msw2112

Östlund - no shi$ - it works!

I agree that Östlund would be the one going down when Norris returns to the lineup. He and Rosen have played well enough to stay, but there are only so many spots and they are both waiver exempt. Plus, they need a more physical presence in the lineup and that's not Norris' or Östlund's game. It's good to have more "qualified" players than available spots, for a change. The emergence of Östlund and Rosen is the silver lining of the recent injury situation. (I don't know how to type the "O" with dots over the top, but I copied and pasted the character from the previous post.)

I played hockey as a kid in the Buffalo area and played in some adult rec leagues over the years. On occasion, NCAA and/or former NHL players would come out and skate with us. Their talent level (even for NCAA women players) was MILES above any one of us, even the best of our group. At that, they were likely going at half-speed. Basketball is an even more interesting reflection of this concept. I've played pickup basketball with guys that can hit shots from anywhere. Inside, 3-pointers, mid-range, driving the lane, etc. They are SO good, and it's so effortless for them, yet the very best of these pickup guys had only a brief sniff of Division 3 hoops. D-2, D-1, and the NBA were not even remotely realistic for him, or for others like him. Malenstyn is who he is. He's a 4th line NHL player with great speed and tenacity and also some offensive skill, but he lacks the ability to put it all together on a regular basis at NHL speeds. There are some AHL players that are better overall hockey players, but based on the rosters of their parent clubs, they're not getting a shot at the league right now. For a moment yesterday, he was able to put it all together and score a highlight reel goal. If he had the ability to do it on a regular basis, he'd be a star, but he can't an he isn't. He is still a solid 4th line contributor for the Sabres and will have a nice goal every now and then. Adams may have given up too much draft capital to acquire him (a 2nd round pick, while maybe his value was more of a 4th round pick), but he's a solid role player for the Sabres. At the time he was acquired, the Sabres lacked in speed and guys willing to execute a body check against an opposing player. He has speed and is very willing to hit.

Thanks to all who responded to my original post. It helped me confirm that the reason I couldn't get yesterday's game on ESPN+ was that it was definitely a NHL Network game and not offered on ESPN+. It still doesn't answer why others on this board have gotten some ESPN+ games that have been missing from my feed, but at least it answered the question from yesterday. I was considering removing the thread (if I can even do that), but I see that there's a lot of good dialogue about what different people are doing to access Sabres hockey this season, so I'll let the dialogue continue....And yesterday aside, I'd still be interested if others have experienced what I have - certain games missing from the ESPN+ feed when others are able to see it. As I mentioned above, there are blacked out games, but those usually appear as a tile on the screen with the words "Blacked Out" printed on the tile. I wonder if the engineers at ESPN+ are just lazy and/or inconsistent and post some blacked out games with the words "Blacked Out" just don't bother to show others. I did not see ANYTHING on ESPN+ for the Utah or Colorado games (marked "Blacked Out" or not). Where I live, the Utah games are blacked out, and the Colorado games might be blacked out too, but again the icon with the words "Blacked Out" was not even showing. TV broadcasts aside, I'm happy to see the Sabres playing good hockey in 3 out of 4 games and staying alive in the race. They need to figure out a way to avoid the inexplicable stinkers against the likes of St. Louis and Calgary. If they play hard and lose to a top team, I can accept that, but to let lesser teams roll on, over, and through them is unacceptable. I guess another perspective is that teams just can't be on every night. Maybe Carolina fans are, today, saying that it's inexplicable that their Hurricanes could get thrashed by a lowly team like Buffalo....

Sadly, I WAS able to see the Calgary game. I get most games....this happens about every 4th or 5th game. It just gets very frustrating because I check the listings ahead of time and the game is listed as being on ESPN+, but is mysteriously missing from my list of available games in ESPN+.

I do use a VPN from time to time, but I have tried it both on and off when I experience this problem, and it doesn't help. Today's game being a NHL Network game, COULD be the issue today, but I have had this issue previously with non-NHL Network games in the recent past. I know that TNT/TBS games are not on ESPN+ and always check there when I can't find the game. Upon further review, I do believe that the issue today was it being a NHL Network game (and thus not available on ESPN+), but still searching for answers for other games. Thanks for everyone's ideas. I'm still open to hearing from others who may have had the same problem.

I have subscribed to ESPN+ for the last few years. I believe they've rebranded it as ESPN Select. The issue that I have is that some Sabres games are not showing up for me. I see many other NHL games. I try my TV (via Roku), my phone, my tablet, and the game doesn't show up. Today's Sabres-Hurricanes didn't show up during the game for me, and hours later, it's still now showing up in the "On Demand" section. I live in the West, nowhere near the Buffalo or Carolina markets, so it's not a blackout situation. Plus, blacked out games still show up with an icon that has "BLACKED OUT" written across it. I have logged out, logged back in. Refreshed. Uninstalled and reinstalled the app. Nothing works. This is the 3rd or 4th time this has happened this season and I'm getting very frustrated. I look forward to watching Sabres hockey (frequent poor play notwithstanding) and pay an extra fee for a service that's supposed to provide it, and it's sometimes just not there. Two questions: 1) Do others experience this problem? 2) Did others have any trouble seeing today's Sabres-Canes game? Can you see it now, in the "On Demand" area (I still can't). If you have experienced this and know how to fix it, please let me know. I called ESPN and spoke to someone who was very nice, but had no answers for me. I had no issues with the Chicago game on Friday night or (unfortunately) the Calgary game earlier in the week. I also had no issues with the Edmonton and Detroit games. Thank you for your help!

My point was that he doesn't know what is necessary to field a team that wins now. If he knew what to do/had a plan, he'd do it. He's fired and replaced several GMs over the years (and coaches) and they've shipped out players. None of it has worked.

I disagree that Terry doesn't care. He does. He simply doesn't know what to do. He's tried many different formulas with GM and coach and none of them have worked. If and when he make the right front office hire, things will improve. Whether he's capable of making that "right hire" is another story. It appears that Pegula knows how to run an oil company. That doesn't mean he knows how to run a professional hockey team. If the team is successful, it will sell more tickets, more beer and hot dogs, more jerseys and hats, etc. If they make the playoffs, the building will be sold out at higher ticket prices. All of this means more money in Pegula's pocket, so he wins both as a fan and as an owner.

I believe the organization has finally turned the corner.

I don't agree that Geenway is garbage. Greenway is like so many Sabres players in recent years - inconsistent. When he brings his "A" game, he's a very valuable player. He hits, can fight if needed, and chips in offensively. He's an excellent penalty killer. And he has something you can't teach - size. His ceiling is higher than Dunne's, but Dunne is hungry and plays with high energy all the time, as does Malenstyn, and typically Krebs too. If a coach can get consistent play out of Greenway, he's a valuable player to have on the roster. Whether Ruff and his staff, or ANY NHL coach, can coax that out of Greenway, I don't know. Greenway is not alone - Thompson and many other Sabres are the same. Even Alex Tuch. These guys were lethargic during the recent slump, but have picked up the pace a great deal in the last 2 games - not surprisingly, the team won both games. To me, only a few guys bring high energy all the time, and unfortunately a couple of them are injured right now: Benson, Zucker, and Doan come to mind, and they all have plus talent. Guys like Krebs, Malenstyn, Dunne, and Kozak bring the energy all the time, but lack the talent that the previously identified 3 players have. If all of the guys played with the energy they play with selectively, the Sabres would EASILY make the playoffs and might even be a threat to win a round or two (they're not serious contenders, however). As some have mentioned here, when UPL plays and lets in soft goals, it takes the wind out of their sails and the lethargy sets in. All the hard work goes to waste. Maybe if they find something in Ellis, and he keeps them in games, the energy will be more consistent.

This was another game that was mysteriously missing from my ESPN+ feed. I was able to find, on ESPN+, the 1 1/2 minute highlight reel, and decided to watch that in lieu of watching the game. Once again, they did me a favor.

In a slight overpay.

I agree that Kesserling looks pretty terrible so far. While Doan was more than just a "throw in," Kesserling was still the major piece coming back in that deal. At this point, Doan is the much better asset and is saving the trade from being, at this point, a disaster for the Sabres. Kesserling may be fine in time, but the team is in such disarray right now that I don't see that happening anytime soon.

I realize that it's a small sample size, but I thought the team was playing better and starting to "find itself" prior to the recent rash of injuries and Dahlin's leave of absence. Since those things have happened, the team has lost all confidence. They know they can put forth their best effort and they still can't win, so why bother? They're mentally cooked and are just going through the motions. Yes, the injured players and Dahlin can come back and the team can regain its footing, but by that time, they'll be so far out of the race that it won't matter. I missed the 1st 2 periods last night. I joined the broadcast - the Utah broadcast - in the 2nd intermission and they were talking about how the Sabres had been the better team and had the lead. Then I watched the Sabres crap the bed for the entire 3rd period, looking completely lost and disjointed, while Utah skated circles around them. I don't have the answer, but I'm not a professional hockey coach, GM or executive. That said, neither are the guys running the Sabres right now. Somewhat unrelated - the Utah studio broadcast team was terrible - particularly between periods and after the game. They have a young guy who appears to be Eddie Olczyk's son (Nick) and a red headed woman. They're like high-school level broadcasters. I can't imagine Nick getting that job without his father's last name. It's much worse than Jac Collinsworth and Noah Eagle trading on their father's names on NBC. Jac is annoying, but somewhat competent and Eagle is actually decent. Olczyk is terrible. They make Duff and Biron look like world beaters.