darksabre

I think Lyon demonstrates a higher level of focus and he battles harder. I think the players in front of him see that and feed off of it. You see the way UPL responds to something like the near breakaway that happened last night that resulted in a goal and you can just tell he's not locked in enough. I don't think he sees his job as that of someone who needs to bail his teammates out, he sees his job as making the saves that he is expected to make and nothing more. Players will respond when they know their goalie is keeping them in a game. Lyon fights to keep them in the game. UPL, not so much.

All I know is that there is something about UPL that brings out the worst in the entire team. And this team is already enough of a mental train wreck.

Yup. The Eastern Conference hasn't begun to stratify yet, but when it does these OTL points are going to be hugely important.

This is just how Dahlin has always played hockey though. He's extremely talented, but occasionally makes boneheaded decisions that he can't cover up with his skill.

This is basically the root of the Sabres problems. From the bad first periods to the comical overtimes, they have too many dumb guys who struggle to get focused and stay focused. It's all mental. And it's obvious when you see guys come in who don't have this problem.

I think it might be tough for parents to juggle multi-sport athletes with how demanding the single sports are on their own. Most of the youth hockey players I've encountered (from working at Pure Hockey for a while) were playing Lacrosse in the offseason. The best multi-sport athletes I knew in college where the hockey players who also played soccer. They were monsters.

Man, it's funny. We watched the same game, but I thought Ellis looked great. He was tracking the puck off of the first stop really well, which is something I think UPL is terrible at. For a team like the Sabres, most of the time a goalie making the first stop is a big deal because of how stupid skaters are in their own zone. That he was tracking the puck so well after the first stop is just a bonus. There were a number of times where the defense was standing around staring at the puck and he had to make a save, reset, make a save, reset again at side of the net, and I thought he was being very aggressive against the opposing players who were trying to bang rebounds past him. His foot speed looked real good. My only concern is whether or not he could sustain that kind of aggressive play over a long stretch of games.

Yup. Just carry 3 goalies. It's annoying to use a roster spot that way, but they absolutely have to decide who the tandem is going to be.

Oh, this is 100% correct.

I have a suspicion it's because players are training too much. There was a story going around a while back about how Olivia Reeves, Team USA weightlifter, trains like half as much as other weightlifters while out-performing them.

Thompson almost just crippled Dahlin. Good stuff. Love it.

Benson leading the entire team in ice time and has been all game.

I guess. I'm not sure I care that he has some local connection. It's not like he's a superstar like Tim Connolly was/could have been. He's more Donald Audette. Which is... fine.

I can't imagine having such strong feelings about Alex Tuch.

No reason not to wait. Either someone develops into a Tuch replacement and we can trade him, or he has such a good season that it's a no-brainer to extend him.

Like, oof.

I'm inclined to agree, I'm just not sure we're getting much for him. He must have a reputation as frequently injured at this point.

I've ventured this opinion previously, but I think there's a pervasive attitude among younger NHL players that as long as they show up, put up good stats, hit the gym, eat right, and do all of the other things that come with their job of being an NHL player, the games are only a small part of it and don't really matter that much. No point in getting upset about winning or losing. It's only about 20 hours worth of work...

Teams that don't "compete" are just teams that lack talent. You can't squeeze water from a stone.

I like how being 6 feet tall is considered a negative for him like there aren't tons of giant goalies who also stink.

I actually think this was a clever waiver claim. High upside to get a well regarded prospect for nothing.

Two things can be correct at once. The team is incompetent and Chad is obnoxious.

An actual hockey player. Neat.

Autocorrect Revelations

Is a broadcast too critical if no one is around to see it?