mjd1001

More importantly, he didn't rush a shot for himself and instead passed it to JJP, and he didn't make any glaring mistakes away from the puck. His offense hasn't been good the last month or so, but he IS playing somewhat better without the puck for the last 5-6 games.

Pittsburgh has some lean years ahead of them. They are really old and have really not much at all coming up in their farm system.

Washington loses tonight, but Ovechkin with the only goal for them on the PP. 30 goals for him in 42 games. Unless he hits a major wall or gets injured, he just might get the record this season. 11 more to tie, 12 to pass Gretzky with 23 games left. He needs a goal every other game.

With that win, they move out of last place in the conference in points percentage....passing Pittsburgh who lost tonight.

Well, I don't want Cozens gone because I hate him....if he is going to play better, thats enough for me.

Samuelsson might be winning back some trust from Ruff. 4 out of the last 5 games, he's over 20 minutes of ice time.

Cozens is a plus player and doesn't make any dumb plays, they keep winning. Keep it up.

They scored as I was finishing typing/sending the post. My streaming of the game seems to be 5-10 seconds behind what is actually happening.

And there is the goal.

Agree on the Dahlin penalty, but what was Greenway thinking. IF they allow a goal, its going to be on Greenway, dumb hit/penalty.

You don't want to complain about a hit but, what did Greenway expect to come of that other than a 2 minute penalty?

Forgot the Ducks had those uniforms. I just walked into the room 10 seconds into the game, and from a distance I was thinking...Calgary Flames?

I guess thats fine. Personally I'd like to see: JJP-Thompson-Tuch Zucker-Kulich-Quinn Greenway-McLeod-Cozens Mal-Krebs-Benson... But its close enough. Trusty Lindy on this one.

And as brought up in another thread, almost all of those numbers are better, some considerably when calculated per on ice time with the 22 guys not named Dylan Cozens.

I didn't think Murray was great or was going to be a star, but I also didn't think he hurt the team. I saw enough that I would like to see him in a lower line (3rd line maybe) role for a few games again.

Cozens HAS not made as many mistakes and his underlying metrics have been 'decent' (not great but decent) over the last 5-7 games and guess what? They Sabres have won 5 of the last 6. See how things work when one player doesn't drag you down? Also, I think one of those games he played with Krebs and actually did primarily play wing, but just one game. But.....The numbers show that in the past, this team is a good team, a playoff level team, when Cozens is not on the ice. When he IS on the ice, they are one of the worst teams in the league. Not through a few games, not over a small sample size, but over a sample size of YEARS. The numbers above show a simple truth. Every single critical player on this team has the puck in the opposition net more and allows the puck in their own net less when on the ice, in almost every line combination, over good years and bad years, when Dylan Cozens does not share the ice with them. He needs to move to wing. Or to be traded. Or to instantly become a better player than he ever has been. If any of those things happen, this team is right away a MUCH better team. If Cozens gets moved...or if by some crazy increase in his play on the Sabres....by the end of the year he gets his plus-minus into the single-digit negatives from where it is now...I'd wager that the Sabres would be one of the better teams (top 10 in the league) over the remainder of the season.

Some people don't like how Tage looks playing center, and he isn't perfect at the role. But he is great with the puck at center and half-way decent with his defensive coverage. That is why he may not 'look' like a prototypical playmaking center, but he does get the job done. Not Cozens. Tage may not look to pass first, he may not carry the puck into the zone and look to set up his linemates like a true playmaker, but Tage's linemates ARE better when they play with him than without him. When Tage and Tuch (and whoever else is the other winger) are on a line centerted by Tage and they are all healthy, they can dominate.

I think I posted yesterday, if moved to wing he could be "Alex Tuch lite", meaning he could give you basically what Tuch gives you on wing, minus a little tiny bit (but still good enough to be potentially a postive player there) They both are aggressive skaters, they both are good skaters, they both have a hard shot with a good release (Tuch a bit more accurate). They both have a combo of good size/speed. Tuch is much, much more effective and valuable because he those traits are better suited at wing, which is where he plays. Cozens does not. We dont' really know if Cozens skills will translate to being effective at wing though, becuase they refuse to play him there.

The bolded above....on the surface...does not seem possible. However the 'eye test' often tells us that absurdly dumb, unaware plays he makes costs the Sabres a loss several times per year. And as you posted above, some basics analytics actually backs that up.

If the Sabres did make a move for Bennet, I would not be upset. I think he would being something positive to this team. I'm just not as high on him as I would be on some other players. When I watched Florida play, I see a player that is better than Cozens, but shares some of his bad qualities. In the opener this year vs Boston and a couple other games I have seen Florida play, I remember Bennet finshing checks he should not finish. He seems like he'll take himself out of the play and cause problems in his own end just to finish a check. Again, not that I would hate him here, but I think sometimes he creates almost as many issues as he brings and if given a choice, I would rather overpay for Marner.

Marner doesn't get much talk around here, and he is not a perfect player. He has a perceived lack of toughness and certainly size that many here want. But of all the players that MIGHT be available this offseason, I think he is the one that would help this team the most. $13-$14m per year is really high. I don't think/know if 5 years, $62m would get it done (probably not, maybe 6 years, $80m is where he would want to start), but if that would get him to start listening, I would for sure continue those talks.

I'm good with them not trading Power, not trading Bryrum, not trading anyone really. I'd like them to trade Cozens if they won't move him to wing. But if they moved him to wing, I'm fine with them not even trading him. I'm not in a rush to get rid of any ONE individual player (except Cozens) but I would like to see SOME movement though. Bring in someone that can help this team going forward. It doesn't have to be a blockbuster, doesn't have to involve several major pieces...just something, because, you know, I'm a fan and this is entertainment. Now, winning 5 of the last 6, if they go out and win 5 of the next 6 or 7 also I might be thinking....'lets see where this goes'. But lets see that first, in the next 2-3 weeks, they have games against Carolina, Florida, Tampa, and Vegas.

I haven't thought much about him lately, but for along time I would like him to get another stint in Buffalo. HE is the player that should be given a shot on the PP instead of Cozens. Just have him stand in front of the net, provide a screen, and bang away anytime there is a loose puck. I'd be willing to bet he scores more than 1 PP goal every 40 games (which is about what Cozens give you for his CAREER).

Those who support Cozens and want status quo with him.....the above is why that baffles me. You quoted the numbers....you don't even NEED the numbers to watch him game after game make dumb decisions at center. The numbers don't just back up that he makes awful decisions....they hammer it home like no argument has ever been hammered home. A bad year by UPL? Bad defensive play by Power and Samuelsson? Quinn being invisible early in the year? Injuries to Tage and Dahlin? They all pale in comparison to how much Cozens hurts this team. If Cozens was not on this roster from day 1, and his minutes were replaced with an 'average guy' who doesn't really help you but doesn't really hurt you, and I think this team would be much better in the standings with that one simple change.

Yep, I saw that someplace. A guy that on average will probably get you 20 goals, with a potential ceiling of 30 goals once every 5 years....but a potential floor of 15 goals 3 out of 5 years is my feeling. Not good production at the same time when you are one of the worst defensive centers and worst at making your linemates better of all the centers in the entire NHL.