mjd1001

I agree with you for the most part. In the Sabres losses, overall it has been equal parts goaltending, Defense, and not scoring at a rate this team should. I mean, it would be great if they could be better, but the goalie in net on any given night isn't always single-handedly sinking this team....at least as much as it seemed last year.

Another topic we all have pretty diverse opinions on. Something changed with me about 3-4 years ago...over the course of a few months, I just kinda became "OK" with no fighting. Sure, if there is a fight in a game I'm going to watch it, but if there were zero fights in the NHL, I don't think I'd miss it at all. If only NHL player safety had enough guts (and the union allowed them) to make harsh penalties for the stuff that should not go on in the game, there wouldn't really be reason for it.

Found this just up on Twitter. Great news they found a way to clone Tuch and now we can have 2 of him out there at the same time. And....2 minutes later they just corrected it.

Toronto has the exact same record now as they did after 11 games last year. The difference is last year they started slow because Matthews wasn't scoring. This year the problems seem a bit more 'structural' as their backend just is really bad. Morgan Rielly is good (but not great). Klingberg is a disaster with almost anything he does from the redline back. Brodie is a decent guy who is good enough to play about 18 minutes but he is up to 21 minutes because they have no other options. Giordano was old 2 years ago and continues to play like it....and they aren't getting anything positive out of Jake McCabe They really miss Holl and Sandin. They took the money they could have paid them and gave Bertuzzi $5.5m (3 points in 11 games) and Max Domi $3m (0 goals, 4 assists in 11 games.) They can still turn it around and get hot, but I think this is a worse team than last years team, despite Matthews, Marner, and Nylander all entering the prime of their careers.

12 games in now...team is back to .500. Plus 1 on a goal differential. Losing record at home, winning record on the road. Some things have changed since last year, a lot hasn't. Thompson is back on track. Skinner has been what you expect/need from him all season so far. Mittlestadt is the good version from the end of last season and is taking it another step forward. Greenway only has 2 goals (on pace for only about 12 or so) but he seems a much better player than he was when here last year. Peterka seems to have taken that step forward also. Thats the good that many of us see. The bad? Dahlin. Mostly good games, putting up points, a bad game here and there. He's playing like a top 20 D-man in the league but many of us thought he would take another step this year and play like a top 5 D-man. Haven't quite seen that yet. Power, some good games, some bad games. Samuelsson just can't seem to stay healthy. Up front Cozens isn't playing awful, but he hasn't taken another step forward. Many games he hasn't been noticable on the ice. Okposo really really looks done. Your 4th line will not win you a cup by itself, but it can be the difference in some one goal games and he really is making what could be a decent 4th line into a bad one. His forechecking isn't good anymore and he is a step behind most loose pucks on the boards. Krebs has taken a step back again. So far I don't think this team needs drastic changes to get into solid playoff contention. Cozens, Dahlin, and Tuch need to take a 'half step' to find last years pace, Samuelsson needs to get back and healthy, and they have to find a way to get Okposo some time off the ice and someone younger/quicker into that spot. Krebs, we can have some patience with him, but if he doesn't show something in the next month he will be next after Okposo.

A couple thoughts and ideas that some here may know the answer to that I do not, mostly for next year. -Von Miller supposedly COULD have been activated earlier in the year but he wasn't. We are not more than half way though the season and he still doesn't look like he is making an impact. Maybe that will come, or maybe the age/mileage PLUS recovering from a big time injury make him not worth the $17m anymore. Can the Bills move on from him next year without a major cap hit penalty? -Dawson Knox, same as above, can he be moved on from? Hes not a bad player I don't think but not worth what he is getting paid, especially with Kincaid emerging. If he was making half what he was he would be a good TE2, but his money can probably be better spent elsewhere. -Tre White. Looking for more savings...if he misses next year, can he be put on some kind of cap-relief IR to save the cap space money? This team has holes to fill and place to upgrade. If the above players aren't worth what they are getting paid, can anything be done about them/their cap in the offseason to free up more money to spend elsewhere?

I agree with that. I personally don't care and don't need a designated fighter, but take a look at some of the Leafs forums now...it seems a large number of fans think the solution to the leaf's problems is a lot more toughness, and to many/most of them that means more fighting, more cheap shots, making the other team fear guys like Reaves.

I'm good with waiting a bit on him. Let him really dominate the AHL for more than a couple weeks this year. If a first or 2nd liner for the Sabres goes down then sure, plug him in.

Not doing as well as he did, and he is getting older. Too much money. 23 goals in his last 91 games. He had that one 100+ point season with Calgary when he turned 28 years old, but for the rest of his career he averages in the mid 20's for goals per 82 and as mentioned by others, hes over 30 and that is when guys typically start losing production. I have ZERO interest in taking on that guy when you have to pay him almost $10m per season for 6 more years when he already looks like his production is falling. He's not worth close to $10m now already, every year that contract will get worse. My personal opinion of him always has been he is more exciting to watch than an actual good 'all around' player. Any money you spend on him I think you can give to Mitts and/or Quinn/Peterka in the future to secure them long term, and they are going to be better hockey players for this team over the next 5-6 years. Trade for him at nearly $10m, and those guys become a lot harder to sign.

On a side note, why is CBC still standard Def on Spectrum? For those in norther Niagara county (Lewiston, youngstown, Wilson, Ransomville, Olcott...etc.....you can use one of those cheap HD antennas on your TV and get the high-def feed of HNIC out of toronto. With no compression it looks SO much better than any High Def that spectrum offers.

The home-away record is bafflilng. Last year they played at a 106 point team on the road, a 76 point team at home. This year this game puts them below .500 at home again (its early, but a 70 point pace at home). FYI, league average home/away record not counting the Sabres is about a 96 point pace at home, 83 point pace at home...this season. So yes, teams DO play much better at home than away...but the Sabres continue to not be able to do so.

On a note not totally related to this game....the reason you need to have patience with some young players. Travis Konecny. He was a late first rounder, not an elite pick. He's been a good player from the time he got in the league, but not a star. Through is first 6 seasons in the league, he was a 15-16 minute guy. 110 goals in 428 games (about a 20-21 goal guy). Good player, good offensively, but not even close to great or a star. Now last year he starts the season at age 25, and since then he has scored 40 goals in his lasat 71 games ( over 46 goals per 82 games). He was always a decent guy, but starting when he turned 25, he as basically more than doubled his scoring rate for the past season and so far this year.

Yeah, worst game of the year by far. Shots on goal don't show the picture of how bad this game was. Bad D-play, a ton of breakdowns, not much control of the puck in the offensive zone. No one stood out in a positive way. Just a bad, bad game. Hope this means nothing in terms of how good the team is, put it away, forget about it, pretend it didn't exist. Worst game of the year.

How about this one to think about.... Boston is 77-17-6 in their last 100 games. San Jose is 3-17-3 in their last 23 games. Boston has as many regulation losses in their last 100 games spanning parts of 3 different seasons as San Jose has in their last 23, the number of games you normally pay in 2.5 months.

As per my original post, I mostly agree. I said he is 'shot'. I'd like to see someone like Biro, or Rousek, take his role on the ice (whoever would be best on that 4th line.) With that said I don't think he is totally sinking this team. Look at what Toronto fans are talking about Ryan Reaves, now he appears to be "SHOT/Done" He looks like a bad/slow college player trying to keep up in the NHL where it is obvious he can't really do anything other than harm his 4 teammates out there. I don't think Okposo is at that level, I just think now a faster, hungry young guy might be a better option for the Sabres.

Not much at this point. I do not want to root for Okposo to do poorly, but if we go another month or two and his play is the same, or worse, I have to imagine at some point they may consider a change, even if it is just giving him a few more 'veteran rest days off'.

I'd like to see the captain take a seat for a few games and see someone like Rousek replace him in that 4th line role.

2 games in the next 2 days. You want more people at the games, winning the next 2 might be a big step to getting there. Will it ensure sellouts? Nope, but it would put this team: 1.) on a 4 game winning streak. 2.) probably within a point or two of 2nd in the division 3.) equal to or ahead of the hate Maple Leafs in the standings. 4.) probably a top 10 team in the league standings 5.) probably top 10, or better, in goal differential. So this fanbase is going to need a lot more than that to get to a sellout streak. But if the Sabres just win 2 games in 2 nights, the way the fanbase views this team might be better than it has....well, in years.

At least the Sabres ECHL affiliate is doing well filling the Arena...

Last year I thought Krebs might have been the worst forward in the league for the first month of the season. As the year went on, he got better. By the end of the year, I was 'content' with is play. What has happened this year? I know he is playing the 4th line roll, but he isn't doing that great, and he is bringing nothing. He has to turn around his game right away somehow, but at this point I agree with many others, just replace him with Jost and this team is better. Okposo looks shot. Its not just the lack of production, but he looks one step slower than even last year, he isn't getting to guys on the forecheck like he was last year and he is a step slow to the boards in his own end. Again, he has the "C", and I'm not sure who from Roch you could replace him with in a 4th line role..but when I watch him, its almost like he is even 'slowing down' Girgensonns. I'd like to see Girgensons, Jost, and 'someone else' on that 4th line. Is Biro suited for a 4th line checking roll? Girgs, Jost, and Biro might be better than what they are putting out there now.

MSG-B is now available with the Spectrum choice (cheaper) plan. We signed up for it about a year ago, and at the time you couldn't get MSG with it for the Sabres games. At the time we signed up you got the ultra-basic cable channels and got to pick 12 stations. Along the way they must have made some changes. I called today because our bill was going up, but I found out that you now get to add 15 extra channels to the base channels with it, AND you now can add MSG to get the Sabres games. So maybe others have known about this. But for those that don't, you can downgrade your spectrum package or sign up for the cheapest option (spectrum choice) and MSG to get the Sabres games is now one of the channels you can add to it.

Time on ice is interesting, might be the best way to get a look at how the coaches think players are doing: Defense: Dahlin 24:13, Power 23, Samuelsson 21:09...then a huge drop to Jokiharju 16:50, Johnson 15:47, Clifton 15:29. I'd still like to see Dahlin a bit lower. Dahlin and Power are really the only D-men used on the PP all year. No one else has even been given a full PP shift. Johnson and Samuelsson dominate the PK ice time. Power and Clifton with some use. Dahlin basically not used on PK, which I am 100% fine with. Give him that time on the bench to rest. Forwards: No-one up front with more than 19 1/2 minutes. Spread out pretty evenly Thompson leads with 19:23 Tuch around 18. Skinner 17:22. Mitts at 16:22. Greenway rounds out the top 5. Most of the top forward around the league are well over 20 minutes per game, with the top guys on each team usually 21-22:30 per game. Cozens surprisingly only 15:50 per game. PP: Skinner, Thompson, Cozens and Tuch lead the way by far. They each have more than double the time of anyone else. PK: Greenway and Thompson lead the way (guess Granato likes the strategy of the forwards up high just hold your spot so lets get the tall guys with the big reach out there to disrupt the puck movement) Girgensons and Okposo and Tuch come next, no one else really used. Even strength, no one is getting more ice time than Mitts. Skinner is a half minute behind..EVERY other forward is at least a minute per game behind per game. I go back to the PK. PK minutes are dominated by Thompson, Greenway, Johnson, and Samuelsson. Two 6'6" guy up front and Two 6'4" on the back end. I can't help to think the strategy on the PK is 'chase the puck less' and more 'hold your position and use your size/wingspan/reach' to disrupt the lanes for puck movement.

I actually disagree with Cozens from last year. He has the potential to be good 2 way, and he certainly is aggressive, but last year I re-watched WAY too many goals where his over-aggressiveness had him out of position and he was one of the main reasons a chance was allowed. If/When he learns when to chase the puck with 100% effort vs when he is better to hold his position/spot on the ice, then he will be a very good to great 2 way forward. But do not confuse aggressiveness and chasing the puck for being good defensively. His positioning on many, many goals allowed last year was awful. I posted comments after watching a lot of replays, the story goes something like this...puck goes into the corner. Sabres D-man is going to the corner and will get to the puck first. Cozens decides to chase the puck there anyway being the 2nd man in, leaving his spot on the ice, but not impacting the play because by the time he gets there, the puck has already been moved. The loose puck gets pushed to the high slot where Cozens was but vacated that location to chase the puck, Center or D-man gets the puck un-opposed and walks right in for a scoring chance, goal allowed. If he would have stayed where he was positionally, the loose puck that came to the area, he might have even taken possession and gone the other way with it. Again, its good he is agressive and seems to push 100% out there, but he made a lot of positional mistakes that led to a lot of goals against last year.

The Bruins have played 8 games. In only one of them have they allowed more than 2 goals. They have pretty much split their Goaltending duties so far so its not just one hot goalie doing it for them. Maybe it wasn't just Bergeron and Kreiji...maybe their top 6 D-men are just WAY more solid top-to-bottom than most gave them credit for. Lets see how they play against the Leafs forwards, without McAvoy, later this week.

I'm kind of there with you. If the Sabres had even a slightly better goaltender, would they be a better team? Of course. But we see the guys they have on their team are capable of times of putting in good games. Maybe Comrie is better than he was last year...he was trying to play through an injury. Maybe UPL is the guy who just is going to need a lot of time to develop in someone who has the talent to be a good goaltender but he comes on a little bit later. Lots of maybes there but unless you went out and paid top dollar for Superstar goalie... And who would that be?...Any other goaltender you bring in you have no guarantee that they would actually be that much better than what you have here.