Porous Five Hole

Palm trees and taxes

I understand not wanting to break up Tuch-McCleod-Doan, but throwing Tage with two rookies was a terrible idea. Other than Doan, who is “going” right now? It’s hard to watch. Everyone is a half a second late all over the place. Nothing is smooth and the subtle plays are routinely bobbled. No juice. The blue line was fine tonight, but the Sabres need more than just ‘fine’ given the forward injuries. Quinn deserves the heat he’s getting, but I’m annoyed with Krebs. At this point, he’s a guy who we are supposed to be able to move up the lineup when it is warranted, and he’s just a no show. He’s not a prospect any longer. And we are getting absolutely nothing from him. Just don’t know what to say about UPL. That soft second goal was a killer tonight. Lindy has to know he’s not good enough. I hope he still has enough pride left to let UPL rot for a while. It’s a good time to go on a road trip and break up the crappy routine we are in.

I thought I was clear in saying the Sabres already have everyone viable lol But I agree with you.

Agree he is a waste of a roster spot, but there’s no one left to bring up. The Sabres already have Rosen, Östlund, and Dunne. That also assumes Kozak is a full time NHLer. There’s nothing left in Rochester other than kids who aren’t ready (Helenius 19 years old & Wahlberg 20 years old) or AHL vets with no NHL viability. It’s bare. If Geertson was currently in Rochester, he would be the next in line.

Preview of tonight’s game: https://www.amerks.com/news/detail/game-preview-amerks-fight-crunch-for-top-spot-in-north-division Something that caught my eye from the preview, “After three straight seasons finishing in the bottom six of the league for penalty minutes, the Amerks enter this week leading the Eastern Conference with 165 through 10 games. A pair of defensemen are accountable for nearly a third of those PIM, with Nikita Novikov (26) and Vsevolod Komarov (25) dealing out punishment.”

Greenway has been helpful since he’s been back. Not a top line guy, but someone who finishes checks and makes this team harder to play against. He kills penalties well and helps hold things together. Need him to contribute this until the injuries sort themselves out.

I don’t feel dejected because I thought the Sabres (Lyon) stole a point. Missing two guys on the top line and four forwards out of the top nine is a tough circumstance. But at the same time, a fully healthy blue line, a hot goalie, and the kids chipped in a third period goal. So I don’t know how to feel about only getting a point. Nice to see the kids contribute. Frustrating to see Tage & Tuch unable to produce when it’s absolutely necessary they do on a night like tonight. Power is a mess. Dahlin is only fine and the Sabres need more from him. Pretty crazy to think Benson makes SUCH a difference every night, but it’s true. Ellis revenge game on Thursday? I bet Ruff goes back to UPL, but gimme Ellis for the vibes on Thursday. BTW, Ellis is 30 days from initial waivers on Thursday. A decision on the three-headed monster in the crease may be coming soon.

How much money is Peterka putting on the board tonight?

Zucker to IR effective today. I guess the combination of sick and whatever arm injury he has was enough to shut him down for at least a week. Kulich ruled doubtful for Thursday.

We are not seeing any progress with Wahlberg. I don’t know what else to say. He’s just not good enough. The Russian kids on the blue line have not outperformed Ryan Johnson, just as an fyi. They are fine where they are. The Sabres need to get older, not younger (age 22 & 21). Neither are regularly on the top pair yet in ROC. If you trust Leone, that should tell you something. It’s also about time the Sabres played the long game with their blue line prospects.

LOL Kulich has a non-injury health issue related to his ears, per Lindy. Is this team cursed?

I thought about this for a bit, and I don’t agree. While I’m with you that an additional first down would have iced the game, on that drive the Bills converted one first down and then ran three times to burn the clock as much as possible. I think that was the correct play. KC didn’t have any time outs after the missed FG. And if the FG is good, game over right there. Long story short, I’ll take three run plays and a 47 yard try with :40 to go versus the risk of an incompletion and double the time left. I think the Bills had it right. My biggest gripe is McD using five of his six timeouts on Def/Special Teams. I mean, come on lol

Buffalo sports fans can empathize with our Canadian bros & Jays fans right now. It was right there for the taking! I revel in the failure of the Leafs and their fans suffering, but I was with them in this World Series. Rochester’s Ernie Clement did everything he could. The storybook ending wasn’t with them tonight. It sucks, but we know how it feels. What a wild ride.

Looks like she got the first line wrong and deleted/re-posted.

Wow Lindy hates Tage at center soooo much he’s making Greenway C1?