mjd1001

I'm sure he wants to win, but I think it is mostly about money. With 31g in 70 games last year, and 20 in 28 this year, he is probably thinking...he is in the prime of his career, this is going to be his ONE big contract, hes sure he is a legit 40g scorer, and he sees younger guys getting better offers than he was given who haven't proved what he has. I think he wants a long term deal at $9-$10m per year. JT Miller just got $8m per year, and Horvat figures he is a few years younger and has scored more goals for the team over the past 2 years total. Or me might be looking at the over $9 Barzal just signed and thinking he is MUCH more productive than him.

Thinking about this after the last 2 losses.... 1.) time. Cozens, Peterka and Quinn look to be legit NHLers that will get better but it will take time. Power is an NHL player but he will get better with time. Krebs can't get much worse with time, so hopefully he'll get better too. There are more important players on this team that are young enough that they will get better with time than ones on the downside who will get worse. If this EXACT team were to be put on the ice next year, with ZERO changes, they will be a better team than they are this year. 2.) figure out the 3rd line with guys who can be productive (somewhat) with mid-level ice time (15-16 minute per game) and no PP time. Your first line is set. Your young guns like might have ups and downs but they are good. Your 4th line is good enough to do what they need to do. That 3rd line is an issue. Don't need 3 new guys, but find 1 or two so you can get maybe 40-50 goals out of it (at least) without being a defensive liability. 3.) Goaltending. UPL still might get better. Comrie hasn't had even a quarter season here non-injured. Maybe its them with no outside help. Maybe you need someone else. Find a way to get better goaltending going forward than you have in the past. 4.) I guess D-depth. Everyone (just about) wants better 3rd pair guys, but no one is willing to give up a 2nd pair guy so he can be your 'better' 3rd pair guy. So time, fix a 3rd line, and get better goaltending. That is all you need now. Don't reach for something else and overpay (money or assets), change for the sake of change is something a lot of fans want, I'd rather be patient.

Of course it applies, everyone gets tired with a larger workload in a short period of time. It may not apply as much to someone younger than older, but it applies to almost everyone. Are you trying to say that the effort/results would be the same if they Sabres were not on the back end of a home and home but Pitt was? Again, I'm not comparing Buf to Pitt in that single situation, I am talking about all situations on the end of a back to back.

Because it does apply sometime. The world isn't black and white and neither is hockey. it is a factor. It would appear to be a bigger factory if Pitt wasn't on back to backs also, but because Pitt was also doesn't mean it doesn't contribute to the effort the Sabres put forward vs if they WEREN'T on back to back.

Yes, I sure do. But you only picked out one part of what I said...if we are just talking that that ONE game, the other 2 points I make apply.

It especially hurts early in the year because Pittsburgh is one of the teams the Sabres were chasing for the last wildcard spot. Over 27-28 hours if the had won both of those games instead, they'd already only bee 4 points out of a spot and 3 behind Pittsburgh. Maybe we all got a little TOO excited about the whole team based on wins over San Jose and Columbus...both of which are currently 2 of the worst teams in the league. Those wins count of course, but since Thanksgiving, this team is only 3-5, with those 3 wins in OT vs Detroit and against the previously mentioned San Jose and Columbus. They are 'growing' but there is still a lot of work to do.

I agree. Lacking desperation? When you are not good enough you don't look desperate. When you are really good you dont' have to look desperate. Desperate means you aren't good enough to be in the lead but good enough to control the puck. If/when they play better, ARE better, or are not on the back end of back to backs......then they will 'look' more desperate.

Now 2wins and 11 losses versus the top 10 peforming teams in the league (as I listed in another thread)

Agree. VO has shown he can put away chances on that line. Krebs is playing SLIGHTLY better than before, but still might be the worst forward on this team (overall gameplay, all 3 zones) and the coaching staff must think so as he is getting the lowest ice time again.

I missed most of the game last night, just rewatched the highlights of the Sabres goals and goals against. Some thoughts on what they allowed: -1st Pitt goal. The PK seemed to be chasing a bit, they really didn't maintain the 4 man box, when their rotation got all out of sorts, that is When Pitt found the opening. No one really screwed up too bad, but they didn't maintain any kind of discipline on the PK there. -2nd Pitt goal: A loose puck that didn't get cleared. No major mistakes again, but you would like to see Power clear that. Tuch then swipes at it and misses it. I want a good save there also I didn't get. Again, no major breakdown, but a bit more luck/effort/skill from Power, Tuch, or Anderson probably prevents that one (again, none of them made a major mistake, give Pitt some credit for putting on good pressure) -3rd Pitt goal: I need a save there from my goalie. The shooter scores from a terrible angle, probably 35 feet out, and isn't screened. 100% on the goalie there. -OT Pitt Winner: 4 on 3 in OT, you are going to give up chances like that. Problem there was simply taking a penalty going in OT. I didn't see the whole game, had no sense of the game flow, just watched some highlights. As far as the D-zone goes, none of the goals allowed were a cause of major giveaways right before the shooter scored. I don't know if Anderson played a better game the rest of the time I didn't see it, but 1, probably 2 goals that were scored should have been saves. I did note some really crazy ice time stats. Bryson with about 8 minutes ice time, Fitz with 6:48. I guess you really, REALLY don't trust those guys if you push your top 4 so hard knowing you have to travel for a back-to-back the next night. Top 4 ALL with 24-26 minutes. all 4 of them. Krebs was the only forward back below 10 minutes. Thompson with 23 minutes. For a forward, I would like to see a little less...and I see he led the team in Penalty killing time. I know you want a more rounded game from him and maybe he is becoming a better Penalty killer, but I would think you could find one of your 'effort' guys out there to replace those minutes for Thompson penalty killing....give him that time to rest, so he is more rested in all other situations. Last night Cozens only had about about 16 minutes ice time (almost 7 minutes less than Tage) but also had only half the PK time. Mitts with no PK time, and he has turned at least into a decent Penalty killer. I'd like to see Thompsons minutes PK (at least some of them) more go to those guys to spread out the ice time.

So far this year, I think the top 12 teams are, in some order, Boston, Toronto, Jersey, Colorado, Tampa, Vegas, Florida, Carolina, Pitt, Dallas, Edmonton, Winnipeg. The Sabres are 2W and 10L against that set of teams. I know most teams will have a bad record vs the top of the schedule, but they really REALLY need to start getting a few more wins vs some of the better teams. 2-10 isn't close to good enough. Its fun and great to beat up on San Jose and an injury riddled Columbus team...

A little off topic, but I had a discussion the other day about a 'players around the league issue' If/When there ever is another World cup of hockey, or Olympics, how close would the USA be now to matching Canada's top lines up front. With McDavid and McKinnon for Canada down the center, tough to match...but....the USA would be able to roll out somthing like: Mathews, Thompson, and Eichel at Centers....with Wingers including Jason Robertson, both Tkachuks, Jack Hughes (at C or wing) Gaudreau and Maybe Kreider or Kyle Conner. I might prefer Canada up front overall, but I could see a USA team/lineup like that having games where they are better.

Looks like light snow or flurries at kickoff for Sunday's game against the Jets, kinda-but-not-too windy, with a chance the light snow turns to drizzle by the end of the game. Not ideal conditions, but not bad enough to really take away anything the Bills want to do.

I like Dunleavy. I don't catch many mistakes he makes, and as Pimlach said, he does well as a 'nuetral' announcer but I like that. Sure, I loved RJ doing the games but in all honesty, I prefer guys that are a bit less excitable. Jack Edwards style...or the guy who used to (and maybe still does) the Penguins games? No thank you. On the other hand, The tv guy that I saw from San Jose (I watched part of the SJ broadcast for the Sabres game), he wasn't very loud but he was very good. So It took me a little while to get used to Dunleavy, but I like him. I'm happy he's the PBP guy for the team.

Right now this teams top 2 lines are playing great, and the 4th line is doing what you need them to do. The 3rd line is the glaring, gaping hole right now. What do you want in a 3rd liner? I want to focus one someone who can be somewhat productive with lesser minutes (doesn't need 17-20 minutes per game to produce) and can produce without PP time. Someoone with the basic skills that they CAN move up to a 2nd line in case of injuries. Hopefully someone in that 25-30 years of age category. Who is that? I have no idea. but I don't need a top 10 pick or a guy on pace to score 30+ goals. Just find me a guy who can get me 15, MAYBE 20 goals but does that with 3rd line minutes and minimal PP time. That will fill a major hole on this team.

Well with the extra point for OT losses, it is more possible than it used to be. 107 point pace was referenced a few times above. 10 teams (1/3 of the league) had over 107 point for the entire seasnon last year. If 1/3 of the league can do it for the entire year, a good team should be able to do that for less than a season. 8 teams had 110 points over the entire year. So I decided to look a bit more into it...lets look at 110 points: -8 teams did that over the entire year, of the team that did not make 110 points.. -St. Louis played at a 110 point pace over the first half of theseason. -Boston played at a 113 point pace from Jan 1 through the end of the year (more than half the season) -Edmonton played at a 114 point pace the 2nd half of the season -Pittsburgh played at a 114 point pace the 1st half of the season -Los Angeles almost made it (108 points) in the 2nd half of the season I didn't bother to look into any other teams, but if you really looked into the stats, it looks like half the league either got 110 points in an entire season, or had periods of half the season (or more than half the season) where they were on a 110 point pace. So not only does it happen it is acutually pretty common.

I don't want to start an unrelated war with the comments I'm about to make but here goes: I know a few people that I talk to about the Sabres that say similar things. Root for Eichel (almost more than the Sabres), think the Risto trade was bad...The team got fleeced in the ROR/Tage trade no matter what happens going forward, the team will never win because they are soft...need players like Ramsey, Shoenfeld, Korab (because they were REAL players) etc, etc. All of them have a couple things in common....they are all over 55 years old, they all will die on the hill that in EVERY sport Defense wins championships all the time, and if anyone scores more than 1 goal in a game against you or throws more than 2 td passes against you the only solution is to hit them hard over and over and over to 'teach them a lesson'.

I like to think you are never 'out of it' until you can't 'get back in it. Seriously, it is slightly annoying when an NFL team is down something like 27-13 in the 3rd quarter...then they score a TD and the announcers always say "they are back in it!" Again, you aren't out of it until you can't even get close to being 'back in it'. With the Sabres, I really think it is a matter of small steps. I mentioned earlier, there are 10 games left in December. Get 13-14 points in the next 10. Is that acheivable? Sure is. At that point you probably find yourself only 3-5 points (give or take a point) out of the last wildcard with more than half the season left. Not only not out of it, but at that point 'right in the thick' of it.

I'd still keep Olofsson. Until there is a clear replacement on the roster, and that young replacement is proven, I'll keep a very streaky but very good PP guy around. I currently think his current goal-less streak is more a factor of how bad his line overall is playing. He isnt not a great 2 way player, but again, unless I'm getting a useful player or a 1st rounder back I keep him until some young guy forces him out. I agree with that.

I'm good with Mitts playing out this year and then MAYBE even next year...unless the Sabres staff (who knows a lot more than any of us here) see he has plateaued or even regressed in aspects of his game we can't see. HOWEVER, something has to change with him, especially even strength. Its both the stats and the eye test, the line he is on seems to be really, really struggling the past few weeks. I generally support Mitts more than many on this board.....but in the last 5 games...no goals, no assists and a -7 is not acceptable in any way. In the 10 games previous to that (when the Sabres were going through injuries on the back end), he had 4 goals and 6 points in 10 games. What happened in the last couple weeks (5 games) where you go from scoring almost every other game to being invisible in every way?

On a somewhat related note, I do like how Granato is honest about stuff like this. After having a bunch of injuries, most coaches need to be asked about them, and they do the usual 'coach talk' by saying things like "they aren't an excuse" or "everyone gets them" or "next man up" But I heard a Granato interview the other day and he was asked what is the key to the team playing better and he came right out and said the D-unit being healthy.

Unless this was the early 1990's. Dave Andreychuck had 99 points that season and was 22nd in the league in scoring. The goaltending was so bad back then, you have to wonder just how many goals Ovi would have now if he played in that Era. But back to Tage, agree SO FAR this year he is playing like a superstar. The pure number of points is impressive, but to me the fact he ranks in the top 5 in both points and goals right now seals it. 100 would be that nice round number to acheive. Now just keep it up so it becomes a reality, not just 'on pace' for it.

You could say a 6-2 win over a streaking St. Louis team at the time was easier than it should be. Anyone can nit-pick any games, the whole point I was making was about their schedule in general. Every team beats great teams and loses to bad teams. Arizone is currently the 4th or 5th worst team in the league in terms of points, they are a -26 in terms of goal differential (Buffalo is a plus 9), and If I remember that game featured a Sabres team that was a lot less healthy than they are now (Clague and Pilut were at 15 minutes or more if ice time, lybushkin played but he was hurt, No Jokiharju and no Samuelsson). If we have to classify the upcoming Arizona game, I would put it for sure closer to the 'easier' category rather than the 'harder' one.

They could be, won't rule it out. A good test will be the rest of the month. They are mostly healthy now. a 103 point team when they are healthy should be able to put some stretches together where they beat very good teams. Can they get at least 13-14 points by the end of December, maybe a couple more? That will give us a good idea. They have a good balanced schedule coming up...tough games at (a hurting) Colorado, Vegas, and Boston, home to Tampa. Then some 'easier' games with Columbus and Arizona, and some 'decent' games against Pitt (twice) the Kings, and Detroit. It would be hard to get a 10 game stretch that is so balanced. If they can get 13 or 14 out of the next 20 points by the end of December, that puts them at 38 or 39 points in 36 games, probably putting them within 4 or 5 of the last wild card slot...then 'game on' for the rest of the year.

Sportsline (formerly the old CBS sports website) I have found strangely pretty accurate in their long term predictions. For example, in the last few seasons when the Sabres had their 'hot starts', they never had them as a legit team and predicted them to fade as the season went on....and the Bills they have been pretty good the past 3-4 years in their early season predictions as far as how many wins they would have by the end. I have no idea what their methodology is...no idea if they simply get their analytics from other places though. https://www.cbssports.com/nhl/standings/ With that said, right now they have the Sabres with a 48.1% chance of making the playoffs. Detroit is 6 points ahead of the Sabres in the standings but they have Detroit at only 13.9%. They do not have the Sabres in the top 3 in the division though, they currently have their chances with only a wildcard. They do have San Jose as the worst team in the league right now...and they project Vegas to win the presidents trophy in a close battle with Boston, Toronto, and Florida climbing back into the fight according to their statistical models.