nfreeman

Any poster can have a voice, but each poster should communicate in a friendly and respectful fashion.

This is obnoxious.

Good.

Good.

As a scientist, you know that ya need the data before ya can come to any conclusions, innit?

I can totally see that each of these would be a logical contributing factor to the NHL having worse results than the NBA. I'm more curious as to whether the NHL in fact has worse results.

I agree that the Bruins get much more out of what they have than the Sabres do. I'm not sure I'd say they work harder, but I definitely think they know how to win and the Sabres do not. However, I think the Bruins have more talent. At this point in time, McAvoy is much better than any Sabres' defenseman. Dahlin may get there, but he's not there yet. As for the two teams' top lines, Reino and, at this point in time, Hall, are the 5th and 6th best players out of the 6, and it's fairly likely that Marchand and Pastrnak both end up having better NHL careers than Eichel will have (although to be fair you could say that is an example of the Sabres not getting the most out of their talent). And there's no question that the Bruins have more talent at goalie, where the Sabres are gasping for air. (Thanks KA!)

Serious question: is the NHL doing worse in managing the virus than the NBA is? Has anyone seen any good analysis on this? My sense without looking into it is that the 2 leagues are doing about the same, and that the NHL has more players affected mostly because it has larger rosters. If that's true, I think it's fair to note that the NBA's season has been somewhat bumpy but is overall going reasonably well, with plenty of high-level play and a number of elite teams in contention. The NHL has had a number of noteworthy hiccups but the sample size is smaller because they started 3-4 weeks later. I'd also say that there have been a number of high-level NHL games between high-end teams.

I would. I'm still looking forward to watching each game. I think they have a good shot at the playoffs and I expect them to play meaningful and exciting games fairly late into the season. Would I be stunned if that didn't happen? Of course not. But I'm far from giving up on the season.

I am 100% confident that if the Sabres grind out some wins and get to the point they are clearly in the playoff race, there will be plenty of excitement here. The angst IMHO stems from the fact that they came out listless in 2 of their first 8 games AND that there are a number of significant indicators that this will be another lost year -- and 2 regulation wins out of 10 games with losses to bad teams and a solid dose of crappy goaltending are among those indicators (and reasonably so). If they get to the 30-game mark and are plus or minus 2 points from #4 in their division, you'll see engagement, support and more than a little irrational exuberance. If they are 12-18 at the 30-game mark and 9 points out of #4, there will blood in the air.

Time to chill out a bit, please.

This, this, a thousand times this! I think it was a single decision.

If we get to the point where yet another season goes down the drain, this would make for an interesting, albeit gloomy, poll.

I watched most of this game too -- very good game between 2 very good teams. Boston's top line is so good. Also, they are at the point as a franchise where they can just move young players into the lineup without much of a dropoff. It's something for the Sabres to aspire to, to be sure. I was left with the unavoidable conclusion that each of those teams is going to make the playoffs unless it is hit with major injuries.

Huh?

They are not a .500 team. They are 4-6. If they end up on that pace they will finish a mile away from the playoffs. #theonly500isDeLuca500baby There is much truthiness in this, but I think the key point is that McD and Beane identified QB as a key component -- unlike the bozos who ran the franchise into the ground before they got there -- and took steps to address it. That was a good franchise-building decision. Speaking of goaltending...

Well, I think the Sabres would have to attach a pick or a prospect, but I think @tom webster's point is that the price for the Sabres to unload him won't be as high as it might othewise have been. This makes sense to me, but I wouldn't count on it either, because I think a lot of teams are going to be cap-squeezed, so the supply and demand of cap space will likely result in a high price to get someone to bit off KO's cap hit.

He's due to make $6MM this year and $4MM per year in each of the next 2 years. I think there is zero possibility that he walks away from those paychecks. Having said that, I agree that they should send him down unless he shows substantial improvement in the next couple of weeks.

I know KO has some supporters here but to me he looks done like dinner. I thought Eakin’s line was getting caved in since KO’s return and this seems to confirm it.

Another excellent post. Sometimes I think you are indeed old Punch, watching over this team with a gimlet eye from the great beyond. I completely agree with not trading Eichel or Dahlin. They need a goalie, and they need Risto and maybe Cozens to be the heart and soul leaders. But when those things happen, they'll need elite or near-elite pieces, and that's what they have in Eichel and Dahlin. In the meantime I sure hope Eichel isn't going to take his lead from ROR and try to mope his way out of town. Separately: IMHO if this team misses the playoffs it will due to 2 factors: goaltending and not getting what they need from their top guys. This is 2 games in a row with bad goals late in the 3rd period that affected the outcome. And production from Eichel, Hall, Skinner and Dahlin is a core part of what this team is supposed to be. As for Hall. I think the problem isn't laziness or lack of intensity. I think by nature he's the complete opposite of the cynical floater -- I think he wants it really bad, is feeling the pressure and is panicking, and as a result he's pressing so hard that every decision he makes with the puck right now is wrong. I think Eichel will be better when Reinhart returns, and I think Hall and Skinner will find their mojo again. But I really want them to bring in another goalie. They really could miss the playoffs by 5 points and have it completely attributable to Hutton.

Excellent work as always JSB and special props for the inclusion of a great and lesser-known Rolling Stones song. Separately, I would love for both the Sabres and the Devils to shock the world and make the playoffs. Lindy is one of my all-time favorite Sabres. It's more clear than ever that it should've been Darcy that was canned that dark day in 2013 and not Lindy.

I didn't think it looked even close to being lazy. Of course, neither of us can know what was in his mind. I get being dissatisfied with the Sabres' top guns -- Eichel, Hall, Dahlin and Skinner have all been pretty disappointing to very disappointing this year. Skinner has 1 freaking point in 8 games. But he's hustling, including on the backcheck, and his line IMHO has been much better than expected. He screwed up on an attempted zone clear. That's all it was. And while I think petulance and general bad attitude crept into Skinner's play last year, I think he's been working hard this year and I haven't seen any laziness.

You have got to be kidding me.

I'm kinda annoyed about Reino's injury, which I would guess was from the cheap shot he took after he scored his goal -- I think he raised his arms in the standard celebration and one of the Rangers hit him in the side. FTR, and in full appreciation of the Reino supporters here -- I think he's probably been the Sabres' best forward this year, and he's certainly making a strong case for a long-term deal. At this point, if you think the Sabres can give a long-term deal to only one of Reino or Hall, Reino's the one who's got the better argument so far.

As others have rightly noted, this is an excellent post. I too have been pretty sour today about them coming out flatfooted and with no urgency in 2 out of 8 games so far this year. That is what a loser team does, not a team that needs to be taken seriously. OTOH, that might've been Ullmark's best game as a Sabre. I thought he was kinda shaky in the 1st period but settled down and was just outstanding for the rest of the game. Yes indeed. KO was pretty lousy last night IMHO and looks like he's pretty close to out of gas. I'd much rather see TT or Mitts in his spot next game. Other game notes: - I though Irwin was pretty bad as well and would like to see Borgen next game if Joker can't go. - As others have noted, Eichel was lousy and Hall was worse. - I thought Reinhart and VO were pretty good, and Staal's line generally was good. It looked like Cozens got benched for the last 8 minutes or so -- RK probably wanted to keep the vets on the ice in a tight game. I did like Cozens though and thought he made a number of good plays. - Lazar's line was strong, but it seemed like Eakin's line got caved in quite a few times.