mjd1001

No proof for this, but I'll throw it out there... As a 4th line center, you aren't going to 'pass up' a great scoring chance if its there, but you might not work hard to try to get it. Your game, your job might simply be keep the puck in the offensive zone. Work it into the corners. Basically, run time/kill time while McDavid and/or Draisaitl get a rest. Again, that might be an oversimplification...but my point is he may not have 'worked' as hard for prime scoring chances as he is allowed to do now. Of course NHL edge stats say otherwise. Last year with Edmonton, he had more 'high danger' chances per game than he does this year with the Sabres. Last year he had 42 "high danger" shots in 81 games, this year he has 29 in 71 games. So maybe the above point isn't even true. Then again, their definition of a high danger chance is just how close to the net are you....last year he could have just been whacking away at loose pucks in front of the net where this year he is actually trying to legit score. I'm not sure.

I'm going to agree with you on most, but I'd say Kulich is the one I am most encouraged by. Cozens and Quinn have actually hurt the team when they are on the ice....Benson might be very good eventually, but I think this board (in general) drastically over-rates his play. Kulich....For a first year NHL player, he is scoring goals at a better than 1 game in 4 pace. Now, will he improve on that? I don't know. But this year, among all the guys you listed (Even Cozens) I think he has clearly been the best overall player to me.

Adams brought in both McLeod and Bryam. With that said, despite Bryams pedigree, that he had a big cup run, that he was a very high draft pick...and McLeod has 'less of a pedigree', I think McLeod is more valuable right now, and even looking forward. I think Bryam is "OK", but I think his game went from 'good' when he got there and has slid into "just OK". At least at this moment, McLeod is more valuable to this team.

I'm not in the "get rid of Quinn" mode like I was with Cozens. But as of even the last few weeks, I still see huge holes in his game. What my eyes tell me (still even up to now) is in the offensive zone he really doesn't make his own shot all that much. In the neutral zone and Defensive zone, he's practically invisible. I don't expect amazing things, but he might be the forward on this team that engages on the boards and comes away with the loose puck or wins battles less than any other forward. Then, that is what my eyes see, do the numbers back it up? I think so. The last 5 games he has been put with McLeod as his center, who has some of the best defensive numbres on the team. McLeod has not brought up Quinns analytics, in fact Quinn has brought down McLeods numbers. Just looking back over the last 5 games, Quinn's line has 16 'scoring chances' generated even strength, while allowing 36 (and this is in less than 60 minutes of ice time). So again, to repeat myself, I don't see him generating his own shot, I don't see him gaining possession of the puck or winning any battles. And almost all the analytics (not just scoring chances, but Fenwick, Corsi, High danger chances...etc) are still way negative. Which on their own doesn't mean much, but it supports what I see. 16 scoring chances generated and 36 allowed in under 60 minutes of even strenght ice time...that is really really bad, Based on what I see, I would expect THOSE numbers to continue, and not his 40% shooting percentage over those 4 games. If he is scoring, that is great, that is what he needs to do. But when he doesn't score, he hurts the team.

When they play well...it doesn't surprise me. Its been the same issues (mostly) the entire year. Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin scored. There are your 3 best players. They are all currently playing and don't look to be playing hurt. That is key #1. You got decent-to-good goaltending. You don't need a Vezina winner behind this team to make the playoffs, just decent-to-good. That is key #2. A game by one single player by Cozens can lose a team a game, and the Sabres were fighting that most of the year with him here. On the Tuch Goal, Cozens was right there, He was in position to either take out Tuch or clear the puck, he did neither, he kinda just stood there not knowing what to do or which way to look. In a big Scrum behind the Sabres net, Cozens skated the other way. And of course, the awful giveaway right onto Krebs stick for the goal. Cozens had games like that for the Sabres quite a bit. You removed that player from your roster. (As much as people think Quinn turned the corner with his scoring lately, I am not convinced. I still think he is invisible unless someone puts the puck on his stick for him, and he's almost as bad as Cozens without the puck) Defense. Its not as bad as it looks in front of the 'bad UPL', but still needs improvement. Dahlin is fine. You would LIKE one more very, very good D-man. They don't have it yet. Do you wait/can Power develop into it? Maybe, but hesnot here yet. Is it Bryam? I don't think so. The more I watch Byram, the more I get the vibes of a "below average overall D-man who happens to skate well but that's it". IF Tage and Tuch and Dahlin are healthy, and IF you get above average goaltending, and by removing the forwards from this team that hurts you (Cozens and possibly Quinn), this Can be a playoff team. The problem is, those are a lot of "IFs". You can't rely on all of them happening all the time. The win feels great after a pretty good week or two. I'm sure things will be different around here after the next 2 game losing streak. (Actually, kidding, the next time they lose a single game by 2+ goals things will be a lot different around here)

How many goals would UPL have let in if he were in net?

Situation dictates a little, but ice time is always fun to look at to see who the coach thinks is playing a good game or wants out there. Through 2 periods: Forwards: McLeod leads AGAIN, 13:02. Thompson with 12:37 is 2nd, Peterka 3rd at 11L46. Bottom 3 are Malenstyn, Kozak, and Lafferty all with just over 5 minutes. D-men: Samuelsson leads with 15:36. Byram 2nd at 15:28. Dahline is 3rd at 14:54. Samuelsson has been playing a bit better the last couple weeks (he has 2 assists and is a +3 so far today), and he has been 'rewarded' with more ice time. I'm curious as to Lindy's opinion of him right now. He's on his way to his 4th game in the las 6 with over 20 minutes of ice time.

I will take the 1-2 dumb defensive plays by Thompson a game (most don't lead to goals against anyway) for how much he generates in the offensive zone. He doesn't need a great paymaking center, he generates so much himself. He has an elite shot and is borderline-elite with the puck in traffic and setting his own shot up. I don't think Reimer is anything special, even the last few weeks. He has been 'decent'. It just goes to show you this defense isn't as bad as many think when you have a 'decent' goaltender behind them instead of the 2024-25 version of UPL.

Ok, I didn't see the replay of that entire scrum, but what I did see is everyone went to the corner and squared off with each other, and Cozens kinda just skated around looking away from it until it settled down. So glad he's not on this team anymore.

Every game I have watched for the last month, I am getting a slightly lower and lower opinion of Bryam and a desire to sign him to a bigger deal.

Cozens a -2 and only about 1/2 way through the first. Maybe he is 'reverting to his mean' now. Better not talk to early though....

Cozens just STANDING there not tying up his guy, no awareness where the puck is and the opposing winger just taps it in. He's a -1 not even half way through the first.... Oh, its OK.... it favors the Sabres this time.

I'm not as optimistic on Quinn as some, but I'm not ready to give up on him. I don't think I need to see him get bigger/strong. For me its about his throught process and effort. Go to the front of the net more, and for sure engage more in the neutral zone and D-zone. I honestly can't tell if he is good or not at engaging players in the D-zone or backchecking/winning battles in the neutral zone...because you hardly see him even try to do those things. I don't think there has been a more invisible forward outside of the offensive zone since Jeff Skinner. He has a good shot. He needs to be taking 200+ shots per year. But not just ANY shots. He needs to work to get into better position, can't be a perimeter guy (which he has been for most of this year). I know he loves to take that shot from inside the circles, but he seems to too often just hang around there waiting for someone to get him the puck. Maybe the recent success that has been with him playing with McLeod is that McLeod's skating if forcing Quinn to move a bit more. Such a small sample size though, the next 9 games will be important, and next year is a make-or-break year for him. If Tuch can score 30+ 2 of the last 3 years, Quinn has the shot to do it too. Just he needs to earn the extra ice time to allow him to get more chances by improving the rest of his game, and he has to skate a lot harder himself to generate his own chances, instead of the vast majority of his chances being generated by someone else on his line.

I think Dahlin is borderline elite. If you want me to say is he or isn't he i'd say yes. That doesn't mean he is perfect. To me, this team truly has 3 top players. Dahlin is an almost-elite or elite D-man. Tuch is one of the most well rounded forwards in the entire league (no real weaknesses, a lot of ways he is very good) and Tage is an elite goal scorer. Beyond that this team is filled with a bunch of 'might be good eventually', 'is only here because no one else would pay them' or 'may have a role' guys.

Its not a narrow scapegoating on my part. Its not just UPL and Power. Its UPL. Its portions of the D-group, and a LOT of how the forwards play and support the defense. Not to mention neutral zone play. I think a huge part of this is on UPL, but not all of it. As per my prior post, The entire 4th line has been bad in terms of supporting the defensemen. Kulich, Peterka, Quinn and even Benson aren't helping the 'goals allowed' portion of things. And of course, the D-group. Everyone needs to contribute to keeping the puck out of the net, but I'd say 4 or 5 of your defense group are average or below average, and close to 1/2 of your forwards need to be a lot better.

After 8 goals, the Sabres are now 8th overall out of 32 teams in offense (3.23 goals per game). 2nd in the league in even strength regulation time goals. Tage tied for 3rd in the league in goals scored. If only the defense/goaltending were better...but they have not been. Sabres are the 2nd worst in goals per game allowed. 38 goalies have played over 30 games this season. UPL is 34th out of 38th in GAA and 36th out of 38 in save percentage.

Quinn is now scoring so that is good, but even the last few games his 'overall' game, getting back into the D-zone, getting to and controlling loose pucks, needs a LOT of work. The entire 4th line has been and keeps on being a lot worse than it needs to be. As far as the forwards go, I'm personally still only really happy with Tuch, McLeod and Tage. Peterka is decent, but has too many lapses. Zucker and Greenway can't seem to play enough games in a row. Krebs has been a pleasant surprise for me, but that isn't much because it was coming off a low level. I like Bensons effort, but I think he isn't quite as great as many think. Kulich needs to show me what he is doing for more time. So the forwards are in decent shape, but I wouldn't say we can be confident yet that they are not an issue at all.

We have someone in the lead in a category. UPL is in the lead for the most goals allowed by any goaltender in the NHL this year. Its also the most goals allowed in a single season by any goaltender during the drought, with still some time left to pad his lead.

I had the game on but had company over, we 'kinda' watched the game but I didn't get to focus on any of it. Caught up on reading this thread and watched some of the highlights and looked at the stats. Bryam is...not an 'issue' but I'm not leaning more toward trading him for anything of value rather than signing him to a long term deal. You are playing Philly, you are getting prime minutes, Dahlin is out. This is your chance to step up in any way, and I didn't see it. He became, for the most part, just another guy out there. Unless he is paired with Dahlin, Bryam seems to be just a pretty good skating-but below average D-man. That seems to be getting reinforced as more time goes on.

I think Quinn's spot on this roster is tenous at best. There is a chance if he is in camp, its a 'prove it if you want a spot on this team' camp. Peterka. He SHOULD be here, but is there any truth to him not wanting to be here and moved? Greenway and Zucker. Not exactly 2 guys you can rely on for 82 game each. I think you almost have to figure another winger (young guy from Rochester or a free agent) that will spit time with them. Lafferty, Krebs, and Malenstyn all all signed, but all at $2m or less. I could seem one or two of them not being a regular on the roster. Norris. Seeing he has hardly played, and who knows if he will even play the rest of the year, for all intents or purposes he basically will be a new guy next season. There is some room for change.

I don't think they are going to come out and tell us, but if this is true...I don't care so much to know who are the guys he thinks need to go (Actually, I WOULD like to know that but...) I'm just as interested in knowing who are the guys that he thinks ARE the leaders, ARE the ones he wants here. The only clue I think we have is ice time. Who gets the most, and who has been increasing in ice time as the year has gone on and he got to know them: -Tuch leads among forwards. Thompson is 2nd. As far as who has gotten MORE ice time as the season has gone on: -Most notable is probably McLeod. He has more time as the year has gone on, in the past month he is by far and away the leader in ice time among forwards. In the past month he is averaging 19.5 minutes per game, with several games over 22 minutes (and one almost at 24 minutes). Those are big, BIG time minutes for any foward. This coming from a guy who, earlier in the year, was averaging 14-15 minutes per game. -Krebs was only getting about 11 minutes of ice time the first month. Since then he is now around 14 minutes. -When Peterka has not been injured, his ice time has gone up. First half of the season he averaged just over 17 minutes per game, since then almost 19. Before he was traded, Cozens Ice time went down through the season. From 18.5 minutes in October, to 17.5 minutes in November, to 16.5 minutes in December. When Tage got hurt Cozens went back up to 17.5 minutes in January but it didn't last...16.25 minutes in Feb and barely 16 minuetes even in March until he got traded. A definite downtrend in ice time. None of the other forwards showed a clear trend. Kulich, Benson, Quinn, some ups and downs in ice time but no clear trend either way. Also hard to pick a trend among D-men. Dahlin leads, followed by Byram and Power...but no set trend in regard to increases or decreases over the season. Based on how much Lindy is using McLeod and the workload increase he is getting...it will be interesting to see next season, if McLeod is signed....if they go with rotating "A"'s again if he gets one in place of Cozens.

This is where I am hoping the analytics dept and the coaching staff spend a lot of time on film. What is UPL doing differently this year compared to last year? Break down every single goal, maybe every single shot he faced, compare it to the year before. Is it an easy fix to get him back to how he was playing last year? Can it be fixed at all?

This is one thing that makes me hopeful reading that in regard to him being a good 3rd pairing guy. When I think of a 3rd pairing guy, or a 4th line forward, I start with a few things: 1.) Plays very very hard. 2.) is 'coachable' (doesn't just do his own thing). 3.) has some raw talent (as a late 1st rounder, you would think he does have some raw talent. Again though, I haven't really seen anything myself great out of him, other than a bit of effort.

Oh, I agree. But the in the video they seemed to focus on the word "culture" a lot. Unless with regard to Cozens, they use "culture" to really mean "won't do a damn thing we tell him to do."?

Yeah, I just would like to know who those players are. I'm guessing Cozens was one? It seemed obvious the entire room, including Ruff, were fine with making that move. For all I complained about Cozens play, he seemed like a nice guy and he seemed to put effort forward, so I wonder what the issue was? If Pegula is giving Ruff a big say in the roster, I wonder if that may lead to more changes in the offseason. Basically, he doesn't know the guys that well when he walked in the room, now he spent a whole year with them and its time to make more major changes?