JohnC

No doubt about it that the Sabres have to avoid extended losing streaks to become a playoff team. But even without such a streak, if this team can't play better on the road, it will be too much of a challenge to overcome. Buffalo is 8-4-2 at home and 1-5-2 on the road. That home/away disparity is simply not good enough to put this team in a position where it needs to be. Toronto's record is 8-4-3 at home and 1-6-0 on the road. Both of these team are dealing with the same road record problem. We need to get our record around .500 to put us in a position to put us in a realistic position to make the playoffs.

Where did you get the exotic notion that the Sabres want to build around a player such as Norris? The only player on the Sabres who is in the lofty category of worth building around is Dahlin. Norris certainly isn't in that category. Let's not forget that he was dealt in a one-on-one deal for Cozens. So his acquisition falls far short of an Eichel blockbuster type of deal. Hopefully, Norris becomes a first or more likely 2C player for us. If he becomes that caliber of player, then the trade works out well for the Sabres. If it doesn't, then so be it and move on.

I thought with Doan, we were getting a grinder who was a third or fourth line type of player. However, his offensive instincts and production have surprised me. If he was inserted on the first or second line now, I would not automatically say that he was miscast for those upper line roles, although I would still categorize him as a third-line type of player. I'm not going to say that he is better than JJP but what I can comfortably say that he is a more well-rounded player. What makes his value more noticeable is that he excels in areas in which this team was glaringly deficient, such as net presence, a physical style of play and more responsible play in the defensive zone. There has been a lot of discussion here about roster construction. From that standpoint alone, he was a good addition.

This line played its fourth line role very well. It played hard and tight throughout the game. Kosak fits in well on that line. He is solidifying his spot on the team.

And to add to your point, if we can get consistently good goaltending, this can be a credible team.

Samuelsson was constantly plagued with lingering injuries, and it affected his play to the extent that the enraged mob wanted to get rid of him for nearly nothing. Now he is playing well in a first pair role. Let’s not reflexively throw out a potential asset out of frustration with his past history riddled with injuries. Just be more patient and you may be rewarded. There are no guarantees for him or any other player on the team.

As you are indicating, with the return of some injured players, there are more pieces to juggle to rework the lines. And as you note, there are a variety of options that make sense. Ruff is not afraid to juggle the lines, including within the game. Now he has more material to work with. My sense is that he wants to keep Tage as a 1C because of his recent play and also the player's preference.

It is going to be interesting to see how Ruff is going to assemble the lines once Norris gets back. I expect the Zucker/McLeod/Quinn line to stay intact because playing with the vets has elevated Quinn's play.

He's not a flashy player or even a prolific stat performer, but what he contributes is responsible two-way play that this team needed more of. He and Zucker were terrific additions that have as much to do with the maturity they add both on and off the ice. You can see the difference for Quinn when he played with these two guys compared to playing on a youth line.

Absolutely not! Are you taking hallucinating drugs? How about waiting to see what he brings to the ice. What is going on here?

Sammy is playing like a stud defenseman. I didn’t think he was a first pairing player. I was wrong.

The two hard working veterans are good examples to follow. I’m sure these two honest players influence how he plays.

Playing with two heady veterans has elevated Quinn’s game.

UPL so far has been stellar.

Referring is so arbitrary and capricious.

Doan set up the play. Quick passes and conversion. That’s the way to do it!

What you saw in this game is not what I saw. That’s okay. As you point out, how they play in the next 4-6 games will be more telling than one game.

One of the main reasons that Zito has been successful is that he has surrounded himself with a top notch senior consulting staff who know hockey and are unafraid to express their opinions to the GM. That’s a tribute to Zito for being receptive to different voices in the room and to bounce around challenging opinions in the room. That’s a sign of having a secure ego and wise head.

He had a history of lingering injuries that affected his play. But that is not to say that the criticism that he got wasn’t warranted, because it was.

You play half of your games on the road. As it stands, the Sabres are the worst road team in the league with a 1-5-2 record. (Recognize that this is a small sample size.) I don't want to be overly negative because it is fatiguing be so. But the reality is that when you don't win games that you should, like Calgary and St. Louis, that it is a damaging blow for a team that has a small margin of error. I would love to be wrong and see the Sabres go on a 10-game win and non-losing streak. But the odds are heavily stacked against it happening. The Sabres don't need to worry about the big picture. Their attention should be on the game-to-game results. Tomorrow, a good Carolina team comes in. The home team needs to come away with a win. That's where their and our attention should be on.

The Sabres have the worst road record in the league. Their record on the road is 1-5-2. So extended win streaks will be an enormous accomplishment for a team that seems incapable of having sustained success. When you play a team like Calgary that played the previous night, and come away being flat and losing, you are creating a steeper mountain to climb. I'm not deliberately trying to be negative but face the reality that this team is contending with.

I'm not going to over-interpret beating Chicago coming off of a back-to-back. But just focusing on this game in isolation it can't be questioned that the Sabres played well, and more importantly played hard throughout. The game against Calgary was disappointing not so much because of the outcome but more for the pitiful effort. So let's give credit when warranted and not manufacture criticism when not merited. Just some quick thoughts on the game: In general, I was happy with the effort. Maybe the Zucker return was a factor in this team playing harder because of his mature presence. It's likely that Benson will play in the next game and soon Norris will be back. So we should get a better sense of what this team is capable of. Tage and his line played as if they cared and were determined to be a driving line. Then why did they play so lacklusterly against Calgary? This up and down play bothers me a lot. Quinn played well. He's certainly not a physical player but in this game he at least tried to body up. Having Zucker on the line appears to have given him a boost. His pass to Zucker for a score may have been the best pass in the game. Quinn needs to shoot more and utilize his biggest asset. Samuelsson played really well. What a pleasant surprise! What's even more impressive about his elevated play is that he is our most consistent defenseman on the unit. And on top of that he has scored more goals than most of us thought he was capable of. The lessoned to be learned is that when you shoot on net you have a chance to get it in. UPL was solid. The Sabres overwhelmed Chicago. But let's put things in perspective: this rebuilding team is six points ahead of us in the standing. I was worried when Byram skated off the ice with his arm dangling. Relieved to see him back. When he's on his game and involved in the offense it presents an added dimension to it. Doan is a terrific addition. He has a hardy style of play and is more offensively skilled than I first thought. What does this dominating win mean? I'm not sure. It will mean more if we play well against Carolina, a good and tough team.

Was the owner the person who required that Jarmo be hired? Or did the owner tell the GM that he needed veteran help around him resulting in KA bringing in Jarmo? Or did KA go to the owner and tell him that he would like to add Jarmo to his staff? Just curious.

Three goalies on the roster are unwieldy. Any way you partial out the workload you end up negatively affecting one of them. It's a tough juggling act for any HC. Maybe showcasing UPL might be a factor? In general, our roster construction is misaligned.