mjd1001

Off topic..Leafs with 3 goals in the first period against the Devils so far. None of the big guns though, Matthews, Nylander, Marner, Tavares not on the scoreboard yet.

Well, last year the team averaged exactly 1 goal per period. Exactly. This year they have a total of 2 goals in....just about 7 periods. So..um....yeah..about 5 goals behind they pace they had last year.

I don't know much about generating offense in the offensive zone in the NHL. Positioning, strategy...etc. I do know that what the Sabres are doing is not working...all I can think is they need to just crash the net.

VO (when he was here), Tuch, and Thompson are the only ones that were even decent at finishing...and again, they aren't at the top of the league..just...good. Everyone else, not so much.

When I see people miss on the penalty shot, it seems like the vast majority of the misses are when the skater just waits too long and gets in too close. You want to go in that close, the only guys that make it work on a regular basis are the guys with elite hands. Everyone else, make your move or shoot a bit sooner.

I thought Clifton was slow, like really slow. He actually pulled away from the defender there.

Really, are we THAT bad on this message board?

Even when they have a 3 on 2 and make a decent pass, they simply cannot get a clean shot/good scoring chance. The Devils and Kings seem like they are playing the Sabres in a 'soft zone' kind of way...just protect the middle of the ice in the zone. Think you are going to need to start crashing the net hard. Cozens, that is your game.

I mean, they are playing "OKAY", but it seems like there is no system, no flow to their game. It reminds me of when I was a kid and play pick-up hockey and everyone playing had never played with anyone else ever before.

its like they are terrible at handling any kind of pressure when they are on the PP.

Is it bad that I don't like when the Sabres get a 2 man advantage? If/when they don't score, it is so much of a mental/emotional letdown for me.

I thought L.A. wasn't really that good of a team (east coast bias, you don't see the west coast games that much) But they were a playoff team, 1 point short of 100 points (7th best in the league), +41 goal differential last year, 3rd lowest goals allowed last year. They may not be spectacular, but they have been solid.

Ray just said the place is packed, anyone get a view of the upper deck? is it actually full?

Maybe they got it from Europe on the trip over there, seems like something that would be played in some kind of retro German dance club.

I don't mind the full intros for opening day..but that MUSIC? pretty awful

I agree. I don't get downtown enough, but there are plenty of things to do, plenty of places to go for food or a drink compared to years ago. Is it as nice/busy/trendy as the Seaport in Boston or L.A. Live in socal? No...it isn't. But its not meant to be. It has a different feel to it...to some maybe a more 'real' or 'organic' feel to it. You can always find a place to go before a game.

Well, I am one of the ones that think Tage was playing injured. And yes, I could be wrong about the fact that he is going to have a bounce back year. But, he DID have an injury at the beginning of the year, and there were 2 "Tages" last year. The one closer to the injury ocurring, and the one as he got farther away from the injury. His first 'half' of the season (right after he was hurt), 36 games, 10 goals (22.7 goal pace) -His second 'half' of the season (as he got farther way from his injury), 35 games, 15 goals (35.1 goal pace). So, I get your point of view, I'm not 100% convinced it was all due to an injury, but personally I am well more than 50% convinced we are going to see a better version of him this year compared to last year.

When you are paying that much for your top guys....and to me I watch this sport as much for entertainment in terms of pure winning....12 games like that is noticable. Expecaily for Leaf fans who are paying multiple times what Sabres fans pay to go to a game. Getting shutout, no big deal. A 2, 3, or even 4 game stretch where the offense goeas away, acceptable. But for the Leafs....with their expectations, that is a noticable LONG stretch of boring-ish hockey.

Now thats the way to get there. If there is an outdoor concert or a festival, unless my wife insists on driving, i'm taking my bicycle and avoiding the traffic.

Pretty good price. Maybe if I lived within a mile or two of the Arena I'd go. This is a different topic (kinda) but I really have zero incentive/desire to go to a game in person anymore, ANY sporting event really. I guess once a year I like to do to just get a reminder of the 'atmosphere' of going to a game in person, but I have become very, VERY comfortable watching games (Bills, Sabres, anything really) from my living room or office.

If I'm Lindy Ruff I really don't care about this. What happens AFTER the goal is scored is one of the least of his problems. If I'm on the bench with the emotion of the goal, I might not even notice. I'd let 'upstairs' make that decision.

Well, the Leafs are better than the Sabres, but might be just as frustrating for some fans: -Matthews, $13.25m per year, multiple time 60+ goal scorer -Nylander, $11.5m per year, 2 points shy of 100 last season -Tavares, $11.0 m per year -Marner, $10.9m per year What does that get you in terms of exciting, high powered hockey? -haven't scored more than 2 goals in the last 6 games -3 wins in the last 12 games (non preseason) -Playoffs last year and first game this year, 12 total goals in last 8 games (1.5 goals per game) -12 games in a row since they won a game in which they scored more than 3 goals.

Fire Granato

A lot of talk about the PP..and yes deserved. Just interesting who are the 2 most productive goal scorers on the Power play the last few years? Well, if you look at last year....or the last 2 years combined, or the last 3 years combined, the last 4 years combined, even the last 5 years combined, it the same 2 players who lead the league in PP goals over those time periods: McDavid? Nope. Matthews? No. Pastrnak? No -Leon Draisaitl and Sam Reinhart One guy the Sabres had, and the other the guy the Sabres COULD have drafted (instead)

Slow motion or not, the head was targeted.