GASabresIUFAN

Just a quick note: Dahlin is quietly the Sabres’ leading scorer with 5 assists in 5 games. Cozens (2,2) and Mitts (1,3) have 4 pts each. This was the team KA put on paper this off-season. Are they better off without Benson?

Mitts has been our best forward ytd. I liked the heavy 1st line tonight. Greenway created a lot of space for TNT and Cozens. Comrie played his best game for us since early last season. Great all-around effort, but it was against a team on the back half of back to back. I’ll feel better if they bring forth a similar effort against Mon on Monday.

The more I watch JJP, the more I wonder if they should try him at center.

La Hacienda

Should have been another 2 penalties on the NYI. Best period of the season, but the NYI gas tank looks empty.

Mule from Mitts and Skins. Great work by Skinner on the boards.

Finally.

I’m going to start calling any failure to get a shot or pass from the point past the D a “Skinner.” That’s 3 times tonight he has shot it right into the D’s shin pads.

@Thorny I'll take your analogy a step further. I think in hockey you can get too defensive-oriented and take the creativity away from your skill players. NJ did this with their trap heavy D, but it did win a couple of Cups for them because their D and goaltending was also outstanding. Trotz found the right balance during his brief stay in Washington and they also won a Cup. DG's task is to find the right balance. We aren't close to that goal yet, but I do believe Donnie can get them to buy in on defense. Getting Johnson's leadership in the room will help and as I posted earlier, I am seeing TNT and Skinner come back more in the 1st 4 games than last year.

The most unique place we go is Heirloom BBQ in Marietta. The owners are a married couple. He is a trained chef and she is a former teen K-pop star. They do straight Southern BBQ but they add Korean flair. They have things like kimcha slaw and a BBQ Sauce with added Korean flavor that is great. They also do Korean style chicken wings which are great as is their Southern Fried Chicken (Wednesday's only).

I am a baseball guy. My office is across the street from the Braves stadium. If I'm understanding your thought, the Jays focused on improving their D at the expense of guys who can hit. It seems the best baseball teams are the ones that do both well. For the Braves, their top 9 was a murders row (until the playoffs) and most are plus fielders like Reilly, Olson, Murphy, and Harris. The Braves f'd up because of pitching issues. They started 16 different starting pitchers. The comparison I'd make is to basketball. DG's goal is to grab the rebound and fast break up the ice using our speed and skilled shooters. The problem is this style often creates turnovers and allows odd-man rushes the other way. Edm played that way back in the day but were also so good at the half-court offense. We are not good enough yet the half-court offense. We cycle the puck well but still have a very hard time getting the puck through to the net.

You should stop going to Sonny’s. I’ve lived to the Atlanta area for 35 years and I’ve only had bad BBQ once. I’ve had great ribs, pulled pork and chicken here. Not really a brisket guy (Texas style). Maybe it’s the style in Nashville doesn’t suit your palate.

They are on pace for 287 GA (so a 17 GA improvement). It's better, especially on the PK but not even close to good enough. The funny thing is the quicker they get control of the puck on D the quicker they can transition to offense.

and I've had bad wings in Buffalo. So what! However, the best wings are still in Buffalo and the best BBQ is in the South. Also Southern BBQ is extremely regional in the South. Texas vs Memphis vs North Carolina (vs KC) are all completely different. In GA we seem to have a mixture of influences but the base sauce for many places is tomato vinegar and sugar with seasonings.

Sounds like a great excuse for getting Benson a conditioning assignment in Rochester.

Lol. BBQ in Buffalo. Need to come South for good BBQ.

It’s weird stat, especially when we have last change and should be able to get favorable matchups for our best forwards. For a team like ours getting the last change should be a clear advantage. Could it simply be that these guys are more relaxed on the road and therefore play better?

I was thinking Benson to bumper on PP1 with Skinner to PP2.

Part of the scoring issue is the PP is 1/13. That’s cost us about 3 goals so far. By the way the PK is 15/16 which is a huge improvement if they can maintain it.

It does make you wonder why Donnie hasn’t been able to deliver the same message. Is his fast break system part of the issue? Without better defense this team won’t make the playoffs regardless of how many goals they score. They gave up 304 last year. That needs to go down by at least 30 goals to make the playoffs.

I am wondering the same thing. He seems completely off his game.

Well you’d be completely wrong. This is the same core if guys who suffered through an 8 games losing streak plus 3 other 4 game losing streaks last year and missed the playoffs by a point. They fought all season last year. I don’t see that changing this year. How they handled adversity last year, such as all the D injuries, is the reason I remain optimistic and continue to consul waiting at least 10 games before jumping off the ledge. As I posted earlier they started last year 9-12-1 and then found their stride. FYI go to hockey-reference’s game log if you want to verify the data. Remember this is still the youngest in the NHL. They will be streaky again and have ups and downs over the next 6 months. There are signs of hope. JJP and Mitts, two guys I thought would take a step forward, look improved. Greenway looks healthy. Thompson, Skinner and Cozens looked better over the last 2 games. Benching VO has sadly helped. I also notice the TNT line working harder on D, especially TNT. Also on D I like what EJ is bringing and Levi’s talent is undeniable even with the slow start. He is keeping us in games. Admittedly others have been invisible or bad, like Tuch and Clifton. All the D need to be better. Scoring first would help.

Tuch has sleepwalked through the first 4 games. On the good news front, Tnt and Cozens scored tonight. This lousy start may be just the medicine this team needs to get back to work. They read all off-season how close they were to the playoffs and were universally picked as the next great team. After all, KA has locked up all the young stars who broke out last season, you have a great rookie goalie, a player's coach, and the deepest farm system in the game. You have so much talent a 28-goal scorer is no longer good enough to play for the team. Now reality has hit. The defense hasn't gelled yet with the new guys. The young stars are now just beginning to score. The stud goalie is struggling behind the porous defense. Management seemingly is afraid to play the 2 backup goalies and the forward lines don't seem to have much chemistry at this point. The great coach is struggling to teach defense. The fans continue to stay away in droves. If anything could kick the team and organization in the butt, a 1-3 start ought to do it. Hopefully, they now realize that last season is gone and they are going to have to put the work in because everyone is better. Ottawa is improved. Detroit in improved and if they don't put the work in, those teams will pass the Sabres in a blink of an eye.

Yep.

I was going to describe it fake Mexican ex-lax, but I thought that would be rude.