JohnC

I thought our play was a little loose. That's not Krueger's preferred style of play. I'm not complaining because a win is a win. The Risto/McCabe combo are our best pairing. Risto has seemed to simplify and tame his game. McCabe has been the most consistent player on the team. He's not flashy but always solid. Like everyone else I like Cozens. I thought Irwin was solid. Skinner is giving effort and working hard in his defensive zone. Eventually he is going to put the puck in the net. I hope very soon the top line loosens up and convert their chances. After Jack scored his goal you can see him exhale. We need to keep adding points so that we will be in contention right to the end of the season. NHL Hockey Standings | NHL.com

One of the neighborhood guys I grew up with on the west side owned a pizza place that did very well. He was a regular at the hockey games. He used to bring boxes of pizza to the game and give it to the police working traffic control who would then make sure that he had a quality parking space even if his arrival was late. He showed his appreciation toward the men in blue and they reciprocated with a choice free parking spot. Some people bribe the authorities with $$$$ and some people bribe the authorities with high caloric dough.

All I am saying with my responses toward you is that I don't understand why your perception of this year's team is so negative at this point. If the team was playing as they did in the first game I would understand such negativity. But in general their play since the inaugural game has been solid against good teams. You can have whatever view you want. We all have our views and interpretation of how this team is playing.

Especially with the first line although it is not scoring they are getting plenty of chances. So I'm not worrying about our top line. I think you are too fixated on the lower lines. Where you and I do intersect is that the both of us want to see Skinner moved up to the second and sometimes even the first line for a change of pace to get him going. How he has dealt with him has been exasperating. On the Skinner issue the coach has been very stubborn. I wish he would be more flexible in the way he has handled him.

Coach Krueger was on WGR with Howard and Jeremy. This is an approximately 13 min segment. No great revelations but Krueger being Krueger. Howard And Jeremy | RADIO.COM

I predict Skinner will score a goal and his teammates will mob him. 🤡

Why are you so intent on dynamiting the roster so early in the season? Although the accumulated points is somewhat disappointing the overall quality of play has been good. I'm aware that this is a shortened season with a compressed schedule and we are playing in a tough conference. So there needs to be more urgency in this odd season than a standard season. But we have just come off a four game road trip against two good teams. We earned 5 pts out of 8. That isn't exceptional but it is a solid return from a road trip. Why not wait another 6 to 10 games before solidifying your assessment of this team and the direction it is heading? Why not wait to see how this home stand turns out? I am not as invested in the analytics as some of the more astute hockey observers are in this site. However, in general they are good. What is more important to me is the eye test that indicates we are not overmatched against the quality teams we have played. I'm not saying we are better but I'm also not saying at least as exhibited by our play we are worse. My recommendation to you is to be a little more patient and wait to see how things play out. You may turn out to be more right in your pessimistic view than my guarded optimistic view. Just stay away from the dynamite because when you blow up the village it is more difficult to rebuild especially when the inhabitants have been obliterated. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=dynatice+explosion&view=detail&mid=73A629FEA941B075D44473A629FEA941B075D444&FORM=VIRE

I'm not a Mittelstadt basher. But the best one can say in his short stint is that he didn't hurt you while on the ice. With a young player what's more important than the stats on a player is whether one can visualize his future upside. I want to see it and am eager to see it but as of yet I don't see it. My belief is the best thing for his development is to go back to Rochester when it opens up again and get a bountiful amount of playing time so if he gets a call to move up to the big club he would be more developed. Sometimes one's earnest hope never materialized.

What separates me apart from the overwhelming majority of posters (including you) is that I don't see Hutton as much of a disaster as it is being portrayed. He is an average backup. I'm comfortable with that ranking because most teams are in the same situation with their backups. I am not arguing to maintain the status quo. If you can upgrade the position, in fact any position, then do so. But as you well know the cap system makes it more complicated and challenging to respond to roster deficiencies. In summary, I am more comfortable with Hutton serving as the backup than most others are.

As you so state when a player is almost free to acquire and it is still a challenge to unload him what does that tell you about his value? When the issue is whether he is better than Hutton (marginal so or not?) then that is a testament to the caliber of player he is at this very late stage in his career. When you frame the issue that he could be the difference then you are also framing it as he could also not be the difference in making the playoffs. My response is then why even bother pursuing this high cost player? There might not be backup options now but that doesn't mean that there will not be reasonable options later in the season.

It's tough breaking through the psychology of losing. It's akin to the battered wife/husband syndrome. It's difficult to get beyond your sordid history when you are in a new year. I'm not getting carried away and over evaluating this team. It's certainly not a top tier team. However, I do see it as a legitimate lower qualifying playoff team. What I don't understand is the advocacy of some people to explode the roster and start rebuilding the roster form scratch. That makes no sense.

The point is that in a zero sum year treading water keeps you floating in the same water with the opposition. That's certainly better than sinking while the opposition is racing away from you in their lanes.

For a team that has struggled to earn points coming out of the gate I'll take three out of four points on the road any time and any place. Over the past couple of years this team has proven to be fragile after being faced with obstacles. It's important for this team to stay in the mix and not get too far back from the pack.

Bland. Right now he is an inconsequential player. At best he is a fill in player. He needs a change of scenario and a fresh start somewhere else.

It's interesting to observe how two people can watch the same game and have different takeaways. I'm not saying your view is wrong because it is as valid as mine is. What you see is what you see; and what I see is what I see. In this game we played a team that played a tight game and whose goalie played at a high level. We had more than a few quality chances that he stopped. On balance I thought we were slightly the better team but if someone took the opposite view I would have to acknowledge that it is also a creditable view. As I stated before (apologize for the repetition) in every game but the sloppy first game the games were played evenly. (My opinion.) The difference between winning and losing is miniscule. What is encouraging is that for the most part our big guns have had opportunities to score but they have been stymied. If they can get untracked that will give us a bigger margin to succeed.

He isn't what he formerly was. If I had a choice between Ullmark and MAF it would without bothering to put any thought into it be Ullmark. Because of his contract price and length it would be better to keep Hutton. Our major issue is getting our scorers to have a better conversion rate for the chances that they have. Our goaltending isn't elite but so far it hasn't been the main issue for us.

Attached are the standings taken from NHL.com. NHL Hockey Standings | NHL.com

I didn't claim Jack was a generational talent. But he certainly is a perennial all-pro caliber of player. In my view Dahlin is a special talent. But with him just like the defensemen you listed it is going to take time to become a top tier talent. Why should anyone be surprised that there is a developmental process before he becomes more of a finished product? If our major deficiency revolves around the middle of the lineup that is certainly more fixable than addressing the top of the roster. My assessment of this team is that although it is not a top tier team it is good enough to be a lower qualifying playoff team. If this team gets credible goaltending this team will be in the hunt. If not it will fall by the wayside. Right now the most determinative player for us is Ullmark. As I stated before those advocating to dramatically dismantle this roster (including Jack and Dahlin) are way off the mark.

When Krueger wants to make a point he doesn't shout. He emphatically makes his point by sitting your sluggish arse on the bench.

I mean this in a friendly way: I'm not buying what you are selling. If you have an opportunity to draft Jack you do so with no hesitation. If you have an opportunity to draft Dahlin you do so with no hesitation. In your response you cited Tampa. They built their team mostly with draft picks. When Chicago had its run their team was built mostly with draft picks. I understand what you are saying but I'm not subscribing to it. It's obvious that the Sabres don't have top tier goaltending. If the opportunity arises the organization should pursue it. Who would argue otherwise? If you look at our defensive corps it is constructed mostly with first round picks. Overall, this is a good unit. The Sabres are not a complete team. On the other hand they are not as depleted or as misaligned as you are making it out to be.

I would rather celebrate a win with some booty dancing. How to Shake Your Booty | Beginner Dancing - Bing video

Your scenario is not going to happen. Your fanciful thinking induced by frustration is not reality based. Hang in there and you will be pleasantly surprised.

That OT session was exciting from the start to the end. Jack has some jets but Hall is also a turbo skater. Just a general observation that will irritate the despondent crowd: Other than the first game there was no game in which I thought we were outplayed. I'm not saying that we were the superior team but I'm also not saying that we were the inferior team. Once Hall and Jack break it loose we will be back in the hunt.

If you want to go backwards in order to eventually go forward that is your prerogative. I'm not taking that bumpy and rutted road.

Eichel is currently one of the recognized premier players in the league. Dahlin entered the league when he was 18 yrs old and is now 20 yrs old. You don't have to be wedded to any player. They are going to be long-term anchor players for us who would gladly be divorced from your lack of affection. side note: Who is the union soldier in your profile? Is that you or a genuine civil war soldier? If you are a reenactor those sunglasses are too modern and make you out to be less authentic. Just curious??? Gettysburg is one of my favorite historical locations.