jad1

Vesey blows a primo setup from Eichel. Emblematic of Ralph and JBott weighing Eichel down with trash.

They raffle that spot off before practice. Everyone gets a ticket.....except Skinner.

I don't know. The team has no personality. Nobody plays hard for Krueger. The special teams are a mess. There are defensive breakdowns every game. The locker room is dead. Players are requesting trades after one benching. If Krueger was coaching this team with no Jack Eichel, how many wins do the Sabres have this year? 6? 7? Sabres games have the tone of a death March. Everyone, fans and players include, wait for the one mistake in the game that ends their chance for a win. The roster is to blame for much of this, but Krueger sure isn't doing much to help.

A key factor to sucking every night is the ability to tune the negativity out.

Listening to McCabe's post game remarks, the Sabres theme song should be 'Comfortably Numb.'

He is a natural athelete...

He's just relieved he didn't give up 5 goals tonight. We should let him have this one.

How about firing Botterill and sending Ralph back to the EPL? He has experience managing a soccer team, but none managing a NHL team. How about hiring a GM with some experience instead of continually sponsoring an internship program for wanna-be GMs.

This team has no on-ice identity. Nobody on this team fights for Krueger. He's a nothing coach. Oh, and JBOTT should have been fired at the end of last season.

They could fire that guy tomorrow and I wouldn't give a damn.

The same reason that we're not going to hire Gallant?

No. It means the Sabres are only capable of hiring bad coaches.

I get the concept of trying to build two scoring lines, and it's a good one if you can pull it off. But the reality is that this roster, with or without Olofsson, cannot pull it off. This roster has one scoring line and three grind lines. Trying to build two scoring lines with this roster is futile. Ralph needs to lean into this fact and put Skinner on the first line. The Sabres should try to have its top line score 2 or 3 goals a game, while the other three lines grind the opposition down. They can hope for a lucky goal then from the grinders, the defense, or the power play. Until Botterill can figure out how to acquire better forward talent, this is the reality for the current Sabres roster. Ralph can give the fans one legit, exciting line to watch every game, or we can watch a $9 million player be mismanaged every game (along with all the other frustrating things about this team). At this point, I know what I want to watch.

Yeah, I have no idea what that's all about. It's beyond obvious that this team needs a 2c, and the roster has like 4 untouchable players and their 1st round pick next season, and everything else is on the table. I get the feeling that John Muckler would have fixed this by now. Early Darcy Regier would have fixed this by now. Botterill, meh, who knows?

He needs a decent center. Hasn't had one the whole season. On the nights that both Bogo and Miller sit in the pressbox, while Krueger continues to misuse Skinner, the Sabres are basically flushing $18 million of cap space down the toilet.

Skinner is paid $9 million because he is a world-class sniper. Soccer genius has him driving a line with two slugs. It's a massive misuse of talent, and watching Johansson slap muffins into the defensemen's shins that entire last powerplay, instead of Skinner shooting lasers, just proves Krueger's malpractice in managing the roster.

Krueger's use of Skinner has me thinking that he's, what do you call it? Oh, yeah, not good at coaching hockey.

Johansson is terrible on the wing on the power play. Why wasn't Skinner out there?

3 penalties in the offensive zone tonight?

Senators 31st power play in the league. 3 for 4 tonight on the power play. Someone on this coaching staff needs to be fired.

Another Sabres coach taking that 'kick at the can' of putting Girgensons on the top line. It's freakin' exhausting.

Eric Staal could also be a short-term solution to bridge the gap until Cozens is ready. If Minnesota sinks any more in the standings, they might take a Skinner-lite type of deal (mid-level prospect and 3rd round pick-ish). He's older, but still producing, and could fill the 2c role for another season or so while giving veteren leadership to the locker room. He's cheap and would add production this season (38 points, 17 goals this season), and would allow Cozens to transition to the NHL on the 3rd line or on the wing. The playoffs are a longshot this season, but you get the feeling that the team needs a functional 2c in the lineup to get an idea about lineup decisions moving foward (for example, does Skinner need to be on a line with Eichel or can he thrive with a moderately talented center on the 2nd line).

Every freakin game it goes back to O'Reilly. It's an open wound that never heals.

He is fun to watch on the power play.

So mountain men and choir boys?