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Perhaps Ellis doesn't give up big rebounds like UPL is so prone to do so he faces less shots because of that?

But that's one more thing this crew watches but don't get right. Brind-Amour doesn't ride a goalie until he loses a game and then run with the other guy until he loses. He picks the guy he expects will get them the W in the harder games and then spells him in the easier ones; and if one starts playing particularly well or particularly poorly, the determination of which guy will get them the tougher win changes. They really don't seem to twig to the WHY of what successful teams do. They get the WHAT, but because they don't get the WHY, they can't replicate that success. One of my classmates a long time ago in a statistics class, who simply didn't get it, when seeing the grade they earned on a test complained "but I followed all the steps." No, you didn't, because you put it down to a recipe that needed to be followed exactly when it fact it was a set of guidelines that had a lot of if/thens in it. It isn't do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and then profit; but rather if A then B, if C then if D then E and if not D then F and if not C then G and if not A but C then H. Personally expect Ruff understands that, but isn't going to do the X's and O's at this point in his journey and the guys he has working for him can't do the X's and O's at this level because they simply don't understand the WHY of what they're trying to do. Right now, in net, still believe UPL has the highest ceiling but he also has the lowest floor and too often he plays closer to his floor than the ceiling. Lyon is calm and can get in a groove, but giving him 1 game every 4 weeks will never see him in that groove again. Ellis is an unknown, but he's good at squaring up and then finding a way to get a body part in front of the puck but he still can resquare himself pretty quickly. Personally, would be treating Lyon and Ellis like the Canes treated Gerber and Ward back in '06, and throw UPL in every now and then (but sooner than 4 weeks later) and see if he can recapture that lightning in a bottle he had for a couple of months so long ago. It makes sense to trade one of them, but don't want Adams being the architect of that deal.

I had an error in the post you quoted and corrected it, FYI.

Hawes can block. So can the FB. There are several ways to slow down the pass rush coming from the outside. I remember the role of chip blocking the DE was one of the many things that Thurman Thomas did with excellence. He could slow down the pass rusher, peel away and get open. Thurman had a way of making the reception while squaring himself forward to make the first defender miss. We don't have a back like that but Ty Johnson a decent receiver, I think they should consider using him to chip block and flare out for quick reception. Unleash Ty or Cook or Harris in the old Thurman role.

Sadly, despite all the hub bub about their lack of response to just about everything (mostly stemming from Noesen’s hit on Tage last season, which ironically Tage settled against NJ), this is still the same team full of non responders. It can’t be a decision making process. It needs to be instant unbridled rage. The kind that gets you 17 minutes in penalties because you lose your *****. Dahlin being out there (again) when it happens and stick taps are the response is pathetic. Does the teams attitude stem from his indifference? Just looking for answers.

I don't think they are going to move any of them. The January schedule comes into play here. They have back to back weeks with 4 games. They have 15 games in 30 days. I think they expect one of the goaltenders to get hurt which is not unrealistic given how many goalies do end up on IR at some point in the season. I agree the goalies are mediocre. I do think it's up to the offense to score more than they have been to win games. We are not going to win many like we did last night but we got a little bit of luck. We were due.

Who knows If the lineup change was a way to send his two “leaders” a message, but when asked about it post-game, he mentioned the usual things like balance the lines, something about face offs, and ended with “get more energy”.

I wanted to smack Brady in the head last week for not using the TE or a RB to help chip block the Houston DEs. He seems to get lost in his gameplan. I think Brady has done a poor job this season and if he gets the LSU HC job I hope he goes and I wish him the best. Today is going to set the tone for the rest of the season. They can win and rise up and make a run, or they can crash. They absolutely need to stop turning the ball over and win the turnover ratio today. They will need the defense and special teams to step up. Looking for better preparation and a better start.

He Tuch’d him in a funny place. Personally, I’d let him Tuch me anywhere. Also, never start UPL on the road

Predictably unstoppable. You wouldn’t think those two words should go together, yet there was every single Kotalik shootout attempt. People are throwing around the idea that the team wants to play better in front of Ellis and not UPL. I feel like the numbers say the exact opposite. UPL has the worse save percentage but the best goals against average. I’m. It going to dive much deeper, but that to me says he’s facing the least amount of shots of the 3. But yeah, as you’re suggesting here, it’s mostly a wash across the board. We have 3 of the same guy, at least statistically.

If Ellis flames out than it may be time to see if Levi can be the guy. It’s probably too much of a mental hurdle for Kevyn to figure out how he can do that with 3 goalies already on the roster but it’s probably time to cut bait with at least one of them. We all want it to be UPL, I just don’t see a buyer out there even at 50% salary retention which we know Daddy Wantsbucks isn’t fond of.

I see a pattern

hooray we won And one who seems okay with mucking it up along the boards.

His first 3 games were totally different than what he is right now. It seemed like he was cautious and just trying to not make mistakes, he was very reluctant. Once Rosen came up he seemed to get a spark, maybe he had someone to connect with? It is very refreshing to see him contribute, he seems to understand the 2 way game. There is much room for improvement and that will come with more experience in the NHL. At 21 he is still physically growing and can add more weight and strength. What I like is that he looks like a playmaking center. We need one.

Watched the first period... Sabres skated well couple bad break downs and no puck luck... glad to see they pulled it out... but couldnt keep my eyes open because of long day... their inconsistencies drive me up the wall

According to the numbers, we don't know that UPL and Lyon aren't "it". I think Ellis still represents the Shiny New Toy so everyone is flocking to him. I feel the same way emotionally; I like him. He was a good pickup. But a year from now will he be the new whipping boy? Who knows? On the completely other hand, it does show that the both Lyon and UPL could be the help a team with weak goltending needs. They're not as awful as Sabrespace likes to think. But really, that's the problem: based on those numbers, we've got three pretty good, not great, goalies. Out of 78 goalies in the NHL stats, our goalies are ranked 36, 39, and 47 in terms of Sv%. As a team, we're ranked 21 in Sv%. Maybe it's time to move one of these guys and get something that will improve the team in front of them, now.

In the short term yes, but they have to commit to one guy. Teams like Carolina have learned that if you don’t have “that guy,” you ride the consistent guy and learn to overcome his shortcomings.

All except for Tuch, right? Don't all of his shots go wide? Isn't that one of the many knocks you have on the guy?

Hopefully Ellis can do it. He's the only guy with any runway left.

I will say this: Östlund isn't exactly soft. He battles pretty good, especially along the walls.

Can we get an autocorrect on this spelling of Östlund please?

More the backhand forehand move, but you are right, that was the single most unstoppable move in shootout history

Especially on the road. The Wild is a team that plays really solid team D and has a sniper in Kaprisov and a couple of other offensive guys that can give you fits. Tough to keep the kids sheltered if they're altogether and you're only playing the 4th line about 10 minutes. And, letting Östlund play on the "top" line and giving him a look in the SO lets him know that should he be the guy going down when Norris gets activated, it ISN'T him, it's just numbers and until the 3 headed goalie monster gets one head lopped off they're going to have to have a couple/few guys in Ra-cha-cha that have earned time in Buffalo. Didn't ruin Pominville's development; won't ruin his either.

I really don't like splitting up the Tuch/Doan/Thompson line, but a Benson/Kozak/Östlund line is a little too inexperienced. It makes sense to put Thompson with a couple of new guys and Tuch with a couple of them.