erickompositör72 Posted January 28, 2018 Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 I've been called "selfish" many times... ...but this is the first time I've been called it for wanting my favorite team of all of sports (since I was 6 years old) to win games... If that makes me selfish, I'm guilty as charged! But I really wish some people here could see this in a little more nuanced, less black-and-white fashion. Too many are literally of the opinion that it's either playoffs or race for 31st. Honestly, I just think it's an overly simplistic view of the dynamics of building of winning team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
French Collection Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 So the FO should keep Kane, Lehner, or anyone else they would trade for future considerations? Kane is as good as gone, the package for him may include futures and a first. Lehner may be gone, I suspect he doesn't fit JBot's plans for a 1G. He may return a second or a first if bundled with a sweetener. If they play their cards right, we could have 4-5 picks in the first two rounds of a good draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 I've been called "selfish" many times... ...but this is the first time I've been called it for wanting my favorite team of all of sports (since I was 6 years old) to win games... If that makes me selfish, I'm guilty as charged! But I really wish some people here could see this in a little more nuanced, less black-and-white fashion. Too many are literally of the opinion that it's either playoffs or race for 31st. Honestly, I just think it's an overly simplistic view of the dynamics of building of winning team. In years past I think that would be the right answer, but the returns from the tank are here and the time to start building a winning franchise is at hand. Do they make the playoffs this year? No. Do they fix what's wrong in the locker room and start playing consistent hockey? Well, that would be a start. I think we're all so jaded after the past few years. There were disappointing starts and missed opportunities. I think that's over. We really need to start building that winning culture. I like that they're working with Rochester to do that; I expect that there will be call-ups next year that will be real contributors, building the chemistry that just now seems to be emerging in Buffalo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASabresIUFAN Posted January 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 (edited) In years past I think that would be the right answer, but the returns from the tank are here and the time to start building a winning franchise is at hand. Do they make the playoffs this year? No. Do they fix what's wrong in the locker room and start playing consistent hockey? Well, that would be a start. I think we're all so jaded after the past few years. There were disappointing starts and missed opportunities. I think that's over. We really need to start building that winning culture. I like that they're working with Rochester to do that; I expect that there will be call-ups next year that will be real contributors, building the chemistry that just now seems to be emerging in Buffalo. Well said, but here is the disconnect between the people who say just win baby and those who want a high draft pick; we can actually do both. Here are the current standings 27th - Fla - 44 pts in 47 games 28th - Van - 44 pts in 49 games 29th - Ott - 39 pts in 47 games 30th - Buf - 37 pts in 49 games 31st - Az - 33 pts in 50 games To catch either Van or Fla will take major winning from the Sabres if Fla and Van maintain their current pace. Fla earns about .94pts per game. Van about .90. To catch the Panthers we’ll have to earn 41 pts in next 33 games or have a record of 17-9-7. Van is slightly easier. We’ll need 38 pts down the stretch. That translates to a record of 16-11-6. Are these records possible? Sure, but odds don’t favor us catching either team in the standings. Even catching Ott isn’t going to be easy. We’ll need a record of 13-14-6 to likely catch Ott or basically 1 pt per game. For a team that has averaged .76 pts per game for the season, that also might be asking a great deal. To give you a reference point. Since Jack got hot on Dec 2, the Sabres are 8-10-5 for 21 pts in 23 games or .91 pts per game. We are also 4-6-1 in Jan despite the Left Coast sweep. So just win baby! This might be one of the few times we get to have our cake and eat it to. Edited January 29, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 I fully agree with that. The way the Sabres controlled the offensive zone and played as a 5-man unit prior to the break needs to be continued. If they win or lose doesn't really matter, but just concentrate on controlling the offensive zone and learning how to score off of that. Then add the infusion of forecheckers from Rochester next season and they might actually get out of the gate with some momentum for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 Oh, and one other thing: There's a difference between Jack leading the team and Jack carrying the team. I think he's been a failure at the latter, but the team just isn't good enough for one guy to carry them. More recently (and with Girgs and Okposo on his line particularly), you see him playing with his linemates where yes, he's still the leader but he's depending on his linemates to make plays as well- not just trying to do it all himself, but rather knowing what his linemates will do and putting himself in a position to advance the play instead of just looking for a quick return pass so the Jack Show can continue. Okposo in particular is a good power forward and can advance the puck by carrying it, freeing Jack to get into scoring position, and Jack's been doing that more. Girgs is a legit forechecker who can disrupt the D below the goal line; once he's in his office Jack simply needs to make himself available to either get a cycle going to find a sweet spot in the slot (depending on the flow below the red line). It seems like he's letting his linemates do more of the work and trusting them. Previously, Jack's career has been more of a one-man all-star show and the NHL figured out pretty quickly that stopping Jack's line was simply a question of stopping Jack. Now that there's more sharing of the puck carrying, Jack's line is much harder to handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erickompositör72 Posted January 29, 2018 Report Share Posted January 29, 2018 I'm hoping the Sabres start playing at a pace which would have made them a "bubble" team, had they played that way the entire year. I don't care what that does to our draft position. It's time they showed us some good hockey, and I think they do have the talent to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader1969 Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 8 games played. Team has 8 points and Samson has 7. Both goals on track! Now 11 games into 2nd half of season with 30 games to go 3 losses in a row leaves the Sabres with a 4-7 record Samson has 8 points in those 11 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASabresIUFAN Posted February 4, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 After losing 3 straight at home the Sabres max points of they win out is 97. I guess 3 more loses eliminates us from any even fantasy shot at the playoffs. It will be interesting to see what they do then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleven Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 If we won an extra 5 games we might what? Go from 2nd to 5th? I'd rather see Reinhart, Eichel and Okposo continue to do well then have a 20% chance at Dahlin as opposed to 12% Bingo. These guys need to learn to win together, and that's a lot more important than eight percentage points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacque Richard Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 50 points again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted February 4, 2018 Report Share Posted February 4, 2018 50 points again Purely out of curiosity, why is your handle Jacque Richard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader1969 Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 using the site Team Stats.com If the Sabres can play .500 hockey from this point out (not overly confident they can) and end the season with 67 points. They are less than 1% to finish out of bottom 3, 10% to finish 29th, 85% to finish 30th and 4% to finish last. My goal for them at the half way point was for them to play .500 hockey for the rest of the season. 12 games in and they have 8 points ..... .333 If this pace continues for the rest of season. they are 49% to finish in 30th and 31st in last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drunkard Posted February 7, 2018 Report Share Posted February 7, 2018 using the site Team Stats.com If the Sabres can play .500 hockey from this point out (not overly confident they can) and end the season with 67 points. They are less than 1% to finish out of bottom 3, 10% to finish 29th, 85% to finish 30th and 4% to finish last. My goal for them at the half way point was for them to play .500 hockey for the rest of the season. 12 games in and they have 8 points ..... .333 If this pace continues for the rest of season. they are 49% to finish in 30th and 31st in last. We're close to being officially eliminated from the playoffs now as well (even though it was really over in December I'd say). We currently have 38 points and even if we won every single game remaining, we'd max out at 96 points. In another game or two our max points will fall below the number typically required to sneak into the 8th seed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted February 8, 2018 Report Share Posted February 8, 2018 using the site Team Stats.com If the Sabres can play .500 hockey from this point out (not overly confident they can) and end the season with 67 points. They are less than 1% to finish out of bottom 3, 10% to finish 29th, 85% to finish 30th and 4% to finish last. My goal for them at the half way point was for them to play .500 hockey for the rest of the season. 12 games in and they have 8 points ..... .333 If this pace continues for the rest of season. they are 49% to finish in 30th and 31st in last. So it’s all going to come down to lottery balls, and we are going to have plenty of good players to pick from no matter where we slot, and a very good one if Botterill and his team’s scouting is what we need it to be. I’m good with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader1969 Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 (edited) 15 games into the 2nd half of the season and my goal of playing .500 hockey seems to have become unattainable due the Eichel injury. 15 games played 12 points earned. .400 If they continue along this pace over the last 26 games, they will finish with 62 points. Sam Reinhart, who I wanted to get back to his career avg of .6 pts/game has 14 points so far. That's an impressive .93 pts/game pace. Over an 82 game schedule he would end up with a 76 point season. Edited February 12, 2018 by Crusader1969 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerreaultForever Posted February 12, 2018 Report Share Posted February 12, 2018 I think their only goal should be to win games. Especially home games. Even if you are a bad team you should feel enough pride to play harder at home and make your building one other teams would rather not visit. Been a long time since I've seen home town effort levels. The bigger goal is that "change the culture" thing I still read about. Team unity, leadership, all that sort of stuff. No tanking allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader1969 Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 Now 20 games into the 2nd half of the season, only 21 painful games to go 5 points in their last 5 bringing them to 17 points in the 20 games. A winning percentage of .425 If they play at this pace for the remainder of the season, they will end with 65 points. At 65 points they are 3% to finish 3rd last, 50% 2nd last and 47% in last I've been tracking Samson Reinhart as well. In the 2nd half of the season he has 20GP 6G 12A. 18PTS. An impressive .90 pts/game clip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASabresIUFAN Posted February 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 (edited) Here are the current standings 27th - Fla - 44 pts in 47 games 28th - Van - 44 pts in 49 games 29th - Ott - 39 pts in 47 games 30th - Buf - 37 pts in 49 games 31st - Az - 33 pts in 50 games 12 games later and not much has changed standings wise, except the Sabres have lost ground to the teams 27-29th, but Florida has moved from 27th to 22nd and Mon and Edm have fallen into competition for 29th. I getting harder and harder for the Sabres to not finish 30th. Current standings 26th - Edm 54 pts in 60 games (3-7-0 in last ten) 27th - Mon - 54 pts in 60 games (3-5-2) 28th - Van - 53 pts in 60 games (3-6-1) 29th - Ott - 52 pts in 60 games (4-5-1) 30th - Buf - 47 pts in 61 games (4-4-2) 31st - Az - 44 pts in 60 games (5-4-1) The Sabres have 21 games remaining. Ott is playing at a 71 pt clip for the season. If this remains, then Buffalo would need to earn 25 pts in their last 21 games. Not impossible, but highly unlikely. That amounts to a 11-7-3 record down the stretch without Kane, Eichel and who know who else. Our remaining goal is to continue to work hard and for players like Larsson and Wilson to continue to audition every game to come back next season. Arizona is on a 60 pts pace for the season. To fall below them, the Sabres would have to go 5-14-2 down the stretch unless Arizona gets hot and plays to the pace they have played in the last 10. This would put them at 68 pts for the year. We'd have to go 8-9-4 the rest of the way to finish last. Edited February 23, 2018 by GASabresIUFAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerreaultForever Posted February 23, 2018 Report Share Posted February 23, 2018 Absolutely NOT tank. Goals should be learning the system, learning to pass and improve puck possession and most of all learn to compete for 60 minutes. Develop a winning attitude. We have to get as far as possible from that wait for the next savior attitude we seem to have. Players who mail it in for the rest of the year should all be ditched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader1969 Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 Goals for the 2nd half of the season: Team goal - 41 points in last 41 games, finishing season in 2nd last place (0 points in 1 game played) but Reinhart find his game and put up 25 points in last 41 games. Back to career avg of .6pts per game. (0 points in 1 game played) Sign Mittelstadt, Borgen and Fitzgerald when college seasons ends Trade Kane for a high end prospect who will play in NHL next year and high draft pick Nylander find his place on Amerks and become a point per game producer. 0/1 4 goals remain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkman Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 I think their only goal should be to win games. Especially home games. Even if you are a bad team you should feel enough pride to play harder at home and make your building one other teams would rather not visit. Been a long time since I've seen home town effort levels. The bigger goal is that "change the culture" thing I still read about. Team unity, leadership, all that sort of stuff. No tanking allowed. Players don't tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASabresIUFAN Posted February 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 One goal is to play well enough to convince fans to actually watch a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PerreaultForever Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 Players don't tank Maybe not, but some of them do quit. Amounts to the same thing. I'm not sure what they can do to create any future momentum for next year if the plan is to keep Rochester intact and create a culture there. Going to be some really bad empty games here on in UNLESS it turns out that Kane actually was a problem, but I doubt it makes any difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabre1974 Posted February 27, 2018 Report Share Posted February 27, 2018 Lets move on and start to get things right. Sure Botterill will get things right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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