PerreaultForever

Oh just stop with the 80s/90s nonsense. You watching the games right now? 2023. The amount of hitting in these games is far beyond anything these Sabres have ever had to face. Their hearts might be in the right place but the team around them is far less than even what Toronto has so I doubt they'd be any different from Matthews (who did drop them with Stamkos after all).

Debatable. Canes are simply too fast and too good for them. Their shutdown game falls apart with this type of pressure. Canes can be relentless at times. This series is basically over.

Not really disagreeing. To the first bolded sentence, that is my main point of contention. Everybody knows what this team needs and what the weak spots are. He could have tried a little more to fill them. Also, the holes are still there (although all hope in Levi may (maybe) fill one). Will he fill them? Doesn't sound like it. Girgs and Okposo back? So, basically the same team with Levi is the plan. Wonderful. Just wonderful (full on sarcasm there to make the point explicit) idk if he is "afraid" to say playoffs, but not saying that making the playoffs next year is the goal is a slap in the face for fans and makes the approach way too slow. Team is ready. Guys like Cozens want to be there. We keep this up and any number of them might lose their love for hockey and no longer want to be here. Yes, Rochester made the playoffs. I don't watch them, but what I'm reading makes it sound like they are not building a team there that can play in the playoffs which means that the Sabres won't be a team that can play in the playoffs if they ever make it. I mean you're all watching it. Anyone think this Sabres team would hold up to playoff hockey? I don't think so. Not as it is. It was a disappointing presser.

That's part of the culture/identity. What do you want? Hendrix? Seattle's had a crap PP all year and it's sinking them now. Pretty good effort for 2 periods but the big guns for Colorado are the big guns. and of course E-Rod 😉

More this year than the start of last year I think. Road teams all won so far today. I wondered that same thing.

OT Rangers and NJ now.

Ya, all those people claiming refs don't want a Canadian team to win clearly don't watch Leaf games. Tampa's getting really banged up.

Figures Schiefele would score a goal and start playing better right after I posted that he was sucking. I'm going to have to try that during Sabres games next year when somebody hasn't scored. OT hockey is the best hockey entertainment there is.

It can be, but I think you also have to look at it from the reporter's side. Way back in the 70s and 80s players used to get to be individuals and they used to speak off the cuff, unfiltered and sometimes say dumb things. Easy questions could get good answers that made for good stories in the morning paper. Nowadays it's all stock answers and rehearsed comments and reporters are left with nothing to write about so some of them goad and jab and try to illicit something/anything out of the ordinary. I get how hard that job has now become. Let's face it, these days ChatGPT could just do both sides.

Whining about refs, you sound like an Oilers fan 🙂 Winnipeg games are weird. I know that sea of white started way back with the original team but back then the home jersey was white, now it's blue. Vegas is the "white" team. I also know they made it a "white out" "snow storm" but it still looks dumb. Winnipeg is not losing because of refs. They are losing because Morrisey is out and Schiefele is sucking and Hellybuck isn't good either.

No conclusive evidence it hit the stick.

Really? I don't see that. Playoffs are always like this. The one difference this year is how quick they are handing out 10 minute misconducts as a way to try to avoid late game shenanigans. Don't like that at all. Speaking of hits, Marcus Foligno was a force in the Minnesota game. Aside from Kreuger, that trade might be JBot's biggest mistake.

Is this accurate and indicative of how they play? I ask because it plays into my fear of how and what Adams is building in Buffalo.

He is on the record crediting goaltender coach Bob Essensa with changing and thus improving aspects of his game. His rebound control was excellent tonight aside from the whistle goal. Bruins played textbook shutdown hockey tonight. Taking Krejci out was a solid move. Hall was actually good for a change.

I suppose this depends on how far you think he might fall and who is picking before you with their need(s). I think generally Reinbacher is projected to go around 10 so maybe not that much to swap places with 10 if you think 11 or 12 (assuming we are 13) will go D. Better to have a plan B. and C. Look at 2nd round D picks AND trade for veteran D. Anyone drafted isn't going to jump right in Power style. They are more likely to be 3ish year later Samuelsson (Borgen) type pathways.

Can't win face offs, can't clear the front of the net, aren't strong enough on opposing sticks and players around the crease. We simply do not have good PK personnel. The turn away angle is interesting and correct. It comes down to size and strength to some extent. There are far too many times that our D come in late or from the side/behind on their check and end up either making no play or checking the player towards or on to our goalie. This is a long standing problem. Dahlin does it far too often. Jokiharju is horrible in this regard. We've had injured goalies from this and just generally been ineffective stopping scoring chances. It's a product of poor positioning and lack of physicality. Most of the PK problem is on the D.

Bruins might be in trouble. Florida has had better goaltending so far (unlike the regular season where Ullmark saved several games), Bergeron is out with his mystery injury/illness (concussion rumours), Krejci looks old, and Florida has been physically dominant (which seems odd given the Bruins history, but this team is not that tough). You beat what Florida is doing by either being REALLY FAST and killing them on the PP, or going into all out physical war and out hitting them and wearing down their thin D. Bruins aren't capable of the first option and aren't doing the second so idk. Sabres fans might get to rejoice, although that might mean Leafs......... Regular season vs. playoffs. Is there ANY point of going for a President's trophy at all? Seems like a no.

Oh ya, amazing how Stone can put up huge minutes coming off of an "injury". Seattle putting up a good fight but wtf, E-Rod threw a big hit. Did he ever hit anybody during his time in Buffalo??? Ex-Sabres doing well in the playoffs is always highly annoying, especially when they were cast off or run out of town and discarded like Montour. A lot of 1-1 series. Once again, playoffs are FUN! There's a lesson in the NJ series though. We are building really similarly to NJ and we don't want to be NJ. We want playoff success do we not? Hope KA is paying attention.

Likely felt winning 2 in a row in Dallas was next to impossible so they want him rested for 2 homes games. Ullmark and Fluery both iffy tonight. Bruins have a good culture, but that didn't translate onto the ice tonight. Quite a few players not up to the level they need to be. Three evened up series. Playoffs be playoffs, gotta love that.

As I've stated many times although a perennial plan is a solid idea you can maintain that plan and make moves to start winning now, especially when you are this close. We have all identified the weak spots, and unless they add people those weak spots will still be there next year.

Because the same holes will be there. There's no D prospect chomping at the bit. the D and possibly goaltending will sink them. PK could be a problem too.

After listening to this it's all just different ways of saying "stay the course". The plan is still future based and not next season based. There will be no major trades and nothing overly significant in free agency. If things go extremely well (injury wise, luck, scheduling etc) they might be slightly better and make the playoffs. If things go badly they'll be on the outside looking in again. Not what I wanted to hear but kind of what I expected. I will be more content if Dahlin signs a long term deal. But what if he is getting tired of the pace, sees a lack of improvement being made by management, and decides to maybe test free agency. What happens to "the plan" then?

NJ went out and got a goalie. That was the main difference they had from the Sabres. If Levi is the real deal and plays most of next year we might get that point total. It looks like NJ might be a quick out though. I'm hoping we build a team that will be a little tougher to beat if and when we get in. You don't "guarantee" it, but you can say it's your goal and set that bar. If you don't make it you make changes.

I don't think he will become Cirelli. If he still improves however he might be comparable to Gourde eventually. One can hope.