ska-T Palmtown

Can we just get a pinned thread that explains the rules that Benson CANNOT go to Rochester. His is too young, Sabres would have to send him juniors. No way that happens. This has been discussed many many many times in so many threads. Chicken head guy gets it ...

I mean ... would you? lol We tried to bring in vets ... E Johnson with his stanley cup pedigree ... all the way back to Gionta. Something just ain't right ...

Sabrespace: "Look! only one point out! and we're behind Team A and Team B, so when we remember how to hockey, it is playoff city!" TeamA-space: "Panic! we are only 1 point ahead of the sabres! Oh, but they super suck, so we'll leave them in the dust once we figure it out" Thirteen years of empirical evidence suggests TeamA-space is far more likely to be correct.

Probably won't watch since the game is in Chicago and I could not even convince a few 'Hawks fan buddies of mine to go, my treat, to see the shizznit show ... ESPN+ seems to be able to detect my VPN and so far this team has not been worth the effort to try to see if I can fudge around it. Oh well. Go Sabres?

Literally to the bold - lol It seems to be on par with the Sabres from 2 years ago ... or early last year. Just my take - but this might be bigger than the HC. I know pretty much everyone has said that ... so I guess I am just here for the " (NJ) Devil's advocate" bit ...

I will take one ticket on the "Cozens sucks" Express ...

I am inclined to disagree with bolded assessment. Thompson: had a goal and was round the net quite a bit. Was a very solid option for D-zone exits. I presume him to be the 1/4 you noticed? Cozens: Got himself a couple beauty chances and set up a few others. Yes, he and other need to bury them - but getting and setting up high danger chances is hardly invisible. Power: Was actually very solid in the D-zone. So far this year, I have actually noticed him using his big frame for more effectively to box out and protect the puck. I think he was even down digging the puck out in the corners in o-zone. If you squint real hard when you rewatch the game, I think you will see him dole out a hit or two! Dahlin: hard to argue this one. He just seems off from his own blue line and out. His play in the d-zone was solid. I do get your point - these are our stars and we would all like to see them out there dominating and imposing their will, but the Sabres did all the small things right most of the game and got rewarded. Things were clicking and no one tried to play Hero Puck and it worked out. Maybe we should expect more of the lunch pail Peca/Satan team and less of the Drury/Briere? The "who's our star other than the goalie?" team almost won a cup, so I'll take that if it works.

Yeah, that is pretty much what I was thinking. X is better than Y at what I need TODAY, but Y might be better at that thing (or something else that maybe I don't need?) later ... so I will go without whatever I need because I don't want to see someone else have it better. I am not often outwardly critical of a coach or GM - I am sure their jobs are way harder than any of us give them credit for - but goooooooottttttt dammmmm, it does seem like GMKA just can't get it right. 😞

Four Super Bowls (I hope the NFL does not come after me for typing that) and "no goal" have left me emotionally hollow when it comes to sports. While the Sabres' inability to be truly competitive is not ideal, I'd say it hits just above the mild disappointment of finding the box of Oreos in the cabinet to only have 2 left, when you had a real hankerin' for 3. 🤷‍♂️

on the TV feed, it is hard to tell if anyone is cheering ...

Lindy's face "yeah, let's see if you guys still love me if we can't win a game ..."

or dear god - FULL intros ...

I am going to exaggerate a little bit here - but if feels like some people (not Huckie, just using your post for context) think every other team just has a 1st line winger in freezer they can thaw out and use if one of their top 3 goes down. I think there are plenty of other teams that would be challenged if they lost TWO starters. Is Krebs the best 13th forward in the league? Who knows. Honestly, Greenway looked fine in the two Prague games. Using his big frame to protect the puck, digging away in the corners and winning puck battles. Kulich was more noticeable for not doing any of those things. But he is a rookie, so expecting too much more is probably kinda silly.

For the sake of conversation (slow day at work) - any thoughts on GMKA hesitating to make trades out of fear of not being able to resign players? I have no real reason to suspect this. Just looking at his cautious approach to things and thinking maybe he thinks "gosh if I give up Rosen, then can't resign the guy I get back, that would be bad". Obviously NOT defending it, if that is the case - but curious for opinions.

It seems like there is a Skinner or VO on just about every playoff team. The difference is that those teams seem to "magically" figure out how to maximize their good and minimize their bad. I think we'll see that VO's defense is not SO BAD that he should never see the ice in Vegas. It just means we did not have the talent and/or system to be able to put him in a position to succeed. I understand the importance of team chemistry - but if/when Skinner is not deemed to be a "locker room cancer" or "bad example" in EDM, the Sabres should take a pause and try to figure out if that is just a fairy tale we tell ourselves to help cover up something else.

I really want to be snarky about how, according to the comments I have read, it won't matter because the Sabres don't even know which end of the stick to use, they have not hit anyone in at least 3 seasons, our goalies can't stop a beachball, and all our players are 4th liners at best ... But - I dunno - home opener, that beauty new mega-jumbo tron ... New Sabres, who dis? I am hoping to see a win!

Not directed at the Honorable Archie Lee - just quoting the last point on this topic.' Channeling my inner @Thorner and extrapolating one of his more favored points - we don't have to have the best 2nd line in hockey ... if all of our lines are around the 8th best in the Eastern Conference - we should make the playoffs. 8th. 8 out of 16. I don't know if we are there yet, on average ... but it seems like such an achievable goal (here comes the real Thorner good stuff) that to not have ACCIDENTALLY achieved this combined with plain old average tendies in the last thirteen years is hilariously improbable ... but here we are. 🤷‍♂️

lol - careful or someone will get upset at all the bRuInS talk 😉 I think that was sorta my point. Malenstyn is likely a serviceable 4th liner, by NHL standards ... wait for it ... in a good system, which to date, we do not have. I thought the fourth line looked much improved over last year, but that is a low bar and maybe I am still high on hopium?

I dunno, Boston's 4th goal looked A LOT like they were playing against the Sabres' defense 🤣

are there 64 better 4th line wingers in the NHL? I only mean that half-sarcastically. I suspect way more teams than just the Sabres have a bunch of JAGs hanging out on line 4. He was not even close to the worst Sabre on the ice at any given time in those 2 games.

They played together on saturday. I forget the article I saw, but they were essentially the worst three forwards for the game. Edit: this site: https://buffalohockeynow.com/2024/10/05/sabres-struggle-yet-again-as-thompson-tuch-levi-only-bright-spots-kulich-quinn-cozens-buffalo-new-jersey-devils/ So, maybe not the most reputable (apologies) and certainly an internet trash bin of ads (double apology), but I watched most of the game and that line was not good.

I think of it this way, from another sport to help detach a little emotion from the situation (while begrudgingly acknowledging that for fans, sports is almost pure emotion) - If a "playoff hopeful" team in football were to play a team favored to make a deep playoff run in week one and get handled fairly easily - the playoff hopeful football team would not be that down. As I said in another thread and others have mentioned - this is not last year's NJ team - this is far far far closer to the 112 point team from 2 years ago ... with better tendies. It sucks we lost, but it does not really matter for our playoff hopes other than the lost 4 points.

@bob_sauve28 - it was more just the gray tones vs the actual look. I skim the avatars for the posters I like to read and not seeing your trademark blue hockey guys was throwing me off! I would be like "wow, bob sounds a lot like ... d'oh! it IS Thorner!"

First, thank you for changing back to the blue hockey guy as your avatar - out of the corner of my eye I thought the other one was that walrus guy at least half the time. I agree with @#freejame about hoping vs really thinking, but I have not lost my optimism. It is the only thing that will get me through these oddly warm fall evenings!

I think it is safe to say that this year's NJ team will be far more like the one from two years ago and while it puts us in a really difficult spot to lose the first two games like that - not being able to hang with the NJ of two years ago does not really factor into our ability to make the playoffs. We take care of the easily winnable games (a hallmark of the past 13 years is getting blown out by fellow bottom feeders), win half of the toss-up games, and steal game or two from the top guys ... boom. playoffs.