mjd1001

I mostly agree with this, but if that is the case, I think they went too far. Yes, early this year and last year the Sabres allowed a lot of odd-man-rushes against. That would seem to be the reason for the drop in offense, you have to be a bit more conservative on offense to prevent those odd man rushes. HOWEVER... I think the Sabres could have sacrificed VERY little in terms of offense and still made the defense better by not making the changes they supposedly made, and just focused on what happens when they DID get in the D-zone. Meaning, no changes to your rush habbits, no changes to neutral zone play. Just focus on what to do once the puck is in your own zone. Many, MANY goals have been allowed in the past 2 seasons that had nothing to do with 'getting back' into the zone, but simply how aware the forwards were/are once in the zone. I'm no sure if I 100% buy into the fact that they sacrificed offense to get better defensively. I think most of their drop off in offense is due to injuries (games missed) and playing through injuries they didn't have last year (Tuch and Thompson). But if they did change their style, I would rather have them not made so many changes and instead just focus on what happens in the D-zone once the other team sets up there.

I'm strongly anti-fighting. I'm strongly anti-scrum after the whistle. I'm strongly against any stick work, cheap shots of any kind. HOWEVER, until the league is serious about elminiating those things totall (which they aren't close to yet), I really would like to see the Sabres get a guy with a big-time mean streak to RESPOND to (not instigate, but respond to) stuff like this. He doesn't have to drop the gloves at all if nothing happens to require it, but when stuff like this happens, I want them to have at least one guy (preferably a couple) who will go at it in situations like this.

Its obvious to me Power isn't a guy who likes contact. Say what you want about how accurate or not accurate 'hits' is as a stat, he has 1.59 hits per 60 minutes of play. For comparison, Zemgus has 11.17, Clifton has 9.5, even Dahlin has 5.4. Only Skinner, Peterka, and R. Johnson have less on the team. As far as the NHL goes, 184 D-men have played 40 or more games this year...He ranks 160th out of 184 in the league. Now, that is hitting. He can still play somewhat physical by using his body to shield people or deflect them in a certain direction. He can use it to win battles on the boards. I don't see him doing a LOT of that now, but he can learn those things without being a big hitter. Or, he just might be a guy who plays like a small D-man, who is a good skater, good shot, good passer...who just happens to be in a bigger body.

The Sabres ARE playing a good game, but this might be just as much the Red Wings playing bad and getting terrible goaltending. Detroit looks like the Sabres on one of their really, REALLY bad days.

Ok, 2 big games coming up....6-1....can we cut back on Dahlin and Byrams minute just a little bit?

An argument/discussion/disagreement with both of you and I'm not in it? I feel left out.

Nope, wrong. My post is referring to the increasing number of people that want heads to roll Regardless. They've made up their mind this management and this coaching staff is bad and no matter what they do, it doesn't matter. This head coach and general manager could have this team make the playoffs next year, but to many people they don't want to give them that chance and even if this team was on their way to doing that next year, they've made up their mind, they're going to wine and complain the entire way. There have even been a couple of posts talking about the Sabres winning all three games this week and being back in the playoff hunt, and in those posts people have said they don't want that, because they would just rather have the general manager and coach be fired, rather than have this team win and get back into a playoff race, with the chance of making the playoffs this year. The post of mine new quoted, those are the posters I'm referring to. I'm all for discussion on both sides of every topic regarding the team, but when people get that negative and just complain about everything, well I'm not going to initiate it, but you're right, I'm going to hit back at those posts.

Most people have picked their position on the team, and nothing this year is going to change it. Many on here to criticize things, they are going to criticize things until what they want happens, and for many, that is Granato, Adams, and at least 1/4 of the current roster is gone. I swear that if they brought in a new GM (A GM approved on by the 'negative bunch' on this forum) and the exact same trade was made, many who not criticize it would be 'more' OK with it because someone else besides Adams made it.

I agree with you totally. I understand this is a message board, this is a place to vent, and we all (me included) can post some emotional stuff. But I wanted this team to make the playoffs this year, but I am truly happy with the direction they are going, I dont' think they need wholesale changes, a Headcoach change (maybe an assistant coach change I'd be good with), or a GM change. Frustration on this forum I get, but the name calling, hoping for failure just for change, thats not me. Now, if they go into next year, make no changes, have few injuries and they still miss the playoffs by 10 points...yeah, I'll be open to more big changes then. I think this team has legitimately LEARNED to play better in their own end (forwards especially this year) I think this team has found a 'better' long term goaltender then they had in recent years. I think Tage is playing hurt and next year he will bounce back to at LEAST a 40 goal scorer. And I think this is the youngest D-group on the league, and they will get better with each game experience they get. Those are the reasons I think they are on a 'good path' and am content...not with their current spots in the standing, but where I think they will be next year without firing/trading as many people as many on this board are calling for.

Guentzel gone, the team fading, with really no one giving them any chance at advancing in the playoffs if they do make it..... Malkin will be 37 next year, Karlson will be 34, Letang 37. All signed long term for big $$. Does Pittsburgh start to trade them away (maybe Crosby even) and try to get maximum assets for them in the offseason? They do not have much in their system coming up and don't even have a first rounder this year...

Pittsburgh has been shutout in 3 of their last 7 games, going 1W-6L (only win vs Columbus) and being outscored 30 to 10. Crosby may have hit a wall due to all the miles (yes, small sample size but), in this last 2 games/2+ weeks, he has no goals in 7 games, 4 assists, and is a minus-10...and they are giving him about a minute less per game ice time.

Thought Cozens would be getting more votes

I could go either way on it so if that is what happens, I'm fine with it. As I said in my prior post, Levi in Buffalo as the backup or Rochester as the main starter matters less to me than signing UPL. Doesn't have to be a huge long 6-7 year deal, but it better be for more than 1. Levi, in Roch or as a backup in Buffalo, will likely need more than 1 more season to become what you want him to, if he does even reach that potential.

Thought since Okposo was traded we'd have a poll by now, so here goes:

I'd think the plan is (and probably should be) levi as the backup. He's had a taste of the NHL (good and bad) and by early next year he will have had another full camp with the team and about a half season in Rochester also. I would not want him anointed as starter, but I think, if you believe in him, the backup roll should be good for him by next season. If they do sign a vet free agent to be the backup and keep Levi in Rochester, I wouldn't be my fist choice, but I'd be OK with it also. My big thing is to get UPL signed and I hope to a 2-3 year deal at least. Levi, if he even DOES turn into what you want him to, its going to be a couple of years.

Bryson, I think looked bad (like the rest of the D) when the Forward were a mess in their own end. I've noticed that its not just the Sabres stats defensively being better since Jan 1 of this year, but something happened with the forwards. You can SEE it watching the games, and the stats back it up, they are not perfect, but they are making a LOT less mistakes in their own zone. In the past I commented that all the D-men on this team look worse than they are because of the bad play of the forwards in their own zone. When I would watch the games, or the replays of goals allowed, the D-men would initially often be where they should be, but the forwards? Floating around the blueline, sometimes picking up a man in the zone and then for no reason just leaving the zone, or my favorite, 2 forwards playing 'their' side of the ice, but the 3rd one just randomly chasing a puck he has no chance of getting to, only to leave a HUGE, GAPING hole for an opposing player to jump into, get the puck and have a clear shot at the net. When all that happened, it made it hard for the D-men on this team and it made them look bad. You can see it on the replays, they had to make a choice, stay in the zone down low, cover a C or Winger hanging around the net, or jump up high to take a winger or D-men at the top of the faceoff circle where the Sabres forward SHOULD be but just decided not to be. The D-men had a 50-50 chance of guessing wrong (and if they DID guess wrong it would look like THEY were out of position), or worse yet, they would often try to cover both guys, going between both defenders (the way they might defend a 2-on-1) and when that went badly it would look like they had NO idea what they were doing and on the 5 seconds of the replay they showed on TV, MOST fans would say..."Look! That D-man is clueless!" When in fact it was the forward who was clueless and the D-man was trying his best to do the job of 2 people. So back to Bryson. Hes OK. He can be/should be a very good #7 guy and could be a decent 3rd pair guy, but he absolutely needs the support of the forwards in front of him to look good. When he does get it, he looks pretty good.

I posted about a week ago showing his drop in production from his 'career' best year is almost the same percentage as the drop in production Matthews had last year (coming off his previous career) year due to a wrist injury. I think Matthews goals dropped 33% the year he had the wrist injury, and when I posted it, Thompson was scoring 33% less also. Now, I don't know the severity of each of their injuries, but what we do know is both had them, and both played through them. Its for that reason, I really think if he gets 'healed up' in the offseason, there is a good chance he comes back next year and approaches or gets 50 goals. Here is the math from my previous post if anyone wants to see if it has changed in the past couple weeks: He has a wrist injury. Sometimes that injury can heal enough that you can play, but it can impact production big time from scorers. Who else had a wrist injury that he played through? Look 1.5 hours north to Austin Matthews. 2 seasons before his wrist injury: 41 goals in 52 games (65 goal pace per 82) 1 season before his wrist injury: 60 goals in 73 games (67 goal per 82 pace). Year he played through the wrist injury: 40 goals in 74 games (44 goal per 82 pace) Year after his wrist injury: 53 goals in 58 games (75 goal pace) So, a guy who is a big time scorer averaged 66 goals per 82 games without a wrist injury....the season he plays through a wrist injury his goal production drops 33% the season he has the injury....then when he gets a full year off his production goes back up to (and beyond) what it was before the injury. Now Tage... 2 seasons before his wrist injury: 38 goals in 78 games (40 goal pace) 1 season before his wrist injury: 47 goals in 78 games (almost a 50 goal pace) year of his wrist injury (this year) 18 goals in 50 games (30 goal pace) With Tage, a guy who is a big time scorer averaged 45 goals per 82 games without a wrist injury...the season he plays through it his goal production drops 33% the season he has the injury...With a full season off to heal his wrist, AND in his prime at 27 years of age, is there a chance he exceeds is prior production? Maybe. The naysayers will say no...but I like to bring this up as a possible positive. Tage isn't Matthews, but the similarities in their injury, in how it impacts production at the same time and the same point...very similar. Something to think about. I looked into one other things....Matthews shooting percentage those 2 seasons before his wrist injury was 17.7. It went down to 12.2 the year of his injury (5.5 points lower). He took about the same number of shots per game (4.4 vs 4.6), just his percentage was down. Tage's shooting percentage the 2 years before his wrist injury this year was 15.5. It is down to 10.0 this year....(5.5 points lower). He has taken about the same number of shots per game (3.5 vs 3.6) but his percentage is just down.

If, a big IF UPL keeps playing this way, is there a chance he gets into the final 3 for the Vezina? For the year right now, among goalies with enough to qualify for the lead in stats: -7th in Save percentage, .915, now only .007 off of the lead (.922) -4th in Goals against average, 2.42, now only 0.13 off the lead (2.29) And up to date, since the beginning of the calendar year (Jan 1): -1st in save percentage, .932 -1st in Goals against average, 1.90 -1st in shutouts, 3 -He's even tied for 1st in penalty minutes, 4 Again, bit "if" should he continue to play at this level, but if he should, he should be approaching the league lead in those major stats.

I can't help myself but want to be here during the games, but I'm starting to stay away from the gameday threads. The negative comments, how vicious and angry some people are getting, it takes away from the enjoyment of the sport. Yeah, I want them to win, but I'm not, for sure, one of those that enjoys being angry about every little thing I can.

They finish with about 80 points (give or take a few). I can't seem them catching ANYONE in front of them, and only Montreal has a slight chance of catching the Sabres from below but I don't think that will happen either.

Barring another injury, I think Tage gets at least 50 goals next year.

So he is 26, undrafted , split most of his time between the ECHL and AHL over the last few years, his AHL save percentage is below .900 for his career, doesn't even need to play in Roch now that Levi is there....why would San Jose give up ANYTHING at all for him? I know he is FROM San Jose, but he's a borderline AHL/ECHL guy, why give up anything at all? Not complaining from the Sabres point of view of course...

I always used to care about the draft. If you knew you weren't going to make the playoffs, they why NOT lose a couple more games to get a higher pick, right? I'm not there anymore though, They draft 4th, 7th, 9th? This year it just doesn't really matter much to me and I don't care.

Since 2013, they drafted 8th 4 different times. This would be the 5th time in 12 years. They drafted 7th once, 9th once, they average to 8th..do they count for something?

But you aren't getting more than a 4th for Johnson. My comment was in response to a 4th rounder meaning nothing..it doesn't mean nothing..and it doesn't mean nothing especially in light of what you gave up for it.