Pine Barrens Mafia Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Pay attention. No Eichel, no O'Reilly, no Kulikov, and no Bogosian. That's your top two centermen and two of the four top defensemen. You expect them to be anything right now with a bunch of AHL caliber players in the lineup? Exactly. Even IF eichel comes back in a month or so, what kind of percentage is he going to be playing at? 50% maybe? What are the actual odds this team makes the playoffs? Nil, I'm thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Pay attention. No Eichel, no O'Reilly, no Kulikov, and no Bogosian. That's your top two centermen and two of the four top defensemen. You expect them to be anything right now with a bunch of AHL caliber players in the lineup? And it actually goes even further than that. We don't seem to be high on Ennis anymore, but he's one of the guys that would be filling the gap left by Eichel/O'Reilly. Even Deslauriers to some extent... these are actual NHL players that would be filling some of these top line minutes as opposed to the AHLers you mentioned. And then there's the blue line. Who the hell are Taylor Fedun and Justin Falk anyway? They could at least add the "u" to Falk's name and hope it confuses the other team for a few seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 You may not like Lou's NJ style, but he built and sustained winners. You can say that Marty Brodeur was a big part of that, but those Jersey teams only gave up about 15-20 shots per night. Lamoriello's style was so good that the League had to legalize two-line passes to deal with the trap. Fast forward to Toronto, and the rules changes favoring more open play, and Lou is building a competitive team in less than two years. How much of a Dinosaur is he? I don't simply dislike Lou's style of play I detest it. His suffocating style of play was certainly successful but it also damaged the game (product). As you stated the league had to alter their rules to counteract his intentional obstruction to the flow of the game. I'm sure you are well aware that New Jersey was known for its quiet and empty arena. Creating an environment that stifles the game is not something that I'm going to salute. It also has to be noted that Lou was recently brought into the organization. The rebuilding process was begun before he joined the team. That is not to diminish Lou's ability to build a strong organization that can sustain a franchise. But in general hockey troglodytes with their tight trapping approach to the game was the antithesis and nemesis of showcasing the magnificent talent and beauty of the game. Professional sports are not only about winning and competing it is also entertainment. Ugly chopped up hockey is not worth watching and paying for from a fan standpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 And it actually goes even further than that. We don't seem to be high on Ennis anymore, but he's one of the guys that would be filling the gap left by Eichel/O'Reilly. Even Deslauriers to some extent... these are actual NHL players that would be filling some of these top line minutes as opposed to the AHLers you mentioned. And then there's the blue line. Who the hell are Taylor Fedun and Justin Falk anyway? They could at least add the "u" to Falk's name and hope it confuses the other team for a few seconds. Good point. Forgot to mention him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 (edited) To be honest I don't pay attention to the NHL nearly as much as football and I've played hockey all my life. I knew the Sabres had injuries but I still thought they'd overcome them and be a good team throughout. think they did initially..as teams often do . But the number of games lost by big time TOI guys, who were expected to be your go to guys...i think it has worn the players psyche. Edited November 18, 2016 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 think they did initially..as teams often do . But the number of games lost by big time TOI guys, who were expected to be your go to guys...i think it has worn the players psyche. That and higher profile guys wound up getting hurt in the process. Since that initial wave, Kulikov and Bogosian have gone down and we've traded O'Reilly for Kane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Injuries hurt but the depth of this team is exposed as garbage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 (edited) With the current roster, a 100% healthy Sabres team would be competing for the 8th playoff spot at best. It's no surprise that with a depleted team, they are struggling to say the least. They do not have depth at this point and time, the past could years were spent trying to build the top 2 lines and top defensive pairings. The depth was a known issue going into this season. This team still has work to do before being considered a legitimate contender, losing out on McDavid really hurt the offensive progress, that was a devastating blow. Nothing against Eichel, but McDavid will be an offensive stud for many years to come. Unfortunately, we won't even know where this team really needs help until they play with a healthy roster. Fun stuff... Edited November 18, 2016 by ricojes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 @Matt_Bove No O'Reilly on the ice at #Sabres practice this morning @pham1717 Lines. 21 23 12. 9 28 26. 82 22 71. 48 27 73 No O'Reilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 With the current roster, a 100% healthy Sabres team would be competing for the 8th playoff spot at best. It's no surprise that with a depleted team, they are struggling to say the least. They do not have depth at this point and time, the past could years were spent trying to build the top 2 lines and top defensive pairings. The depth was a known issue going into this season. This team still has work to do before being considered a legitimate contender, losing out on McDavid really hurt the offensive progress, that was a devastating blow. Nothing against Eichel, but McDavid will be an offensive stud for many years to come. Unfortunately, we won't even know where this team really needs help until they play with a healthy roster. Fun stuff... And the guy picked 2 spots after Eichel in the draft, is scoring at an almost a point a game pace in his rookie year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Injuries hurt but the depth of this team is exposed as garbage. Although, hard to have depth and rebuild at the same time. At least early in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 @BuffNewsVogl Inside the Sabres: Teams that spend to the salary cap are usually contenders. Buffalo is at the cap. Here's why. https://t.co/EbvjFWeLgg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 And the guy picked 2 spots after Eichel in the draft, is scoring at an almost a point a game pace in his rookie year. Huh? Strome is struggling and that's putting it politely. With the current roster, a 100% healthy Sabres team would be competing for the 8th playoff spot at best. It's no surprise that with a depleted team, they are struggling to say the least. They do not have depth at this point and time, the past could years were spent trying to build the top 2 lines and top defensive pairings. The depth was a known issue going into this season. This team still has work to do before being considered a legitimate contender, losing out on McDavid really hurt the offensive progress, that was a devastating blow. Nothing against Eichel, but McDavid will be an offensive stud for many years to come. Unfortunately, we won't even know where this team really needs help until they play with a healthy roster. Fun stuff... If it's really nothing against Eichel, why the qualifier in the first place? Eichel is a COMPLETELY different player than McDavid, who is a generational talent. Not saying you are, but it's unfair for anyone to expect Eichel to be McDavid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricojes Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 (edited) Huh? Strome is struggling and that's putting it politely. If it's really nothing against Eichel, why the qualifier in the first place? Eichel is a COMPLETELY different player than McDavid, who is a generational talent. Not saying you are, but it's unfair for anyone to expect Eichel to be McDavid. Exactly why I prefaced it as such, Eichel is and will be a hell of a player, but McDavid is a generational talent just like you stated. That's exactly the point of the qualifier. Edited November 18, 2016 by ricojes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Huh? Strome is struggling and that's putting it politely. Marner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 @Matt_Bove O'Reilly likely doubtful for tomorrow--Bylsma says injury is still day to day @WKBW #Sabres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Huh? Strome is struggling and that's putting it politely. Marner. When you said "the guy picked 2 spots after Eichel" I was confused because Strome is a mess right now. Thanks for the clarification. Are you suggesting we should have drafted Mitch Marner instead of Eichel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebug Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 When you said "the guy picked 2 spots after Eichel" I was confused because Strome is a mess right now. Thanks for the clarification. Are you suggesting we should have drafted Mitch Marner instead of Eichel? Wasn't Marner picked 2 spots after Eichel? Not necessarily, but right now he looks pretty darn good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 18, 2016 Author Share Posted November 18, 2016 @BillHoppeNHL The latest on Ryan O'Reilly and Dmitry Kulikov http://www.buffalohockeybeat.com/sabres-ryan-oreilly-still-sidelined/ #Sabres #Buffalo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted November 18, 2016 Share Posted November 18, 2016 Great hockey talk with WGR guest hosts Dan Dunleavy and Mike Robitaille today on hour #1 on the Instigator show. http://media.wgr550.com/a/117486308/11-18-the-instigators-with-guest-hosts-dan-dunleavy-and-mike-robitaille-hr-1.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts