LTS

Man that sucks... knew it was bad when he hit the boards and that angle and speed. He's a big winner on faceoffs as well. Just a lot of glue there from that guy that's going to be missed.

Then perhaps he should do something about it. Gliding back behind a play is ridiculous.. one turnover and he won't be where he needs to be. Meh.. I'm pretty sure I saw Foligno bury one from Eichel last game. See above! Happening league wide now. The unofficial ban on fighting. You can love Eichel but his game is awful right now. His arrogance with the puck is killing him. He just ASSUMES he can make a play and it's not happening. Doesn't look like he cares or is trying out there right now. He only scored because Ristolainen made a great pass and he was lucky to put it through that mass of flesh in front of the net. Perhaps Eichel is the locker room problem? :)

Optics are what people make of them. The Sabres will continue to do just fine financially regardless of the season. Edmonton managed to put together a longer run of crappy seasons and they ended up with a new rink and are playing quite well these days. Even the fans that go away come back. I am sure Murray could put together a strong contender if the goal was to win now at all costs. The fans would get their 1-2 decent seasons and then everything would go into the crapper and we'd be left with a long stretch of playing even more terrible hockey with no hope of success. It all seems worth it when you've been working through losses for so long. I want a Detroit run at the playoffs, not a Panthers run. This season is the calm before the storm I suppose. The league is in limbo because of the expansion draft so taking on longer term players through a trade might prove tough if you have to expose them this summer.

It's all day hockey here. 1pm Sabres... 3:30 USA vs. Canada Man... at least one of those games has to go the way I want it to right? Meanwhile I'll be cooking and prepping for visitors tonight. The good news for me regarding the last game is that I was pretty sober when the Sabres scored their goals and by the time Boston was tying it up and winning my focus level was not the same... Hoping for a win!

Hopefully I can see the game tonight. Hanging out with friends and drinking a lot of beer where the average abv will be around 9%... should be a fun night! I think some of them even like hockey

Well, now I don't feel good about myself at all. :) I missed that then. It was interesting because they were talking between periods last night about their conversation with Bylsma and I think Duff was saying that Bylsma said the team was overthinking things and trying to be too perfect instead of just playing the game. Seems to contradict the other sentiment. I dunno..

Denmark beating Finland and the Swiss winning.... what?! Crazy things are afoot at the Circle K.

Torts is winning the Jack Adams award... and the world will explode.

I lied... I didn't start with a 10% abv beer... I was actually sober through 2 period of play. But the vodka set in quickly. Okay.. Eichel has GOT to stop just throwing the puck around. He's got a long way to go... but the good news is that he's getting there. His shot is ridiculous and his goal was a great example of "Dude, I don't need the goalies head to put it up that high." It was sweet and that's what we need to more often. His throwing passes around because he THINKS guys are there has to stop. No hate on him.. but he's gotta be more disciplined on some parts of his game. Lehner is killing me following the puck. He's like a dog and a ball.. go fetch.. oh sorry boy, I didn't throw it.. fooled you. Still trapped in their end too much... just not strong enough there. Kane... great game. His hands looked a little slower on the fight but we can give him a pass.

I can't be the only one who has flashbacks to Ron Rolston when I hear that... can I?

I'm just going to start tonight with a 10% abv beer... One way or another things will be great by the end of the night..

One coach... keeping Nolan was the fan placation technique and also a way to burn a year. It was a no brainer. Murray has a good track record and has hockey lineage. I think Pegula is starting to back off his influencing and will let hockey guys run the show (especially if he watched the Panthers mess). Dan is a failed coach because he failed out of Pittsburgh with some great talent. I don't think the hockey market is there yet to be aggressive. It wouldn't surprise me if there are minor moves made until the trade deadline and even then it might not be much. The impending expansion draft has to play into any deal on who a team will protect, etc. Deals are hard enough to manage but adding a significant variable to the mix won't help. At this point I think the season plays out as it does. A few players leave the younger players come up and next year is where it's Murray's make or break year. Meanwhile, this team is still good enough to be successful this year.

Seriously... appendectomy.. Will this give Bylsma more time?

And on here Tortorella has been lampooned as a terrible coach. So what gives? Is it the talent on the CBJ roster? I've a hard time believing that entirely. Unless this team buys into his screaming act. It is a mix and match system and any given year the collective team mentality may have the right leadership to back his screaming tactics. I don't know that to be true but I can't explain the CBJ success right now. It's certainly a crazy situation of confidence and something else. I'm beginning to believe that Pegula has been running through "Owner 101" for two sports franchises. He's currently on "big names win games" and learning that isn't always the case. Rex Ryan and Dan Byslma are both coaches who are big names and both have had a modicum of success in the past but are also coaches who are very determined to play their way. He started off with the "Evaluate first". The next phase is, get the right people for the job. In the situation of the Bills I think he's got a failed GM and coach. With the Sabres I think he's only got a failed coach. He's learning how to own a franchise and we're along for the ride. I said it in the other thread. Bylsma and the players are not on the same page or there's another locker room issue that's not seen daylight yet. Perhaps it's Kane, perhaps not. Either way the one thing I feel confident in is Murray having the stones to make moves.

The player with the most potential does not make him the best player at the time. Sitting a player isn't always just to keep them off the ice but also allows them to take time to watch and see the game and recognize what has been going on. Sometimes even the best player is not having a good night or a good stretch and they need to be off the ice. You choose your spots. It works at every level. These guys want nothing more than to be on the ice. They have an incredible work ethic and they take pride in their work. It would be one thing if they didn't believe they were playing poorly and the coach was benching them but they know they are playing poorly. They just will never take themselves off the ice... that's why they have a coach.

Let the season be merry, no matter what you celebrate. I get yet one more year with my kids believing in the big man... but I look forward to when they can fully understand the magic of the season. Peace to all.

You know? I didn't even find it funny, just a factual statement. People like Keith Richards and George Burns are anomalies. Richards should have suffered from SOMETHING by now (not that I want him to) and George Burns somehow managed to live as long as he did smoking more than a southern BBQ joint. Fisher was a mess at one point as was stated. Hope she recovers.

Eleven - You've got to do what you've got to do to enjoy life. However, I would encourage you to stick around as I believe you bring immense value to the board. Despite the musings of some and how they want to approach things I would hope that you could overlook that. A lot of people enjoy your contributions and would hate to see them go away because of a few who might behave a certain way. We're all guilty of being sucked into and commenting on things that don't sit well with us and absolutely knowing (even if its after the fact) that we should not have done it. Let's all work on being better about it without "going away". You took the time to make the excellent post on your thoughts. You care about this place and you shouldn't let a few negative things get in the way of continuing to contribute. Don't let the negative win. I think the issue is, and I am speaking for me, is not WHAT is brought up but more HOW it is brought up. I think PA has contributed a lot to the conversations around here as well, but I find myself turned off by how it is stated. And I don't want to single out PA here (although he was the subject) but I think that sentiment really holds true about a lot of us here (myself included). For me it's about HOW we are addressing each other and working towards an understanding that's the problem. It's not just here, on this forum either. It's an epidemic across the Internet as we spend less time interacting personally and we increase our digital conversation we begin to move away from the empathy you get when you see a persons face. What we don't always realize is that we aren't just anonymous avatars but rather we are community who share a common interest and even though we don't see each other we do interact with each other on a daily basis (or whatever frequency you visit). Earlier this season there was a massive interest in getting a group of people who were interested together and attend an actual game together. People spent good money for that experience (me included) and I feel like that says a lot about where we are as a community. The politics of this country have turned many against each other. I know family members who are no longer talking to each other because of it. The Sabres are playing horrible hockey and we, as fans, are frustrated. However, we have to be better than the politicians, the media, the Sabres front-office, and the NHL.... why allow those things to tear apart what is still a great place to have a discussion on the sport and team we root for (and some other things here and there?) I'm not going all kumbaya here... you don't have to love each other, hell you don't have to respect each other, but if we can find a way to ignore the negativity and keep building in a positive way this place will get back to things like Storm Cloud and Kittens or whatever it was and we'll have a generally good time having a difference of opinion and even learning a few things as we go. The challenge is on us to make this place better and we do that by making ourselves better. Are we up to it?

Agreed.. on both counts! Had Prairie Christmas Bomb yesterday. WHOA... 13% and I felt every bit of it. It drinks more boozy than World Wide Stout does at 18%. It's really good though.

Eichel has been a mess the past few games. I stated in another thread. He should be benched period. He absolutely did not skate back hard on a goal and called himself out for it. However, on the power play he was a mess. He's lost and he needs to wake up. He keeps assuming he's going to carry the puck through people and it's not happening. He's turned the puck over a lot lately and that puts his teammates in a bad spot. Last night I would have benched him seeing some of his stupid plays.

I don't think it's non-sense anymore. I was firmly in the camp to support Bylsma earlier in the season but there is clearly a problem on this team right now. The lack of effort and desire to play is noticeable and that stinks of a locker room issue. I've watched a few games straight now where Eichel skates down the wall and throws a backhand pass into the middle where there are no Sabres. He looks checked out. You can argue that professionals should be above that but it doesn't work that way. When your work environment is horrible it's horrible. Millions of dollars doesn't change having to show up at a rink each day and deal with the frustration. It only helps in the off-season. Something is wrong on this team and I can't say I don't think it's the coach anymore. There is a LOT of talent on this team even if you want to say the defense is lacking. They are a hell of a lot better than they are playing. They are a mess in their defensive zone. Their breakouts are too scripted and slow (for the most part) and their D zone coverage is terrible. Hopefully this break helps a bit... but if this continues you have to start making changes and I think Kane and Bylsma are the first to go.

Hah. Nice.

It's perhaps my most favorite beer of all time. But I don't need to drive to Amherst. I actually have the recipe for the beer. I'm good friends with the guy who built the recipe and brews the beer.

Last night was sad. They do need to offload players and bring some of the young guys up but it won't happen this season. Oh well.. perhaps I watch tonight to start and if they are stinking up the joint I'll move onto something else.

I could suggest a multitude of beers that under 5% alcohol if you are so inclined. You'll never go back to bottling... that's pure hell.