Cascade Youth

All good ideas. Some of those things have almost happened during the franchise's history, which makes your post particularly well thought-out.

I guess I don't know what happened, that's true. There could be a perfectly good reason for him to no-show on the team to a degree that was so egregious that he didn't even contest his contract being voided. I'm not being sarcastic - I guess there is a world where he had a legitimate non-medical issue that warranted ripping up his entire contract. What that possibly could be, I'm struggling to come up with. Any ideas?

You know who pissed me off during last night's game? Berglund. I'm watching Mitts skate around with no confidence, Tage working his tail off and playing at a higher level than he ever has, and the Gigs-less group of 3rd and 4th liners trying to kill off the extra skater and clear the puck over the last few minutes, and I'm thinking - man, too bad Berglund quit on the team, they could use him out there right now. Quitters piss me off.

Tage “Tigger” Thompson played his best game as a Sabre tonight. He is really becoming a weapon, you can see the confidence growing and I can see this kid becoming a 20-goal scorer easily. Sheary needs to finish. Been an issue all year. Risto is irreplaceable. Seemed like Mitts had almost no ice time tonight - he’s really struggling to find his game. Skinner is a special player and I’d really hate to lose him. Both of his goals were self-generated plays that almost no one else makes. Can’t believe we stole him away in the first place. Don’t let him leave the building.

This team is going to slide right out of the playoff race.

Been saying it - they don’t hate losing, enough. Not enough of them anyway.

This is my view. Sheary needs to start FINISHING. KO too. The opportunities are there - these guys need to convert.

Frustrating game. They played mostly well. Hutton is a bit of a knucklehead but the opportunities were there - Holtby was lights out though.

Hutton HAS to stop doing that stuff.

Housley is not the coach for a streetfight - that wasn’t him as a player either. Really don’t like getting bullied at home by an inferior team.

The lack of emotional response to Skinner getting mugged is the most concerning thing I’ve seen this season.

WAKE UP BOYS

It's increasingly common for an illness to develop into a contractual grievance. Guessing it's one of those new superbugs I keep reading about on the interweb.

Housley sends Pomminstein’s corpse out there instead of Skinner??

I know he’s been out, but Scandella is having a dreadful game.

Serious question: do the Sabres have a shot on net in this period?

That’s a bad idea. But I’d trade Bogosian - he’s playing a different hockey game than his teammates - he has some value in trade.

Losing 80% of the faceoffs and being late to every loose puck is not a talent issue - it’s a lack of compete issue.

Would like to see this team hate losing a bit more. Zero forecheck. Bogosian may be the least aware player I’ve ever seen - he has no idea where his teammates are on the ice, ever.

This is where I’m at. Second line needs to step up - Casey still needs to add strength and some compete. Most of this team is playing on their heels waiting for the first line to bail them out, not gonna cut it. This stretch is an audition for the playoffs and they’re flunking it. Gotta bring it every shift, every night, boys.

This is one issue I have with Jack's game. Is it me or does he lead the NHL in getting tossed out of the circle?

Thanks! Loooooooooooong time lurker, finally got myself a screen name. I'm not worried. I look at this team and see a roster that is set up to compete for the next 5-10 years. During the winning streak it occurred to me that to take the next step - sustained success - the Sabres need to lose some games (and possibly some players to injury) in order to understand how to fight through adversity, how to learn to win, and - critically - how to hate losing. They need some hardship in order to forge the iron in fire, so to speak. This year has been a revelation. Simply put, the team is watchable for the first time in years. Passes are hitting tape (that alone is a MAJOR, and welcome change). Players are forechecking and digging pucks out of corners. There is skill out there on nearly every shift and there is even more to come out of Rochester and next year's draft. The goaltending is keeping us in games and actually giving us a chance in shootouts. Defensemen are involved in the offensive zone like we thought they would under Phil. It's just very good hockey on display most nights and honestly, we fans deserve it. The last two games have shown us what needs to be addressed - guys sitting back, not dictating the play, not fully engaged in their defensive responsibilities, and not staying focused enough to avoid stupid penalties. Tampa came out playing playoff hockey from the gate and for the most part, I thought the Sabres matched it - it looked like a playoff game and the hair on the back of my neck stood up for the whole contest. When is the last time we had that kind of atmosphere, really? Over a decade. It's marvelous.

The ice down there seems slushy. Gotta stop taking bad penalties.