pi2000

Lack of discipline, young team still figuring out what they can and can't get away with. There's plenty of nuances when it comes to what is and isn't an infraction in the pro game. They only have 1 player in the top 40 for PIMs now that Cozens is gone.

They played hard and I'd say they were fortunate to win. Still many mistakes, poor puck support and poor puck management. Boston is a bad team, 3 wins in their last 10. Not impressed, do better.

"Hate" is a strong word, these are people with families and lives of their own. I'll never hate someone for how they play hockey. That said, never felt like these guys cared much about winning in Buffalo... Leino, Berglund, Hall, Staal, Kozlov, Kane. This season that guy is Samuelsson... and Cozens the last few months, he was checked out.

farm team

fwiw a close friend of mine who played with him in Sweden has told me the same thing... actually i'm mildly surprised it's taken this long for this info to get out.

Whatever Lindy is preaching isn't resonating with this group. The only guys performing well are the veteran players, Zucker, McLeod, Greenway, etc.. The young core hasn't taken that next step, why? Who the ***** knows, that's Kevyn's job to figure out. If he believes Lindy isn't the right guy then he should move on, but it feels like the tail is wagging the dog in this case... Lindy dictating to Kevyn what he should do with the roster... which probably doesn't sit well with guys like Karmanos. It wouldn't surprise me if Karmanos said "***** it" and left for greener pastures in the offseason.

No he won't. His hockey IQ is too low and lacks high end skill. Could be a nice 3rd/4th line guy down the road but he's below average at too many things. He's a guy that could've benefited from an extended bake period in the AHL. Jumping directly from juniors to the NHL typically doesn't end well unless you're a generational type talent. I'm afraid Zach Benson is head down the same path. Love that kid, but the toxic losing environment and pressure of the NHL will eventually wear him down.

He works hard and makes smart plays, but he's not producing. He was a point producer in juniors, but he's a third line player on this team and has 21 points on the season. I don't care that he's 19. This isn't a development league, it's the NHL. Do better.

What's next?!

How? Jason Botterill acquired Jokiharju from Chicago for Alex Nylander back in 2019... which turned out to be an excellent deal for Buffalo.

upgrade over Bryson

Power, Byram and Quinn a combined -11. That's actually impressive.

Zucker, Reimer maybe. Lafferty possibly. Malenstyn.... bottom of the lineup guys who could help a playoff team.

Pitt with a -49 goal differential and Buffalo at -7, yet they have more points. At even strength, PIT is -53, DET -19 and BUF is +4. Make it make sense!

next season it'll probably be HC Appert, AC Leone

Savoie had an assist last night for Edmonton. Fire Adams.

If you're going to use someone as scapegoat, Byram isn't the guy. Take your pick from Cozens, Quinn and Power, but fact is they're a much better team with Byram on the ice. ============================================================== BUF even strength goal differential through 54 games = -5 BUF even strength minutes played through 54 games = 2743.27 exp+/- is a function of %min played at ES and team ES goal diff TRpm(team relative +/-) is the diff btwn actual+/- and exp+/- %min is % of ES minutes played ============================================================== Team Player TRpm GP +/- exp+/- %min BUF Alex Tuch 16.49 54 15 -1.49 29.7 BUF Ryan McLeod 11.26 51 10 -1.26 25.3 BUF Bowen Byram 10.97 54 9 -1.97 39.4 BUF Rasmus Dahlin 6.72 46 5 -1.72 34.3 BUF Tage Thompson 5.37 48 4 -1.37 27.4 BUF Henri Jokiharju 4.11 39 3 -1.11 22.1 BUF Jason Zucker 3.26 52 2 -1.26 25.2 BUF Connor Clifton 2.08 48 1 -1.08 21.6 BUF Jiri Kulich 1.94 40 1 -0.94 18.8 BUF Jordan Greenway -0.53 20 -1 -0.47 9.4 BUF Zach Benson -0.93 48 -2 -1.07 21.3 BUF Mattias Samuelsson -1.00 35 -2 -1.00 20.0 BUF Jacob Bryson -1.21 33 -2 -0.79 15.7 BUF Tyson Kozak -1.80 11 -2 -0.20 4.0 BUF JJ Peterka -3.58 52 -5 -1.42 28.4 BUF Dennis Gilbert -3.66 20 -4 -0.34 6.7 BUF Peyton Krebs -3.79 53 -5 -1.21 24.2 BUF Sam Lafferty -5.35 39 -6 -0.65 13.0 BUF Beck Malenstyn -7.19 50 -8 -0.81 16.2 BUF Owen Power -8.17 54 -10 -1.83 36.6 BUF Jack Quinn -15.92 47 -17 -1.08 21.6 BUF Dylan Cozens -16.60 54 -18 -1.40 28.0 ==============================================================

Byram isn't the problem, lol.

too slow, doesn't have the quickness/top end speed to keep up with the McDavids/Mackinnons...

I'm glad he's not playing. He needs to the rest and he's had some injuries, so the time-off will help.

He's getting closer, but he still only has 48gp in the AHL. IMO a goaltender needs at minimum 100gp at the AHL level before they should sniff the NHL. By comparison, Askarov has 108gp in the "A" and he's just now breaking in to the Sharks lineup. Ryan Miller played a full season in the AHL at age 23 and another full season at age 24... having 170gp in the AHL before permanently breaking into the NHL in 2005 as a 25 year old.

Statistically speaking how it impacts wins and losses, blocking a shot probably doesn't have a big impact. However, in key situations... PK, end of period, close games... it is important to prevent pucks from getting to the net. That said, it's less about the statistical impact and more about the player proving to his team that he's willing to sacrifice himself by "eating one" for the benefit of the team. It's culturally significant.