Taro T

You're on the right track, but they need almost 11 per 8 games to get back to NHL 0.600. 7 points every 5 games works, so since they only took 1 in the 1st game of this cycle they need 3 W's in the next 4.

That's a huge pet peeve and the biggest reason why they shouldn't have Olofsson on one side with Thompson on the other. They go from a nearly stationary PP to a completely stationary PP when both guys are waiting to get fed one timers. Peterka should be opposite Thompson with Mittelstadt (or even Benson) in the bumper and Tuch down low. Let Mitts and Tuch move around and even have one drop below the goal line looking to get the D to have to completely turn to react to a pass in front. (One of the things the Liger consistently calls for. He wants it to always run from below the goal line which is too much, but considering it never runs through there unless a pass is missed or a rebound deflects back there it is ridiculous how they DON'T work it there.) Wonder if part of the problems with the STs is the 2 poorly set up units practice against each other every time they do run throughs. Stuff that works against these units isn't going to work against a well organized opponent.

Is that the same cancer Don beat? Wishing him the best in his fight.

Would be very interested in knowing what sort of cross-promotional marketing deal the league and her people came up with. It can't be a coincidence that after she starts dating Travis that the 2 brothers are friggin' EVERYWHERE. (And, yes, realize they both were in the last SB, but who is the last offensive lineman before Jason to get ANY national TV commercials much less as many as he's gotten.) And, am not even suggesting that the relationship between T & T isn't legit, but it sure does look like both organizations' marketing departments decided to milk this one for all it's worth.

Except for the 6 or so weeks from late October to mid-December last year, the Sabres PP was well within bottom 1/3 of the league. Through 10/27, they were hitting at 15.4% which was 24th. And from 12/19 through the end of the season they were hitting at 18.1% which was 22nd. They were 1st by nearly 3 full % inbetween at 34%. There were only 4 teams in the entire league that hit at 30% or better over that stretch. The PP was trash MOST of last year, and 1 completely unsustainable stretch where teams couldn't cover the Thompson 1 timer made it look a LOT better than it was. The lack of success on the PP most of the season should've been addressed in the off-season. It wasn't.

Was referring to the place/mindset @CallawaySabres usually is. So, no, you did not ftfm. 😉 And that ISN'T a swipe at him. He wears his fandom on his sleeve and is very open about how much this futility eats at him.

With every additional loss, find myself entering your world more and more. Wow, is this place ever depressing.

Except for a roughly 6 week stretch last year when the PP was world class, the PP has been trash for 3 seasons now. (It was middle of the pack 2 years ago at just over 21%, so calling it trash for 3 years (minus that 6 or so week stretch) is a bit of hyperbole but not by much. Didn't understand keeping all the assistants over the summer and still don't understand it today.

He wanted them both back. His body language after the 1st show he thought he had the deflection goal and pretty sure he was still thinking on that one (which is something he hasn't been doing much of/ at all in the past) when Suzuki got his shot off. He got his head back after that, at least until the 5 hole in the SO, but he did lose his focus briefly. MHO.

No. Regier's 1st order of business was making the 1 year offer to Nolan which was rebuffed. Had Muckler won the battle to outlast Nolan, he likely would've tried again to hire Tortorella. Ownership might've eased on their stance against John.

As of a week ago, Bob Woods was unemployed. If he still is, hire him today.

So, if Levi continues to play the way he has since coming back up, and UPL continues to play the way he did prior to Levi going down, then waive Comrie hoping he makes it to Ra-cha-cha. Problem solved.

To the bolded, absolutely. But ...

Will be there as well, as usual. But will have the red butterknives Hasek on. The Cozens sweater has not been good for wifey so far, so she's undecided on what to wear.

Curious if anybody knows when the people from "unworthy" zip codes are allowed to purchase tickets for those games that are part of the "home ice advantage" treatment. Expect a lot of the issue getting tix sold for games that the visitor's fans usually swarm the rink is that policy. By the time they're allowed to buy tix, those fans have already made other plans for game night.

You do make a compelling case. And have said if he needs to be in Ra-cha-cha, he can be. But right now, Comrie is, to put it kindly, not good. Personally believe he is not at 100% and playing him is giving the Sabres about the same chance of winning games as playing Bob Essensa gave them. Until Comrie is 100%, which should be reached sometime in the next couple of weeks/month, see no reason to have Levi full time in the A. When he IS 100%, they'll have 3 good 2's on the roster, and the decision can be revisited then. Let's see how things go tonight. This kid is special and the Sabres really lucked out in Spencer Knight's issues not presenting a year earlier than they did, because the Cats wouldn't have had him available to the Sabres had they. He'd've been the Cats goalie of the future.

They seem to have. But, they don't exactly have the best track record when it comes to goalies. Again, don't honestly believe that there is a significant difference in development for Levi between being a 1B/2 in the NHL and a 1 in the AHL. And truthfully, we have NOT seen him as a 1B/2 in the NHL yet. And if there isn't a significant difference, especially while Comrie is still a seeming basket case, then keep him in the NHL and win some hockey games. They can ALWAYS send him down if it appears he actually needs to be in the A.

The Bills WILL host KC in 3 seasons. IF they end up in the same slot in the East as KC does in the West in either of the next 2 years, the Bills will host them either/both times that happens. In either year they don't end up in the same slot divisionally then they will miss the opportunity to host them in the RS.

Please don't let my kid see that. He'll be JEALOUS!

AND he became a senator.

We shall see.

He did get the 1st 4 games of the season. He got injured before or during that 4th game. At this point in time IMHO those games are no more relevant than the games he played last season. To the bolded, at this time, we'll have to agree to disagree. Personally expect he can do that getting 1B/2 usage in the NHL as well or better than if he were in the AHL. Should he continue to have issues with "chaos" in the NHL, then yes, the AHL would be a better place for him to be as that league is much less structured than the NHL and he'd get plenty of opportunity to work on it. One other item, though am strongly advocating for Levi to stay up in Buffalo, am absolutely willing to revisit that opinion should either Comrie get back to his preinjury form or Levi struggle vs lesser NHL competition. (And would agree he should be in the AHL should the latter occur consistently.) But right now, as you mention, he's been treated as the full time 1 and as the 1A. Really don't see the imperative to make him an AHLer if he's not the 1/1A. Personally would rather have him competing against NHLers than AHLers. Expect, much like Benson is too good for the WHL and is holding his own and learning in the NHL, Levi is too good for the A and will do the same.

Mainly because both have been having some major issues with their play. Overall both have been good, but both also have way more head scratching moments than they should. Expect that giving Power time with Erik Johnson will help him settle his play down more than consistently playing with Samuelsson would at this point in time. Not convinced their play last night wasn't better than it normally would be because they both knew they had to play at a higher level all game due to Dahlin being out. It might have been what they'll be when playing together, but again, not convinced of that. Also, expect playing 3rd pairing would help Samuelsson settle down for similar reasons. Once they're both going solid, sure, put them back together. And hope you get to a point that either Adams has brought in a true top 4 to partner with Dahlin or that Johnson gets to a point he can regularly play on a top line sooner than later.

At best, Stillman is 8 on the depth chart, so he very well might not. Have only seen 1 Amerks game this year and wasn't watching closely. @inkman or @K-9 and a couple others could answer your Q far better.

Blues 6 - Sabres 4. Sabres outshoot the Blues in the 1st period 15-8 and come out of that period down 3-1. Sabres tie game at 3-3 in the 2nd and still come out of the period down by 2 goals in a period they outshot the Blues 16-6. Sabres only outshoot them 15-6 in the 3rd and lose 6-4. The Sabres get ##### slapped in Carolina with Comrie in net. They actually played them fairly evenly for the 1st 15 minutes of the game prior to Comrie giving up 2 goals to go down by 2 at the end of 1 and then gives up another goal 1 minute into the 2nd. Playing Comrie in net in Carolina was almost criminal. There was no way they were winning that one. UPL should've gotten that start. (But he got hammered in St. Louis, so so much for that.) They didn't play terrible against the Preds, but a bad goal and an unfortunate deflection was enough going against the guy we hope Levi becomes. The team comes out flat with Comrie between the pipes and no Tuch in the lineup? Whomever could've seen that one coming? Honestly don't see Levi playing in Buffalo this year as the 2/1B to UPL as detrimental to his development. Would be adamant that he needs to be in Ra-cha-cha if it were absolutely the case. Don't see playing him as a 1B/2 as cheating him out of too many games / too many reps. He can always go down for a few days / couple of weeks if an issue starts to arise. And have NO problem at all with giving Comrie almost 0 reps in practice as long as UPL and Levi are performing well. Can't see any positive circumstances where Comrie is a Sabre next year. Expect if they start giving him the 1B/2 goalie starts, he'll start looking much better than he did prior to getting sent down. After coming back from injury the team's record with him between the pipes is now 3-1-1 and that includes 2 starts against the Bruins. His last 4 games prior to getting sent down were against opponents that were a combined 32-13-7 prior to their games vs the Sabres. REALLY wanted to see him get the game against the Blues to get a gauge of how he stands vs middling competition; didn't happen. It is what it is. And, if he does appear to be in over his head should he stay up, he can always get sent down at that point. Keeping him here while Comrie finishes fully healing up over the next couple of weeks / month isn't going to set Levi back irreparably. Should Comrie reach a point where he's playing as well as he was prior to being injured, they can go back and revisit the decision. But right now he isn't. The decision doesn't have to be an all or nothing decision regarding Levi. Play it by ear and go with what makes sense at the time, but if they go to UPL and Comrie right now, it sure does look like they're throwing in the towel on this season. That is unacceptable. Not when competing for a SC is the primary goal; you can't give up 1/3 of the way through. Have said it before, really don't see playing Levi full time vs AHL talent or nearly 1/2 time vs NHL talent appreciably affecting his career trajectory. This kid is special. Would have a significantly different view of this if he weren't. Regarding the 1st bolded; perhaps if they ACTUALLY give him an opportunity to play as the 1B/2, he'd be able to do just that. Regarding the 2nd bolded; what have you seen from this goalie that indicates he ISN'T gaining THOSE W's every single day? And he can get those in Buffalo or in Ra-cha-cha. Look, if he gets 1B/2 usage and gets overwhelmed, then sure, absolutely send him down. But right now, they haven't afforded him the opportunity to demonstrate whether he can succeed there or not.