DarthEbriate

Made it home from work... what'd I miss... oh.

Oh no! We're showcasing Ullmark and Guhle! It's OK, Guhle is all: Right now I feel I could take on the whole Empire NHL myself. Just don't tell him what happens next.

Blergh. Another dull game overall. We played well in the first, but as soon as we scored they flipped the on switch and we didn't respond. From that point on it didn't look like a competition: we didn't threaten, it wasn't wide-open chaos, there was no contentiousness, nothing.

Did they outshoot us in the third? It sure feels like it.

It's true. They play defense better than we play offense.

Shoot [the puck]... or something!

From the wrong thread.... DarthBerusad, on 07 Jan 2018 - 11:48 AM, said:

Whoops. This is what happens when they play in the morning... I start posting in the wrong thread. Yay, prospects!

So the Flyers give up the lead, show up for about 5 minutes and retake the lead... and now it's just keep away and clog the neutral zone. C'mon Sabres... they're going into Alamo Death Star Mode. It's time to fly into the superstructure and destroy the main reactor.

Nice passing, Philly. But was it one too many? Hey Dan, did you mean the Sabres are looking to keep it that way -- meaning keeping the Flyers in the lead?

Good transition on the turnover and Gostisbehere didn't miss. Back to even. Philly is waking up. Now we must elevate as well.

He's been sharp. A couple hits, some good crisp passes. This is the Beaulieu we want as a 5-6 D

Wha! That got him!

You know... our passing has been pretty good this first period. A few .... gah! weak pass turnover... But a few nice breakouts, a two-liner. Better than we're accustomed to.

Twice now when switching over to the football game during a Sabres commercial --- it's also commercial time during the NFL game. And NFL commercials come back from commercial and then the announcers give a few more ad pitches. No advertising! <whistle>

Our forwards give their points a ton of space; whereas they immediately pressure our D on their kill. Neither method is right or wrong -- but it was very noticeable in those back-to-back penalties.

Ufda! What a save.

Had a few chances on the power play. We appear to have our legs moving early today -- that's a good thing. And now a delayed penalty.

I care. I'm not some mercenary who doesn't care about anything or anybody. But this team is hard to watch this season. So often they play with about as much visible enthusiasm and competence as an army of CGI battle droids. Where's the threat? Where's the gumption? In football terms, you play to win the game.

^ 1st to 30th is awful, and it's not from 25% down to 20%. It's the 25% down to 12%. If we get 3 power plays a game -- that's 34 goals we're missing over the season. 4 power plays? That 43 goals we'll be missing from last season. That's a huge decrease. Add to it our poor defensive coverage and our significant decreases in save percentage from last season... that's why we've got a an almost -50 goal differential at the halfway point and the standings look like we're in full-on tank mode. It's pathetic.

I am disappointed by our apparent lack of progress. I didn't expect this. I expected a rough-ish start, then bonding with the new system, and then playing pretty well toward the end of the season as the players liked coming to the ice. Just think back to Bylsma's first season. At the end we had 81 points and were playing solid hockey for the final month. I was expecting something similar with better results because players like Jack, Sam, and Rasmus would improve from year-to-year early on. TL;DR research: Here are our top people in terms of games played in that 2015-16 season for 81 points: Risto, Eichel, Moulson, Reino, Gio, Legwand, McCabe, Gorges, Foligno, Larsson, ROR, Girgs, D-Lo, Kane, Bogo, McGinn, Franson, Pysyk And here's this year: Kane, Eichel, Pommer, Reino, Scandella, McCabe, Larsson, ROR, Pouliot, Okposo, Nolan, Girgs, Risto, Beaulieu, Antipin, Falk, Gorges It's a little different, but the core (young and should be improving) is the same. I think we'd all agree Nolan is an upgrade over Deslauriers as player, if not a checker. Scandella is better than Franson. Okposo is better than McGinn. Pommer and Moulson are in the same role and Pominville has been solid in it (at least back at the start of the season). Was Gionta that much better than Pouliot? Do we miss Foligno that much? Or Legwand? Was salary throw-in Legwand worth 20-30 more points in the standings for his 4th line/PK/long-range short-handed fluke goal prowess? Two years later any of our bottom-six centers should be able to make up for his loss: Larsson, Josefson, Rodrigues, Girgensons... So... coming down from the rant... yes, this year is pathetic. And I didn't expect it. And Rodgers and all our cornerbacks got hurt, or we'd be playing this weekend or next. Disappointing sports season.

For easygoing I'm a Cragganmore. When I want a little more fire, I say Penderyn. Are we winning yet?

There’s nothing wrong, Artoo. I’m just setting a new course. <beeps> We’re not going to regroup with the others. We’re going to the Winnipeg system. <beeps> Yes, Artoo? <beeps> It’s all right. It’s not a tank. We’re just going to set it on cruise control for the duration of the season.

Good start to trimming that goal differential against the Wild tonight. That's another -4 in the ledger. C'mon, Sabres. Show a little backbone, will ya?

Win or win not. There is no effort. Never tell me the odds.