nfreeman

This was the first game I watched wire to wire in a while. Pretty entertaining game IMHO that could’ve gone either way. The Sabres has quite a few chances in the first period and had the better of the play, and then it was pretty even in the 2nd and 3rd with perhaps a slight edge to the Bruins. The Bruins are clearly a better team but the Sabres were quite competitive. I hate to risk irritating Inky, but the difference between the teams tonight wasn’t much more than the spread between their respective #1 picks in 2014 and 2016 — Pastrnak and MacAvoy vs Reino and Nylander. Add to that Marchand being better than Eichel and Bergeron being better than ROR and there’s your margin. ROR has one goal in his last 15 games. I think either he or Reino or both will be gone this summer. Still: I was encouraged. They had a lot more life than they did a month ago.

Pastrnak and Marchand look better than any of the sabres' forwards.

A few Netflix recommendations: - Ozark -- money laundering accountant in the boonies trying not to get killed by local and Mexican drug gangs - Mindhunter -- kinda like Silence of the Lambs albeit slower - American Vandal -- semi-raunchy high school comedy

I am as skeptical about Nylander — mostly because he was a GMTM selection — as the next guy, but I think it’s too early to tell yet. He missed a few months, including all of camp with a new coach and new system, with what seems like a pretty significant injury and is just getting back. I think we need to see how he looks in, say, the last 20 games or so of the AHL season before coming to any conclusions. Now Reino, OTOH...

I'd make the trade I proposed in a heartbeat, but I don't think Ottawa would.

Let it be noted for the record that I proposed a wild trade scenario and Liger was the voice of reason. He is 100% right that the Sabres should not trade for Karlsson without an extension in hand -- which means no trade until July 1, which means the lottery and the draft will already have occurred. So: let's say the Sabres end up with the #3 overall pick, and draft whoever the Senators would want at #3. So it would be Risto, Reino and the #3 overall pick for a locked-up Karlsson at presumably $11MM per year x 8 years. Who says no?

Submitted for your consideration: Risto, Reino and the Sabres’ #1 next summer for Karlsson. Who says no? And would you do it if you were JBott?

Leaving aside the soft goals in the 3rd/OT issue that Lehner has, I agree with the comment upthread about short-side goals and would just add in particular that these goals arise because he repeatedly commits the simple mental error of coming off the post.

This is fair. I admit that I cannot answer your questions as I missed good chunks of each of the games.

Can't both statements be true? More broadly: can't it be true that Lehner has the size and athleticism to be a very good goalie -- which is probably what GMTM saw in him -- while lacking the mental toughness to use correct technique 100% of the time and to close games out -- and thus he's mediocre when all is said and done?

Lehner's flailing at the pokecheck was poor and desparate piece of goaltending IMHO. To be clear, I'm not blaming him for the loss -- just noting that it was yet another late-game choke.

This is their 3rd season here. They made the playoffs in the first year and missed them last year. The whole time, the dominant story has been how ridiculous the arena setup is and how they want to move again. It just hasn’t been conducive to building a fan base. I think you’re right that Barclays can opt out, but it sounds like the plan is to renegotiate a new deal that will keep the Islanders there for the next few years while they figure out their next move. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lighthousehockey.com/platform/amp/2017/10/10/16454742/islanders-owner-no-coliseum-barclays-belmont

Which is why he’s probably gone. The owners aren’t going to write a $700MM check to avoid losing him, and the city/state isn’t going to do so under any circumstances.

It might be time to rethink that avatar.

Well, I want to come but I’m still pretty iffy. I need to see how things shake out as we get closer.

Well, the team is now owned by smart and successful people, so I’m confident they have a plan. I think they want to use the implied threat of relocation to get as much public money as possible for an arena, and if they don’t get the amount they want they will stay at Barclays unless and until they get a good enough relocation offer.

I’ve heard that too, but I haven’t heard anyone’s plan as to what happens if Belmont Park doesn’t happen.

I can see why you interpreted my post that way, but my meaning was not to blame Lehner for the loss. It was simply to point out that a good goalie does not continually let in softies in the 3rd and OT, which Lehner undeniably does.

OK. If you don't agree with the 'key saves at key times" view, or the likelihood that his teammates know that he's going to give up a softy late in the game, and that that knowledge negatively affects their play, I don't know what else to say. You are certainly welcome to your opinions. I just disagree with them. Similarly, I just disagree with this. These players aren't robots. Most of what drives success or failure is what is between the ears IMHO. They play with more confidence -- and thus better -- when they know they have a good goalie behind them.

A team this young and shaky needs rock-solid goaltending — including in the 3rd and OT. 30th in SV%? Give me a freaking break. I don’t want to hear that he kept them in the game. He’s a well-below-average NHL starter. It is obvious to me, to many others here and, I’ll wager, to the team that Lehner is not mentally tough and is going to let them down in crunch time. The SO record alone should make that clear to everyone. Yes the team as a whole has stunk but IMHO they would play better in front of a better goalie — as Dom’s string-and-rubber-bands teams did for him relative to his backups. And when Miller’s teams were fragile little children he was still far superior to what we’re seeing from Lehner.

I am highly skeptical that the Islanders will get a new arena in Belmont Park, or anywhere else in the NYC region. None of the media coverage that I’ve seen of the Belmont Park proposal has provided any details as to the financing for the arena. I continue to believe that there will be no public money for an Islanders arena, and I don’t see the Islanders’ owners ponying up $750 million or so. I think the Islanders are going to be at the Barclays Center for the foreseeable future.

There's also a reason Lindy (and many other NHL coaches) talks about "key saves at key times." Serious question: do you think Lehner will be a good NHL starter somewhere next year?

I'm a bit hazy on the deets, but wasn't Bromley Crozier's backup? (Maybe he took over from Crozier for some period in the early 1970s before giving way to Desjardins.)

How many softies from the blue line in the 3rd period (or OT) does Lehner have to give up before people stop apologizing for him? When the Sabres have a lead in the 3rd period, we all know he's going to let one in. He doesn't have what is needed upstairs to close out games. I guaran-damn-tee that he's not their goalie next year.

I seriously think Lehner is the worst starting goalie the Sabres have ever had.