...

Tsk tsk Pilut.

That's as good a theory as any. Whatever the reason this is two seasons' ago lack of urgency play.

Yeah, he probably could stand a night off. Not because the spirit isn't willing. HCPH won't let that happen.

Is it asking too much to want to see them be a little more dominate? The chemistry betwixt Mitts and Tage definitely seems to be growing.

Every time i watch a game from this rink I feel like it's being broadcast from Blood Butte, Missouri.

You'll anger people, though. You know...people...by enjoying yourself too much. So, you might not have been warned, but, you've been warned. Let that be a warning to you.

This is really bad to say, and, obviously, it's not intended to come off as it will read, but, I've been looking forward to testing our depth. There is no way the opening night roster is set in stone for the season, I think the TB game last night put the feather in that cap, so this gives us a chance to see who on that roster is truly replaceable by the kids in the AHL.

Double fun!

Good post. I think the Miits/Tage chemistry is developing. Before last night's game, I thought I perceived a hesitancy by whomever his linemates were to trust him with the play, but last night Tage was getting that trust, exemplified by some feeds from Mitts, especially. Tage still needs to do an Eichel/Samson bulking up, but otherwise I think the skill some of us saw in training camp are starting to come out, backed with some well-earned confidence. His development is another fun sub-narrative for the season.

That was my immediate reaction after the game. I think this post-record-tying-stretch period will determine how JBots handles the trade deadline, too. They learned a lot about their team over the past 11 games, but now the bows will be put on the packages.

I'm not following. Help?

WHERE'S RYAN O'REILLY WHEN YOU NEED HIM?

THIS TEAM SUCKS!

This outburst isn't about ROR's honor. This hasn't been about ROR for months.

This seems like the best thread to drop this in. Is this guy one of y'all? I like it. I like his conclusion that this team is more clutch.

That's right. I mean I don't mind the request from SDS. I don't frequently pull out the $#@! or post the soft-core boobsies (actually, I don't post the soft-core boobsies at all), but if I want to push the limits of broadcast television censorship, I think a sports forum should be okay with that. And, SDS is just responding to a highly confused society. As Josie pointed out, some things are okay, but lesser things are not. Who defines decorum when the idea of decorum has been brutally corrupted in other media venues? What is the threshold of "sensitivity"? What is and what is not "offensive"? Today, all of these things are way out of whack. It was, and it is, far more easy to recognize if something is right for you or not, and go with that. It bothers me greatly that everyone thinks things that exist already, that live on their own, need to bend to the sensibilities of every individual who wants in. You keep doing that, the thing that allows it to live, to be what it is, changes or dies and it no longer was the thing that you liked in the first place. Again, SDS, being the owner of a private, yet public, space, is kind of caught in a corner trying to do "what's best". Each person has their own idea of what that is.

Curious if more complaints are generated.

I knew it was you!

Ullmark showed us over the weekend that he's been learning Hutton's tricks. I though his handling of the puck looked improved and he was clearly comfortable acting as the 3rd d-man in the back end taking passes when necessary. I think he looks better than a backup-in-training, but you never know with these goalies.

OP = Orchard Park, NY

Did you have a vision of Eichel skating around with the Cup, holding it at waist level with his head held backward while he looked up into the rafters, red-faced and with a tear in his eye? Because if you did we were visited by the same ghost.

I was thinking about something related to this. I think it's safe to say that when Buffalo fan's boo you, it's genuine. They're not just trying to be jerks, they sincerely are upset at the team. The proof is in this season, so far, where they reward the team with genuine enthusiasm when the team is doing well. It seems common sense and simple, but I think it's a component to the narrative that is only superficially recognized, when, in fact, the performance of the team is much more meaningful here than perhaps in most other markets.

I started out the night still thinking he should be traded. I ended the night thinking that he might finally have developed an identity. Sam was good last night fo sho.