...

BTW, anyone know what happened to @Randall Flagg? He's been AWOL for a while it seems.

Totally. There are differences, though. Last season, we didn't start banking points from game 1 on, and this group this year seems better positioned (at least currently) to maintain .500 level hockey through April. Also, we have trade-chips for the deadline where we could find a player who might ensure .500 level hockey, at least.

A $9 million dollar defenseman better damn-well be good! We're not talking Scandella level here.

Is there a conclusion to be drawn here? HELICOPTER CRASHES INTO GARAGE HOURS AFTER MAN PARKS CAR INSIDE "If the man didn't park his car in the garage, the car wouldn't have been destroyed," said insurance adjuster Cheatum Badde. "I'm not sure the owner of the car was in the right, here." The owner of the car, 34 year old Aryu Squrewed, is being investigated for using his garage as a parking location for his car. Police say there have been reports of the car being seen parked in the garage going back months.

Not to argue, but, rather, to discuss... I don't see how Montour could change the makeup of the D as it's presently being used. He's no 24 minute a night guy and we already have plenty of puck-moving D. No one on the team seems disinterested at this point, so "healthy internal competition" isn't going to factor in. If anything, I'm a little concerned that inserting Montour will create the step back rather than address the slow-slippage in play we've seen creep into the team since the first few games.

Especially when the cap-hit estimates for Dahlin flung around this board over the summer were as high as $12mil if memory serves.

Whatever happens, this month defines the team for the rest of the season.

Let's keep some perspective. Every team is going to bring their A-game to the Sabres while the below is true:

This week, in particular, will verify that (or not). They get several days to address some things that have slipped lately. If they can do that and it shows this weekend, you will be correct.

"Great October but..... What Does November Hold?" Easy: more bickering. More complaining. More Sabrespace.

Didn't Phil come in here saying the boys would need to be able to handle the rigours of his system?

Well, this kind of helps to explain a little of last night:

Take heart, if you look at the chart, they all sucked in the third, not just Dahlin.

So here we are, regressing to the mean.

I will refer to the beginning of this thread to describe the OT:

That was the most bizarre OT.

I'm totally fine with a rout.

Meanwhile, they're making the offense look easy.

Agreed.

Up until that last shot across the crease, Hutton has been making his own luck. The crease shot was just lucky.

What would he be bouncing back from? The season started in October and he made the same mistakes more frequently last year. I'm trying to recall how he looked in the first few games, but all I remember is people complaining about him.

Absolutely. Love the logo. Only criticism is the colors are little muted.

Nice OP @jsb! Blows my mind we made it through the weekend still being number one in the league. The 'Yotes will give Buffalo a legit test tonight. Haven't watched them, yet, this season to see what kind of game they're playing, so I have no idea if wanting to see Borgen in the lineup is warranted, but I would like to see Borgen in the lineup.