In The Buff
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Posts posted by In The Buff
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hearing that crowd being so into their team has me feeling jealous & depressed.
Only time we hear anything remotely close to this at home is when Leafs fans pack into our arena.
JBotts & the Pegulas better do something this offseason. We the fans deserve to be as excited about our team as these Isles fans are right now
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man how many goals this year have come from us shooting hard & wide & resulting in a break the opposite way? At least 3 from Eichel that i can remember & now Oli tonight
Hey at least we came back to tie it & didnt completely roll over
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42 minutes ago, Kruppstahl said:
The comp you are looking for is Max Afinogenov.
Both guys are very similar; way above average stick and puck skills; zero hockey IQ; terrible players.
With the last line I agree to a point but i think you could make that comparison to other young players as well. For me where that comparison ends is in their measurables. Tage is 5 inches taller & some 15 - 20 pounds heavier than Max & with that I don't see him like Max at all.
Max on the ice was like a dart & flew around the ice like a bat out of hell, knifing his way into scoring positions. He was also twice as productive as Tage was when he got here because he was a sniper & knew how to use his good shot. Maybe Max never lived up to what we thought his potential could be, but i don't see how putting up multiple 20 goal seasons can be labelled as terrible.
This year I'd kill to have someone else on this team that can put up 20 goals.
Tage as a player isn't like Max imo. He doesn't have the shiftiness or speed that Max had, nor Max's ability to score so early in his career. Physically they are 2 very different players. I'd try to make a comparison to someone of Tages size, to get an idea of who Tage could be in the future. Someone the size of Getzlaf or Blake Wheeler. Tage's game is pretty raw right now, but with some proper seasoning perhaps he can be a player who uses his size & raw skills to his advantage. But if Tage were Max level right now, putting up 16 goals & 35 points at this point in the season, i think we'd be quite happy with that production. Wouldn't you?
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1 minute ago, bob_sauve28 said:
Passing on that PP was just aweful
yeah you'd expect more out of Eichel. His 2 errant passes killed half the penalty on his own
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Ive said it before in other Risto threads. Seems like a new one pops up once a week lol. But i see a lot of similarities with how we've handled Risto as we did with Tyler Myers.
Since Tyler's been gone he's went on to have a pretty decent career.... on the 2nd pairing.
His last season with us he was a -26 +/- & shipped out of town. We probably overused Myers & misused him much in the same way we're doing with Risto. And imo its because we havent had better options. Since he's got here he's been placed into that #1 role... at age 19, & as fans we expect him to succeed in it. And when there's problems we blame him.
You put Risto on the 2nd pairing & improve the team in front of him with players that can score & I believe you have a pretty good physical puck moving 2nd pairing dman.
And imo we don't lose games because of Risto, we lose games because we can't score consistently thruout our lineup. Until we improve in that area we as fans are just gonna go around in circles with this stuff.
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I dont care about the Leaves. Its why you don't see me making threads about them ?
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1st try & we moved up to 2nd... I'll stop there & take it. Just for the superstitions in me so it becomes true.
GO SABRES!
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Nothing like waiting til the final 2 minutes of the game to have a good shift
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This game looks like 1 team has something to play for & the other team is just going thru the motions.
Avs are fighting for a wild card spot & we're just trying to get this thing over with i guess
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i just tuned on the game. We're getting outshot, 35-9 & its halfway thru the 3rd period?
Man talk about checking out of a game huh? Surprised its not 5-0 right now
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1 minute ago, Huckleberry said:
no he doesnt , UPL
Ukko looks to be the real deal. I have a friend who lives in Finland & he's excited to see what UPL can do for our team. He's probably a year or 3 away from the big club but I wouldnt mind seeing him sooner, especially with how our goaltending has been as of late
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Cant be a good feeling being Hutton & walking back into the dressing room after getting smoked 3 times in a row.
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Are we really winning this 2nd period? Crazy!
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8 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
I would not bet on that. Risto is great at cross checking people in a scrum. Sure he is strong but he just likes to talk. Until he takes off his gloves and fights someone I will continue to believe he is a pretender.
Ive read on this board that people think Risto doesn't hit anyone, but in truth he's got the 6th most in the East & has the most hits on our team by far. Next guy down has half the hits as he does which is Girgensons. Just goes to show how soft this team is in general & how much this team depends on Risto to provide some form of physicality. Often to his detriment, as Risto finishing his checks often puts him out of position.
I think Risto would be better served on our 2nd pairing, with reduced minutes overall. But for lack of any better options he's been the go to guy ever since he came here. I see a lot of similarities between him & Tyler Myers in terms of how we've handled (mishandled) him.
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1 minute ago, Pimlach said:
Wow. Looks at lines 2,3 and 4. How did they ever win 10 in a row.
and there's tons of people who want to fire Housley, because with lines like that, surely we should be one of the top teams in the league!
Good to remember there were tons of people who thought the world was flat too... heck there still are some of those around ?
But yeah GO SABRES! Win this one in Chicago or lose for a better draft pick... either way we WIN!
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You two guys with the 2nd line / 3rd line thing. What we can all agree on is our middle 6 is what the issue is & in that you're both right. We need a better 2C since Mitts isnt ready yet for that role, and we need another winger or 2 that can produce now for the 3rd line. Ideally we'd want to have 4 rolling lines, 3 of which that can score. As opposed to what we have now with just 1 top heavy line.
But theres no way in hell do i want to go into next season with Mitts as our 2C. He's got talent no doubt, but he's a couple years away from the added muscle growth & strength he needs to play at this level. We definitely need to address that spot going into next season if we have any hopes of having 2 solid lines
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There's a reason why my avatar is a photo of Rick Vaive. When I was a young kid I used to watch him get pummeled every single night, often having to get helped off the ice as the nerve pain in his neck would flare up after a crosscheck by the net. But he would always get back up again & go right back to the front of the neck. Watching him play back then was at least for me motivational & a trait I don't often see in todays game anymore.
He had some good offensive skills but man was he tough too
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Trading Risto as if he's causing more harm to the team than bringing positives to it is ridiculous imo. He's big, he's smart, he plays tons of minutes & the most important ones during games, & is a well rounded dman with good offensive skills. And when he goes into beast mode & starts throwing his body around, he looks like a tough player to play against. I've been waiting for him to take on a bigger leadership role on the ice & these past few weeks it appears like he's coming into his own in that regard, which is exciting.
But I don't see what we gain from trading away Risto lol, i really don't. Scandella would make more sense or even McCabe or Pilut, even tho I'd rather keep Pilut around since i see a lot of potential in him as well. Beaulieu should be on this list b4 Risto. Pretty much anyone else since Risto is our best Dman right now, along with Bogo who has really impressed me this season. The turnaround Bogosian has had here has really been nice. I had all but written him off.
Like others have said, it takes a long time for a dman to mature & come into his own. Especially a young kid coming over from Finland & having to adjust to so many new things. He's been asked to do way too much way too soon & now its appearing to pay dividends & people say trade him as if we're missing out on the playoffs because of him.
We have 1 offensive line that can score so lets trade one of our top dmen. Brilliant idea! Luckily its not gonna happen.
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I think while evaluating Eichel one needs to keep in mind he's only 22 years old & still coming into his own as a man & NHL player. I think if Eichel were playing on another team with a deeper talent pool he probably wouldnt have gotten the C. But since we're not one of those teams with a solid roster, he got the C for lack of having anyone else to give it to imo. Jack is the leader of this team & our offense revolves around him & his play making ability.
I would like to see Jack shoot more personally, as he has a super quick release that is pretty darn accurate. I'm not a big fan of his one timers tho. But he's gotten better defensively since last year & as he gets older & gets more experience, I only expect that to improve & for him to turn into a great 2 way player.
But I dont see any scenarios where we trade him. Maybe a few years down the road if anything, but by then I imagine our team will look a lot different than it does now & we'll be one of the better teams in the league. Hopefully making all the negative thoughts & posts we've endured these past few years a distant memory.
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Just because one player leaves a team & has a solid season, it doesnt mean that the previous regime made a mistake in letting them go. Timing is everything sometimes. He was given multiple chances to succeed & failed, was given a big investment by our team to have him here & failed, only for the light to finally go on & play up towards his potential. Getting clean & staying clean from the pills & alcohol & whatever substance abuse issues he was dealing with before is a big part of it too. After all that then maybe you can get into scheme & whatnot.
But I don't see how Lehner's career turn around has anything to do with our GM's ability or inability to evaluate him, thats just ridiculous. It sounds like he just turned his life around & focused more on hockey & tbh i'm happy for him. I just hope he gets pulled in the 1st period after letting in 5 goals as the Sabres storm towards a much needed victory
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9 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:
I agree Phil will not be fired and that there are holes in the roster. However I have a slightly different theory.
If JBott fires Phil that only leaves himself to get the axe next. Instead JBott will try to fill those holes and then let Phil show what he can do. Thing is Phil will fail with “upgrades” added because, well, not everyone is destined to be a head coach. JBott knows this.
After not showing any major improvements (missing the playoffs) next year, Phil gets replaced. The new HC/GM tandem then get a year to show the highers they have everything under control. This makes the 2020/2021 season a sink or swim period for JBott.
If the Sabres make the playoffs he is safe. If not he gets fired but JBott still benefits.
1. He will have had four years experience as a GM.
2. His tactic will have secured his job for the next two years following the 2018/2019 season.
3. Executing multiple trades, drafting, and developing successfully (debatable?) provide positive optics.
4. The team has performed better than under GMTM. I know this is debatable to some people.
So what is the point? JBott will not lose sleep over inability to take the Sabres to the playoffs. This is his first time as the head honcho and at the same time trying to make a horrible team into a playoff team. He stole Skinner, lured an assistant coach from a successful team to be his HC, made some improvements resulting in said horrible team to become middle of the pack. He also got a franchise player to extend full term, greatly enhanced goaltending and will add to his accomplishments during the offseason. JBott knows he is on the clock so he is doing his job for two reasons. Try to make the playoffs but build his resume for when the inevitable happens.
I guess what I’m saying in this essay of a post is JBott is setting the stage for himself as much as he is the franchise. Therefore he is/has/will do things which may help the team but more importantly prolong his stay in order to build said resume. Problem for the fans is he will likely go the safe route on moves with no big waves because the big risk may result in his firing before he can solidify his appeal to other teams.
As much as I hate to say it. This is theatre we are watching. If Skinner had cost more than what we gave do you think JBott would have executed the trade? Say Sam for Skinner. I think not because that would’ve been higher risk and if Skinner didn’t light it up like he is we would be even worse in the standings. JBott will then have failed in coach department and big move department.
I do apologize for the length and am just having some fun with this conspiracy theory.
I hear what youre saying & while i may agree with ur broader point that he wants to be successful in his role & career, i think the rest is a bit unfair on your part or maybe you're just trolling a bit, who knows. But imo this guy is more of a Sabre than you or I am or will ever be. Why? Because he was an actual player for our team. Something that no fan is. Not to mention his stint with Rochester. He's shed blood sweat & tears for this team on a physical level. More than most fans who sit in their computer chairs & type away like you & I. I just dont buy for a second that he doesnt care about this team as much as his career. He's invested. And while he's not sitting in the dark with a bottle of whiskey in his hand staring down the barrel of a shotgun listening to conway twitty songs all night, i'm sure the stress & subsequent disappointment of where this team is at right now does bother him. But unlike fans emotions that rise & fall everynight, he seems to have his plan & is sticking to it. And when you think of it, wouldn't you rather have a GM like that? Seems to me GMDR & GMTM wouldve felt the pressure to make a flashy move desperate to appease the fan base. We've been there & done that & we know how that story ends.
The ownership has given him this opportunity & he will be judged on it as time goes on. But he wont be judged on our ugly loss last night, anymore than our 10 game winning streak. But you better believe he'll be judged at the end of next year after we're on the other side of this rebuild. The year after we cleared out our cap space & made some use of it. This year was all about the reset & i know u know that. But I'm sorry i dont doubt for a second that he wants to bring the Cup to Buffalo. Us fans want it yesterday I get that, but who knows, perhaps the patient build from within plan is the one that actually gets us there in the long run. Because we've tried the other way & it didnt work out so well. If we're as good as we think we can be a year or so from now, all talk like we see on these forums after a bad loss will seem like a distant memory. We can only hope haha
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the team seemed to give up tonight late in the game. After we pulled within one i think everyone here felt a comeback. But then that weak goal puts them up by 2 & after that it was like the life fell outta them. That was the 1st time this season i felt the players gave up on a game. Not a good sign when youre supposedly fighting for a playoff spot.
We had tons of giveaways tonight which has been a recurring theme. We hear all the time housley saying that we need to just put pucks on the net & play a simple game, but our players never seem to be doing that consistently. Idk who takes the blame for all that.
Line wise i dont know how much any coach could do. Do you bring one of the guys from the 3rd line to the 2nd, 4th to the 3rd? You're just moving crap around. We dont have much to work with besides from our top line & maybe Mitts & Thompson. So that leads us to what we've been saying all season long, we need better forwards.
We have games when we're totally out playing & dominating the other team but the pucks just dont go in the net. I dont think the problem really is the system & i havent heard one player allude to that either. They need to just play a more simple game & not turn the puck over. Crash the net, set up screens & work the D. I would like to see some fire from Housley tho. When a player turns the puck over, get in his face & show him thats unacceptable. Idk what else he can do other than that.
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think ive seen Okposo cough up the puck 100 times this year while skating back towards the blue line, literally 100 times lol
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The issue with people asking for JBots to make a deal for a younger forward with term left on his contract is that every other team in the hunt is looking for the same thing.
Nobody wants our under performing players in a trade for a player like that. We'd love to trade Okposo, Beaulieu, Pomminstein or Scandella but there isnt a team out there thats gonna give us anything good for them. We'd have to do what we did last year by moving ROR & hope that the sum of the return is greater than the whole (and we know how many reacted to that). Or we'd have to give up a 1st, a prospect who is almost on par with the player we'd be looking for & probably even a combo of more picks or prospects. Just look at what Toronto had to give to acquire Muzzin from the Kings.
The price to acquire such a player is simply at its highest right now. We can wish all we want but I think we're a bit unrealistic while floating the idea around.
I'd love Panarin here, Simmonds too, but nowhere on hockey sites will you see the Sabres as a team mentioned as a potential landing spot for them. Why? I'm guessing its because they've objectively analyzed our current situation & figured we're not willing to part with the assets necessary to pull off a deal like that. Its just not happening imo.
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GDT Sabres at The Islanders 7pm MSG
in The Aud Club
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hey at least its not a shutout