Taro T

No, they did not come out of Indiana. So, no you did NOT fix that. They claim to come out of Columbus OH. (Had thought they were from Minneapolis. At least had them coming from a place that's heard of hockey. Unlike Indiana.)

Buffalo Wild Wings is actually out of Minnesota and is just slightly closer to REAL wings than KFC is. (It's not QUITE that bad, but it is a huge step down from Bar-Bill, Duff's, Elmo's, the Gate, Union Pub, ...) If you spend enough on advertising, people will buy anything.

And they very likely could get the split with these next 2 games. They'll be coming off a bye heading into KC (they always go to stinking KC, and next year when KC would have to come to Buffalo in a non-fan excluded game, there is a very strong possiblility that they won't play KC because KC IS winning their division and it will take a herculean effort for the Bills to do likewise at this point); and the team plays very well against KC and actually wins in the regular season against them more often than not. Coming in relatively healthy and rested with the new OC getting an extra week to bring his scheme to the O could be a very good thing.

Personally, expect it sends a worse message to start the guy that gives them the least opportunity to get a win in a particular game. UPL gave them a great opportunity to win this game. He DOES NOT match up well vs what the Capitals like to do. Both Comrie and Levi match up better vs that. Not saying they can't win w/ UPL between the pipes in DC nor that they'll automatically win running one of the other 2; but they have to go w/ whichever goalie gives them the best chance to win any given game. And, honestly expect that they were winning tonight with any of the 3 between the pipes. You giving Comrie a 3rd consecutive start had he gotten the win tonight? Levi 2 in a row in UPL's shoes tonight? If yes, cool, good for you, you're staying consistent to your belief that not rolling a guy that ended a losing streak (that that guy had a part in as well, btw) sets a bad precedent. If not, why not? Either way, we don't see eye to eye on this. And that's fine as well.

He did have a good game. He made some big saves when they needed them. Both of the goals he gave up were good shots to areas that he has difficulty with; but they were both good shots and his teammates could've bailed him out on both.

If Cozens sits the next game, you're rolling 11 F's with Tyson Jost as the 11th F. Still think that's a good idea?

The Sabres next opponent's bread and butter scoring play is moving the puck across the ice for a world class 1 timer just off the post and just under the crossbar. UPL's biggest weakness is moving across the crease. His 2nd biggest weakness are shots up high. What could possibly go wrong?

Wonder if he's playing through injury. He's getting caught flat footed more than typical. If he is, he needs to sit. (Btw, the comment you just referred to was made after the Hawks 2nd goal. Hadn't seen the awful penalty below the Sabres goal line at that point.)

Maybe that'll get him going a bit better?

At a minimum, he needs to be off the top pairing for a game. Not sure that icing R Johnson-Dahlin, Power-Jokiharju, Clifton-E Johnson is the best choice going up against Ovie and the surging Caps.

Through 1, looking like Tuch is recovered from his injury. He's been skating the best he has all season and has had a couple of really solid backchecks where he had to come from a long way away. Dahlin getting into a groove the past couple of games could really help them get onto the right footing moving forward. UPL hasn't faced many high danger chances but he's been very solid too. Thought they played well in their own end through 1. Benson is going to make it very hard for them to send him down prior to Quinn getting back; and probably even after that.

They said during the broadcast that Bass was 0-3 in warmups kicking into the wind and 2 of the misses were from inside 40 yards. The XP he missed was also into the wind. That is where he got that from.

Focused MORE on D than they had last year. They aren't getting confused with Aisles anytime soon.

Which breeds questions, in a year that the Sabres state THEY are focusing more on D (and personally believe they are), why are the Amerks NOT doing so? (Basing that on comments from people that watch them regularly; will likely get the Amerks package for the 2nd 1/2 of the season but didn't want to pay the full price.) If it's because they want the kids to "learn" offense first and will then teach them D at the NHL level, with the rest of the NHLers presumably having picked up their defensive system, how do they expect that to work? Understood what the Sabres were trying to do the past 2 years (whether it was right or wrong, understood what they were trying), but don't see how they can be teaching a portion of the system in one locale and the full system in the other. Or ARE the Amerks playing the system the Sabres are also playing? It doesn't seem to be the case, but are they? If they aren't, is it because they plan to implement the system in stages in Ra-cha-cha in a single year; like they did over a couple in Buffalo (to middling success to date). The Amerks have a good record (8-4-2) (5th best win %age in the East; 9th best overall) but not great.

Any word on whether it's UPL or Levi between the pipes tonight?

Have heard it referred to as the Giant Bedpan. That's probably a tribute to the medical corridor downtown or to ECMC which is located not too far from the stadium, right? 😟 (Can't be because it kinda looks like a giant bedpan in stadium renderings.) 🤣

Lot's of good places for Beef on Weck in Buffalo. Schwabl's is the best IMHO.

You don't need to know how many games they've played any more than you do with that other to understand the NHL 0.600 vs the other. Look at the standings page. Is the percentage of points >= 0.600? Yes, well then, you're good to go. No, well then get cracking. The 12 in 10 is simply a measuring stick for how they're doing now. And, it's awesome that the Sabres met that metric you cherish so last year, because it put them in the playoffs, right? 🫨

Swamp, really wasn't sure what emoji to use for your post. After watching it, the feelings run the full gamut. Hopefully you appreciate the context in which that "awesome" was given. Knew for a long time that your daughter was severely autistic. Never really grasped just how fully encompassing it truly was/is. Having coached kids that are on the spectrum (several moderater and at least 1 that was close to severe), thought I understood (to a degree, never expected to fully understand the actual living it day to day, knew not living through it that the full experience was beyond being a part of it for a few hours here or there); but it was not even close. It's truly amazing what you and your wife and your daughter have been through and hearing your wife say that you two battled through for 14 years just makes it moreso. Sorry for not understanding and appreciating what you were really going through for so long. Thank you for sharing this. It was enlightening. And it is so appropriate that you're sharing this at Thanksgiving. (I realize that's just because of when the other lady's podcast came out; that you weren't putting this out specifically for that; and that you'd told us when the book came out that it is available.) It really makes one think. That video was the post of the year. Thank you again.

Samuelsson letting the Jet skate past him like it was a Sunday afternoon free skate session on the 2nd goal had nothing to do with not understanding a defensive system (complex or simple). It was simply a careless lack of awareness. Power dipping out of the way of the floater heading towards his shoulder had nothing to do with not understanding a defensive system. They both were lazy plays. Not sure why they gave up the breakaway at the end of the 1st, didn't rewatch how Connor got cleanly away, know Dahlin was the chaser; but that needs to be better too. Comrie bailed the brain fart out that time. Presuming Jokiharju is healthy tomorrow, would seriously consider running with Dahlin-Jokiharju (though personally hate that pairing, even more than Power-Jokiharju), R Johnson-Samuelsson, Power-E Johnson. Give them some accountability and also more importantly, give Power the opportunity to have a solid defensive D-man as his partner. Power settling down, especially as they continue to ask him to do more, would help them tremendously. Once he seems comfortable out there again, they go back to the pairings Granato would prefer to run. (Would make similar changes to the PP units as well, bumping at least 1 guy off the top unit and another off the 2nd unit - pretty easy to guess who they are. But that's a subject for a different thread.)

What, you have them losing in Chicago tomorrow? Seems a bit prematurely pessimistic.

1st period, other than the breakaway, a wrap around, and 1 cross ice pass that didn't connect the D really did a good job of keeping high danger chances down. And Comrie rose to the challenge. 2nd period, that 1st goal against they all were just off enough that it ended up in the net. Johnson played it ok, he forced the pass back to the trailer; Power didn't let him just sprint through and took the pass away that would've allowed a breakaway; Jost just couldn't quite get back quick enough to disrupt the shot, but he seemed to cause the shot to be rushed a bit. Thought Comrie would like to have it back, it wasn't a good goal but it wasn't horrible on his part. The 2nd goal, Samuelsson HAS TO cover the guy coming back door. Dahlin had the puck carrier and the C covered. ALL Samuelsson has to do is keep the other guy from getting past him. The 3rd goal, Power, if you're going to screen but have a chance to block the shot, you have to make the effort to block it. You can't duck out of the way. Doing that causes just enough hesitation from your goalie to cost a game. Be better. And after that, they kept chances down again. Defensively they played well for about 54 minutes. But those brain farts in the other 6 killed them. Thought the PK finally played well again for the first time in a couple of weeks. But they are just about as bad at preventing entries as the PP is at entering. They let the other team build up a full head of steam and then just walk right into the slot. They have to fix this issue on both PP & PK. It's going to be a huge issue (if it isn't already). Go into Chicago and get the W they really need and give themselves something to build on heading into Washington.

Benson's been getting that reffing all season. He should legitimately have 1 penalty against. Both trips called against him were garbage.

Pretty sure you know.

This game against the Jets is so huge. If they actually can put a hurting on them, and the Jets D is designed to make like hard on mobile QB's and they know the Bills O very well so always expect a close game regardless of how good or bad either team is, then they really could force their way into the post season even though the D has been decimated. If they screw this game up this weekend, put a fork in them.