Kruppstahl

It's still too early to say, but the more I watch, the more I fear that Eichel will not become a generational talent to be spoken of in the McDavid/Crosby/Malkin type mold. He looks like he's going to be a notch or 2 down from that. Still an excellent hockey player that you are glad to have on your team, but not the total difference maker he was billed as.

Hmm. Didn't notice the song selection at the time. Speaking of music at home games, you know that highly annoying garbage they play every time we score a goal? Are we going to have to listen to that forever? When does that crap go bye-bye? I'm a big fan of the organ at games and think that should be the only source of music at games. So apparently our own organist is kind of trolling the team! I think that's great. It fits the overall mess down at the arena.

He should work on his game before working on losing his passion for it. He was put up against a top line last night, league wide, and Patrice Bergeron in particular who I think the world of...and Jack was about as effective in that role as I would have been. We have seen flashes of what Eichel is capable of, now and again, but we don't seen it often enough and certainly not on any type of regular basis. That's a problem too.

The "be patient" and "relax" crowd needs to realize that this is not a single game we are talking about. Last night was basically Game 83 from the 2017-2018 campaign. That's a problem.

I'd like to see both. Team speed did not seem improved during game play tonight against the Bruins. We still look slow, in both senses referenced above. But speed without commitment, hustle, and compete, is meaningless.

Yeah, but Boston doesn't have anything close to the recent history this organization has had, nor is a disappointing performance part of a cyclical problem that has defined the franchise in the last several years with largely the same core players. What's disturbing about this game is not that it's a single loss; it's precisely the opposite. It's part of a pattern in which we have seen the same lack of compete, urgency, and toughness for several years with the same key players. Dahlin is not a part of this, and I expect him to rise about this mess. He's an exception.

This doesn't have to be an either/or proposition. Housley seems like the wrong man for the job, and this group of players has played like crap regardless of who their coach is. The weight falls on both players and coaching.

I'm a huge Red Sox fan. They said that about the Red Sox for decades too. Then they finally hired competent front office people, ceased engaging in racist player selection, and ran the team in a professional, shrewd manner...and a lot of success and multiple championships followed. We aren't jinxed; we just suck.

Well said. This is what I have been trying to discuss going back to last year. It's not that we lost; it's how we looked, what we did and did not do, and how long this has been happening that is the problem. The team seems dysfunctional and like there is a big problem that no one wants to discuss. They all hate each other? They all hate the coach? A little of both? They all hate playing/living in Buffalo? There's more to this crap than simply losing a hockey game. I have absolutely no idea what it is.

Looks like we'll have to wait at least until Game 2 to find out!

The best laid plans of mice and men... Nice hit by Risto with about 6 minutes left in the game; and the big hit by Sabotka behind the net in the last minute. Other than that, zero physicality in this game, very little "compete", no sense of desperation, and a lot more of the same . Not sure I'm paying $ for NHL Center Ice this year. Very boring team to watch. Booed and well deserved after 1st, 2nd, and 3rd periods.

Not the period I was hoping for...and just boring hockey to boot. Not a lot of physicality, not much in the way of scoring chances... I'm watching as always on NHL Center Ice in low definition and I am literally getting a little nauseous when the camera pans quickly; the image goes all pixelated and comes out of focus and it's giving me a headache.

They just finished the usual game day 20 minute segment with Rob Ray. They've been talking hockey on and off for last 2 hours. That's where I picked up on the 455 day stat posted above; that's a Mike Schopp thing; he's been keeping track of that for a while. It's always funny to see these sorts of complaints, though, b/c the Sabres folks complain about Bills talk; the Bills folks at Bills forums complain about anything to do with the Sabres. They have to try and balance both teams.

455 games and nearly 6 years since we had a winning record. We last had a winning record on January 25, 2013, when we had a record of 2-1 after the lockout was ended. That can all change tonight!

It is common for old, famous broadcasters to stick around way too long. They all seem to love to do it forever, and the first thing the goes is their mind. They just lose the mental sharpness to be able to do it correctly at a certain point. Recently we saw this play out with Bob Cole. Once RJ crosses that line and is flat out horrible or straight up can't do it anymore, the organization will be in a tough situation. As much as I love RJ, I hope he retires before it gets to that point. And boy, once RJ is gone, I am not looking forward to 20 years of Dan Dunleavy. You nailed it; he's milquetoast and boring. Very competent, does his job well enough...but he just does nothing for me. Go to youtube and pick out your favorite brawl or "ugly incident" in Sabres history. Those always brought out the best in RJ! He loved that stuff! Something from the '90s perhaps; maybe one of the brawls with Philly. Listen to his voice, the sharpness, how connected he was to the action; the passion. The guy was freaking fantastic. He's far removed from that now. But I'll still take aging RJ over "prime" Dunleavy!

I'll offer up my season prediction in terms of the big picture. I think we rebound and become a competitive team that is free of embarrassment. We'll have a solid point total, but will not make the playoffs this year. If we do, it will be fantastic and welcome, but slightly over-achieving IMO.

If we can simply return to being a competitive, decent team with an expectation that we might actually win the game every time we play, it will be a massive turnaround for the organization. The Sabres have been mired so deep in suckage for so long now, I think we have all forgotten what it's like to have a normal, solid, competitive team. I really hope this is the season the rebuild finally comes together into a solid, competitive team.

I said Skinner; I have a feeling he'll do it.

Looking forward to the game tonight. The Eichel line looks like it could be quite good and I can't wait to see the development of the kid on the blue line. I will go on record as predicting a strong comeback season, a respectable, decent point total, but no playoffs for us again this year. Hope I'm wrong, believe me. I'm starting to forget what Sabres playoffs game day feels like.

That process began several years ago. He's nothing close to RJ at peak performance. I agree though; as long as he doesn't slip beyond a certain level of competence, he'll be around. For now, he can keep on doing it.

My favorite James Bond is Sean Connery by a mile. My favorite movie is probably Dr. No or Goldfinger. Goldfinger might be my favorite villain, but there are many to choose from. Hugo Drax, Blofeld, Scaramanga, Dr. Julius No....they're all great. The ridiculous over the top stunts are my least favorite aspect of Bond movies, which is why I tend to like the early ones the most. Bond in a tuxedo, wearing his Rolex Submariner and drinking Bollinger champagne while gambling in the casino in Monaco and exchanging witty lines with his foes is what those movies are all about! I hated the movies when Bond drove a freaking BMW...sure it was paid product placement, but it was just so wrong! I loved the Lotus Esprit era at the time but that is now horribly dated. Ultimately, his best car was the old Aston DB5.

This is a tough question and not easily answered. The Bills are a league-leading regression candidate this year; their over/under is set around 6.5 games I believe, and that seems about right. Then you have the Sabres. I think they will turn a corner this year, the corner they were expected to turn last year but did not. But I don't see them as a genuine threat to make the playoffs. So yet another season of non-playoff hockey will be frustrating and feel like a failed season, even if it is not. It's hard to overstate just how badly the rebuild went with GMTM. Long way to go. The good news is that Dahlin may well end up a better player than Eichel, and I think he will have more of an immediate impact than Eichel did or could. Once Dahlin settles in, an ice time devouring, puck moving D-man like that who can match up against anyone's top line and play half a freaking game night in and night out is hugely valuable. More valuable than the 1C in my opinion. I voted both teams will hover around .500 and I think that's about right.

Anyone watching season 4 of Better Call Saul? Just finished watching episode 2 and really enjoyed it.

Genau!

Interesting comments. Dahlin has not played in the NHL yet, but I predict he is going to be the real deal superstar as compared to Eichel's close but not quite there imitation of same. Dahlin will also prove to be more valuable to the team, long term. A stud puck moving D-man who can play half a game just has a lot more impact on the game than a 1C, as important as a good 1C is as well. I.E., I'd take Dahlin over McDavid if both were available in the same draft and I pick first.