Pimlach

Not aware of any mental issues. He seems to play hard some of the time. He seems to do to much quite often. He seems to be playing alone a lot. Playing with Skinner might be a problem. Skinner is lost since the all Star break.

This is a good luck statistical anomaly. We are a low scoring team that happens to luckily average over 5+ goals per game when he plays. Bryson has 2 assists and his +/- is 0. I call this a coincidence.

Brind'Amour is the guy who could tell Adams what he needs on the roster and get it. I don't think the others can change the EEE course that Adams is on. That might shy Berube away, who lost some vets that he didn't want to lose in St Louis. Gallant has been out of work for a long time, so he might be more likely to take the job. Brind'Amour can wake up the players that have talent but don't show up every night (of which there are many). They all can do that, but it seems like Brind'Amour has the ability to keep a team focused for a long time. Leaving NC for Buffalo is not going to be easy for him and his family. Terry will have to drill a well to get him. I think RBA is a pipe dream. I bet that Granato stays.

If only these stats projected out to next year and the year after, then we might know. But they don't. Mitts is not getting traded, especially not for a #1 goalie. We could use a better backup goalie, but we sure don't need to trade Mitts to get that. Peters is a boob. So is Rivet.

It helps when the opposing goalie is swiss cheese. The win probably had very little to do with the Samuelsson and Power being out. The Sabres have had a tough time scoring but last night everything was going in.

OK, I wrote this last night after the game. I missed the game. Were was Tage? TOI - 14:46 Skinner TOI - 12:50 Kyle TOI - 10:56 Looks like that line became the 4th line. Tage must have got a few extra minutes for the PP? Any comments?

It goes to show you that you cannot expect a 22 year old goalie to jump into the NHL. UPL is now 24. When he was 23 he was inconsistent, but showed he could be very good at times. Just like Levi shows now. Levi's very good games show us he has the talent, his bad ones show us he needs more time. I think back to how we gutted this team, including Rochester, and all the young players had to rush due to the very poor work of Murray and Co. I think the key going forward is to make a few trades/acquisitions for vets in their prime, ones that have leadership qualities, and get this roster older and more in line with our playoff competition. This way our prospects have to beat out a real NHL player, not a tweener/JAG, to make the jump. This is not hard to figure out when you look at the teams that have been good for a long time. Their young guys come into a better situation.

Agree. We need to improve the backup (Comrie) and find a 1B or a solid 2. Leave Levi in AHL to develop - stop rushing our prospects and make Levi beat out a real NHL goalie. The Peters rumor - Trade Mitts for a goalie - will turn out to be typical Peters/Rivet nothing.

I don’t know what the recent Kings travel schedule is but the west coast team cover a lot more ground traveling.

Eddie “the Entertainer” Shack was a great acquisition in the first few expansion years and lived up to his name as a Sabre. Fans loved him. He was traded for Rene Robert. Another score for Punch.

Good Evening Teammates, Punch checking in late. I missed the best game of the season, had a Valentines Date. I looked at the game stats. Our 1st line (Tage line) played the least minutes and didn’t do much. Odd for that to happen and win 7-0. ? I’ll go back and read the thread now. Should be fun

Correct. He is seeing a well run organization in NYR.

They have plenty of good players and they can trade for the right mix, like every other team does - no winning teams are all home grown players. That ended with free agency and salary cap. I think he knows Adams and Pegula and he was around long enough to understand their plan.

Yes.

I am phlegmatic about this hockey team, so I decided to take my wife out for Valentines Day instead of staying home to watch them.

Totally different people. Maybe Berube will end up like Byslma, one more shot and done, but he could be worth that shot. He will certainly change the way they play. Berube's GM purged Pietrangelo, ROR, Steen, Schwartz, Perron, Maroon, Fabbri, Barbashev, Dunn and others. A couple of these guys have won Cups with other teams, and all had enough gas in the tank to help their new teams after leaving the Blues. I cant see Berube and Adams seeing eye to eye on things though. I cant see Gallant and Adams together either.

No. Let that happen on the road. How about winning at home and scoring more than one goal tonight.

onomasticon, lexicon, glossary, Toys'Rus,

True only if Dahlin was just an above average normal prospect on a good team. Dahlin was good enough to play in the NHL at 19/20 but a good team would bring him in slower, sheltered his minutes at first, and use him in situations were he could shine. Makar was 21 as a rookie. When Dahlin was 20 he was in his 3rd year and he was struggling mightily, playing huge minutes on a terrible team under a terrible coach who had no business being in the NHL. Buffalo rushed Dahlin because the team was so devoid of talent, lacking in veteran leadership, mired in an cultural funk, and a for a long time did not have a legitimate pipeline extending into the AHL. That is all a residual of the failed major tank tear down in a failed attempt to get McDavid. They play young players sooner than good teams would, and they do it to a flaw (see Benson this season). Dahlin was always good enough to play at a young age - but he should not have been carrying that big of a load and be forced to drop gloves because no one on the team police’s things. Power was a rookie at 20. Power to me is not as talented as Dahlin. He is talented enough to be a great defender, maybe a Norris contender, but today at 21 he is still very young to be playing 22-25 minutes. Sometimes he looks very good, sometimes he makes mistakes. Not a surprise. Why was Power “better” last season than this one? I’m not sure he really was. Expectation are way higher this season and Power is one of many players that is not living up to them. My opinion is that Adams grossly miscalculated the ability of his players and his coaches. If Power can harness the power and strength that his physical statue can support he will really be something. Is he willing to train, get stronger and faster? Is he willing to get meaner and dictate the tone on the ice ? Those are the big questions. I think he will become a very solid fixture on the blue line, but it will take a few more years. He needs to play with a better partner as well. I don’t support all the “Power sucks” comments here, just as I didn’t support the “Dahlin sucks” comments. The losing has caused unrealistic expectations on our draft choices. Fans are looking for a savior. This is not the NFL, most all 18 year old draft picks are years away. In the GDT’s many fans jump on whatever defenseman they see on the TV screen whenever we give up a goal. The reality of what happens out there is more complicated than that. They play terrible team defense despite an effort to focus on defense. They have substandard coaching in all facets of game. Whatever this system is has choked out the scoring and open play that made last season exciting and promising. The root cause of these problems with this team is the owner. His Economic/Efficient/Effective business model has maxed out and the team is regressing again. All he has to hire is hire the right hockey person and step away. But he won’t.

The cheap bastiges

Good post. I’m not convinced that DG’s system is solid, but you certainly nailed it. Watch the games, most nights they are boys versus men.

There is no such thing. Ticket prices reflect the local economy and what they can charge. Tickets in NYC and Toronto cost more than in Buffalo or Pittsburgh or Columbus.

Hw has ALWAYs been good IMO. He is an excellent defenseman. I don't know were the rumors come from, probably because he was -19 last year on a struggling team. The guy is solid. We need someone like him.

Just when I thought you couldn't get worse ... Yeah, that is what Adams needs to do. Straighten out the Sabres fans. How dare they like any players on this team, especially Tuch and Cozens.

Pegula is more detached than meddlesome these days. I assume he is focused on wife, family, businesses, stadium, Bills - in that order. At least now with the NFL over. I bet he “ gets involved “ in the draft, which means he gets the seat next to Beane in the war room. He gave Adams his orders, the EEE Doctrine, they agreed, and this is now on Adams, the good soldier, to do it. It’s a slow, low cost, unproven way to build a team. Look at the contracts given out to unproven players that could have been bridged. They are betting the farm on Power and Cozens so far. It appears there is no plan to spend big dollars on players home grown. This might be a big factor in the lack of significant trades. Not saying they can’t adjust the plan, they can. If Terry ever wants to hire proven winners, he has to listen to them. Which is why I dont see a Gallant/ Berube type ever agreeing to come here. They like a veteran roster. No top coach wants 24 year old on average team. Most teams average 28-29. Big difference.