Jsixspd

As do I. A big question - who is available that replaces Bylsma, mid-season? The replacement has to be someone as good, or better, for it to make sense mid-year. Otherwise, what's the point? If no one better is available, it probably makes more sense to tough it out until the end of the season, then start looking for a replacement.

Imagine if Tim Murray suddenly shifted tactics and decided this was yet another "tank" year? Or maybe that was always his plan? Or is there a plan? Maybe we're just winging it?

I just mentioned in another topic - this same team had a pretty good hot streak going two weeks ago, and they came within one game (Toronto loss) of hitting .500. Then it's been pretty much downhill ever since. What's the difference maker? Or just cumulative injuries?

2 weeks ago, the team seemed to be playing great - what the heck happened? Or was it just one of those hot streaks even a bad team can have?

Kane must be trying to take the PIM lead away from Gorges; guy has been a walking penalty machine the last couple games. That really hurts a team, to have a player putting them on the PK so often. They were on the PK 12 minutes tonight, 4 of those courtesy of Kane. His decision making on and off the ice is highly questionable. And no points for Gorges, and a -2 for his effort tonight and 21 minutes of ice time. Is this guy ever gonna score a point this season? The defense did score a point tonight - albeit on the Moulson garbage-time goal with a Franson assist.

I don't think Kane can be fixed. He's a seven year veteran hockey player. He is what he is; poor scoring skills, poor decision making. What you see is what you get.

Here's an interesting comparison between Edmonton's rebuild and ours; much has been said of Eichel's injury making the Sabres rebuild look so poor compared to Edmonton. Ok well, the Buffalo roster has scored a total of 68 player points. Edmonton = 110 points. Now, of course Connor McDavid is off the charts - 18 points already. But, the REST of the Edmonton Roster has an aggregate 92 points - 24 points more than the entire Buffalo roster. Oilers are getting production across the board from their roster, even factoring out their star McDavid. Buffalo OTOH, is clearly NOT!! A lot of money has been spent on this team for what seems to be very little! Kane, Gorges, ad nauseum. And those players can't be blamed on the previous regime - that's squarely on the shoulders of Tim Murray. As well as decisions to retain Regier Era players like Ennis.

Sabres scored a total of 2 goals in their last 3 games, and 5 in their last 5 games. That is just pathetic. As Kristian stated earlier in this topic, the goalie has to earn a shut out nearly every game for this team to win.

14 total points in 14 games. Take away Risto, and the remaining D players have a total of 6 points scored. That is just pathetic. Brent Burns of San Jose already has 13 points by himself. Ottawa's Karlsson - 12 pts. Chicago's Keith - 12 pts. Those 3 guys each have 2x the points of the bulk of the Sabres' D. Gorges' stats sucked last year, but he's on a pace for an even worse season this year. I can't stand to see him out there on the ice - to me he's like the Leino of D-men. $4 million a year for very little.

Lehner's shoot out stats over the past 4 seasons are not good at all. He's well below average in that regard. So, the team needs to win in regulation or OT and keep the game from shoot outs; especially when we have a team with mostly poor shots. Lehner's poor shoot out record is definitely a liability. A friend of mine calls them "The Buffalo Belly Shooters" because he jokes they aim directly at the numbers on the goalie's jersey; like they'll shoot so hard they'll knock the goalie backwards into the net.

I've lived in Michigan about 13 months now, but good or bad team, I just can't stand the thought of not being able to watch the Sabres. I'd be too homesick otherwise! I ordered Center Ice last year, and this year. I'm "all in" on the Sabres for better or worse. :)

If so, that's on Bylsma and the coaching staff. They should not be letting players, especially their top shelf players, come back before they're 100%.

4 minutes of penalties for Kane, and then the backbreaker - the penalty shot. What was Kane thinking? Kane was hugging and clutching that Jersey player like he's some chick at a Buffalo area bar that Kane was harassing. Kane = dumb. They ought to test his IQ against Gorges - see whose is lower. Speaking of Gorges - another game, another 0-0 for goals/assists. He did manage to hurt his team with another penalty though.

And.... Ennis is now out indefinitely after having surgery on a groin injury suffered in that embarrassing loss to Boston. Not sure if that's much of a factor - the guy only has 2 measly points after 12 games played. Gorges still doesn't have a single solitary point after 13 games played, and 19 minutes of ice time per game. Successful teams usually have their offense assisted by the defense. Seems like the expectations for offensive aid and comfort should be a little higher than 0-0 for a $4 million dollar a year D-man who is also allegedly an Assistant Captain, though I don't see much leadership there! The D needs to contribute - look at the top teams - Montreal - 35 defensive points, Chicago, 33 defensive points. Edmonton, 20 d-points. Rangers, 38 points. Those teams' offense is getting real help from the defense! Sabres, OTHO - 14 points by the D, and more than half (8) from Ristolainen. The rest of the team's D - 6 total points. Not expecting the D-men to be the top scorers on the team but for cryin out loud - feed the puck to somebody with a chance of putting it in the net. Don't be like that idiot Gorges, just slowly lumbering around mindlessly out there and accomplishing very little. The D needs to get on the hump, get the lead out, light a fire, and help the offense!

Terrible outcome - and the Sabres slip further below .500. Lehner was face palm material in the shootout. Looks like we need to avoid shootouts with Lehner minding the net; his previous shootout SVG% isn't terrific - 2013 was .667 (20 for 30), 2014 was .714 (10 for 14), 2015 (very limited) was .333 (2 for 6). And 0-2 in 2016. Lehner doesn't look to have top shoot-out skills, based on his record.

I agree with others who've said Lehner carried the game; While shots on goal were even (32/33 Buffalo/Ott). the Sens had more hits, more takeways, more faceoffs won. Lehner got, and deserved, the star. That being said, the team played a full 3 periods again - nice work keeping the puck in Ottawa's zone right down to the 1 minute mark of the 3rd - no way to pull the goalie early. So, we lose a game we should have won (Toronto) and win one we probably should have lost (tonight). Overall, 4 regulation wins in the last 5 games, and the one loss a tough one. Did someone throw a switch with this team? Much, much improved. IF we can beat Boston Monday night, we'll be at .500!

Sabres had a chance to hit .500 with a win tonight. Now they're 2 games under. Big wasted opportunity.

Another terrific effort, and win, by the Sabres. I would have been satisfied with a 2-1 loss since they'd played well against a top tier team! A clean regulation win is even better! Another GDT where I've no complaints, and only praise for the play and the players. 3 wins in a row against solid teams! 2 of them on the road! Amazing!!!

Wow, they played like a REAL team last weekend! Great stuff to see! With both Florida and Winnipeg, the defensive effort was excellent - they consistently kept breaking up any offensive rushes into their zone - they left their opponents very few clean rushes on the goal. And they gave a full 60 minutes effort in each game - they didn't sit on their heels when they got a lead like they did in that Philly game Very pleased. ZERO complaints. I'm still LOLing about Reinhart's 'assist' to Pysyk. He should have only got 1 point vs 2. :) Of course the reality is these weren't world beater teams in the standings - mid tier in the league - although both teams have better records than Buffalo so it's an accomplishment! And 4 clean points back to back without Eichel. Let's see if they can play like they did on the weekend today against Minnesota, or if the Wild have too much talent for them. Fingers crossed!

Well, then Murray ends up creating some serious credibility issues for himself since he hired Bylsma(no one else to point fingers at) ; and then the questions start popping up - does Murray, in fact, have a good strategy for building a playoff caliber team quickly, in less than 5 years? Is his strategy working?

Pittsburgh won the Cup last season. They must be really missing ole Disco Dan's hand on the con down there ("Dan? Dan who?")

Yup. And the 3rd season of Chicago's new GM Tallon, and rebuild, he brought in Quenneville as coach and they got deep into the playoffs (lost in the conference finals), ; and then the cup the next year. And they've been pretty competitive post season wise, ever since. This is Murray's 3rd year. He brought in HIS coach, Bylsma, in Murray's second season, a year faster than Tallon; who brought in Quenneville in his 3rd season as GM. And the team is 1-5; and looking arguably like a bottom 5 team without Eichel. Sure not looking like a team with a remote chance of even squeaking into a Wildcard berth at this juncture. IF Chicago is the Gold Bar standard of rebuilds, what is the Sabres' rebuild looking like 3 seasons in by comparison? Bronze? Tin? Pot-Metal?

Offense gets little if any support from the defense; There's ~$9.4 million in salary this year for that idiot Gorges and Zach Bogosian; NEITHER have scored a single point in 6 games! That should be unacceptable! Somebody on the coaching staff ought to be going up one side of them and down the other side! Make em sit on orange crates instead of that cushy locker room; they're acting like bottom shelf so guess what? Coach should treat em like that - and start hammering them with bench fines for non-performance!

Bylsma put the team into the hockey equivalent of football's "Prevent Mode" early in the 3rd - that mode that prevented the Sabres from winning. Only 5 shots on goal in the entire 3rd period. Bylsma had them sitting on their heels and protecting (unsuccessfully) the lead. Disgusting!

For sure, the Sabres will do better with Eichel. Kane? He's been disappointing so far. The thing is; Eichel can't carry the team. Maybe they won't be at the bottom of the Atlantic, but will they actually have a realistic shot at competing for a wildcard? Also, Murray promised a fast turn around; but it's not looking all that fast at this juncture. The lack of depth and scoring ability on the team, outside Eichel, O'Reilly, and Reinhart, is rather sad. And the lack of defense helping the offense is a big issue; Bogosian ($5.2 million) and Gorges ($3.9 million) between them - they haven't even scored a point yet after 5 games. But they didn't do much last year either, so this really shouldn't be a surprise to the general manager.