Amerks8796

No. He has the flu. I personally despise UPL as a goalie, but if Comrie doesn’t turn it around in the next couple of starts, they might as well give UPL a shot.

That was a really poor effort, and even Appert sounded more upset than usual in his post game press conference. Inexcusable penalty at the end by Cederqvist and just a poor effort defensively all around.

Doesn’t help that the Amerks are missing Mersch, Malone, Tischke. But I agree in general. I like where the organization is headed overall, but they need some more heavy talent. You can’t win when every player is small and skilled. I don’t care if this opinion is old fashioned, you still need heavy players to make through multiple playoff rounds.

Laaksonen got hurt over the weekend so, for the moment, Sabres are out of NHL contracted defensemen in Rochester.

Great win last night. They slept through the first two periods and then finally woke up. They’ve been a strong 3rd period team all year. UPL did his best to blow the game early, but played well after the brutal 2nd goal. Amerks just blitzed Utica at the end, and they had no response.

Bartkowski is steady. He and Davidson need to stay, even when they get healthy.

They also talk about earning their time. And right now he isn’t earning it. To me, it sends a bad message if he starts the next game.

It’s unbelievable how there’s always an excuse for him. Never mind the fact that they’ve actually played far superior defense this year. And Houser managed to do ok today too. He just sucks.

Of course Houser played well behind the same defense that people use as an excuse for UPL. Perhaps he needs to lose his starter gig for a little while? I don’t think him being gifted endless starts, despite poor performances, is how you treat professional goalies. Houser earned the next start, but I’m sure it’ll go to UPL.

I’m not sure if there’s a way to look it up, but the Sabres have to be top 5 in the league over the least decade in cumulative injuries. Wouldn’t be surprised if they were 1.

I’ll give Karmanos credit, they lost a lot on D and actually replaced them with AHL level players. Too often it’s filler from the ECHL. Now they just need to get the Amerks a veteran forward at some point to help get some offense.

It’s always an excuse for him. NHL level goalies find a way to excel in the AHL regardless. He’s just not very good.

.892 save percentage for UPL. I know everyone was hyping him up, but I’m not seeing it. When is he going to show that he’s not consistently a below average goalie in the AHL?

Yes. Capfriendly tracks this quite accurately. If you click on his player profile, there’s a breakdown.

He does if he plays 4 more games.

I don’t think they’ll have a choice. Carrying 8 D is pretty common. They won’t waive Pilut or Fitzgerald. I think they’d waive Sheahan first.

No official announcement from the team, but the AHL transaction page has Brandon Davidson being signed. Hopefully he’s more of a permanent replacement for Pilut, and I can’t see him coming back.

I don’t see that as the issue. They struggled last year even when they had Samuelsson and Fitzgerald. I think it’s just a poor PK philosophy, in my opinion. Personal preference is a very aggressive PK.

22nd last year, 25th the year before. It’s a trend, and even going by the eye test, I just hate their PK. The philosophy seems to be a wedge plus one type kill that gives the opponent ample room at the point. The collapse down low and basically never pressure the puck. It’s a very passive PK and hasn’t worked for years.

The PK is so bad it’s almost hard to believe. I get that it’s a small sample size, but I think it’s at about 62% right now. You could not even try and do better.

I think this is good for everyone. Bjork needs to get his game back, and he should be productive in the AHL.

They’ve been hyping up UPL all preseason with being in better shape, and sometimes it’s just lip service, but he did look better last night. In general, the team is very fast. Fun team.

You could convince me that any of these lines are 1 through 4. I think these guys will get smoked against Toronto, who I think have a lot of veteran talent. But I think by Thanksgiving this team could be real good.

Whenever you read this stuff, it makes you realize how much more interesting players and coaches were back in the day. All the personality has been driven out over the years.

Kevin O shared another great story of Crozier on Facebook: The Amerks and Sabres lost an icon. Joe Crozier died today at 93. My favorite memory of The Crow: In 1987, after Game 5 of the Calder Cup finals, Leo Roth and I were flying back to Rochester from Sherbrooke on the team’s rickety prop charter plane. Sherbrooke thumped the Amerks 6-1. Absolutely schooled them. Somewhere above Lake Ontario, Joe sits down next to Leo and I, explains how important this championship would be, and then, as only Joe could do, strongly suggests that whatever we write, it can’t be anything but intensely critical. “Son, Joe said, “you gotta rip these guys.” The master motivator was simply doing what he did so well. Not that we needed any encouragement after the Amerks made Steven Fletcher look like Guy Lafleur that afternoon. RIP, Joe.