Pimlach

The problem with letting a lot go is when they decide to call a tick tack penalty because things get out of hand.

The are skating and working. They have to play an honest game in all facets tonight.

Pretty good first. Need to do more of the little things better. Keep them out of the slot. We only won 3 of 18 face offs, do better.

TNT

Ok, we are throwing the puck around carelessly again. Better breakouts please.

Really poor play by the left side point. Terrible mistakes by two Sabres.

Tuch n ‘ TNT

He wants ice time.

Good evening Teammates, Punch checking in. Big game tonight. Sabres going to show up and start another streak. Muscle Weight.

You post will probably land here with a THUD. I will explain it. People from Buffalo/WNY root for both the Bills and Sabre - at least the vast majority do. Therefore, people from Buffalo/WNY like football AND hockey. It is not the other way around.

Sure, the team would be better with Ullmark. I seriously doubt that Ullmark's individual numbers would be as good and that he would be a Vezina candidate. He would have been playing behind the same injury riddled defense and the same youthful lineup that Comrie and Andy have had to work with.

I am numb. I had an uneasy feeling about that football game all week. More than the usual jitters. If they play tonight I’ll watch, but I am spent. The people in Buffalo/WNY must be too.

I prefer this

I had not thought about the bolded. Maybe the things can be improved in Rochester with respect to goalie tending . Maybe Bales makes periodic appearances there if he isn't already doing so. If UPL keeps playing like this we have to ride him and let him bloom. But we really do not know what we have with Comrie either since many of his games were played with a makeshift defense and still figuring things out. With Anderson's age, and UPL injury history, having a third goalie is necessary to stay in the race. Next year Anderson retires and having Comrie on a good contract is part of the plan all along. I can't see Adams trading him, especially after offering him a shot at #1 if he signed.

Trade Comrie and then we are one injury away from disaster. Trade Comrie for what? He is more valuable to have as a 3rd goalie, and he will be needed for next year, and he is on a good contract.

I am so nervous about it, that I am not nervous. I am avoiding the media and TBD. I just want to get to kick-off and win this one.

Agree. They win a few in a row and some folks come here and jump in with unrealistic expectations. They lose to a team that is essentially their peer in the current standings and people freak out. They still have a ways to go. Losing 1 in 7 is not the end of the world. Now they need to string more wins together this month to hopefully break away from Detroit, Ottawa and Florida. Things are very dynamic, the next tier in the Conference is the Islanders, Pittsburgh, Rangers - that is the Wildcard tier right now. We are 6 points out with a few games in hand so we are a contender. When the Sabres can skate freely they look like a team that can push for that wildcard spot. When they can't get their game going they fall into the pack along with about 6 other teams.

I get your point. I would have pulled him as soon as we got a face-off down there. But we had so much trouble with puck possession, Ottawa put pressure on whoever had the puck and our guys did not respond to it and connect on passes. Ottawa did a great job in their defensive zone all game, so maybe he thought what eventually did happen would happen. We played with cement blocks on our skates all game. Yes, they kept on forechecking and putting pressure on our defense, then they got back fast and for the most part stopped us at the blue line.

And maybe Adam’s has looked into it and maybe Horvat will not fit? No one knows unless they work deep inside the Sabres FO. We drafted three centers in the first round last year, another factor to consider. A solid veteran RHD is the big need right now.

Accept that 4th line needs a center if they move Krebs off of it, and don’t call Zemgus a center please. He is not. Too much line switching and no one learns anything. Everyone wants changes to the lines. The first and fourth lines are set, why ruin them? This is the team we have. We have rookies and one year players all over the place.

Sure. But I’m not gonna cry and blame the coach, like some here, when they lose 1 game in 7, especially on a road back to back. This team is still proving it belongs, so yes, just win.

The first line played less than 20 minutes. They were not overplayed. Down one goal you play your first line to end the game as much as you can, especially with the #2 goal scorer in the league on it. Tage hit the bottom of the crossbar or else we get a point and go to OT. Playing our first line did not make us lose. We didn’t convert on the PP and we didn’t have the legs tonight. Ottawa played better. That is why we lost.

Ottawa is 6-3-1 in their last 10, we are 7-2-1. They are just one point behind us although we do have 2 games in hand. Sure they are a lower tier team in the standings, but they have been not far behind Buffalo. It sucks to lose within the division, today was a four point game. Time to focus on Washington. A grizzled and veteran team that is 8-1-1 in the last ten.

Thank you. They need to respond next game.

Yes, the team is a work in progress. We need another solid vet defenseman to play with Power, who played 25 minutes tonight on top of 28 yesterday - he mostly plays with an AHL level partner which might hinder his offensive game. Our second line has 2 good looking rookies that can sometimes have some bad matchups on the road, limiting their ice. Our third line has a few players that are not sound in our defensive zone. The team is getting better, but not a veteran team that will win even when they play a bad game. Tonight was a tired and poor effort compared to recent weeks.