...

Oh here we go, they're trying to do too much. Didn't take long for Ray to get there.

If this were the NHL Penguins the Sabres would be buried.

The score, so far, is embarrassing.

I do like TT placed in front of the net on the PP.

I kind of like this Lazar guy.

Hockey happened.

Me too. A lot. They're playing AHLerz at best, the score should be higher.

I'll start it. These aren't typically running until the second the puck drops. You have time. We have time.

Great story! Made me LOL at work. My dogs will randomly catch and murder things, but as well as yours, apparently. I might find pieces-parts a couple of times a year. I think the falcons or eagles or whatever they are that come from Amherst to hunt in my neighborhood are far more prolific. You always know when a bird-of-prey has successfully found a victim, especially in the winter.

If that article had a mouth, it would say "Ullmark who?"

It's the whole "clean slate" thing. We still have Steve Smith and Botterill. We have an analytics department. There is a past and history with these players. As I said, this looks like tinkering far more than a serious consideration of the data that's already available.

A pattern demonstrated here is the lack of observing past performance. I also think this could be a result of RK and Botterill communicating - but then Botterill would be ignoring past results. I don't like Sheary playing with Eichel, period. Sheary is not a top-line guy. He's not even a second-line guy. I can see experimenting with one of Vesey or, I guess, Sheary, on the top line for a...A...preseason game, but we need goals and we need our goal scorers to tune to and lock in with each other. This is just playing, toying. There's a certain lack of seriousness to this, it seems to me. YMMV. Is that how it works? That's nutty.

It illustrates a thinking pattern. I don't like the pattern.

So is Vesey by stats, no?

Unless Vesey brings something to the game unexpected, that line will get ravaged defensively and on the boards.

The Krueger Crux? "Not thinking out there" How about: The Krueger Hoax? "No thinking in here" F...me. As if the lack of doing anything to help scoring all off-season wasn't enough, we're being asked to buy into a gamble of a coach. And we get Vesey - Eichel - Sheary as a first line in the first preseason game? Just no. NO. Not good.

That first line, just...no. Why are we starting off a new season with thinking like that? Bummed.

This was your best ever post ever in the history of ever.

Nope. Not one second. Pure chaos.

How can you not get a little warm over this play and these numbers?

...or that Ham Sammich participates on this board!

By then you have missed all of the fun.

What's with the pessimism? Other than a still-leaky offensive line, I think they look pretty good.

1. That means if the coach and GM aren't chit-chatting constantly like Ruff and Reiger did, then the GM needs to man up and find a coach who will chit-chat with him. Housley's use of the line-up was on Botterill, and Botterill didn't do anything about it all season. 2. See number 1. If Botterill was asking Phil to justify the line-ups, then either Botterill was okay with them, or too wishy-washy to do anything about it until the end of the season. 3. See number 2. Phil failed all season, but wasn't fired until the season is over. Point is, I agree that the coach and GM need to be working as a team. I am a little concerned, again, that this was an issue, clearly, last season and thanks to your points above, the issue was Botterill's and not Phils. We still have Botterill.

FrIeDmaN ReAdS SaBReSpAcE.