FrenchConnection44

How was this any different from what they have been doing all season?

Played really well tonight. But good goaltending and we just don’t have shooters. That opportunity by Casey off the Tage pass should have been put away. Our shots are neither accurate nor hard for most of the team.

Get a bonafide, professional coach with an GM who holds players accountable for their off-season, and I think these guys will step up. Until then, they will suck except for every 3rd game when a good team underestimates them. As it is, they play at a minor league hockey level. Talent is there. Where is Scotty Bowman when you need him?

True. Guy is playing funky, light yrs worse than last year. He desperately needs 15 lbs of muscle, more leg power, and skating lessons! Should be close to or above 230 (with no additional fat) next year if he is committed. Should have been 220+ this year. Who are the d*** trainers on this team? Do they even have a weight room? Or does Granato just tell them to “skate a bit in the off season, please?”

That’s the challenge. We have Skinner, JJP, and Tage as the only snipers (and Tage is having a down year). We have several good players but they aren’t sharp shooting goal scorers. I really would like to see Kulich added to the Casey-Greenway line now or near the end of the year - last 15-20 games - Instead of Okposo.

Really good shift with the Cozens line a few minutes back. All five did well hanging on to the puck, keeping it in the zone, and being aggressive to keep possession. We need more of that aggressiveness. Their goalie is playing well.

Good stuff. No idea how ready he is to handle the NHL in any sort of reasonable way for a 20 year old. But in a general sense, I think at this point we need to subtly tank the season and play younger players for any injured vets.

Wait. How is it Buffalo doesn’t have a goalie in this all star competition? I’m shocked. Shocked I say!

At some point, when it’s clear this team isn’t going anywhere and don’t go on a 10-12 game winning streak to get them back in the hunt, we ought to bring up young guys, get them some action, rest any injured player, lose a few games, and get in a better draft position. And fire Granato, then overpay for a legitimate NHL coach. Not a guy who belongs in the juniors.

This is great stuff. And I agree. We don’t have super fast skaters. As the old adage goes, speed kills. We really do need to add speed to the lineup. Drafting speed at this point is not a fix given how long it takes for a prospect to develop and get to the NHL level, let alone whether he will pan out. And in conjunction with that, we need better skaters. Losing Quinn all this year hurts to some degree. But with respect to our recent draft choices, both Benson and Power need to learn to skate better and improve their speed significantly. Power is not a great skater nor that fast - but for his size he should be able to make up ground. We should have in place a strong skating development coach and program. But, of course, Pegula has no ingenuity in that regard.

VO is an obvious trade but who will give us anything for him? I see a lot of desire to trade Skinner, but I think that’s a mistake. How many pure goal scorers / shooters do we have? Skinner. JJP. Tage, when he has his head on. Tuch is pretty good. Not a sniper. But the others are not really shooters or pure scorers. None of Mitts, Cozens, Greenway, or Benson have any kind of shot. Quinn is a good player and has potential. We don’t need them all to be in that category but I don’t see us getting goals with any consistency line to line if we trade away our shooters/scorers.

With the Quinn injury, I think the Sabres need to target next year, as opposed to trading away assets for short term benefits for this season. Barring a 10 game win streak, I don’t see it. But I would give up vets not in long term plans. But not for draft picks. We need some talent close to emerging at the NHL level.

Greenway was excellent. He played the way I hoped he would end we traded for him and the way you expect a 6’6 225 lb player to play. Though all these 6’5 plus players should be going in the 230-240 range. But if he would play that way every game we’d be a much better team. As with others, hope Quinn is not serious. Definitely need him. That is a line for the future with 22/24/77. I like the 12/37/89 line as well. If we can find a good forward in free agency or trade this off season to go with Tage and Skinner that’s 3 good lines.

Two dumb turnovers was a major factor. But not enough chances. It’s crazy how few goals we have scored compared to last season. I think Granato just thinks he can throw the puck out there and tell the players, “grind. Work hard.” We need a new coach for sure. But this also is not a defensive minded team. And we could use more shooters. Benson is going to have to gain some serious strength in his legs and arms to get some kind of shot (as well as increased speed). It’s weak relative to the NHL level. But still, we just seem to fly around and behave no system. On defense or attack.

This expresses exactly my thoughts on him. And what benefit would we get in return? Wish he were more physical and intimidating with his size but his PK play has been exceptional. That’s probably one reason teams have an interest. But we don’t need more draft picks. We need players ready to go now and the next 2-3 seasons.

Ideally KA could trade for a goalie at the deadline and send Levi down. Doesn’t have to be great. Just a checkouts lot better than Comrie. No doubt Levi needs to go down.

Though an empty netter, that was a really fine goal by Cozens. Got the puck, went by two different players with two nifty moves, off the board and then a nice cut to the left to clear his path.

No one coaches the D. That’s your answer. But the biggest culprit on S tonight was Jokiharu. He should be in Rochester, frankly. If we are to be a playoff contender. Two goals can be directly attributable to his boneheadedness. And Benson is not NHL ready. He has good instincts, but he’s not fast enough, or physical enough, nor does he have a big shot, to be a strongly competitive player yet. Hockey sense and compete are there. But he is a ways away from being a stellar player on a top team.

True. It would be nice if he had to face some hard questions from media though. The NHL should force GMs to answer questions every couple of weeks. At least then there could be some public pressure on them as there would be more scrutiny on him. Even something as simple as “Do you think you’ve constructed a winning franchise? What do you think the problem is? Did you miscalculate the talent level?” Or, “Don’t you think it would be better for Levi to be in Rochester, for his development and confidence?” And let him face questions twice a month. Instead of being able to hide under his desk.

Another turnover, another goal. Oh, wait, another turnover, another goal. Levi should stop that 5th goal. Terrible game by Jokiharu. Turnover, penalty, goal. Turnover, goal. Two goals directly attributable to his sloppy and not smart play.

Just so sloppy. Sloppy with the puck. Undisciplined by Dahlin and Power. I can’t help but think that some solid, disciplined coaching would change this. And make this team so much better.

Good shift Joki. Easy shot block / turnover. Gives a breakaway. Then slashes when Levi pretty much had it covered. Leading to power play and goal. Just brilliant work there.

We’ve had multiple turnovers in our own zone already. And a few others that led to breaks. Gotta get the puck out of the zone! First and foremost. If no one is there, then carry it out. But that was just a dumb turnover. Playing really well with respect to aggressiveness. But need a good bit more sharpness with the puck.

Bills should win this game with all the Dolphin injuries. Several missing OL. Waddle is out or very hobbled at best. Mostert is questionable. Jones should feast on that depleted OL. No Chubb or Phillips or Howard for them. And Holland is also questionable. Looked slow in that Ravens game. Run game should exploit their D. Both Allen and Cook should run a lot and that will soften them up for the pass.

Thanks to UPL. Great game. Just the kind of thing you hoped for when we acquired him. Very fortunate on the two replays. Easily could have been down 3-1 at one point. And a few posts. Whew. We need some fortunate games every so often but that was easily a loss. However maybe it will build some confidence. 2 in a row!! Now comes a big test. Let’s go!