Carmel Corn

I would LOVE to see this version of Jack! Did you catch the Blackhawks game when Risto checked P. Kane and then J. Toews attacked Risto? I cannot recall if Jack was on the ice....which is a bad thing, because nothing else happened worth remembering. If the version of Jack you described was there, I would definitely not forget him going after another player. If nothing else, I'd like to see Jack respond like Toews did to Risto.

To me, it's a little bit of a chicken and the egg thing. Do you hire a GM and HC (in that order) and construct the team around "their" philosophy, or does ownership have a specific vision and brings in management to reflect their views? Flame away, but IMHO the Sabres have been a "soft" and/or finesse team for the majority of the last 10 years or longer. Other versions of this team have had some rugged players sprinkled in, but this year's version is devoid of hard-nosed hockey playing. I myself would like to see the Sabres move towards being a fast/physical team that hits, finishes checks, get's dirty, stands up for each other and scores garbage goals by crashing the net, etc. I would like to see our superstars push back and create their own space vs. mope and complain. Such a vision requires a different head coach, possibly GM and an overarching vision by ownership saying this type of style will be our identity and what the rest of the league will come to know us by. The revolving door is frustrating, but I think we need it again.

I might take exception with the movement and attack on the PP. They stand around too much and are too easy to defend against.

He must have got tired of be the exception and wanted to fit in with the rest of the guys. It's kind of like working a government job, you don't want to stand out by outworking your co-workers.

Agree the numbers are not in his favor, but I can count the number of "non-soft" players on this team with just two or three fingers....and Risto is one of them. I would also add that he is not the only player whose game has dropped by a considerable margin.

What was especially bad was when the Buffalo Beauts tweeted that the Sabres were soft......just kidding.

If it was up to me (and maybe some others here), there could be a very similar show on tomorrow. In this case it would be "Ex HEAD COACH on the Beach".....Miami is the setting, starring Phil Housley!

I'm tuning into the American Rescue Dog Show myself on Hallmark. I'm looking forward to seeing the result of good training, discipline and effort in the mutts vs. the crap I just saw for the last 2.5 hours.

We might be the softest team in the league. We are playing the 29th ranked team in the league and yet they still play hard and physical. They have nothing to play for, but they still finish their checks against us. Our team seems to be confused...if someone is telling them to finish their checks, they must be assuming it means "Finnish" or "Czech" and asking them what nationality they are.

Thank goodness for BOGO on that hit! I was getting worried that the only thing MSG would have for the Carruba Collision would be when Jack was waving his stick at the NJ defenseman while coasting off the ice (just before NJ's first goal).

Yet another 2nd period swoon....fortunate to get that late one or else they would be -2 for tonight's version of a lost 2nd period.

Exactly, backed up the DVR to see it again. Jack did his typical "I got disrespected" reaction just inside the zone coasted to the bench afterwards. Wish he would just play hard through it and maybe the Ref's might give him one every now and then.

Must be really confusing to be a Buffalo Sabre these days. If you state you have lost your passion to play, then you get traded....maybe to a team that will make the playoffs (ROR). If you state you want to play (Beaulieu), you get scratched. So what's the secret? Say nothing, play with no passion, pass vs. shoot the puck, stand around during the PP, get knocked around and don't stick up for your teammates.....Congrats! You have what it takes to be a Buffalo Sabre!!!

PP - too many passes, not enough shooting (again)

Hire that Walrus as our goalie!

I beg to differ....addition by subtraction for KO, MS and Sobotka. Jury may still be out on Nylander and Guhle. Bealieu is gone no matter what anyway. Zemgus can stay if the price tag is reasonable.

I doubt all 3 will be hits vs. misses. However, I don't think GMJB's strategy is solely depending on picks either. I'd like to think he'll do more trades and maybe FA signings to improve more quickly, just hopefully less reckless than GMTM was.

To me, it's like we're still paying the price for a failed GMTM reign. His "win now" approach with trades and bad FA contracts has failed and we lost considerable draft capital in the process. The picks we kept have not been overwhelming (ex. Nylander). Enter GMJB now and his approach requires more time and patience....leaving us with a soft and mediocre team while his prospects still develop. I fear we are still a few years away from being a true contender and we may also have a question mark on HC too.

Understand your approach, but I would rather see them start with the forwards and work backwards. Figure out how to swap in some pieces that can forecheck and win battles along the boards. I'd like to see some new faces that love to hit and finish checks. I think we need more forwards like this to not only make the playoffs, but succeed in them.

Yes, we can agree the roster is full of SOFT players and that is GMJB's responsibility. That being said, there are several players who have shown (albeit too rarely) that they can dish out a little punishment. I am thinking players like McCabe, BOGO and maybe a couple forwards have shown an ability to be more physical and finish checks. I don't think it is unreasonable for HCPH to expect this and demand it more often.

Hard to know one way or the other, but I think the team playing "soft" is not something new that just happened for the first time tonight. With a few game exceptions here and there, I feel that's how they've played (soft) for the majority of the last 15-20 games. No team fears playing the Sabres and if they can keep Eichel and Skinner in check, they have a 90% chance of winning.

I wish HCPH would have called out his team for being soft, etc. 15 or 20 games or so. It may not have changed the results, but still would like to see him make his players more accountable publicly. I know I am old-fashioned, but sometimes you need a "whip" vs. a "carrot".

I would consider any opportunity to add veteran center depth that has some offensive upside. Even if Mittelstadt improves next year, I still worry about our center depth and how vulnerable we become when injuries happen at the C position. Losing Scandella may be addition by subtraction.

Nope....but we get a "PARTICIPATION" trophy!

An effective power play coupled with less shorties would have won the game yesterday. HCPH has no answers for the PP and it has been 1.5 years...not a recent problem. Second...as in period. HCPH seems to be lost on how to get better 2nd period performance for the team as evident by the season-to-date +/- differential vs. the 1st and 3rd periods. Statistically the second period is by far our worse from a scoring differential standpoint. He is accountable for these two things in my mind.