GASabresIUFAN

14 Forwards, 6 D, 3 goalies

Rinse, wash, repeat.

https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams?reportType=season&seasonFrom=20242025&seasonTo=20242025&gameType=2&sort=goalsFor&page=0&pageSize=50 This report on the team stats page on NHL.com has Montreal at 243 goals and the Sabres at 265. The Standings page https://www.nhl.com/sabres/standings/2025-04-17/division has Montreal at 245 and Buffalo at 265 Not sure where the 2 goals went. Those reports also have a 4 goal discrepancy between goals against for Montreal. The team stats page shows 261 against, while the standings page shows 265. Not sure the reason for that difference either.

It would be great if his shoulder is fully healed and he plays a full season. Sadly, we have no idea if the shoulder is sound. Only time will tell. Until he proves healthy, he’ll remain a question mark.

Why? He has never played a full season in 5 NHL only seasons. The most he has ever played was 66 games. His other seasons are 56, 8, 50 & 56. If his chronic shoulder issue keeps him from playing 3/8 of every season, he should be treated like Greenway and Samuelsson. I don’t care what the injuries are, I care about player availability. Samuelsson has played 40 to 60 games in his brief career. Greenway only played 34 last year, but has typically played 56 to 67 games on his career (played 81 as a rookie). Norris’ resume looks similar to Samuelsson and Greenway.

My first thought when he got buried by Clifton was that he was going to have a concussion and be gone for a month or two. His play has been good, now can he just stay healthy.

Scoring. They only scored 243 last season and had a -18 differential. They scored 22 less goals than the Sabres.

Please show the folks here Power's defense analytics.

No goaltending, no playoffs.

AI Rick with robot players. Can't wait.

He is the target because he is a former top over all pick, carries a big contract and hasn't improved at all in 3 years in the NHL. In many ways he is a worse player today than as a rookie. The Athletic gave him a negative -3.5 mill contract deficit last season. That basically means we are paying 8.35 for a 4.85 player. Analytics aside, his game doesn't pass the eye test and Byram is a similar but better player for less money making Power a luxury we don't need to keep. Could Power change the narrative this season? Sure he could, but if we go through another season where he is inept defensively, these calls to move on are going to get louder and more frequent.

I remember this team. They look exactly like last year and the season hasn’t even started.

Sadly probably! So far key players like UPL, Kesselring (the big off-season acquisition) and Samuelsson are already injured "week to week" So far this pre-season, the PP looks just as terrible as last season, the defense is suspect and the goaltending bad.

Mair has been fired. Go get help Adam.

Just because they are skating doesn't mean they are good to go for opening night. Samuelsson was designated as week to week for a reason. Hopefully they'll all be in the lineup opening night, but don't count on it.

Well the Elite D group just took another hit. Kesselring is out week to week with his injury. Projected D group pre-season Dahlin Byram Power Kesselring Samuelsson Timmins We are literally down 50% of the projected starters on D as Byram returns tonight. Tonight's D with Dahlin resting Byram Johnson Bryson Timmins Komarov Mrtka with Lyon and Georgiev in goal as UPL is also out week to week. Correction: Mrtka is ill and Mesta will be playing in his place.

By the way, future Sabre Gavin McKenna and his Penn St team play ASU tonight on the NHL Network at 10pm

Significantly. While hits are not a perfect illustration of physicality it does help illustrate the difference in physical engagement from both players. Byram had 75 hits to Powers' 26 last season.

IF the Sabres management made good decisions, the Sabres wouldn't be where they are. The truth is Adams and Pegula have no idea how to actually build a hockey team. There is no plan and never was. They had the goalie they needed in Ullmark but let him walk. Instead they crafted the "waiting for Levi/UPL" strategy and then never worked to set up the defense in front of any goaltender. To bolster the D and goaltending while we waited for a prospects to emerge, Adams added Subban, Dell, Anderson, Reimer, Comrie, Houser, and Tokarski in goal and Clifton, JDB, Gilbert, Clague, Erik Johnson, Lyubushkin, Stillman, Pysyk, Miller, Hagg, and Butcher on defense. Is it any wonder why the Sabres have had the worst defense and goaltending in the NHL for the last 5 years? All of this was preventable.

It’s not turning Power into Popeye, it about Power willingness to do his job properly. He isn’t good enough offensively to rely on offense alone like Karlsson. He needs to become a 2 way defenseman or he’ll remain a drag on this team.

Yes certainly, but also he has to have a willingness to engage physically. I don't mean running around and hitting people just to hit them (Clifton). I mean challenging a forward at the blueline, clearing the crease, using his big frame to take away time and space from opponents. So far in his career he is unwilling to engage physically. No amount of coaching will fix a player unwilling to do what is necessary to get better on the ice.

Even as cynical as I've become about this team, even I am having trouble believing how physically fragile this roster is. However, watching the last 2 periods against Pittsburgh really illustrated what I wrote in the 2 above quotes.

He was so much bigger that it didn't matter in college or lower levels.

Hits and physicality are not the same thing. The guys you mentioned knew how to muscle someone out of the crease or get their bodies in people’s way. Power Ole’s people as they skate by and has no idea how to move someone out of the crease.

If the PP we saw yesterday was the reworked version Appert and Ventura should be fired immediately. It was the same old same old; pass the puck to Tage for a one timer.