Kruppstahl

We've won about 35% of our game since the new calendar year. I think that pace will remain until the end of the season. Get something like 2 out of a possible 6 points for every 3 games we play. 19 games left; we'll probably win 6 or 7 more games all year.

I hope we lose out. Get the best draft slot possible, and on top of it, make a compelling case for Pegula to fire Housley at the end of the season. I fear Housley will be the coach of this team when next season starts. He is obviously not the right guy for the job and he is going to get fired eventually. It's a question of when. If he survives into next season and gets the ax next Thanksgiving time, for example, it will destroy next season as well and now we are looking at 2020/2021 as the first shot at moving forward. I'm sick of lost seasons; Botterill is too slow and patient. "It is even better to act quickly and err than to hesitate until the time for action has passed." -Carl von Clausewitz

It could be wrong, but all the talk I hear from everywhere suggests Skinner will be signed in due course. What I think will be interesting to follow is the remaining 19 games of the season. Just how many more games are we going to lose? Or to put it another way, how many more points are we going to get? I think we have a solid shot to finish at or below 78 points, which is the point total we had after the 2016/2017 season. That's the point total that was the final nail in the coffin for both GMTM and Bylsma. If Pegula pulled the trigger on those guys after 78 points in 2017, what might he do this year?! Are things different now? Not sure.

For the life of me, I will never understand "hockey fans" who don't like fighting, hitting, and exciting, physical play. That type of play always adds, it does not detract. It catapults what can be an exciting game to an even higher, emotionally charged level. Even now, when a big scrum breaks out (typically in the playoffs) the building it occurs in (any in the league) will be totally energized to the maximum with 99.9% of the fans going nuts. I guess guys like "RADAR" and maybe 4 others in an 18,000 seat venue are the 5 weirdos sitting on their hands, aghast at the violence. LOL. Why don't you consider following girl's synchronized swimming? It will be much easier for your delicate heart to take in.

Is Phil Housley the coach of this team because he is an ex-Sabre who is in the HOF? Or is he here "on merit?" Phil and Jason have been running the show here for something like 150 games now...and in one of the most important games of the year, the team shows up flat, gives an inconsistent effort, and when we fall behind, any sense of structured teamwork breaks down and it becomes individuals doing individual things. Eichel shines at that in particular. I think Jason likes Phil and Phil will be the coach of this team starting next season. This ***** show will not improve until Phil is gone. So be prepared for more frustration.

Physical play need not have anything to do with "body checks". You don't have to take my word for it. Watch the playoffs when they start. They are a physical war.

I thought his game was very lackluster; he's a defensive liability and his game showed that tonight; on ice for 2 goals against and caught deep in the O zone on several occasions leading to odd man rushes coming the other way, one of which led directly to a goal against. He is an entirely offensive oriented D Man, and I don't like D men who fit that mold.

Botterill is not interested in a tough, physical style of play and is not going to go out of his way to find players who play in that manner. That's a huge part of our problems. And guess what? They're going to continue.

Ovechkin is an extremely physical, passionate, gritty player...with enormous skill and talent on top of it. He is like a raging inferno compared to the Sabres, who are more of a lukewarm finger bowl.

Scandella and Montour will struggle in their end all night long. Mark my words!

It wasn't a "let's improve the goaltending by changing goalies" type of move. It was a "let's wake up the skaters" type of move. Very conventional, old school hockey from a very conventional, old school sort of coach.

So by now most folks have probably seen John Vogl's tweet from last night pointing out that Risto is now tied for the 2nd worst Plus/Minus in the entire NHL. On a list of 858 names, Risto is tied for 856th best plus/minus with a -25. What no one has been discussing, though, is that sitting nicely in spot 826 is Brandon Montour with a -16. So literally every player in the league, but 2, have a better plus/minus than Risto, and 825 players have a better plus/minus than Montour. What's that? It's an outdated stat? It's a team stat and the Ducks are terrible? What? Randy Carlyle was a terrible HC? Mmmmhmmm. Montour is a very offensive oriented D man, has a game similar to Risto, and neither are very good defensively. Don't expect a big improvement in that area.

He's a big boy and there are millions and millions of reasons for him to remain in the NHL. He knows the risks; I am not going to be worried for his health if he is not worried himself.

Closer to what? Being able to win 2 in a row? I guess there is always hope. What in the hell are you watching?

I don't really like this trade either, but that's mostly b/c I'm not a huge fan of Montour. We can debate his pros and cons all day long, but he's nothing close to a difference maker and this team needs a whole bunch of those. Montour is fast and likes the North/South game, but he is a nightmare in his own end with advanced stats that remind me of Risto. We were never going to get an important piece at this particular trade deadline, so maybe it's no big deal. But it's important to keep our eyes on the prize, meaning, 3 or 4 significant pieces coming inbound not currently here. Well, at least if this team is ever going to live up to hope and expectations for close to a decade now.

Either that or "Montador".

Thank you!

Has there been any discussion of Montour being able to play for the Sabres tonight against Toronto?

Actually, in hockey, 6th = nothing. ?

Listening to Botterill's PC now. Doing a good job of saying nothing.

I liked BOWL-U but the organization did not. Moving him for a 6th is the equivalent of cutting him for nothing in return. Meh.

You guys must have been shocked to see him playing again later in the same game! It did look bad at the time though. The part where he was sort of pushing himself along the ice with his one good leg was weird, like he was trying to slide his way back to the bench. I interpreted that to mean he was kind of in shock and thought he had broken his leg or ankle. Then the kid comes back and is playing the same game! Weird response from him given the fact that he wasn't seriously hurt.

Not sure I like giving up the 1st for Montour. He's just OK, not a difference maker in any sense. The loss of Guhle is no big deal; he was beginning to look like a bust.

Wait until the playoffs start. There is still a huge physical component to the game, though it is not defined in the same terms as it used to be. It's not a speed vs. size type argument. It's more like the big, fast team beats the smaller, fast team. The slow team doesn't even fit into the equation. I would still put a huge emphasis on size and physical play in new prospects, as long as they have some speed to match. They don't have to be the fastest guy in the league, but they can't be slow.

I think Dahlin is going to be a great player. He shows signs of it now, despite being a kid and stuck in a boy's body. With time, he will easily eclipse Eichel as best player on the team, assuming we don't get anyone better in the next few years. I would look for him to cross a line in Year 4...that's when he should really start stamping his authority on the game.