matter2003

We all know how most decisions are based on money in sports, not what is good for fans or based on what fans actually want.

Ask ex-Bills CB Leodis McKelvin if they care or not.

Yup...used to be channel 2 that carried Sabre games(at least on the weekend). Remember watching them growing up as a kid in Buffalo. Also remember turning on CBC and watching Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday Night...loved it!

Seems to be in part a way to have the salary cap go up quicker due to increased ticket sales that occur when rivals that are close geographically play each other due to opponent fan bases traveling to road games. Salary cap only projected to go up $1 million next year due to pandemic related escrows still not be fully paid back. This is seen as a way to get those paid back quicker so they can get back to larger cap increases.

Potentially up to 8x a year...assuming Toronto would be one for us? https://sports.yahoo.com/report-nhl-looking-to-add-more-rivalry-games-with-changes-to-schedule-225728930.html We may be seeing the Battle of Alberta a lot more often as soon as next season as the NHL reportedly explores changes to its scheduling format.

Wonder if they have learned and are using any information they have learned from the Bills in this regard on helping to reduce injuries via cutting edge sports science and state of the art facilities/treatment. While the Bills have been hit with what seems like a lot of injuries this year, compared to other NFL teams, they are still among the least injured...the difference this year versus the other years is that almost all of the injuries have been to key players and starters when previous years many would be to ST guys or backups.

The Toronto Maple Laughs.

I thought they played them pretty well the first time and to a large extent outplayed them and should have won the game. That being said, the Avalanche have some sort of hex over the Sabres and have won 8 straight and 19 out of the last 22 meetings. Sabres have won 1 time in Colorado since 2005 going 1-9 in games there in that timeframe, with a lone 4-2 victory coming in 2017

I doubt that is going to change the fact Comrie and UPL have been among the worst goalies in the NHL at saving goals they are expected to save that go in. That's all factored in. Out of 79 goalies at 5v5 , Comrie is 66th at -0.54 GSAA/60 and UPL is 55th at -0.36 GSAA/60. Meaning Comire allows 1 extra goal that he is expected to save every 2 games(a little under actually) and UPL allows 1 extra goal every 3 games(a little under actually). Anderson is 29th at 0.18 GSAA/60 meaning he is slightly above average. The bigger issue is on the PK where UPL is absolutely dreadful and is 77th out of 79 goalies, with a GSAA/60 of -11.49, meaning if the Sabres were on the PK the entire game, he would allow 11-12 goals more than an average goalie...that is terrible. Comrie has been bad as well ranking 69th at -3.90 GSAA/60 on the PK. Anderson has been excellent on the PK ranking 7th in the NHL at 3.18 GSAA/60, meaning he saves an additional 3+ goals than an average goalie would...meaning the difference between Anderson and UPL on the PK is almost 15 goals per game. So basically, Anderson has been by far and away the best goalie on the team but I don't think you needed any fancy stat breakdowns to see that. Also don't think making saves you should make has any effect on who is on the ice.

Comrie was 2nd in Goals Saved Above Expected last year in a much bigger sample size...how's that working out for us? even before getting hurt, other than the first game he has mostly stunk.

wonder how long before he gets visitors...probably pretty easy for people to figure out where he lives and they even show the car he drives...probably not a great idea

So basically you are saying they are going to be really really god?

I'm not opposed to those type of moves, but aren't those the type of moves usually made in the offseason?

During the 8 game losing streak he was -10. The only non-negative +/- games he had were the first and last games. +1 versus Carolina to start the losing streak and 0 against Toronto to end it. Anytime you are asking Bryson to play 20-23+ minutes a game instead of the usual 12-15 minutes(or less) you are asking for trouble.

Probably because he doesn't want to start chasing it like TMGM did and go from lots of young prospects and picks to empty cupboards with nothing to show for it in a short time. Perhaps he also believes he really needs to see how these players grow together this year before he has a concrete idea of EXACTLY what is needed.

I mean Teppo Numminen was included on the list for 2005-06 so not sure what your point is

More like youngest team in the NHL still finding it's way versus veteran team. In general, it shows that good offensive teams make the playoffs and have larger margin for error than good defensive teams.

They have just as many 4-5-6 goal games against those teams as they do 1-2-3 goal games. Considering he is 3rd in the NHL in goals, it isn't working very well.

Maybe, but these young players will also grow tremendously during that time, so there is an above average chance that will outpace anything other teams do to us.

It has never happened post 1970. The last team to lead the NHL in scoring while missing the playoffs were the Chicago Blackhawks in 1947-48. However, they had a -30 goal differential. The only team in NHL history to lead the league in scoring while having a + goal differential and missing the playoffs were the 1925-26 Boston Bruins(+7). Sabres are in rare territory here.

That team led the NHL in goals with 195 that year but game up 225, a -30 differential. The only team to miss the playoffs while leading the NHL in scoring and finishing with a positive net goal differential was the 1925-26 Boston Bruins who scored 92 goals(tied for 1st) and finished +7. They missed the playoffs by a single point that year,. All this means the Sabres are on pace to do something never seen before in the NHL since the modern era began and would be the first team in almost 100 years to miss the playoffs while leading the NHL in scoring and having a positive goal differential. Not exactly the kind of history we want to be making.

Trying to see if a team that has led the NHL in scoring has ever missed the playoffs(post 1970) but haven't been able to track that down.

Based on the interview he gave a few days ago with Duffer and Biron that is unlikely to happen. He wants to see them grow into figuring that out more with what we have here.

It would be the most 40+ point players since 2005-06 for the Sabres when they had 11...however the highest point total that year was Afinogenov with 73. Sabres have 1 player that should easily exceed 100 points(maybe even 120 points) in Thompson and another in Dahlin that is on pace for 93. They are also the only team in the NHL with 5 players having 30+ points currently. This team is going to be a juggernaut within 1-2 years when they add another piece on defense and some better goaltending. The pipeline of offensive players is deep and they still have super talented players that are playing in the minors 1-2 years out... It's hard to be patient when you see the young talent performing at such a high level but I have a feeling it will be worth the wait.

The 3rd and 4th lines have been turning it up for the last few games...at times they are our best lines on the ice lately. If this can continue and we get solid contributions from them even half the time, the Sabres are going to be one tough out. Krebs with 3 goals in 4 games, VO with goals in 2 of the last 3 and a nice assist to Krebs while driving the net and shielding a player with his body, Mittelstadt with 3 assists against the Pens and has looked really good the last few games, setting up Tuch for what should have been an easy tap in the goalie made an incredible save on last night... They are seemingly figuring some things out and I'm here for it.