JohnC

The Sabres have played three games and have come away with one win. That's disappointing. But its still too early in the season to come away with such a dire assessment that many are making. In the three games Buffalo has played they played well in two of them. Hockey can be such a fluky game where unintended deflections off a stick or skate can result in a score and a loss. The Sabres dominated this game. What does it mean? Not much, especially in this unusual season with a compressed schedule and altered conference. Let's just be a little more patient and see how things develop.

It's amazing how time flies by. In your example you are looking back more than a quarter century ago.

The attached article is from the Olean Times Herald by Chuck Pollock. I can't think of a bigger play at a critical moment in a game. What makes this play even more unique is that it was made by one of the lesser prominent players on the team. The Houston playoff comeback game with Reich as the qb is etched in my mind but that game included a series of outstanding plays. If anyone can think of a bigger play in the Bills history I would like to know what it is. Johnson takes his place in Bills’ lore | Olean | oleantimesherald.com

As I stated in the original post I agreed with your description of the qbs. It is accurate. The reason why people are infatuated with his athletic ability is that it is the essence of how he plays the position. His athleticism is a factor when he runs and even when he passes. And as unconventional as it is you can't deny that he has been successful as a starting qb leading his team to good regular season records and playoff participations in his short tenure. My basic point in my original post is that it shouldn't be surprising that what most distinguishes him as a qb and how he plays the position from almost every other qb in the game is that which is highlighted.

I don't recall these announcers ever saying that Jackson is better than Josh. Why is it surprising that when these announcers, or any announcers, talk about Lamar and his style of play it revolves around his outstanding athleticism and ability to run, especially at the qb position? The reason why it is stressed is because it is true. Most of the plays he makes are associated with his running, and that includes his passing game. Lamar simply plays the position differently than most qbs. That's evident. Especially this year after Allen's stunning leap forward in his development from a raw and unbridled style of play to one of the most accurate and smarter qbs I have heard few announcers and analysts, if any, say that the Baltimore qb is better than the Buffalo qb. I'm not disagreeing with your descriptions of the players. It is spot on. What I am to an extent disagreeing with is that either of the announcers inaccurately portrayed or more favorably portrayed one of the qbs over the other.

He did. He might have even played some on the first line when Hall was getting stitched. What I'm and others are advocating for is him to be an established member of the second line and at times the first line to change things up. As I said in a prior post I thought that Skinner had a very good game. The out of town TV announcers even made the observation that he was the most prominent player on the ice during a few of his ice time interludes. In conjunction with Skinner moved to the second line I thought when Reinhart was assigned to the first line and Tage was off of it the first line played exceptionally well. They didn't convert but they created quality chances.

Washington is a cup contender. They are not favored but they certainly are in consideration. Dahlin is playing in his third game after not playing NHL games for almost a year. This is like jumping to a conclusion about a book after reading the first couple of pages. That makes little sense.

The coach did change his strategy this game. He put Reinhart on the Jack line and it resulted in that line dominating the play although with no conversions. The coach needs to move Skinner up and put him on the second line. I thought Skinner played very well and when he was on the ice he was the dominant player. The coach has to yield and alter on how he handles Skinner. If you have an asset you have to maximize that asset.

The Sabres have played two games after not having played for a year. The first game the whole team played raggedly. That was to be expected. The second game against a cup contending team the Sabres tightened up and played much better with more structure and less sloppiness. My point is that we are only into our third game in the season where we had a brief training camp with no preseason games. Making judgments right now as to how players are playing is a tad premature. Don't you think? In general, I liked the play of Ullmark and I thought that Skinner looked a lot better in this game.

How much a player gets paid and the length of his contract shouldn't be the determining considerations as to how he gets used. The coach makes the decisions on how to utilize players, and ultimately he will be held accountable on the results of his decisions.

The owner dictating to the coach who to play and how to use players is a recipe for disaster. The coach is going to be held accountable for his decisions. If there is interference in how to coach the team he will lose his authority and respect from the players. There is nothing wrong in keeping the owner informed about what and why the coach is doing. But forcing him to follow what the owner is recommending is an awful way to run a hockey operation.

I disagree with your dire assessments of our lower lines. The irony about the complaints of Kreuger relegating Skinner to a lower line is that he assumingly improves the lower line he is on. So on the one hand there are criticisms that the lower lines are deficient while on the other hand the lower line assignment for Skinner to an extent addresses that valid issue. With respect to goaltending I'm not concluding that this tandem is adequate because I'm simply unsure about them. While most people direct their ire towards Hutton the more important issue for me is Ullmark. If he can play solidly as a #1 goalie (little better than middle of the pack) then I will feel more confident about this team and its prospects for the playoffs. I like your observation about Montour and his pairing with Dahlin. If Montour can play at the level of his talent he will be a bonus player for us. My prediction is that the Sabres will make the playoffs. And I strongly believe that Ullmark will be the most critical player for us determining a successful season or not.

Rob Ray on WGR's Instigator Show directly said that in the scrimmages he witnessed Skinner was not very impressive. There simply was a lack of urgency in his play. This is a guy who struggled last year so he should have come into camp motivated to show that he was worthy of being a more prominent player. Many people blame the coach for the way he handled the player as the cause of his deterioration in play. Based on what people have observed in this training camp it's more clear to me that the onus is on the player for his demotion.

Paul Hamilton was on WGR for a 15 minute segment with Howard Simon and Jeremy White talking about the Sabres. Some of the topics dealt with Cozens and Quinn. When asked about the team's playoff chances he brought up the issue of whether any teams will be dropping off. Howard And Jeremy | RADIO.COM

You are astute and perspicacious. The lower lines are not as decrepit as they are being portrayed. On the one hand there is intense criticism that placing Skinner on a third line is a misuse of his talents without acknowledging the possibility that he can be part of a lower line that is significantly upgraded. A line composed with Skinner, Cozens and whomever is an intriguing line with more scoring potential than we have had from a lower line in a long time. I want to see Skinner on a second line because I strongly believe that if he can get back to his prolific scoring form it will boost the team. But he has to earn this elevated role. And that is how it should be. When there is an overview examination of this roster compared to prior years what is evident is that the organization has assembled two top quality lines. We didn't have that before. The lower lines are certainly important especially from the standpoint that at the minimum if they are not going to help you what you don't want them to do is hurt you. If the lower lines with their less time on the ice play to a standstill with the opposition then this team is better than the earlier teams. What is sometimes forgotten with the energetic discussions regarding the line makeup is that lines are constantly being changed. Not only from game to game but also within the games. Line combinations are constantly being jumbled for a variety of reasons including individual player performances.

Don't be shy. Go for it! 😀

You need to add better penalty killing to your list.

You were prescient. Since your intuition is so supreme could you tell me if the Sabres will make the playoffs? Not only am I dying to know but I also want to place a bet. 🤡

The scrimmage, especially for the goaltenders, tell you little about how they will perform. In that setting the play is loose and hitting is rare. You don't need to wait until tomorrow about what is going to happen. There will be no trade for a deal. We are going with what we got.

I don't want to futilely go back and forth on the Hutton issue. Evidently the HC and organization believe for the immediate time Hutton is an acceptable backup. Did the organization have options to replace him? Probably so, but apparently weren't willing to give up assets to consummate a deal. I know I'm in the minority here but I'm not as bothered with Hutton as a backup as most others are. A bigger issue for me is Skinner returning to form and how he is used. We'll just have to see how this plays out.

With Krueger he will have to get back to the defense first mentality in order to stay up with the big club. When the AHL starts playing games it would best for him to play in Rochester and get a lot of playing time.

Power play #1 is dynamite. Dynamite Explosions compilation 2016 - Bing video

Marty Biron has repeatedly stated that the most important reason why the Sabres struggled last year was due to its inability to score. I'm hoping that with the addition of Hall and Staal and with Skinner returning to form or near form that will resolve that major deficiency. Hutton is a backup and nothing beyond that. If he is adequate then he is a sufficient backup. It was reported last year that the struggling netminder had eye issues. Was that the primary reason why he struggled? I don't know. As I stated before the bigger issue is whether Ullmark can be a consistent #1 caliber backstop. I think he can but again can't say with much confidence. For me the play of Ullmark is the biggest factor determining success or failure for this team. As I said before if Hutton falters a serviceable replacement can be made in season. If Ullmark falters it will be more difficult to find an acceptable replacement. My recommendation to you is to put more attention on Ullmark and less on Hutton. If you do that it will save you a lot of stomach agitation.

Thanks for the quote. I'm upbeat about Ullmark. As you and others have noted there has been a steady progression to Ullmark's development. Whenever he makes a jump up the ladder he at first struggles. And then predictably he adapts and establishes himself until he moves up the ranks. The pattern has been consistent. That is encouraging. The point of my post is while there is a lamenting fixation on Hutton the more important issue is Ullmark. If Hutton falters a replacement can more easily be found in season. If Ullmark falters this team is sunk. I'm more encouraged than not about our starter.

I agree that there was a repetitive nature to his commentary. But the truth is there was a repetitive nature to the team's play that brought on that same and tiresome commentary.