Believer

Bravo, Greenway

Devils aggressive again. Sabres look disorganized again. Tuch gets manhandled.

This is a highly misleading stat, imo. Think the game was decided in the 1st Period when the Sabres came out flat and were outshot (as I recall hearing) something like 18 to 5 and were down 2-0. How do you come out flat for the first game of a pivotal season of high expectations after several days rest, encouragement from Adams, maybe Pegula and instructions from Ruff? Seriously confounding. Someone posted earlier Dahlin, Tuch, Samuelson, Cozens and the other veteran leaders need to show up tomorrow morning from the drop of the puck. It will be a character test. Win or lose, show up and play hard. No excuses.

Sabres were uptight from the start. Put too much pressure on themselves. Couldn’t match Devils intensity. Didn’t play aggressively until late third period. This is on the Coach and the Captain, imo Better days ahead.

You killed my buzz. Pass the bong.

Think of the beer sales! 😂

Interesting observation.

Think the message is this year is all about winning. Period. Every game at every level.

I saw the game on NHL Center Ice. Great to be watching hockey again. Sabres looked hungry. Different team.

A lot of pressure on Ruff and the players when it was created by and rightfully belongs to Pegula and Adams.

And wins half his faceoffs. Let him teach a couple of our kids.

Would bet the League has already given Pegula the message. Invest in your franchise. New roof, new video display scoreboard, new high profile Coach. Make the playoffs. Business as usual is over. Pegula is still a cheapskate but Adams was more active in free agency.

Like his playoff experience and age. We need a couple more grown men to show our kids how to navigate an 82 game season plus the playoffs.

Our elite players should be talking up our young team and its SC prospects for the next decade to other players around the league, helping Adams sell the opportunity in Buffalo. Doubt this is happening much yet. Our guys are probably waiting to get a firsthand sense of Ruff at camp and how Adams will address the several RFAs before buying in themselves and selling the opportunity to others. My guess is the stink of the fan boycott is another factor causing players around the league to wonder about Buffalo. Who disses their own fans? Unhappy players. Who wants to join a group of unhappy players? It’s a leadership issue, imo. Pegula is just now starting to reinvest in the arena. Granato is gone. Okposo is gone. Adams is on thin ice. Ruff and presumptive new Captain Dahlin will be the real catalysts for leadership change, imo.

And physical players. Hitters. Guys who can send a message. Think Dahlin will like this guy. Couple of Messengers.

Farm kid. Character guy. If he’s willing to protect our top players, he’s a nice addition. From Washington Post article in April ‘23: “One of the hardest-working players on the team, Malenstyn leads the Capitals in hits with 209 (finished with 241) and is first among forwards in blocked shots with 87 (finished with 93)Even when Washington makes a practice optional, Malenstyn is nearly always on the ice — except for the rare day that he’s forced into taking a day off, usually to give the bumps and bruises from his physical play time to recover.”

Refuse to believe Ruff will let Adams stand pat without at least a couple major moves for veterans. He has plenty of assets he can package. A big physical Forward who plays a 200 ft game and likes to hold court around the crease. A big physical D Man who likes to hit and protect his star players.

A Cup is a Cup. KO has one now. Expecting the Panthers success with their D rebuild further motivates Adams and Ruff to change our style of play. And hoping the Panthers success whets the appetite of our core players to emulate their effort and commitment to winning. Last chance, Adams. Give Ruff the players he wants.

Dominant. No one close. Played 24+ minutes, 2 Goals on 2 Shots, 2 assists on pretty feeds, and managed a Hit and Block to boot. At 27, just hitting his prime. What a delight to watch him play the game of hockey.

I’m in Sarasota, so rooting for FL. Refs were way too active for Game 5 of a Stanley Cup final. Giving the Oilers 4 PP chances was laughable. Refs were on a mission. ABC/ESPN the clear winner.

The postgame stick raise may be a “meaningless gesture” but the diss to Sabres fans was not meaningless. It was purposeful and intended to express the team’s displeasure with the fan’s reaction to their poor effort and poor results. It was misplaced anger borne of their own frustration. My remark was about the absence of both player and management leadership as demonstrated pathetically by the late season diss to fans. I could care less if the Sabres raise sticks to acknowledge fans next season. I do care if the team disses the fans in any form who pay good money to be entertained. We can agree the team is poorly constructed and Adams has a last chance to fix it. We will know the answer shortly.

Really? I’d like to know which of these players let their example lead the team to diss the fans for two weeks. If it was one or more other players, these three leaders didn’t speak out against it to my knowledge. Worse, Adams and Granato didn’t say a word until it was over. Told me all I needed to know about this team last season. Hard to believe Adams is still GM. Rant over.

Grit? Dahlin, Benson, Krebs… nearly every shift Greenway, Tuch, Samuelson… when they feel like it Cozens, Peterka, Quinn, Joki, Byram… each in stages of WannaBe

Simply awful. Complete distraction from game play. Dopey, to boot.

Like Thompson and Cozens, Krebs production was affected by Granato’s pivot to D play. Moving to the checking line impacted his point production as well. Beyond scoring, there is the intangible of his impact in practice, the locker room, and bench. Every time the camera catches him on the bench he is talking to mates with a big smile on his face. Can’t train enthusiasm and it is infectious. If he survives a trade, he will get a qualifying offer at least. If he performs for Ruff and Ruff wants him, he gets a new contract, imo. Big year for the 23 year old, regardless.