JohnC

The issue for me isn't kicking any player to the curb. The issue is getting the best out of the player and doing what is best for the team. Kane is a talented player. He is physically tough, a good skater and consistently plays hard. No one can say that he doesn't give maximum effort. However, his production doesn't come close to matching his talent level. What is the problem? It's obvious. His style of play is too individualistic and it doesn't mesh well with his linemates. He is too much of a perimeter player and not enough of a presence in front of the net. Why is it that Rhinehart who is far less physically developed can park himself in front of the net and score most of his goals there and Kane avoids the same dirty area ? There comes a point that when your style of play doesn't translate into production then try a different approach. He plays as if he is in the juniors where there is a major differential between your best players and the rest of the players. That setting is far different from the NHL setting where loose type of run and gun style of play simply doesn't work. Without a doubt Evander Kane is tremendously talented. What I find disturbing is that although he has been in the league for a number of years now he has not adjusted his game to make it more conducive to NHL style of play. That brings up a number of obvious questions: Is he receptive to coaching? Does he care? The team is certainly struggling with the absence of some of its best players. So I don't want to unfairly scapegoat any player under these challenging circumstances. But whether the roster is healthy or not I'm losing patience with this lone ranger and aloof player.

I'm not a Lou Lamoriello fan. His notion of playing hockey is suffocating. He leaving the Devils was the best thing that happened to that franchise. Now the Devils are on a path to not only rebuilding but also playing a brand a hockey that isn't spirit and soul crushing. The formula to rebuilding is simple but difficult to do. Bring in young talent and then develop them. Create a culture of accountability. It's not easy clearing out your more costly veteran talent and falling to the depths. But if it is done smartly without glaring mistakes the process can be short circuited and accelerated. One thing about Lamoriello is that he is a tough man who doesn't tolerate deviation from the company line. How do you think he would have handled a repetition of Kane's troubling escapades?

I watched the Maryland/Georgetown game so I didn't get to the game until the second period. It didn't take me long to change the channel. Although the game was DVRd I won't bother with. I'll just delete the game. Drudgery is not entertainment. There is an interesting question, if not a disturbing question, to be asked: Is Toronto ahead of us in the rebuilding process? They have a lot of young skilled players that are going to get better. When they reach the serious competitive baseline they are going to be an attractive team for high end free agent talent.

I've stated on a number of occasions that our defensive corps has to be bolstered with the recognition that all weaknesses can't be addressed immediately. Although it's somewhat unfair to make judgments on transactions after the fact I am going to take the liberty of doing so. Was giving up a number one pick for Lehner the right thing to do at the expense of adding a more skilled forward or even a good defenseman prospect in the pipeline. Is Lehner appreciably better than Chad Johnson or even Nillson? I would say no.. In hindsight was the Myers trade plus other elements for Bogosian and the troublesome Kane a good deal? If I had a do-over I would keep Myers over the injury plagued Bogosian. From the beginning I was intrigued with Kane and his abundant talent. His attractiveness to me has diminished. He is an eye-popping player to watch but in reality his un-corralled style of play displays a lot of motion without much production. I'm not giving up on him because I see a lot of raw talent that so far over a substantial period of time has not been honed and refined to the point that he meshes well with his linemates. For me that is a major disappointment. Mostly due to injuries this team is struggling. Rebuilding teams don't have a reserve of talent to draw from when players are lost. My projection for this team before the season started was that it was a fringe playoff team that was on an upward trajectory. I still believe that assessment is not unreasonable. But I'm not so partisan not to realize that some highly touted deals have not worked out so well.

I believe a deal could have been worked out. Edmonton would not have made a straight up deal for Pysk. But a deal including hiim or McCabe with added inducements such as Carrier or Bailey and a pick would have been considered. Edmonton wanted to reconfigure their team and make themselves tougher on defense and have a tougher forward corps, as exhibited with the addition of Lucic. They had an excess in forwards and were willing to trade a talented piece to better round out their team. With Taylor Hall on the ice you don't have to be a hockey maven to recognize his talent. Just trust your eyes and then what is evident becomes abundantly evident!

I was watching the game then I changed the channel to watch the USC vs Washington game. The USC qb looks really good. The hockey game was painful to watch. No quick fix. As the prior post stated instead of giving up a first round pick for Lehner who was a backup or less goalie in Ottawa it probably would have been more useful to use that pick for a potential scoring forward, even if it would have been a pipeline pick that would have taken at few years to develop. Without a doubt it was evident that Taylor Hall was the best player on the ice in these back to back games.

This injury depleted team lacks potency. Even a bucket of viagra couldn't make this offense rise to the level necessary to get the job done. The offense is simply flaccid. The best player on the ice was Taylor Hall. Our goalie was superb. It's hard to criticize a team that is plagued with numerous injuries yet plays hard throughout the game. But to be truthful they are tough to watch. Little entertainment value.

Are you sure that you didn't mean the Lancaster Dome that never materialized?

One report that I read on Kulikov after the trade was made was that Florida felt that he was a good player who predictably had lapses, very often at critical junctures. So far that report has been accurate. I'm not down on the Russian but his mental lapses can be infuriating. As an example the penalty he took against Philly toward the latter stages of the game was not very egregious (in my opinion). But what made it a boneheaded play that cost his team was the timing of it. There was simply no need for attempting a crushing open ice hit at that time and place.

In hindsight there is a debate to be had whether it was a mistake to trade Pysyk for Kulikov. Kulikov is a banger who has a tendency to make damaging mistakes while Pysk is a positional player who quietly and efficiently and consistently gets the job done. The young GM for Florida is an analytics maven. He preferred Pysk over Kulikov because of the numbers. I now better understand his reasoning. Being a mercurial defenseman in the NHL can be something to worry about.

You and I are in general simpatico in our assessment of the team. While you are hesitant about Carrier I am very upbeat over the prospects for Carrier. This big man can fly and he is a gritty player. Although Justin Bailey is currently in Bylsma's doghouse he is another player who I am optimistic about as a legitimate NHLer. There is one player I have to credit for who has evolved into a good player: Foligno. He is demonstrating that he is not simply a muscle player but also a player with skill. He needs to be a little more judicious with his dishing out big hits but his development is very apparent, at least to me. As I have said in other postings our defensive corps needs added staffing. Not complaining because you can't fix everything all at once. .

I realize that except for the overtime period where we dominated this game (scintillating hockey) this was a boring game to watch. As you stated the Sabres' best scoring threats were out of the lineup. What was evident in this game as it has been in other games is that the players are playing hard and they are playing responsibly. The team is building a structure that although can be frustrating to watch will ultimately allow this team to stay in the playoff contention. The best takeaway of this game for me is seeing that Kane was moving well and was not playing with any noticeable hesitancy. Another positive thing about this game is that Lehner is playing consistently well. Injuries are part of the game in all sports. When we get some of our primary players back this is going to be a solid team. Although sometimes it can be excruciating and exasperating watching grinding hockey I'm more than satisfied where this team is at and the direction it is moving in.

Don't get frustrated with the mounting injuries and the lack of scoring. In general this team is playing reasonably well. What I'm hoping for is for this team to play in the range of .500 at the half way point. As it stands this is still not a complete team. The defense still needs to add talent to make it a more complete unit. And it is apparent that we need the scorers to finish. However, taking a wider perspective I still view that this team is ascending. To its credit this team does play hard and with structure. The coach is still working on the line combinations so it is still a work in progress. I put myself in the cautiously optimistic category.

Beyond the frustrations of how the game was officiated and the absurdity of the complexity and irrationality of the body of rules in general one positive takeaway from this game is that Tyrod Taylor played a terrific game. He extended plays and made some terrific throws in high pressure situations. Another positive takeaway is the exceptional play of Robert Woods. The regularly invisible receiver played like he is a primary receiver. Russell Wilson played exceptionally well. Acknowledging that it is fair to say that Tyrod matched him or at the minimum came close to matching him. That is an important positive out of a erratically officiated game. Below is a link of the highlights. Take special note of the top notch plays that TT made. http://buffalonews.com/2016/11/08/video-game-highlights-bills-31-25-loss-seattle/

Isn't making the playoffs and losing in the first round better than not making the playoffs for a generation or more?

Regardless of the sport coaching is coaching. Holding players accountable for their play and actions is at the core of their responsibilities. Dan Bylsma would never have tolerated Mario Williams season long type of quitting on his team. Not only would he have removed him from the lineup he would have kicked his lazy ass off of the team.

I appreciate your comment. The Sabres are becoming a fun team to follow. You can see the progression and development. It is obvious that this team is not in the top echelon but without a doubt it is moving up the ranks. I consider this team a lower qualifying caliber playoff team. I will be disappointed if they are not post season participants. Even if they don't make the playoffs it is fun watching the young players getting better and developing. The future is bright.

Thank you for the updates and the postings. They are always appreciated. In the first thirty seconds of the HC's briefing he is very unsubtle in his cryptic comments about Ennis and maybe also Kulikov. Bylsma is not a loud and blustering coach like Rex is. He responds to inadequate play less by talking and more decisively by taking away ice time. I may be over-interpreting Bylsma replacing Ennis on the Reinhart line with Carrier in yesterday's game. But it is a clear sign that the coach prefers structured play over dancing around and dipsy doodling on the ice.

In my mind Lehner was the first star of the game for us. The one save where he was prone and stuck out his stick horizontal to the ground was magnificent. Ryan O'Reilly was a stud in this game. He never stops working hard. My fear with him is that he is on the ice so much and plays with such intensity that he will be worn out. He is a player whose value can't be measured by points. His presence and unceasing work ethic speak louder than any talk that can be given by coaches and players. Was impressed by Carrier. He is big, tough and moves well. It seems that Bailey is in Bylsma's doghouse and was sent down to Rochester. Both young players are impressively fast. Our defense is depleted. That is something I worry about.

I agree with your McCabe observation. In this game he was really feisty. He is not the type of player you would say that he has any exceptional traits but what you can say about him is that he does everything well. Last year he seemed to steadily get better. And so far this year he is becoming more confident in his play and continues to get better. I was really aggravated with Kulokov after the Philly game. But in the last couple of games where he was forced to play a lot of minutes he has played very well. With the injury to Bogosian the Russian is becoming an anchor defenseman for us.

Now I'm getting nervous. Yesterday I scheduled a laser procedure on each eye on separate days. I'll make sure not to eat any beans prior to those burning events. .

The next time one gets operated on it would be advisable to expel the gas before being worked on. http://www.aol.com/article/news/2016/11/01/patient-suffers-severe-burns-after-farting-during-surgery/21596077/

The showboat style of playing that garners gasps from the crowd with little production does not fit in with the Bylsma's more disciplined style of play and philosophy. Bylsma is a coach who believes in structure as most coaches do in the NHL. This isn't junior hockey where standout players roam all over the ice over their inferior opponents. The NHL league is composed of fast and strong players where decisions have to be made quickly. While Eichel and Kane are out of the lineup this is a good time for Ennis to earn top two line minutes. If he continues to dance around Bylsma will move him down the pecking order and eventually make him an expendable player in a deal.

As you are saying give credit where it was due. The Leaf goaltender was superb. He made a number of phenomenal stops. The Sabres gave consistent effort and played a hard nosed game. They were doing a lot of banging. I felt that the Sabres were the stronger team while the Leafs were the quicker team. The player who stood out for me in this game was Foligno. He not only is a strong and feisty player but he also has some skill. The player who not necessarily didn't play badly but didn't play smartly was Ennis. There was a number of times (pointed out by the commentators) that instead of making the simple play which was the better play he made the more flashy play that wasn't the best play to put his linemates in a good position to score. More often than not the simple and more economical play is more effective than the dazzling play with more motion that produces little. Overall, it was disappointing to lose and end a winning streak but it was a good brand of hockey to watch.

Being sucked in with wins is better than being deflated with losses. Without a doubt moving forward is better than falling back. The jinx is over. Hallelujah!