Tiberius Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 A high end goal scorer is more valued than a solid defenseman. A solid defenseman can be more easily acquired after the season is finished and just before the draft. A top one and even top two pairing caliber of defenseman are tough for a team in the playoff hunt to give up. Hmmmm....not sure I agree. I was thinking we trade for a lesser player actually if they were a solid d-man. But that's just me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 For a good picture of why it is the way it is right now, take a look at the record over the last 10 games for each of these teams. It might as well be the equivalent 5-5 across the board. No one is gaining/losing ground on each other. And that also should give you a good idea of how tough it will be to close the current gap. Think the B's and the Islanders have both made up some ground after they fired their coaches(hint hint GMTM). Good thing is Sabres have 4 games left against the Avalanche and Coyotes..starting tonight. Lose tonight...fire the whole lot of em!!!!! I have said from mid-November at like 6 back they were cooked, and history bears that out. But, i am still rooting for them to...doing a mini road trip with son early March to watch a few games and hope they count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Think the B's and the Islanders have both made up some ground after they fired their coaches(hint hint GMTM). Good thing is Sabres have 4 games left against the Avalanche and Coyotes..starting tonight. Lose tonight...fire the whole lot of em!!!!! I have said from mid-November at like 6 back they were cooked, and history bears that out. But, i am still rooting for them to...doing a mini road trip with son early March to watch a few games and hope they count. I was looking specifically at the block of wild card teams except for the Rags. They don't belong in the same column as the rest of those teams. The Islanders have definitely climbed a bit, but I'm sure they'll fall off a bit as things start to settle out post-firing. And yes, I haven't really thought much about about playoff chances. To me, this whole thing just shows the level of parity in the league right now. At least for the east, you've got a very small block of elite teams (not sure where I want to classify Montreal), and then you've got a jumbled mess of the rest. At least with the west you have a clearly defined set of bottom-feeders. But yeah, it hasn't been about the playoffs for me. It has been about watching for growth. We've seen it in the offensive game and hopefully they can round out the other side of the ice over the next 20+ games. That's going to be your sign for whether or not they can become more in the next year or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Think the B's and the Islanders have both made up some ground after they fired their coaches(hint hint GMTM). Good thing is Sabres have 4 games left against the Avalanche and Coyotes..starting tonight. Lose tonight...fire the whole lot of em!!!!! I have said from mid-November at like 6 back they were cooked, and history bears that out. But, i am still rooting for them to...doing a mini road trip with son early March to watch a few games and hope they count. 6 pts out in November, 5 pts out today. They're 6 out of third place in the division with (I believe) fewer teams to jump over. But the schedule doesn't allow for enough in-division games to make up ground. Playoffs with this schedule and points format are a very long shot. Borderline pipe dream. Even if you look at the Islanders and the Bruins recent good fortune, they really haven't made any stunning moves in the standings. As for trade talk -- I'd wait until the off season except for a guy like Gionta, who has played well and has an expiring contract. There's too much uncertainty with the Las Vegas team in the mix. Rather see which teams expose what players and see who moves and who doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 What has hurt immensely this team is that their performances against equal or near equal caliber of teams bunched together has not been too good. Games against Boston, Carolina, Islanders etc were four point games that we left off the table. Putting things in perspective we entered the season being a fringe playoff team and that is exactly where we are. Those shootout losses gave away a number of single points that we surely could have used. A three or four point swing is the difference between being upbeat about our chances to make the playoffs instead of being discouraged about our chances. It's still not over. Just keep grinding and maybe there will be a pleasant surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 We played the final 41 games of last season at a 94 point pace. That's not playoff fringe, that is kicking in the door. It was reasonable to think we'd continue on that trajectory and we simply haven't. We will hear about how the Eichel injury derailed us, etc., but I'm not buying that excuse. No matter how I look at this season, it's been a huge disappointment. And forget Boston and Toronto. Florida is back on track and will make the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 This team can't string 3 periods together let alone 3 games. But they do have 4 games out of the next 7 against the 2 worst teams in hockey. Getting 5 out of 6 points on this homestand would be a nice step, but I just can't see it happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 We played the final 41 games of last season at a 94 point pace. That's not playoff fringe, that is kicking in the door. It was reasonable to think we'd continue on that trajectory and we simply haven't. We will hear about how the Eichel injury derailed us, etc., but I'm not buying that excuse. No matter how I look at this season, it's been a huge disappointment. And forget Boston and Toronto. Florida is back on track and will make the playoffs. I'm not making any excuses for this team. Where you and I diverge is that last year although the second half of the season was a success it was a different environment. The Sabres were not playing pressure games with playoff implications because we were out of it. The second half was a good surge but it wasn't in an environment where each game was a meaningful game. Am I disappointed about how this season has materialized? Somewhat. But not to the extent that I was going to over-rate the status of this rebuilding team. I felt before the season started and especially after Jack got hurt that this was a fringe playoff team. And that's what it is turning out to be. You watch enough hockey to know that the Sabres are not near the elite teams. And it is abundantly clear to me that compared to the clump of teams that we are vying with for a playoff spot (Carolina, Islanders, Detroit, Boston etc) we are not much better. It's disappointing but it is where we are at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 You are absolutely right, the Sabres are not elite; not even close. But they have actually regressed and that's just not acceptable to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 (edited) Anybody on here live in Pittsburgh? we have 6 people going the the Sabre game there on the 5th..be great to join up pre game. I am excited they had some SRO left at the Sabres shoot twice end...that place looks great for SRO, hope it is! BTW, i love Hotwire. Staying at the Westin for $57/night Edited February 16, 2017 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 You are absolutely right, the Sabres are not elite; not even close. But they have actually regressed and that's just not acceptable to me. If the Sabres go on a run or at least start beating the teams they are vying with resulting in them getting into postseason games would you consider that progress? Most of us believe that although the odds are not with them it isn't improbable. A win tonight is necessary. If not, it is turn out the lights time because this year's chance to attend the party is over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 You are absolutely right, the Sabres are not elite; not even close. But they have actually regressed and that's just not acceptable to me. I heard on GR that this is a big week for Bylsma and that he might get canned if the team loses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I heard on GR that this is a big week for Bylsma and that he might get canned if the team loses. Nah, although if the bottom falls out and they drop the upcoming 4 games to COL and ARI things will get very heated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Nah, although if the bottom falls out and they drop the upcoming 4 games to COL and ARI things will get very heated. I don't know any thing about hockey systems, what's wrong with Bylsma's system that the team is playing inconsistent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 (edited) I don't know any thing about hockey systems, what's wrong with Bylsma's system that the team is playing inconsistent? Very brief overview He is using a more dump and chase method..so D gets the puck in their zone, they fire a stretch pass to a forward , forward dumps the puck into the offensive zone, and the forwards forecheck and work the "cycle" game. couple problems with that 1) it is a proven fact that in the game of hockey, very rarely do you score when you do not have the puck 2) that has led to teams focusing on possession time...which the Sabres still suck at outside of Jack 3) (now watch JohnC's head explode) Big part of the problem is our D can't clear and carry the puck and make an accurate first pass, why they need to trade Kane for puck carrying D-man 4) PK design is too passive, and thats killing this team That being said, this team being so lazy ass getting on and off the ice in the 2nd is not Disco's fault...its the players. And their -22 in the 2nd leads the NHL...if everyone else can handle the long change, so can they Edited February 16, 2017 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QCity Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I don't know any thing about hockey systems, what's wrong with Bylsma's system that the team is playing inconsistent? A lot of analysts will tell you that puck possession correlates to winning, and Bylsma doesn't emphasize that style of play. We really have no transition game, most of our 5v5 points are the result of dump and chase. Our D like to make long stretch passes to break out of our zone. These are low percentage passes that usually results in our wingers getting pinched to the boards or turnovers that allow the other team to repeatedly crash our blue line. Our PK is a disaster and constantly plays on their heels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Very brief overview He is using a more dump and chase method..so D gets the puck in their zone, they fire a stretch pass to a forward , forward dumps the puck into the offensive zone, and the forwards forecheck and work the "cycle" game. couple problems with that 1) it is a proven fact that in the game of hockey, very rarely do you score when you do not have the puck 2) that has led to teams focusing on possession time...which the Sabres still suck at outside of Jack 3) (now watch JohnC's head explode) Big part of the problem is our D can't clear and carry the puck and make an accurate first pass, why they need to trade Kane for puck carrying D-man 4) PK design is too passive, and thats killing this team That being said, this team being so lazy ass getting on and off the ice in the 2nd is not Disco's fault...its the players. And their -22 in the 2nd leads the NHL...if everyone else can handle the long change, so can they Not to mention trying to create offense from behind the opposing team's net - which puts even more pressure on their weak defense once the other team gets possession and manages a relatively easy breakout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Barbarian Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 (edited) Thanks guys so we have a coach that uses an outdated system like Rex, Awesome!!! So we need guys who can handle the puck all the way down the ice. Who would be a good coach for us then? what the hell is PK? Edited February 17, 2017 by Buffalo Barbarian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 @BuffaloSabres SHUTOUT -- Sabres Win! 23 saves for the shutout for @RobinLehner. Strong game tonight for the boys. Could have scored quite a few more if not for the strong play of the Avs' Goalie Pickard. Eichel was excellent as was Kane. Bailey and Rodrigues continue to impress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Ahhh crap. Forgot this was on. Looking at the standings, other team's games in hand are a concern, but you can't worry about that. Go out and win your games. Let the rest handle itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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