msw2112

I did not see last night's game. I was at the Chicago game a couple of weeks ago. Okposo was the catalyst in the comeback & win that night. He was the guy that finally started getting pucks to the net so that Thompson could clean up. From what I have seen since then, they have gotten away from that. Most of their goals are on longer shots from outside. That's fine for good shooters like Dahlin, Thompson and Olofsson, but they also need to get more pucks on net to create rebounds and "garbage" goal chances. Particularly when their defense is banged up and giving up a ton of chances and goals. Back to Okposo, he's a good leader, but may not have enough gas (given his age and injury history) in the tank to bring it every night. Hopefully the coaching staff is smart enough to properly manage this.

The defense has been poor had has left Comrie out to dry on a number of occasions. That said, other than Edmonton (a game that I did not see), he has not "stolen" any games for the Sabres. I thought he was outplayed by the Arizona goalie the other night. I have nothing personal against Comrie, and by all accounts, he's a hard worker and a good dude. I'm just not sure if he's an NHL-caliber starting goalie. He's certainly good enough to play in the league and was as great backup in Winnipeg last year. Perhaps, with this porous defense, it's too hard to tell. Anderson, in his prime, was clearly a solid NHL-caliber starting goalie, but at age 41, he can't do it every night and needs to be a backup with spot duty. In sum, while perhaps better than the last couple of years, I don't think the Sabres have solved their goaltending issue. Maybe they are just trying to keep the crease warm until Levi, Portillo, or UPL are ready, but goalies can take a long time to develop and that may not be a winning strategy. I don't know how well UPL has played in Rochester this year, but he's been pretty good in the NHL in the past and may be due for a shot.

There's always the glass-half-full approach. We have a young, talented developing team. They are playing .500 hockey. Most of their losses were against the top teams in the league that are a few years ahead of the Sabres on the development curve, and the Sabres were competitive in those games, even without two of their top 4 defensemen. If they finish at .500, that's a great improvement and a step in the right direction after many years of being below that mark. I still think they can finish above .500. And despite the emotional part of it, Vegas has one of the best teams in the league and a healthy Jack Eichel is one of the best players in the league, despite being a di*k. The Sabres got a nice haul in exchange for him, and his absence has improved the chemistry of the locker room. It's time to move on.

Three observations from the game: 1. I thought the Sabres played hard and controlled the play for most of the game 2. Sloppy turnovers led to the Coyotes goals 3. The Sabres need to put pucks on the net and drive the net. I was at the Chicago game, which was very similar. They outskated the Blackhawks, out finessed them (passing, skating, etc.), but in the first 2 periods, the Blackhawks got into the dirty areas, created chances in front, and took the lead. In the 3rd, the Sabres finally started putting the puck on the net, got some rebounds, and ultimately scored a couple of goals and won the game. In this one, the first 2 periods were similar, except this time, the Sabres did NOT get pucks on the net/drive the net in the 3rd. Yes, the AZ goalie was hot and played well, but the Sabres also made it too easy for him.

Steph Curry

Same here. I wasn't a fan of it at the time and not a big fan of it now. That said, for notstagia, I guess it's OK. For what it's worth, I was in town for the Chicago game and brought two friends from out of town who are big sports fans but not from a NHL city. They commented on how great the original Sabres logo is. I agree. The goathead and font used with it look very minor league to me.

Thanks. I was not aware of that rotation. I still stand by the notion that if they have won three straight games with big offensive production that it makes sense to stick with what is working. And Hinostroza is the oldest of this group and has the most NHL experience under his belt, so the younger players' development is more important than his playing time and/or feelings. Vinny's ceiling has likely been reached, but we don't know the ceiling of these other players, although it is likely higher than Vinny's. All of this is said with the understanding that I am a Hinostroza fan and am glad he's on the roster.

Vinny is a good player and a contributor. I have not been following that closely, but was Quinn the guy that was rotating sitting out with Vinny? Quinn has played much better the last couple of games and his production is picking up. Granato may want to keep Quinn in there so that his development continues, plus Quinn has more upside than Vinny. Quinn (and Vinny) aside, as mentioned above, the offense has been hot lately and they've won 3 straight, so Granato may just want to keep things rolling with a winning formula. Sometimes you don't fix something that isn't broken.

The team played hard against Montreal, but spent way too much time running around in their own end. Power is a talented kid, but still a rookie, and they miss Jokihariu and Samuelsson. They have a lot of youth and develoment must continue, but the goaltending seems better this year and they have a winning record so far, so I'm not too concerned. Looking for a good effort tonight vs. the Blackhawks. I don't live in Buffalo anymore, but am in town this weekend for the Bills game and am going to see the Sabres tonight for the first time in years. I'm choosing to be optimistic about what I'll see on the ice tonight. As to Mitts and VO specifically, I have not watched that closely, but VO should be back in his "spot" on the power play. Why fix something that wasn't broken? That's been his calling card for his entire career, why not use it? And Mitts seems to be generating several breakaway type chances, but that doesn't speak to his overall game. I'll watch more closely tonight.

Given his excellent season last year, and his big payday, expectations are high. I would agree that he started slow, but has picked up his play in the last few games. If keeps playing well, the goals will go in/the stats will follow. That said, I didn't see much of the game in Seattle last night, but from the looks of it, nobody played well.

I think the Bruins dumped Bjork's contract on the Sabres (and took a productive 4th line player in Curtis Lazar) as a chip in them giving us a 2nd round pick for Taylor Hall. I'm not sure the Sabres were ever too excited about Bjork, but given the leverage the Bruins had in the Hall trade, the Sabres were stuck taking him. They hung on to him for a couple of seasons because they didn't have NHL ready talent at the lower end of the roster. Now they do, so Bjork is expendible. As mentioned above, he'll be a good veteran player for the Amerks who could help out the Sabres as an experienced injury callup, so hopefully, he will clear waivers.

I agree that it's one game and a small sample size. Let's not nominate Anderson for the Vezina quite yet. That said, let's enjoy the moment. He played a great game last night and was undoubtedly a difference maker. Hopefully, Comrie (and potentially UPL) can carry their weight and Anderson can stay sufficiently rested so that he can play well and avoid injury.

I think it's fine to rotate and see how it plays out. Obviously, the hope is that Comrie will emerge as the better goalie and become the #1, but there isn't enough sample size yet to know for sure. They know what they have in Anderson. He can provide some quality minutes and veteran leadership, but at this point in his career, he isn't going to be stealing any games for the Sabres. I belive that UPL will work his way into the mix. Despite his poor play in the AHL, when he's been healthy and given the opportunity to play in the NHL, he's been pretty good.

I'd like to keep Girgensons on the roster. He's a solid veteran player. He provides leadership, hustle, two-way play, and some level of scoring ability. You need to have a few veterans on the roster. He's a good bottom six forward and his contract is not outrageous. I don't think he was part of the problem, except that perhaps, at times in his career, he was cast as a top 6 player and not a bottom 6 player, which he has turned out to be (and is paid to be). Eventually, as some of the younger guys mature and take on larger roles, he will work his way off the roster, but not this season.

As much as it's hard to say this after all these years, I trust the current Sabres brass. They are not just throwing money around for no reason. Thompson did not need to be extended as early as he was. They did it for a reason. They have seen enough in practice, in games, and off the ice to feel that such a huge extension was warranted. Unlike the recent past (see Skinner, Jeff), this was not a contract made out of desperation, it was one made out of a well-thought out process. The guys in charge who evaluate hockey talent believe that making this investiment in Thompson was a wise one, so I'm going to agree that he's going to be a good player for a long time and not a 1 year wonder. (And, for the record, I voted 1st line/65 points, because I'm very pragmatic).

I agree that the over is an easy take. If they had 75 last year, there's no doubt they will exceed that by a decent amount.

There's an excellent chance that Power is the best rookie next season. That said, he's not a pure offensive defensman. He generates a fair amount of offense, but is also defensively sound. He's a great 2-way defenseman. As such, he may not put up the types of stats that win awards and I think the award will go to a forward or a defensman who may be a lesser player, but have greater offensive stats. Whether he wins the award or not, based on his play in the limited sample at the end of last season, Power is going to be a very good one and I am very happy they Sabres have him. Along with Dahlin, the Sabres potentially have two of the top young defensmen in the league. And we have other good ones too - like Samuelsson.

I thought that ESPN+ had most of the games last year and was a viable alternative to the NHL Center Ice package. Is that not the case this year? Or maybe I had it wrong. I was planning to subscribe to ESPN+ this year to get the games, but if they only have 8 games, it's not worth it. Maybe those 8 are only the games that are ALSO on Hulu? Obviously, I am not in the Buffalo market, hence the need for an out-of-market solution. I've been unwilling to pay for it the last several years (for obvious reasons), but I'm back in this year and just looking for the best solution. Center Ice is only $60 or $70 and I can DVR the games that I miss or am late to watch (which is most of them because I live in the west). As a side note, I have read that an issue with ESPN+ is that it shows the real-time scores at the bottom of the screen (including for the game you are watching) even if you are watching the game on delay. For me, watching most games later, that's a deal breaker and Center Ice/DVR is the choice. Sorry if I veered slightly off topic, but I would appreciate any insight from the board.

From what I have seen and read, UPL has played well when given a chance to play in the NHL, but his problem has been staying healthy. Oddly, he hasn't performed as well at the AHL level. The Sabres have invested a lot in him with a draft pick and development time, and have some question marks in the goalie pipeline (none of Levi, Portillo, or the guy they drafted this year have signed with the team yet), so it makes complete sense to keep UPL around for another couple of years and see what he can do.

I know absolutely nothing about this player, but I know that the Sabres have drafted a lot of smaller, skilled forwards and could use some bigger and/or more physical guys to balance out the lineup. Perhaps this guy is that type of player. Obviously, he has to be able to play hockey at an NHL level too, but every guy in the lineup doesn't need to score 25 goals and be an offensive star.

Good for Terry. Now he doesn't need to drill another oil well to pay Tage Thompson. Instead, he can buy out a few life insurance policies.

This is a good statistic to cite for this thread. In light of this statistic, I have two comments, both of which favor the contract extension: 1. If Tage ends up producing 29 goals per season for the rest of his career, this will be a fair contract. There are not too many guys in the league who can consistently score at that level. The way that salaries continue to escalate, I'd argue that a 30-goal scorer is a $7M player. So his goal scoring production could dip from last season and this would still be a fair deal. 2. If his career shooting percentage is 11.6% to date, I suspect it will get better than that. In his first few seasons, he was playing a) further down in the lineup, b) for a different (and much less effective) coach, and c) at a younger age, when his physical and mental game were not yet ready for full-time NHL duty. Even if last season's percentage was on the high side, I would argue that his percentage prior to that was on the low side. Aside from Thompson's production, this contract was a good one for the team culture. They are betting on a guy who they acquired at a young age, who worked his way up the lineup, has committed to the team/coach/system/culture, and now has produced. It sets the tone for other guys to do the same.

He's also a pretty good hockey player. He's not a Hall of Fame type of talent, but he's got a nice combination of size, grit, and skill, in addition to his positive attitude and leadership skills.

They showed me several things in the last year or so: 1) significant improvement as a team on the ice, including a strong finish and victories in key "rivalry" or "big" games (Vegas, Toronto overall, Toronto outdoor game, RJ night, final game of season); 2) significant improvment for individual players, both younger players and established veterans - Thompson, Dahlin, Okposo, Skinner, and others; *3) competent handling of several challenging trade scenarios (i) the Eichel fiacso culminating in a successful trade (in which they made chicken salad out of chicken s&^t), (ii) getting a nice haul from Philly for Risto, and (iii) getting a first round pick and a top goalie prospect for Reinhart; and *4) APPARENT competent handling of the draft. 3 and 4 get the asterisk, because we don't yet know what Kulich or Levi will develop into, but as of now, all signs are very positive, and the same applies for the remainder of the draft. So I understand still being in "show me" mode, but I also believe they have shown me a lot of positives in the last year.

I agree that the Sabres will be in the hunt right down to the end, but will probably fall short. Two reasons: 1) there are so many other teams that are ahead of the Sabres right now. The Sabres are making great strides and will draw even with, and eventually surpass many of these teams, but probably not next season. 2) goaltending. The Sabres have mildly improved their goaltending with the Comrie acquistion, but it's still a huge question mark. While the Sabres hopefully get competent goaltending this year - which I think they will if Anderson and Comrie stay healthy - I don't see them having a goalie who can steal a few games for them and get them over the top. I'm pleased with the general direction of the organization and am fine with sticking to the plan, but I'm also realistic as to where this team is relative to the rest of the conference. I'd be overjoyed if they exceeded my expectations.