LTS

That's pretty damn awesome right there.

Wish I could find the details right now.. but I can't. In the NHL, there are two important deadlines for players like Zadarov. The 10 game mark we are very familiar with and then the year of service qualification which dictates when he'd be eligible for UFA status. Even if he's not playing I am pretty sure he still counts towards those games and so if the Sabres keep him up and scratched he is eligible for UFA status a year earlier than if they send him back right? That said, do games in the KHL count as professional service as well?

Clearly. Nothing ironic about him having built a house. Callahan has a house in Rochester too.

Here's Grigorenko's number. Welcome to the NHL.

Bitch all you want.. the Canes are below the Sabres in the standings. People say, wait until they get their players back...yea... right. Didn't watch the game.. had a good time catching up with someone at the bar tonight instead. The game was on to start, some satellite or TV issue and they put TNF on instead. I never noticed and never cared although I do recall thinking "Wow, they are up 2-1?" while on my way to the men's room. This post also has no value.

This thread could overtake the Stafford one in the end. Given how long Hodgson will be around.

So I read Fraser's C'mon Ref and he indicated that perhaps they could have reviewed the goal. There was a potential goal scored. The only problem was they blew the whistle upon Detroit touching it so they believed no goal was scored. Still, I would have reviewed it. Oh well. Two years in a row Detroit is involved in a crazy goal situation. Last year they were the beneficiaries of the puck of the mesh back into play and through Quick's legs. At least we have the butt goal still right?

Detroit got absolutely hosed last night on a goaltender interference call that never happened. Almost ridiculous that the rules don't allow for some kind of video review in that situation. Perhaps they could have reviewed it as part of a good goal review since they waived off the goal Detroit scored when Holtby tripped over himself. Amazing..

It's a fine line at some point there's no doubt. However, I think when you take multiple strategies at each point in the game and then you put those together you've developed a system. I'll boil it down into one specific instance I can think of here. What is the strategy for wanting to leave a player, uncontested, in front of your goaltender while shorthanded? It's something Nolan must want because they do it constantly. It's in his system that this happens. While I don't think coaching at the highest level is required it is required to have a solid fundamental knowledge of hockey strategies and systems. I think it is possible for many people to gather that information and incorporate it into their analysis of the Sabres positioning, their methods, etc. That said, we don't know what everyone's background is and just how learned they are in these things. Even then, I would it could be said that the highest level of coaching provides additional nuances that those who are not able to achieve that level would never understand. I think it's fair to say that Mike Babcock probably has some nuances to his coaching and his system that Ted Nolan does not have.

Nice. My kid should the Amerks bench during their warmups. He's playing a game or scrimmage at 4pm there as well.

It should be high. Murray doesn't have to do anything. Other teams want some of his players but he's going to have a crappy team no matter what. He's in control. It's not like Murray needs to make a move to keep his chance at a #1 draft slot. If Stewart were lighting it up then perhaps he'd be gone. :)

Now that's how sports are supposed to work!

If this was after the Sabres visited one might develop some conspiracy theory that the Sabres are trying to get the Blues to struggle and drop in the standings.

Well, to be fair, did you think they would carry the Time Warner Sports Network? :) I'd love to meet up there. My kid actually plays prior to the games on two upcoming Saturday nights. Nov. 8 and Dec. 20. They play from like 4-5:30. The 8th is a scrimmage but the 20th is a real game so that will be cool. We're usually there after that for the game since we are already in the area. Let me know. I can usually swing a Saturday.

I grew up hating RJ. His voice was too shrill and rubbed me the wrong way. I was a Ted Darling fan through and through. The funny thing is that RJ has paid so much tribute to Ted Darling as the voice of the Sabres and now I can't imagine anyone BUT RJ as that voice. It's truly unfortunate the battle he is going through. The last article said that he had completed his chemo and was waiting some tests to see if they got everything. His throat was raw, barely spoke, slept a lot. Typical for this treatment. Dunleavy really has been a fantastic replacement in my opinion. He's no RJ, but he's no John Gurtler and frankly... that makes everything okay. After Ted Darling you immediately realized how good you had it when you heard Gurtler. Even then, I still was not an RJ fan. But when he finally hit the TV broadcast I became enamored. No idea why... but now he'll forever be the voice I associate with the Sabres.

Absolutely. And if ever there was a picture that summed things up so well. Bruce MacKinnon's (Chronicle Herald) cartoon is about the most perfect I've ever seen.

I was busy frying wings and some home made potato chips so I was partially watching the game. However, I noticed that San Jose failed miserably in the 2 man forecheck which allowed the Sabres to break the zone easier. That said, I noticed numerous times that Sabres players waited another split second to make a play and rather than force it into a turnover the ice opened up and a real hockey play could be made. The team started well with shots on net.. and finished poorly. Oh well. In the end, they won. Nice. Also, not checking this thread until much later after the game and a few drinks makes the early pre-game comments way more entertaining. You are all a band of pessimists, you should be ashamed of yourselves! :)

We look at this team and see losses and sad play, etc. It may turn around. For what it's worth, the Sabres have played the following teams with the following records: Anaheim (2x) - 6-1 (Tied 1st in the NHL) - w/ Montreal and Nashville (no kidding!) Los Angeles - 5-1-1 (Tied 4th in the NHL) - w/ Calgary (no kidding!) Chicago - 4-1-1 (8th in the NHL) Boston - 4-5 (Tied 11th in the NHL) Columbus - 4-2 (Tied 11th in the NHL) Florida - 2-2 (22nd in the league) Carolina - 0-4-2 (Tied for 29th with the Sabres) Perhaps things will improve when they play the middle of the pack. They still look completely outmatched against the top teams in the league. They are still lost out there. They sure as hell aren't moving. I've never seen a team stand still as much as they do, in every zone. They aren't supposed to beat teams like Anaheim or LA or Chicago. They do look bad, and they should against those teams.

While Weber is a moron for sliding his butt in the way of the shot, the slow change by Stafford allowed Anaheim to have that rush. Watch him skate slowly to the bench when the shot goes wide.

Perhaps if they also let their marketing people finish college taking real classes they would know better?

Not sure what you are referring to here. Under Nolan, under Rolston, and in the end under Ruff the Sabres were horrible at clearing the zone and it's because they insist on placing wingers on the low half-wall and fling the puck to them with no speed and a defender hanging on their back. If they don't do that they also ice it or throw it out to center for a turnover. You'll notice that when the D doesn't immediately flip the puck up the boards or go back and forth but instead waits a half second the Sabres will make a short chip pass to a forward in the circle and they are more likely to be up the ice. They looked better in that period. The Getzlaf/Perry combo beat them and that was Perry racing from just above his own goal line and knowing that Getzlaf would hit him with a great pass and boom. Hodgson wasn't going to catch up, no chance. Myers did however have a nice takeaway from Perry after a strong board battle. Myers looked pretty good. The Sabres are still stiff and letting pucks bounce off their sticks. They need to loosen up more and let it come to them. More to come. Quick update. They have the winger nearer the blue line. Same result.

I read the Dreger thing as his commentary based on the situation or reflecting the Detroit thoughts. I don't think Dreger is commenting on Buffalo in and of itself. Clearly, if Detroit asks what it takes and Buffalo responds and no deal is done then the price was not right and the only way Detroit refuses is if the price is too high. I wouldn't read anymore into Dreger's comments than that. As for the rest, stupid things have happened in the NHL. I'll just watch.

It absolutely can be drawn up on a whiteboard. There are plenty of those whiteboards out there if you want to find them. Every system has its fundamental tendencies and those are written up. The trap, the lock, all of them are diagrammed and good teams execute them the majority of the time. There are naturally points of the flow where its not possible to execute the system and that's when the next level of thinking has to occur. A team needs to adapt briefly and then return to its system. The breakout is another great example. There are countless different breakout methodologies and each of them have strengths and weaknesses. They are chosen based on the style of play you expect your opponent to be using. Are they bringing two forecheckers down low? Are they sending only one? All of that is based on the skill and ability of the players on the team of course. A slow team isn't going to execute any stretch plays and so the opposition is more willing to adapt a 2 man forecheck and give up the "long ball" so to speak. A team that has shown it cannot pass cleanly will also find the pressure upped. This is no different that football and attempting to up the pressure on QB who is a slower decision maker. You lessen their time and space and they make mistakes. It is about work ethic. In practice, if they are not working towards hitting 100% of their passes where they need to be then they will continue to play that way. If they continue to not focus on what they need to do then they will continue to suck. Work ethic is not hustle and commitment, but if you practice at a high level then you will have a greater tendency to play at a higher level. Work ethic is a commitment to work and attention to detail. Hustling to the wrong spot does no one any good at all. They have them, they can't execute them and this is what brings us to the most important piece of this discussion. All of these players are aware of the systems, the positioning, the plays, the coverages, the first level of thought and the second level of thought, etc. that go into playing hockey. All of them. The difference is their physical ability to execute, their mental ability to properly apply the thought process in time, and how their overall ability to do so compares against the ability of the opposition. Right now, some of the Sabres are capable of playing at the highest level but it won't necessarily show because they have to overcome their teammates inability to play at that level. Much like a short-handed team generally does not take the offensive, playing with even 1 lower skilled player will reduce the overall effectiveness of the unit on the ice. Just like the star WR doesn't shine against double coverage, the star player won't dominate when becoming the focus of the opposition. If I'm facing three people who want to hurt me and one has a lead pipe and two have feather pillows I am going to focus on the guy with the pipe.

I'll stay up for awhile and watch. It's what I do when I can. The outcome will be what it is. Not much else to say I guess.

Probably sorted out by some of the other discussion but while he's on the Sabres he can't go to the KHL. Well, I suppose he COULD go but that would create quite the fiasco. That article and subsequent information really shed a lot of light on the entire situation. Interesting that the Sabres didn't just put that out there so people knew. I am sure they are trying to work out the exception with CHL and thus the comments on he's too big to play there. After that, I think they have to realize that waiving Meszaros is the best thing they can do and leaving Zadarov on the roster is the best thing they can do.