HumanSlinky39

TNT!!!! Come on boys!

Nice Puck movement! COZENS!

Alright tuning in. Goat heads tonight, so maybe there's a chance?

Yeah, especially with the pylons that would be in front of him right now.

Thank God.

The ingredients are here for a long-term run of very good hockey. But potential means diddly poo without proper coaching and installing a system to put them in a position to win. We've seen that Granato has a system that can light up the scoreboard. We're also seeing that it doesn't matter if you view defense as an inconvenience. I don't know who is in charge of that department, or if we even have somebody that coaches it, but if we do, he needs to be terminated with extreme prejudice. Granato needs to take this as a hard lesson that defense matters in the NHL. He needs to bring in a competent coach to work with these guys. If he doesn't, he probably won't last a whole lot longer.

#SamuelssonForNorris

"It's not how you start, it's how you finish." Getting blown out 7-0, 6-1, etc to close out the year burns a lot of goodwill built with the gains we saw for over the first 3/4 of the season. Maybe it's that we're a very young team that just isn't ready for the pressure cooker of a playoff race. That's fine if you're at least competitive. These guys have regressed to the Raaaaalph days.

Trashville is 28th in the league in scoring. They scored 3 goals total in their last 3 games. They had 5 halfway through the game. Unreal.

Granato not pulling Anderson is just ignorant. He's losing me now.

4-1 coming right up.

The alternative is worse? I don't know. I got nothin'...

What a ***** show.

Greenway was known as a plus defender in Minnesota. He looks as useless as everybody else on this roster defensively in a Sabres sweater. The problem isn't all players, it's systemic.

Their inability to stop ANYTHING has sapped the entire team of any gusto. The offense, that led the NHL in scoring for a chunk of the season, has shriveled up like George Costanza following a brisk dip in the pool. Whoever the leadership on the ice is, ostensibly Okposo, needs to be ripping these guys. Guys like Tuch, Girgs, Dahlin need to be right there with him. It looks like this entire team has checked out.

I like Meatballs. I think he's moved this team forward from the depths of Raaaaalph. But goddamn, he needs to do something this summer in regards to defensive coaching. Yes, better players are needed on the blue line, but there's a coaching/philosophy issue here, too. Defense is too often a total afterthought. Trying to win games by hoping you can score at least 5 every night isn't a winning strategy. Nor is hanging your tender out to dry to get drilled by breakaways and odd man rushes 27 times a game. I don't care how good/talented Levi is, he's gonna get lit up playing behind these guys.

This entire team is infected with the suck right now. I don't know that I've ever seen an entire team, every single player,that fairly recently looked pretty damn solid, slump all at once...

5-4 Sabres

Another thing - anybody thinking Granato is on any kind of hot seat is fooling themselves. He's Adams' boy and he was just extended. He's not going anywhere. I still like him as the coach of this team overall. Right now he's icing a team that has one of the worst defensive corps of any team in this league and detritus in net. Only team close off the top of my head is Vancouver. He needs better players there. But, I do agree he needs to emphasize defense more. Probably needs to bring somebody in from outside to help. I also believe breaking Levi in in net with this group in front of him could so more harm than good. The only teams I'd even considering putting him in against would be the Habs and Columbus in the finale.

And it will cost him his job eventually if he doesn't fix it. Clearly an upgrade in coaching that department is needed. The team clearly misses 'Muel right now, he's their best defender, but there are 2-3 other spots that probably need to be upgraded - obviously Bryson is number one, he's an AHL player. I'm not sure about Boosh. As a bottom pairing guy he's probably sufficient. I've never been high on Jokiharju and I'm even less so after the past few weeks. Yes, UPL has been bad; no, I do not think he has a real future as an NHL goalie anymore. But the guys in front of him have not helped him out much at all. KA is going to have to try to upgrade in FA this summer. I'm not talking some $2M/per "blah" defenseman. He needs to take a swing. I'm not too sure who's out there, but he's gotta get someone. If not in FA, then he's gonna have to loosen his grip on some of those prospects. A bushel of forward prospects means diddly poo when you can't defend anything and keep the puck outta your net. I'm still bullish on their future. I think the main ingredients are here to be a legit contender, but right now, defense and goaltending is torpedoing everything. Honestly, coming into the year, playoffs weren't my expectations yet given how beastly the east is; just expected to play meaningful games in March and here we are. That said, if we continue getting our teeth kicked in the next few weeks, a lot of good will will be snuffed out. Gotta get to work.

If Okposo doesn't call a players only meeting and this team doesn't come out with their hair on fire next game then this culture they claim to be building is just worthless word service. The talent is here. We've seen them pull off a bunch of really impressive wins over the last 13 months. Right now, they're broken mentally. Gut check time. I'm also now fully convinced we need a legitimate veteran goalie to pair with Levi next year. UPL ain't it. No, not all of them are on him; but his rebound control is a major issue and his lateral speed/athleticism isn't good enough. That's not something that more "development" is gonna fix.

You poor fool...

Try to salvage some dignity in the third, fellas.