Onceagain

Ill repeat what has already been stated, but Dahlin was ALL OVER the ice that period. It is the best period I can remember from him so far. Legit had 4 high quality scoring chances and set up another. One thing he needs to work on is his one-timer. Its a bit of a muffin.

So Hutton is now 2-9 in his last 11, after winning 8 in a row. Hockey is such a streaky sport.

Based on goal differential (+3) they are EXACTLY where they should be -- 8th place. Yes, they have had some bad bounces lately but they also seemed to get every bounce during the 10 game win streak. They are a marginal playoff team, one of the most frustrating places for fans and something all too familiar for Buffalo sports. The real barometer will be next season.

He needs to take a seat to Ullmark for a bit. He's been pretty average for 1+ months now after a hot start.

After this kind of effort / result I would hope for some kind of shake-up. Mitts and TT need to spend some QT in Roch-cha-cha. Would have been nice for Botterill to not trade away our 2C for a bag of pucks.

^this^

Mitts and Meatball !

Any nominations? My vote for Casey is Mitts, for he has some of the juciest paws out there Any ideas for Rasmus?

I see no reason the sabres shouldn't win this tournament this year. Really hope they can use a good showing as a springboard into camp. Hope Dahlin and Mitts can jump right in and ball out.

correct, Svechnikov is to Eichel as Dahlin is to McDavid

Just some food for thought. I thought this was an interesting read. Sounds like Svechnikov is this year's Eichel. Curious to all your thoughts on this... http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/news/nhl-draft-2018-rasmus-dahlin-andrei-svechnikov-prospect-rankings-best-players-grades/1bu390eqzo3821r9va411nmkf9

ummmm not generational? I think this is a dumb adjective to describe prospects but he is a freakin generational talent if I ever saw one!

Haha touche. It really is paradise here.

So here i am in Maui for a much needed vacation. We go out for some tasty fish tacos. After placing an order, we sit down at an outside table, shaped like a surf board. We sit chatting for a few minutes, when a couple with their daughter and her boyfriend approach looking for seats. My sweetie invites them to share space with us so they sit at the one of the table and pull up another small table and chairs to fit their daughter and his boyfriend. Low and behold, the man is wearing a Buffalo Sabres t-shirt. So I tell him i am from Buffalo and big Sabres fan. He then informs me their son is Justin Falk! They are from Snowflake, Manitoba and often vacation in Hawaii. They are just finishing a month long trip here and this much was very apparent in their bronze color and deep wrinkles, despite hailing from a town called Snowflake! We chatted over fish tacos for the next hour or so and i got a chance to ask a lot of questions. 1) What did you think of Bylsma? A: They liked him. They thought he was personable and chatted with the parents of players during team events. Justin liked him as a coach (not surprised by this since he was brought in by Murray and Bylsma). 2) What does he think of Housley? A: Does not think Housley has the guts to sit the stars (ie the Ryan O'Reillys, Evander Kane's, other stars who were struggling at times this season). Did not seem to have a high view of him. I was not surprised by this as Falk's style of play is not exactly what Housley is looking for in players, and I get the sense all of this change was frustrating for Justin given he was brought in by one group of people and this has now changed and the team has regressed. 3) What did you think of Tim Murray? A: No surprise here. They said he was very serious and not personable. He did not talk with the parents of the players. When they rode the elevator together, he kept his head down and did not say anything. 4) What do you think of Botterill? A: They like him and think he is doing a good job. He is interested in the players and their families and seems invested in their well-being. 5) What ails this team? Why have they regressed? A: They believe the team needs more speed up front. Most of their point-producers (O'Reilly, Okposo, Reinhart, etc) are not fleet of foot and can possess well but not make plays with their speed. Thinks they should have named a captain (see Eichel below). 6) Eichel? A: They think he ultimately wanted to be named the captain but that may not be in his nature. Incredible physical talent and while his style of play may not be classic/Canadian like the Crosbys/McDavids, he can do things that they physically just cannot. 7) Evander Kane? A: We chatted about the much publicized practice incident. They obviously are not big fans of Kane but think the incident was over-dramaticized and that this sort of thing happens on the practice ice and the only reason it blew up was because it involved Kane. 8) Antipin? A: Justin finds it hard playing with him because he does not communicate on ice. Overall, seems to have had a tough time acclimating to life in North America, although play has been improving of late.

Ya like wtf does carrier to warrant being on the first line. DDB is a joke.

It's like he's trying to skate in quicksand.

Couldn't agree more with this statement

Moulson has to bury that. Beautiful feed by Jack

https://media2.giphy.com/media/2q3JqjnHwP2E0/giphy.gif

Wow that first goal by Carolina was such a Bogo moment

Des was originally drafted as a D man by LA but was switched to forward. DDB just started the game tonight against Carolina with Deslauriers Oreilly and Carrier, in which Carolina possessed the puck in our zone the entire time (really DDB??). I don't think he's great at puck possession and he doesn't have the skill to be a regular forward in this lineup. Why not try him back at D? He has a big frame, skates fairly well, can't imagine he'd be much worse than our current 5th and 6th defensemen. Thoughts? Anyone know the story about why LA switched him from D to forward in the first place?

Tyler Ennis has had two significant injuries this season. First was a concussion. Then a few games back he goes down again with what Bylsma described as a "different" injury. However, with no further clarity from Bylsma on what that is (except "upper body") and a report today where Bylsma said Ennis is "heart rate restricted" in his exercise. This means this second injury must also be a concussion? I cannot think of any other injury where return from it would result in heart-rate restricted exercise. If this is all true, Ennis has had two serious concussions back-to-back within a short period of time which would probably put the rest of this season in jeopardy and who knows what for future seasons. I hope this is not true...for him and for the sabres

What's up with Zemgus this year? First point tonight in 9 games....

This is correct. Right now Isles slotted 18th. They drop 1 spot for each of the following scenarios: If Detroit loses gave 7 or in next round (drop 1 spot), if Calgary loses in next round to Anaheim (drop 1 spot), if Minnesota loses in next round to Chicago (drop 1 spot). St. Louis Blues will pick anywhere from 23rd to 26th, depending on how many division winners make it through to the semis. For each other division winner that does not make it to the semis (NY Rangers, Montreal, Anaheim), St. Louis would pick 1 slot lower.

Murray's fine. The sabres are fine. He looked like a pissy little boy last night but hell get over it. He needs to turn his attention to the next most important task: Making a Rex Ryan-like hire to infuse some enthusiasm into the organization. Did anyone count how many times Murray said "Pro-cess" last night? Gotta love that Canadian accent.