Pimlach

Worst excuse for a power play right now. Terrible.

Ray said to “stick to the game plan that they haven’t been able to get to yet”.

Palmeiri retaliated but there is no call. It was only Benson, he probably deserved it.

Figures. We get the penalty. lackluster effort by Power on the PK.

If Benson does that he gets a roughing penalty.

Was Ray told to pump up Quinn’s Rep?

I’m confused. Why are these linesmen looking at it. What about Toronto?

Warm up the PK

Ugh. Martin of all people.

Competing for the Cup as a serious threat is a big step up from just making the playoffs. I will be happy if they grab the WC rung and make the playoffs. If they exit in round 1 it’s ok, we see how to shape the team from there forward We need to be realistic, make the playoffs - step 1

Good evening Teammates, Another night of Hockey in Sabreland. Lots to learn about them tonight. MUSCLE WEIGHT

Way to represent tonight Rico and I hope you can bring us a W. Quinn, JJP, especially Cozens, and even Benson ... I am not leaving any of them out. They are top 6 on this team, Adams went with them in this pivotal season so they need to show up. Reimer is a big key also but it would be nice if we had an offensive explosion tonight and a comfortable win. Me and my Woodford Reserve will be watching.

We have the roster to compete with the middle band of teams that fight for the last few playoff slots. Until we get there and see growth in the Core from it, I don't think we will see hungry guys that are hoping to get a Cup willing to come here if they have options. Agree we need help but not the GM will take any risky moves. McLeod for Savoie surprised me.

He has speed for sure. He forechecks when his line gains the offensive zone, and he hits and has grit. He has shown very little ability to finish so far. He has had enough looks for about 3-4 goals but he has just 1. I suppose that is why he is on his 5th team in 5 seasons? He is a 4th line journeyman type of player.

You would be a great lines man. (see what I did?)

I use MW for must win. The context of my response was to another poster saying this feels like a must win. So i just used MW. I did not know what you meant by "initialisms" either so I looked it up. We called all of that stuff acronyms at one time, but in todays world, were excessive and precise labelling is common, I now understand there is a difference between an acronym and an initialism. Huh.

He wanted to leave before the injury. The Krueger hiring and firing, and another rebuild, were the final straws for him. The injury was the vehicle to make it happen.

The Avs have a -7 goal Diff. They have had big problems in the net and on the defensive side of their game. A negative +/- is not unique to Mitts.

Kozak is a guy that Mike Peca really liked for some reason. He projects as a bottom 6, probably 4th line, but if he can bring some scoring to the 4th line and still hit and play fast that could help. Currently we get ZERO secondary scoring from the 4th line.

Which is why I voted yes, they are in it and its there for the taking. The Isles game will tell us a lot. They have to pull together, 1. heavy game opponent on the road 2. 2nd night of B2B 3. Reimer in goal. A strong team would get carried by its best players. Calling on Thompson and Dahlin to lead them to a W.

We lost two in a row at home. We need 2 points to keep pace. We need to keep the Isles behind us and catch the Broons. This is an MW. Time to beat a "heavy team playing a heavy game". Do it on B2B with the backup in net.

But he didn't want to be here.

He tried JJ with Cozens and Quinn already, and with Cozens and Benson. We just don’t have enough good top 6 players to be a top tier team. We are a middling team that will contend for a wildcard with lots of other middling teams. That is the Sabres next step, right now. Cozens, Peterka, Quinn, Benson are still not consistent enough. Benson is the best two way player of the bunch but lacks the NHL shot and finish. Quinn is barely contributing and I don’t agree with the notion that he is getting better, all players should be rounding into mid season form now. He may be getting better from the level he started the season at, which was a level so poor that he should have been sent down or benched. Injuries prevented him from the benching he deserved and still does. When Greenway comes back I would sit Quinn. Cozens, even with his 2 goals yesterday is inconsistent. He hurts PP1, and he is not a 2C yet. He should not wear an “A” either. That is a joke, he is simply not respected in the league. The ref gave him an extra 2 for mouthing off, that tells me the respect level that “A” gets him. Too much, too soon. JJP is better suited for the second line, but on this team he is 1st line. He is slumping and all the line juggling isn’t working for him.

Ok here we are, the day after Thanksgiving and the Sabres are 5th in the division and 10th in the conference. If you even up the games played we could pass Boston and jump to 3rd in the division. Any way you slice it they are knocking at the door but not there, but close enough to warrant consideration. The good - They seem to be responding to Ruff and playing a more disciplined game and with better structure. They are getting good goaltending from UPL. They are more physical than past years - but still not physical enough. The bad - The power play really stinks. The top 6 is missing scorers and is too young with Quinn and Cozens in there. So far they still struggle against heavy teams and play down to their competition, especially at home. Quality depth at forward. Needs - 2C and 4D veteran help. Start beating the teams in your conference, especially the lower tier ones. Thompson and Dahlin have to get back to being with the league leaders. What will it take? A trade or trades that add the right help. Without it we don't have enough. Leadership. Will we make the playoffs? I am going to vote "Yes", only because none of the teams they are competing with are not doing any better. This looks like a year with a lot of parity. I will reevaluate at New Years. Edit: Poll closed. So this opinion is not reflected in the votes.