JohnC
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Posts posted by JohnC
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7 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
John,
I thought this was a spotty, careless, and often lazy effort for the most part.
The Sabres put 10 shots on goal before Boston registered one shot, but Boston had 2 goals on their first 3 shots. Why? Boston went to the high danger areas and the Sabres did not. Lyon had more stress and was under pressure even when Boston only had a registered a few official shots.
This is yet another game were the opponents 4th line scores on the Sabres by out working them. Kastelic did whatever he wanted to do out there.
Boston got a few calls their way, and the Sabres could not respond and came up small again. The big players are not carrying the team. Big mistakes by Dahlin, and Tage was playing a solo game at times - this is not leadership by example.
Lyon let in 3 goals on 19 shots in regulation and failed big time on the goal in OT - he needed to play the man with the puck, let the defender worry about the pass. Some unknown dude ripped him and he left a lot to shoot at. My fear is that Lyon will burn out soon.
The decision to play Lyon was curious to me. If Ellis can go he should have had this road game and maybe the team responds with more urgency and a more disciplined game in front of him? But I am probably asking too much from this group.
Win Rate - we have three losses in a row, albeit with 3 points out of the last possible 6 points That pace will get us to low 80's at best.
Like last year, this team looks like an odd collection of players, not like a team with any kind of identity.
There is a good reason why this team lacks an identity: it was constructed by KA. He’s a superficial thinker in a deep thinking job not knowing the difference between collecting talent vs constructing a complementary roster.
Terry Pegula is the owner and KA is his hand picked GM. What did you expect?
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I saw this game much differently than most of the commentators here.Overall, I thought we outplayed Boston.
I liked how the team fought back after going two goals back. They stuck with their game and played harder battling for the puck.
One positive takeaway was the play of Lyon. If we get this caliber of goaltending I will be more than satisfied.
I liked the play of Kesserling. He’s a little rusty but you can see that he’s a second pair talent.
This was Greenway’s first game back. He’s a big fellow who has a big presence. There is nothing fancy about his game but he’s a tough guy that the opposition is well aware of.
What’s apparent to me is that Dahlin is pressing and trying to force the action. His penalty at the end of the second period that led to a score was damaging.
Tage is also pressing. Too much solo act.
Although the final outcome was disappointing, I can’t criticize the effort. There were some openings but we simply missed the shots.
The difference between this year’s team compared to previous teams is that we are at least getting loser points in close games. Certainly, not good enough but better than leaving with empty pockets.
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1 hour ago, Pimlach said:
I would expect Levi to just keep working on his game, knowing his time will come, and knowing that the Sabres invested in him. If that is not what he is doing then I would be disappointed.
Compare the AHL records of Levi and Ellis. They both look good on paper and they look pretty even. Unless you covered the AHL last year you won't have a legit opinion on who is better, and better in the AHL might not transfer to the NHL anyway.
Ellis was an opportunity to pick up an AHL goalie/NHL prospect that was free. Smart move and good insurance.
Ellis is on the NHL club because UPL was hurt and Georgiev failed, so Ellis became backup. They would have to waive him to send him down so they kept him. To me this was all about business and risk management and nothing about thinking Ellis is better than Levi, although maybe some people in the organization do think that.
The team wants Levi to be play as the #1 right now in Rochester - which is the best thing for him. Things change fast sometimes, he needs to sit tight and keep working on his game.
Of course Levi is working on his game. Why do you think otherwise? Someone made an unsubstantiated claim that Levi was disgruntled about his situation and wanted to be moved. Is that true? I don’t know. What I can say for sure is that it is unsurprising (at least to me) that if a player believed that his status within the organization was sliding, then desiring to find a better situation would be understandable. You may find that to be outlandish but I don’t.
side note: If I had the choice between keeping either UPL or Levi, I would keep Levi.
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41 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
That is not understandable, that is actually a ridiculous thought.
What teams are going to have an easier path for him? Are the Sabres supposed to trade him to a team that will play him and then take whatever they can get? This guy was the key part of the Reinhart trade, he needs to clear his head, work hard, and get ready for when the next chance comes.
IF Levi is unwilling to compete with the other 3 goalies then he truly is entitled. The Sabre rare doing him right by making him the #1 in Rochester rather than getting lost in a 3 headed rotation.
Good god, I hope the players don't think like some of the fans here.
I don’t know what he is actually thinking or if his trade request is real. But if he believed that he was sliding down the positional rankings, then it wouldn’t be a surprise that he would want to seek a better opportunity. You might find it odd, but I don’t.
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44 minutes ago, matter2003 said:
It DOES matter because Levi has had full control to change that HIMSELF and has repeatedly puked all over himself when given the opportunity. Not only has he sucked but he has gotten WORSE every chance he has been given. An .878 and 4.12 last year? Is that a joke? That wouldn't even cut it in the era of Grant Fuhr when good goalies were routinely at .900 or lower.
He wants to be mad? Fine. Be mad at your damn self and hold yourself accountable for sucking Saskatchewan Moose C0ck when given the chance to allow them to do something they have been dying to do from Day 1.
And let's not forget the caliber of player we traded to get him. Anger should be directed at the people involved in the miscalculation of the deal and not the particular player we got back.
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12 minutes ago, msw2112 said:
I don't disagree with you, but we can't reverse the trades. They've happened. So the best we can hope for is some kind of positive outcome down the road.
There's no question that a roster with all those top players (and a good coach) would be much better than what's on the ice today, but again, the horse is out of the barn. The ship has sailed. Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart are not going to come walking through that door. (I'm out of cliches...) All we can do is hope that things are better for the current team than they've been in the recent past and that the younger players acquired in past deals will ultimately develop and help the team, or be flipped for assets that can help the current team. A six or seven game stretch is not enough of a sample size to give a definitive answer, but if the team plays the way they have the last 2 weeks for the remainder of the season, they have a good chance of making the playoffs as one of the lower seeds. They're not a legitimate Stanley Cup contender, but can be competitive. It's not necessarily better than what could have been, but it may be a step in the right direction given what we've seen in the last few years. And they still have the 2nd youngest roster in the league, so there's a lot of growth opportunities with the guys they currently have (or, with assets acquired by flipping them for more experienced players).
I agree with you on the issue of having lower expectations compared to many other fans. Willing to accept this lower standard is a requirement in order to stay engaged with this franchise. That in itself is a sad commentary about where we are and what we can realistically hope for. Another way of saying it is dumbing down the standard because of the belief that a higher standard is unattainable. In most sports, especially in a sport with a cap system, there is usually an up and down cycle. We should be able to reach the middle cycle but considering the caliber of staff running the operation, the upper cycle is not likely attainable unless there is a dramatic change within. I'm not trying to be a downer but am simply acknowledging where we are at and how far we can go.
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43 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:
Except you have to read the tweet which said “prior to returning to Rochester.” And Ellis wasn’t here then so this is all for naught.
It doesn't really matter when it was said (if true). It's still the same disgruntlement over position ranking within the system.
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12 minutes ago, msw2112 said:
I agree with most of this post, but I don't think that Levi was the centerpiece on the Reinhart deal. The centerpiece return was a 1st round draft pick, which has turned into Kulich. Levi was a piece of the deal, but more of a throw in because Florida had a glut of goalies, with Bob, Spencer Knight, and I think even Lyon at that point (not sure about the timing on Lyon). They may have had even another young goalie in the system at the time. I'm sure that Levi was important to the Sabres at the time, but I don't think he was the centerpiece.
Right now, with Reinhart's success, this looks like a bad deal for the Sabres, but maybe in a few years if Kulich develops into a top flight forward and Levi into a starting goaltender, and Reinhart slows down due to age, it will look better for the Sabres, similar to the O'Reilly trade. In the early years of that trade, O'Reilly was leading the Blues to the Stanley Cup, while Thompson was struggling to establish himself as an NHL player. The other guys the Sabres got from St. Louis were beyond busts. Now, with Thompson being one of the top goal scorers in the league, the trade had aged much better for Buffalo, as O'Reilly is an older player on the downside of his career. It will be a couple or more years before we'll know.
The players that departed (Eichel, ROR and Reinhart) have their names on The Cup. And those deals have been made more than a few years ago. The Sabres have not been in the playoffs in a generation. I don't care how you calculate the individual deals. Those deals became major subtractions while our so called additions still have not fully materialized yet. Just ask yourself: if we still had Eichel, ROR and Reinhart would the Sabres be a better team than they are now. You can make your own calculation but mine is that we would definitely better without the deals. My attention is on the present and not a couple of more years down the road. Who knows, by then Tage and Dahlin might be demanding to be traded because they are so frustrated about the present.
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2 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:
Somewhat different situations? I think comparing first line NHL players to a goalie who has shown he doesn’t belong in the NHL yet is not a meaningful exercise.
Unless you’re trying to make a point regarding organizational mismanagement of players? Even then, Levi is still a prospect compared to who you’ve mentioned. And, the Sabres are trying to fix their previous fast-tracking of Levi to the NHL by stapling him in Rochester as long as they possibly can. So I guess I’m missing it…
If Levi feels that Ellis and UPL are ahead of him in the positional rankings, then, if true, his desire to move on is understandable.
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22 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
Forget the loser points for a minute, this is also a two game losing streak that needs to end TONIGHT.
The Sabres need to look at Boston and hate the fact they lost to them once already.
I want to see a 6-2 win tonight. I want to see a full 60 minute effort.
I’ll take a 3-2 victory and walk away with a grin on my face. You are expecting too much with your required score. As an Sabre fan you are not in a position to be greedy. 😇
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2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:
What exactly is so unbearable for Levi within the Sabres organization? That he wasn't handed the starters job? That he doesn't want to be associated with a franchise in a long playoff drought? I'm trying to wrap my head around your argument.
The Amerks have been a top team in the AHL for all the years Levi had played there, so he can't be "sick of the losing" as he's a big reason why they are a .700 team.
Levi’s calculation is the same as it is for most prospects and even established players i.e. where is the best place for him to play. If he believes that he is stuck in a log jam for his position, so if the report of his disgruntlement is true, then seeking a better option is understandable.
The Jack, Reinhart, ROR etc. were somewhat in different situations. They wanted to be untethered to a dysfunctional organization where they believed (accurately) that they would have little success here. The record shows that their assessments were correct. Sad to say but true.
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7 hours ago, Pimlach said:
Just more internet garbage. Levi has nothing to say about anything.
He can work his way up from #4 whenever he chooses to do so.
He likely believes that he will have a better chance to do so somewhere else. As you are well aware, there is nothing unusual about Sabre players desiring to be liberated from this middling organization.
Just think, Levi was the centerpiece return on the Reinhart deal. KA is masterful at out -hustling himself. His managing motto is: one step forward then two steps back.
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2 hours ago, Brawndo said:
I know someone that bought tickets that included the jersey. They ordered a Medium, X Large and XXL. The medium was marked correctly on the tag, but was same size as the XXL jersey
Absolutely! You know it’s a bad call when it leads to a goal in a completely different game! 😉
Oops! 😀 You may not believe me but I was semi-sober when I made that stupendous error.
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46 minutes ago, Pimlach said:
Samuelsson is playing better than he has on a long time. A bright spot actually.
Power seems about the same to me. 1 goal, 3 points, and -5. I see no step up in his game or any inkling that he is going to be more physical this season.
Dahlin after 10 games in has 0 G, 7 pts, and is a -8. Still logging a lot of minutes and taking a lot of shots - but he is not himself. They need much more from him if they are going to endure a long season and make the playoffs
Byram is playing well.
Timmins has been a good add. Really helping the PK too.
Kesselring has only played one game. He looked rusty with his passes, but he also looked like a smart player that plays with good positioning and with leverage.
Bryson has not hurt them in his 5 games. We have seen the best that he has, he is a 7/8 fill in guy.
Ryan Johnson didn't do much good or bad, but he does not seem to be a Lindy Ruff guy.
Metsa is a good story and he can hold up for a few games as a call up 8/9 guy. Like Bryson, too small.
With respect to Power and him being more appreciably physical, it's not going to happen. That's not his game and never will be. What you want to see from him is better positioning/angles on defense. And from that standpoint, I see some improvement. I also see him being more aggressive on offense.
The problem that I see with Dahlin is that he is trying to do too much to carry the load. He needs to stop pressing and let the game come to him instead of forcing the action.
My problem that I have with Ruff is he's too old school. When he negatively labels a player the player, the player gets sidelined. Johnson can be a useful third pairing defenseman. He's wasting a useful asset for a franchise that can't afford to waste any assets.
Our owner's staffing preferences can be peculiar. He has weighed this franchise down with his inexplicable major hires.
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Just some belated quick thoughts on some of our players from last night's game.
I liked how Kesserling looked. Will be interested to see who Ruff pairs him with. I hope it is Power.
Samuelsson is really playing solidly and consistently. I would prefer seeing him on the third pair with Timmons. Impressed by Timmons and how he plays. He's a defensive minded player who knows what his talents are and plays to them.
As someone else noted Quinn is coming around. Playing with more speed and aggressiveness.
Kulich is not ready for a 1C role just yet. Norriss's injury was a setback for the first line.
Doan is a tough player who is willing to inhabit the net area. Specific attribute that this team desperately needed.
The most encouraging thing about last night's play was the play of Lyon. If we regularly get this caliber of goaltending, we should be in the playoff mix.
The penalty on Tuch that led to an Ottawa goal was atrocious.
In general, disappointed at the outcome but encouraged by some individuals performance.
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1 hour ago, Pimlach said:
Slow but steady is good enough for my rosier eyes. 😃You have to acknowledge that Samuelsson and Power are playing better this year. And there is no question that Timmons was a solid addition. I'm unsure about Byram but open-minded about him. Last night, we finally got a glimpse of Kesserling. I liked how he played last night. In my view, the blueline has improved.
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1 hour ago, PerreaultForever said:
I don't know what to expect out of Kesselring. I'm hopeful though. I don't actually want offensive production from him (that would be bonus) I'm hoping for stable D with some snarl. A tougher version of Samuelsson would make me very happy.
If Kesserling plays like Samuelsson is currently playing, I would be ecstatic.
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11 minutes ago, CTJoe said:
And hopefully Kesselring starts contributing tonight
I'm not expecting too much from him tonight. As a third pairing player in this game his workload is going to be somewhat limited. What most of us expect/hope is that he will soon be paired with Power and put him in a better position to flourish. TBD.
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I’m happy that Buffalo made the trade for Doan and Kesserling. But I’m also sure that as Utah sits on top of their division with an 8-2 record that they are happy acquiring JJP.
This was a fair and good trade for the dealing teams.
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1 hour ago, Doohickie said:
After two off days, the gameday morning skate is optional?
The Halloween party was exhausting.😄
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2 hours ago, JP51 said:
Its been a bit of a wait to see Kesselring... I am interested
I’m not sure what his injury is but the Sabres are smart in handling it with caution. It’s a long and grinding. As like you, I’m anxious to see him play. I’m hoping that he can be a suitable partner for Power.
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10 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:
All Kesselring has to do to "work" is be as good as Timmons has been. If he's even better, well, then even better.
Timmons has been a solid pickup. He knows who he is as a player and stays within his limits. Not flashy but consistently solid.
I expect more offensive production from Kesserling than from Timmons.
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9 hours ago, Brawndo said:
That’s Bryson I am much taller then 5’6”
Fear not . Get out of the closet and walk tall. We do not judge, at least those who of us who are enlightened and tolerant. I think you look great in red. Just a kind recommendation: please shave your hairy arm pits. Yuk!
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5 minutes ago, SwampD said:
I saw a couple of plays the last few games that give me pause on trading Power. I saw him use his body to get position and gain the puck a couple of times. Not sure if I've ever seen it before. Not this clearly, anyway. It gave me hope. Man, if he could actually learn to use his size,…
I agree with your observations that Power his steadily improving on his positioning. It's not a dramatic change but it is noticeable, at least to me.
GDT: Sabres @ Bruins, 7:00pm Oct. 30, 2025, 🎙 📺 ESPN+/MSG
in The Aud Club
Posted
How you saw it is how I saw it. I'm not saying that anyone who takes the opposite view is wrong because one's perception is one's perception. What I found disturbing is the play of Dahlin and Tage. As I previously stated, it's obvious that both players are pressing and trying to force the issue instead of letting the game come to them. And it's becoming a pattern of play that's becoming noticeable.