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And if Norris can stick around, that slight drop in goal scoring is going to disappear fast.

Unfortunately, I don't see any of the 3 goalies seizing the crease anytime soon, so they may be stuck there. Östlund is deserving to stay, but may need to go down for now so that they don't lose a contributing player. If it's not Östlund, it's probably Dunne. All of the early season injuries aside, which has been abnormal and crazy, it's normal for teams to have injuries here and there during the course of the season and it's likely that a Sabre player will be injured sometime soon, clearing the way for Östlund's return. I do agree with the post above saying that Dunne is the most replaceable and would likely clear, so I wouldn't be shocked if he were the one sent down. I don't have time to get into a Greenway discussion/debate right now, but I do believe that Dunne is adding more value than a less than 100% Greenway at this point. Greenway to IR might not be a terrible decision, as he clearly can't play every night, so he's wasting a roster spot on nights he can't play (and others may argue that he's wasting a roster spot on nights that he DOES play, but, again, not looking to get into that debate here). I assume it's going to be quite some time before Kulich comes back, but things could get a lot more challenging/interesting then. I assume that Kesserling takes the spot on the ice from Bryson, but I don't know what that does in terms of a roster spot. I'm not as down on Bryson as some here, but I do believe he's the most expendable of the defense corps.

This thought about Östlund came to mind this weekend. After that draft, I said I’d be thrilled if we could get 2 NHL centers out of those 3 first round picks. It’s starting to look like we got 3. If they ever turn it around, that draft is a huge part of it.

Has your feelings about the Cozens/Norris trade change after last night?

Connolly's hands were the best I've ever seen The True, "sick mitts" Too bad some d!ckbag cheap shot ended his healthy days

You assume a GM can just trade for anyone he wants, when he wants, and offer whatever. It's pretty clear Utah wanted JJP, enough to package Doan with Kesselring. What would you have offered the Mammoth for Doan straight up? And why would Utah take that deal?

Was Norris taking faceoffs last night? From what I've gathered, he's sustained at least 2 serious injuries (one on opening night this season) as a result of taking a faceoff.

There are no should wins. This is a recording.

I really want a win at Seattle to get that money off their back.

When Norris 1st started skating, thought Östlund's play dipped a bit realizing that he was now in Rosen's boat when Greenway came back into the lineup. But Östlund has picked his play back up the last couple of games. Kozak gives the team more flexibility for the games that Ruff wants to give Greenway a game off. Dunne fits better into the role on the 4th line that Greenway fills than Kozak does. But again, Kozak gives more flexibility to roster construction and is a better player. So, expect Dunne gets exposed to waivers, unless somebody decides they REALLY want one part of the 3 headed monster and meet Adams price.

AND, it saves Terry a bunch of money in hotels and in meals (per diem).

It sure seems like Östlund has taken a job from Kulich right now. Until they figure out the 3 goalie situation they will have to release either Dunne or Kozak. Dunne might be the one waived and is the most likely to survive and make it back to Rochester. I think Kozak would be picked up by another team if waived.

Dunne has been a nice surprise, but he's very clearly the choice. He's not getting claimed, but if by some chance he does, you move on. That's a piece that is much easier to replace than anyone else.

Can hope for W's in all of them, but can't realistically expect a W in Edmonton or Seattle. Edmonton, because they're rested, at home, and a tough matchup without the last line change, and the Sabres rarely win out there. Seattle, because until the Sabres actually beat them, they haven't done so and there's little reason to be expecting that 1st W. Calgary should be an almost automatic W, because they're really bad and for some reason the Sabres play really well in that barn. Could see them getting the W in Winnipeg, but after playing so horribly last night, they'll be looking to make up for getting embarrassed. That'll be a tougher game to steal than it should be. Could see them winning in Vancity or Filly, but can also see them laying an egg in either or both. Won't be what they need, but am expecting 2-2-2; maybe 3-2-1 with the 2nd OT loss turning into a SO win. And if Winnipeg is determined to make up for yesterday, 2-3-1. (And combined with the Minny game last week, would give them a 7 game stretch at or above 0.500 on the road. Which could give them a huge boost of confidence to at least do close to that on the road moving forward.) The wildcard is how much of a bounce do they get should Norris stay healthy through the whole trip and play like he did yesterday.

Offensive acumen doesn’t run strongly in the Mathilda bloodline. His dad was a solid defensive centre with strong leadership skills but his offensive game wasn’t strong even at the junior level. I’m sure his son is stronger offensively but doesn’t sound strong enough for a top 10 pick

The Kesselring move may be easier if one of the goalies just takes over the net and makes the others expendable. For now, I don't think you can send Östlund down. Norris just returned and if he goes back out again on the trip... we're probably starting Jordan Greenway as top line center again 🤢. Östlund gives some flexibility to the lineup that they need imo.

2-3-1

Cozens: 8g, 8a, 16pts in 25games with a -11 (Norris is at +/-0)

The Sabres are 9-5-2 at home, but only 2-6-2 on road. Philly is the next game. They are 14-8-3 (8-4-2 @ home) Wpg is next. 13-12 overall (6-5 @ home) Calg is the 3rd game. 9-14-4 (4-4-2 at home) Edm is 4th. 11-10-5 (5-2-2 at home) (This is the 2nd night of a back to back) Van is 5th. 10-13-3 (3-7-1 at home) Seattle is the 6th and final game of the road trip. Sea is 11-7-6 (6-3-3 at home). I believe the Sabres need to win at least 4 of these games to slowing climb back into the race in a crowded Eastern Conference. Calg and Van are the obvious should win games. Wpg without Hellebuyck is very beatable (as we just saw). Now just find away to beat Philly or Seattle and the road trip will be a success. I doubt they’ll beat Edm on the back end of a back to back with the Oilers having rested for 3 days.

Expecting we'll get a better feel for what that line will really be bringing tomorrow night in Filly. Hoping Norris is the PPG player that was billed as his ceiling, but he had to have adrenaline out the wazoo yesterday finally getting to play for the 1st time in 2 months and getting to play against a team that simply didn't have anything in the tank. The very 1st game LaFontaine played for the Sabres, they looked like the best team in the league (they weren't, at least not that season). Thornton's 1st game as a Snark was one of the very few W's that team got in Buffalo and they might've been able to beat an all star team made up of the '77 Habs, the '82 Aisles, and the '85 Eulers that night. And who was the scrub the Sabres got from SJ that got 2 goals in his 1st game as a Sabre and then nearly never scored again for them. That wasn't Norris' 1st game as a Sabre, but considering his health issues and how long he'd been out, it kind of felt like it was. If he gets a goal and an assist tomorrow, we could have something special (at least for the 40 or so games he plays each season).

It's hard not to get excited for this team with him present. With his defensive play and offensive skill/finishing ability... he really ties up the lineup nicely. I'm excited for what could be, but also just waiting for the other shoe to drop with another injury.

Norris returned last night with a hell of a game, and to make room they sent their 7th defender. But their about to go on a 6 game road trip and won't have the luxury of a quick trip down the 90 if you suddenly need to dress another defender. To further complicate things, Kesserling is skating. No timeline on when he returns, but they will need to make a spot for him when he does. If you call up a 7th defender this becomes easy to deal with. Last night they kicked the can down the road another day, but can they afford to go on this trip without a 7th defender? It seems like they have to make another roster move before leaving for Philly tomorrow. The easy answer is Östlund. Not because he's the right choice, but because he's waiver exempt. I think he's justified staying up, and the other options don't bring what he has added to the roster. I think he's slotted into Kulich's expected role fairly well. They have 3 goalies. That's the obvious cause we've been dealing with all season. Do they waive Ellis and just move on? St Louis will grab him right back (if someone else doesn't). Do you try to trade one? Have they been trying to trade one? A trade isn't likely to just happen by tomorrow night unless they have been close on a move. If they waive Lyon I'd think he'd get claimed by someone, possibly just as a rental like what happened to Reimer last year. The other options are Dunne or Kozak, but both would need to clear waivers. I think Dunne has a better chance to clear than Kozak, but maybe I'm overvaluing Kozak or undervaluing Dunne with how well he's played for us this season. Personally I'd dress either Kozak or Dunne over Greenway, but I don't see that happening. They seem to like Greenway more than I do. I think his contract makes him hard to move. I'd probably waive Dunne (though I'd prefer to waive Greenway, but the Sabres won't do that) What's your move?

That is just so hard to get past! He just looks frail. I just hope they does not prove to be the case going forward.

Well, there is that. He has done a very good job. I would go so far as to say he's done a great job. But I realize many (most) would say he has not been great because of the playoff disappointments. Maybe it's my landing in middle age. Maybe it's paying more attention to certain aspects of the games. Maybe it's the Hamlin incident and the ambulance coming onto the field for Micah (among others) during my time as a STH (which dates to Josh's 4th season (2021-2022)). For whatever reasons, I feel exceptionally aware of how hard a game pro football is. Brutal, really. And winning a game in that league? As hard as it gets.