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The answer to this is unequivocally yes. You can easily google official shortage and read the horror stories. I work with someone who is also a D1 college football referee. I've asked him about it and he absolutely indicated that it's a major problem.

My concern is that they threw away 3 games when they were getting great goaltending because they weren't ready to go out of the gate. (And they threw 1 other point away because they get no injury luck at all and in response to that put UPL in a game he wasn't ready for.) They SHOULD have 14-16 points right now, which would give them a very small cushion to get past the inevitable midseason slump or 2. IF Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin start playing they way they've been able to in the past and the rest of the crew does what they've been doing this year, they can handle slipping to average goaltending. But right now, those 3 aren't what they should be and that combined with the PP being hot garbage once again, has them just off the pace they need with pretty much everything else except injury luck hitting on all cylinders. ANY of that other stuff falls off without the "big 3" picking their full games up and we're looking at 0.500 being tough to maintain much less getting to 0.600. Am still hopeful (which after the 1st 3 games is something) but not overly optimistic. They will have lulls where they only get 3 out of 10 points (give or take); will they be able to have a couple/few stretches where they get 8 or even 10 out of 10 to counteract them? One thing to be optimistic about is, even though this team isn't much better at cycling than they've been in forever, they are going to the net MUCH better than they did either of the past 2 sesaons and probably even longer than that. THAT will generate goals even while the guys that create their bread and butter rush offense refigure it out. They've also been reasonably good at winning battles (though they still have stretches like the 1st 15 minutes yesterday when they aren't); so maybe between those 2 items they can figure out how to effectively cycle the puck which would also help.

Correct

They are really keeping the defensive pairs together?

And deservedly so. No doubt I am all-aboard the Östlund train, but he’s not ready for the NHL. Hopefully it makes him hungrier in Rochester to engage more physically and continuing to strength train.

this is all very accurate, great post

So the answer looks to be No, they are not for real. Yet. Clearly the next 20 games will separate them from seasons past if they can keep stacking points and not have the dreaded 8-10-12 game losing streak.

Very interesting, I cant remember anytime that Greenway played center before, if he could play it well that would be a big help to the team untill Norris comes back

Looks like Östlund might be out.

Here's my concern. The team is marginally better but a chunk of that is goaltending. If the goaltending regressed even to average, this house of cards collapses.

This is a trade that both teams are happy with. For Utah they get a young, talented offensive winger to help boost their offence. For Buffalo this is a culture trade. Doan and Kesselring bring size and skill but with the leadership traits that this team desperately needs. Im sure both fan bases will be happy with this trade in the long run.

I agree. Outside of Yamamoto’s masterpiece in Game 2 the Jays have taken it to the Dodgers this series.

So far it’s looking like your spot on. Here’s to hoping he continues his play and although it was only 1 game so far, I’m liking #8 as well.

Doan is not better than Peterka. It is not even close. But he is a high motor player that we need. If Kesslering is a solid top 4 the trade might be even.

Just some belated quick thoughts on some of our players from last night's game. I liked how Kesserling looked. Will be interested to see who Ruff pairs him with. I hope it is Power. Samuelsson is really playing solidly and consistently. I would prefer seeing him on the third pair with Timmons. Impressed by Timmons and how he plays. He's a defensive minded player who knows what his talents are and plays to them. As someone else noted Quinn is coming around. Playing with more speed and aggressiveness. Kulich is not ready for a 1C role just yet. Norriss's injury was a setback for the first line. Doan is a tough player who is willing to inhabit the net area. Specific attribute that this team desperately needed. The most encouraging thing about last night's play was the play of Lyon. If we regularly get this caliber of goaltending, we should be in the playoff mix. The penalty on Tuch that led to an Ottawa goal was atrocious. In general, disappointed at the outcome but encouraged by some individuals performance.

No until proven otherwise.

The Bills, along with every other team that selected a WR before him, had good reason to pass on Worthy as he is strictly an off ball receiver and is scheme limited as a result. He is a great fit for Reid, not a great fit for us.

Interesting thought. That likely plays a role, who wants to deal with that kind of abuse day in and day out just to stay close to the game they love. (Sheepishly raises hand; would've been cool to be a professional in just about any aspect of the sport.)

Small improvement. Didn't even show up until late in the first period last night. Finishing games in the 3rd period. Still fighting consistency. Long way to go.

You people are miserable 😂

Slow but steady is good enough for my rosier eyes. 😃You have to acknowledge that Samuelsson and Power are playing better this year. And there is no question that Timmons was a solid addition. I'm unsure about Byram but open-minded about him. Last night, we finally got a glimpse of Kesserling. I liked how he played last night. In my view, the blueline has improved.

"Win the trade" is a pointless argument that often changes over time. Two teams trade sometimes for entirely different reasons.

Stick with me kid.

This, it was a good hockey trade for both teams but Doan is not better than JJP at least skill wise but he does bring things that JJP will never have.