Taro T

Actually, whichever D-man made the play on the Pen with the puck behind UPL and about 3-1/2 minutes to go saved the game. That puck ends up in the net almost any other night this year. But UPL's excellent play yesterday kept them in the game long enough for that play to matter and was a major part of why the team won the game. He was named the 3rd star, and personally would've had him 1 or 2.

That, or it might be an emergency recall because there are fewer than 12 healthy F's on the roster prior to the recall.

To the bolded, the PA system was as loud as usual. Those of us that have the speakers directly facing us could barely hear each other when they were playing music or having somebody speak over the PA system. Just like every other game. Were you sitting in the 200's? A lot of people in those seats claim that they can barely hear the sound. Have been told that there are plans to upgrade the system for next season. Hoping that's the case. Only remember to bring ear plugs to about 1/2 the games we go to.

Didn't read the rest of the thread, so apologies if any of this is redundant. Missed prior to the 1st TV timeout because the electronic ticket wouldn't load right and it took them from before the anthems until just before the TV timeout to get me an actual paper ticket. - Ain't technology grand. 🤪 Though they weren't scoring in the 1st 40, they seemed overall to be playing the Pens pretty evenly. It seemed every D-man wanted to hit Nylander. Good. F' that guy. UPL had by far his best game. He looked the calmest and most in control that he has. With 2 horribly horrific exceptions, that the D were actually helping him see to the puck and to keep Pens from being able to get backdoor chances was no doubt a part of him being so settled in, but he played really well and deserved another SO. No idea what Dahlin was thinking getting out of the way of the Crosby shot. (It was very reminiscent of Power getting out of the way of the shot the other night in Winnipeg.) Sure, try to get out of the goalie's way BEFORE the shot is taken, so he can see it leave the shooter's stick and track it way better; but if you're setting a screen DON'T then jump out of the way. Have even less of an idea what he was thinking on the 2nd goal against. (THAT was very reminiscent of the 4th Bruin goal when Power sent the puck out front to the B's.) Nothing the goalie can do when his D are setting the opponents up in the slot. After that though, Dahlin settled down in the 3rd and played very well the last 20. (After having some other iffy moments in the 1st 40.) But the biggest difference in the end of this game and many others they've played this year is when with ~3-1/2 minutes left to play and the puck got behind UPL after they'd battled back to tie it, his D both kept the Pen that would've had an open net tap in away from the puck and they cleared it too. Which gave Skinner and Tuch the opportunity to get the go ahead goal. And then after that, they NEVER let the Pens control the puck in their own end the rest of the way. Hoping they all pay attention to the way they played the last 200-230 seconds, because they played the sort of hockey that even @PerreaultForever can get behind. It was awesome to be there for that. Speaking of which, it was IIRC the 2nd sellout of the season (maybe it was the 1st; not positive if the opener vs the Rags was sold out or just close) and the team left those in attenance leaving with a good taste in their mouths. And, it seems that for the 1st time, the Sabres policy of not selling tix to those from unsavory Zip Codes finally worked. The crowd was probably 3/4 Sabres fans AND the building was full. And, except for Ryan Johnson and possibly Tyson Jost, every player that was still healthy at game's end took part in those final 3+ minutes. Benson just missed a shot wide. Cozens with the hustle to get the icing waived off and get Karlsson to give his best Pittsburgh Stealer imitation. Glad they decided to call Peterka for a 4 minute HS rather than just a 2 minute one because they couldn't have reviewed the call. Also glad they actually did the right thing and took that penalty off the board. If he hadn't been checked in the head by Letang (the name of which means 'the Tang' in French 😉 ) his stick never would've come up. And were it anyone other than Letang making that hit, he probably would've been called and would be looking forward to a call from the head of player discipline; but it's Letang so the league will look the other way. Something still seems to be wrong with Samuelsson. Pretty sure he had the turnover that led to Crosby's goal and something just seems "off" with him. Can't really put a finger on it. And maybe that had Dahlin off slightly in the 1st 1/2 of the game. Ras definitely picked his play up in the 3rd. Clifton was hitting everything in sight (especially when it had an 11 on its back) and only had a couple of oopsies. Both Johnsons are very settled. Not at all surprising Erik is; kind of surprising how settled Ryan is. But Granato does seem to be giving him opportunities to succeed. Jokiharju wasn't noticed much on the ice tonight which is a good thing. Power still is having rougher stretches than would like to see; but he might've been the D-man that had UPL's back to save the night. Still not a fan of Skinner on the top PP unit (his passing kills so many chances) but that goal of his on the PP was massive. (And he'll never get moved from the top unit, so guess it is what it is.) Really bad penalty by Geno set that one up. He had a couple of other huge gaffes in the 3rd that helped the Sabres have the opportunity for the comeback and to actually comeback. Probably should've been one of the 3 stars as he was instrumental in the Sabres victory. As was whichever D-man tipped Okposo's pass to Krebs into the net. Nice to see that the Sabres opponent can do that occassionally too. Thought that line had its best game of the year prior to Girgensons getting hurt. Have no idea what happened to Z; just knew he wasn't there in the 3rd. Maybe Cozens relates well to players that are younger than him. He was playing well between Peterka and Benson. And that line was working pretty well. Wouldn't mind seeing them stay together for a few games to see if the 3 can generate some serious chemistry. The Mittelstadt line, in the 1st 2 periods got a ton of scoring chances but it seemed they could never get the puck actually on net. And then Tuch got robbed early in the 3rd. Couldn't figure out why Skinner didn't go hard to the net on that play watching it live, but then saw that he needed to pretty much come to a stop to keep from having the D-man crossing end up taking his head off. Jost was solid. Olofsson was OK too, though still not sure how he didn't connect w/ a puck that got past him at the side of the net in the 2nd. Thought that one was going to be buried. Granato was saying they almost called a F up from Ra-cha-cha today when Greenway was questionable and now with no update on Girgensons until tomorrow, they likely will bring somebody up. Expecting they'll use an emergency recall for that as they will only have 10 or 11 healthy F's on the roster. Will be interesting if they send a D or a G down or if they do use the emergency callup. Will also be interesting to see who gets the callup. Expecting it'll be Kulich, but we shall see. Also will be interesting to see which of the 3 goalies get the nod tomorrow in Joisey. IF they play in front of that one the way they played in front of UPL tonight, would be a great thing to see. 20 games - 20 points. 5-5-0 at home; 4-4-2 on the road. Need to find a way to make up the 4 missing points somehow over these next 62 games and also a way to start generally going at least 6-4-0 over the next 10. Points in 3 straight games. Let's keep it up, boys!

Will also be attending. Thought the kids were going to take the tix, but the one that had to work today bailed. Hope we get the team that showed up against the Avs rather than the one that showed up against the B's. (or the Pens for that matter.)

Don't want to see Levi sent down (defintiely not yet) because his ceiling is higher than either of the other 2. All 3 are playing like quality backups right now. They'll give the team a chance to win. But with Thompson and Quinn out, Tuch and Cozens playing through/ recovering from injury, Clifton learning the system, and Power in a sophomore slump; don't know that the team will step up and seize that opportunity to win often enough. Of the 3, IMHO Levi has the highest ceiling, and also the greatest likelihood of picking up his play. For that reason, do not want to see him sent down. And, his playing 1 game a week currently and watching alternatively from the press box and from the bench will get him to that next level more than playing on average 2 games per week against weaker competition. (Amerks only have 6 games over the next 3 weeks at this point in time.) (Plus, was told by many here that playing 4 games over 8 days is why he broke heading into the Calgary game. Won't he have that same issue or worse when the Amerks start getting to their regular 3 game/ week schedule?) Not for nothing, but for all the talk around here of how horrible Levi's been, since he came back from injury he's 2-1-1 with wins over TO and Minny, an OT loss to the 9-1-1 Caps, and a loss to the B's. Who expected a better record than that? Any of you raising your hands, did you have it better than 3-1-0? And, right now, want absolutely nothing to do with Bryson in the lineup unless there are injuries or other consideration. My 2 cents. YMMV.

Dahlin had the mean in him at the WJCs that were in Buffalo. He liked playing physical in his own end. Has Power ever demonstrated a physicality to his game? (Honestly asking.) If he has, there's a decent chance he'll develop that. If not, wouldn't expect that tool to get added to the box. But, he can use his size better than he currently does even if he doesn't draw on an inner Jay McKee/Rhett Warrener. And expect he will do so as he seemed to use his size well to take away lanes and take away pucks at Michigan.

And to further that thought, didn't Shane Wright stay in Seattle until the WJC's and then go back to Juniors after they were over? It's not like keeping a kid past the ELC year burning game automatically means he must be up the entire year. Benson being in the lineup now with Thompson and Quinn out does not guarantee he'll be in the lineup when they come back.

Doubtful. More likely this one will be about 70-30 Sabres fans (maybe even 80-20). This one could actually be a success for the "enemy zip codes can't buy tix until the last minute" policy. Looking at the website, there's only ~1000 seats available. Could be a lot of Sabres fans wanted to go with family as they're back for the holidays. IF this one is majority Pens fans, then that ticketing policy is an even bigger failure than it was expected to be.

They run the PP they are coached to run. Even lacking Thompson and Quinn (who didn't get PP1 usage last year) they could run a PP1 with Dahlin, Peterka, Tuch, Mittelstadt, & Cozens or Benson. With a 2nd unit with Power, Benson or Cozens, Skinner, Olofsson, & Greenway in front of the net. If they didn't want to use Greenway there, they could use 2 D adding RJ2 to that mix. It's not the talent, it's the scheme (or lack thereof).

Honestly don't know if it will or won't. But him not going back today doesn't mean it won't happen come January.

🍺 He'd been skating well the 2 games since coming back from injury. That'll really stink if he retweaked his earlier injury. They need to get him healthy.

You are missing the bigger point. He can be sent back to WA at any point this season. He CAN NOT be recalled from there (except on an emergency basis) after he goes back. Game 10 has NOTHING TO DO with him accruing a season of service in the WHL nor with him accruing a season of service in the NHL. He can go back later in the year and still get his 40 or 50 games (whatever the threshold is to count a season of service in Juniors).

Burning a year of the ELC doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. That doesn't affect his becoming a UFA down the road. Keeping him on the roster beyond 40 games is a far more critical decision as that DOES effect the timing of his potentially becoming a UFA.

Any idea who the injured guy is?

Good. Right now he is playing better than several of the F's. (A case could be made that he's their 4th best F at this moment based on play of the ones that are currently healthy.) Really hope (for several reasons) that Quinn and Thompson are back sooner than later as the big decision point comes when he's about to be on the roster for a 40th game this year. That accrues a season. And, if Quinn and Thompson aren't back in December (doubt either will be) would not be remotely surprised to see Benson not be allowed to play for Canada at the WJCs. They have no top 6 scoring depth and he's playing well there, which is the reason he'll be playing tonight. Don't see that changing without having some bodies coming back to the lineup. (Shades of Derek Plante and the '94 Olympics.)

Umm, he had a stable line most all of last year and it was really effective when treated as the 3rd line and still was effective for a month or so after it became the 2nd line. Yes, it had the 2 rookies on it, and everybody loved that line. Didn't hear any complaints about Cozens getting stuck with rookies last year. Cozens has a stable line now. Until Thompson comes back he likely stays between Skinner and Tuch. Expect he would've had a stable line prior to that had Quinn been healthy, but that ship sailed months ago. Granato has been trying to find lines that work with less success than he had last year. But Cozens hasn't been the guy skating with the rookie on a regular basis this year - that's been Thompson and Mittelstadt. Personally, expect Cozens cares too much and ends up gripping the stick a little too tight at times. Expect that having the players think a bit more about D has him thinking a bit more on the ice as well this year. Hoping getting that goal in DC and getting rid of the fishbowl lets him finally get his mojo back. He's been playing between Skinner and Tuch since Tommer went out. Can't really ask for much of a better opportunity to succeed than that; expecially now that Tuch seems to have his stride back. (Hopefully that isn't short lived and he doesn't end up retweaking whatever it was that was messing with his skating.)

Likewise.

IF waiving Bryson and bringing somebody else up would get them out of the 7-11 roster building, yes, it is time. If they're willing to run with the 12 F's they have on the roster, then there's no pressing need to waive him. But either way, they need to find a way to get back to 12-6.

Can't see riding UPL & Comrie being good enough to get them where they need to be. Keeping Levi in the mix might not get them there as well, but if he can get beyond giving up the late goal, it very well could be good enough. Expect that Cozens is hurt and it's impacting his game. But don't see anyone else being able to step up to fill in his role better than he currently is with Thompson on the shelf. Especially with playing 7 D, they have to find a way to not have to play Dahlin 28 minutes - agree with that. And yes, agree with your 1st and last points.

Still don't see burning a year of the ELC as being a big deal. Letting him stay on the roster long enough to accrue a season is a far bigger deal. And right now they'd be hard pressed to not let him do that.

Yes, happy Thanksgiving to all. (Even you Canadians and those that may be reading this from other places; hope you all have a great day.)

Oh, wait, that DOESN'T guarantee playoffs? But we were told it should.

Even better, it was ABOVE A DELUCA 0.500!!!! THEY MADE THE PLAYOFFS too, because it's GUARANTEED to be there if you hit that MAJOR MILESTONE!!!!!

Whatevs. 😉