The Ditch part deux

Absolutely tragic. Personally, I felt he should've won a Norris this year. By far his best year, after clear improvement last season. He was carrying the defense and the powerplay.

I'm hoping this doesn't set his career back. Obviously, the season is over. Sure, FLA won last night, and they should still win enough to keep a playoff spot, but they're not going to win a 7 game series against TB or CAR without Ekblad. No hope. All that matters now is that it doesn't derail his career.

 

Sabres End Record Skid

It's worth repeating this; 6-1 over the hockey team from Philadelphia.

For the last 3 or 4 games, they've been playing as if they have a heartbeat.

 

Flyers in a real downward spiral, cant say it upsets me.
Hextall as GM was the best thing they had going and he was building it up, now its back to the big swing days where they arent actually a threat at all. Flyers are forcing themselves in to a rebuild, regardless of what the fanbase thinks. The stud young D core they thought they had is essentially Provorov and a bunch of overrated prospects that arent worth shit. Remember when the Ghost Bear was a big deal? Carter Hart what happened? Giroux, Voracek, & Hayes should be dealt. Keep Couturier and Provorov and go from there.

 

that helmet toss from McKinnon, makes me laugh. I dont watch many Coyote's games but Connor Garland does not seem to be loved by his opposition.

 

Just heard that toss cost him $5000, lol.

 

Was Krueger the problem? (Don’t ask Jeff Skinner; don’t listen to Rasmus Dahlin.) Perhaps the most frustrating factor in this season’s putrid Sabres is that this year the team is actually competitive - on paper. On ice they looked inept and/or disinterested. That is usually an indictment of coaching and not the roster.

Krueger was a sweet-talker, but it seems some had zoned him out. Others clashed outright and others flailed. Was he the problem? With the team on a 4G pts.-streak under Tony Granado, the answer seems to be yes.

The Sabres had a huge number of hurdles this year that would have challenged any team. Some were self-inflicted, some were just bad timing, and others were negative karma. A good high colonic in April could prove very salubrious to the team’s future.

Nothing has really changed. The team still has gaps in talent. There are serious questions about their capacity for, and commitment to, basic team functions such as scouting and player development. There are scant few (if any) “untouchable” assets in the organization.

But, if the team plays as if the give a shit, and racks up a few points, then hockey becomes worth caring about again for beleaguered Sabres fan.

The best news we could have would be that Kim Pegula has stepped away from her position as President of Operations. Ahhh, wishful thinking ... See?! I’m starting to care again.

 

5

FIVE

 

The number of consecutive games that the Buffalo Sabres have earned a point, or two.