2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Rnd 3

[FrenchConnection44]

10 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Really quickly, I want you to look up Bennetts size and Marchands and get back to me. 

I mentioned Marchand in the post as a once in a generation exception because he is small. I don’t have to look it up. He is 5’9. 

Real slow, take some remedial reading lessons. 😝 

But Marchand is less an enforcer and more of an agitator and instigator. Look up the difference. And he has played on teams with larger enforcers throughout his career, which helps. Like Chara or AJ  Greer, or Trent Frederic, or Tkachuk. Bennett is a tough player whom any team could use including the Sabres but he’s not an enforcer. Though he is 6’1 and close to 200. But he is also playing on a team with other guys who will mix it up. Tkachuk, however is both agitator and enforcer. 

However, Buffalo has no one who is any of the above. Look at the entire roster. Not one. They have 1-2 pesky players like Benson or Krebs but neither are mean enough or strong enough or intimidating or dirty enoughto be a Marchand. Not one player on last year’s roster is anything like Marchand — who plays dirty and gets in cheap shots— nor anything close to a Tkachuk or even Greer.
 

Benson plays with a smile on his face most the time. If you think he or Helenius are the next Marchand who are going to get multiple — what is it, 8-10?— suspensions for dirty play, good luck with that! 

And no one on this team is like an AJ Greer or a Tkachuk or even Bennett. Who is more of just a tough agitator than pure enforcer. 

A team needs both. They need 3-4 guys who are tough and get under the skin of opponents. A couple can be smaller. But a couple at least need to be physically capable of both intimidating and handling things should one of their players take a cheap shot. 1-2 5’10 guys who are mean SOBs are great. You still need 1-2 players that no one really wants to mess with — and you know if you take a shot at Thompson or Peterka — you better be ready cause you are going to get taken on. 

The problem with your argumentation on this is you create an exaggerated false dilemma (which turns into ad hominem) toward anyone who says the Sabres need an enforcer with size and power (which they do), by either pointing out an exception to the rule. Like Marchand (whom I noted as an a generational exception in terms of size). But a Marchand or Tiger Williams come along once ever 25-30 years. If that. And Marchand was never pure enforcer. Or that those who argue for an enforcer  are saying we only need bigger players. They do need bigger, tougher players but that’s not the sole point being made.

One could go down the line of tough physical players on the Panthers, whose identity really changed when Tkachuk arrived as an enforcer. But it’s Tkachuk, Greer, Mikkola, Bennett, and recently Marchand. 

The Sabres don’t have even one of those. 3 are big enough and willing to take on most anyone, four are 6’1 plus, and two (Tkachuk & Marchand) are nearly insane rabid maniacs when the set foot on the ice. 

Even the Oilers have a couple of those types on their team in Kane, Frederic, or Nurse. All big enough and mean enough to handle themselves in a scuffle. And willing to. 

 

[JohnC]

49 minutes ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

I mentioned Marchand in the post as a once in a generation exception because he is small. I don’t have to look it up. He is 5’9. 

Real slow, take some remedial reading lessons. 😝 

But Marchand is less an enforcer and more of an agitator and instigator. Look up the difference. And he has played on teams with larger enforcers throughout his career, which helps. Like Chara or AJ  Greer, or Trent Frederic, or Tkachuk. Bennett is a tough player whom any team could use including the Sabres but he’s not an enforcer. Though he is 6’1 and close to 200. But he is also playing on a team with other guys who will mix it up. Tkachuk, however is both agitator and enforcer. 

However, Buffalo has no one who is any of the above. Look at the entire roster. Not one. They have 1-2 pesky players like Benson or Krebs but neither are mean enough or strong enough or intimidating or dirty enoughto be a Marchand. Not one player on last year’s roster is anything like Marchand — who plays dirty and gets in cheap shots— nor anything close to a Tkachuk or even Greer.
 

Benson plays with a smile on his face most the time. If you think he or Helenius are the next Marchand who are going to get multiple — what is it, 8-10?— suspensions for dirty play, good luck with that! 

And no one on this team is like an AJ Greer or a Tkachuk or even Bennett. Who is more of just a tough agitator than pure enforcer. 

A team needs both. They need 3-4 guys who are tough and get under the skin of opponents. A couple can be smaller. But a couple at least need to be physically capable of both intimidating and handling things should one of their players take a cheap shot. 1-2 5’10 guys who are mean SOBs are great. You still need 1-2 players that no one really wants to mess with — and you know if you take a shot at Thompson or Peterka — you better be ready cause you are going to get taken on. 

The problem with your argumentation on this is you create an exaggerated false dilemma (which turns into ad hominem) toward anyone who says the Sabres need an enforcer with size and power (which they do), by either pointing out an exception to the rule. Like Marchand (whom I noted as an a generational exception in terms of size). But a Marchand or Tiger Williams come along once ever 25-30 years. If that. And Marchand was never pure enforcer. Or that those who argue for an enforcer  are saying we only need bigger players. They do need bigger, tougher players but that’s not the sole point being made.

One could go down the line of tough physical players on the Panthers, whose identity really changed when Tkachuk arrived as an enforcer. But it’s Tkachuk, Greer, Mikkola, Bennett, and recently Marchand. 

The Sabres don’t have even one of those. 3 are big enough and willing to take on most anyone, four are 6’1 plus, and two (Tkachuk & Marchand) are nearly insane rabid maniacs when the set foot on the ice. 

Even the Oilers have a couple of those types on their team in Kane, Frederic, or Nurse. All big enough and mean enough to handle themselves in a scuffle. And willing to. 

 

As I see it, the enforcer addition isn't our biggest need. It is finding tougher players who play more physically. What I would love to get is another Zucker-like player or two, only younger, and have a better balance between finesse/skill players and hard-nosed players. Greenway doesn't fight much but he is a presence that influences how the opposition reacts to our players. The same imbalance in unit construction applies to our blue line. Adding a couple more rugged defensive-minded blueliners would also give us a better group to handle the rigors of NHL play, especially in the defensive zone. 

The style of play in the playoffs gets a lot tougher and tighter compared to regular season play. When watching post season games it is evident that the way our team is built couldn't handle the rigors of playoff hockey. The more critical issue is not so much as adding talent but adding the right mix of talent to the team. As an example, I like Byram a lot but would be willing to trade him for the Rangers' K'Andre Miller. Although I believe that Byram is the more talented player, Miller would be more valuable for us because he adds something that this team lack. 

[Taro T]

5 hours ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

 

And green Batgirl is the best Batgirl.

(Actually, she was bat#### crazy in that one, but you get the idea.)

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, FrenchConnection44 said:

I mentioned Marchand in the post as a once in a generation exception because he is small. I don’t have to look it up. He is 5’9. 

Real slow, take some remedial reading lessons. 😝 

But Marchand is less an enforcer and more of an agitator and instigator. Look up the difference. And he has played on teams with larger enforcers throughout his career, which helps. Like Chara or AJ  Greer, or Trent Frederic, or Tkachuk. Bennett is a tough player whom any team could use including the Sabres but he’s not an enforcer. Though he is 6’1 and close to 200. But he is also playing on a team with other guys who will mix it up. Tkachuk, however is both agitator and enforcer. 

However, Buffalo has no one who is any of the above. Look at the entire roster. Not one. They have 1-2 pesky players like Benson or Krebs but neither are mean enough or strong enough or intimidating or dirty enoughto be a Marchand. Not one player on last year’s roster is anything like Marchand — who plays dirty and gets in cheap shots— nor anything close to a Tkachuk or even Greer.
 

Benson plays with a smile on his face most the time. If you think he or Helenius are the next Marchand who are going to get multiple — what is it, 8-10?— suspensions for dirty play, good luck with that! 

And no one on this team is like an AJ Greer or a Tkachuk or even Bennett. Who is more of just a tough agitator than pure enforcer. 

A team needs both. They need 3-4 guys who are tough and get under the skin of opponents. A couple can be smaller. But a couple at least need to be physically capable of both intimidating and handling things should one of their players take a cheap shot. 1-2 5’10 guys who are mean SOBs are great. You still need 1-2 players that no one really wants to mess with — and you know if you take a shot at Thompson or Peterka — you better be ready cause you are going to get taken on. 

The problem with your argumentation on this is you create an exaggerated false dilemma (which turns into ad hominem) toward anyone who says the Sabres need an enforcer with size and power (which they do), by either pointing out an exception to the rule. Like Marchand (whom I noted as an a generational exception in terms of size). But a Marchand or Tiger Williams come along once ever 25-30 years. If that. And Marchand was never pure enforcer. Or that those who argue for an enforcer  are saying we only need bigger players. They do need bigger, tougher players but that’s not the sole point being made.

One could go down the line of tough physical players on the Panthers, whose identity really changed when Tkachuk arrived as an enforcer. But it’s Tkachuk, Greer, Mikkola, Bennett, and recently Marchand. 

The Sabres don’t have even one of those. 3 are big enough and willing to take on most anyone, four are 6’1 plus, and two (Tkachuk & Marchand) are nearly insane rabid maniacs when the set foot on the ice. 

Even the Oilers have a couple of those types on their team in Kane, Frederic, or Nurse. All big enough and mean enough to handle themselves in a scuffle. And willing to. 

 

You keep equating size with toughness and acting like it's 1995 and I'll keep calling *****. It's as simple as that.  Enforcers are dead. Tkachuk isn't that and neither is anyone else you listed. 

Also Marchand had played 0 nhl games at Benson's age. I love that your critique is Benson smiling, that's the dumbest thing I've heard. 

Buffalo needs more gritty talent, I agree. The size part is just useless bs about how it Buffalo was bigger they'd be better. 

[French Collection]

Enforcers barely exist anymore. Tough guys are still around.

Guys like Rempe and Reaves barely have enough skill to patrol the 4th line. It’s challenging to give a roster spot to a 6 minute player who is barely skilled enough to play.
Today’s tough guys like Jeannot, Frederic, Foligno and Hathaway are middleweights. They can play hockey at the NHL level and will drop the gloves once in a while to protect a teammate or try and change the momentum of a game. They are intimidating in today’s NHL, where I would guess that half of the players have never fought at the NHL level.

Tkachuk, Bennett are instigators but are also intimidating because they hit a lot and they hit to hurt people. They also walk a fine line between legal and illegal. I would love to have Tkachuk on the Sabres for his body of work but not as a fighter. He drops the gloves only a few times a year and it is only vs guys who he knows he can beat. His toughness is best displayed in scrums with cheap shots and face washes. Brady Tkachuk is more willing to fight but he is bigger and better than Matthews at that.

Marchand is a pest, he doesn’t scare people, he just p****s them off and throws them off their games. Being dirty is not being an enforcer. I think Krebs fights more than Marchand.

[DarthEbriate]

20 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

There's a weird, evil part of me that hopes with Brown’s injury, Jeff Skinner  draws into the lineup and finds himself -7 in three straight losses for a Stars series victory. I call it embracing the Cap Side of the Concept. 

Of course, there's an other other side of me that hopes Skinner skates in the Final, and after a scrum where Marchand slashes him and points to the scoreboard, Skinner turns away dejectedly to head to the bench, and then... in one of the great stand-up-against-the-bully moments in history (George McFly v. Biff Tannen), spins back with a dropped glove and cheap shot cold ***** Marchand into oblivion. It's the momentum changer in the game and series as the Oilers rally from a 2-goal deficit to win game 2, then rattle off 3 more consecutive victories.

Finally, as Skinner is accepting the Cup from Corey Perry, he turns to the mic and camera and screams, "Thanks, Tpegs, I'm still on your flippin' payroll!" and "My cap hit goes up next year and the year after!" and "Eichel, Reino, Okie, ME! Who's next?"

[LGR4GM]

Speaking of size:

 

 

 

 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

Dallas was shut out 1 time in the regular season.

They have been shut out 4 times in the postseason.

[Archie Lee]

22 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Speaking of size:

 

 

 

 

On age, look at the Oilers and how long they struggled.  Now McDavid, Draisatl, Nurse, and Nugent-Hopkins, are all in their later 20's to early 30's and they are thriving in the playoffs.  Eichel and Reinhart are the same.  Had the right person been in place at the right moment, we could now be watching a team driven by a core of Eichel, Reinhart, Thompson, Dahlin, Montour, and Ullmark. 

The GM of the Sabres has a difficult needle to thread. Dahlin, Thompson, and Tuch are probably the only core pieces who are ready to be true drivers on a win-now team  But they need help and the GM needs to make wise decisions on which of the younger players can help the team now and in the future and which younger players would be better dealt for veterans who can help win now.  Adams is two years behind on this endeavor and has shown no indication that he is up to the task.  

  

 

[Wyldnwoody44]

2 maybe 3 trips the refs let go on Carolina. Hoping they call it consistent 

[Gatorman0519]

This is the worst reffed game of the playoffs. Incompetence. 

Edited yesterday at 01:19 AM by Gatorman0519

[Wyldnwoody44]

FLA needs to wake up, they look like they don't care. 

But these refs are hot garbage. 

[Wyldnwoody44]

Ugly game for the Panthers, I expect some players back and a beat down in game 5. No way FLA was going 100% this game. 

[...]

1 hour ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

Ugly game for the Panthers, I expect some players back and a beat down in game 5. No way FLA was going 100% this game. 

They looked tired. Would've been better to have won tonight to get a little extra recovery time before the SCFs. The Canes put in all they had and their 1/2 D pairs are going to be super sore.

[Wyldnwoody44]

39 minutes ago, ... said:

They looked tired. Would've been better to have won tonight to get a little extra recovery time before the SCFs. The Canes put in all they had and their 1/2 D pairs are going to be super sore.

The rest would have def helped, but if Dallas wins tomorrow then it's at least going 6, so still time for a few extra days if they close it out the next game. 

[Night Train]

If size matters, then why are Muel and Power afraid of everyone ? 

[JujuFish]

Well, it was a nice run, but the Hurricanes had to eventually win a conference final game since that fateful day almost 19 years ago.

0-15 was fun while it lasted.

[Pimlach]

Cheap way of fighting Lundell. 

The NHL has succeeded in removing fighting for all intents and purposes. Most of the players don’t even know how.   

Instead they push, grab, and wrestle around.  They leave their gloves on because everyone visors or cages. The anger is still there, but contained. 

[Pimlach]

On 5/26/2025 at 9:06 AM, Taro T said:

 

And green Batgirl is the best Batgirl.

(Actually, she was bat#### crazy in that one, but you get the idea.)

 

Bat Girl from the 60’s is also the green dancer in Star Trek.   Yvonne Craig,  100% naturally hot, no artificial enhancement and ahead of her time actually.  
 

Edited 21 hours ago by Pimlach

[Pimlach]

Corey Perry still doing it. 

[French Collection]

Just now, Pimlach said:

Corey Perry still doing it. 

He obviously still loves the game to embrace these roles after what he accomplished as a young man.

His grit would be nice to infuse into 95% of our Sabres players.

[DarthEbriate]

36 minutes ago, French Collection said:

He obviously still loves the game to embrace these roles after what he accomplished as a young man.

His grit would be nice to infuse into 95% of our Sabres players.

Annnnnd... if you can sign him.... he raises the age of the roster by a whole Benson.

[French Collection]

Just now, DarthEbriate said:

Annnnnd... if you can sign him.... he raises the age of the roster by a whole Benson.

But, Lafferty is so much faster.

Except for Perry’s short lived stint in Chicago, he’s been signing with playoff teams hoping to go deep. I don’t think the Sabres are on his radar. I doubt he would mail it in like Staal.

[DarthEbriate]

6 minutes ago, French Collection said:

But, Lafferty is so much faster.

Except for Perry’s short lived stint in Chicago, he’s been signing with playoff teams hoping to go deep. I don’t think the Sabres are on his radar. I doubt he would mail it in like Staal.

For sure. He's too driven and ornery.

Although, for enough cash, I'm betting he could coast for an entire season and Edit: then get traded to a playoff contender of his choice because Adams signed him with trade protections... then retire after the season.

Edited 20 hours ago by DarthEbriate

[Big Guava]

Hopefully the finals are more competitive than either of these conference finals...

Dallas and Carolina are clearly outclassed big-time.