Pimlach

It’s that time after the whistle to the start of play. Most arenas are going crazy with music, score board theatrics, fake noise. In Buffalo the crowd reflects the home team play more than most places. So many barrage you with constant, very loud distractions in between the play. Buffalo is old school in the game day experience.

What is it, real GM? What are you 8 years old? We were talking about next summer needs versus last. Stop interrupting the conversation with extraneous information.

We were talking about the past summer off season acquisitions, nothing else. Follow the context of the conversation if you are going to jump in. I am well aware of all his accomplishments. A summary is not needed.

Keybank just might be the quietest arena in the league.

Canadians. Friend and family of certain players maybe. There are way more than expected.

no shots on the PP. UGLY

Muscle Weight. This could be a fun night

^ Masterpiece Post Achieved!

Sure, swallowing the whistles is dumb. Its the NHL. Games are officiated differently now. Watch and see. They will call tripping, even minor or accidental. Last night was another bad one, this time on Thompson. Before that it was Samuelsson against Tampa - terrible call. Holding and Hooking will vary from night to night, depends on who is playing. Playing the Islanders, holding and hooking was basically legal for the night. All fights/scrums will get the same penalties, no matter if there is a clear instigator or not. Two Sabres came off the ice bleeding last game, one was Okposo (stick in the eye) and no calls. Do not make your number 1 key to the game the refs. If you ever coached youth hockey you would know that. You never have your players thinking about the refs either, bad juju happens when players think they are victims. The keys to the game are the things you can control. When it comes to the refs you figure out how they are calling it and you adapt. That's my take.

It is my assessment. He was soft, and he took shifts off, and he didn't want to be here.

@Thorny, how do you really feel about it?

This is pretty much true. Adding Comrie, Lubyshkin, Clague, and 3 rookies was not enough. I don't think they expected the team to be this good, which is something I am leery about regarding Adams. He needs to turn up the pace next off-season and help this core to take a big step.

Come on man, we are talking about the pipeline, not the roster. In three drafts Adams added one starter in Power but with all his other picks - whether he picked 3 defenseman or 30, would not be ready yet. I am talking about the timing. The fact that Rochester has no NHL caliber defensive prospect is not all on Adams. Some of it is, but not all of it. Dahlin and Power where consensus (sort of) FOA's. Neither GM gets a lot of credit for those picks. Samuelson - great pick for JBot. Bryson stinks and cannot play on any other teams in this league. Miller- bum Montour - he was a soft and terrible Sabre that did not want to be here, he had a good year on a Presidents trophy team, otherwise he is average (and soft) Joker - solid, JBot salvaged that terrible Nylander pick for sure

1. Whistles get put away in these games at this time of the season. On Tuesday, the Islanders were masters of the types of hooking/holding that refs will let go. That is a part of the game we do not know how to play yet. 2. I think he will play like his last game, which was pretty solid overall. 3. Yes. Need the big players to play big and start the positive momentum. 4. Team defense. High scoring games are less likely. Winning close games requires playing smart team defense and winning most of the little battles.

Looks like that line scored 6 and gave up at 3 for a net positive 3 - assuming the goals are all even strength and the line was actually together for all of the goals. Thompson must have been in another pair for one of his negatives since he is -4. No one expected Quinn to be as effective as Tuch, however Quinn has filled in better on this line than the ripple effect that was left by this move on the other lines. That is why I think Quinn is going back to Cozen's line - to help all the other lines get back closer to "normal" while Greenway tries to fill Tuch's role. It is a less disruptive change overall.

Good comments, but is our lack of defensive prospects really all on Adams? Should Boterill's role be discussed? Lets remember that Adams has had three drafts. His first draft he was thrust into the job during Covid and he inherited only 5 picks - 1, 2, 5, 7 and 7. He drafted Quinn and Peterka in the first 2 rounds and that is looking pretty good right now. He picked one defenseman, in the 7th round, that is gone. His second draft he stockpiled 11 picks and took defenseman Owen Power #1 overall and then Kovikov at #6. Could have picked more but none of them would be ready now either. His third draft he stockpiled another 11 picks. We had a very bare cupboard at Center so he added 3 in the first round - maybe you can complain he should have added a D but if he took his BPA and stuck to his board then I cannot argue with it. On defense he added Lindgren (4) and Komarov (5). We can call Kovikov, Lindgren, and Komarov longshots but lets understand that our best D prospects should already be in Rochester and should be people drafted by Boterill and instead there is nothing there. We do have unsigned Ryan Johnson from the Boterill era, and that is it. Adams opportunity is right there in front of him. He can move some of his forwards and forward prospects in an effort to shore up his defense by trading for proven NHL defensemen. More experience and one really good NHL vet will help this group immensely. And yes, I think he should draft a few more defenseman earlier in the draft (he has one first and 2 seconds). 1. Dahlin - 2. Samuelsson 3. Power - 4. TBD proven NHL Vet 6/7 Lybushkin/Stillman 5. Joker ------------------------ 8/9 - Ryan Johnson and Clague can play in Rochester

So far.

Greenway on the top line puts the other 3 lines back to more familiar status. Maybe DG is trying to get more balanced scoring? Greenway did some nice things in front of the net the last game, he was the reason we got the 2nd goal. He was also a big reason why we finally had sustained zone time during the 6 on 5 at the end of the game. He gets a lot of attention when in front of the net. The biggest problem with the Islander game was the teams inability to get players into the slot and around the net (dirty areas). The Islander were happy to let us pass around the perimeter while they took away the shot lanes. That is how they play. Greenway may be there screen the goalie and to collect the garbage from shots by 53 and 72. It is worth a try.

I am concerned that they are overselling the internal growth aspect. Good speech for now, tell the players not much change because we believe in you, etc. But come this summer there is work to do. Pittsburgh and Washington may be dropping but that does mean they will stand still. Same with the Islanders. Ottawa is in a deadlock with us and so is Florida, and Detroit is in the mix too. If Adams has an another off-season like the last one and fails to address obvious needs - goalie help, another vet 4D, another big forward, and the overall depth - we might not keep up with the others.

Did you get that statement from the NHL yet?

Good news. Winning streak starts tonight.

So you finally understand the call was 100% based on their interpretation of the players intentions. Good. I won't comment on the fact you actually agree with it, that is your business. Don't gets sucked into the "experts" on TV. If Toronto decided in favor of the on ice officials, the same taking heads would all support that decision as well. NHL Network, just like ESPN, is trying to promote the sport and they are not going to say anything that damages the already tarnished image of the NHL. Their opinions hold little weight to me. I also think the goal in question, which is the GWG, clearly decided the game more than any other play. One play can, and often does decide a game. It makes us feel better to say otherwise but given the circumstances, that goal determined the outcome. The Sabres had very little gas in the tank (a fact never discussed by ESPN) but made a strong effort to tie it back up.