Meanwhile, the once radical theory that Sabres players are consciously or subconsciously diverting a bit from the coaching staff's game plans -- out of confusion, inability, rebellion or indifference -- is actually starting to gain some legs.
There just isn't another reasonable answer available to the question of how so many defensive zone lapses can occur so often in so many games. Last night's parting of the Red Sea for Claude Giroux is Exhibit A.
In a nutshell, the inmates are running the asylum. Bylsma seems unable or unwilling to force his imprint on this group. He does not appear to have control of his team. And it doesn't fare well at all for his future in Buffalo.
It's been written in this space that the former Penguins bench boss is a good coach. I still believe that to be the case, although it was mentioned here that Guy Boucher would've been a better choice. The argument that anyone can win a Stanley Cup with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin is silly, unless we want to start cutting down every coach in history who won championships with great players.
But sometimes there are just bad fits. For whatever reason, it seems as though Bylsma is not a good match with this roster. We've seen good coaches do extremely well in one town and stink it up in another. It's chemistry.
And there are signs the agony of this season is getting to him. Not even a month ago, Bylsma told the media that turnovers by Jack Eichel are better than puck dump-ins because it means the franchise center is trying to be creative. He even mused that he'd bench Eichel if he never coughed up the puck.
Last night, he sat Eichel for a shift after his turnover that resulted in the first Flyers goal. For good measure, he postgame criticized the puck management decisions of the player whose creativity produced 2 goals and 3 points.
When word out of Pittsburgh a few years ago was that Crosby and Malkin were practically crying on each others' shoulders over their frustration with Bylsma, it was brushed off by many with some even labeling them both as coach killers. But combine that with the erratic handling of Eichel and it just might make you wonder.
