pi2000

I'm sorry but everyone trying to use the Reinhart benching as an excuse to fire Dan are damned fools. If it was Kane who was benched for violating a team policy everybody would be begging for Murray to trade him. Young Samson up and suddenly it's Dan's fault .. yeah OK.

It happens. Having to sit on the bench in full gear is a feeling. Happened to me in college and I didn't realize what was happening until a few minutes into the game and not hearing your name called.

http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?aggregate=0&gameType=2&report=skatersummaryshooting&teamId=7&pos=F&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20162017&seasonTo=20162017&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,30&sort=shotAttemptsRelPer60Minutes Look at the bottom of that list.... Gionta, Foligno, Larsson, Girgensons, Grant,... D-Lo holy is he bad. That's BUFs bottom 6 players with a SATRel60 of -6% or worse. Compare that to a playoff team like the Capitals. Their bottom 6 actually lead their team in SATRel60... that's what you want from your 3rd and 4th liners, they should be good possession players. Their top offensive players are in the red because they're less inclined defensively... which is fine... as long as your bottom 6 can shut other teams down... which BUF's cannot.

The Sabres 3rd and 4th lines are worst in the league, they're bringing the team dowd. If you could break out possession numbers by each line, you'd see how much an anchor the 3rd and 4th lines are on this club. Bring in guys who can skate, win battles and puck races, and their possession numbers will look drastically different. They can't defend, they can't win battles, they can't win races... that's the remnants of the tank. I haven't heard one player said anything remotely close to the idea of trying something completely different. They only talk about execution, paying attention to detail, committing to the system.... why? Because the system isn't the problem, and they know that. 1) Gionta and Moulson were brought in to lead the young kids. Did they succeed? Sort of. Maybe they lead by example showing the young kids how to prepare and bring a consistent game... but they failed in other areas IMO. Their time is up, the young kids have a few years under they're belts, they're ready to take over this team.... and that means replacing these aging players with young athletes who can win races and battles. 2) What's different about the strategies? The strategy in both cases is to put pressure on the opposing D, wear them down and create turnovers. It's a successful strategy if you have 3rd and 4th lines that can skate and create havoc.

Not by choice. I expect more than half those guys to be gone next season. The 3rd and 4th lines will look drastically different when this team starts to win consistently. I disagree about the styles, they're more similar than you think. You don't think Bylsma has tried to motivate these guys? His voice is nearly gone every post-game interview. They're beyond that.... the accountability needs to come from within the leadership group on this team, and it just hasn't been there.

It's not only Bylsma that wants to play that style, it's GMTM. He wants to build a team like the Ducks and Kings, big bodies that can skate and cause havoc. Look at the guys he's traded for and drafted... they all match that style of game. At the professional level it's not on the head coach to get these guys up for every game. Screaming and yelling coming from a coach gets old very quickly... but if it comes froma peer who you go into battle with, then IMO it means a whole lot more. They should be playing for each other, not for Dan, and that comes from having strong leaders in the locker room.

Winning without Risto is nice, but... IMO these late season games don't really mean anything when it comes to evaluating your roster. Teams that have clinched playoff spots have taken their foot off the gas, same can be said for teams on the outside looking in. FLA looked very disinterested last night, very poor compete level, etc. which gave the illusion BUF played well. If that game was in January, I would bet on a different outcome. I'm hoping GMTM evaluates the roster based on what they did from Dec to shortly after the bye week. That was when playoffs were on the line and they needed to step up and show something.

I agree 100%. It doesn't matter if you can sign him for $1, it's time to move on. Bylsma wants to play a north south speed game with big bodies crashing down hard on the forecheck. Gionta is a nice guy, he put up some great offensive numbers in his prime, but he doesn't fit the type of game they're trying to play. Sure it's a nice story, a WNY native comes back home to lead his team to the playoffs... but let's be real here, he isn't leading them anywhere. Where was his leadership when this team came off the break and dropped two straight to COL and ARI? IMO a big reason this team faltered was because of a leadership void. They desperately needed somebody to call guys out in the locker room and on the bench, hold guys accountable, etc... to prevent them from laying eggs against bottom feeders when you're making a late push for a playoff spot. Gionta (and Gorges) were supposed to be guys to keep everyone in line, but IMO they failed.

Bucky is an idiot. We're not even 2 seasons removed from fielding one of (if not the) worst team in NHL history.

Sabres coming off an entertaining win where they showed lots of speed and energy. That said, I'll predict BUF gets outshot 47-16 and lose 2-1 in a shootout.

Wow, that was quick. Thought for sure he'd be heading back to school in the Fall.

In the old NHL, somebody would kick his ass. Today's NHL has no fighters to police this kind of , so a slash here, a cup check there, etc... mostly goes unpunished.

btw i this up... it's completely wrong, forgot to factor in the Vegas team which gets the same odds as the 3rd place team..

he chopped the guys finger off.... https://i.imgur.com/yyivwbM.jpg

DoPS video for Risto's play... https://www.nhl.com/video/ristolainen-suspended-three-games/t-277440360/c-50688303 ...I still don't get why the punishment was more severe than the Manning play.

But all systems are pretty much the same! Right?!

I thought Manning's late hit was worse than Risto's..... Manning got two games for interference with primary contact to the head. Guentzel was the victim both plays, at some point he needs to protect himself. While it's true that Risto's hit was interference, primary contact was not to the head.... so I don't understand why he got more games than Manning. https://www.nhl.com/video/manning-suspended-two-games/t-277440360/c-49795603

wow you nhl

More source tells me there's no way they can keep the protected lists from going public.

Marv Levy was a sub .500 head coach for 7 seasons before his Super Bowl runs. So yeah, let's dump Dan to the curb just 2 seasons into a rebuild. Smart. You think Colorado regrets firing Quenneville after just 3 seasons?

I don't think Bailey has hit a wall. He still has jump, he plays on his toes, that's his game... he just doesn't know how to use it yet, and other teams have figured that he's a fast guy so they negate his speed.... he's not surprising anyone anymore. They sent him down probably because Buffalo has some time off and Rochester plays Friday so they could use him in their lineup. Sign Tavares and then trade him for Brent Burns :) Shedding just two of Ennis, Kulikov, Gionta, Gorges, Bogosian or Moulson contracts, while adding Burns at $8mil/yr, would be a net savings against the cap.

In reality, who else can really carry the puck up ice like that? O'Reilly? He does it often enough, but that's not his game. Kane does it. The bigger issue is we don't have any defensemen who can lug the mail with consistent success.... Risto tries, but he's not a Karlsson, Doughty, Keith type guy that can open up the ice for everybody else.... like what Brian Campbell did when he was in his prime here. McCabe skate's well enough, but just doesn't have the offensive instincts.

Not gonna happen. That's the tail wagging the dog in this case because the 4-5 cornerstones are still very young inexperienced players. Management will blame injuries, lack of depth on D and the fact they have a young team still learning how to defend. And I'm OK with that... it's part of the re-build process, it sucks, but that's what you get 2 years removed from icing perhaps the worst team modern NHL history. That said, with a healthier roster, a couple better defensemen, and better defensive awareness by the young forwards... if they don't show marked improvement by December next season I believe the death knell will ring for Disco Dan.