Pimlach

First I noticed Clague in for R Johnson.

Zemgus must of read that Joe Schmoe thread. He will end up on the playoffs probably.

Comical. Mitts had the clear and went backwards.

Paul Hamilton can spare us. Teams get booed and it happens all the time, all over the league. Boston got booed a few days ago, they agreed with their fans. I’ve been to 4 games early this year, nothing toxic happened that I saw or heard. There were no boos either and the Sabres still managed to lose every game I was at. Happens when you are not ready to play, and your coach holds goalie tryouts for two months of the regular season. There is no hate. Not buying it. Hate is a word of these modern times, and it is over used and miss-used in this instance There is massive frustration with the way the franchise is run. It is a joke and simply not up to NHL Caliber. The hyper sensitive players need leadership, not coddling No one hates them. The unwillingness of the GM, coach, and player to own this drought is comical. They are not the cause for all of it, but they alone can end it if they would just own it and put the work in - like McD and the Bills did. They are like children with their comments about not being here for 13 years. This team is 3 years old and they have regressed, do they at least own that? That is not the fault of the paying customers. It is not obvious why they play better on the road. If it was the coach could have fixed it last year, or the year before. Was it toxic last year? Was there hate last year? They were equally as bad at home last year too, but last year was a love fest. Find another excuse for the bad home play. When they face the reality that the drought is theirs to fix, then they will finally do it. They are being lead by people that don’t understand that.

The screen was set and Cozens passed it away. WTF

Benson not phased. Greenway steps in. Refs called it right.

Good evening Teammates,Punch checking in. looking for a W. Muscle Weight

YES. Honestly, I really like to win, but I I can enjoy any game if they work hard and play their best.

What does you other cynical side say?

Well yes it should. Let see it unfold and take it from there. That would mean the best players are playing like the best players again.

Or maybe Novikov on D. Only 20. Big kid at 6'3" 207 that will get bigger and stronger. Needs to stay down there awhile but he could be something.

Tanev does not meet the veteran in prime requirements.

On your learning comment: So far they learned that tit for tat fencing with the fan base is ok - You boo, we no salute. I feel this was a misguided lesson to learn and much prefer the comments the Bruins coach and captain made after they got booed. The fact that the coach and captain allowed it is the worse part. Okposo, Girgensons, Tuch, and Dahlin - they all should have shut this down, they are influential in the room. When they didn't, Donny himself should have. Only in Buffalo, and under Terry Pegula, could this happen and get out of control.

It sure did - he did next to nothing to take the next step so he over rated his team, his coaches and himself. I still don't want them to lose just because the GM is an idiot and can't see a good season from a bad one.

But have they really? The biggest change with the fans is they now boo after the first period when the team does not start well and falls behind - which has become a very bad habit for this team and something the coaches cannot seem to fix. The team no longer scores enough to catch up, and they struggle at zone entries whenever the opponent is playing shut down, often giving up breakaways and odd man rushes. Again, this has been happening all season and has not been corrected but the coaches. The fans are smart - they know that starting in the hole after one period equals a loss this season. Recall the home game against the Kracken on TNT (or ESPN). The first period ended 2-1, some fans booed at the end. The announcers all chuckled and said given the situation in Buffalo they can't blame them. The game was 2-1 but it was not really close, this team dogs it at home.

If he can't evaluate the entire season and figure out the adjustment needed than we are screwed again.

If Krebs is to remain a Sabre it will be as a 3C. He has to show he is ahead of the next wave (Savoie, Rosen, Kulich, Östlund), this is his time to do it. He is not suited for 4C at this point in his career. The 4C position needs a stronger defensive player, a better faceoff guy, and better PK skills. That should be a shutdown line.

Krebs is getting 3C time. They want to see him produce with Peterka and Benson. Probably a good move at this juncture.

You haven't been around much lately. Enjoy the Amerks game.

John, my comments on your review of the defense: We have Dahlin and the rest are all question marks. Everyone after Dahlin is tradeable with the exception of Power who needs a longer look and who's contract makes him almost impossible to move Mule had a rough year. Hopefully he gets better next year. We desperately need more physical presence from a guy with his size. His ability to play a tougher game, to clear out the front of the net, and to be rugged and durable is still a major question mark. He has big potential still. Power had a sophomore slump. Not gonna comment further, just leave it at that. He is going to be very highly paid next year and he needs to grow up faster than the average defenseman because of it. He has a ton of work to do this off season. Not sure Adams did him any favors - this kid will be making $8.35M and wont be 22 until November. 😞 We lack the big, strong, steady stay at home RHD that would help Power immensely. This is a major need. We don't need another Clifton - we need a top 4 veteran in his prime years to steady this group and take minutes away from Power. We should be able to add this player and keep Mitts. The addition of Clifton is fine for the 3rd pair. He hits, he is a tough middle weight player, he shows ability to clear the net and to be rugged. He has periods of being error prone but as a 5/6/7 that is normal. The addition of EJ will end this after this. He was a one year addition, a 3rd line guy now in the twilight of an excellent career. I am not sure he got through to the youngsters, I hope he did. I would love to pick his brain after the season and get his real thoughts on this group and the entire organization. Joker - he is playing well most of the time. He does not fill the bill as a top 4. His game is similar to Dahlin, Power, and R Johnson - a puck mover and not a heavy hitter or a defense first guy. His presence "blocks" adding the big tough defensive defenseman that we still need. More of a 5/6 that can move up to top 4 in a pinch. Very tradeable IMO. Ryan Johnson - he has played well in sheltered minutes. He looks to be smart, good skater, good passer, his head is up and he is usually composed. He lacks ideal size and strength, but still very young and will get stronger, will rely on mobility, passing and breakout skill to become a solid NHL player. Due to injuries on the team his minutes have gone up lately and he is looking much more like a rookie now. In fact, I thought he was targeted by the Ducks. Despite not having the last line change the Ducks had their best line out there against RJ for all three 2nd period goals. We hardly saw RJ in the 3rd period. Coincidence? This speaks more about the terrible game day coaching that we continually get from Don Granato and his staff. I will be watching Ryan closely tonight as I expect Montreal will try to take advantage. Bryson - an AHL/NHL tweener and a 8/9 guy on the roster. In summary - the defense is better than last year, improving on that was not a high bar either. Some of it is the better goaltending (UPL). Some of it is the better players at 5/6/7. Some of it is the system changes that focus more on defense (and consequently stifles our ability to score). There need to be changes next year. This still not a playoff caliber group but just a few moves away from it.

When does this ever happen? I hope they play to win. I want to finish strong. They have a good shot to win this on the road. After all, they have less pressure on the road.

Everybody that posts here should read this. Thanks for posting it. I know I’m not crazy after all.

Granato himself should have told the team to knock it off. If the veterans guided them to the wrong decision, and they did, then they are the wrong veterans, and this should have been overturned by the coach. The younger players just learned the wrong lesson and got away with the wrong behavior. If nothing else Adams should have ended all this salute bull crap as soon as he knew about it. There should have been no story outside the locker room. This is dysfunctional.

Some very good observations and comments. Some bad ones too To be clear, I have no hatred towards this group. I even defend them - Power, Cozens, EJ, Zemgus, etc - it’s documented all over here. I don’t boo, never have, but I don’t hear any boos that aren’t deserved either. I was ok with being a loyal Sabres fan and just accepting another losing season when all of a sudden the Harrington article hits the BN. The Secret Veteran interview rubs me wrong, why secret? The veteran leaders side with the young millionaires who don’t like the coach being booed. In Boston, the fans are right when they boo, their coach and their captain just said so. Yet in Buffalo it’s different. It hurts their feelings to hear boos, that’s what our coach and captain have to say about it. Look at the standings. What do Boston fans have to complain about? Marchand said they have the right to cheer or boo. Such a progressive city, people exercising freedoms and all that stuff. Granato tells us that the players feelings are hurt, and some signed extensions. I have a hard time understanding why a coach of a professional sports team would tell us that. Do they want to void the contracts now? Are they not men? Are they not professional hockey players? Is the fan base supposed to carry guilt now? Should we feel bad? I wish I didn’t know about any of this. I thought the franchise was heading up. I just commented on off years happening in a rebuild (see Detroit last year). Now I’m not sure about the direction of this team any more.

Some “give you the chills” harmonica by Lee Oskar. War - City Country City