mjd1001

"Fixing" the PP would obviously help. They'd likely have one win, and who knows if it would have changed any of the other 2 games. So yes, that is a big issue. But even if the PP was working they are still only shooting 3.6% 5 on 5. Yes, 3.6%. Even with a functioning PP, long term thats not enough unless you get a lot better/more productive even strength.

3 steps: -You have money to spend, it might be hard to find a trading partner the first week of the season, but you need to use that money and draft capital/prospects to bring in another Center. -Cozens immediately becomes a fixture on the 3rd line once you bring in someone else. Winger? Center? doesn't matter, he is now a 3rd line player until he proves otherwise. Or Move him as part of a package with a package of picks and other players to get that other center. -Pray Thompson starts converting his chances. Power Play, even strength, he is getting the shots yet everything he is doing looks 5% slower than the last few years. At least for tonight, I was fairly happy with the rest of the team. Its just you can't have your top 2 forwards, you $14m combo, having 1 goal on 26 shots for the season.

I never thought Quinn was going to be an 80 point player, and yes, I still think Cozens would be better on the wing, but not above Quinn. I'd rather have Quinn as a top 2 line winger and have Cozens on the 3rd line (Wing or Center, actually probably a 3rd line winger to be honest). But they are lacking a center. Cozens will likely continue to get chances at 2C due to no other options, but if he keeps performing the way he is, eventually you have to try something different. Unless some magic happens and he shoots 12-14% for the rest of the year, he simply is not a top 6 center. Someone else must be acquired or someone else in the organization need to be tried there.

ALMOST anyone yes. Mitts would be a lot better. Cozens needs to be a 3rd line center on this team and has to do that without his usual defensive positioning slip-ups. If he starts to score there, and does so consistently, then maybe he can move up again, but he's had his chance on a top line and he's not doing it. I can have a little more patience with Tage. He scored well for 2 years, not one (like Cozens) and even last year, he shot nearly 15% in the 2nd half of the year. A little more patience, but even with Tage, he needs to start converting. At least he has ONE this year. Cozens, he had the definition of a career year, just one good shooting year. Other than that, for the rest of his career, he's an 8% shooter, and is 0-14 this year with some of those being from good spots on the ice. There is no way you can have a #1 center or a #2 center that converts that poorly. To me you just can't have it and its pretty clear to me that is what Cozens is.

For me big picture is Pegula. Drill down and its on the players more, less on the coaches and GM. Sure you can say the GM brought in some of the players, but some of the others were here before him. I'm almost at the point of trying anyone at 2nd line center over Cozens. He just can't score. He had one good year and everything else of him we have ever seen at the NHL level shows he is about an 8% shooter. Thats just not good enough. Throw McLeod there for a couple games, bring up a Rochester young guy, just relegate Cozens to the 3rd line at this point. Tage? He needs to convert. He had a COUPLE years shooting at 15%, he needs to be close to that.

Kinda feels like the Bills, can't get an opposing kicker to miss a 50+ yarder to win the game.

Thompson, 12 shots on the season only 1 goal. Cozens, 14 shots on the season, 0 goals. Probably your 2 key forwards, starting the season with 1 goal on 26 shots between them.

That year they averaged slightly more than 1.2 goals per period. This year they have played almost 8 periods. At the 22/23 pace they would have almost 10 goals. This year.....2.

Ok, Sabres had some PP shots, but other than that, both teams are moving a lot slower than in the first period...what is the word...this period is a 'slog'?

He has top 5-6 raw talent on the team..but his hockey sense make him much of a time as much of a liability as an asset. He 'looks good' with the uniform on, the kind of player ever coach sees the skill and says "I can make it work", but usually they can't. Cozens might be the 'anti-Benson'.

Ok, Thompson has the only goal from a forward so far this year...and he is making a couple plays in the offensive zone...but.... His skating and his hands just look 5% slower than we are used to.

Ok, first couple minutes of the 2nd....a lot slower pace than the first.

No score, but the team is playing "decent", probably outplayed the Kings in the first, that helps too.

Ok, If its Kickstart my heart when wearing the Blue and gold, and Blur in the Red and Black....I can get behind that.

My biggest problem is, the first reaction most people might have is.....un-original. I think that song is played in every single arena at some point during every NHL game (and most NBA games I have watched on tv). If you are going to go retro, maybe something that people equate with when this team was good...late 90's, or mid 2000's.

Other than being overused, I think its a great choice, certainly the better than the other ones they had imo.

FYI...Kickstart my Heart by Motley Crue was Jokiharju's goal song in 2022-23

Ok, the stack of ryse fuel drinks on the desk during intermission is a bit 'tacky'

I think it is one of the best rock songs for a goal song...arena song in anyway....just its a bit over-used.

Looks like it is no goal by about 5/100s of a second.

Off topic..Leafs with 3 goals in the first period against the Devils so far. None of the big guns though, Matthews, Nylander, Marner, Tavares not on the scoreboard yet.

Well, last year the team averaged exactly 1 goal per period. Exactly. This year they have a total of 2 goals in....just about 7 periods. So..um....yeah..about 5 goals behind they pace they had last year.

I don't know much about generating offense in the offensive zone in the NHL. Positioning, strategy...etc. I do know that what the Sabres are doing is not working...all I can think is they need to just crash the net.

VO (when he was here), Tuch, and Thompson are the only ones that were even decent at finishing...and again, they aren't at the top of the league..just...good. Everyone else, not so much.

When I see people miss on the penalty shot, it seems like the vast majority of the misses are when the skater just waits too long and gets in too close. You want to go in that close, the only guys that make it work on a regular basis are the guys with elite hands. Everyone else, make your move or shoot a bit sooner.