Porous Five Hole

@mjd1001, what do you disagree with? What had Lindy done that makes you think he’s the answer? The Sabres have lost ten straight and to say coaching isn’t a problem is flawed to me. No one should lose ten straight. Clearly he isn’t making a difference from (gulp) Ralph or Meatballs.

Goaltending failed him in NJ, but let’s talk about today. What has his system done for the Sabres?

The Devils are not regretting Ruff for Keefe. I cannot definitely say some guy (Montgomery, Tocchet, whomever) would have better results here in Buffalo because that’s impossible, and we agree the roster is flawed…but we cannot rule out that the game has passed Ruff by. We are a third into the season and I cannot find a single reason to say, “Yea Lindy made a positive difference here” other than marketing.

Isn’t it incumbent on the coach to play a system that his team can be as successful as possible? The Sabres are 29th overall in the league. I cannot quantify where they should be, but I do not believe they’re the 29th most talented team. They’ve got top ten picks all over the place. Not on him at all? We agree the team is flawed and not good enough. That’s on the GM. But what positive difference has Lindy made on these guys? We should be able to see something by now.

You’re right production wise. Tage is an offensive unicorn. I just don’t think Ruff has unlocked a better Tage than we’ve seen before. I should have set Tage aside when I made my post.

Yes. Marek said the other day that every forward is playing one line higher than they should be. I would edit that to say every forward is playing one line higher than they deserve to play. We agree here.

Sample expected goals chart from last night. Pretty ugly for a desperate team (who was also gifted a two goal lead). Like, come on we are in game 30 with nearly a rookie goalie.

Too much pain to put myself through it lol He’s a dead man walking and everybody knows it.

If you think the head coach doesn’t sign off on PP structure (or is ultimately responsible), I don’t know what to tell you.

We all love Lindy. He’s a WNY treasure. But it might be time to put down Old Yeller. He’s lost his fastball. -His defensive structure is either too hard for a young team to play or just doesn’t work. -His special teams are bad. The PP was bad in his last stop as well. -His high flying NJ offense has not shown up here. -Papa Ruff has had no visible advantage to the psyche of this hockey club. -When I say he lost his fastball, what I mean is no one is having a career year. Not one. You would expect to see SOMEBODY in a position to have more success relative to last year. It has been long enough and it is just not there for anybody. Not everything is his fault. -He didn’t ask for the youngest team in hockey. -He did not ask for one of the least physical teams in hockey. -He was not given the opportunity to bring in his own set of assistants. -His roster mix is still flawed and still fragile. None of that is on Lindy. And no one survives Father Time…but he’s lost his fastball. He will not be fired, but he could decide/be coaxed that his heart isn’t on the bench any longer. His deal with Buffalo is only a two year deal (both years being paid by NJ). Perhaps he’s ushered upstairs or into retirement when GMKA gets fired on April 18th, 2025. The playoff goal is out of reach for 24-25…But what is in reach is a full toilet flushing of coach and GM—and we need that to happen.

So the guy who lives in Florida with low taxes and palm trees is going to give the old boys a pep talk?

Quinn on the power play is a brand new sentence lol

I was focused on the Bills. Why is Marty doing color?

He was called up an hour ago and RyJo was sent down.

To me, Tage will always have a role on this team. But the ship has sailed as the cornerstone “guy.” He is a nice piece. A great piece. Maybe an all star if he’s healthy all year. But he is not the elite driver of a team. The Sabres need to keep looking. The same for Tuch. He’s probably a top six winger, but he is not a RW1. Probably a solid WR2, but he’s not a top line forward on a good team.

Can we do another one one of those “will the Sabres make the playoffs” polls because I am feeling pretty confident in my choice.

The Amerks are up 7-2 on the road and are two minutes away from their fourth straight win (Sandstrom played tonight).

I understand what you’re saying, but his absence on his line that created a goal the very next shift is equally noticeable.

I was as anti UPL as anyone here, but he’s continuing to prove me wrong. And he’s having himself a game tonight!

FIRST shift with Cozens in the box and Benson/Kulich get to play with Tage. Goal. Cozens is an anchor to anything involving offense.

Greenway a game time decision. UPL in the starter’s net for the morning skate (per Lance via Bluesky).

I haven’t seen the team in person in December, but Oct & Nov I would say finding his way. Some games he’s a ball of fire, others he’s banged around easily. Needs to toughen up a bit. Very speedy.

The Amerks are still behind the eight-ball in points percentage, but they’re back in third place for now. Levi has been a huge help since his re-assignment. ROC has won three in a row and 6-3-1 in their last ten. Levi this season so far in the AHL: 7-1-1, 2.08 GAA, .916%.

Never knew TP grew up a Lions fan

https://theahl.com/news/sit-down-with-amerks-jobst Video interview with the Captain