17 more goals!

[tom webster]

The Sabres would have had to score 17 more goals this year to be in the middle of the pack in NHL season scoring. Who on this board would not be dissapointed if a healthy Jack Eichel doesn't account for at least .85 goals per game between actual goals he scores and directly sets up?

And that doesn't even factor in goals begetting more goals, a healthy Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane not to mention a far from complete blue line. 

I understand the frustration but in my opinion things are not anywhere near as bad as they would appear.

[darksabre]

The Sabres would have had to score 17 more goals this year to be in the middle of the pack in NHL season scoring. Who on this board would not be dissapointed if a healthy Jack Eichel doesn't account for at least .85 goals per game between actual goals he scores and directly sets up?

And that doesn't even factor in goals begetting more goals, a healthy Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane not to mention a far from complete blue line.

I understand the frustration but in my opinion things are not anywhere near as bad as they would appear.

And the Lightning would score a bazillion more goals with Stamkos in the lineup, but it seems they'll find a way without him. The Pens have done it without Crosby. I need this team to win games without Eichel.

[tom webster]

And the Lightning would score a bazillion more goals with Stamkos in the lineup, but it seems they'll find a way without him. The Pens have done it without Crosby. I need this team to win games without Eichel.

And when Buffalo is one of the two best teams in the East, I'd suspect they will win games without their top players.

[darksabre]

And when Buffalo is one of the two best teams in the East, I'd suspect they will win games without their top players.

Right. Which means things aren't great at all. It means our team is still a wet hot start with Evander Kane who can't hit the net to save his life, Matt Moulson who, having a better year, is still worthless, and Brian Gionta who is just too damn old. Not to mention our defense still being filled out by pylons.

 

Jack Eichel isn't enough.

[WildCard]

I legitimately believe this team has the talent and build, but is being held back by a terrible coach

[JJFIVEOH]

This team has significantly more offensive talent than the two tank years, yet are still scoring less than those teams. If this is what happens when they lose a star player then there is a lot more to be worried about than Eichel's injury. For Nolan's AHL team to be outscoring a lineup with O'Reilly, Okposo, Kane and Ristolainen..................... there should be a red flag thrown up in Murray's office. 

[TrueBlueGED]

The Sabres would have had to score 17 more goals this year to be in the middle of the pack in NHL season scoring. Who on this board would not be dissapointed if a healthy Jack Eichel doesn't account for at least .85 goals per game between actual goals he scores and directly sets up?

And that doesn't even factor in goals begetting more goals, a healthy Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane not to mention a far from complete blue line. 

I understand the frustration but in my opinion things are not anywhere near as bad as they would appear.

 

On the flip side, some players wouldn't have gotten the same offensive opportunities with a healthy Eichel in the lineup. For instance, how many of Moulson's 6 PP goals and 2 PP assists would he have with Eichel playing? Moulson is currently 3rd on the team in PP ice time, behind only Risto and Reinhart--our top unit guys are getting 60+ minutes, 2nd unit 20-30, and I'm pretty sure Moulson would be down on that 2nd unit (1st unit being Eichel-ROR-Okposo-Reinhart-Risto). I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest he'd be down to 1-2 goals and maybe an assist on the PP. Just cutting his PP time and scoring rates in half (on the latter I don't even think it's a safe assumption he'd score at the same rate on the 2nd unit) puts him at 2 goals and 1 assist. Sure, Jack covers the decline and more, but I don't think his mere presence makes up for 85% of those missing 17 goals when everything is taken into account.

[tom webster]

On the flip side, some players wouldn't have gotten the same offensive opportunities with a healthy Eichel in the lineup. For instance, how many of Moulson's 6 PP goals and 2 PP assists would he have with Eichel playing? Moulson is currently 3rd on the team in PP ice time, behind only Risto and Reinhart--our top unit guys are getting 60+ minutes, 2nd unit 20-30, and I'm pretty sure Moulson would be down on that 2nd unit (1st unit being Eichel-ROR-Okposo-Reinhart-Risto). I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest he'd be down to 1-2 goals and maybe an assist on the PP. Just cutting his PP time and scoring rates in half (on the latter I don't even think it's a safe assumption he'd score at the same rate on the 2nd unit) puts him at 2 goals and 1 assist. Sure, Jack covers the decline and more, but I don't think his mere presence makes up for 85% of those missing 17 goals when everything is taken into account.

I'm sorry if Jack isn't worth .85 more goals over replacement then he isn't generational. And like i said, i didn't count goals that happen just because you score goals(I know, not analytically defineable) or goals that a healthy O'Reilly or Kane add.

I would rather have a more progressive coach but DB's system with a reasonably healthy line up is in the playoff hunt and at this stage of the rebuild that would be progress.

[Randall Flagg]

Okposo's 64 points last year are added to the lineup to help with losing Jack's 56. ROR's slight decrease in scoring pace can be made up for by Moulson's power play goal scoring. The rest is pretty much the same, save for 2-3 fewer goals from defensemen.

And somehow we're historically bad.

[darksabre]

Okposo's 64 points last year are added to the lineup to help with losing Jack's 56. ROR's slight decrease in scoring pace can be made up for by Moulson's power play goal scoring. The rest is pretty much the same, save for 2-3 fewer goals from defensemen.

And somehow we're historically bad.

Tyler Ennis has a roster spot on this team when he's healthy. "Somehow" doesn't seem like too much of a reach.

[Randall Flagg]

Tyler Ennis has a roster spot on this team when he's healthy. "Somehow" doesn't seem like too much of a reach.

With Jack out, Ennis is still not in our top 4-5 forwards. And we're scoring less than we did when he was bar-none the best player on this team.

[DirtDart]

And when Buffalo is one of the two best teams in the East, I'd suspect they will win games without their top players.

Bingo, considering the fact we have been without 6 starters in the lineup, the season is not anywhere near lost.

[North Buffalo]

Sabres need another top scorer and top D, not yet in the system. So despite being frustrated, I am ok away with another tank year, especially after this start. There seems to be a lot of scoreres in this draft, not so much on D. So if Sabres can sign two D... Kulikov and another D and draft a high end scorer then DD should be let go.

[qwksndmonster]

Sabres need another top scorer and top D, not yet in the system. So despite being frustrated, I am ok away with another tank year, especially after this start. There seems to be a lot of scoreres in this draft, not so much on D. So if Sabres can sign two D... Kulikov and another D and draft a high end scorer then DD should be let go.

This isn't gonna be a tank year. Outside of winning the lottery we're not going to be picking top 5.

 

In our pipeline we have Nylander, Pu, Bailey, Fasching, and Baptiste; so I don't think drafting a scorer is a big need right now.

[Stoner]

This isn't gonna be a tank year. Outside of winning the lottery we're not going to be picking top 5.

I hope not, but they're six points out of a playoff spot and three points out of 30th. It kind of could go either way. If it really goes south, why wouldn't there be a mini-tank? Evaluate young players, experiment with the system, play with the lines and pairings, sell at the deadline etc.?

[Randall Flagg]

I hope not, but they're six points out of a playoff spot and three points out of 30th. It kind of could go either way. If it really goes south, why wouldn't there be a mini-tank? Evaluate young players, experiment with the system, play with the lines and pairings, sell at the deadline etc.?

It never stops

[LGR4GM]

This isn't gonna be a tank year. Outside of winning the lottery we're not going to be picking top 5.

 

In our pipeline we have Nylander, Pu, Bailey, Fasching, and Baptiste; so I don't think drafting a scorer is a big need right now.

I'd easily take another scorer on this team now or in the future

[Thorner]

This isn't gonna be a tank year. Outside of winning the lottery we're not going to be picking top 5.

In our pipeline we have Nylander, Pu, Bailey, Fasching, and Baptiste; so I don't think drafting a scorer is a big need right now.

I have hope for those guys, but outside of probably Nylander we have no idea if the others will be mainstay NHLers never mind players to elevate our scoring in a meaningful way. Nylander won't himself amount to our team gaining scoring prowess.

 

I agree with LGR, I'd take any legitimate scoring help we can get. If we project Nylander out to LW, we still have a need of another top 6 LW with finishing ability.

 

(Blank) - O'Reilly - Okposo

Nylander - Eichel - Reinhart

[LGR4GM]

You take the best you can get. If a defender is the best, take him, but if there's a Nylander level scorer over a defender that's a step below, take the scorer. No one is ever gonna say, oh that Buffalo team has to many goal scorers.

[nfreeman]

I'm just glad to be reminded that we have Pu in our pipeline.

[Crusader1969]

I have hope for those guys, but outside of probably Nylander we have no idea if the others will be mainstay NHLers never mind players to elevate our scoring in a meaningful way. Nylander won't himself amount to our team gaining scoring prowess.

 

I agree with LGR, I'd take any legitimate scoring help we can get. If we project Nylander out to LW, we still have a need of another top 6 LW with finishing ability.

 

(Blank) - O'Reilly - Okposo

Nylander - Eichel - Reinhart

 

 

I think that's where things get really exciting. The top 6 that you have plus guys like Carrier, Pu, Baptiste, Bailey, Asplund all have a year or two NHL experience and fill out the ranks of the 3rd and 4th liners. Though maybe you have to trade 1 or 2 in order to get that top line winger or maybe one of them fill that role.

 

Now you are real contenders and now you can probably withstand an injury or two. Unfortunately, we are still talking 2018/19 at the earliest.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

I'm just glad to be reminded that we have Pu in our pipeline.

 

I see what you did there.

 

And, I agree.

[qwksndmonster]

I have hope for those guys, but outside of probably Nylander we have no idea if the others will be mainstay NHLers never mind players to elevate our scoring in a meaningful way. Nylander won't himself amount to our team gaining scoring prowess.

 

I agree with LGR, I'd take any legitimate scoring help we can get. If we project Nylander out to LW, we still have a need of another top 6 LW with finishing ability.

 

(Blank) - O'Reilly - Okposo

Nylander - Eichel - Reinhart

I'm all for more scorers, but the post I was responding to seemed to be saying that the Sabres current woes should/could be fixed through the draft. Whoever we draft this year isn't going to be helping the Sabres for a while. Our prospects stepping up, on the other hand, could.

[LGR4GM]

I'm all for more scorers, but the post I was responding to seemed to be saying that the Sabres current woes should/could be fixed through the draft. Whoever we draft this year isn't going to be helping the Sabres for a while. Our prospects stepping up, on the other hand, could.

Depends on if we win the draft lottery. The forward and defender at the top this year could step in next year and help a bit. That said, yes I agree we are more likely to see our prospects step up than hoping some kid drafted in the 5-12 slot is magically NHL ready next year. 

[Thorner]

I'm all for more scorers, but the post I was responding to seemed to be saying that the Sabres current woes should/could be fixed through the draft. Whoever we draft this year isn't going to be helping the Sabres for a while. Our prospects stepping up, on the other hand, could.

Definitely. To be honest, I rather hope Murray isn't counting on waiting for an at-this-point undrafted player to complete the top 6 on the left side. We'd be waiting a while.