nfreeman

Yes — Shanahan is an excellent coach — I intended no insult towards him. My point was simply that yesterday the Niners did not look at all like a well coached team despite having a highly regarded coach — and that those who want to “upgrade” from McD should perhaps appreciate that glitches will occur from time to time under any coach, and should definitely appreciate McD and what he has brought to this franchise and this city.

BTW, I think Kyle Shanahan is one of the hotshot genius coaches often coveted by those who think McD can't coach.

This is admittedly me still being PO'd about that poopshow I paid to witness last night, but I am more pessimistic than I have been since they hired Lindy. Their best players were completely ineffective against the Isles, Quinn frankly didn't look like an NHL player (Kulich looked better than both Quinn and JJP) and other than some flashes from Cozens and Krebs none of them looked too worked up about any of it. I'm not that far from the point I reached after about year 12 of the Bills' drought -- i.e. they aren't really part of their league and I'm not that interested until they prove that they have rejoined the ranks of real franchises.

If those 3 and a few others stay healthy, they’ll have a great D for the playoffs.

News flash: the Sabres still aren’t a real team.

Does anyone remember the movie “the omen?” TT might be in trouble here. Pretty even 1st. Quinn is really weak on the puck and I think Kulich replaced him on Tage’s line toward the end of the period.

I'll be at the game tonight with a good crew of 6 Sabres fans. If any other SabreSpacers are attending and want to say hello, that would be great -- pls PM me. IMHO, this game isn't a must win for them to make the playoffs, but it is a MW to ward off fan despair. We've seen this crappy movie too many times before. Even so, I thought they played very well vs Minny and decently vs Vancouver. They are greatly improved over last season. I don't think they are far off from being a legit good team. Dahlin's mojo is back, the goaltending has been very good, TT has been very good and I think Cozens has found his game again. They just need Quinn and JJP to raise their games and be the good top-6 forwards that @Pimlach correctly notes they are currently missing. Go Sabres.

I have admired Kreider for a long time. He is fast, tough, skilled, has good size, plays with an edge and is a very good goal-scorer. He's also scored 48 goals in 123 playoff games. He has 2 more years after this season at $6.5MM per year. I would take that contract on in a heartbeat. But he turns 34 in the playoffs this season. There are very few scoring power forward types who have been effective at that age and later. Most of them fall off the table pretty quickly. His ice time is down 1:25 per game from last year. So I'm not giving up Quinn or Kulich or JJP for him. If the Rangers want cap space and an NHL player for him, which I think is the case, I'd give them Greenway or Joki, plus Östlund, Rosen or a #1. I don't think the Rangers would accept that type of offer, and I don't think KA would part with Quinn, Kulich or JJP for him.

I thought it was a really good, well-played game by 2 pretty good teams. Minny struck me as a really well-coached team. They certainly frustrated the Sabres' ability to forecheck and set up the cycle in the O-zone many times. Still, the Sabres were able to create quite a few good chances, but Minny's goalie was outstanding. For that matter UPL also had a great game. I agree that Minny isn't a juggernaut, but they looked like a very good team last night, have an Art Ross contender and are clearly in a nice groove right now. A team will have to play very well to beat them.

You're a good man and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. But I love roast turkey, and I don't like it brined. Too salty.

There’s plenty of truth in this joke, but I continue to believe that an executive committee of Sabrespacers would’ve done a much better job of GM’ing this team than the actual GMs have delivered since the drought began.

Good stuff here sir. Keep it coming please. But did you mean "high panic threshold" or perhaps "low panic frequency?" i.e. doesn't panic easily? I would guess so. In any case I like this summary of OP's game and would just add: - He probably won't develop a real edge, but he needs more overall sturdiness. This will almost certainly come with age. - On offense, this currently manifests in a pretty weak shot. He doesn't have either a good slapper or a good wrister. I think this too will come with age. He has the hands, the feet and the brains. - He's had a few games this year that made me think he can become a great player. - I think Byram is going to stay with Dahlin, and that this will create a coveted #4 spot with Power to be competed over by Ryan Johnson, the 2 Russian D prospects, and Bryson over the next couple of years.

Well done Sabres and well done SabreSpace. 1 over DeLuca .500 and coming home. Good goaltending and good coaching make such a huge difference. Krebs is playing the best of his career. I think his goal was the most skilled offensive play I’ve ever seen from him. That was probably the best game of the season from both Cozens and Quinn. Kulich looks more comfortable and aggressive to me than he did earlier in the season. Dahlin has his offensive mojo back but still isn’t playing smart, winning hockey like a captain should. And he and BB are meshing pretty well. Clifton isn’t a star but he is giving them good value and plays with heart. JJP has been very quiet lately. Next up they are home vs Minny, which is tied for 2nd in the NHL with 30 pts, then home vs Vancouver, which is tied with the Sabres with 23 pts, then at the Islanders (which I’ll be attending with a hearty squad of 6 Sabres fans). Go Sabres.

Well, sure, but this isn’t every team. This team has richly earned the unserious label.

It's also worth noting IMHO that their PP, PK and goaltending are all cooking. And TT is on close to a 60-goal season pace.