Randall Flagg

The frustrating thing is that even when we get our three game win streak, it's all against western teams, and we immediately come back to teams we're actually battling with and lose all three games

Jack was here when Jason got here. Games like this are an important reminder of the roster Jason set out to put around him, after three offseasons of work. I spent all of my anger and emotion on this fact months ago, and feel complete indifference today. Didn't even check the score of the game until 20 minutes ago. Thank god for the Bills, because I've never felt less for the Sabres since I've known what they are

He is a really bad power play player. His goal scoring at ES almost always involves goaltender motion, screens, rebounds, and stuff really close to the net. But he doesn't deflect shots well, so he dosen't get put super close to the net on the PP, and it's rare that the goalie doesn't see his shot coming on the PP, and he's really bad at keeping the play alive under pressure with well-timed and well-placed passes. The only way the goalie moves significantly on the power play is those cross-crease passes, but the nature of those requires one-timers given that Jack is a left board staple, and he has not scored a one-timer goal with us in his larger than 50 goal sample size. I would just as soon not have him on the 1st PP unit. At ES...he went 24 games with only 1 goal last season IIRC. This streak could go on longer as is. He's also virtually guaranteed to go on at least one more goal scoring tear at some point this season. Is this worth 9 mil? Nah, but it's not Jeff's fault his GM put the team in a position such that Jeff leaving was DEFCON 1

The point of the post wasn't a Matthews-Eichel comparison, you silly goose. You said in no uncertain terms that Eichel was never the best player on the ice against the Leafs before this year. That was unequivocally wrong. You were unequivocally wrong, and I showed it, because I remember the games, and you just glanced at box scores. It's okay to admit it! You don't have to change the terms of the argument, and deflect from what you initially said that drew my response! I mean come on, your response here is borderline dishonest. The poster was talking Eichel vs. the Leafs, not Eichel vs. Matthews. You know he was, I know he was. You knew he was when you used some of the most decisive language you ever employ on this forum to shut him down, incorrectly. BTW, Matthews is up to 3 now, unless you think he was outplayed by Marner or Tavares. I didn't watch closely enough to determine this.

I was gonna say this - it seems like the "games played" the last two years would be a lot different if Cincy was 12-1 rather than 1-12

Also I'm pretty shocked that we're 20th in passing DVOA. I would have guessed like 29. If we can snag a good receiver in the draft, maybe another solid option in UFA, replace Gore with someone capable, and have Allen give a fraction of the reps to the deep ball he did to the middle of the field this summer, for a fraction of the return on investment, along with typical development of a 2nd to 3rd year QB, This could be a top 12 passing offense as soon as next year. I'm not confident about WHERE Allen will ultimately settle, but I like what I see from him now more than what I saw from Mitch the bitch last year. And given our slate of draft picks (I read somewhere we had 9?) and 90 mil in cap space, we're set to have the offseason Chicago did BEFORE they got good, not the one they had after they filled up their cap space and regressed to this season. And of course always improve the OL We're gonna need a CB too, K. Johnson is gone and Levi is questionable and there's no one behind him And of course always improve the OL We're gonna need a CB too, K. Johnson is gone and Levi is questionable and there's no one behind him

Will you be quiet? I have a narrative to push! And I was definitely going to log back in and add that teams run when they get the lead too, so that it's kind of a self-fulfilling stat - but I also think it's fair to say that the offenses of those particular teams, with Brieda, Cook, Lamar/Ingram, etc. are heavily dependent on getting the run going, and using play action to pass based off of that. So, when a poster or two lamented the fact that we don't pass 50 times per game to 15 runs, and aim for 300 yards passing every time (which is a small subset of fans that want us to be better at passing, and capable of running a modern offense, which is most of us) they weren't quite in touch with things (I don't remember who it was, but a few of these posters exist on two bills drive, including a man that said he'd rather lose the Denver game with Josh passing for 300 yards than win it the way we did, just because he wants to see it happen) But, I fell asleep, so I didn't end up appending the post!

Talent isn't the only way to win, and you need more than talent to win, but having it sure helps to win. The reason so many people have commented on the discrepancy between these two teams in this particular game is that, for two periods, the Leafs barraged us with stuff we quite simply haven't seen our Sabres capable of since 2007. Some of those chances were jaw-dropping in their complexity and ability.

In today's NHL opposing teams do this at even strength anyway, icing isn't that big of a deal and all these guys can aim. I'd rather have only 4 players available to pounce on a loose puck and try it, those players PKers at that, than 5. Coupled with the extra space for the extra attacker, I'd do what Ralph did every time.

There was a preseason argument in this thread about the Bills needing to pass more to be successful. Well, the Bills pass the 28th most (by percentage of their offensive plays) out of any team in the league. Here are the teams behind them: 28.Buffalo 53.32%| 29.Seattle 53.22% 30.San Francisco 50.33% 31.Minnesota 50.11% 32.Baltimore 44.65% Their records are: 28) 10-4 29) 11-3 30) 11-3 31) 10-4 32) 12-2

They hadn't shown that proclivity when down a man like they were at the end there, with the likes of Mikehyev or whatever

I would have needed to buy like four different things to watch every Bills game in Oklahoma legally

I'd be more inclined to call this a mediocre season than a good one so far.

Like which Sabres team? The 2016-17 one that was down 4-1 to San Jose in the third, and won in overtime? And also overcame a late 2 goal deficit in Nashville to beat them in OT? The 2017-18 team that was down 4-1 late to Vegas and took them to overtime too, as well as turning a 4-1 deficit into a 7-4 victory in Nashville? The 18-19 Housley squad that went down 2 late against Carolina in the midst of the collapse last year, and tied it in a frenzy? Even better - the 2018-19 Sabres team that, in Toronto in March, was down 4-1 just like today, brought it back to 4-3 in the third just like today, and lost 5-3 on a shorthanded ENG just like today? That game was only 9 months ago. I don't think "previous teams wouldn't have been capable of this" holds any water. We lost a game in which we looked silly for large chunks of it. It stings. Gotta move on

The 6 on 4 was worth the fact that the ENG was given up a little sooner than usual.

We can still win this game. That wouldn't change the fact that I'm glad I don't know any Leafs fans because I'm embarrassed about how much better they are with the puck than us The chances we are hemorrhaging compared to the feeble ones we create are embarrassing

It cannot be exaggerated how much more puck skill Toronto has, both individually and as a unit, than we do

For some reason, with no exaggeration, I have vivid memory of every Sabres-Leafs game I've ever watched

See above.

Jack's first game against the Leafs was unspectacular - I'm sure some remember it, as Kane got his first goal as a Sabre late in the third off of the left boards to tie the game at 1. We won it in a shootout. Jack's second game, later that spring, he scored the game tying goal in the third before a gorgeous Sam Reinhart takeaway on the forecheck, and feed to Kane, put us up. Jack was a +2 in that game, and was good, though was in a glut of players that are probably tied for best player in that game - all Sabres. The next game, Eichel ate some bad grilled cheese - it was the only game he missed his rookie year, Nylander's coming out party, we lost 4-1. We stomped them in the last game of the season - it was the first instance of the Eichel head-fake-pass-to-slot on the power play, giving Cal O'Reilly one of his two goals in that game. He was again excellent, though the raw numbers of just one assist don't indicate a dominating performance that you're looking for. In his second year, he missed the first Leafs game with a high ankle sprain, and didn't factor into the second one. In the third one, he assisted on all three goals in a 3-1 victory and was a complete animal. Kane had two of the goals, but Eichel controlled that game all night long with the puck on his stick, giving his teammates shots from golden areas on the rush and off the faceoff. He was easily the best player in that game. In the fourth game that season, he went off. The game was back and forth, with Matthews tying it at 2 a couple minutes into the second. Not 25 seconds later, Jack uncorks a LASER, one of the best shots of his career, to beat McBackup, and take the lead again. Shortly after a wonderful play on the boards forechecking, demonstrating his superior strength in an awesome puck battle right in front of True and I, gives him an assist on the 4th goal from Kulikov, and he scores again later in the period, punching the glass in front of the Leafs fans. Without a doubt, the best skater to play in that game. That's twice in the four games that season in which he was clearly the best player. In the last one, he scored one of our two goals, but the Leafs thrashed a Sabres team running for the bus. In 2017-18, the Sabres were awful. They split the Leafs games, two regulation wins each. Eichel missed the 5-3 victory with an injury. He missed the second game as well, a 5-2 defeat. In the 3-2 victory that followed, he was back, and scored our first goal in the game, and the game winner in the third, both on tremendous rushes/efforts. On the winner, Pominville flipped the puck behind Zaitsev at center ice, Jack destroyed him to the outside on the race, and shoveled it past Freddy single-handedly. It was the birth of the "WOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooo" echoing through the hushed Scotiabank Arena, that he now employs regularly. He was indeed the best skater for either team that night - a force in all zones. We lost the last meeting, in which he recorded no points, but was also on the ice for zero of the 5 Leaf goals. This was the first game vs. the Sabres in which Matthews outplayed all of his own teammates, much less our best ones. 2018-19 was a fun one, because that first game in the Leafs was one of the best games the Sabres played all year even though they lost in OT, with Sobotka and Scandella on the ice defending Matthews (unsuccessfully) in the dying seconds of OT. It's the kind of game that nfreeman would instantly give to Matthews, no questions asked, because of the result, even though Eichel controlled the game in regulation from start to finish and Ristolainen completely neutralized that line outside of one shift in which Auston carried/threw the puck about 14 feet to give himself a free wraparound goal. Eichel also had 2 goals, including tying the game late in the 3rd, took 8 shots on goal, and was a plus 3 in regulation while his line neutralized Auston's and Tavares'. Eichel was better all game, and then coaching gave Matthews the freebee at the end. The next game last season Jack again dominated with 2 goals, but Hutton was beyond pathetic in giving up 3 quick ones to the Leafs, from goofy angles and funky bounces, getting pulled for Ullmark. The Leafs got the game-sealer on the empty net. This game is the one after which Babcock remarked that Jack was the best player on the ice. He was right. Eichel was quiet-to-bad in the last 2 Leafs games of last year, as the team collapsed. He has regained his form this season, dominating the first meeting (I didn't see the second one). By my count, Eichel has been the clear best player in Leafs-Sabres games six times in his 15 meetings, and has played great games/been tied with the best a handful more, with a couple of stinkers. Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Kane, Reinhart have all had their time in the spotlight, but none of them have racked up HALF of Jack's 6. Leafs fans are WELL aware of this tendency, and for years their GDT has been a conglomeration of "I ***** HATE Eichel" "why does Eichel always destroy this team" etc. that I spend hours and hours reading with a smile on my face

I guess you weren't at the inaugural Sabrespace meetup game, in which the Sabres thrashed the playoff-bound Leafs on the back of a 2G, 1A night from Eichel. Or that you missed the quote from Babcock in a game between us last season, in which he said, directly, that Jack was "the best player on the ice tonight." He had 10 goals in his 13 games against the Leafs before this season. This is a 63 goal full-season pace. I'm honestly stunned at how severely you have stated this given Jack's history against the Leafs. It's one of the three teams he routinely piles up points against and wins games on his own.

The formula itself works as described, there's nothing wrong with it. His tendency to assert player value based solely on the calculation? Dubious

6-9-2 in our last 17 vs Toronto, winless in our last 4 in that building.

I remember being 17, enthralled with the worldview of dorm room atheists

I wouldn't have given that up for Hall. But I don't think it's an unfair deal either way. Yotes are interesting but don't have centers