mjd1001

Who is the best player in hockey right now? -Austin Matthews. 52 goals, 24 assists, 76 points right now. On pace for over 70 goals. Led the league 2 years ago in goals, last year 'only' reached 40 playing through a wrist injury. Scoring goals is said to be the hardest thing to do in hockey, and he is the best at it over the last few years. On pace for 77 goals and 113 points this year. -Connor McDavid. 21 goals, 66 assists, 87 points, after a very slow start. 5 time Art Ross Trophy winner, 3 time MVP, currently reigning champion in both. 27 years old and 6 times 100+ points. -Nathan MacKinnon. 34 goals, 59 assists, 93 points. Only he and Kucherov on this list is a cup winner. 2nd in league in points, 5 out of leading. 7 years in a row being a double digit + in the plus-minus column. 2nd only to Kucherov in playoff points over the past 5 years, but 1st in playoff goals scored (33 goals in 52 playoff games, scoring goals at a 52 goal per 82 game pace in the playoffs vs playoff competition) Probably the closest we have to a modern day Mark Messier...intense, fast, clutch performer who will 'will' his way to success once he pushed his talent to the limit. -David Pastrnak. 36 goals, 46 asissts, 82 points. Best player on the best team (overall wins) over the last couple of years. 3rd in the league in goals and 5th in points over the last 5 years. 61 goals last year. In the past decade only McDavid had a single season with more goals (64.) When I personally watch the Bruins, he rarely makes a mistake in any zone on the ice. -Nikita Kucherov. 37 goals, 61 assists, 98 points this year through 58 games to lead the league (on pace for 52g, 86a, 138 points). Multiple time 100+ point guy...multiple time Cup winner. Leads league in playoff points over the past 5 seasons...28 more than 2nd place. Just curious to see what everyone thinks as of right now....

I agree with your first 2. Dahlin is getting way too much ice time. And VO? yeah, put him out there and see how it goes. Its not like what they have is working.

Let say they go on a 5 game winning streak from here. Making it 7 in a row. Even if they did that, they would be at .532 point percentage. Where would that get them? 13th in the conference. Where are they now? 13th in the conference. So yeah, not looking good, but we all know that already. And those next 5 games? Carolina, Florida, Tampa, Vegas, Winnipeg. Their record so far against those teams this year? 2-6

As of yesterday, he passed Thompson for 5th on the team in goals per 60 (by a fraction) and is only .03 goal per game behind Skinner for 4th.

By the way, on the goal allowed last night.... R. Johnson was down low to account for to C-bus forwards at the time of the goal. He could have been more physical or made a play on the puck...sometimes you do sometimes you don't. My question is with Jokiharju that play. I think he has played pretty well recently and actually has had a decent year. But when I look at the replay, its not a TERRIBLE mistake but the reason Johnson has to deal with 2 guys is Jokiharju floats up the ice toward the faceoff circle. Now, normally I would not think thats a bad thing...but there really is no C-bus player there to cover and Benson was already there. The Sabres seem to be getting a lot better in their own end latey, and no team makes zero mistakes...but I'm just not sure why a D-man would skate away from his own net...toward a spot on the ice with no defender, when one of your forwards is there already...leaving only your rookie D-man to cover ANYTHING happening down low. Those are the things this team did earlier in the year that they seemed to cover up lately.....lets see if this happens more when they play some of the tougher competition coming up on the schedule.

It actually did happen in Toronto a decade ago, I think Porous Five Hole had a post about it...apparently the Leaf fans booed the team off the ice and threw some jerseys on the ice after a performance they weren't happy with..and the players took exception to it. I don't like it, but I don't think its a major issue either. One side can say its a sign the team is spoiled, entitled, doesn't care about the fans....but the other side can say they team stands up for each other, has a tight locker room, etc. Neither side of the argument is totally correct or incorrnect to me. I think Quinn being hurt, Tage's shooting percentage dropping 40% since the last 2 years, and this team having no skilled/experienced Veteran on the blue line (who isn't WELL past his prime) are much, much bigger issues than the team saluting or not saluting the fans, and I think one does not have an impact on the other.

I did a quick look at their schedule and results this year.... Against the top 10 teams this year (in terms of point percentage), the Sabres are 5w-11L Against the bottom 10 teams, they are 13w-7L Against the remaining middle, they are 8w-13L. The last time the Sabres WON against a team currently in the top 10 in the standings....24 games ago, in December vs Toronto. Since then they have only played 5 games out of 24 against the current top 10 teams....0 Wins, all 5 Losses, outscored 15-7 (average score 3 goals allowed, just 1.4 goals scored) Maybe the good news is since 2024 started, they have played 3 of those teams....gone 0-3 but only allowed 5 'real' goals in those 3 games (taking out empty net/gargabe time goals) So yeah, at least they have tightened up the D against those top teams. Not surprising, it is what you would expect. But as you and others have said, those of us who are trying to look at the 'good' side of things, these next few games/weeks will tell us a lot. They need to do better than 1 win for every 2 losses against the top 1/3 of the leauge. Not related to the Sabres, but teams that are considered 'good'... Edmonton, has a similar record agains the top of the league as Buffalo (last time I saw someone post about Edmonton, they were 5W-10L against the top 10 teams.) Edmonton is feeding off of the bottom of the league. Dallas same thing, they were 4W and 13L vs the top 10 teams. On the other side of things...Florida already has 10 wins vs the top of the league, as does Vancouver.

-Thompson give a month off to heal whatever injury he has. If he doesn't have one, pray he somehow returns to the form of the last 2 seasons. I don't know what else it can be. Its not he came off of one career year, he had 2 years in a row where he was great..then this year...hes getting his shots and chances, they just aren't going it. #1 way to fix the offense is find out what you need to do to get him going. -Hire a new Assistant to do nothing but work with the Powerplay. Pay the guy double/triple what you need to, just do it. -Wait for Quinn to come back. Last year I was thinking...hes good but its early. This year I think him and Peterka, when they are together, are legit scoring threats. -Bring in a really, really good, veteran, 2-way D-man. I know they don't grow on trees. But someone who can both make that good first pass out of the D-zone and also someone reliable in his own end to possibly pair with Dahlin so you take some D-zone pressure off of Dahlin and let him push up the ice even more.

Maybe the problem was he wasn't a good coach last year. If you want to tell me that he was a below average coach last year, and he was only saved by a career year from Cozens and Thompson, I will listen to that argument. I honestly never played or coached hockey at anything close to a professional level. So maybe he's just not good overall. Last year the power play was very good, but it was realistically good because of one-timers by Tage and VO. So again, the point of my argument is I honestly think he is doing a slightly better coaching job than last year. So if people were happy with his coaching job last year, I don't see why they want him gone this year. Again, if you think he was bad last year, wanted him gone last year... And think that he is still bad this year, that is an argument I won't go back and forth too much on. I disagree with that slightly, but I will respect that argument. My whole point is again, I'm simply comparing his coaching last year to this year. I don't see it as considerably worse than last year.

There's a difference. The numbers aren't cherry picked to fit my argument... The number is about the top two players ARE my argument. Let me put it a different way. 21 out of 23 players on the team are scoring at a rate very close to last year. The entire team is getting just about the same amount of shots as last year. The entire team is getting opportunities in front of the net, high danger chances in mid-range chances, at about the same rate as last year. The entire team is playing better defensively. The only thing that is a major difference is those two guys scoring. If the entire team is producing like they did last year except for them... And those two guys are getting the same amount of shots... About the same amount of scoring chances that are of quality scoring chances... They are just for whatever reason not putting them into the net.... That's not coaching being a lot worse this year compared to last year. I don't get how you don't understand that. My whole argument is based on the things that coaching can impact, shots on goal, production by most people on the roster... Everything is very similar to last year except for those two guys shooting percentage. So again, you're saying I'm cherry picking taking those two guys out of the statistics... Again.... You are proving my point... The coaching isn't that much different except for those two guys... And those two guys. It's not about their shots on goal, it's not about even where the shots are coming from... It is simply about the shooting percentage. I don't know about you... But in any sport when a team misses the playoffs, I don't say let's just change the biggest things possible, I try to identify the individual things that need to get changed. It goes back to the analogy of a sick patient.... You don't say the patient is sick so let's treat every single thing we know.... You try to identify the one small factor that is wrong. Production, shooting percentage, by those two guys is the one thing that is much more different than everything else. Again, I'm not cherry picking stats. I'm doing the opposite. I'm isolating one or two particular stats that are different than everything.

Based on my original post in your response... I don't agree with everything you said but I do agree with a lot of it, probably more than half. My view is the number one thing this team needs is a really really good veteran Defenseman. Someone 27 to 30 years old... Legit top four, Maybe a top two guy. Those are very very hard to get. Especially with a lot of them having no trade clauses. I'm not saying it's easy but that one is on Adams to get done. If he doesn't, I think the defenseman on this team would grow into a very good defense group, but it would take a couple of years. A veteran right now accelerates that. And as for the schedule being weak recently.... Well all of the factors I brought up, Tage and Cozens not producing, they've been there the whole year. Against good teams, against bad teams. The stats I quoted were for the entire year, about those those two at least, not just the past couple of weeks. If anything, the week schedule recently supports my point of view.... As Cozens has only started producing against the weaker team's recently... His numbers were even worse before the run of easier teams in the past month or so. The home versus road record, that has baffled me. But again I don't think Granato is coaching worse this year. They had the same issue last year when they were one point away from being a playoff team. If it's an issue, it's not because he is coaching worse than last year... It's he's doing the same thing as last year. KO I think should be gone replaced with someone younger. Zengus, I'm perfectly happy with his play and I'd bring him back for another year. I'm not caught up on the performance of a fourth line, but two new, young guys, with Zemgus, I'm happy with that I would feel better with some changes to the coaching staff. Switch up some assistance, overpay and bring in an assistant who's really good. My point is I don't think it's all on Granato, and I don't think switching him out for a retread of what's available out there instantly makes this team better. Trade prospects to get a top four defenseman, bring some youth into the fourth line, bring in that experienced asst. coach, and I think you're 80% of the way there to doing what you need to do.

Last year 3.57 goals per game for the team. This year 2.91. Difference of 0.66 goals per game. Last year, Tage/Cozens accounted for 0.95 goals per game. This year 0.47. Difference of 0.48 So, as of last night, 73% of the missing goals from last year per game (0.48 goals per game of the 0.66 goals per game from the team) is due to just Tage and Cozens alone. The entire rest of the team combined is soring 0.18 less goals per game (or, the rest of the team besides them is scoring one goal less every 5-6 games on average.) My whole point is it really isn't much of a change in coaching from last year. The "fire Granato because we want a change crowd" will disagee with every post I make about this, simply because they want heads to roll but... -The team is generating almost (maybe 1 less) shots per game as last year. -The team is generating high danger and mid-range in front of the not shots almost the same as last year (maybe 1-1.5 less per game when I looked it up last week) -Thompson and Cozens are getting the same number of shots as last year. Eye test...Thompson is getting PRIME, front of the net chances he isn't converting on, comments are made by numerous posters in the past few weeks during the gameday threads as everyone can see that. A change of coaching style hasn't impacted his chances...its just he isn't putting them in like the last 2-2.5 years. -The rest of the team is getting just about the same number of shots as last year (maybe 1 less, if that), and they are scoring just about as much (0.18 per game less) If you consider your prime scorers, Tuch and Skinner, have missed more games than last year, that likely makes up the entire difference. -PP looks awful though? Sure does. But as in another thread, Tage, Cozens, and VO account for just about the entire difference. Tage is getting his chances, he is getting his one timers. The PP doesn't look THAT much different than last year (Last years PP was basically feed Tage or VO the puck there wasn't any other movement or magic involved with it.) The difference? Tage and Cozens aren't converting their chances. The PP looked awful last year but was saved by Tage and VO one timers. That was the 'magic' this PP had. If there is a change in scoring (other than Tage or Cozens getting chances but not converting on them) it is very minor. A fraction of a goal per game. But the defense of this team is MUCH better than last year. I'm not saying the team had stellar coaching last year...maybe last year Tage one timers on the PP, Tage and Cozens overall covered up a rather bad team in other areas. My thought is this team might be SLIGHTLY better coached this year COMPARED to last year, they just aren't getting that Tage and Cozens production to cover up the bad things, but are getting BETTER overall defensive play. When I posted this a week or two ago someone suggested that I was reaching for, cherry-picking numbers to just present one side of the story. I don't agree with that, this isn't a deep dive into the deep depths of new age analytics...this is pretty straight forward stats that, to me, are easy to understand.

I'm saying everyone else BESIDES Cozens and Tage. The vast majority of the scoring differene is from them, NOT the rest of the team. Tage and Cozens are even getting their shots off. Every game Tage is not just getting shots, he is getting quality chances....the 2 of them just aren't converting. I put this in a different thread as of last week, but the rest of the team besides those 2....they are scoring at almost the same rate as last year, (the slight difference is likely due to top scorers like Skinner and Tuch missing games) they are getting about the same shots as last year. Tage and Cozens are getting about the same shots as last year, they are just converting a lot less (the 2 of them). As a team they are only off 0.9 shots per game from last year. Their team shooting percentage is down from 11 percent to 9.3...again, the vast majority of that drop is due to Tage and Cozens. If there was a MAJOR change in coaching that was cutting down on the offense, why is everyone else getting (As a TEAM) almost the same production as last year? About the same shots as last year? Even Tage and Cozens are getting just about the same number of shots per game as last year. As much as so many people just want to blame this on Granato, the single biggest difference in offense from this year compared to eveything else is simply Tage and Cozens not converting their shots like they did last year. If you want to throw VO into the mix...yeah, his decline added to Cozens and Tage add to almost the entire drop off in goals from last year, but very few people expected much from VO.

Carolina, Florida, and Tampa next week. That will be a good test for UPL and the team defense.

I don't know the numbers up to today, but when you break things down, this is what it looks like: -Goatending (UPL) is better than last year -Overall team defense, especially since Jan 1, is better than last year (eye test and shots allowed) -Goal scoring is only SLIGHTLY off compared to last year with 2 big exceptions that you didn't expect...Cozens and Tage. They are getting chances. They are getting the same number of shots as last year....just they aren not converting, shooting percentage is way down. I know the narrative is there was a major change in coaching that is causing the drop in goals. That might be partially true but it really isn't more than just a small part. Most of the team is scoring at a similar rate to last year (only slightly less)...its just Tage and Cozens aren't hitting the back of the net.

Zemgus with 1 goal in 11 minutes.... Tage with no goals in 17 minutes... Have to check the stats tomorrow, but Zemgus may have caught/passed Tage in terms of even strength goals per 60 minutes played...for 5th on the team. didn't really see....was mostly following the puck when watching it live.

Just a guess....you want someone who is 'quicker' with a good first step to get to a loose puck and knock it out of the zone? With that little time left, not worrying about someone making a good decision on who to cover on a 2-on-1, or making a great breakout pass.....just simply a quick guy to get his stick on a loose puck? I'm probably reaching....

I think its a bit of everything. He is playing well. The forwards aren't leaving wide open areas in the D-zone. Because the forwards are playing better, that helps the D-men to play better/be in better position. They could all be tied into together. It might ultimately be UPL playing better BECAUSE he has more confidence the team in front of him isn't going to hang him out to dry...

Thompson's shooting percentage is dangerously close to going into single digits...after being almost 16 last year and 15 the year before. I HOPE there is an injury he is playing through becuase it just doesn't make sense otherwise. He would have 26 goals this year already if he just shot at the same percentage he did the last couple of seasons. I don't get too far into the analytics/fancy stats.....but the 'eye test' for me shows the forwards are playing MUCH better since January 1st. Its like someone flipped some kind of switch then and the forwards are making a fraction of the obvious mistakes they made until then.

In an effort to make things look as GOOD as possible (because that is what we do here, honestly, we pick and choose stats that make the case we want to make on this forum), you can say its really the last 15 games that he has turned around his game....all around play AND production.... Since the San Jose game Jan 15 for Greenway, which was the first time he scored in almost 3 weeks: 13 games played, 6 goals, 3 assists, +7 (projected over 82 games, 38g, 19a, +44 'pace') Of course that is cherry-picking stats in his last 13 games, but it does show just how productive he has been over that stretch. Lets see if he can keep up production even CLOSE to that for the near future. He's not a Star player. But what makes for 'good' players are guys who can have stetches as good as that....and not have them followed up by stretches of being a liability or totally disapparing. For the season as a whole he is 7th in es goals per 60 (just behind Zemgus and just ahead of Mitts) and 3rd on the entire team in +/- (only Mitts is better among the forwards)

Back in high school (a couple decades ago), I decided to go to community college instead of U.B. right after high school. Everyone criticized me for me, my parents wondered why, a little making-fun-of and jeering from classmates in school....even teachers and my guidance counselar disagreed. Its something that I'm glad I did then, and I think it applies as a good option even much more today than it did years ago. For a lot of 'kids' graduating high school, I think pressure from their parents pushes them away from 2 year /community colleges. I know talkign to some people at work now, if their kids (or grandkids) don't go to a 4 year school, its almost like it is embarassing for the parents/grandparents.

Andreychuk had very good control of the puck with his stick and was a lot quicker with it than Greenway. Not saying Greenway shouldn't do that, but he doesn't have the puck control/stick skills Andreychuk had. Skinner is really the one player on the team that excels in that. He can get a loose puck in front of the net, get off a backhander really quick or be one of the quicker guys to get the puck to his forehand and let off an accurate shot. The problem is, he does't have the size/body to park himself in front of the net. If you could give Skinner Greenways size....or give Greenway Skinner's hands...you'd have an all star, top 5 goal scorer in the league...but alas, that can't be done.

For the system the team SEEMS to want to run, and the one this year it is effective in, yes. Earlier in the year the PK looked very good for a few stretches. The guys on the PK? Tage, Greenway, Samuelsson and Johnson. What do they have in common? The tallest guys on the team with the biggest reach. Why is that important? The Sabres PK is really REALLY bad when they start chasing. When they establish the 4 man box in their own zone, the opposing team passes teh puck around but hardly gets a good shot. The ONLY times they get a good shot is when someone on the Sabres decides to chase or pressure the puck and they get out of position, opening up great chance for the other team. IF you are going to tell your guys to stay discipline and hold their positions to maintain that PK box integrity, the best way to do iit is with big guys out there that can cover a lot of territory with their reach and stick. The current verision of the Sabres PK actually does that well and Greenway is a big part of it.

doesn't UPL have THREE shutouts since January 1st? Not 2? Chi, LA, and San Jose?

Not sure how long we will have that option.... Still love your landline? Phone service providers are getting closer to phasing it out https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/05/tech/landline-phone-service-phasing-out/index.html Another thing I guess we can't do anymore.... Apple warns: Don't put your wet iPhone in rice. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/apple-warns-dont-put-your-wet-iphone-in-rice-do-this-instead/ar-BB1iItL1