carpandean

Well, they could a fringe team trying to make sure they get in, so in theory you could get a very low chance (0.5 - 1.5% for the best four teams that miss the playoffs) lottery pick.

For the first time since at least the 2004-05 lockout, the Sabres may break the -20 points line, forcing me to change the range on my vertical axis. They cleared +20 points in 2006-07, but never -20.

It's not exactly the same. We were watching a broadcast designed for the NYC market, which was then mirrored here for a select few games. Their market drove their content. In the case above, the market is the same whether or not Rogers is the owner. To the extent that the market demand drives the content, there will still be incentive to cover other teams. In other words, Rogers' stockholders will still want them to make as much money as possible. It's unlikely that neutral reporting (vs. biased) about the Leafs would have a significant impact on the franchise's valuation, while biased reporting could have a substantial impact on viewership outside of Toronto (they'd still watch the games, because there's no alternative, but the other content would not be viewed.) So, yes, there might be some bias, but not exactly like what we saw on MSG.

I'll update these tomorrow after we have played again. What really surprised me is that, as bad as things have been for the Sabres, the Panthers and Islanders are not much ahead of them. It is definitely not a lock that the Sabres will finish last in their division or conference, much less the league.

He slowed way down, but was still moving forward very slowly.

The difference is that the Leafs are trying to be good, while the Sabres are trying to be bad.

What the heck; why not ... Sabres Historical: Atlantic Division: Eastern Conference: Tank Nation: (Playoff chart will return when it actually matters.) Updated: 4/13 (End of Season)

There are, of course, several causes besides home-team favoritism that could explain some of these differences. NFL away teams are probably more likely to make false start/encroachment/offsides penalties due to crowd noise. NHL away teams get second change, so they are more likely to have a bad matchup, which would lead to them taking more penalties.

Their level of losing rate to date is probably not sustainable, so they'll likely finish closer to that 56-point mark. That said, they are already 8 points behind their own worst start (first 2423* games) since the 2004 lockout and 3.5 points further away from the playoff pace line that I use than they were at any point in any season over that period (it took 49 games to get 11.4 points away in 2011-12; they are already over 15 points away.) * Edit: oops, 24th data point, which is actually 23 games in (first point is 0,0.)

I'm glad that there is now a layer between Terry and the GM, and that that layer has a lot more hockey knowledge. It may have been a bad thing for Patty to be GM and perhaps Terry got lucky that he was smart enough to know that, but the fact is that Patty is now the one that will hire the next GM. I am far more confident that he will get it right than I would be if Terry were making the decision. When Terry took over, I wanted him to gather a committee of guys like Pat Lafontaine and empower them to hire his next GM. This is close enough, even if way, way late.

:) = me all day Finally, finally, Pegula has separated himself from the past owners.

This is a recent thing for Darcy. He's been one of the biggest proponents of "give them time to develop in the minors" for most of his tenure.

I don't know. I've listened five more times with my eyes closed and saying Enroth in my head, but I still hear him say Enron every time. Definitely not Enroth; at best Enrott.

4:32 ...

Meh, Risto got his first NHL goal faster.

I wanted them to give him a shot back in 2010, when he went to Vancouver. Would have been a better third-line center than Hecht (2nd/3rd-line winger) or Gaustad (fourth-line center.) He was having a strong season before he got hit in the eye, even receiving consideration for the Selke trophy (5 1st-place votes, according to Wikipedia.)

Oops. 0.8s from OT, but ... *choke*.

Ha, well timed. A friend of mine just posted a pic of his dog looking toward him from under the sheet with some comment about Dutch Ovening it.

1999

Even if they go 1-80-1 this year and 0-82-0 next year, there would still be a 56% chance that we wouldn't get either player, much less both. In fact, there would only be a 6.25% chance of getting both.

I was thinking the same thing when I saw that last goal. He's lucky that they don't play the Rangers again until March.

http://youtu.be/2hXMx_aBQo4 :w00t:

As much as we're focused on our QB, it sucks to hear that Hoyer is out for the season. He started as the third quarterback, got the chance to start due to injuries and played so well that he took the starting job. Then, wham, it's gone.

It wasn't consistent. I believe in 2005-06, they went basically every other game, but had specific teams that each always had the "C" against (e.g., Briere vs. Montreal.) In 2006-07, however, I am almost certain that it was road/away during at least the regular season. It's hard to prove, since each took over when the other was out injured.

Worked with Drury and Briere. Plus, it's easier on the equipment guys.