K-9 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Not surprised at the outcome, was actually expecting it given the roll the Islanders are on while we’ve been struggling to find consistency. The Isles are a far deeper team along their forward lines while we have one legit NHL scoring line and nine other 3rd/4th line skaters. It’s a work in progress I guess. Housley continues to disappoint, too, as he insists on using Dahlin on the right side, which is bad enough, but then pairs him with Scandella which is a travesty. I get the impression Housley doesn’t give too much credence to analytics, but the difference between Dahlin on the left vs. Dahlin on the right is night and day. Put another way, on the left he puts up superior Corsi numbers, while on the right side, he is downright terrible. If Housley has ANY capacity for observation, he will put Dahlin back with Bogosian and let Scandella muck things up with whomever. But his decisions have hurt Dahlin’s development. And that’s unacceptable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptnCoke11 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Spiral continues. One line wonder is catching up to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boca BIlls Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Grab someone now... or lose out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 10 hours ago, SinceThe70s said: Great player and by all accounts a great guy. After he left he wrote a great article on Derek Jeter's site (Players Tribune?). Have I said great enough yet? Sucks for me that he walked away and the Isles have nothing to show for it. Sucks worse that he's having his best year ever. No points the other night, but I think Toronto is coming down in the next few weeks. He should get a, um, er, great reception and I'm bracing for the worst. All good, he's the type of player you love rooting for. My loss, your gain, enjoy. Isles came to play the last week, two impressive wins!! The media on three occasions concocted his arrival in Toronto, since 2008 or so. I guess it was inevitable he show up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 What's obvious is obvious. We just don't have enough scorers other than what's on the first line. Does Botterill go out and use his future assets to bring in a rental or another scorer who is at best an adequate upgrade? After listening to Botterill I don't get the sense that he desires using his chips for a rental to help us this year. I do see him willing to make a deal for a more productive upcoming player who will still be around in the near future. The problem is that teams don't usually give up their better younger players unless they get at least an equal return to better balance out their roster. We have to look at this season in perspective. Compared to our dismal situation last year this team has made a quantum leap forward. If we use the ten game winning streak as our base-line then our current struggles reflect a disappointment mostly because our expectations were unrealistically raised. What I see this staff do is maybe tinker a little bit by bringing in some Rochester players but mostly staying the course. I'm okay with that. I still see this team fighting for a playoff spot up to the end of the season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberius Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 27 minutes ago, JohnC said: What's obvious is obvious. We just don't have enough scorers other than what's on the first line. Does Botterill go out and use his future assets to bring in a rental or another scorer who is at best an adequate upgrade? After listening to Botterill I don't get the sense that he desires using his chips for a rental to help us this year. I do see him willing to make a deal for a more productive upcoming player who will still be around in the near future. The problem is that teams don't usually give up their better younger players unless they get at least an equal return to better balance out their roster. We have to look at this season in perspective. Compared to our dismal situation last year this team has made a quantum leap forward. If we use the ten game winning streak as our base-line then our current struggles reflect a disappointment mostly because our expectations were unrealistically raised. What I see this staff do is maybe tinker a little bit by bringing in some Rochester players but mostly staying the course. I'm okay with that. I still see this team fighting for a playoff spot up to the end of the season. Keep our picks and young players and just keep improving slowly. Mitts and Tage will get better, with time. That Islander team was tough and rugged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 8 minutes ago, Tiberius said: Keep our picks and young players and just keep improving slowly. Mitts and Tage will get better, with time. That Islander team was tough and rugged. You and I are in accord. The Sabres are in a losing spell. But even during this frustrating period for the most part I didn't come away not believing that this team wasn't giving effort. In watching this game I can't come away and say the opposition was better. These were two evenly matched teams with both of them playing hard. We have offensive limitations that is becoming more evident as the season advances. The one goal games that we previously won have turned into one goal games that we are now losing. The margin of error is small. As you stated the hope is that young players such as Mitts and Tage will continue to get better. I won't be surprised that there will be some player movement from Rochester to Buffalo. I'm somewhat frustrated but I'm not discouraged. The below WGR link is a three minute segment from Housley after the game. His analysis is reasonable and realistic. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/12-31-phil-housley-post-game 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 This is ridiculous. By the time to get to Carolina every year hope seems to fail and the petering off has begun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 19 minutes ago, Boyst62 said: This is ridiculous. By the time to get to Carolina every year hope seems to fail and the petering off has begun? You are off the mark. Hope is not failing so much as not having the proper perspective. Last year the Sabres were the worst team in the NHL. This year they have moved up the ranks and have a legitimate shot at the playoffs. That's certainly progress. This team is far from being a complete team, especially in their ability to score goals from the secondary lines. But compared to the previous few years you can see a plan not only be laid out but also being implemented. Could the brain trust of this franchise taken a more short-term and expedient approach to being competitive? Yes they could have but it would have been at the expense of being a more seriously competing team down the near term road. Patience in this case is a virtue. Assuming you don't get yourself maimed on one of your local trips to Home Depot hang in there and you will be rewarded with your patience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 ?Out of third and now in wildcard position after Bruins win..woohoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 https://www.nhl.com/standings/2018/wildcard With the bruins win today, it pushes Buffalo out of 3rd and into the 1st wildcard spot. The Canadiens are 1 point behind us and the Isles are 2pts behind with 2 games still in hand. Buffalo is getting dangerously close to being out of a playoff spot all together. 3 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: ?Out of third and now in wildcard position after Bruins win..woohoo Yep. It was bound to happen though, with the Bruins getting healthy and the Sabres losing more than they’re winning lately. Its looking like like we will battle Montreal and the Isles for a wildcard spot. The Rangers and Panthers can’t be counted out yet either. Its going to make for an interesting (and potentially disappointing) 2nd half of the season... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 4 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: https://www.nhl.com/standings/2018/wildcard With the bruins win today, it pushes Buffalo out of 3rd and into the 1st wildcard spot. The Canadiens are 1 point behind us and the Isles are 2pts behind with 2 games still in hand. Buffalo is getting dangerously close to being out of a playoff spot all together. Yep. It was bound to happen though, with the Bruins getting healthy and the Sabres losing more than they’re winning lately. Its looking like like we will battle Montreal and the Isles for a wildcard spot. The Rangers and Panthers can’t be counted out yet either. Its going to make for an interesting (and potentially disappointing) 2nd half of the season... Islanders are playing awfully well right now..they are a better team than the Sabres and i expect them to put some distance between themselves and the Sabres. It will be the Habs and Sabres for 8th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GETTOTHE50 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Sabres better start playing and get their head out of their ass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted January 1, 2019 Share Posted January 1, 2019 Sabres have played way beyond realistic expectations, that’s not a bad thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boca BIlls Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 On 1/1/2019 at 5:09 PM, row_33 said: Sabres have played way beyond realistic expectations, that’s not a bad thing. They need to make the playoffs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Is 26 on vacay? I need to know the time of the next game... LoL... Florida tonight or tomorrow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 2 hours ago, YoloinOhio said: Happy for Jack, but how does Skinner not get the nod? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 24 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Is 26 on vacay? I need to know the time of the next game... LoL... Florida tonight or tomorrow? Tomrrow at 7pm. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/schedule/2019-01-01/ET 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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