JohnC

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.

The Sabres have a chance to get back into a credible playoff chase if they come close to maximizing their point potential in this extended homestand. If they don't seize the opportunity, the rest of the season will lose a lot of meaning. There should be no excuses. The team is relatively healthy; and the recent two games are a good starting point to build from. A big question is whether this team can get enough consistent goaltending. The last two games are encouraging and indicate that the answer is maybe.

I agree with you that both video replay calls were the right calls. The offside goal was obvious. Although the interference with the goalie call was the right call, it was a close call that frequently doesn't get called. In the hockey world, or sports world for that matter, usually in the long run the calls balance out. You have no choice but to play through them. As you pointed out in your previous post, the Sabres seemed to stabilize after the first period when they seemed to be constantly chasing the Penguins when they had the puck. Dealing with adversity and demonstrating resiliency was one of the more important takeaways in this game.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/buf-pit-girgensons-scores-goal-against-tristan-jarry-6344418313112 Our fourth line battling in front of the net. This line ended up securing the win. Over the past two games, both victories, our fourth line played like a good fourth line. They played up to their role.

https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/victory-speech-6344419109112

The not being able to clear the zone was mentioned by one of the commentators. He pointed out that because they struggled to get the puck out of their zone, the unit ended being out too long. It made it even more difficult to keep up with the Pitt offense. We were very fortunate that UPL held the fort while it was under siege. As you noted, the Sabres didn't panic, even when they were being dominated. We were both fortunate to win and it was a good win. Hopefully, we can build on this win during our homestand.

Quick thoughts. Obviously, UPL was our big star. As someone else said this may be his best game ever. We were fortunate to get a win. But our guys hung in there. As previously mentioned, the video guys get a star for making the right calls. The replays showed that they were right. The Sabres struggled to get the puck out of their zone in the first period. UPL saved the bacon in that period. As with the previous game, our three pairings held strong. Our third pairing played solidly. No weak links in the defensive pairings. Clifton has been playing well. Our team demonstrated a lot of fortitude. They hung in there although on balance I thought Pittsburgh had the edge in play. Crosby is still great. The Sabres had no lapses in this game. They played hard throughout. We got good goalie play in the past two games. We won both of them. That's the difference. When the goalies elevate their play, we are much more likely to win. Two games in a row. Let's build on it and get back into the fray.

I believe that in the process of trying to emphasize defense in the offense/defense balance, the team lost its confidence. This year, the players seemed to be more hesitant and less reactive in their play instead of playing looser and with more freedom. Sometimes thinking too much about what you should be doing hinders what you are doing. There is a style of play that accentuates speed and offense that is most suitable to the way this roster is constructed. The team seems to have lost its identity and confidence. It's my opinion that constantly being stymied on the PP has contributed to some of its loss in confidence. It's time to get its mojo back.

It's not a loser mentality for fans of this particular franchise to want to make the playoffs after not doing so for nearly a generation. When you are franchise flirting with the bottom for a long time, you look for improvements in stages. This team is not a Stanley Cup contender. That would be a delusion. However, in my mind this team is a playoff caliber team. Being realistic is not something one should be ashamed for. You take one step forward and continue to look up. At least, that's how I see it.

This place is getting darker than usual. But that shouldn't be surprising because the expectations for this season were high. The mediocre results (so far) have ramped up the frustrations of the posters, many long-term participants. So, I'm not bothered as much as others by the negativity and even vitriol. I understand where it is coming from. @dudacek brought up the issue of the core and whether it is an established core that needs to be remixed. My belief is that it is a good enough. He sagely points that too much focus is on the periphery when the real critical issue revolves around the coaching staff and whether the core is adequate enough. I think our core is good enough but have more doubts about the coaching staff. I'm not a Granato critic. On the contrary, I believe his strengths is working with young players knowing how to handle them individually to bring them along. With respect to his staff, that is another issue. What has both red me a lot this season is its uneven play. It too often rises against the better teams and then deflates against the lesser teams. So far, this team has not had any sustained success. There has been only one time that this team has won two games in a row. That's ridiculous when considering that the norm for all teams to have at least one mini good run by this point in the season. On the positive side, compared to last year. it hasn't had any sustained losing streaks like last year where it had three separate non-winning streaks of 8 games. I get mocked by a few for being a company man who toes the line. I may be naive but I still believe that this season is salvageable. However, the margin of error is getting narrow, and time is running out to get on track. If we can get a high enough level of goaltending, I still believe that we can break our ignominious non-playoff streak.

It's likely that the less whiskey you take in will correspond with a lower number of turnovers attributed to VO. 😀

If Mitts were playing with the first line like he did at the end of the season last year, his stats would be even more impressive. There are good reasons for people to be disappointed on how this season has turned out so far. How he has played is cause for celebration in a season of many disappointments.

In my opinion I thought he played a hard and tight game. He played a style of play suitable for a fourth liner. I have no complaints regarding his play last night.

As you are referencing, Mitts is a good story on a so far troublesome season. Another positive storyline for me is the play of Quinn after coming back from his injury. He surprisingly, already has returned to his healthy form. Last night was an example of that. I thought it would take more time.

Dahlin made a bad play in overplaying the puck. Don't overthink this mistake that resulted in a goal. There will be times when he will force a play and it results in a goal for us. And there are times when he will force a play and it will end in our out net. It happens.

You had two choices: win or lose. You picked win. You got it right. Does that mean that you are our in-house Nostradamus? You are entitled to pat yourself on the back. Oh wait, you have already done that. 😃

Some quick thoughts on this game. Levi gets the first star. He made a number of exceptional stops but what was most impressive is that there were few rebounds. Skinner gets the second star. The best pass of the game was his pass to Mitts for a goal. And the best shot of the game was his laser shot for a goal when he was on the side of the net. The team was swarming on defense in their zone. The Habs had little room to maneuver because when they got the puck our players were all over them. I thought all three of our pairings were good. No weak links. Tage should buy Skinner a dinner. Skinner took care of him in this game. Our first line played well. Quinn has a terrific shot. What's encouraging is that since he returned it appears that his injury has had no lingering effect. This team needs to string some wins together to get back into playoff contention. A win is a win. No complaints about this game.

I wholeheartedly agree with your first sentence. The GM needs to get the right mix. It's not there right now. As far as your last sentence about giving up on the season, I'm not there yet.

There is no need to continue going back and forth because we have an irreconcilable fundamental difference about this team and roster. There is no question that it is not a complete roster with upgrade needs. (I'm sure we agree on that basic issue.) Where I disagree with you is that I do believe that this current roster has enough talent to be a bottom qualifying playoff team. (I'm confident that you disagree with that assessment.) As I said in prior posts, I'm disappointed up to now in how this team has played, especially in contrast to the end of last season. You dismiss the importance of last year's end of season play while I don't. Am I optimistic how the rest of the season will play out? Not so much, but not given up just yet. We'll just have to see how the rest of the season plays out. You say absolutely not in our prospect to get back into the playoff race while I say, maybe.

Put aside the Leafs. Our best games were against Colorado, NY Rangers, Boston in Boston and Vegas in Vegas. These are all top tier teams i.e. cup contending teams. In all of these games, there was a focus and intensity in play (two-way play) that for the most part lasted throughout the game. For whatever reason, against lesser teams our play is substantially below the standard that it is against the listed teams. That is what has bothered me the most about this season. I'm not even sure that we have won two games in a row? That also bothers me. There is a marked difference in the quality of play between how the team finished up last year and how it has not translated to this year. That bothers me. It's perplexing and inexcusable.

Our PP was better last year. But that isn't the salient point. The bigger issue, which is more pronounced this year, is that it hasn't been able to make the necessary adjustments to make it better. We have enough offensive players to have a presentable PP. It just seems that it has been stymied to the extent where the unit seems to be completely flummoxed. It's gotten to the point where even setting up in their zone has become a challenge. It's understood that teams adjust to what you are doing, and correspondingly, it seems that we haven't been able to adjust to their adjustment. The deficiency in our PP production has been a major reason why this team has struggled. There needs to be changes to that unit either in scheming of players, or a combination of both.

I'm not trying to be clever or play semantical games. We are not performing as well when compared to last year's end of the season playoff push. This team for the most part elevates their game when going against the upper tier teams, and then slides down when competing with the lower-level teams. The uneven performance is obvious and is reflected in its record. We had one of the better PPs in the league. Not this year. Teams have adjusted while we haven't. If you are assuming that I don't agree with the necessity to consistently work hard and play a responsible game, then you have not accurately interpreted what I have been saying about my criticism of this year's team for inconsistent play, especially against the lesser teams.

What are you talking about? Of course, I haven't criticized every move that the organization has made. But I also have made the same obvious criticisms that everyone else has made about this organization.

Your response makes absolutely no sense to me. Progression from last year would mean that this team would be playing better/improved play and be in the thick of a playoff run. What you are basically saying is that you agree with me, and then conclude that you disagree with me. That is nonsensical reasoning. This is what happens when someone is too robotic and programmed with all their responses to all questions and comments. You may not be aware of it but a difference without a difference is no difference. 🙃