mjd1001

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.

I agree. I'll take it one step further and be specific....I do not need a top 5 pick that is physical. Just give me ONE guy (to start with) who is skilled enough to hold his own in the NHL but be able to drop the glove with the middleweights/heavyweights if needed. Maybe stand in front of the net without being broken in half. Think Tuch but with more of the 'traditional' toughness of years past. Or like Cozens if he was an inch or two taller and 20 lbs heavier. I'm not asking for someone to instigate. I don't really care if I ever see any fights at all. I just want a guy who can actually score a few goals who is ABLE to do those things. I still want a fast team, that can go up and down with anyone. I don't want a tough, plodding but physical punch-you-in-the-mouth team. But ONE or TWO guys like that? it shouldn't be too much to ask.

-A little luck with having less injuries (Everyone gets them but it helps a lot.) -At least one (hopefully 2) of the young guys (Krebs, Mitts, Cozens, Peterka, Quinn) to emerge this year as a 25 goal scorer, maybe a 30 goal guy in the next year or two. -Slightly better goaltending (it has been up-and-down this year, a little bit more of the 'ups' and a little less of the 'downs') -Young forwards better in their own zone. I know many are yelling about the Defensemen and need to upgrade there. To me, I'll take an upgrade ANYWHERE, but a majority of the goals allowed have not been bad play by the D-men, but instead by the young fowards (same as listed above) who are out of position in their own end, just dont' get back to their own zone in time, or can't win a battle on the boards and give away pucks left and right. When those young FORWARDS get better in their own zone, this team will give up a lot less chances. -Lyubushkin being 100% healthy would help. Before his injury he was rock solid. Not out of position ever. Since he came back, he is a step slower and a bit easier to get pushed around than before. Get the 'pre injury' Lyubushkin and that solves some of the back end issues. Interesting that I listen to a lot of 590 on the radio out of Toronto, and a couple times per week they talk about how much the team misses him and many people would have liked for Toronto to have found a way to resign him..

Short answer, for me yes, it is too early. As much as I am frustrated with this team now, I do not think they are going to finish this season as a bottom 10 team. Over a long season I think they are a better team than they are showing now. Long(er) answer, it doesn't really matter to me anymore. Why? Last 10 years for the Sabres: -10 "top 10" picks -15 overall 1st rounders -2 "number 2" overall picks -2 "number 1" overall picks -1 supposed 'generational or at least 'semi' generational forward' (Eichel) -1 generational D-man (Dahlin). Add to that 15 2nd round picks (10 of those in the first 1/3 of the 2nd round where fans like to think they can get 'left over' first round talent)....and yet here we are, below .500 and riding a huge losing streak. Would another top 5 pick matter? Sure, I guess it would but at this point, how many of us want to wait for that player to become a 'great' player a few years down the road, and even if he does, it doesn't matter unless this current team can turn the corner.

I agree. Its not like 30+ years ago. The players don't fear the coach anymore (at least not like they did). The "Star" players can tune out the coach if they want. It sounds great to blame the coach for a team not being motivated or putting in the effort, but in reality, that simply isn't true now like it was a coupe decades ago. If the players don't want to put in the effort, there isn't much the coaching staff can do. You have guys like Torts now (maybe Keenan in the past, or Babcock) but if those guy do have an impact in 'todays nhl', it often doesn't last long and ultimately they get tuned out and often times forced out before reaching the ultimate goal.

People yelling or 'acting up' to get attention. Politicians who yell at rallies, does that actually change peoples mind? Commercials where the person trying to sell me something is yelling at the camera (just saw one where woman is trying to tell me how great some cleaning product is and shes face first right in front of the camera talking at 90+ decibals) Not quite yelling, but the 'old guy' at the store who is talking to one person (usually about what he thinks is wrong in society) but gets louder and louder to make sure that EVERYONE around hears exactly what he is saying. Just loud, yelling, in your face attitudes....enough already.

He is sometimes so aggressive that it looks good, but he takes himself out of position a lot, in both end of the ice. At times he almost looks like a Dog that can't control itself when chasing a squirell...Cozens can be like that with the puck. He can be all gas-no brakes at the expense of positioning.

Coming to think about it, it has not been a good first part of the season for former Sabres on their other teams, with the exception of Eichel who is doing fine so far: -Reinhart: 3 goals, 3 assists in 16 games -Risto: getting called out and scratched by the new coach for his bad play -O'Reilly: 3 goas, 2 assits in 14 games and a minus 12 -Evander Kane: Serious wrist injury -Johan Larsson: Not even in the NHL, playing in Sweden after only playing a total of 43 NHL games in the past 2 NHL seasons -Jake McCabe: now the 4th or 5th D-man for Chicago. Points was never his thing but only 4 points in 12 games -Marcus Foligno: 1 goal and 2 assists in 11 games, even when he does play he is now only getting 3rd or 4th line minutes Not to slam on those guys, but it is more of an indictment of how this team was run the past decade. If you took the entire team now, picked and chose anyone and/or everyone that has ever played on this team in the past 10 years, you still might be able to ice a team that contends toward the top of the division.

Anyone know what is up with Sam Reinhart? Not to troll him but a serious question, is he playing hurt? He has played 16 games, he is getting a good number of minutes per game, but he only has 3 goals and 3 assists on the year so far. An injury that isn't well known?

I like the hitting in the game. Some of the hits Lyubushkin had on the western trip were great. Fighting, no need for it. I'd give up every single fight in an entire year (not that there are many anymore) for one single more exicting goal. The game for me is end-to-end rushes, it is goals like the last few Thompson scored....a one timer from Ovi (or Olofsson) for that matter. Those are the things to me that are 100x better than fighting. Thats just me though.

To me the last week or two the Sabres have had bad goaltending, but I think earlier in the year it was OK. As far as Defense, Pick on Pilut and Bryson all you want, I don't see them as playing poorly. Could they be better? Yes they could. But I think the Positioning and effot the Forward are putting forward in the D-zone is much worse than even the 3rd pairing on Defense. Cozins is out of position (overly aggressive) and leaves spots open all the time. Krebs might be the worse Forward I have ever seen in the Defensive zone (skating by guys, not winning any battles, late getting back), Quinn and Peterka put the effort (more than Krebs) but they need to learn a lot more positioning). Even the Veteran forwards have occasional breakdowns (not for lack of effort, but they just don't have that 'Boston bruin' like knowledge of knowing where all their linemates are going to be and not missing coverage. I also think Lyubushkin is still playing hurt. He was rock solid with positioning until his injury, since he came back he seems to be a step slower recovering in his own zone.

I agree with you, also the one thing the stats don't tell you is how clean a draw it was. Pull the puck right back to a guy ready for a shot on net cleanly is one type of win, pulling it back into a scrum where you eventually gain control of it after a second or two is another. Both will be called 'faceoff wins' but they are 2 totally different things.

Yep. People who don't care about faceoffs show the fancy stats that say they don't matter. People who do care about faceoffs point out every goal that is scored against when one is lost. Easy to argue this one however you want.

That 2nd Vancouver goal.....I know to some I am picking on Krebs alot but I don't like anything he did there. He was the last one back into the D-zone by a lot and when he does get the just kinda glides his way to the side boards....Before the last pass is made the guy who made the pass is right in front of him and Krebs does nothing, makes no move to go toward the guy, doesn't even put his stick on the ice to try to disrupt anything. Then as the pass goes to the slot where the goal is scored for, he kinda heads that way but he just coasts there doesn't even take a stride. I don't know if he was at the end of a 2:00 shift and he was dead tired or not, but everything about his play in the Buffalo zone was absolutely awful there.

I always thought Power play was mostly a function of 3 things and not much else: 1.) do you have a couple of guys with a skillset that lends itself to the PP. 2.) Luck 3.) coaching (and this is by far the last of the 3). You have Dahlin, Tage, and VO to satisfy the first one. The third one I have no idea how good the coaching is with these guys on the PP. The 2nd one comes and goes. All I would be worried about is the coaching, and right now I think the Sabres anre middle-of-the-pack in PP so i'm not overly concerned.

They have 5 solid, but not spectacular D-men that they roll out there with pretty consistent minutes. No one is asked to carry too much of a load, they are all under 30 but yet none of them are too green-behind the ears. I have watched 2 devils games and they look solid back there. Same thing up front. They pretty much 'roll' 3 lines but even the 4th line doesn't get left out. They stay fresh at the end of games. Main difference I see between them and the Sabres is they have almost a perfect blend of young guys up front, late 20's guys, and older-than-that veterans. But they 2 main young guys up front are Hirschier and Huges. They have almost 500 NHL games experience between them already, so they aren't going through the same D-zone mistakes and 'learning' the 200 foot game anymore that the likes of Quinn, Krebs, Peterka, etc are. They played those guys the last couple years, they made mistakes (part of why they weren't that good) and now they are better for it. Something the Sabres can look forward to with their young guys up front next year and the year after. What will make them dangerous is in the next couple of years, they still have 2 more top 5 picks that will eventually make the team that aren't there now....they have their top guys locked up, but will have a lot of cap room/flexibility next year also.

Yes, The bottom 2 or 3 on the D-unit aren't great but they didn't cost the game/all the goals tonight. -First Boston goal on the PP, everyone was positionally sound, a defelction and then the puck going through players like a pinball. No ones fault on that one. -2nd Boston goal, Quinn/Krebs not winning battles/getting to loose pucks on the boards strikes again. Quinn this time, not even close to controlling it (I swear that exact same spot is where Quinn and Krebs lose all their battles in the D-zone). -3rd Boston goal. This one was a mess all over. D-play here was an issue I have to admit after watching the replay. I want Bryson's to pass that puck up the ice and out of the zone on the original zone entry. After the puck goes up the boards, I would LIKE Skinner to control it better (but it was a tough puck to control) Then Boston kicks the puck off a skate UP to a stick in the air, to ANOTHER stick in the air, Pilut overskates and takes himself out of the play, Skinner could have broken it up if he hustled back quicker. Bryson played the 2-1 as good as he could. Thompson no-where to be found (probably because he NEEDED to be up the ice because he needed to press with the Sabres down a goal). This 3rd Boston goal has a lot going on, but part of it is a bad exit pass/choice by Bryson, Skinner not scooping up a loose puck and getting back late, and pilut overplaying the puck/guy.

I missed that play but I have said that the young guys, Krebs, especially, need to learn a bit more situational awareness. Krebs 'advanced' numbers can be pretty good, but one thing they don't tell you is when he is out of position. He frequently loses battles on the board and his lack of top end speed often means he is late to get back on rushes. Those are the 2 biggest things I think he needs to work on.