LTS

If the All-Star game were about the best talent or the best anything they wouldn't include a player from every team. Because they do.. it's already meaningless. Brock Nelson? Kevin Hayes? Clayton Keller? Troy Terry? Seth Jones? In the Atlantic there's no way Dahlin should not have been in over either Larkin or Suzuki.

I did not watch the game last night but it's good to hear they were clearing the crease in at least one period. Before I'll buy into the theories you've posited I will need to see them do it against a team that didn't play the night before. I would expect a team on back to backs to lack a certain energy level by the end of the game. But, in order to clear the crease against even tired opponents you have to adopt that strategy and so it's good to hear they were doing it. Hopefully it continues. Hopefully whatever motivation they used last night is something they can channel repeatedly. They need to find that way.

I can't even imagine delivering that kind of news. That's the ultimate even if people accept everything dies they don't go around welcoming it. To have to deliver that information... I feel for you sir.

If he chooses to not report they can pursue that action.

I did not take it that way at all. I blathered on about my viewpoint but ultimately I wanted to make it known (probably doing a very bad job) that you should not question being around here as you had indicated in your post. Don't let the grumblings of the group get you down.

Today was reduction in force day at work. I had to let someone go and it sucks.. no two ways about it. Having to let someone go not directly because of their performance but primarily because of the performance of others, the current market conditions, etc. Then having to look at my team and say.. it's going to be this person because I have to be that passionless analytical person to make a decision. You spend all this time building rapport with your employees. You know them. And then the day comes and you have to be a cold hearted jerk again because you aren't allowed to say anything other than the passionless legalese that HR has prepared. All so we don't get sued. I know I had to make the decision but having to deliver it like the person never mattered to the company is BS. It's not just my company so I can't fault them, but it's the system and it sucks. I understand how we got here.. it doesn't make it any less crappy. I've been on the receiving end of it a few times and I know my way of handling things is very different than others and I knew it was going to be an awful experience for them because there was no way of relaying any emotion to them. I'm rambling.. so I will stop.

https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/nationality/american-nhl-goalies-career-stats.html (Most wins USA born goalie) https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/records/nhl-goalies-all-time-wins-leaders.html (14th in wins of all goalies) Interesting take. Please explain how he was overrated.

Kind of a crap article given that it does not discuss waht the NHL policy actually is. Much like Tua, it's not a question of whether the policy is good enough it's actually a question of why was is not enforced properly. https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-concussion-evaluation-and-management-protocol-for-2022-23-season/c-335002568 Section 3 - Identification of Possible Concusion Section 1 - Visible Signs (Mandatory Evaluation) Section b The enforcement is done by off-ice officials who monitor as outlined in Section IV. Why Pageau was not removed from the ice is beyond me. But that's where the focus should lie. If the policy was followed this would be a non-story, much like Tua would have been.

I expect games to be unpredictable. I expect players to make unpredictable plays. I don't get excited when players make uncharacteristically bad plays and coaches make similar calls. I prefer the unpredictable to be when a player exceeds their expectations. The sport is fueled by tension and absolutely the joy of victory. However, if the point of the game were just to play it then winning and losing wouldn't matter. But it's not, and winning matters. At some point the reasonable expectation of winning manifests itself in winning the last game of the season. When it does, being 14-3 is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is winning the last game. What people find fun and choose to view is each their own. I am an analytical person by nature and so my views will sweep that way. I don't take solace in a team that is superior barely getting by a team that was missing so many starters including their top 2 QBs. If others do, then I am glad for them. In this case it probably makes their lives easier. The same is true of the Sabres. Through their play, obviously all in my opinion, they have established a higher level of expectation. I don't expect them to win the last game of the season. I don't even expect them to necessarily make the play-offs. I do however expect them to beat a team that is openly Going Hard for Bedard. Even then, sometimes its not about winning, but how the game was played. If they played hard and lost to a team that outskilled them, that's understandable. But they've been playing soft and losing to teams that I don't think anyone around here would say has more skill.

Without any hesitation my mood would be the same as watching the Bills win. Knowing the team should be so much better than who they are playing and still find a way to let it be close. Find a way to not play to their potential. Sure they find a way to win, but it never should get to that point. There is no reason on Earth the Hawks should have been close in that game. None. The Sabres did not play to their potential and even if they won, it would not be a good game. Nice. I will be in Nashville a week from tomorrow at the Preds vs. Devils game. I hear they updated/changed their scoreboard.. it was already great last year. That whole arena just rocks.

This is an organization demonstrating that they will do right by a player. Again. It's a good move for the Sabres and for Hinestroza, who I happen to like. No trades could be had (apparently) so now he's available for anyone who wants his salary. If he clears there I suspect a trade might occur because then he can be kept in the AHL.. or he can choose not to report, have his contract nullified and be a free agent. All of these open up options for the player.

Agree 100%.. although I don't think they wear Crayola sweaters for the pre-game on Kid's Appreciation Date. I don't worry about these things. 100%. And free speech is not free from consequences. If people don't like how Tortorella or the Flyers handled it, then take it up with them. The player made his choice. The coach made his. The organization made theirs. They are all individual choices. By your rule there should participation trophies for everyone. Everyone should make the team. Because by not making it.. a group or individual is singled out. It's literally the lowest common denominator.. but I'm not even sure what that would be for you. We can't have human night because they would exclude the dogs and aliens. Do we have Celebrate Life night? or would that be an insult to the rocks of the world? Everyone gets excluded every day. So let me explain it to you. Having Ladies Night means men are excluded from the deals at the bar. Why not have alien night? or stray animals night? By your thinking you can't exclude anyone.. so you Ladies Night is a no go. Also, the hell with senior citizen discounts, military discounts, etc. right?

My expectations of the team were low, until they showed that they had the ability to play at a higher level. Once they did that they reset my expectations. They are several short of being a better team. What irritates me to no end is watching players who can perform better not perform better. Watching players make the same mistakes, or learning new ones. For example, it would be nice if this team stopped looking to pass Thompson the puck every chance they can. Deference to star players is not needed, in fact, if you demonstrate that you are going to first look to get the puck to that person other teams will game plan against it.. and that's what we are seeing. A star player is a decoy if the opponent is committed to taking them away. You force teams to change their game plan by NOT passing to them and using that player to open up space and make others available. I have seen more stupid passes to try and get Thompson the puck in the past 10 games than I have all season. The abysmal power play is a great example of it. This team also needs to learn how to defend. It's that simple. This isn't because they are not able to be good at it. They are actively being coached to NOT be good at it. The game tying goal last night was scored because, once again, the forward is standing on top of the goalie. Where's the D? In front or off to the side. That is a very broken defensive scheme. The first goal scored was because all 5 Sabres players were covering 1/4 of the offensive zone. Not a single player looking at where Connor Murphy was or where he could go to get a high percentage shot on goal. The Sabres defensive scheme is absolutely broken. Finally.. the team continues to play soft. When Jost and Krebs are tied at the top with "2" hits along with Thompson and Samuelsson. The players who should be playing a more physical game, Alex Tuch (0), Lyubushkin (0). Krebs and Jost did not have HUGE hits, but they did establish a meaningful forecheck that saw their lines establish a lot of offensive zone presence. I'm not seeing the effort from the players that they've already shown they can give. It's not growing pains, it's a mindset. And I don't blame Granato for all of it. A player has to be committed to playing at the level they can, every night. Pre-game speeches last about 5 minutes into the game. The rest is on the player.

It's fair to ask why others don't get time, but it doesn't mean those that do are not worthy of the time given. It's not MAYBE the military, every year there is a military pre-game warmup. It's not MAYBE cancer patients, every year this happens. It's becoming not MAYBE indigenous people but pretty much every year teams have nights that honor them. Of the groups you named, how many of them would you like to see get special jerseys? Do you really want space aliens and stray animals to get them? Is it good enough that many teams now have team dogs that highlight adoption, shelters, service animal programs?

Just like YouTubeTV does not carry MSG. Only DirecTV Stream and Fubo have MSG. It would be nice if more linear TV services added a "regional sports" package that allowed people to get their regional sports network. All in all the rules surrounding all broadcast TV need massive revision, but it's not likely to happen. I could go on.. but this thread should be about how the Sabres need to destroy the Hawks tonight.

You can only have MSGGo if you have a subscription to a cable / linear TV streaming service that carries MSG. (Linear TV streaming is like Fubo, Hulu Live, YouTubeTV, DirecTV Stream, etc.)

That said, if you have ESPN+ but live in New York... or at least some parts of it.. whatever the blackout regions are.. you cannot watch on ESPN.. not even the Blackhawks broadcast. There are ESPN+ only games, there are ESPN only games, and then there is the ESPN+ games that are the evolution from the NHL.tv package that used to exist. Since I live in Rochester, ESPN+ is useless to me for the Sabres, except when the game is an ESPN/ESPN+ only game. You pretty much have it right. The only addition to that is below. All nationally televised games do not appear on ESPN+. Thus TNT games screw over anyone relying on ESPN+ and/or MSG. For example, me.. who cannot get TNT on Fubo. But it's all very straight forward.. :eyeroll: As far as the game goes... they better win this. It's that simple. Anything less than stellar showing is unacceptable.

I would think 50 points good for a 3C. It seems like it should be. The same with Olofsson and his goal totals. The line kind of works now. I think the question will become.. are the Sabres good enough to play more defensively with the players on the roster. At some point they have to begin shutting down other teams..

You playing at Bill Grays? Which level? My team is D/D+ or whatever they call it.. it's too much for me these days.. I want to drop down a level. Sick of playing kids who were playing AA/AAA 2 years ago.

I've walked away from a few games this year.. and I did yesterday as well. I was busy prepping food during half-time and when Allen fumbled I went downstairs for 45 minutes... I didn't actively watch the rest of the game as I was in the kitchen.. it helped. While easy wins are nice, the problem I have is that Buffalo is beating themselves more than I think the opposition is beating them. I have not seen that as much with KC or Cincy. Perhaps I have not been watching close enough. The coaching certainly plays into it. But the coaching doesn't make Josh Allen make some of those plays that lead to turnovers. The defensive play calling doesn't lead to all the missed tackles. Granted, I think Frazier's defensive scheme is awful. I will not be sad to see him go. I didn't like Daboll's play calling and I don't think Dorsey is any better or worse than he was. There are just some real boneheaded sequences.. why is Josh Allen's average target over 26 yards when they have the lead? What on Earth makes someone call two fly routes on 1st and 2nd down.. leaving you with 3rd and 10 which is a pure passing situation that leads to a sack? Oh well. they won.. I guess that's what matters.

whereas the two companies I have worked for in the past 10 years has had it as one of the few holidays they provide.. most of it is put into floating holidays. Let's go Buffalo.. hopefully a game that is less tense than the game that started at 1pm yesterday.

My son likes to list Jost as one of his favorite Sabres now... it's moves like that that give me hope for this team... anyone can nail the "big fish" move... but the chemistry of the team moves are harder and it appears Jost was the right kind of move.

I mean if vendors think that me being in Rochester means I can just drive into NYC for a meeting is good then clearly the move to Rochester from Buffalo is a snap. 🙂

I went through the wringer today... and I reflected on it. My son is one year further on than when I began my initiation to the pain of being from Buffalo and a sports fan. I was on my way to freshman year in college.. he's got one semester down. I had to walk away from the game today. My son said "I never doubted." I tried to explain to him about the history, but he doesn't get it.. nor should I expect he would. No one in my house does.. my wife was born downstate and her Dad was a Giants fan.. soooo I tried to tell them that this year I let myself actually hope.. I opened myself up to it... *****.. this team needs to be better than what I saw today.

It's accurate. The Sabres still need to control the front of their net. The disallowed goal was too close to being a goal and once again because the Sabres allow teams to play between the D and the goalie and cannot clear a crease. I don't think it's a strength thing, it's a coached thing. Frankly I think it's a byproduct of the USA Hockey development program. If you watched USA in the WJC there were a lot of similarities. The Sabres also don't spend a lot of time in front of the opponent net either. They also don't hit in many situations they could. I don't mean bone jarring hits but hits that are designed to slow the other team down. They want to play a pure speed game. Not well for Nashville, in this game. But the Flyers, Kraken, and Jets all just did this to Buffalo and it did work. Overall a win is a win. I'd still like to see a bit more of a "We're not gonna take it." attitude from this team. No, I don't mean fights and hard hits.. but I do mean stopping the drive-bys, clearing the crease, and crashing the net.