Marvin

IMHO, he can trade for 1 each of the defenceman, forward, and goaltender. Then he needs 1 each of forward and defenceman from FA. GMKA seems to know that he needs a more boring, grittier game from the newer players. He also needs a centreman who can take face-offs and help teach the skill to the young guys. And, like it or not, he will probably need to move an asset or 2 whom he would rather not move to get the higher-end guys. Moreover, he will probably need to bribe other players a bit more than he wants to pay to play here.

As an FYI: teaching a lock-down, defence-at-all-costs, boring defencive system prevents games like this and helps defencemen and goalkeepers. But then your youth develop the way Bylsma's did in Pittsburgh and Buffalo: no one but the ultra-high-end truly develops. Having said that... There has got to be a medium between Bylsma and what Donnie Meatballs has done here with this roster. It is clear that Donnie needs to teach a real defencive system to the players younger than Tuch. I know that the progression of offence in year 1 and defence in year 2 is commonly very effective in year 2, but teaching more defencive awareness in year 1 has to be what the next coaches around the league learn from us.

This ties the 9-2 loss of the 1976-7 Sabres against the Montreal Canadiens as the worst home loss in franchise history.

If I had that answer, I would be making several million in consulting fees.

Doesn't work: this team played well until the GTG against Washington. Many players need to learn playoff-level mental toughness.

Wow, did losing to Washington take the starch out of this team. They stopped believing.

Welcome to the board!

Ooh. Aah. Sabres on the golf course.

Unless he gets back to the form he had in Minnesota the last couple of years.

The guys in front of the goalies deserve a lot of blame too. For instance, on the 3rd goal, two guys converged on the puck-carrier and left the goal scorer wide open in the slot.

Welcome to the board!

True, but teams will get that video and run that defence.

They must figure out how to beat Colorado's defencive set-up. They had all sorts of trouble getting clean shots off in last year's final.

Based on what we have seen, this is true enough. He was much more effective the last few seasons. I assume HCDG is trying to figure out how to get that player back.

So the Sabres have advanced from embarrassing to mediocre? Let us see who will be here next year. I will not assume any sentimental favourites will remain. I also will not assume any prospects will make the team, but they can and will be called up. I will assume this season's youth will be kept. As usual, I assume that the NHL norms that a playoff team needs 5 forward lines, 4 defencive pairs, and 4 goalkeepers of NHL-Quality depth for the season. Although not ideal, the 5th line, 4th pair, and 3rd goalkeeper can be borderline NHLers. Forwards: Skinner-Thompson-Tuch Peterka-Cozens-Quinn Mittlestadt-Krebs-_____ _____-_____-_____ Kulich, Savoie, Östlund, Greenway Defence: Samuelsson-Dahlin Power-_____ _____-Jokiharu Stillman-Lyubushkin Johnson Goal: _____ Lukkonnen Levi Comrie Subban Houser The one saving grace for this is that the hard parts are there except in goal. GMKA seems to recognise that we need some heavier players, so I have hope that next season will have a better-balanced team. Now if only they can learn how to play good team defence and how to beat good team defence. The one glaring problem is, of course, in goal. I have no confidence that anyone the Sabres currently have will rise to be at least an average NHL goalkeeper next season. And, as of now, no one I would want to acquire will be available at a price that I would be willing to pay. Any UFAs and RFAs look good?

Your condescension, avoidance of the behavior I mentioned, and lack of respect for me is noted. FYI: Carter Hart is available. According to Flyers fans, the price is higher than the one that Adams would not pay for Chychrun. So even if you are right, getting him is a pipe dream unless Adams gets canned.

That is a deliberate, grotesque misrepresentation of people's position. You owe us all an abject apology.

True. It is double-edged because it could have hurt us earlier. Maybe a straight-up rotation keeps everyone fresher. It is hard to tell.

Hound Dog Kelly.

It's the disciplined defencive structure. It is a clear weakness like the defencive zone coverage.

As pointless as it seems, I liked Girgensons being in front of the net on the PP at the end causing havoc. IMHO, that is one change that I think we need next year that I don't think gets mentioned. It would add a wrinkle to the PP to make it less predictable against well-structured defencive teams. Those teams have caught up to us.

If the slide goes much longer, then I would shut down Dahlin, Samuelsson, and anyone else important who needs to heal for the rest of the season. Also, now that we are seeing the results of it, I think it is clear that not rotating in Hinostroza, Asplund, etc. throughout the season for Peterka, Quinn, etc. just to rest the youngsters was a mistake. They clearly have worn down physically and mentally and their effectiveness has correspondingly decreased.

Both of these comments are accurate.

Given your avatar, does "pp" stand for "puppy"?

Help us, Obi-Dev-On Levi. You're our only hope.