Taro T

Was wondering who would post that 1st. Knew this kid wasn't the only one who thought of that after that truly touching saga. 🍺

Yeah, am with @Pimlach on this one. Expect it isn't the injury because it really didn't manifest itself as an issue when he came back last year. Expect the issue started out him thinking way too much about what he was supposed to be doing in the new coach's system and now that he's starting to figure out where he's supposed to be he's gripping the stick too tight. He'd probably be a great choice to sit in the press box a couple of games with a coach sitting next to him, but with Greenway and Lafferty out they aren't likely to sit him as well to give Kozak some ice time. Heck, expect that Kulich could use a brief spell in the press box or back in Ra-cha-cha briefly but they can't do that move either right now.

IMHO there is a big reason WHY the team is in what could end up year 14 of a playoff drought. (With the exception of the current GM's tenure) ever since Pegula has owned the team, he has changed directions within 3 seasons and hired guys that have a significantly different plan for how to build a team and none of them are complementary to what the previous guy was doing so each new GM ends up effectively starting from scratch vs what the previous guy was building. Pegula started out big on bringing in FA's to supplement what was already here but abandoned that almost immediately for a scorched earth multiyear tank and rebuild. Regier accumulated a ton of prospects and picks and also iced one of the worst teams in NHL history in doing so. Murray was brought in to complete the tank and then accelerate the rebuild. He wanted to follow the LA Kings model with a big hard forechecking squad. He was out after Bylsma's 2nd season was a step back. Botterill was brought in to change the direction (and winning the Dahlin lottery gave him the cover (or whatever you want to call it) to move on from O'Reilly) and he wanted more of a speed team. He fell out of favor and was replaced by Adams who started out trying (half-heartedly?) to build around the original tank fruit but when that season blew up in the revenue-restricted COVID season, he was given the go ahead to go back to more of Regier's vision for the original tank - rebuild with skilled youth. This team's issue, again IMHO, ISN'T Skill vs Grit, it is they're still the youngest team in the league; that will necessarily bring growing pains with it. Are the kids, who are still young but experienced for their youth having been brought up to the NHL a season or 2 (or 3) years earlier than most franchises would've brought them up, experienced enough to overcome their youth now that (except on the PP particularly and on entries in general) they have an experienced coach with actual NHL caliber plans directing them? The jury is still out as they continue to flirt with being just out, then just in, then just out, then just in a playoff position again and so on and so forth. They seem to be learning how to play the way Ruff wants them to play and also seem to be getting NHL goaltending reasonably consistently for the 1st time since Miller was traded. (Ullmark's brief flashes weren't nearly often enough as he was out of the lineup too often.) But they are also still very young and have issues getting the puck to the net against heavy teams. Desperately want to see them make the playoffs this year; in large part because do not want to see them blow it up AGAIN and move into a different direction right when (some of) the kids are actually getting close to not being kids anymore. Honestly suspect they won't blow the team up if they miss but are close; but even if that's the case, am REALLY sick of not getting to watch OUR team play beyond tax day. AND, if they miss and don't blow it up, there is NO guarantee that NEXT YEAR would finally be the charm. Either way, this perpetual Ground Hog's Day we've lived through for well over a dozen year needs to friggin' end. Still want to see a true top 4 defensive D-man brought in (the kind Samuelsson was SUPPOSED to be and Granato for no apparent reason believed Jokiharju was/is). IF they make that move, then 1 more F for the top 6 would be the next item on the list. The acquisition of McLeod shows that Adams doesn't have to destroy the pipeline to bring in a guy that can help today AND in the future. And their need to run Kulich at all of 20 (21?) yo as the 3C highlights that the team needs to make 1 more move up front, preferrably right after making that move for the 4th top 4 D-man.

Nobody at the end of the day cares. Nobody cared when White and Miller and a couple other key players were out in the playoffs 2 years ago. Nobody cared that Milano, Jones, White and a couple other key players were out in the playoffs last year. You play with who you have and you go up against whoever they've got. This Bills team is special. Hoping it can stay that way for 2 more months.

Oh, there's a chance. Will they actually do it? Don't know, but won't agree that they can't do it until they're actually eliminated. Won't move from believing they can do it to believing they have no chance whatsoever because they lost once again against a team they don't match up well against (frustratingly) that they always lose to. The loss in Columbus a month ago is the type that they can't let happen; the loss at home to Moe-ray-all is the type they can't let happen. This is one of the ones in the 40% of L's they can take and still make the dance that they're going to take because they are a middling team and not a true SC contender. When they start winning THIS game, they won't just be a playoff contender, they'll be a SC contender too. Take advantage of CO's GTing woes on Tuesday and the sting will dissipate.

Amazing how often through the years the Wild have ended up with players this kid would really have liked to see the Sabres in on.

As this is the BILLS thread, thought people could use some good news. Milano, Bernard, and Johnson on the field at the same time. So much for short to intermediate passes against.

He'd told Adams when Adams got hired that if he wanted to move in a different direction that he was open to getting traded. Instead, they tried to give him enough support in mercenaries such as Hall and Staal to make it happen. A better upgrade would've been looking at Hutton. Oh well. Rebuild 3.0 might actually be working. They really need to make the playoffs this year so we don't end up going through Rebuild 4.0.

Still expect when all is said and done the Sabres will finally find themselves in the dance. But this is one of those games they need to win to get more people onto the bandwagon.

Always suspected Peca liked him because he was the only guy the Sabres have drafted in forever that projected towards being a bottom 6er right from the get go and he was willing to play that way. There are guys like Rousek who have worked their way down to that and guys like Murray who have worked their way down below even that to career AHLer; but Kozak is one of the very few that they weren't bringing in with the expectation that they could fit into the top 6 given enough cooking time. Plus, considering how bizarre the sport was in '20-'21, there was the hope that maybe they'd lucked into a guy that should've been chosen much higher. And Peca's endorsement of the kid only fueled that hope.

And, perhaps it WAS a firing offense.

Nah. Eberflus said he knew they had a TO left but he wanted to save it to get the FG unit on the field. Thing is, when it got down to just 15 seconds left, he needed to call the timeout as the WRs were still moving which prevented Williams from snapping the ball with ~10 seconds left (it would've been illegal motion had he snapped the ball before both were set after both were moving together and would've resulted in a 10 second run off (or they'd've been forced to burn their TO to prevent the runoff; so why not just burn it with 15 seconds left if not even earlier and settle everything down) and they didn't get the snap off until only 7 seconds were left. And Eberflus STILL claims that their plan there was correct. (Now THAT is/ should be a firing offense.)

Gives people that are avoiding the shopping nightmare the ability to avoid the Chefs - Raiders nightmare happening at the same time?

Who is?

But Tua's dreamy. 😜

Knew that, but that isn't nearly as humorous. 😉

By points, no they aren't. By points %age, yes they are. Glass 1/2 full or glass 1/2 empty. Make of it what you will/want.

My son's reaction to that game, that was the best loss he's ever been to. This team deserved a better result, but maybe Anaheim deserved a better one as well. As long as they play this hard and get this many more chances than their opponents, they'll win a lot more than they lose. Can't wait for Friday's game.

Ain't everyone that can go from sporitng a hockey team to sporting a soccer team. Shrader and Travis Henry have that in common. 😉

3 games in a row he's gotten several chances that he just couldn't bury. And now, 2 games in a row that Liger's claims (unsubstantiated in larger part previously) of him being "gritty" actually had supporting evidence. He made 2 very nice checks tonight that fairly well flattened a Wild. He's coming around. Fairly soon he'll start scoring again. Every little bit helps.

January '23. Won 5 in a row and bookended the streak w/ post-regulation L's for a 7 game point streak. Believe they had 1 more 3 game W streak that year and then the 2 - 3 game win streaks towards the end of last year were the only other times until this year that they've come close to a 4 game W streak. Hoping (and to a small degree expecting) the 3rd time will be the charm in the quest for the elusive 4 game W streak.

Draft pick(s), Rosen, Östlund, Helenius, Walhberg; in that order please.

Don't you need to be playing with somebody that can finish in order to get assists? Let's face it, for a significant portion of this season the guy who is typically his C has had issues with putting a puck into even an undefended net with multiple chances at it. His typical other W has been a basket case most of the season but has finally been showing signs of life the past 2 games, so that guy gets replaced by Krebs. (Who does have a couple of nice goals this year btw but is rarely in the conversation of finishers.) Just sayin'.

And, can't think of a single player that is better at disguising a blitz when he's bringing it.

True, but if other teams want to fall on their faces and give the Sabres a bit of a cushion to keep from gripping the sticks too tight when they do have the inevitiable btb losses again preventing them from turning that 2 game skid into a 3 or more game skid, am perfectly fine with it.