mjd1001

Interesting to me his first tame, only a practice (or two) and he got both PP and PK time. Esp on the PK, Only Girgs and Tuch got more PK time among forwards, and he was close. Samuelsson and Jokijaru got a lot of PK time on the back end. If they can handle the PK, great, that means Dahlin can use the time to 'rest up' so he can be out there even more on the PP and even strength. Jokijaru gets picked on a lot on this board, but this is where he is valuable. He is good skater and has some skills in the offensive zone, but when you don't notice him as much he is having a great game. He is not a liability even strength (compared to what we have seen in the bottom 2), he can fill in on the PP, and is actually pretty good PK. When Lyubushkin first came back from his injury he was playing bad and his ice time was a bit low. He is back up to the 18-19 minute range so hopefull that means he is feeling better. Asplund not only wasn't used much in the PK, but he was WAY at the bottom of ice time overall for forwards...I didn't see much of the game, did he get hurt?

Confidence in the offensive zone, but he needs some legit work on his overall game. In almost every aspect of his game he looks like a journeyman minor league guy who is totally outmached in the NHL.

I decided to go through the game again and see if anything stood out with the goals allowed: 1st Tor goal: Its hard to know if anyone is to blame when SH because I have no idea how they are told to play the PK, but this looks like a simple case of the D-men allowing a forward to get behind them, but it might not be their fault as the forwards were a bit slow to rotate due to good Toronto passing. The best way for this goal to have been prevented is it Tuch would have cleared the puck a few seconds before it was scored. He had more time than he thought and could have put it out of the zone but he didn't do it. 2nd toronto goal: strange bounce behind the net, puck goes to a place Lyubushkin didn't expect. Lyubushkin doesn't recover well form that. Asplund very late getting back to cover the slot Toronto Goal. 3rd tor goal: Crazy goal, sloppy play on the boards in the offensive zone. Quinn with a giveaway, Thompson can't keep it in, Dahline can't keep it in, Toronto gets the chance. Didn't bother with the last 2.

I think Bills fans can 'put away' the Allen for MVP chants for another year. He might be playing hurt, but his MVP chances are just about gone.

I'm hoping Cozens is a very good/excellent foward. He is closer than Krebs, Peterka and Quinn. I'm just slightly frustrated watching him because I think his over-agressive and out-of-position play are easily correctible. I'm just waiting for him to do it.

No joking, it might be close to being true and that is why magement may not be panicking as much as the fanbase. It just might be that they feel Power, Quinn, Peterka, hopefully Krebs and even Cozens are much better plays opening night in 2023 vs what they were/are in 2022.

As I mentioned earlier in the post, Mitts and Thompson are a lot different in that way than Cozens. When playing center, they cover the slot in both zones much, much better than Cozens, and Cozens is out of position more than both of the others combined.

I disagree with Cozens being effective. This year he has taken a step back. I have posted this many times, but look at the goals the Sabres have allowed when he has been on the ice. He is out of postion A LOT. He is full speed ahead chasing the puck. Watching replays (and him live sometimes) it amazes me he is allowed to get away with it. In the offensive zone, the puck will go behind the net where a Sabres winger already is there, and he will crash the boards behind the play, sometimes on the verge of fighting his own player for the puck. I have seen 1 or 2 examples this year where he did that (instead of maintaining his orginal spot in front of the net) where the winger does gain possession and if Cozens would be in front of the net it would be an easy pass to him but he just chases the puck. In the D-zone it is worse. Watch Mitts and Thompson in the D-zone when they play center. They let the D-men (and wingers) dig the puck out and they cover the slot. Cozens on 3 or 4 goals aready allowed this year just flies behind his own net, leaving the slot WIDE open where the eventual goal scorer eventually gaines a pass and is one on one with the goalie for the eventual goal. He is aggressive, he is somewhat physical, and he does have skill, but he often times this year is hurting the team more than helps it becasue it seems he just don't play any kind of system like the rest of the forwards, he just goes full speed after the puck and that is his only focus.

I never wanted him to leave and would have been happy if he were here all that time. I like him as a person and think he is a good coach. HOWEVER, I'm not sure even Lindy would have been able to make it through the Tim Murray regime and what happend to the roster during and after that.

As far as the 'season being in the toilet'.... A lot can change and it IS early, but right now the last wildcard spot in the east is looking/projecting to be 95 points. For the Sabres to beat that (96 points total for the season), they need to play at a 105 point pace from now for the rest of the year. Its not impossible, just they need to turn things around now.

Krebs is the ony one of the young guys I can see sending down because he has played awful this year from game 1. Just awful in about every way I have seen. The other guys, they have shown flashes (or more than flashed) that they can 'keep up' with the NHL game and produce. I think Sabres management might think the fine tuning of their game might be best served by 'learning from mistakes' on the big club. Krebs is the only one that seems ovematched in every aspect of the game at this moment. Cozens is a good example. He isn't going down to Rochester, but his problem now is knowing what he can and can't get away with...knowing when he has to stay in position vs not. Sending someone down like Cozens would have the opposite effect. He might 'get away' with more in Rochester, when the exact lesson he needs to learn is he can't get away with certain things that he did at a lower level.

They have young players/high draft picks, numerous ones, that they are giving ice time to. Look at New Jersey, Hughes and Hischier. They were high draft picks, they played them right away and they were bad for a couple years but they stuck to it. Buffalo is trying the same thing with their young guys. Krebs, Quinn, Peterka, even still Cozens up front, and Samuelsson and Power on the back line. They ALL have talent, but they all are very young and are going to make a lot of critical mistakes if you 'throw them in the fire'. If you want that development path, you are not going to be as good as you want for a year or two while doing that. NJ decided to focus their team around those two guys (Hughes and Hirchier) and this is they year they have veterans surrounding them and they are playing great all around games. Hischier has 317 career games played already, Hughes has 184. By comparison, Cozens has 138, Power 26, Peterka 20, Quinn 15, Krebs 77. They may not 'get it' until games 150-200. For Dahlin, it took him on the back end to get to about game 250 in his career before things really started to click. For power, they are committed to playing him, but what if he keeps making mistakes that cost chances (and games) for the next 2-3 years. It is possible, but the Sabres have made no statement or showed any sign that says they are going to do anything but that with their young players. That's all I got.

He eventually becomes your 3rd line center. Can fill in at 2nd line center IF he improves from where he is or in case of injuries. 20-25 goals per season should not be out of the question with him. (currently on a 22-23 goal pace). He only has just over 200 games played, so while at his age he probably is CLOSE to what you are going to get from him, there still might be some small upside in production.

The Sabres should be better at this point in the season. But, NJ has 2 advantages: 1. They have brought in more/higher priced mid level talent that can help the team now. Buffalo is playing Quinn, Peterka, Cousins, and Krebs quite a bit and they are all having major issues with positioning or turnovers. NJ has more guys that may NOT be more talented, but aren't hurting them the same way. 2. NJ has 2 key young guys leading the team. Hischier who is 23, and Hughes who is 21. They have a LOT of NHL experience for their age. The past 2 -3 years, they played, they often times were VERY bad while they learned. Now they have that experience and are a lot better. That seems to be what the Sabres want to do with the young guys...have them learn "in the NHL, on the ice". In the long run that may be a good stategy (to be a team like NJ), but you are also going to be not that good while doing it (just like NJ)

My point is he is pretty good at the PK. Look at the goals against when he is on the ice for the PK or just watch him, he doesn't rotate out of position and is good at clearing the puck when there is a loose puck. Hes average or better at it. Other will disagree with me, but I don't care too much if points come 5v5 or pp or sh. A point is a point, a goal is a goal. They count the same. They both count just as much toward a win. So no, on this team I dont' think his production overall is sad for 4th in ice time among fowards, becasue to me I'm not going to cherry-pick even strength only to make my point. Projected for 50 points has ZERO to do with me assuming he can play 82. "projected" is just a way of 'annualizing' what he is doing in a small sample to make reference to overall production easier. He might play 82, he might not, but that was not the point of what I said.

I can't find it the report now but if I remember him as a potential top 10 pick in his draft year: good skater but lacking high end speed. Good stick handler but not a great shot.

I'm going to ask the question I kinda brought up the other day that no one has really answered. Why the hate on Mitts? Why do so many people say they are done with him? And if you trade him, you are creating a hole how do you fill? He is on pace for 50 points. He is killing penalties and NOT making mistakes doing so to cause goals. I mentioned I checked last week that as of then he was over 50% on faceoffs. Reviewing all the goals the Sabres allowed, he has not been out of position or made major mistakes to cause many of them (unlike Krebs, Cozens, Quinn, and Peterka). He was/is 4th in ice time among forwards. The only reason I can see for all the hate is people WANTING him to be on pace for 35+ goals whiile he is only on pace for 20. But he is playing a role on this team that is above replacment value for sure.

I guess my point is...if you don't push them up the lineup, they will play better in the ice time they do get. The bigger issue is I don't see how you improve that 3rd pair...

The other thing to consider is...while some 'break things down and start over' chat still lingers in Vancouver, a lot of it in the Canadian press has died down. They are 5-4-1 in their last 10, Hughes is back after missing some games and is more than a point-per-game guy from the Defense, Petterson and Miller are starting to play really good and they are only 4 points out of the last playoff position in the West. They have a tough stretch of games coming up, but if they can keep their recent play going, espeically with Hughes back and playing great, they might just end up in a playoff race.

I'm happy with a great top 4 and 'serviceable-at-best' 3rd pair. We have seen on the Sabres, and other NHL teams that borderline-NHL players CAN fill out a roster effectively if they aren't put in bad positions. If the bottom 2 only gets 12 or so minutes of ice time, and they uses strategically (line matched at home and the proper offensive zone/d-zone starts for their ability), then you can have the top 4 carry the load and basically use the bottom 2 for giving the top 4 their rest. The key is, you need that top for available an playing healthy.

If you think that Cozens, Krebs, Quinn, and/or Peterka aren't going to get much better anytime soon then go ahead and try to make a trade for this teams sake. But if you still have confidence that 2 or 3 of the above are going to take anything more than a small step forward this year, then I'd rather wait for that to happen (again, if you THINK it is going to happen) A healthy Jokiharu doesn't seem to be a first pair D-men, but he is OK on the 2nd pair. At least "OK" enough compared to what will fill that spot if you do trade him away. I'd rather not do that.

Pilut and Fitzgerald as 'penny stocks' are working fine for what they should be. As a #7 or #8 D-man that is pressed into occasional duty they are fine. I don't want them part of the regular rotation but they arent the reason this team is losing. Bad D-zone plays and giveways by the young forwards (which should be somewhat expected) are more of a problem in the D-zone than the play of bottom pair that has been forced into playing time due to injuries. Lyubuskin I'm still happy with (I'm confident he is playing not fully healed and when he WAS not injured he was playing very well). The D is not the main problem. The goaltending is not the main problem. They aren't great, but until I see a change, the biggest area of improvement is the positioning, giveaways, and lack of board work the young forwards have in the D-zone. All 3 areas can be improved, I'll admit to that, but the forwards being better/playing better in the D-zone will yield the most results.

Serious question, I'm not sure where the hate on Mittlestadt is coming from? Is he a star? Nope, but this year: -I have watched all the goals against and he hasn't been a major problem causing a mistake in any of them. In fact, in the D-zone, his positioning is actually pretty good and he isn't losing puck battles nearly as much as the other young guys. -He is on a 19-20 goal and 49-50 point pace. -When he does take draws, he is doing pretty well. I checked last week and he was a couple points over 50% -He is killing penalties this year, and as to my first point, he hasn't been out of position causing breakdowns leading to goals. Again, is he a star that is carrying this team? No, but I have thought his play has been above average, he isn't hurting the team, and with just one or two more bounces his numbers/pace would be alot better. Even take all that out, my personal 'eye test' tells me he isn't a star, but he is a competant, above average forward. In terms of his overall value to this team, I think he currently is the 3rd or 4th most valuable forward on this team. Do we all WANT him to be better, based on his age and draft status? Sure, but I certainly don't think he is 'useless' or should be removed from the ice as soon as possible..not at all.

Last year I would have agreed with you. But this year, I think he might be one of the worst forwards in the NHL. As posted by me and others, he is doing a lot of gliding out there, he is too slow and is late getting back on rushes. He loses battles for the puck all the time, He can't control loose pucks. He has single-handedly been responsible for multiple goals scored against the Sabres while contributing almost nothing on the score sheet. He might turn out to be a good NHLer and I'm hoping he does. But as of now, his size/strength/speed make make me feel is upside is limited...but the things he IS good at (supposedly hockey sense, vision, passing) he isn't even showing any signs of using. Patience, I know, and I'm willing to have patience with him...but IF he reaches his peak, and that is a big if, I think what you get is something like Sam Reinhart with 20% less offensive production and more D-zone liability.

Ok, I'm not going to say I don't care about him at all. Take him on the Sabres vs someone else and I will take him on the Sabres. But it is more important than ever to have a team around you. I think a lot of poeple aren't saying they don't want him, but rather 'fixing' the current state of the team is more important without him than it would be keeping status quo and just adding him. Lets look at recent draft history. Heck lets go back 15 years. McDavid (forward) and Dahlin(D) were considered by many to be 'generational' talents. While not a consensus, 'generational' was brought up by some or certainly 'near generational' was brought up regarding Matthews, Eichel, McKinnon and Tavares. Between them not couting this year, they have a cumulative 47 seasons played, with 1 stanley cup title. Dahlin, McDavid, Eichel, and Matthews (maybe the top 4 prospects pre-draft) have almost 30 seasons between those 4 guys and a total of 3 playoff series wins, zero cup final visits. So yes, you want the best players. Yes, Bedard looks to be a great prospect that would be nice to have on the Sabres. But many of us would rather have the current team tweaked WITHOUT him than simply adding him to the November 2022 version of the Sabres.