nfreeman

I think both have been fine. If someone cranks a one-timer on the PP after a good cross-ice pass and Comrie makes the save but gives up a rebound, it's not on him if someone sticks back the rebound for a goal. That's on the D.

IMHO the biggest need is to get better and more consistent production out of Mitts, Cozens, Skinner, Tuch and KO. Those are supposed to be the core forwards who deliver when needed, and in this losing streak they have failed to do so.

I get the concern about Comrie, and the numbers are what they are, but I haven't been too concerned about the goals he's given up, with the notable exception of the GWG vs Tampa, which IIRC was a pretty soft one with about 6 min left. It's not really fair to expect him to beat a real cup contender like the teams the Sabres have been playing if they only give him 1 or 2 goals in support.

Gut-wrenching, freakish loss that raises questions about JA's crunch-time ability to focus and execute, and the same for the coaches. Also: Justin Jefferson might be the best player in the NFL right now. Holy mackerel.

It ain’t the PP, and it ain’t the D injuries. It’s that TT is the only guy who is scoring. They need quite a bit more from skinner, Tuch, Mitts, Cozens and KO. Otherwise the losing will continue.

Don't you love it when Buffalo sports enters nuclear winter?

I guess I think Power-Dahlin smacks of desperation, unless they really trust the other pairs to hold up their end for 33 minutes. That doesn’t seem wise.

I think there’s a reasonable possibility that Quinn-Cozens-JJP could work very well together and be highly entertaining.

Does that mean you want the charity wager?

Not what I had in mind!

Hello yourself. I freaking hate soccer.

It seems dark right now in WNY sports, but maybe this is one of those nights where the team does something great and gives everyone a thrill. TT is unstoppable and Dahlin ain’t lying down for anyone. Go Sabres.

Gotta say that KO has been pretty disappointing so far IMHO. N

I’ll take a charity wager on TT hitting 40 goals this year if you’re interested.

I’m not sure whether to lock this or just throw my iPad off a bridge.

All of this is reasonable. I would just point out though that the Sabres are a team very much trying to claw themselves out of a deep dark hole, and as such have very little margin for error/injury. They needed a lot of things to go right for them this year to make the playoffs. One of them was good health. If you want to say their health has been average, I’ll take your word for it without checking, but average isn’t what they needed. As for your broader point — that if you want to have a roster that is a high-likelihood playoff team or better, you need a deeper D group than the Sabres have, so you can withstand some injuries — I don’t disagree there either. But I also think it’s not as simple as picking up 2 more quality D in aisle 4 at Wegmans. I don’t think there were many, if any, good Dmen who wanted to join this team last summer who represented clear upgrades over the guys they have.

TT is by far the Sabres' most consistent and dangerous forward. He brings it almost every night and almost every shift. I wish I could say the same for some of his teammates. Last night, for example, they would've been lost without him.

Well, I like Tuch back with TT. I was pretty disappointed in Tuch's game last night and haven't really liked his last few games. For that matter, Skinner had a crappy game last night too IMHO. This will be a good opportunity to see if Quinn is ready for prime time. I've liked the Cozens-JJP forecheck and possession, but they haven't had enough finish. Maybe Quinn will help there. Krebs-Mitts-VO just seems very likely to have zero forecheck or possession time, but maybe they'll benefit from favorable matchups. Pairing Power with Dahlin is intriguing but also smacks of desperation.

The sky isn't falling just yet. They've lost 4 in a row, which stinks, but 3 of those were to legit cup contenders, and each game was close and competitive. The loss to AZ was pretty disappointing, as they just didn't play hard enough. They aren't getting what they need from Mitts, Cozens, Skinner and Tuch right now. Those are 4 mainstays and all have been pretty up-and-down. Even so, each has shown stretches of very good play. They need to get healthy on D, and more than anything IMHO, they need to develop mental toughness. They don't quit, but they don't quite bear down and execute in crunch time either I think it will come.

So the Devils have won 8 in a row, and Lindy has them at 11-3.

Well said. I actually think both items are true here -- DG thinks Mitts has a lot to give, AND the franchise wants to figure out, this season, whether Mitts is a long-term piece. I also think it's worth noting that playing him isn't blocking anyone else out of the rotation -- it's not like Savoie or Kulich or anyone else is ready I'm a longtime Mitts skeptic, and I can see coming to this conclusion at the end of this season, but IMHO it's too soon. He's 23 and this is his first healthy season in a non-dysfunctional environment. I've seen more from him this year than I've ever seen previously. He hasn't been consistent, and his line still isn't nearly good enough at O-zone possession, but he's shown better speed and awareness of his spacing on the ice than he has previously, and he's made a number of nice plays.

I think most people are OK with Tremaine, and I think he's a good player, but the idea of paying him something like $18MM per year on his next contract -- which is market for a top LB -- is kinda hard to swallow given how few big plays he makes.

Ugh. Freaking Kotkiniemi and the freaking sucker punch.

Well, it's been a classic 0-for-3 Buffalo sports weekend. Good times!

Tuch actually gave Kucherov a pretty big shot after that hit. I get the skepticism, but this team is different. Separately -- my game notes: - That was a really good, entertaining wire-to-wire hockey game. - After the Sabres took the lead in the 3rd period I thought to myself that they came out and played with heart and determination, notwithstanding the back-to-backs on the road against strong opponents and the last-minute scratching of their leader and best player, and whether they would win would come down to mental toughness and execution -- and then Loobie had an awful turnover in the D zone that created the GTG, and Comrie, after saving their bacon all night, let in probably his worst goal as a Sabre on the GWG. So they still need to learn how to win tight games against good teams. - That was Skinner's best game of the season. - If Cozens and JJP each had about 10% more finish, they could both score 25+ this season. - TT was better than he was vs Carolina, but they still could've used a bit more from him. - Bryson had 26 minutes and Power had 28, and both held up reasonably well IMHO. Fitzie only had 6 minutes and Pilut only 10, so DM must not be happy with them. - Although Power did play well, there was still a pretty noticeable dropoff on PP1 -- he's not yet as good as Dahlin in that role (understandably -- no shame there). - DM shook up the lines again in the 3rd period -- Skinner was on with Cozens and JJP I think, while TT was on with Zemgus and KO. It sure would be nice to beat at least 1 of Boston or Vegas.