GASabresIUFAN

You know I'm not going to argue with that. I like what Joe Brady has done so far and I do agree I'd like to see more of a killer instinct from MCD. However, this loss isn't on MCD. Truthfully most of the early season losses were on Allen's turnover and Ken Dorsey. With a healthy defense this team has at least 3 more wins including today.

Despite my post, I don't think the window is close to closing and that is where the youth comes in. The Bills will need to restructure some contracts, draft well this coming off-season and find a way to stay healthy, but this team will be very competitive next season.

I do think there is some merit here in general, but I'm not sure he caused the loss today. I just don't think he has the horses on defense right now to compete. The defense is without top starter Jones, White and Milano and played without DB's Jackson and Rapp tonight.

Personal reasons could be nearly anything such as a very ill parent, spouse, or child. Maybe his wife is having a baby? It could be a mental health issue or a legal matter off the ice. Who knows.

By the way folks, Allen, Diggs, and Miller will cost the Bills nearly $100 million next year (40% of the current cap) without some restructuring.

Daboll left to take a deserved HC job. We got jobbed by the officials tonight. That said, had the defense been healthy we'd win this game going away. Frankly, I'm not to upset. This team needs a reset and to cut some dead weight. We also need a better draft position and a fairer schedule. Going around .500 season wouldn't be the worst thing. There are also some real positives from this season. Rouseau, Benard, Benford, Kincaid, Shakir, Cook, and Torrence have all really stepped up this season and give us some youth to build around. Floyd, Douglas, and McGovern have been really good additions. Add a couple of new starters in this coming draft and the Bills should look younger and deeper next season.

First things first; Granato and Adams aren’t getting fired. They were recently extended and TP isn’t eating those deals. Assistant coaches may get replaced, but Granato is staying. Sorry. TP, KA and DG have two built in excuses for continued failure and they are the Sabres are the youngest team in the NHL and injuries to key players. To fix this mess, KA has to get off his hands and start being more aggressive with player acquisition. Since he traded out the old core, the players he has added are Pilut, Clague, Sheahan, Greenway, Stillman, Anderson, Comrie, Lyubuskin, Cilfton, and E Johnson. These are all depth or worse players. Not exactly a list to help the team take a major step forward.

The horse collar was one of the worst non-calls I’ve ever seen. Karma played out and we got the TD off the fumble.

“Fixing“ the defense is pretty simple. Go down to 6 D and play Ryan Johnson. Clifton has been our worst D. Put him in the pressbox. This isn’t hard.

The Sabres have 10% more points than last year. I'm sure KA is very proud of his improved roster.

Despite UPL’s vast improvement, the goaltending remains below average. (Numbers from hockey-reference) Sabres 5 on 5 save % .907. NHL average .918. Sabres overall save % .895. League average .897.

Sadly the goaltending is not substantively better than last season. UPL is certainly better, but the team’s overall numbers aren’t. What is better is the defense. Despite giving up 33 tonight to Pit, the Sabres have given up less HDC per game vs last year and 4 less shots on goal per game. Our goals against are down from 3.6 to 3.2 which corresponds to the 4 shots less game at the NHL’s 10% shooting %.

VO now has 7 points in 14 games, but more importantly 6 points in his last 5 games.

Why do they only care when they get embarrassed? Where is that effort from the opening puck drop?

Great comeback, but where was that energy in the 1st two periods? If they play like they did in the 3rd most of the time they'd be a top-tier team.

I guess, but it’s a pretty universal standard. The Sabres have only lost one game this season when recording a .900 save % or better. They have only won 2 games with under .900. In one of those two wins, UPL had a .895 and the other was the 6-4 win over Toronto. It’s pretty straight forward. Stop 90% of your opponents shots and you win the game. Fail to do it, you lose.

If the Sabres are going to move up in the standings no time like the present.

I've seen a couple of posts from various posters today that all 3 of our goaltenders have been good this season and/or that Levi is coming along since his injury. UPL has been solid and has had some very good nights (although rebound control is still a problem), but Comrie and Levi have not been good and Levi hasn't been good overall since his return. Levi has had 8 starts this season. His GA is 3.66 and save % .879. These are not good numbers. The Sabres are 3-4-1 in those starts. Don't be fooled by the record. He has had only 2 starts this season where he saved more than 90% of the shots against. According to Natural Stat Trick, Levi's save % on HDC is 62nd in the NHL. In his last 4, he has a save % of .857, .943, .722, and .867 allowing 4 or more goals in 3 of the 4 games. Despite Levi's goaltending, the Sabres are 2-1-1 in those 4 games. Comrie has played four games and posted a 90% or better save % in just one of the four. The Sabres are 0-3 in Comrie's last 3 starts and his return from injury game was his worst of the year with an .833 save%. In summation, UPL has been surprisingly good, Comrie slightly below mediocre and Levi bad. Overall the Sabres' .909 save % 5 on 5 in below the NHL average (.919) and our overall save % (.893) is also below average in the NHL (.897). By the way, our save % 5 on 5 is actually slightly worse than last year (.909 vs .911), but the overall % is slightly better (.893 vs .890). The biggest change is our GA (3.21 ytd vs 3.62 last season) is more a function of improved defence instead of improved goaltending. Shots against have fallen by 4 from 32.5 to 28.3 and HDA have fallen from 8.43 per game to 7.79. The league's shooting % is 10.3%. A drop in 4 shots a game would essentially lower our GA by the .4 we are seeing this season (3.62 down to 3.21).

Levi has played 2 good games out of 8. His save % in the other 6 games was well under .900. The Sabres are 1-4-1 in those 6 games. Comrie has played 1 good game out of 4. His save% in the other 3 games was well under .900 and the Sabres lost all 3. In total the Sabres are 4-7-1 in games started by Comrie and Levi this season. Sorry, they haven’t been good. Our 5 in 5 offense hasn’t been bad. It’s 9th in the NHL with 41 goals. The failing PP is the key offensive issue.

This has clearly turned into another "development" season. A GM interested in winning would have added goaltending and better winger and center depth, started Levi in the AHL, moved on from Jost, VO, and at least one of KO or Z. Krebs would have and should be sent down. Instead, we are playing 3 rookies (Benson, Levi, Johnson) as well as keeping Krebs in Buffalo.

Do you honestly think that is going to happen? He isn't being returned to Jrs. He is here for the duration of this season and therefore next season as well. Tuch, Skinner, Cozens, Mitts, TNT, JJP, and Quinn are the top forwards on this team when healthy. That leaves two slots for other forwards in the top 9 and KA is clearly committing to Benson for one of those slots. It's really that simple.

You are missing the bigger point. This decision today is a two-year commitment to keeping Benson on the Sabres because of his age. He will become a UFA significantly earlier because of this decision. It's incredibly stupid asset management with only marginal benefit to the Sabres this season.

Truth. Benson should be sent back to Juniors. There are many levels of stupidity here. 1) He isn't physically ready for the NHL. His skill level is there, but not the physical development. This has led to one injury already, how many more are coming? 2) How much is he really helping the team that someone like Rosen or Kulich couldn't provide? 3) This decision really burns two years of his ELC before he is probably physically ready for the NHL and is also a 2-year commitment to the NHL roster. Why 2 years? Because of his age, he needed a 4th CHL season to become AHL-eligible next season. By keeping him in Buffalo for the season he now won't play a 4th CHL season and therefore won't be eligible for the AHL next year. He still could be returned to the WHL at a later point. True, but how stupid would KA look if he burned the ELC and then returned him after 15 or 20 games? He is here for the duration. This organization has no inclining for how to manage its assets. For those saying he is a top 6 forward on this team right now is more of an indictment of KA than it is a compliment to Benson. He plays hard, has incredible skill, but is way to easily knocked off the puck. He isn't ready for the role he is playing.

This 11-7 crap has to go. DG needs to find 4 lines and stick with them. He also needs to play 3 consistent D pairs. The guys need to develop some chemistry so that the team can develop some consistency. Send Levi and Krebs down. Bring up Kulich and Rosen. KA go get a center. I’d also send Benson back to juniors. He needs more physical development to survive in the NHL. The sad truth is that this season is already hanging by a thread. Last season, only one team in the East not in a playoff spot (Fla) played their way in. KA needs to change his cautious approach if this team is ever going to make real progress.

What has he done wrong.? He’s been solid all season and a very key PKer. Clifton or Mr Giveaway Jokiharju should hit the pine long before EJ does.