GASabresIUFAN

So where are the Sbares 18 games (22%) into the season? The Sabres sit in 13th place in the East (by points %). Their -6 differential is 4th worst in the conference. The team is 7th worst in the conference in total GA at 57 and 4th worst in GF with 51. The PK is vastly improved sitting 8th in the NHL at 85.3% (9th in net PK @ 88.2%). The PP is a dismal 27th at 11.5% Goaltending - Despite the bad conference GA, in the NHL as a whole the GA is much improved at 3.17 GA/GP vs 3.62 last season. UPL has been the best of the 3 headed goalie monster and rookie Levi has been the worst. The Defense - Johnson and Johnson have helped to improve the unit over last season, but KA is still riding his big 3 into the ground. Joki is finally showing some offense and Clifton has added some needed physicality but his in-zone play has been a disappointment. Power for all his minutes, hasn't been that good imho. The forwards - Injuries, depth issues, and some brutal play is the story here. Quinn has been out all season. Tuch hasn't really been healthy all season. TNT is now out for at least a month and as we saw with Casey a few years ago, wrist injuries are brutal to return from. I'm not expecting much for TNT for the rest of the year. DC, has also been injured, and his play since his return hasn't been very good, to say the least. With TNT out, the Sabres desperately need to see him step up. Benson, now also back from injury, has had some bright spots and is looking better the last few games. Given our depth and injury issues, odds favor his staying with the club this season. Krebs, VO and Jost have been awful, although VO seems a little better now that he is getting a regular shift again. Skinner is scoring, but is back to playing poorly defensively. Z and KO are done as NHLers imho. I wish we could move on from both, but that won't happen until the offseason. The caveat here is KA trading KO to a contender at the deadline to give him a shot at a Cup. The bright spots have been Greenway, Mitts, and JJP. They have been the only 3 forwards that have come to play each night. This forward mess has basically limited the Sabres to two competitive forward lines which has made the team easier to defend and therefore less productive. The team's 2.83 GF/GP is 25th in the NHL. Interestingly, 5 on 5 the Sabres remain very competitive. The team's 39 goals 5 on 5 is tied for 7th in the NHL (but really 10th when you look at games played at 2.16 GF/GP 5 on 5). While 2.16 isn't bad, it's still down from the 2.40 GF/GP 5 on 5 (197 goals 5 on 5) last season. Simply put the PP is the biggest issue with the offense right now. Another issue with the teams is penalties for and against. Last year the Sabres only had 278 penalties the entire season resulting in only 618 penalty minutes. (3rd least in the NHL). The Sabres drew 322 penalties for a net of +44 top in the NHL. This season is going in the opposite direction. We are already -11 (3rd worst in the NHL). We have drawn 69 penalties (22nd in the NHL) and been called 80 times (7th most). While some have been ticky-tack calls, the majority have come from poor defensive play by all the skaters. Greenway has six minors. Cozens, Tuch, Mitts, Krebs, Dahlin, Mule, and Clifton have 5 each, while Benson, JJP, and KO have 4 each. That's 8 forwards with 38 minors. While some of these may come from physical play (see Greenway), most seem a reflection of forwards not executing in the defensive zone. Bottom line: The Sabres are a young, talented team that isn't executing as a group. Injuries are only a partial excuse. Until they fix the PP and execute better on offense from the entire lineup this is a 500 team at best. Time to send Levi down. Time to call up Kulich and or Rosen to see if they can add a spark with some bottom 6 scoring. Fixing the PP is the greatest need, but I'm not sure the coaching staff is up to the challenge. I'd start with watching the NJ PP and see if we can borrow some concepts. I'd also like KA to acquire another center to bridge TNT's injury and then solidify the 4th line. Adding another physical player for forward depth wouldn't hurt either if we are serious about making the playoffs. Bryson, Jost, and VO should be traded or waived. I'd remain a little patient with Krebs, but it's running out quickly. I'm not expecting KA to make any moves however until the deadline when it will already be too late. Sorry for the long post, but I needed to get a few things off my chest.

Boone Jenner? Don’t see much else worth while.

I generally agree with the above but I think the priority for the forwards is a 3/4 line center. Krebs and Jost aren't good enough to center any line. We need someone who can center a top 3 line while Thompson is out and then can solidify the 4th line when TNT returns. If he adds another physical presence all the better. Who might be available is anyone's guess. I'm also sending Benson back to Juniors.

I miss Anderson’s, Ted’s, Chef’s and Bocce Pizza. I miss the Clarkson House Restaurant in Lewiston (sadly closed). Is Old Man River still around? Vin-Chet’s Bakery. I miss going to Canada and seeing the Falls. I miss going to Fort Erie for Chinese Food. Things that are gone from my childhood like Mr Donut, Pat’s hot dog stand, and Dealings amusement park. Buffalo and WNY was a great place to grow up. Hard to know what changes I have missed because I’ve been gone so long. Last I was there it felt much the same. I still don’t miss the weather.

Born and raised in Williamsville. Bills and Sabres. My parents had season tickets to both as a kid and I was hooked. How could you not get hooked on the French Connection and sadly watching OJ tote the rock? I was also a big Buffalo Braves fan as a kid. Got to know Randy Smith back in the day and became a fan of his and therefore the Braves. Once John Y Brown destroyed the team, I was done with pro hoops. I also find watching the NBA a close cousin to watching paint dry. I am a huge Atlanta Braves fan. Became a Braves fan watching Hank’s run for 715 and going to spring training games in West Palm with my Grandfather. It was somewhat ironic I moved to Atlanta just before they became great. My wife and I had the privilege of attending all the home Braves playoff games in 1991 and 1992. We had so much fun and it solidified our fandom forever. My office is actually across the street from the new Braves stadium. Indiana University sports: They won the NCAA’s in 1987, my Junior year. There is nothing like the energy in Assembly Hall for a basketball game. I took my oldest daughter to an IU vs Purdue when IU was No.1 (Cody Zeller team). My daughter, who grew up attending UGA football games, thought the game was the most exciting sporting event she had been to (prior to UGA’s National Championships). She is, despite being a UGA alum, a huge IU basketball fan. Lastly UGA Football. I married into a huge UGA family. My kids are the 4th straight generation of my wife’s family to attend UGA. Over the last 32 years, i have easily attended over 150 UGA games. Hard not to become a fan. As @LGR4GM will also tell you, there is nothing like Saturday in Athens.

UPL, other than some bad rebound control, was the best Sabre tonight.

you forgot Ryan J. The skated 7 D tonight. (He played 12:20). Cozens was terrible all game. The team looked flat almost the entire game. We still aren't physical enough and we don't shoot enough. One bright spot was quicker puck movement and more attempts to try to get the PK boz moving on the PP the few times they actually got the PP set up. This is a bad hockey team right now. They really aren't putting forth the necessary effort to be a good team.

Good thing we have a 3 headed goalie monster.

Are Josh’s struggles also a case of Josh no longer doing the work to get better now that he is a celebrity?

Just think how awful it would be without them. Has Ryan Johnson officially supplanted Jokiharju?

The biggest issue with this team is actually the offense as @Believer wrote. Our PP is 29th in the NHL at 10.9%. To make matters worse we are -14 in penalties against vs penalties for. In fact, we have had the 3rd most penalties (61) called on us and only 47 (25th in the NHL) called against our opponents. These stats illustrate some fundamental issues. 1) We aren't driving play enough to get penalties called against our opponents and we are on our heals often getting penalties called against us. The PP reflects our passive approach as well. Some of these issues are roster construction. Our bottom 6 has been unable (or unwilling) or incapable of driving play. We simply can't afford two failed lines and expect to compete. Another issue is the team's inability on all lines to create consistent traffic in front of the net. While this is a very "young" team, given that they were able to do the things last year, it's not unreasonable to think they can do it again this year.

He has only played 6 games and the Sabres would have to purchase his contract, but we have plenty of cap and extra contract space to get if done.

I suggested calling up Mersch. He is a career AHL vet who is a pt a game player in the AHL but isn’t playing much because of the AHL vet rules. Why not give him a try and see if he can inject a spark into the bottom six.

This is Kreb's chance. With TNT out, the No. 3 center job is his to lose. Maybe, if he can get his family issues sorted, he can re-focus on hockey and just relax and play. Truthfully the Sabres as a team aren't relaxed. Hard to play any sport that way.

The Levi situation is the goaltender version of Mitts. Mitts signed after his college season ended and was excellent with 5 pts in 6 games. The next season Jbot threw him to the wolves and although he survived the season, it was pretty clear he wasn’t NHL ready. Levi signs after his college season and was mostly excellent in his 7 game tryout. KA anoints him the no.1 G and it’s clear now he’s not ready for the job. Like Mitts before him he should have been sent down. Let’s not make the same mistake twice. Send Levi down and let him earn his way back. It’s sad when UPL is the best option, but that’s the bed KA made for us and the team.

TP?

Sadly I don’t think there is much KA can do at this point to save the season. So what can he do now? 1. Send Levi down. KA needs to take the pressure off the kid and allow him to figure it out. Might as well give Cooley the backup role for now. 2. Call up Kulich and Rosen. What could it hurt? We are down to 5 productive forwards - Mitts, Cozens, Skinner, JJP and Greenway. Hard to make 3 capable lines out of 5 forwards. 3. Hit the phones. Find out who is available and at what cost. 4. Re-think the PP. With TnT out, we have a unique opportunity to try a whole new approach to the PP. Lets try running in through Mitts in the middle. Lets use Greenway to set up screens.

They used to have more wrist protection.

The waiting for Levi plan isn’t working. The forwards are lost and injuries continue to hamper the group. The PP is a mess. This team is teetering on oblivion after just 16 games. The Bruins proved tonight that the distance between the 2 teams is the Grand Canyon. What now? Fire coaches? Bring up Rosen and Kulich? Trade for forward help? Hope Quinn returns early somehow!

Embarassing

Yep. He is very trying.

So Boston lost their 2 top centers and we returned everyone yet the distance between the teams is as big as ever.

Lol. I’m out.

Who are u trading away and what r u getting? Are you going to acquire mid-season 4-5 new forwards, because that is what we need.

Apparently this going to be another developmental year. Might as well bring up Rosen and Kulich and see if they can add a spark.