, (Eichel, O'Reilly, Okposo, Kane, Reinhart, Ristolainen, Gionta, Moulson) - Bylsma coached 2015-16 - 8 players, (O'Reilly, Eichel, Kane, Reinhart, Ristolainen, McGinn, Gionta, Bogosian) - Bylsma coached 2014-15 - 7 players (Ennis, Moulson, Gionta, Girgensons, Stafford, Stewart, Foligno) - Nolan coached 2013-14 - 6 players (Moulson, Hodgson, Ennis, Stafford, Ehrhoff, Myers) - Nolan coached 2012-13 - 6 players (Hodgson, Ennis, Ott, Ehrhoff, Stafford, Foligno) - Nolan coached 2011-12 - 11 players (Pominville, Vanek, Ennis, Stafford, Roy, Ehrhoff, Myers, Gerbe, Adam, Leino, Boyes) - did not make the playoffs (Ruff/Rolston coached) 2010-11 - 12 players (Vanek, Stafford, Pominville, Connolly, Ennis, Leopold, Gerbe, Myers, Hecht, Sekera, Gaustad, Montador) - made the playoffs (Ruff coached) It's pretty clear the Sabres lack scoring depth. The results are over 5 coaches, not just one. The teams around them have more players. Some do not have players that are as high as some of the Sabres in PPG, but the scoring is spread out. As long as teams only have to shutdown 6-7 players on a team it will be much easier for them to beat the Sabres. The team has no depth. There were new faces added this year, none of them replaced the scoring from last year.