GASabresIUFAN

He has moved from being a PP specialist to an empty net goal specialist. At this pace he might score 25 empty net goals. By way the NHL record in a season is 9. Ovie tied it last year (Bure in 99/2000 was the first to 9). I think VO will blow this record out of the water.

They play TB, Car, LV, Bos and AZ in the next 5. If they win 3 of 5 wouldn't you agree that they have proven they can compete with the best and are therefore a good team?

It's a fair question as to what I mean by "there." I made it open ended because "there" means something different for different people. For some it would simply be nightly entertaining hockey with a legit chance to win the game. I think we reached this definition in the 2nd half of last season There to me means are we are legit playoff contender. I think we are "there" or nearly. When I combine late last season and the first 9 of this season, it's pretty clear to me we can regularly beat teams considered to be playoff teams and should be in the fight for a playoff spot this season. For us to sustain this level we need to get and remain healthy on the backend. If your definition of "there" is a guaranteed playoff team or even a Cup contender, IMHO, we still have much work to do. D depth and elite goaltending are still the areas we need the most help, but at least Comrie and Anderson are keeping us in every game.

Vinnie was the 13th forward the Day he re-signed. He, Bjork and Sheahan (and Malone) are here in case the rookies falter and or we have a rash of injuries. Rousek and Weissbach are also playing themselves into a position to get a callup.

I’m worried about the next 5 games. If we go through that gauntlet 3-2, I think that will answer most of my questions. Successfully playing those tough teams with our patch work D group will tell me we can compete with the best even without our best possible lineup. That said, I disagree that these ten games are “a small sample” when viewed with how this nearly the same lineup played down the stretch last season. Now we are looking at 40+ game run of success with good results against top teams. I’ve mentioned 05/06 comparison previously, but that team actually turned the corner late in 2003/04 season and then the kids, Roy, Pommers, Vanek and Miller got an extra development year together in the A during the strike. To me this strong start is just a continuation of the momentum created last year. The funny thing is that this D group is most of the group we finished last year with Fitz, Bryson, Power and Dahlin.

A somewhat cryptic thread title I know. We are ten games in and sit 7-3-0 with 14 pts only behind the 9-1 Bruins. We have beaten contenders like Pitt, Edm and Calg and other than the awful Sea game, the Sabres were in the other losses. The kids are starting to play well, even Krebs. They lead the NHL with 20 3rd period goals, they are +15 and in 3rd period differential. They have a couple of comeback wins, but have also been able to hold all their leads after 2 periods. The offense is clicking and as balanced as we hoped. Tage, who I admitted being worried about before the season, is even better. Dahlin is playing like a Norris contender. We have 4 guys with 6+ goals and 3 with 7+ to lead the NHL. No one else has more than 2. Our 43 gf is second to Bos’ 45. There is some bad news. The GA is improved but is 11th in the league. As pointed out in the broadcast we give up way to many odd man rushes. Last night all 3 Pitt goals came on either 2 on 1 or a breakaway. This has to stop for this team to succeed long term. The injuries on D are obviously a factor. The schedule also gets harder from here with 4 more contenders in the next 5 games including the red hot Eichel lead Knights and Bruins at home and roadies at TB and Carolina. Dare I ask; Are we there yet?

I forgot, what an amazing veteran play by Power on VO’s first goal. While the “stars” for the Sabres all had great games tonight, all 3 rookies were major contributors tonight. So exciting to see.

This may not be the most experienced forward group ever in Rochester, but it might be the most talented in nearly 20 years.

Do you remember the last Sabres team that played with that kind of effort, played for each other, and was able to roll 4 effective lines? The 2005/6 team. This team really feels much like that team.

Joki’s mom was there also. Just thought you should know. 🙂

Still don’t like the white pants. 😉

These TNT guys really don’t know that this team actually turned the corner the day Tuch joined this team.

This is the type of effort that can define a team and this is why Z and KO are on this team.

King Henrik saying we need to tighten up defensively. Hey Henry, did you notice 3 key D out with injuries?

This was a defining win for a young team. They got down 2 goals to a veteran laden desperate team and just destroyed them after the first 5-6 minutes of the 2nd period. Best game yet by Power. PP is so much better with Quinn in it. JJP’s ability to hold into the puck was key to VO’s first goal. Also Krebs’ best game in a long time. DG had Mitts and VO on the ice at the end of the game.

Didn’t realize Tuch grew up next door to Tim Connolly. He (Tuch) is being interviewed on TNT.

Love the jersey. Not sure about the white pants.

Ultimately there is a time for patience and a time of impatience. I'm sure KA is going to watch very closely over the next week to see how his patch work D group holds up against good teams. If it gets crushed than he really needs to do something. I do agree Bush will be back soonish, but I'm not sure about Joki. Even when Joki returns, I doubt he'll be at 100%. Facial injuries are bound to make someone a little more hesitant to block shots for example. Ultimately I don't want him to piss away another season in the name of development. .... and now back to the topic. One of the issues facing DG is having a large number of similarly talented players. Certainly Tnt is establishing himself as the best offensive foward so far, but after him we have Tuch, Skinner, Mitts, Cozens, JJP, Krebs, KO, VO, and Quinn who all have the talent to put up 20+ goals and 50-60+ points. I can see why he continues to tinker to try to find linemates with chemistry and to find away to both develop and maximize the talents of Krebs and the 2 hot rookie forwards. I don't envy him the task, especially when even more veteran guys like Mitts, Cozens and VO aren't consistent night in and night out.

Yes most team's depth would be tested, but that isn't an excuse to not try to improve the situation. Teams move 4th and 5th rd picks for depth NHLers all the time. Remember the Scandella for a 4th trade? The Bear trade was for a 5th rd pick I believe. Those picks have about a 15% chance of playing in the NHL 3-5 from when drafted. Your not exactly giving up much on an asset. Also that asset can be recovered at the trade deadline if necessary.

LOL. I like our D group when healthy, but they aren't and might now be for quite some time. I just don't think running with Pilut, Fitz and Clague for an extended period will hold up.

Just think how they'd do with one or two more.

We are playing one proven NHL D right now in Dahlin. One!

I'm confused. Wasn't our PP decent last year at 21.2% for the season? According to NHL.com that tied us with Boston for 15th overall. The biggest issue to me looks like a lack of opportunities. We were at 24th in opportunities at 222 compared to Colorado at 279. Obviously we weren't doing enough to force opponents into penalty causing mistakes. In fact last year Colorado spent 50 seconds a game more on the PP than we did. This season that has changed. We are currently averaging 6:12 per game on the PP. Up from 4:40 last year. This places us currently 8th in NHL. we are also up to 23.5% from 21.2% (good for 13th) and our 8 PPG are tied for 12th. I'd love to the see the PP score more often and agree we are a little predictable. Still volume counts on the PP and if we continue to draw penalties, I think you'll see the % increase as the kids contribute more. With TnT, VO and Quinn, we have 3 of the best shooters in the NHL.

I'm with you on this. At some point you have to go for it. In the next few years we'll be integrating Levi, Savoie, Kulich, Rosen and Östlund among others. He can make the same development comment for years to come. At some point the brain trust will have to say development is great but we need to win now and starting adding guys to make that happen especially on defense. Honestly, I think we are almost at that point. The offense is clicking and coming from all lines. We have 4 players tied for the team lead with 6 goals apiece and 5 guys tied for the team lead for assists with 6 (yes Dahlin and TNT are in both catagories). The goaltending is solid so far. Only the D depth is truly absent to be successful this season. I still feel KA needs to support the team and add another NHL D.

The NHL network mentioned these four D last night when discussing Dahlin. Pretty amazing 4 players near or at the top of 2 consecutive drafts. 2017 3rd overall to Dallas - Heiskanen - 281 gms 35g 99a 134 pts 4th overall to Colorado - Makar - 187 gms 48g 140a 188 pts 2018 1st overall to Buffalo - Dahlin - 286 gms 37g 135a 172pts 7th overall to Vancouver - Quinn Hughes - 210 gms 19g 151a 170 pts How would you rate them so far? Makar, Dahlin, Hughes, Heiskanen? Also Adam Fox was picked 66th overall in 2016 - 213 gms 26g 146a 172 pts