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3 games into the season and they’re 2+ games clear of the entire division and also 2 games clear of KC and Baltimore. You really can’t ask for a better start.

Oh, one more note, Marchenko, Johnson, Fantilli averaged nearly 30 goals per player last year. Might be wrong, but I’m pretty sure the Kulich line went head to head against them until Evason got tired of losing that battle and broke his big 3 up.

F'n Hostile? By Demons be Driven? Yes please. More like I'm Broken tho...

Columbus played one good line of NHL forwards. Within that context, the Sabres played hard and gave up nothing. People saying they don’t notice Danforth or Doan should re-watch the game with that in mind. I thought Dunne acquitted himself pretty well in his brief NHL look last year and looked very good tonight. The number of times a Jacket was prone in front of the net with Novikov standing over him made my heart smile. Kesselring looked like what I expected: engaged and competent in all facets of the game. People might need to re-assess their opinion of Mrtka. That kid turned 18 two months ago. He was playing against men tonight and he was good. None of it means much, but it was a promising game.

Muel has one year if that. Novikov is going to come knocking.

Listen to the chorus and imagine 19k singing along after a goal.

That's all true. I just thought he was more of a physical thumper than he appears to be. Being in Utah I didn't see much of either of them last year so it's just my wrong impression. We'll see how he actually is over time.

Maybe. Sportsnet had the Columbus broadcast on. They were saying Danforth was their "swiss army knife who could play up and down the roster". I didn't see anything to validate that but if it's true maybe he's that injury plug in guy.

There was one good fight.

I wouldn't even say overdone, I think its an awful song.

Unlike Power, I don’t think we’d regret trading Muel for one second. I think Mrtka is better than him already. Can we send Muel back to the WHL as well?

I guess the real bar is Jokiharju since he played with Power a lot, but those are the guys that are out, along with Gilbert. Kesselring and Timmins are expected to be upgrades. Muel is the wild card. Will he ever be worth the contract?

Joker, Clifton and Docker were third pairing caliber of players. As I stated in a previous post, it seems that the projected three pairings i.e. 1.)Dahlin/Byrum, 2.)Power/Kesserling and 3.)Samulesson/Timmons will be slotted where they should be. That in itself is an indication of a better roster construction, at least for this unit.

The game wasn’t chippy, there wasn’t much rattling of boards. But the Columbus statistician was racking up hits for the Sabres. The Sabres did forecheck well. 32 hits awarded to Sabres forwards. 7 for Helenius. I think in Buffalo it’s more like 16 hits. But that’s just me.

Talk about setting a low bar.

Kesselring is 6’5” and 215 lbs. Good size and room to add some muscle. He can be lanky and physical. He only has 156 NHL games, he is a 25 year old former 6th rounder. As you know, players like that take some time to develop, especially defenseman. Power already has 242 NHL games at 22 years old so all this talk that Kesselring is going to come in and settle Power down and mentor him is asking a lot. Hoping he is a good compliment to Power in the top 4, but he just has to be better than the guys he replaced (Joker, Clifton, Bernard-Docker) to help the team.

Of course, Terry was responsible for hiring him. He was enamored with the erudite individual who was impressive in an interview setting. What was Krueger's philosophy? Taking a multi-talented player in Dahlin and then strait-jacking him so he wouldn't be able to exhibit his abundant talent? Krueger was talented in public speaking and less so coaching. This is another example where the inept owner was not self-aware enough to recognize his ineptitude. The right way to hire a HC and a GM is to seek out a lot of qualified voices and consider their viewpoints. That's not what this fool does. He believes that he is the best person to make the critical organizational hires. The owner's record speaks for itself. His stupendous arrogance has crushed this franchise and severely eroded a once vibrant fanbase. This self-made billionaire knows the energy business. When it comes to pro hockey he is a buffoon. I wish he would get on his big tax write-off boat and sail away.

We gave up 0 goals and dominated play and physicality in the last 2 periods. Defense coverage from the defense and forwards was excellent. Easiest shutout I've seen in a long time. Didn't notice Doan, but honestly I didn't notice a lot of the Forwards. #15 and # 44 were noticeable. Kesselring was excellent (Power looked very comfortable with him), as was Byrum. Strange seeing the Sabres jam the front of the net (caused the first 2 goals). Have a gut feeling Geogiev (spelling) might be out game 1 starter. Early on, but he's now gone 4 period without allowing a goal. Georgiev has had 2 NHL season that has dwarfed anything Lyon and UPL has done. Maybe a smart signing by Adams??

Bravo!

As @Flashsabre said, Doan did some nice things away from the puck and he helped clear the zone, maintain possession a couple times. Little things. But I think the Quinn-Kulich-Doan line looked the least impressive in terms of overall effort or possession. Kulich was solid as a forechecker. Neither good nor bad for one game. But definitely nothing that jumped out. No glaring mistakes though… which is very important for this team.

Injuries will hit. Who knows how many games Greenway will play. There will be games this season where Dunne or Geertsen will get time on the 4th line. Danforth will be there, Krebs then Beck. Dunne and Geertsen will be fourth line callups Edit: and I forgot Kozak who is a gamer. They definitely have 4th line options

Not one breakaway given up all game.