msw2112

I'm a little older than you....although not that much! I just found the following clip online which speaks to the Edwards-Sauve duo. Barrasso/Cloutier was OK, but Cloutier really wasn't that good (Barrasso was). Don Edwards and Bob Sauve, 1979-80 "Sabres goaltenders Don Edwards and Bob Sauve co-received the Vezina for the 1979-80 season. Edwards became the team’s starting goalie in 1978 and appeared in 72 games, with a .906 SV% and 2.64 GAA. By the 1979-80 season, the Sabres had cut down Edwards’ starts, because they didn’t want to overuse him. Despite this, Edwards finished 1980 with a respectable 2.57 GAA. He also played in two All-Star games in 1978 and 1980 Bob Sauve, Buffalo’s backup goaltender, led the NHL in GAA during the 1979-80 season with 2.36 and enjoyed a .901 SV%, higher than Edwards’ .893. What makes this more impressive is that Sauve only started in 32 matchups that year, compared to Edwards’ 49. Regardless of who had the better stats, the NHL awarded the goaltending duo the Vezina Trophy in 1980 for their efforts in front of the Sabres’ net."

I agree and posted the same thing earlier. Levi has the ability to be a solid NHL goaltender, but like most goalies, he needs to play a lot to get into a rhythm. UPL is the same way and he's further along in his development than Levi, so UPL needs to play, and play a lot, to be sharp. Thus, the best answer is to send Levi down to get some games in to keep him sharp too, and he can be called up for the occasional start. It's not a demotion for poor play, but just the best way to get him some live game action. Plus, the Amerks are down a goalie due to injury anyway, so they could use the help. Levi has not been particularly good this season, but, again, I think that's because he's not getting enough game action to be sharp. Some guys are career veteran backups and can step in and play OK on occasion, based on mostly practice reps. Young, developing guys, however, need more game action. I'd love to see UPL and Levi eventually develop into the modern-day "Edwards-Sauve" tandem, but for now, they both need to play a lot. They every-other-game switch that they tried at the beginning of the season did not work very well. For clarity, as long as UPL is injured, Levi can and should stay with the Sabres and play. Levi wasn't great last night, but he was OK, only giving up 3 (plus one where the post bailed him out), and if UPL is still injured, I would start Levi in the next game and see if he can get hot - and if so, ride him until he isn't.

Yes, Marc-André Gragnani played both D and wing for the Sabres. I'm pretty sure he started as a defenseman, they experimented with him on the wing, but I think that he ultimately went back to defense. I remember him being a tall, lean guy, along the lines of a Dylan Cozens, and had some decent offensive ability for a defenseman and maybe they thought he could be a "power forward" type of guy. In the end, he was one of those fringe AHL/NHL guys that got a fair number of callups and opportunities, but was never able to carve out a full-time role in the NHL. I think he was one of the parade of defensemen that got called up and injured in that semi-final series against Carolina in 2006, which was the last time the Sabres had very realistic shot at winning the Cup.

I remember Lindy playing wing, but does anyone remember Marc-André Gragnani, a borderline NHL defenseman who got called up from Rochester a few times in the early 2000s playing some wing? I do, and was able to confirm it on Wikipedia: "He played minor hockey for the Dauphins de Deux-Rives followed by four years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He was selected 87th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and signed a professional contract with the Sabres in June 2007. After completing his junior career with the PEI Rocket, Gragnani began his professional career within the Sabres organization in the 2007–08 season, making his debut on February 23, 2008. Although originally drafted as a defenceman, Gragnani shifted to the left wing position during his first season.[1] " ( "Sabres call up Gragnani". wgr550.com. February 23, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2010.[permanent dead link])

One way to look at it is that Reimer is SO BAD this season that he's been waived by not 1, but 2 lower-tier teams. Then again, Levi has looked pretty bad when in net for the Sabres, so how much worse could Reimer be? And to rebuild Levi's confidence and get him some rhythm, he needs to play. If he plays, UPL loses his rhythm. So the answer is probably to reclaim Reimer and have him back up UPL, while Levi plays a lot in Rochester. They can bring Levi up for periodic starts like they did later in last season, to keep Reimer out of the nets Reimer could be a game-day backup/injury replacement, but not get any (or get VERY few) starts.

The fact that is was the SECOND time this occurred, it was not historic, but it's a very cool and fun statistic and it was a great game to watch as a Sabres fan. I really hope Lindy can help the team find this kind of effort on a consistent basis. There will be nights when they play this well and lose (face a hot goalie, hit some posts, general bad "puck luck"), but if they play this way they will win on most nights. People have short memories, but they did have an occasional great game like this under Granato or even a couple in row, only to come out flat against an inferior opponent a few days later. With Lindy's experience and strong personality, I'm hoping he can coach that inconsistency out of this team. He has not done it yet - see the last few weeks where they won 3 in a row, lost 3 in a row (playing poorly against the Islanders and Detroit), and bounced back to win 2 in a row - but I think he's more likely to get it figured out than Granato was. And I'm a fan of Granato and hope he gets another opportunity.

No doubt. Hall was a #1 overall draft pick and has more raw talent than Zucker, but Zucker is doing a whole lot more for the team. In my opinion, Hall's had one of the most unimpressive careers for a #1 overall pick and his play with the Sabres was nothing short of a joke. He had one good year with New Jersey and that was about it. How many #1 overall picks have played for SIX teams in their career? I've always liked Zucker throughout his career. Although he's not a star, he's stood out in games against the Sabres while he was with Minnesota and Pittsburgh. He's a good hockey player that plays the game the right way. He was an excellent signing and I agree with those who say that the Sabres could use 1 or 2 more similar players (especially one on defense).

Looks like he would have been sitting with Benson coming back, so better that he get ice time in Rochester, than sitting in Buffalo. He'll be back. I wish they could do the same for Levi, but with Reimer being claimed, there's nobody else to serve as UPL's backup.

This same roster played lights-out and beat a great Dallas team less than two weeks ago. Last night, they looked completely disjointed and fumbled their way to a loss against a lowly Islanders team. How does the owner of the team factor into explaining this drastic difference in play by the SAME roster?

I'm familiar with the name, but don't have any idea where the Sabres organization views him as a future prospect. Does anyone here have insight? Is him signing this extension in the KHL a concern? I suppose that if he's playing professional hockey, the Sabres still like him as a prospect, and he'll only be 24 when the KHL deal ends, there still could be a path to Buffalo if the Sabres were interested.

Others may disagree, but I think that Zucker, a veteran player with better-than-average talent, has made a positive impact on the team. He is not the player he once was, but he has some gas left in the tank, he knows how to play in all situations, is generally in the right place at the right time, and pretty consistently makes the right play. The Sabres could use a guy like that in the top-6 of the defense corps. Maybe they tried to get that in Clifton, but he's not and never was at Zucker's talent level (relative to his peers). Many here think that the Sabres overpaid for Zucker, but to bring good free agent players to a smaller market and struggling franchise like Buffalo costs a little more, and if you factor that in, it was a good signing. So I guess what I'm saying is that the team could really benefit from a "Zucker-like" player on defense, and factoring in guys like that make the Sabres a little less young. Pairing this with some of the comments above, how would the team look if they had retained Mittelstadt and signed a "Zucker-like" player on defense (based on experience and talent-level) who was a stay-at-home defensive RHD? As I stated above in an earlier post, Byram has some good skating and puck moving skills, but they team already has that in Dahlin, Power, and to a lesser extent Jokiharju, so perhaps what they really needed was a physical stay-at-home defenseman AND because they team already has a bunch of young, developing players, perhaps what they really needed was a veteran and not another 22 year old.

I did not like the Byram trade at the time, and I still don't like it now. Mittelstadt was one of the Sabres' best players and seemed to be ascending. Byram's skill set appeared/appears to be redundant to what we have in Dahlin, Power, and even to a small extent, Jokiharju: good skaters/puck handlers who can move the puck up the ice and possess some offensive skill (Joki far less than Dahlin and Power, of course), but are not particularly physical or "defensive" defensemen. Yes, Dahlin can be physical and is not afraid to mix it up, but he's still a skill player more than a physical player. But, as the above quoted post correctly states/implies, Byram is a young player (a couple of years younger than Mittelstadt) with a lot of skill and a high draft pedigree who has only played a small number of games with the Sabres, so it's quite possible that he'll become a much more valuable asset in time. Mittelstadt himself is an example of a player with skill and a high draft pedigree that took a few years to get there, and Byrum still has a chance to do that. A little bit off topic, but so do guys like Power, Quinn, Benson, Kulich, etc. who have lots of skill and high draft pedigree but have not yet achieved a status in the league in line with their draft status.

That's very true. But the comment I responded to said (verbatim) "Destroy the Wings and beat the Panthers...." Are the fans going to "Destroy the Wings" and "beat the Panthers" or are the players? My point was that the Sabres (and not the fans) need to focus on the Wings and not on the game after it. My comment neither stated nor implied that it was the fans who needed to focus on one game at a time. All that aside, I think this Detroit game is an important one. First, the Sabres are suddenly playing well and can play themselves right back into the race. They need to maintain their momentum. Second, unlike Florida, who is a lock to make the playoffs and be a top contender, Detroit is one of the teams that is likely to be competing with the Sabres for a wild card spot, so arguably this could be seen as an early "4 point game." Further, the Sabres laid eggs in a couple of critical Detroit games down the stretch last season, so they need to figure out a way to be successful against that particular team.

I thought Dahlin was a little bit better last night, but perhaps it's just the rising tide raising all ships. He's still not playing at his peak level.

I know it's early in the season, but I think it's important to focus on one game at a time. Beat Detroit, then start thinking about Florida. Great effort last night. Hustle wire-to-wire, great goaltending, and effective special teams. The power play did not produce a goal, but the Sabres actually established themselves in the offensive zone, moved the puck around and created some legitimate chances. If they keep doing that, the goals will come. Dahlin is not quite back to his old self, but he seems to be coming along (he was better last night than he's been in other recent games). I was very negative after the Columbus game, and rightfully so, but I'm more than happy to get off the negative train and onto the positive train. The next one against Detroit should be telling. Will they play another great game, or will they lay an egg like they regularly did after a strong performance the last couple of seasons?

Sometimes it's necessary to play mind games to pre-justify a poor 2 1/2 hour time investment.

Dallas is a tough opponent, but in an 82-game regular season, it's not a major upset for any team to beat any other team on a given night. If UPL plays a strong game, the Sabres should be in it and have a chance. The Sabres of the last couple of seasons often would beat a top team, and then lay an egg and lose to a team like Columbus. Considering they already laid that egg last week, I think there's a chance tonight.

I agree with the fact that Dahlin has had a very slow start to the season and that he doesn't look right. I'm going to go with injury. It's a fact that he missed some of camp and preseason with an injury. Perhaps that injury has lingered. I don't think it's mental strain due to being named captain. If he was trying to prove himself and prove his worth, he'd be flying all over the ice, hitting with reckless abandon, and making defensive mistakes by trying to do too much and getting out of position. That's definitely not the way he's been playing. He just seems slow and tentative. I don't think it's Ruff's system. Ruff is a pretty smart coach who has been around the block. He knows how to adapt. He's not Ralph Krueger. I don't think Ruff will try to shoehorn Dahlin into a system that handcuffs him and takes away what makes him great. I have no idea what the preseason injury was, but if it's a sports hernia, as someone hinted at above, that's a tough one. I've had one. You can play through it, but it's very painful, particularly after you've played and you're no longer warmed up. Sometimes this injury is treated like a groin strain that will heal itself, as the symptoms are the same, but the recovery is not the same. To truly fix it, it takes surgery and a couple of months rest/rehab to come back 100%. Assuming it is an injury with Dahlin, I hope it's not a sports hernia, as the best bet would be to shut him down, have the surgery, and work his way back around the first of the year.

I'm typically an optimist and a glass-half-full kind of guy. I've been patient with Adams and the slow and deliberate rebuild. I liked Granato, but agreed, by last season's end that it was time for him to go. Ruff wasn't my first choice, but I was OK with the hire. He was my favorite Sabre as a kid and I was a huge fan of when he coached the team the first time. He did some good things as a coach in Dallas and NJ. While not the ideal hire, I thought he was good enough to fix the bad habits that plagued the team the last couple of seasons - slow starts to games, lack of defensive discipline, terrible power play, etc. Slow starts to the season are what doomed the last couple of teams, who played much better later on, but they had fallen too many points behind to recover and make the playoffs. That was supposed to be a major focus this season. So far, none of the issues have been fixed and they actually look worse. The best lines have been the 3rd and 4th lines, particularly the 3rd line. It's probably not a coincidence that the 3rd line consists of Greenway, McCleod, and Zucker all of whom are veteran players who grew up in OTHER NHL ORGANIZATIONS. We've also seen the likes of Ryan O'Reilly, Eichel, and Reinhart (and others) succeed and win Stanley Cups with OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. It's hard to believe that these 3 were all Sabres at the same time. I agree that it's early, anything can happen, hockey is a game of streaks, etc. Edmonton had a terrible start last year and went to Game 7 of the finals. That said, Connor McDavid isn't walking through that door anytime soon.... One more point that folks make is that it takes time for the team to adjust to the new coaching staff/new system. New Jersey has a new coach and is 5-2. Toronto has a new coach and is 3-1. And New Jersey had the same European trip that the Sabres had, so that excuse can be thrown out too. And Columbus, who arguably has less talent than the Sabres and also has a new coach, greatly outplayed the Sabres last night. It wasn't puck luck or bounces, they simply outplayed the Sabres. So in sum, despite my past positive thoughts about the potential of this team, I'm just not seeing it. I guess you have to give Lindy and the current roster until the trade deadline, but if they're not in the hunt by then, it's probably time to blow it up. I'm sure many here would not even be that patient, but the Sabres are currently not in a position of strength when it comes to the trade market, so I don't think a major deal at this point is realistic.

My approach is somewhat similar. I live in a western time zone, so the games start at 4 PM when I'm at work. I watch the games several hours later, usually after they've ended. When watching, if they are down 2 or more goals, I fast forward until I see them cut it to 1, then I watch and see if they can tie it up or take the lead. Last night, it was typically only a few seconds before I was back on the fast forward button. If the Sabres could play a complete, competitive game, or even dominate a game, I'm willing to invest the time to watch it, but I just can't afford the time for lousy hockey. Watching the game is typically the last thing I do before going to bed, so it sucks going to bed angry and frustrated and could negatively impact my sleep. Sadly, I've gotten to the acceptance phase, so I slept OK last night.

For what it's worth, I DO recall Cozens being projected as an all around player and potential future captain. Coming in, he had a good mix of size (thin but tall and potentially able to fill out as he grew into a man from a teenager), speed, talent, and grit. A skill guy that wasn't afraid to mix it up - which was true until he got his face broken fighting a goon. Good teammate, etc. Cozens still has those qualities, but he obviously needs to gain a lot of discipline and properly learn to apply his talents consistently in a NHL system.

I never thought of it that way, but it's a good theory. Thanks for posting!

Whenever Cozens plays for Team Canada, he's a star. Why can't he bring that to his play with the Sabres? By all accounts, he's a hard-working kid with speed, skill and a willingness to be a team player. Why can't the Sabres coaches get the most out of him? There's still time, but it's definitely frustrating. And Quinn has been invisible so far this season, from what I've seen. Also, I agree with the above post about UPL. He has not played particularly well so far this season, but it's a bit early to judge whether he's lived up to the contract after 3 starts. Although he was certainly not a difference maker last night, he was hung out to dry by his defense on multiple occasions last night. On the late goal to tie the game, Power had 2 Pens in the crease area who had a chance to make a play and score the goal and he took out NEITHER of them. I'm a big Lindy Ruff fan, but so far, nothing appears to have changed from last season. I'm typically patient, but a poor early season record is exactly what cost them the playoffs the last two seasons, so if they don't fix things soon, the streak will extend to 14 years. I think the Sabres should have gone beyond releasing Granato (who I like, but it was time) and they should have cleaned house on all of the assistant coaches too, letting Ruff pick his own guys. Even if Ruff realizes that the assistant coaches are a problem and wants to make a change, who is going to be available mid-season?

It's truly perplexing. Despite what many on this board like to think, the Sabres do have several offensively talented players on the roster. Certainly more than enough to fill a power play unit (and really enough for 2). High school, junior, and college teams have power plays. Even bottom-tier NHL teams pose some kind of threat on the power play. What's up with the Sabres? I figured that Ruff would get it figured out (perhaps with Appert's help), and maybe he will, but so far, it's absolutely terrible and worse than even last season. I've only seen a couple of games, but in my limited sample size, I have not even seen them establish any semblance of a power play where they a) enter the offensive zone and b) pass the puck around the perimeter, forcing the other team into a defensive position. I'm not even talking about guys moving around, creating chances, getting a guy in front of the next, creating rebounds, etc. Those things are important and were missing last season, but at the very least, they need to start by establishing themselves in the offensive zone with control of the puck. How a professional hockey club can't even do that is mind boggling.

The FLA game was the only one I've seen so far and Greenway definitely looked good in that game, aside from the goal he scored. If he's played that way all season, that's great. He also had some great games under Granato where he was very effective on the PK and forecheck, but, as stated here, his performance was inconsistent - pretty much like the rest of the team the last couple of seasons. Word beaters some nights, lethargic on others. All teams in all sports have some level of inconsistency, but the Sabres under Granato took it to the extreme. Let's hope that Ruff can coach that out of them. Having only seen one game, I'm not in a good position to assess.