Marvin

Does anyone else view our first 6 on defence after this off-season as Samuelsson-Dahlin Power-XXX YYY-Jokiharu With Bryson, Pysyk, et al. as 7-8 defencemen? That's quite a bit pricier than two bottom-pairing guys.

The Sabres had a special with him "putting down roots." Even if he completely busts like Keith Gretzky, you need to get off this hobby horse for your own sanity. He is not going anywhere. I am not on board with quick fixes on offence. What I want is more depth so that guys like Bjork don't need to see the ice unless we are down 6 forwards.

Peter DeBoer just found out that throwing your goalie under the bus is not necessarily a good motivator.

Just heard that Lehner had a death in the family. No wonder the funky goals happened -- his head is not in the right place. But Lehner should not have played last night. My condolences to him and his family.

Let's hope Thunderbirds are NOT go.

Anyone who needs proof that DeBoer should not be a head coach should check his post game comments where he seemed to exclusively blame Lehner for the loss -- omitting the mess the team is in their own zone, the defencemen turning the puck over in the defencive zone with alacrity, and his scorers firing blanks. Just musing: anyone else remember Lehner criticising players (who we inferred were Eichel and Reinhart) for listening to Kane and Bogosian rather than Gionta? It sure looks to me like Lehner is far less trusting of the team around him when Eichel is on the ice. How much of that vibe between them has penetrated the locker room?

I personally can't waste my time and energy hating everyone who wronged me badly in some way. And what Eichel said was trivial by comparison to what I am talking about. I agree with you on Eichel basically being in a no-win situation. One of the reasons that I hated The Tank was it psychologically set up the fans, the management, and the team to place Eichel as a savior, which was unfair to him. Moreover, XGMTM was clueless on defence, depth, and character while XGMJB was clueless on forwards, depth, and support for the youth. So Buffalo was a bad, bad situation for Eichel, Reinhart, et al. -- and, as the most talented players, they were expected to take the blame. The blame for the teams failures during their time here primarily belongs above them for failing to create an environment which would help them grow and mature. It was if both GMs acted as if it would just magically happen. It is one thing for fans to fall into this trap, but it is inexcusable for management. Yes, they had their faults and exacerbated a bad situation, but they should never have been put into that situation on the first place. Aside 1: my wish for LVGK to fail this season long pre-dates the Eichel press conference: how they treated Marc-Andre Fleury and overall how their management treats their players; their salary Cap shenanigans; the condescension of their band-wagon fans; my preference for ensemble play over hired guns; the NHL seeming helping conspire with them to deliver on their owner's promise of a Cup within 5 seasons. (I blame their immediate success on the myopia of the other 30 GMs.) Aside 2: @SwampD -- the Sabres have deserved to be a league-wide punch line for over a decade. Going DeLuca 0.500 from the Las Vegas game to the St. Louis game is not an accident; it is the first extended time of overall quality ensemble play since Lindy Ruff was coach. While the decent play may or may not carry over to next season, I would have guaranteed that continued awful play certainly would have sustained into next season. Just not being a punching bag and getting a modicum of respect from players around the league matters to the players, the franchise as an entity, and to the fans. I imagine we over-sell it, but hey, that's part of being a fan.

This is far more interesting than provoking @SwampD in the schadenfreude thread. Over the past few days, I went over some highlights posted from their games by fans and media alike starting when Eichel returned. Is it just me, or is Lehner flat out worse when Pietrangelo is on the ice? Whenever Lehner gives up a goal that looks really bad, it seems like Pietrangelo did something unexpected or wrong immediately beforehand. That defence seems to cough the puck up in their own zone increasingly often. This seems indicative of losing the feel of the structure of the system. Are forwards leaving the zone too early? Are defencemen less aware of the opposition? How much of this is due to players having long stints on LTIR needing to get integrated back into the team concept. Note: I don't think Peter DeBoer is a good head coach. LVGK often look disorganised in both the offencive and defencive zones. We saw this in San Jose, so I was wondering if it's a trend. Speaking of San Jose, often their scoring would inexplicably dry up for stretches under DeBoer. How much of that is related to the defencive responsibilities the forwards have, the lack of ensemble play, and the seeming loss of structure in the offencive zone? And how much of that is players coming back off of IR? And is it just me, or is Lehner flat out jittery when either Pacioretty or Eichel is on the ice in the defencive zone?

Welcome!

If I did not greet you before, welcome. Vancouver is firing on all cylinders. They are on a 110 point pace since their coaching change.

They have looked very good and are getting a lot of shots -- but their goaltending has been, um, suboptimal and they suddenly can't score. If they just get average goaltending and average shooting percentages, they would have several more points. That dressing room has to be really frustrated. Oh, and given the talent they do have, their PP should be much better.

The Devils told the K-nig-hits that they fart in the Knights' general direction. NJD 3 - LVGK 2.

Welcome back!

Welcome back! Welcome back!

They went top shelf where Daddy hides the whistles?

Welcome back.

Welcome back!

Agreed. I am just pointing out that this has "uninformed hot takes" written all over it. I expect that people will get overly pushy like many did (and still do) to those of us who opposed The Tank. Consider this my plea to fellow posters to not attack those who disagree.

As someone who never really starts evaluating Presidents and Congresses until at least 20 years are passed, I find these discussions after less than 1 season at best premature and at worst foolhardy.

Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot. That makes absolutely no sense to me. Welcome back! Welcome back!

This is why we have to expend assets immediately for goaltending. This team with Anderson and Tokarski is playing at a 100 point pace against a gauntlet of playoff and near-playoff teams. Imagine if we had even league-average goaltending... I need to vastly improve that bottom pairing and the goaltending. I personally would have Bjork in Rochester with Drake Caggiula in Buffalo if we make few changes off the current roster. I can easily get above the cap floor just with those moves.

Who are slated to be on LTIR next season?

13th largest in the country.

This. So much this.

Welcome back!