PerreaultForever

I don't remember that game in detail but it's not the impression I had. The team structure has just grown by leaps and bounds and now the results are starting to show. I also think it is scary how good Power might become cause this is sort of his floor and he's nowhere near typical maturity age for a D man.

I'd feel exactly the same. It's hockey, it happens. I don't WANT it to happen but it does. The hearing and suspension is earned and fair imo. It would be the same if we did it to one of them.

Defensively, that was without a doubt the best game the Sabres have played since something back in the Bylsma era (when they could play some decent D, they just couldn't score). Yes, there were a lot of shots, but a lot of sight lines were clear and for the most part they cleared the front and the rebounds. Team win all the way. They do not look like a team firing on all cylinders. The Barkov injury obviously hampers them, but imo we were simply better and we wanted it more. I don't want to over analyze too much, as I'm just happy tonight. It's been a long time coming and maybe we are finally getting there. Side notes - Reinhart lost every board battle he was in and just floated around the net like the butterfly he is. My favourite moment of the night was "Reinhart with the giveaway". Add that to Rob Ray's "the egos are no longer in the room" and I'm just smiling. I think I will be smiling all night.

Well I'm glad the league is looking at it. Dirty play but really just a hockey thing that happens a lot. He might get a game or two out of it. I'm not for all this new CBA harsher penalties stuff. I just want the Sabres to become a team that deals with that sort of thing on the ice and maybe dishes out a little of the same back at them.

This is as close to a playoff game as we've gotten in over a decade so let's hope they can rise to the occasion. I suspect Florida will run us and try to intimidate and go for the front of the net. How we respond and handle that will tell us a lot about what this team has (or hasn't). The PP has to click in this one for us to have a shot. Press Montour, we all know he'll cough it up under pressure. heck, press their whole D, it's their weak spot.

Pittsburgh now in reach as they got blown out by the Oilers. Florida game has to be playoff level hockey.

I agreed with a lot of what you said but wanted to highlight this comment which I totally agree with. I think in general both of those guys (and also VO to some extent although he does have that shot) are flawed hockey players that rely on their speed so when they play slower teams they can have great moments but when they play teams that can keep up at their tempo their weaknesses show and at times are blatantly obvious.

It's Smith and the 3 picks. Now's the time for KA to make his final offer on Chychrun as Boston was the primary suitor and since they went Orlov that deal's obviously not going to happen. Arizona might be willing to drop the price slightly from their earlier stance as they run out of potential landing spots.

Well that was a pleasant surprise to come home to. This team still struggles big time defensively and Comrie really isn't any good so to win I guess you score 6 when they score 5, why not? 2 more points and it looks like Washington's giving up so one less team to compete against for that wild card spot. Not the first time Cernak's elbowed a Sabre in the head and probably not the last. Just add it to the list of things we owe that team and hopefully one day............

Anything can happen on any given night, but I have zero confidence in our ability to play with them. They usually own us and make us look like children playing a man's game. We still owe them for several runs at out goalies and I still want somebody to hit Kucherov into next week but I know it won't happen. More likely they will run Dahlin or our goalie again and, although this time we will do a little pushy shovey we will otherwise do nothing about it.

It's funny but I actually see this totally in reverse. I'd say so far Adams has proven he's a good trader but the jury is still out on his drafting. He positively robbed Philly on the Risto trade. If Levi is a good NHL goalie he did exceptionally well on the Reinhart deal (with a player you knew wouldn't sign here) and with Tuch being Tuch and now Krebs coming along the Eichel deal seems outstanding as well. It's just a question of how well the picks are used. When you look at the team, the core is all JBot (except for Tuch). Adams players show promise, but none of them are impact players yet. Evaluating his drafts will depend on who he picked compared to who he didn't pick as well.

We're in full agreement on this. I also think there is enough character in the core to unite the team around long term and there is no reason to think that'll change. Guys outside the core like Krebs also show leadership and desire and that sort of thing is infectious and sets a standard for others coming in. We didn't have that before but now we definitely do. They didn't make the moves this year. That was intentional. In my mind I still kind of believe they didn't really want to win too much YET with this big rich Bedard plus draft coming up and Cozens and others caught them by surprise a little so we did better than they planned despite the lack of moves. We just have to hope they get it and they will realize that next season is time to go for it and anything less than playoffs will be failure. So to reach that goal, it'll have to include SOME outside moves, signings and/or trades.

This is basically true, and I think this is definitely their plan. I think however, as I've said on numerous occasions, that it is flawed and slower than it needs to be. I'm really really hoping they fill holes next year immediately and not just wait for Levi and Kulich and..... etc. cause if they keep JUST staying in house this plan will take so damn long it may start to fall apart before it's ever reaching it's ultimate goal.

They certainly had talented teams in that era, but I'd say the fundamental flaw was those teams were not tough enough and not good enough on the lines. Bruce Smith was an incredible talent, but he needed more support for that line to be truly dominant and win it all. The Dallas O line was the big difference in those ones.

I'm just glad I'm not a Bills fan. They're reasonably good now but losing in both sports would be tough to take. idk how you guys managed to handle the 4 superbowl losses. I think it's probably even harder to be a Bills fan than Sabres. They were so close once upon a time. The expectations for the Sabres are much lower at the moment.

Maybe, but the right left thing is also maybe overrated. Dahlin with Samuelsson makes the right/left balance adequate for now. Ultimately I'd like a right handed Samuelsson type (or tougher still) but really, we just need more D prospects period.

My hope was this guy could turn into a new Mike Ramsey for us but even if he's just a reliable 5/6 he's a valuable signing. The prospect pool is weak on D and we need every one we can get.

let me think (and I will probably forget something) but I was wrong about: - Quinn and Peterka have not hampered the team as much as I thought they might. They have had ups and downs and bad nights but I did think playing them this much this early would hurt the team substantially and it hasn't. - Cozens. I expected him to eventually be good, but he has leapt forward faster than I expected. I thought next year what this year already is. - UPL. Although still terribly inconsistent (horrible last night against the Leafs) he has had very good games and goaltending has not hurt us as badly as I thought it would. - Krebs, like Cozens, has taken great strides I didn't expect. I did say earlier this year I thought he could be developed into a solid role player, and he is, but I can see him now actually being even better than that. He could become a lesser version of Marchand for us in time. I really like this kid now. - Power has adapted to the NHL faster than expected. I have always believed in him and still do, but I thought he'd struggle more season one. - Skinner hasn't sucked. I still don't like him and hate his contract, but he hasn't been terrible. I still think I'm right though that this season will end up a missed opportunity and when we miss the playoffs by a few points I will still be able to say I told you so 🙂

I've been saying this for a long time. We are building a team that one day (maybe even next year) will make the playoffs, but we are not building a team that will win in the playoffs.

Well it looks like the "trash" team beat the Caps and moved ahead of us again.

Sure, it is flogging the same horse, but it's not dead, it's simply a fact.

You can analyze this up and down and around all you want but it'll still come down to the 3 holes at the beginning of the season (goalie, RHD, 2 way 3C) still being the glaring holes they are at this point of the season. In the end this team is consistent in finding ways to disappoint. Of course ROR scores his first goal as a Leaf in Buffalo. Of course he gets a hat trick. F'n ROR. Guess he loves his hockey. This team makes me drink too much.

Just beat them. I don't care how, just beat them. We did it last year, no reason we can't do it now.

Oh absolutely. Our D has been a problem for a long time and is only now starting to look half decent(thanks mostly to JBot actually, but also adding Power). I think we need more D prospects in the system but we certainly have some pillars already on the roster. The weakest spot (besides the goalie issue) is obviously 3C though and if we'd drafted Beniers C would be a strength and we'd be going on about how we need another D. If we'd done that, then trading for Chychrun might be even more desirable and/or necessary.

Ya, I think their early success was so good it went to their heads and they keep thinking they just need that one or two shiny new things to take them over the top and they actually get worse each year instead of better.