JohnC

Levi is the first star by far. What he does exceptionally well is keep his pads down so the puck won't go underneath him. He reacts so quickly. I can't fault him for either of the goals. As others have also observed, Mitts was terrific. Tage made a nice pass to JJ for the score. Tage is also playing a hard two-way game. Greenway isn't flashy and won't score many goals for you. I thought he played really well. He is well worth the second-round pick that it cost us. Cozens wasn't much of a factor in this game. I thought Girgs was very active in this game. The penalty on Greenway was an odd call. If the ref is going to make that call, he should have included Bogo on the call. JJ is getting better and better. I'm so glad that the Sabres gave a good effort and got a win for the home crowd.

You bring up an interesting point about having an extra day's rest against an opponent that played the previous day. On the surface, one would think that the rested team would have the advantage. It doesn't always work out that way. The Philly home loss, and then on the next day trip to Toronto, we played one of our better and more energetic games. Predicting based on scheduling can be so perplexing! As you noted the extra day in-between games should help some of our battered players heal. This team has to play well in front of the home fans. They deserve it.

You make a great point about the necessity to move the puck more quickly. I listened to Marty Biron commenting on the ineffectiveness of our PP: His comment mirrored exactly what you said: that they need to move the puck more quickly.

Tage, Tuch and Greenway are three big guys who utilizing their size in their defensive responsibilities.

What your post demonstrates is that the Pegula era was noted for its lurching back and forth with its approach toward managing the franchise. The staff was in a constant state of turning over. With the installation of KA as the GM there was a plan to follow, and a willingness to adhere to it. The core of the plan was identifying players who wanted to be here and emphasizing building from within. KA should be given high marks for trading the old core, that included Jack, and getting fair value in return for the dispatched players. In my mind, the return in players was the impetus in accelerating the rebuild. And maybe the most consequential deal could be trading Reinhart to get Levi and a first round pick that resulted in a high value prospect. As you point out with your list, patience is a virtue that will be rewarded if allowed to play out.

I don't know if you watched the game last night. Any person who is fair-minded would have to acknowledge that Carolina outperformed Buffalo. Not by a lot, but on balance you would have to give them the edge. My point is with respect to this game take the point and be happy. In general, I'm pleased with how we played, especially our goaltender. We earned the point that we got. I'll take that point and not complain about.

Yes, UPL should have covered the puck. That was a mistake by a young goalie that was made in the heat of the battle. The bigger and more encouraging takeaway in this game was that UPL played well. If we get this caliber of netminding by our goaltenders this season, I will be very happy.

The issue of making a change or not is a delicate balancing act made in the heat of the action. In hindsight, not making the change proved costly. Our players on the ice were gassed and lost control. The countering argument is that it wasn't unreasonable to go for the score when the ice was open when we were on the attack. @Pimlach understandably expressed a different view that two points, instead of one, were there for the taking. I'll gladly, although not fully satisfied, take the one point and move on. My general takeaway from this game is that we played the hard style of two way hockey against a tough opponent that we need to consistently play. And in this game, we got quality netminding. If we can maintain the style of play and current caliber of netminding, we should be in a good position when we head toward the end of the season. It was disappointing that Cozens couldn't play in this game. He needlessly got in a senseless fight of his own making that sidelined him. It hurt the team.

I agree with your general sentiment that Levi is not going to be a workhorse goalie. At least not yet. However, I believe that Levi is our #1 goalie while the other two goalies will be vying with one another to be the backup. It shouldn't be forgotten that at the end of the season when Levi signed, he did play in the majority of games at the end of the season when we were competing for a playoff spot. It's still early in the season. The goalies on our roster will determine how much they play based on their performances. If one of them standouts, then that goalie will move to the head of the pack. As it stands now, Levi is our #1.

I agree with most of your post. Where I slightly disagree with you is that I'm not willing to write of Comrie as a backup. As I see it, Levi is our #1 goalie with Comrie and UPL vying for the backup role. As @Flashsabre stated, the bigger issue is the two-way play of the players in front of the goalie. If the Sabres can play the tough brand of hockey that was displayed in the Colorado game, the goalie play will be better.

Vegas has a fuller (more talent) team than Buffalo does. That's why they are the SC Champions. The coach has to make decisions based on the talent he has. He's not going to rely on a strategy that is more suitable for another team than on his team. The unvarnished reality is that Vegas is a Cup contending team while we are a playoff contending team. From a roster standpoint, there is a big difference in talent and most notably, experience. Your comment that shortening the bench is a sign of lack of depth and trust. That's true; and that's exactly my point. That's the reason why most coaches shorten their benches at the end of the game when the circumstances dictate it. It is done to give the team the best chance to win.

You are grumpy every day. So how can we distinguish one grumpy day from another?

As I said before, shortening your bench is a standard approach that all teams use at the end of close games. Why do you think that some of our best players play on the PK that is now one of the better PK units in the league? Coaches get paid to adjust to the circumstances of the game. Shortening the bench at the end of tight game is a tactic that every team employs.

There is nothing unusual that coaches shortened their bench at the end of a game. It happens all the time. It's a routine practice that all coaches employ.

Shorting after you gorge on your beans there will be victims who will be repelled by the toxic aroma coming out of your lower aperture! 🤢

We currently have one of the better PKs in the league. What is the need for another forward when our system is stacked with forwards. The fighting issue makes no sense to me. Playing hard and tough has little to do with fighting. That's what we need more! For those who are enamored with fighting I recommend that you attend MMA events. Cozens got involved in a fight just to prove whatever he was trying to prove. He's fortunate that he didn't get a lingering concussion that would have kept him out for the rest of the season.

I want to thank you and the other followers ( @inkman, @K-9 and others) who keep us informed on the Amerks and their players. All of you are doing us a service. 🍺

Getting a lot of playing time in the AHL as prominent players on their team is the right course of action for these players. The organization has built up its talent base in its system where not rushing players is the right course of action for the players and organization. I'm not precluding any player from moving up this year. But the general approach of allowing players to mature as players and physically is the right thing to do. The GM is doing the right thing in giving prospects time to develop. It should be noted that when you look at players like Biro, Rousek and even Ryan Johnson you have to consider that these players are older and more physically developed than younger prospects such as Kulich and Rosen. When taking an overview perspective, how can you not be excited about this franchise when you consider the bountiful number of young players in Benson, Savoie, Kulich, Rosen, Ryan Johnson etc. Then add those prospects to young players already on hand, such as JJ and Quinn. KA has done a terrific job in rebuilding this franchise the right way. Stay the course!

My opinion: No.

I don't recall their goalie giving up a weak goal. The play of their goalie wasn't a reason why they lost. I thought he played a solid game.

Ryan Johnson didn't play a lot of minutes but when out there he played well. He has a simple and efficient game. He skates well and smartly makes the right play to get the puck out of his zone. I thought he made the pass of the game to send a release pass to Skinner who got into the offensive zone ahead of the play where he scored on one of his sniper long shots.

Some quick thoughts. It has to be remembered that this intensely played game by the Sabres was the second game on a back to back. It's aggravating that this team struggles to play a similar tough brand of two-way hockey at home. Levi is our #1 goalie. He kept us in the game against a potent Toronto team. JJ is getting better and better. I thought he played really well. Mitts also played well. I thought the key play for us was Tage scoring a short-handed goal. It seemed that every time Toronto scored, we quickly came back and answered with a goal. I don't think that Ryan Johnson got a lot of minutes but he was effective. He kept it simple. He's young but he has a mature game. I like him a lot. The pass of the game was his release pass to Skinner who scored. How can you not be happy for Tuch. He's a good player and a tough player. In general, great effort with the players playing for one another. The Philly loss in front of the home fans still rankles me.

My thoughts and prayers are with your wife, you and family. Sports are fun and a diversion. Sometimes we lose perspective over a game. I'm sure you haven't. Real life is real life. 🙏

We didn't play well. That's obvious. However, we won. Winning when not expected and losing when not expected are part of the vagaries of a long and grinding season. When the season concludes, what counts is how many points your team earned. We got two points out of this game. There were occasions last season when we outplayed the opposition and lost because of the stellar play of the other team's goalie. In this game, we were the recipient of quality netminding when the opponent outplayed us. I'll take it.

Your scenario is possible. But my sense from the reports on Levi is that it is likely that he will play the next game. We shall see.