Thompson has a lower body injury, wrist injury, and a broken thumb i think. They didnt shut him down. Tuch separated his shoulder in camp. They didnt shut him down. Skinner is definitely concussed, its like his 8th one. Then Cozens broke his face fighting hathaway, and then got in a fight with a staircase (not kidding look up the video). There's your shooting regression explained.

The PP is the coaches fault

They'll trade one of Samuelsson or Jokiharju for someone like Cates, Kotkaniemi, Nic Roy etc. Basically a really fast 3C who can chip and chase (aka beat the trap). At least one of the first rounders in the minors will make the jump to the NHL team too. If I were handicapping it id say:

1. Savoie
2. Kulich
3. Rosen

Levi becomes back up, that's the team for next year.

There a bunch of Perimeter Pu$$ies, talented but Soft. And they don't have the players needed to Compliment that style. They need a few Bangers who can Work the boards and go to the Net. Get a few guys not afraid to throw there weight and decent hands(Crouse, Trenin) and let them clean up in front. Put Crouse in front on our PP and watch how many rebounds he scoops. Even if they made the playoffs, they are not built for it.

My take- the Sabres played pond hockey, high event hockey last year, scoring very well off the rush, and leaving their goalies hung out to dry with high danger chances against. Most coaches hate this kind of hockey, granato allowed this to build confidence for his young offensive players. This year, especially after the first of the year, the Sabres have settled into a defensive system, not getting the same rush chances, and giving upl a chance to play with confidence. Unfortunately the Sabres frequently aren't getting rush chances and are relying on scoring 5v5 with the other team already set up, and the Sabres don't have enough guys going to the net, screening the goalie and redirecting shots/setting up for rebounds. Occasionally they do go to the net, but as a whole, they are a soft group that gravitates to the perimeter. The pp was impressive last year, with Thompson setting up in the ovechkin office, but teams and goalies have caught on, and the Sabres have done a poor job adjusting, still forcing the puck to Thompson. Thompson, tuch, and cozens have all missed time with injuries, and I think all came back well before they were ready. They need to get healthy, they need to fix the pp, and personally I think they need a few more guys willing to go to the ugly areas, but my guess, because it's the path of least resistance, is the young, high end prospects will graduate to the big club, and we will see more of the same. If we lose rush chances, somebody has to competently go to the net. Assistant coach Matt Ellis has been removed from his pp duties, granato took over, we will see if the coach has some answers over the last 20 games.

Dammit. Beat me to it. Jinx.

Lol, no, they aren't remotely built for the playoffs lmfao.

oh good we're back in 1994. If were gunna sink the Sabres back to this timeline can I at least buy some microsoft shares?

What are you talking about, 1 guy that would be tied for goal lead on are tean or another that scored 17 2 years ago. Not talking Knuckle Draggers. Talking players that can still add to the Team. Stupid remark

The Middlestadt trade was dumb imo.

The team can't generate any speed or chances off the rush and the solution is to get bangers who work the boards? If theyre going to do that they may as well tear it down and start over. The core of this team is what it is. They do their best work in a high speed chaotic environment. Theyre not suddenly going to become great cycle players just cause they add Trenin or Crouse.

that trade is like 10 minutes old and has nothing to do with what went wrong.

Both those guys can skate for there Size, and the Sabres get plenty chances of the rush, they just don't bury them. And they should be using there Speed to put puck pressure on any player that touches the puck. Sabres cause chaos when they get in quick on other Teams D, worked to a tee in the 3rd against Tampa. You can't have all soft perimeter players on your Team, it just won't work. There PP **** the bed for about a year because they don't have a Net front presence.

This isnt remotely true.

This is as of the midway mark of the season. We're in the bottom third. And the chances per game have only gotten lower since this date

Good chart! I didn't think it was that bad. But I still think that will adjust as they grow into the system. I don't know if they change Coaches. But the Sabres need to adapt and be able to play multiple ways. They can't rely on just being a rush team.

it cant be the only way they generate offense yes, but its going to be the primary way. If theyve learned anything from this year, it's that their efforts are better spent learning to beat the trap then becoming a trap team.

And having either Crouse or Trenin really wouldn't hinder that, because there both good skaters for there size.

I know it has nothing to do with what went wrong, was still the wrong move to make imo.

As long as he stays healthy, talent wise it's not a bad move. Was surprised they didn't get a bit more.