BRUINS GDT GAME 35 7:08 PM - THE BEAR FEARS BUFFALO - NESN,ESPN+, 98.5 WBZ-FM

[lopey]

Trading TF will help, just to be rid of him, but Poitras cannot center the third line. i think he is a classic 4A player: a smallish center with average speed, below average shot and overhandles the puck. His point a game in the minors gives me hope that I am wrong.

Kids what 20. Has a ton of skill. He will be good.

 

[RI.B FAN]

Can't figure out why Lysell has not been given a couple of games. could be what he needs

 

[nORRis8]

This is exactly what Freddy and Coyle need - both will have big games and Bruins win 7-1….easily. Buffalo played last night and had to travel along with how bad they are, Bruins win big!

Let’s go Bruins!!!

I like your spunk kid

 

[HustleB]

I like all of that but lately I’ve been thinking Wotherspoon should play more. Oesterle would sit more and I might continue to sit Lohrei every once in a while to watch from the 9th floor.

 

[Bruinswillwin77]

First home game start @7pm local time since December 3rd against the Red Wings.

I expect a good showing.

 

[JayMark]

First home game start @7pm local time since December 3rd against the Red Wings.

I expect a good showing.

First games back after a long road trip usually don't go so well.

 

[Kazcram]

this has sabres breaking their streak written all over it .

 

[WhoozYerrDaddy]

Tomorrow’s Globe:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/21/sports/buffalo-sabres-playoff-drought/

The ever-out-of-it Sabres limp into TD Garden on Saturday night, with history, math, and yet another motherlode of futility all but guaranteeing that they once again will miss the playoffs, fulfilling what has been a torturous rite of spring in Buffalo since 2011.

That’s 14 years of mind-numbing disappointment (M-ND) for a fan base that, remember, was bestowed an honorary PhD in M-ND with those four consecutive Super Bowl losses (1990-93) by the Bills. The pain at the edge of Lake Erie runs deeper than the ache in the big toe of Scott Norwood’s kicking foot.

Pegula’s Pals brought a league-high 0-9-3 winless streak to Boston after a 6-3 loss home loss to the Maple Leafs on Friday. Overtime losses to the Canucks and Jets and a shootout loss to the Red Wings were the only bits of solace in that streak. Never a good sign when loser points are the drips of morphine that mask the pain. It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams, a Bruins draftee (No. 25/1993), only infused the inferno with more fuel a couple of weeks ago with comments that will be the enduring footnotes in his inevitable firing. Adams, who grew up in the comfortable Buffalo suburb of Clarence, detailed a couple of the factors working against the Western New York franchise becoming a “destination” for prospective Sabres stick carriers.

To wit:

▪ High taxes.

▪ Lack of palm trees.

At which point, Adams might as well have hailed an Uber, be it for a ride far out of town or to apply for work behind the wheel, possibly both.

Funny thing about taxes, they indeed tend to run high in places where people want to live. No one residing in Massachusetts, where many refer to Boston as the Hub of the Universe, needs reminding of the Three P’s of taxation — Pay, Pay, and just keep on Payin’.

We gripe. But we stay. Although $1 million starter homes in and around the Hub appear to be a game-changer. Point is, typically, higher taxes go hand in hand with better services and quality of life, which is also to say that you generally have to pay for what you get. Western New York remains a very good place to live, taxes and all.

As for palm trees, correct, they ain’t a thing in Buffalo, where snowfall predictions are measured in feet, not inches. Especially early in the winter, when a cold wind blows across relatively warm waters of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, the beatings in Western New York can be worse than those endured by Charles O. Finley’s California Golden Seals.

Adams’s comments, relatively early in the current death spiral, have had some fans toting inflatable palm trees to KeyBank Center. For the Dec. 7 Sabres-Utah matchup, the higher the deficit climbed (final: Utah, 5-2), the higher the palm trees grew and more frequent the heckles, such as “Where’s Terry?” and “Fire Adams!”

Owner Terry Pegula showed up on the road this past Monday and met with his slumping charges in Montreal, prior to the next night’s matchup there with the Canadiens. Pegula also owns the NFL Bills, so he knows better days can be attained, even without palm trees and coconuts, even with snow up to Josh Allen’sarmpits.

No one in the meeting revealed specific details, but those who spoke framed it generally as a show of confidence by Pegula and how much he cares about the Crossed Swords franchise he bought during the 2010-11 season (also the club’s last playoff appearance).

“A message that resonates throughout the locker room,” said Lindy Ruff, the hopeful bench boss, characterizing the meeting.

“For him to come down here and talk to us,” offered forward Dylan Cozens, “it means a lot. He cares a lot about this team.”

The Sabres are now a quarter-century removed from their 1999 trip to the Stanley Cup Final, which ended in Game 6 on Buffalo ice, in a triple-overtime loss to Dallas, Brett Hull’s skate in the blue paint as he potted the Cup winner. Agonizing.

When the Sabres are competitive, the fan base buys in with both feet and wallet, attaching team flags to car windows, with kids dressed in their favorite players’ sweaters as they play street hockey.

Free agents will come to Buffalo. Adams doesn’t have to worry about that. The fan base and hockey culture are in place. The money has to be right, and Pegula has about a $1 billion in cashed payroll checks to prove his willingness to pay.

It may not be the Hub of the Universe or the Athens of America, but it’s a hockey market that proved for years that it can thrive. No palm trees required. Just a better eye in the front office to identify player talent, and the vision behind the bench to lead them to better days.

Forgot the part where the Sabres front office has banned palm trees from the arena, instead of having fun with it.

 

[AngryMilkcrates]

Cold here in Smashville
Preds hot so far though

 

[Bradely]

I found this when doing a search for Bruins Christmas images. The only thing is ... Yuld Season?

View attachment 949238

Weird photo. Ain't what I see Boston being, a beautiful north americain metropole and a classy city and does not represent Bruins...... to me it looks like a Vegas reproduction! Lights everywhere cause it is in the desert with nothing else.

 

[BiteThisBurrows]

 

[bobbyorr04]

The Sabers have lost 12 straight

That franchise has never recovered from this @Chainshot am I wrong?

I really miss Looch

B's over Sabres in a close one 5-3

Go Bruins!!

 

[Zillah]

this has sabres breaking their streak written all over it .

Damn it … you’re right

 

[shelbysdad]

Can't figure out why Lysell has not been given a couple of games. could be what he needs

He is finally figuring it out hopefully. Let him stay there a bit keep doing well, getting confidence.
Last thing we need is to call him up , not put him in his role, and send him back.

Give him at least 10 more , maybe more. Can't just call him up due to a stretch of decent play

 

[bobbyorr04]

I like all of that but lately I’ve been thinking Wotherspoon should play more. Oesterle would sit more and I might continue to sit Lohrei every once in a while to watch from the 9th floor.

Granted Lohrei needs to improve on defense, but he can be valuable on the PP, whereas Wotherspoon and Oesterle not so much

I wish they'd put Lohrei on PP1 more often, because (unlike McAvoy) the kid is not afraid to shoot the puck, and I think their PP is more dangerous when he's out there

 

[goldenblack]

As for the game, though their lack of talent is always a concern, if the Bruins just play their lanes , keep a last man back and make decent decisions they should be fine.

have you been kidnapped?

Who is this really???

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

have you been kidnapped?

Who is this really???

It’s definitely him with his admonition to an NHL team to have a last man back.

 

[caz16]

As for the game, though their lack of talent is always a concern, if the Bruins just play their lanes , keep a last man back and make decent decisions they should be fine.

I like your progressive thinking.

 

[quietbruinfan]

I like your progressive thinking.

Only happens against cellar dwellers. lol jk. Keeping a structure and not running around is key against the Sabres because the Sabres generally do not do that.

 

[Blitzkrug]

Not fretting this one. Buffalo sucks, have lost 12 in a row and probably the biggest reason why i'm not worried, they're in night 2 of a B2B.

If the back to back wasn't a factor i'd be a bit more worried.

 

[quietbruinfan]

Not fretting this one. Buffalo sucks, have lost 12 in a row and probably the biggest reason why i'm not worried, they're in night 2 of a B2B.

If the back to back wasn't a factor i'd be a bit more worried.

I am still a bit worried despite what i said earlier. If you run around and play like the Sabres, they can hurt you. They beat the Rangers 6-1 at MSG after all.

 

[Blitzkrug]

I am still a bit worried despite what i said earlier. If you run around and play like the Sabres, they can hurt you. They beat the Rangers 6-1 at MSG after all.

True, but it's not like the Rangers are exactly a model organization at this second either.

 

[BMC]

DROP THE f***ING PUCK ALREADY!!!!!

 

[BMC]

@Ladyfan & @GahdenRinkRat cheering them on as the Bruins take the ice!!!

 

[Olden McGroin]