nfreeman

You're 100% right that the first question is a much more relevant and realistic question as far as what could conceivably happen in the NHL. The "one playoff run" question is pure message board theorizing. Still interesting conversation, IMHO. Well, that game last night was pretty close, innit?

I don't think this is the most common critique of Mitts, or even a common one at all. I think the most common critique is that he is soft on the puck and that his line consistently gets dominated in terms of not gaining or keeping possession, being highly ineffective on the forecheck, and being pinned down in the D-zone by the opposition. And the stats bear that out. Mitts has 8 ES points this year in 36 games. That's 13th on the team -- same as Krebs (who has played 30 games), and 1 more than Jost, Bryson, Asplund and Vinnie. His line is by far the worst of the 4 lines in XGF% and HDCF%, despite getting by far the highest percentage of O-zone faceoffs. As I've said before, I think the fundamental issue with him is a deficient hockey IQ, coupled with a lack of intensity. He stinks at 5-on-5.

I really think that the "who would you trade him for" standard is fundamentally different from the "one playoff run" standard. The "who would you trade him for" standard is pretty much the same as "starting a team for the next 7 years" standard, and necessarily has to take into consideration age and contract -- and those factors put TT in the top 5, IMHO. But the "one playoff run" standard eliminates contract, and more or less eliminates age, although it's fair to consider whether an older player might run out of gas by the conf. finals or cup finals. Under this standard, I'd have to put Crosby and Marchand over TT, whereas I wouldn't do so under the trade value standard. Some of the younger/mid-career guys are very tough calls under either standard: Mathews Marner M. Tkachuk Pastrnak Kaprizov Makar Dahlin

Submitted for the board's consideration: - TT is 2nd in the NHL in goals this season with 30 in 36 games. McD is #1 with 33 goals in 39 games. - TT is tied for 3rd in the NHL in points this season with 55 pts. McD is #1 with 73. - In TT's last 80 games, i.e. going back to 1/15/22, he is 2nd in the NHL in goals with 56 and 13th in the NHL in points with 100. McD has 58 goals since 1/15/22, but only 56 in his last 80 games. - My list of the 20 elite players in the league right now would include the following 20 guys, not including TT or goalies: McD Draisaitl MacKinnon Rantanen Crosby Robertson M. Tkachuk Pastrnak Marchand Mathews Marner Kucherov Kiprizov Panarin Ovechkin Morrissey Fox Makar Dahlin Josi If the question is "who would you take if you were building your team for the next 7 years" -- I think TT is top 5 due to age and contract. What if the question is "who would you take for a single playoff run" though? It's tougher, but I think there is still a very good argument that TT is top 10. Discuss.

Well, after going a long stretch without beating any good teams, they’ve now beaten Vegas, Colorado, Boston and the Caps in the last couple of weeks, and have won 7 out of 8. Separately, I was mentally composing another “Mitts stinks” post last night, as I thought his line got caved in on every shift yet again, and then he made a nice play on the GTG with 8 or 9 min left. I still think DG needs to separate Mitts and VO though. Also, I’m sure it’s happened, but I can’t recall the last time a Sabre was as hot as TT is right now.

It's kinda hard to get excited about this game in light of the situation with Hamlin. I suspect many if not most of the the guys on the team feel the same way, so I don't expect too much from them tonight. I hope I'm wrong about that but I just don't care that much. What I really hope is that we get some good news about Damar. God bless Damar and his family.

It will pretty hard to avoid a letdown after that incredible comeback win yesterday, and it being the 3rd game in 4 nights — but if they want to make the playoffs, this is the kind of game that they need to show up for and grind out the W.

Well, Mitts was DFL on the team in expected GF% and HD chance %. What did you like about his game?

He was pretty lousy today vs Boston.

Well, that was a freaking fantastic win. Thrilling. There were about a million great moments. Boston had more great scoring chances and had the better of the play in the 3rd, but the Sabres had a good number of chances too and UPL was the difference in the game. He gave them not just good, but great goaltending, including about 6 outstanding saves during that late Boston PP. As others have noted, the Sabres were game. They were not intimidated and they didn’t get discouraged after falling behind — not even when JJP and Loobie squandered 4 of the final 6 min of the game by taking penalties. Dahlin blocking that ENG attempt and then immediately, and perfectly, firing the pass the length of the ice, with the perfect carom off the boards, hitting Tuch, a fast skater, perfectly in stride to set up the GTG was borderline legendary. And Tuch was amazing start to finish. 2 over Deluca .500 to start the new year, with road wins over Colorado, Vegas and now Boston (who were a noticeable cut above the other 2 IMHO — holy mackerel that is a great team). Get ready for a playoff race boys. This team is not going to go quietly.

So this is how you celebrate that win? By digging up a year-old post so you can mock the poster? Why don't you do this with your own posts?

Holy mackerel this is a tense, exciting game. UPL has shown up big time so far.

For those who attended: how was the crowd? It sure seemed loud and festive on TV.

Actually Clague was a 2nd-rounder -- #51 overall, chosen by LA in the 2016 draft. He was drafted by LA out of the WHL, spent 2 more years in juniors after being drafted, then 1 full year in the AHL, then most of the following year (2019-20) in the AHL until that season was truncated due to Covid, then 18 games in LA and 23 games in the AHL in 2020-21, then he played 5 games in the AHL and 11 in LA in the fall of 2021. LA waived him in December of 2021 and the Habs claimed him. He was a frequent healthy scratch in Montreal but played 25 games there in the 2nd half of 2021-2022. After the end of that season, the Habs decided not to qualify him, and KA signed him. He's played 14 games in Rochester so far this year and 13 in Buffalo. In his first 3 professional seasons, the Kings were lousy, and in the 2nd and 3rd of those seasons, when he was at the point of competing for callups to LA, everything was upended by Covid. Then, in his 4th pro season, the Kings waived him because they had 9 healthy defensemen and were in a roster crunch. He then went to the Habs, who were terrible last year. So it's not like he's had the opportunity to develop under normal, stable circumstances with a good team. He could be the kind of guy that really needs a positive environment in order to develop. He won't turn 25 until next June, so he's still pretty young for a defenseman. And he's already better than Fitzie and Pilut, and maybe Bryson too. He could be another Beaulieu or Fedun and never develop an NHL game. But he might just be a real find and develop into a decent 3rd-pair NHL defenseman. We'll see.

Well, he's on a 2-way contract, so cost won't be an issue if anyone is thinking about claiming him. He was clearly the weakest of the fringe D-men, and is a less valuable piece than Asplund or Vinnie, so this was the logical move.

Every now and then, Buffalo's sports teams lift up their community when we've taken some body blows and could use a spiritual boost. I've read that ticket sales for this game have been quite strong. Here's an opportunity for this young Sabres team to show the fans a good time, bond with the community and inspire them to come back for more. Go Sabres.

Merry Christmas all! It’s presents in the AM tomorrow followed by a midday feast of shrimp cocktail and cheese and crackers to start, then bone-in rib roast, mashed potatoes and green beans with the in-laws tomorrow, plus champagne, red wine, my MIL’s surprisingly good cheesecake (she’s a lousy cook) and the world’s best chocolate cake for dessert. IMHO it’s the Skinner-TT-Tuch of family meals. Wishing everyone here a great holiday.

Some good hockey talk in here boys.

I am so sorry for your loss. God bless you and your family.

Long term house guests.

I’ll add this: when the Sabres make the playoffs, I think Skinner will be a good playoff performer. His game and attitude are well suited for it.

OK, Mr. fancy theories. How about a gentlemen’s charity bet over whether, if they finish 5 over DeLuca .500, they make the playoffs?

IMHO it's way too early in the season to worry about what other teams are doing. The Sabres just need to keep winning and climb as many games over Deluca .500 as possible, and the rest will take care of itself. As I've said a few times now, the Sabres have a great opportunity to go into Boston on 12/31 with a chance to be 2 games over Deluca .500 on New Year's day. If they can pull that off, they can absolutely get to 5 games over by the end of the season, and if they do that, dear reader, I guaran-dam-tee that they will make the playoffs, regardless of what Florida, the Rangers or anyone else does.