JohnC

In his recent post game interview he seemed to be very drawn and fatigued. He appeared very subdued and drained. Hopefully, some added rest and time will get him through his illness. I couldn't see much difference in this game in how a Appert coached team differed from a Granato coached team.

Odds are that the Sabres will win today. That's not the problem plaguing this team. It's has more to do with the next game after a win and good game. The lack of follow up and consistency is what is most disappointing about this team. If the Sabres win today and then follow up with a win tomorrow against Ottawa, then that would be a positive step. This team has already dug itself in a hole, even before the halfway point. It's got to make a move now just to get within range to be taken seriously. That's what I will be focusing on.

Rob can instead chatter with the backup goalie to get the inside scoop. 😀

Every once in a while, Torts would step aside to allow another coach on his staff to get behind the bench. He would do it to offer a different voice on the bench. He would then watch from another vantage point in order for him to also get a different perspective on his players and their play. He's basically trying to provide a different coaching dynamic to freshen things up. That's not the case here. DG went outside his coaching room to work the game.

I disagree. There is nothing unusual that during the season the HC can't be behind the bench for a variety of reasons, such as illness or personal reasons. Usually, the replacement is a coach already on his staff. Often for a variety of reasons, the HC can't conduct practice. The assistant coaches take over. Supposedly, they know the players on the roster and their capabilities. Yes, coaches have defined roles. But they aren't so limited that they can't at time assume greater responsibilities beyond their normal roles.

What's telling is the Rochester coach is brought in to do the job rather than one of the coaches on his staff.

Is holding staff accountable for their results meddling? That's what owners are expected to do in all sorts of enterprises. Is tolerating a flaccid PP doing the same ineffective things over and over acceptable? If it's a player problem, then make a player change. If it's a scheme problem, then change the coaches devising it. What's become exasperating to the followers here is the numbing sameness to these merging seasons over this past generation. Teams rebuild. That's a process that happens in all sports. But there should be a greater degree of tangible progress that is evident to all in that tough process. What has bothered me most about this season is the lack of consistent effort. It will be evident against the better teams. And then it flattens out against the lesser teams. If a team demonstrates that it can play at a high level but can't sustain it, then there is an internal problem associated with the player mix and/or coaching staff. The one that I don't consider fair is criticizing the fans for expressing their frustrations with this team and franchise. If you want to be satisfied with the course of this franchise, that is your prerogative. I'm not. Will the Sabres come out and win today. Probably so. That's not the problem. It's how they play the next game, and the next game etc. So far, they haven't demonstrated that they can play at a high level for a sustainable period of time. That's the source of my frustration with this meandering team.

Within this WGR link is Granato's regular segment on the Jeremy White show. He talked about the Leaf and Ranger games. He addressed the style of play between last year and this year. He made the point that the bigger issue is focus. In general, on this issue he talked about the psychology related to pressure and higher expectations. He also made the point that currently the team is for the most part healthy, and that made a difference when matching up against the opposition. He also noted that Girgs is close to being back. The one player he commented the most was Quinn. This is a 17-minute segment. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/jeremy-and-joe-show

The NHL and hockey system in general has a wonderful approach of young players being brought in to sponsoring homes.

The most interesting part of this story is that Dahlin took him in and engaged with him as if he is a family member. That's leadership and caring for a young teammate. https://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/no-world-juniors-no-problem-sabres-zach-benson-thrilled-to-be-in-buffalo/

I could see a situation where a young player/prospect would state his preference to management to play in an international tournament. If he were on the NHL roster but given a limited role with limited minutes, I could see him wanting to play on the international stage with his peers. That's not the case here. He is playing regular minutes on one of the top two lines. And from a developmental standpoint playing with the big club makes sense for him and the organization.

Did Benson want to go rather than stay with the Sabres?

I'm not trying to be sarcastic or condescending. But if you don't believe that there are games in which the Sabres benefit from bad calls or non-calls, then there is little basis to discuss this topic. There were certainly questionable calls in this game. I'm not arguing otherwise. However, the Sabres didn't lose the game because of them. The Sabres lost because the opposition had the better goalie who made a number of exceptional stops. We had more than enough opportunities to win regardless of the caliber of officiating. We simply didn't capitalize on them because their goalie was up to the task.

The word never in my prior comment is not a loaded word. There are games where the erratic officiating benefits us at the expense of the opposition. And there are games where erratic officiating benefits the opposition at our expense. That's a part of the sports world that will always exist. I thought the game was poorly called. From my perspective it seemed to tilt toward the Rangers. Did the calls result in us not coming away with a win? Not necessarily. The difference in this game was the play of their elite goalie. There are games where the officiating tilts toward the opposition; and there are games where the officiating tilt toward the Sabres. That's an inescapable aspect of all sports. My point regarding the officiating issue in this game or any game is that you play on and control what you can control. Johnson's manufactured fight didn't help us. It hurt us because the team was forced to PK instead of possibly create some scoring chances on 5 on 5. The Skinner 10 minute unsportsman's penalty ended up taking one of our best goal scorers out of action for 10 minutes in a close game. It's frustrating to say but erratic officiating is part of all sports at every level. The best way to handle it is to play through it and not allow yourself to get frustrated to the point where you take yourself out of the action.

I thought this game was poorly officiated. That's not an unusual occurrence in the NHL. However, are you arguing that the Sabres never benefit from bad calls and non-calls that favor them?

If you advocate for fighting in certain situations, then do you advocate it for football and basketball? Do you believe that it should be a part of the college or Olympic games. If not, why not? There are always missed calls in the pro ranks, in all sports. You act as if inconsistent officiating is an unusual occurrence. I would argue the opposite: That it is more the standard than it is not. Responding to bad calls in an unproductive manner doesn't help you, it hurts you. Do you complain when bad officiating benefits your team? I don't! Inconsistent officiating certainly is aggravating and agitating when it hurts your team. But that's part of the game.

My point about Cozens needlessly dropping the gloves is that it didn't help the team and it resulted him in getting hurt. How was dropping his gloves beneficial? What if he broke his hand that kept him out longer or suffered a season plaguing concussion. How would you respond to that?

What does fighting have to do with bad refereeing? It's a problem in all sports.

There is no question the officiating in this game was uneven. It's uneven in all sports. What's your solution? Beat up the referees.

It wasn't that long ago that Cozens deliberately got into a fight (instigated it) in order to energize his teammates. He got his face punched in and got injured. His play after that faded. How would you have felt if he ended up with a serious concussion that cost him the season or even his career? Thankfully, the hooligan era of fighting has been severely curtailed. There is no need for it at all. My recommendation would be to play harder and tougher. Dropping the gloves accomplishes nothing good. And when it happens it raises the risks of injuries. It's unnecessary.

I don't accept fighting. It should be completely banned. It's archaic and creates a safety risk for the pugilists. There are already enough inherent health risks for the players when playing. The best way to retaliate against another player is to legally body check the opposition. Playing hard and tough have nothing to do with fighting. I enjoy watching hockey; I don't like hooliganism. Fighting is not allowed in college hockey and in the Olympics. Ask yourself why?

I have repeatedly said this before during the Ullmark contract saga so I don't want to get into a "what if" sad song reciting. But "what if" KA would had shown more flexibility and signed Ullmark to the contract that the player wanted? We would have been a playoff team last year, and our season this year would certainly be better. We had a good NHL netminder in our system, and we allowed him to walk. It was a foolish mistake that has had major repercussions.

Echoing what @Sabres Fan in NS regarding the HC and his response to EJ's play you are way off the mark. There is simply no basis for your conclusion.

The Ranger goalie is a top tier goalie. He was the difference in the game. The Sabres had more than enough chances to win. We had a number of breakaways that we didn't capitalize on. Their goalie stymied those chances. On the positive side, the Sabres showed character after they got behind 2-0. They kept playing hard and pushed the play. They got back into the game. The biggest plus for me was the play of Quinn. He seems to have regained his speed and quickness. Another positive thing about this game is the play of Ryan Johnson. Although he's young and inexperienced he is very composed on the ice. He plays like he belongs. I thought Mitts played well in this game. I also liked the play of Greenway. There is little flash or speed to his game. He simply adds some beef and strength to the lineup. His muscle play behind the net where he got the puck to Mitts for a score was impressive. He's also a valuable penalty killer. No question that I'm disappointed at the outcome but we at least got a point out of this game. If the Sabres would have played with this effort throughout the season, we would have at least 6 more points. The injured players are returning to health so the lines should be stabilized. The team dug a hole for itself. They need to continue playing the way it did last night to get back into playoff contention. There is little margin for error. Just keep playing hard.

I'm not going to disagree with you that our goaltending is not consistently at a high level. That's a roster reality that is not going to change this season. But that isn't the biggest reason why this team has not met our expectations. Last year, mostly when Levi joined the team at the end of the season, this team played at a high level in their playoff push. For nearly a third of a season the team played at a level that upper tier teams play at. And during that end of season push there was a consistently in team play. That's not the case this year. We have beaten upper tier teams such as the Rangers, Boston, Vegas and Colorado. In those games, the team played as if they were Stanley Cup contenders. However, this year, the level of play has been too erratic especially against lesser talented teams, regardless of the caliber of our goalies. That's the main problem. Entering this season our roster is better than last year. The younger players should be getting better and the roster has been stable enough where there should be more cohesion. What happened? Who would have been satisfied prior to the season knowing that Detroit, Montreal, Phil, and others, would be ahead of us in the standings at this point? The Sabres have some roster flaws. So what! Most teams do. The difference this year has been the level of effort and a fragility that is evident when dealing with adversity. This team has to toughen up both mentally and physically. They have demonstrated that episodically that they can do so. That's not good enough. I disagree with you in your belief that our playoff aspiration already has been squelched. I still believe that there is enough time to turn it around and get back into the playoff race. There's no question that the team has dug itself into a deep hole. The solution is to play harder and do it with greater consistency. A generation of excuse making is long enough. No more excuses!