JohnC

Why would you expect many fans in the arena cheering for Vancouver? I can understand a large contingent of fans in our arena cheering for Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, NY and Boston due to proximity, students from respective areas and transplants. But why Vancouver? It's inarguable that much more was expected from this team causing so much hostility and resentment. As you seem to be alluding to: this has not become a pleasant place to visit. That's sad and disappointing.

You can play semantical gymnastics all you want. UPL and Levi are in fact the goalies, and that is the point. .

It's a point that you haven't been willing to accept. It's unlikely that KA is going to make a deal this year for another goalie for this team. If you think otherwise, you are betting on a humongous long-shot.

It's an unlikely option. UPL and Levi are our goalies. If Levi were to be sent down to Rochester, Comrie would move up.

His passing this year has been good. In fact, I would go so far as saying that he has been over-passing. Over the past season or so he has worked hard to better round out his game. And from what I have seen, he has done so. There is no question that he is not a top tier two-way player. But he has worked hard on improving that aspect of his game.

Every time Ryan Johnson plays it becomes evident that he should be a regular on one of the pairings. There is a maturity to his game that belies his inexperience. He's not your typical rookie player who is feeling his way in the big league. He simply belongs. And it is evident that Clifton has steadied his game after his early season uneven play. He seems to have gotten comfortable with his teammates and his role.

It seemed that after being dropped to a lower line in the previous game, Tage got the message on how the coach wants him to play. There was less dangling and cute play and more direct and simpler play. The coach said that he had conversations with Tage about his play. Tage was a receptive listener and showed that he is very coachable.

Are you vying to become the Curmudgeon of the year? You get my vote.

I'm impressed with Robinson's speed. Our fourth line has been playing its role very well recently.

As @Norcal points out the Sabres are 4 out of 6. That's a more positive take on their last half dozen games. This home stand is still very salvageable. The Sabres had three separate 8 non-winning streaks last year. That hasn't been the case this year where we seem to have a regular pattern of winning a game and then losing the next game. There are a number of members here who have thrown in the towel on this season. I'm not one of them. Although this certainly has been an exasperating season, it is far from being a lost cause. There is still plenty of time to crawl back into the playoff race.

When you get older your mind gets scrambled a little. It was Marty Biron. I have a tendency to mix up these short French Guys. With respect to how Granato and how he handled the situation: He's the coach. He sets the strategy and determines how he wants his players to play. A player wasn't responding to his directives. He quickly meted out a consequence. How do you think a coach such as Torts or Brind'Amour would have handled a player/s not following his instructions? With respect to TT being moved off of the top line and how it impacted the team: Mitts moving up to the top line didn't hurt its production. The Sabres are barely hanging on to a playoff hope. They have no chance to succeed if the players don't abide by what the coach is telling them. If the coach allows his players to be dismissive of what he is telling them, he will lose the respect of his players and be a failure as a coach.

Danny Briere talked about Tage being immediately dropped from his line on his show. He conjectured that the issue probably wasn't just about this game but also related to how players practiced. The game plan against this hot Seattle team that plays a very tough and structured/disciplined game was to play a more patient and simplified game. The coach didn't want his team to get frustrated and respond with over handling the puck against this defensively oriented team. When Tage over handled the puck and got caught up in the trap in his first couple of shifts, the coach quickly jerked him off the top line and relegated him to a lower line. The message was not only being sent to Tage (one of our best players) but it was also being sent to all the players that deviating from the game plan and from what the coach was instructing wasn't going to be tolerated. Supposedly, in practice Tage was back with the top line. I have no problem with how the HC handled the situation in last night's game.

I believe that he had a brace on his knee that recently has been removed. So, a leg issue may be hindering him. I agree with you that for a while his skating hasn't been as free flowing. But the issue that has stoked the coach's ire is his tendency to force a play by keeping the puck when passing it would be his best option. His trying to do too much has been a fault.

I won't go that far just yet. However, if he continues to be resistant to what he is being told, then he should be dispatched to the team box to get a better perspective on the game. By all accounts, Tage is a quality person and a team guy. But stubbornness has consequences.

Quickly dropping Tage, one of the team's best players, down to a lower line is holding this player accountable. And the message should also resonate to the other players that no one is immune from being held accountable.

On WGR Paul Hamilton gave his view why Tage was quickly dropped off the first line in this game. It makes the same point that you just made that instead of making the more simply play, he tried to out cute the opposition with his extended stick handling. After he did that early in the game and lost the puck, the coach immediately switched Mitts into his spot. There comes a point when a player stubbornly does what he wants to do instead of doing what the coach wants him to do, there are consequences to not listening to the coach. This team simply can't adjust to the opposition when it plays a more conservative and harder brand of game.

Before I throw in the towel on this season I want to see how this team does in this homestand. I've felt for a long time that the issue isn't so much the quantity of talent as it is the mix of talent. This team can't seem to adjust its more open game when the other team plays a conservative lock down game. Attack within this WGR link is Paul Hamilton's 12 minute segment talking about the Sabres and its problems associated with its mix and how it plays. https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/jeremy-and-joe-show

Of course, KA is listening to offers, as are all GMs. That's his job. I'm sure you will agree that it is unlikely that Greenway would be moved this season. Your preferred transaction of acquiring a top 4D defenseman will be difficult to work out for cap reasons. Paying a 4D player with a commensurate contract would not make sense from a cap strategy standpoint. There are young players already on the roster who will need to be properly compensated when their first contract is up. It makes it even less sense if you consider that we already have Ryan Johnson in the system. To my pleasant surprise, after watching him play, it is reasonable to believe that he will be on the first or second pairing in the not too-distant future. My basic point is that from a cap standpoint, it would make more sense to use the cap money on a wider distribution basis.

The appeal as to why Vancouver would want Greenway is the same appeal as to why the Sabres would want to keep him. He fits in well with the Mitts line and more importantly, he is one of our best PK players. He was a good value pickup for us.

I disagree. There's still time with little margin of error. Last year, this team dug itself into a deeper whole with three separate 8 non-winning streaks. It wasn't until the last fifth of the season where it made a serious push. We ran out of time. This is a critical extended homestand. We can get into a genuine playoff mix if we come close to maximizing the points on the table. It will be a big challenge but I see it as being doable. You may not. That's okay.

In addition, the cap should be going up in the near future. The big issue relates to the length of the term than it does to the amount per year.

The critical issue isn't so much being in a playoff spot after this homestand as it is being in the playoff mix with a credible chance of getting into the playoffs after this extended home game stretch is completed. Last year, the team dug itself in a hole that was difficult to overcome. Better positioning oneself sooner rather than later gives this team a more realistic chance to make the playoffs.

You make a good point how the long-term ineptitude of the hockey operation under its current owner contributed to suppressing the fan interest of the younger generation. I'm hoping that this team can get it together and make a genuine playoff run this season and maybe generate more interest from this particular demographic. Can interest be revived with this dormant young group? Yes. That's assuming that this team can becomes a relevant team again. Winning is a big cleanser for the foolishness that has been foisted on this worthy and untapped market. This fall from hockey relevancy is so inexcusable and wasn't necessary.

Is your real name Walter?

What is HDC? You have criticized the play of our goalies for quite a while. And rightly so. In the last two games, both Levi and UPL played exceptionally well. That should be a reason to be encouraged. Does this very limited body of evidence mean much? I can't say for sure. What I can say is that Levi's play at the end of the last season offered a snippet of good quality goaltending. And it seems to me that over the past few games UPL has upped his game. What does it mean? Just maybe???? we can get adequate goaltending to help this team make a legitimate playoff run like it did last year. Did the video replays contribute to our win? Absolutely, it did. But it should be noted that the replays showed that the original calls should have been reversed. Good calls, bad calls, consistent officiating, inconsistent officiating are part of the landscape in all sports. In the end, what caused the outcome means little. It's the outcome that counts. I'll take the win and walk away with a smile.