GDT Buffalo Sabres @ Florida Panthers Sat. 4/13 5pm ESPN+ MSG & WGR Radio

[Scottysabres]

45 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

17 bags of mulch and mowed the back lawn.  Whew!

Looks nice Doo. Unfortunately, my yard is currently flooded from the rains 😞

Brand new, still on the metal crate frame it was shipped in, Ryobi dual 80v electric 0 turn sitting in the garage, as I watch the grass clumps grow a bit out of control due to all of the water 😠 

[SabreFinn]

5 hours ago, Pimlach said:

I think Adams better see and realize that Cozens is playing like an average 3C.   He better find a center to help this team tget better next season.   There is a big hole to fill.  

Agree. I think he will be a really good player but it will take more time than us fans was hoping for. Is the problems a cause of him being another player rushed?? I can't tell. A wise rule for Adams to keep in mind would be to not sign young players rushed into this league to long term contracts.

As it seems Vegas will not afford to resign Stephenson, I think a second line with Benson - Stephenson - Cozens could be what we need. And Cozens as a winger would not expose his biggest weekness and give him time to work on that next to a two time cup-winner.

[sabremike]

You would think people would've learned their lesson about running players out of town on a rail only to see it blow up in our faces in the most horrible and humiliating fashion possible (like that guy who scored the winning goal) but then you see the scorching hot takes on Cozens and the answer is clearly: Nope.

[PerreaultForever]

Well at least Kyle looked pretty bad. 

1 hour ago, sabremike said:

You would think people would've learned their lesson about running players out of town on a rail only to see it blow up in our faces in the most horrible and humiliating fashion possible (like that guy who scored the winning goal) but then you see the scorching hot takes on Cozens and the answer is clearly: Nope.

I'm not running Cozens out of town, but he did giveaway the puck in OT and that was the mistake that cost the game. 

[sabrefanday1]

4 hours ago, sabremike said:

You would think people would've learned their lesson about running players out of town on a rail only to see it blow up in our faces in the most horrible and humiliating fashion possible (like that guy who scored the winning goal) but then you see the scorching hot takes on Cozens and the answer is clearly: Nope.

The negativity on this board towards players is a big thing here. I agree we keep running players out of town only to see them do well elsewhere. I get that many are tired of hearing it, but the fact is this team is young (the youngest in the league in fact). Signing a bunch of veteran free agents like Detroit is not the answer. They are no better off out of playoffs and Stevie Y is suppose to be a genius. And no one can tel me that any of the Islanders, Pittsburg, Caps, Flyers or Wings have a more talented lineup then the Sabres. They do, however, have experienced coaching and some good veteran leadership (especially Pittburg).  

[nucci]

So it's the fans that force players to leave? Not a losing organization that no one wants to play for

[Wyldnwoody44]

I will say this

Cozens is not the strong 2 way power forward we were hoping for. Not sure he ever gets there. 

 

But.. 

 

3 on 3 is an abomination of hockey and I have a hard time bringing the flames and pitchforks when things happen in OT, because of the absolutley terrible system of it all. 

 

Bring back 10 minutes OT periods and ties

[Pimlach]

6 hours ago, sabremike said:

You would think people would've learned their lesson about running players out of town on a rail only to see it blow up in our faces in the most horrible and humiliating fashion possible (like that guy who scored the winning goal) but then you see the scorching hot takes on Cozens and the answer is clearly: Nope.

This is drama. 

I don’t know anyone here that ran Reinhart out of town on a rail.  Reinhart made the decision to leave on his own.  Adam’s chose not to extend him longer in the first place.  Adam’s chose to trade Eichel and Reinhart.   Adam’s sold his core players for draft picks and a few players (Tuch, Krebs, Levi).   The fans are spectators, watching and trying to figure it out.  
 

Cozens is not being run out of town   Fans are acknowledging, correctly so, that Cozens  had a bad year and his contract is a concern going forward.  
 

Adam’s made moves that deserve second guesses. 

Edited April 14 by Pimlach

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, sabrefanday1 said:

The negativity on this board towards players is a big thing here. I agree we keep running players out of town only to see them do well elsewhere. I get that many are tired of hearing it, but the fact is this team is young (the youngest in the league in fact). Signing a bunch of veteran free agents like Detroit is not the answer. They are no better off out of playoffs and Stevie Y is suppose to be a genius. And no one can tel me that any of the Islanders, Pittsburg, Caps, Flyers or Wings have a more talented lineup then the Sabres. They do, however, have experienced coaching and some good veteran leadership (especially Pittburg).  

Please stop.  “We” do not run anyone out of town.  We are powerless fans on a message board.  That is it.  
 

 

[LGR4GM]

I think Cozens has had a bad season. I don't think he's a bad player. I have faith in him. 

[Pimlach]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

I think Cozens has had a bad season. I don't think he's a bad player. I have faith in him. 

Me too.  Cozens is just another kid that cares a lot, struggling to met the high expectations that come with a big contract.  
 

My only concern is what does Adams see and what will he do to make this team better right now?  

Will he bring in some valuable experience at center to replace Mitts?   Or will he leave Cozens at 2C and have another extended tryout with his center prospects for a position on the NHL roster?   

[bob_sauve28]

If yesterday had been a mid-season game where we were in the fight for a playoff spot getting a point out of their barn would of been nice. It was a good game, our goaltending was strong, they played well for a few periods but the best goal scorer in the league got us in the end. 

 

PK was real strong! 

[eman]

3 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

If yesterday had been a mid-season game where we were in the fight for a playoff spot getting a point out of their barn would of been nice. It was a good game, our goaltending was strong, they played well for a few periods but the best goal scorer in the league got us in the end. 

 

PK was real strong! 

Unfortunately for the 13th season in a row: It wasn't!

[Thorny]

7 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said:

If yesterday had been a mid-season game where we were in the fight for a playoff spot getting a point out of their barn would of been nice. It was a good game, our goaltending was strong, they played well for a few periods but the best goal scorer in the league got us in the end. 

 

PK was real strong! 

Did Matthews relocate? 

[bob_sauve28]

2 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Did Matthews relocate? 

Congrats, you caught me in a mistake. Cheers! 👏

[Night Train]

Costly turnovers with no margin for error continues to haunt this team. They don't handle opposing pressure well at all.  Lose focus. 

 If Granato can't change things, then a new staff is needed. Obvious to most but the Owner needs to face reality.

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

This is drama. 

I don’t know anyone here that ran Reinhart out of town on a rail.  Reinhart made the decision to leave on his own.  Adam’s chose not to extend him longer in the first place.  Adam’s chose to trade Eichel and Reinhart.   Adam’s sold his core players for draft picks and a few players (Tuch, Krebs, Levi).   The fans are spectators, watching and trying to figure it out.  
 

Cozens is not being run out of town   Fans are acknowledging, correctly so, that Cozens  had a bad year and his contract is a concern going forward.  
 

Adam’s made moves that deserve second guesses. 

I agree with your assessment of Cozens's play. It was a big disappointment, especially for a young player who at the beginning of his career showed potential. That's why he garnered a rich and extended contract. It's not unreasonable to expect a highly drafted young player who started his career in a promising fashion to continue on an upward trajectory. The expected upward trajectory flattened out this season. For whatever reason, he became a no impact and non-descript player. 

My worry of extended team failure (more than half a generation) is that it can have a corrosive effect on players' psyche. It's hard not to get infected by the stench of long-term failure. There's no question that constant negativity influences performances, especially when facing adversity. How many players have left this stuck in the mud franchise and then seem to be liberated and rejuvenated in their new place of employment?

The owner and the GM have to show some urgency this offseason by their actions to change the dynamic of this meandering franchise. It would be inexcusable not to use their abundant assets to make a few judicious moves that will jolt this team. The Greenway and Clifton were solid additions. This offseason, the front office needs to make a couple to few higher level deals that will upgrade the roster and change the team dynamic. 

 

[Pimlach]

19 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I agree with your assessment of Cozens's play. It was a big disappointment, especially for a young player who at the beginning of his career showed potential. That's why he garnered a rich and extended contract. It's not unreasonable to expect a highly drafted young player who started his career in a promising fashion to continue on an upward trajectory. The expected upward trajectory flattened out this season. For whatever reason, he became a no impact and non-descript player. 

My worry of extended team failure (more than half a generation) is that it can have a corrosive effect on players' psyche. It's hard not to get infected by the stench of long-term failure. There's no question that constant negativity influences performances, especially when facing adversity. How many players have left this stuck in the mud franchise and then seem to be liberated and rejuvenated in their new place of employment?

The owner and the GM have to show some urgency this offseason by their actions to change the dynamic of this meandering franchise. It would be inexcusable not to use their abundant assets to make a few judicious moves that will jolt this team. The Greenway and Clifton were solid additions. This offseason, the front office needs to make a couple to few higher level deals that will upgrade the roster and change the team dynamic. 

 

Yes agree. And regarding Cozens, he seemed really mentally affected by the slow start to the season and he was pressing to do more than he could. 

I think he expected the team would pick up where they left off but they didn't, they were still looking for a goalie and still looking at players, and before you know it its the end of November and they are not in it.   This team, the players and coaches and GM, were all not ready to take that step - whatever they did in the off season was not enough.   

Cozens was really bothered by the bad start, and the crowd boos.  He got emotional, picked a fight with the wrong guy, and then he suffered another set back.  

Next season is a fresh start for him.  He learned some valuable lessons.  He has a lot of work to do this off season but I expect he will bounce back and have a good season.  But I do not think that Adams should burden him with the 2C, top 6 role, when he is not ready for it.  Adams has the capital to acquire the much needed help at center. 

He better start helping the Core players that he unvested in.   

 

[Pimlach]

2 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

If yesterday had been a mid-season game where we were in the fight for a playoff spot getting a point out of their barn would of been nice. It was a good game, our goaltending was strong, they played well for a few periods but the best goal scorer in the league got us in the end. 

 

PK was real strong! 

The only growth I saw in this game was that they held on to get one point and not blow the game in the 3rd period.  That was mainly UPL. 

They started the OT on the PK and they never got going, they never had much puck possession time.  I thought they played poorly in the  3v3 and they failed to create or shoot the puck when their few opportunities were there. 

So sure getting one point was an improvement for them.  Having a good goalie gets you that.  

 

[Archie Lee]

2 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

If yesterday had been a mid-season game where we were in the fight for a playoff spot getting a point out of their barn would of been nice. It was a good game, our goaltending was strong, they played well for a few periods but the best goal scorer in the league got us in the end. 

 

PK was real strong! 

Agreed. And FLA was playing for 1st in the division, so it wasn’t meaningless to them. 
 

Over the course of the season the Sabres needed about 6-8 more games like yesterday’s. Games where they dragged the outcome into extra time. Had they done that they would have won about 1/2 of those games and they would have 8-12 more points in the standings.

[Archie Lee]

4 hours ago, sabrefanday1 said:

The negativity on this board towards players is a big thing here. I agree we keep running players out of town only to see them do well elsewhere. I get that many are tired of hearing it, but the fact is this team is young (the youngest in the league in fact). Signing a bunch of veteran free agents like Detroit is not the answer. They are no better off out of playoffs and Stevie Y is suppose to be a genius. And no one can tel me that any of the Islanders, Pittsburg, Caps, Flyers or Wings have a more talented lineup then the Sabres. They do, however, have experienced coaching and some good veteran leadership (especially Pittburg).  

I think you make valid points. 

While the Wings aren’t out of it yet, if they miss it will be 5 years out of the playoffs under Yzerman. I’m not sure they have enough high end young talent to move into perennial contender status. 

I also agree that longterm we are better positioned than Wash, Pitt, Phi, NYI and even some of the contenders (Bos, TB). 

Your last point about coaching and leadership is critical. Keep in mind that teams behind us are coming (or will at least be trying to). NJ will almost certainly add an experienced head coach and will get healthier over the summer. Ottawa sounds like they will hire Evason or Berube as their coach. They will get tougher to play against. Montreal is where we were 2 years ago; I saw a segment on one of the sports networks recently where it was indicated the expectation in Montreal (organizational) is that they are in the playoff race next year.

There is no sign that the teams ahead of us are about to tank. I can’t help but think that the floundering of the Sabres, Wings and Senators has sent the message that deliberately being bad comes with risk of taking longer than expected to become good. 

At some point there needs to be some level of organizational urgency to end this drought. Last year at this time I thought we were better than 50/50 to end the drought this season. Right now I would put us at under 10% to make the playoffs next year.  I just can’t find 8 teams in the East that I am confident we will be better than.

How long until our current players have had enough?  

Edited April 14 by Archie Lee

[JohnC]

15 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Yes agree. And regarding Cozens, he seemed really mentally affected by the slow start to the season and he was pressing to do more than he could. 

I think he expected the team would pick up where they left off but they didn't, they were still looking for a goalie and still looking at players, and before you know it its the end of November and they are not in it.   This team, the players and coaches and GM, were all not ready to take that step - whatever they did in the off season was not enough.   

Cozens was really bothered by the bad start, and the crowd boos.  He got emotional, picked a fight with the wrong guy, and then he suffered another set back.  

Next season is a fresh start for him.  He learned some valuable lessons.  He has a lot of work to do this off season but I expect he will bounce back and have a good season.  But I do not think that Adams should burden him with the 2C, top 6 role,when he is not ready for it.  Adams has the capital to acquire the much needed help at center. 

He better start helping the Core players that he unvested in.   

 

I was listening to Paul Hamilton on WGR talking about Cozens and his substandard play this season. He made the same point that you just made that the team's disappointing start had a negative/depressing effect on him. Cozens entered the season expecting to play well and be a leader. It seems that because he cared so much he ended up being consumed by the team's failure. The surrounding negativity drained him, and it showed. 

I, however, have a different view on Cozens and what his role should be next year. I expect him to be our 2C playing with Quinn and another scoring and gritty winger (Peterka??). 

The critical issue for me is not whether Cozens is our 2C or 3C. It is adding another 2C caliber of talent who can play on the second or third line. The Mitts trade added a first or second pairing defenseman. It was a good hockey trade. But the loss of Mitts requires another player who can fill that void.  

As I said in prior posts, consistent losing has a corrosive effect on the players. I worry about Dahlin getting influenced by persistent team futility. The owner and GM need to jolt this roster with a couple of impactful players. If those additions can be made it will have a cascading positive effect throughout the lineup. 

[dudacek]

29 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

I think you make valid points. 

While the Wings aren’t out of it yet, if they miss it will be 5 years out of the playoffs under Yzerman. I’m not sure they have enough high end young talent to move into perennial contender status. 

I also agree that longterm we are better positioned than Wash, Pitt, Phi, NYI and even some of the contenders (Bos, TB). 

Your last point about coaching and leadership is critical. Keep in mind that teams behind us are coming (or will at least be trying to). NJ will almost certainly add an experienced head coach and will get healthier over the summer. Ottawa sounds like they will hire Evason or Berube as their coach. They will get tougher to play against. Montreal is where we were 2 years ago; I saw a segment on one of the sports networks recently where it was indicated the expectation in Montreal (organizational) is that they are in the playoff race next year.

There is no sign that the teams ahead of us are about to tank. I can’t help but think that the floundering of the Sabres, Wings and Senators has sent the message that deliberately being bad comes with risk of taking longer than expected to become good. 

At some point there needs to be some level of organizational urgency to end this drought. Last year at this time I thought we were better than 50/50 to end the drought this season. Right now I would put us at under 10% to make the playoffs next year.  I just can’t find 8 teams in the East that I am confident we will be better than.

How long until our current players have had enough?  

I realize that for most of us right now, it’s all about ending the drought.

From a league-wide perspective, the Sabres are no different than a dozen other playoff bubble teams in the mix for the final few spots.

Next year a couple teams from that group will be next year’s Vancouver and Nashville and a couple teams above that group will be next year’s New Jersey.

I don’t think the Canucks jumped because they became urgent, or the Devils fell because they didn’t.

3 teams are tied for the last wild card spot right now: Detroit had about as “urgent” an off-season as any team. Philly and Washington looked like they were writing the year off to rebuild.

Identify the holes and fix them as best you can.

[Broken Ankles]

  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Go to the net.  I can accept the team has some perimeter players who probably will not change their stripes (Tage/Skinner); but if they can pot 30, you can give live with it.  But the entire team is coached to do this and it’s unacceptable.  Sam deserved to win the game, because he played hard, and more physical than I ever saw wearing a Sabres uniform.  Paul Maurice challenged him and Barkov before the season to be more aggressive.  Sam not only has highs in goals scored, but has also career highs in hits, takeaways, and blocked shots.   There were multiple occasions where he won board battles, against D with size and length he shouldn’t have won.  Barkov more than doubled his career high in hits while maintaining more than a PPG pace.  
 

[SwampD]

57 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I was listening to Paul Hamilton on WGR talking about Cozens and his substandard play this season. He made the same point that you just made that the team's disappointing start had a negative/depressing effect on him. Cozens entered the season expecting to play well and be a leader. It seems that because he cared so much he ended up being consumed by the team's failure. The surrounding negativity drained him, and it showed. 

I, however, have a different view on Cozens and what his role should be next year. I expect him to be our 2C playing with Quinn and another scoring and gritty winger (Peterka??). 

The critical issue for me is not whether Cozens is our 2C or 3C. It is adding another 2C caliber of talent who can play on the second or third line. The Mitts trade added a first or second pairing defenseman. It was a good hockey trade. But the loss of Mitts requires another player who can fill that void.  

As I said in prior posts, consistent losing has a corrosive effect on the players. I worry about Dahlin getting influenced by persistent team futility. The owner and GM need to jolt this roster with a couple of impactful players. If those additions can be made it will have a cascading positive effect throughout the lineup. 

Hope you plan on missing the playoffs again, then.