The Buffalo Sabres are a mess and, after last night's 4-1 loss to the Flyers, Interim Head Coach Ted Nolan has seen enough. One way or another, changes are coming. Either the players are going to change the way they're playing or they won't be playing.
There were a lot of things wrong with the Sabres game last night, but a lot of it started with penalties…penalties that didn't need to be taken and put the team at a serious disadvantage throughout the night. Fortunately for the Sabres, the Flyers' power play wasn't all that spectacular or else that game could have been a lot worse. While the scoreboard wasn't directly effected by the power play opportunities they gave up, we all know the energy and effort expended defending those penalties certainly takes its toll.
The fact is the Flyers put 46 shots on Ryan Miller and a goalie can only do so much. They can't win the game for you, they can only prevent you from losing. Spend majority of the game in your own end and you severely decrease your ability to win a game. Add some neutral zone turnovers, the inability to protect the puck in the corners and let a couple guys skate right through your defense and fire a shot off and that percentage for success decreases exponentially.
As Nolan said last night, people who continually take undisciplined penalties will find themselves out of the line up. There is no more use in hoping things will change. After four games behind the bench he's seen enough and is ready to make some changes of his own.
"When you constantly do the same thing over and over and lose for the same reasons, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. We have to do simple things, need a grind-it-out type of game. We can't have turnovers. We can't take foolish penalties. We can't get bounced off the puck and get out muscled in corners. We have to play a smarter game and play to what our strengths are…Can't be something you're not. Have to grind it out and make simple plays."
The real problem is that this team is in a hole that it can't climb out of. The only thing they have to play for right now is pride, a new contract and potentially a spot on a new team as the Sabres will most definitely be sellers…and considering all the changes they've already made, I'd say they already are…
So while it's evident that just about everyone in Buffalo from the ownership to the fans have seen enough, it's also evident that they need a certain kind of general manager to lead this team….now they just need to find him so this team can stop treading water and start moving forward.
Julie
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