dudacek

Given how Cozens and Tuch looked vs Nashville and how VO and Tage looked early, the combos are obvious to me. For the 1st time in the Granato era we are seeing a player play himself out of favour. Olofsson was under 15 minutes last night and was dropped to PP2. His line was the 4th to see the ice in each of the past 2 games.

As if that had anything to do with Josh’s performance.

Against a top defence in frigid temperatures. I wonder how will it be remembered outside of Buffalo, and how it will affect the national image of Josh Allen.

First QB in NFL history to run 50+ yards pass 300+ yards complete +80% of his throws Toss 5 TDs in the same game in the Super Bowl era.

Apologies. I gave thank yous to those who said nice things. Not really sure what else there is to say? I obviously spend way too much time around here? 😋

I’ve been saying for a long time now that the Sabres are behaving like a franchise up for sale. Selling a stake fits as well. The equity news and the stadium deal timing rumours would seem to open the door soon. I suspect this could be a tentative deal that could be announced shortly after the stadium. Related, Adams, Karmanos and Granato aren’t presenting like people preparing to move on.

My interpretation: He views players through a lens of how much he perceives them to play the game “the right way” which to me loosely means “like the Bruins.” It’s as valid a viewpoint as any.

Weird thing is that we’re projecting to have only one flat-out bad player in the bunch: Franchise centre: Eichel Top pairing defenceman: Dahlin, Power* Top six forward: Reinhart, Mitts*, Cozens*, Quinn* Top 4 defenceman: Risto Bust: Nylander Tells me two things: takes more time than we think for these kids to find themselves; we’ve done an abysmal job of finding talent to support them. Look at Florida. Their fans must have been saying the same things a few years ago. Time and a better supporting cast and nobody is pointing fingers at Huberdeau, Barkov and Ekblad any more.

Nemec and Cooley slowly moving toward the middle of my targeting screen.

Lots of potential victims remain: Not had COVID yet (I think): VO, Asplund, and all the D and goalies except Bryson and Toker. Eakin and Hayden will never get it. Dahlin will get it at the all-star game. Because Buffalo.

I think so too. They thought he might be ready for that this year, and what they’ve seen in 8 games has probably reinforced that. Im looking to see what they do as a running mate. UFAs include: Fleury, Koskinen, Kuemper, Griess, Korpisalo, Jones, Holtby, Francouz, Halak, Campbell, Rittich, Rask, Elliot, Forsberg. Might be tough to find a combination of “short-term deal” “wants to come to Buffalo” and “good” in there. Another possibility is a low-cost trade for a vet with one year left: Andersen, Varlamov, Khudobin, Allen, Raantta… Whoever we get should be at least Marty Biron level good

Right shot, playoff experience and can play the PP. All things GMs are usually trying to add at the deadline. He should get a 3rd.

I’ve made that same mistake. In Tuch’s prorated NHL seasons: 15/23/38 22/35/57 16/18/34 27/25/52 In the last full NHL season 57 points ranked 15th among right wings and 34 points ranked 44th. 27 goals ranked 12th and 16 goals ranked 41st. On stats alone, Tuch is a clear top 6 winger. And stats certainly aren’t all he brings.

If he was an emergency recall, which I'm pretty sure he was, he will have to be sent down since the team will be healthy. The other option is waiving someone.

It's also reasonable for fans to appreciate talented, good kids for what they are instead of suspicion and scorn. The Sabres franchise is your cheating ex-wife, not Dahlin. But hey, everyone is free to enjoy their fandom in their own way.

Absolutely. Not even close, IMO. @PromoTheRobot unless, things have seriously changed in the past month or so, does not even think Dahlin is good, let alone best.

Playing defence means different things to different people I think. The coach says the best defensive defenceman on the team is Dahlin because he has an elite combination of separating man from puck and transitioning it out of zone. In that context, I’d agree no one on the team can touch him. Bryson and Pysyk, early in the year, and Joki, now, are also pretty good in this combination of skills. Butcher is not. Hagg is OK at the former, poor at the latter. Miller is all over the map.

https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/trending-now/video-b-c-drummer-plays-all-175-rush-songs-in-24-minute-video/

It's a well-worn path. A lot of Stanley Cup winners since I've been watching hockey started out bad, then accumulated and developed a core of talented youngsters that grew up together, then added to it as needed, following this path. Certainly the Islanders, Oilers, two editions of the Penguins, Red Wings, Blackhawks, Kings and Lightning. The last good Sabres team did the same thing. And a lot of teams also try it and fail, like the Murray Sabres.

And he didn’t mention the D (Power and Samuelsson)

Dahlin - top pairing Power - projected top pairing Jokiharju - top 4 Samuelsson - projected top 4 Johnson - projected 3-5 Bryson - 4-5 hagg/Pysyk/Miller - NHL 3rd pairing Butcher/Fitzgerald - NHL spare Prow/Schuldt/Davidson/Laaksonen - AHL depth

I thought the Sabres PK tonight looked as good as it’s been all year. Not sure what any of the 4 skaters were supposed to have done differently on the goal. Nobody got overpowered. There was literally no way in real time either defenceman could have gotten a body on Duchene in that situation. The puck went from the crease, to the high slot, to up in the air where Duchene picked it out of the air all in about .03 seconds. Great hand-eye on a pinballing puck. Most NHL goalies would have been tall in the butterfly there, which might have given them a better chance of making the save than lying half on their back, but even then, it was mostly a ***** happens goal. And before somebody says someone should have had a body on Duchene earlier, that’s not how it works when you’re killing a penalty. You don’t lock in on one guy, you have to pick and choose when to close and pressure in between blocking the passing lanes and watching 2 or even 3 attackers at the same time as they toss the puck around you. It honestly seems like some people judge defence solely by looking at the replay to see who the closest guy is to the goal scorer and start pointing.

No, it’s talent. I mean, the consistency thing is relevant; we’d certainly be better without so many of our most important players missing time. But it’s the difference between 60 points and 70. We need more good players. The good news is, I think they might be coming.

I agree. But I think Donnie is already giving him the kick to take ownership. I think he’s been looking different for a month now. The talent is there. The character is there. The fanbase is going to be slow to come around; I suspect they won’t until the team does. The pieces are coming together.

The team needed to make that statement after Tuesday’s stinker. This game was a necessary reminder what a difference it makes to have 3 good players on one line. Tuch, Cozens and Skinner seemed to have good chemistry and embraced Granato’s preferred style. If Tage can slide back between Asplund and VO and find their early season form we may have 3 decent lines. Z and KO will be competent with whoever they are with. Dell proved he actually can win a hockey game. Not sure if he will get many where this team will make it that easy for him. I don’t know that he had to make a tough save the entire game. I don’t think I will ever feel comfortable watching him play, he just doesn’t play like an NHL goalie. I suspect this game means nothing for the big picture in goal. Still not sure what he was doing practically on his back for that PP goal. People who say size matters need to hold that game up as Exhibit A. Adding Okposo, Tuch and Hagg made a huge difference, the way they - and others - battled through a Nashville team that was determined to pound the ***** out of us. Rasmus Dahlin continues to be a joy to watch. Looked like he was loving the rough stuff. Wins are fun. I’ve missed them.