Kruppstahl

I'm guessing the Sabres have done some number crunching and determined that they are better off without fans in the building. But that looks absolutely horrible and minor league to shut the building down when the Governor says they don't have to. So they are dragging their feet on opening it back up (kills more time) and then are apparently only going to allow fans in now and again, so they can say they did let some fans in, some of the time. The whole thing is just a really bad look.

It's somewhere below "C" but above "D" for me, based on the way the options were worded. I don't think the team has taken a step backward, per se, but the bad outweighs the good and the end result is about the same.

And yet Skinner was still benched last night, even with Jack being out and making a spot for him! But the benching isn't punitive? Of course it is! Does Ralph really think Skinner wasn't going to be one of his best 20 guys to dress last night? There is no way this whole thing is purely about Skinner's performance on the ice. Can't be. There's way more here, and we don't know what it is. Some have suggested it's all being done as a way to instigate Skinner into waiving his no move clause. That makes as much sense as anything, at least until we hear new, better information.

Not sure I believe him on the first question, but maybe I do. Definitely don't believe him on the second question. There is clearly something big going on here between Skinner and Ralph, it extends beyond Skinner's play on the ice, and we fans do NOT know what it is.

I don't know. Hall has had a couple down years in a row and is nothing close to the #1 overall pick everyone thought he would be. Olofsson is great on the PP, but nothing 5 on 5. Skinner is being so poorly used, it is almost impossible for him to make contributions, and he doesn't as a result. Staal is long past his prime. Forget the positive things you think about him and which are associated with his name. He's just another body now. Cozens I like, but he's a baby and has a very long way to go; he's still learning every night. My point is that we should not expect much of anything from any of these names 5 on 5. Arguably the best of the group should be Hall, but he's here on a 1 year rental type situation and you can see his level of contribution. It's not very good. Our bottom 2 lines are total garbage. If you start to view this team as not nearly as good as you think they are, our position near the body of the NHL starts to make sense.

The most predictable thing about this lineup prior to the start of the season was that our goaltending was not nearly good enough and needed to be improved. Those who run this organization know that too. They did nothing. It shows you where their heads are at now. It's not about icing the best possible team; it's also not about saving every last penny. But it is somewhere in between. Hutton is not an NHL goalie and this organization knows it, but yet they retain him for obvious reasons. TWO THUMBS DOWN!

I think it has to be the only contributor at this point! I do think that Ralph thinks Skinner is not a Top 6 forward on this team. I totally disagree with that.

He's said a lot of different things, no doubt. If this current injury is simply the aftermath of his awkward fall in the game the other night with the twisted leg thing...then f-ing say it! It's this BS coach thing. Do these guys really think they are somehow disadvantaging Jack or the team by saying "Yeah, he tweaked his knee the other night in that weird fall; he'll need a few days to get over it" or something? Does he think opposing teams in the NHL in the year 2021 are going to send out assassin goons to hit Jack's bad knee with a pipe wrench? These guys don't even touch each other in front of the net anymore. It's just so f-ing stupid. And what's up with Skinner being benched despite Jack's injury making a spot in the lineup for him? Did Skinner impregnate Ralph's daughter or something?

Anyone listen to Krueger's pre-game PC? He was asked about Skinner. He went out of his way to emphasize that he loves being transparent with the press, he would love to be able to tell everything that is going on, and that there is a lot of stuff going on in totality behind the scenes. But he can't say everything and he assured everyone they are making decisions with all factors in mind for the good of the entire team/organization. It was interesting...basically saying "Hey guys, if you knew everything I know, you'd know why he's been scratched 3 games in a row too!" I wonder if Skinner straight up skips team meetings or something? And has been warned not to, and he thumbed his nose at the organization anyway? Something like that? Then again, Ralph has suggested Skinner is a consummate professional. I have no idea what is going on!

Those are my 3 votes as well. And for the record, Skinner's K is not tradeable, nor is it buy-outable. We are stuck with him and for a long time. Have to make him happy and he must play top 6. Easiest way to fix this is to put him on line with Eichel and move VO to accommodate that, while VO retains his spot on the PP1. There's something weird going on with Skinner and Ralph; some kind of personality conflict or something.

"The Sabres will reopen...to fans...for select home games this season." What does that mean? All home games will not feature fans once the policy is enacted in March??? Like fans will only be allowed in on "fan night" which happens only now and again? It certainly reads that way.

Ralph Krueger was on this morning with Howard and Jeremy. Howard asked point blank why Jack Eichel doesn't look right. Ralph basically implied that it's a conditioning thing; his pre-season injury delayed the start of his camp by 1 week and the compressed schedule has resulted in little training/fitness time to catch up. Not sure I buy this as Jack is known to be a gym rat and these guys have a lot of dead time in their days, especially on the road.

The Sabres don't need to spend $9,000,000 per year to have Jeff Skinner not play on the team. They could have gotten that for free.

No one put a gun to their heads! They did it because they wanted to, and most of them were fine with it. A few guys who had that role were not suited to it by nature, and it looks its toll on their lives. They are the ones who give a bad name to the entire situation. I greatly miss fighting in the game and wish we could go back to the '80s or '90s tomorrow. NHL hockey is extremely boring now. Not solely b/c of a lack of fighting; it's a lack of overall competitiveness and intensity. It's totally gone from regular season hockey now. They still amp it up like in the old days for the playoffs, though, thank God.

Is this new or the same documentary that was done about him years ago? I have seen a documentary about his life; not sure if that is this one or not. Probie was a good hockey player, and the definitive heavyweight of his era.

VO is not much of anything but a trigger man from the dot on the PP. Granted, he is so good at that he has earned his spot on the team as a result...but I agree with you. He's not a strong 5 on 5 guy. Skinner absolutely needs to be with a playmaking center like Eichel, or else there is no point in keeping him on the team. To give him that big K and play him where he have played him is part of why we are maybe the worst organization in the NHL.

One point made which I don't think anyone has commented on is Travis' assertion that you simply cannot ice a team with our 3rd and 4th lines and expect to make the playoffs. Only way you can do that, says Travis, is if you have a #1 line that has gone "super nova" (LOL) and you have superlative goaltending. We have neither, hence our troubles. Travis is on with Schopp and Bulldog every now and again. He is *always* the best guest they have on talking about either Bills or Sabres.

I wondered how long it would take for someone to get in some Mike Schoop hate. He was off and not present for this phone call; Sal C. was there. I would recommend everyone listen to the full segment; it's really good.

Skinner is a *much* more valuable asset to the organization than Ralph Krueger. Skinner should be the priority, not Ralph. Really? He's one of the smartest voices I know of commenting on NHL hockey these days.

1) Physically getting near the net with the puck but choosing not to shoot and instead passing the puck away to a location much further away (typically the point) and then a shot comes from there. I.E., trading prime shooting real estate for a shot from an area of much lesser value. This happens many times in every game. 2) Something Dahlin just did the other night: dumping the puck into the offensive zone before making it to the red line, thus creating an icing call. It's just stupid lack of attention to detail; a mistake a pro should never make; happens all the time. 3) Passing the puck on a 2 on 1 out of a feeling of obligation. Sometimes the pass is just not there and it is often NOT the right play; I think the shot is probably the right call on many 2 on 1s, but most guys feel obligated to pass, even when everyone knows the pass is coming and the defender is in a position to break up the pass. 4) A forward with a wicked shot getting near the net, but choosing not to shoot b/c it's a 1 on 1 type scenario with the goalie and no one is in front of the net. Forwards at the NHL level, particularly with modern stick technology, straight up beat NHL goalies 1 on 1 in every single game I watch. These guys should be shooting the puck way more than they do. They often say "at this level, a goalie is going to stop the puck if he can see it." Oh yeah? I see goalies get burned one-on-one in every single game, where the goalie's catching hand is simply not quick enough to stop a fast snap or wrist shot. Many guys these days have ungodly shots! Shoot the puck more often!

Always *love* Travis. Listen to his comments on the ongoing Skinner vs. Krueger feud, among other interesting points. https://www.radio.com/wgr550/podcasts/schopp-and-bulldog-20261/02-24-travis-yost-tsn-357829824

Standing still with our goalie lineup, last off-season, is this organization's greatest sin. It tells you where they are in their thinking. Wins and losses are not the top priority now.

The funny thing is they are talking like maybe they will try to extend Hall, which is kind of hilarious. Or tragic. That is actually something to keep a close eye on. A Sabres team committed to winning is not going to come close to extending Hall. A Sabres team not trying to win but just in survival mode might very well extend Hall. This all assumes his play remains about the same until the trade deadline. Comes late this season on April 12.

I watched the New Jersey broadcast; I watch the games on the internet and stopped listening to the Sabres broadcast a long time ago. I am not surprised you have audio trouble on MSG; their audio work is among the worst in the league. A few years ago, every time the puck would hit the glass behind the net (which happens all the time) the microphones back there would max out and totally screw up the sound for like 2 or 3 seconds until they reset their levels again. I remember talking about that with someone here at Sabrespace at the time. That lasted a long time actually, but seems to have been fixed more recently. Both of them really were quite loud. Eichel's in particular hit perfectly square to the pipe and really rang the bell. That PP, by the way, was the best PP I have seen the Sabres operate in a long time. It was 2 minutes of near perfection, but for the lack of a goal being scored. We can put 5 guys on the ice at one time, all of whom have a tremendous set of hands. They were really moving the puck well and stayed on the ice for the entire 2 minutes!

What if pigs started falling from heaven? We'd all have to buy really strong umbrellas, I guess.