ska-T Chitown

There was a big article on ESPN+ a few weeks back. It varies, but the so far a maximum of 5 teams not in playoff positions by American Thanksgiving have made it in any given year.

Seeing the video clip earlier - I remembered how friggin' infectious his smile and enjoyment of the game are! Sabres will be a better team when he is fully back.

I feel like nearly every pass I saw in the first period (did not really watch the second period) from the Sabres that went more than 20 feet was a bad pass. Either off the mark or right into a cluster of Wings around some poor unsuspecting (unaware?) Sabres forward. Maybe a combo of the aforementioned subpar D-men and the Wings savvy vets reading the passes like some of those old school golden books, but the ones aimed at the real young kids.

life long buffalo sports fan ... you wanna lose? I can deal with that - so much practice ... but at least freakin' try? On the plus side, my tears of apathy really opened up some hidden notes in this bourbon! 🥃

Not even the slightest hint that they are trying. <sad trumpet noises>

This. This x 1000 ... you hit me right in the feels, cuz I had been carrying that around with me for a few weeks now, then you spoke my truth.

Isn't it supposed to be "roh-say-en", but the marble mouths can't spit it out? There is one of those fancy slashes over the e.

1:08 in ... so close!

I thought I remembered they were lower based on points %, but it is very likely I am mistaken on that ... honestly that does not sound so bad!

There was an article on ESPN plus yesterday (?) that noted since 2016, a minimum of 11 of the 16 teams in playoff spots at American Thanksgiving have made the playoffs. Largest deficit made up was 7 pts. They did not get into how many other teams the Fortunate Few have leapfrogged to achieve this, but by points the Sabres seem OK-ish - but by position in the standings it appears bleak. None of the "models" from whatever fancy sites projected the Sabres as one of the outsiders to make it this year ... but I'd doubt their models were right too often in the previous years, either. <shrug emoji thingy>

I think the Sabres will soon (lol) be a very good team for a long time, but yeah - a few more carefully selected cagey veterans would not hurt, for sure. I might quibble a bit with it changing the approach, in that it might just be a different implementation since the coach would adjust parts of his message or style to accommodate the addition of wiser voices on his team? But, overall - agree that the exact mix of players they have now is not ideal.

I've gone back and forth on whether or not to comment, but what the heck, why not? With the caveat that I am certainly not a manager (coach) to world class athletes - I really don't think the "toughen them up! No more fun! No more Mr. nice guy!" view is all that relevant to either the Sabres (or any professional sports team, for that matter) or in the non-sports world. I presume that no one who posts to this board is in any team meetings or generally privy to anything that really goes on between the coaches and players and amongst the players themselves, so "there is no accountability" is just internet speculation - which is totally allowable and honestly other than cat videos, what else is the internet for? So, fine. But from my experience I just don't see that hard-lined approach working as well as it used to. The evidence in the non-sports world grows daily that managing people based on their individual communication styles and their strengths while coaching them to improve not only their weaknesses but to also enhance and broaden their strengths is far and away the most effective way to manage young talent. I have seen it a lot in my career (I am in the nuclear engineering world, so while they are not world-class athletes many are actually amongst the brightest individuals in their field) and I know business schools and high-end management schools at fancy universities sing the praises. Most of these kids (cuz yeah, even a 26 yr old is still a kid to me - lord knows I was a hot mess in my mid-20's) are not the "grew up on the pond and at 11 were sneaking in hockey practice between shifts at the steel mill or coal mine" types. Most (not all) have been in special programs and toted around by dedicated parents for more than a decade ... they DO feel special, because they are. If you are on the active roster of an NHL team (accounting for roster moves and some rounding errors) you are what, among maybe the 500 best hockey players in the world? There are exceptions, but I think we are seeing more and more of the hardline coaches going by the wayside because it simply does not mesh with how the players need to be coached today. It is a valid opinion if people think that is a shame or that kids are too soft - but it does not change the reality that these are the players the coaches have to work with. I associate those types with the coaches/leaders who eventually cross a line and are increasing being fired or asked to "step aside" or "take on a different role" as their transgressions are revealed. All of them? Of course not, but are they more likely? I think so. None of this is to say DG is the right choice or that he and his staff are actually doing things correctly ... somehow my feathers got ruffled by general sentiments I inferred from several posts ... and honestly I actually had to take a break to do actual work and I am not even sure that the point I set out to make is still there, but I typed a lot so I think I owe it to myself to post it. Heck, might even spur some good discussion?

Glorious weather in Chicago today and I got to start my morning off with some Stick-n-Puck on the very very fresh ice at the 'Hawks facility. Everything's coming up Millhouse! 🌞

In general, isn't HOF also based somewhat on your production compared to your peers? Since entering the league in 2010 (and winning the Calder), Skinny ranks #12 in goals and #49 in points. Sounds very good ... but not great?

This is sorta what I thought, but I never thought of Holzinger as a skating innovator, so I was curious what others thought. Thanks!

It is kinda funny - all the youtube channels rave about MacKinnon, McDavid, and others and how they use their crossovers to generate such speed ... watching that clip Holzinger probably takes ... 2 forward strides from his own blue line all the way to the opposing goal - the rest were crossovers to generate that McDavid-like speed. Been a hockey fan for 40+ years, but never really paid much attention to things like mechanics until 7 or 8 years ago when I started playing as an adult - I'd be curious if anyone with far better "how-to" knowledge than me remembers when this really caught on? First page of results on google reveal nothing on the history (so it must not be on the internet) and a few old grainy youtubes of Gretzky did not make it overly clear if he used them.

I live in the midwest now ... "ranch" is the official dip/sauce/dressing/drink of everything and I hate it. I can tolerate it (barely) when a place offers "ranch or blue cheese" with something "Buffalo" - but so many places just say "with Ranch" and look at you like you have done unspeakable acts to a close family member if you enquire as to the availability of the correct sauce.

There is a ton of discussion on how the players who specifically play defense need to improve. Hard to argue with that. I have seen it in a few other threads and did not notice anyone bring it up yet here ... our forward group is very young and often young forwards are not particularly great at ensuring they are sticking to their defensive zone assignments. I would not be surprised if some of the much needed defensive improvement next year comes from the forward group improving in that regard. I think we saw glimpses of it down the stretch and I thought it looked magnificent at times; sticks in passing lanes, opposing players tied up in front of the net, denying easy zone entries with entirely too much speed. And, not surprisingly, we won most of those games. Did they have a hiccup here and there? Sure. Did they maybe sacrifice a few goals at the other end? Probably. But I think the signs point to an improvement in that area next year.

I am so freaking nervous. Butterflies in my stomach. Have not gotten much work done (although that is not terribly unusual for a Monday) and game time(s) - 6pm here on the central coast - cannot possibly come soon enough. Yet, I still feel that same sense of optimism as when you walk out of the gas station or convenience store with that freshly printed Lotto ticket, dreaming of all the amazing things that could happen when you win. The Lotto has not worked out just yet - but man does it feel good to dream! Go Caps! Go Leafs (I threw up a little as I typed that) and most of all Go Sabres!!

I could not watch the game live yesterday, so I avoided my phone and computer and had my wife go in and load the game in espn+ for me so there was no chance I would see the score. What a freakin' game!!

Yeah, that and at some point I recall a shot showing a fair amount of empties in the upper deck? Maybe it was just before/after a period and folks were still getting beers or using the bathrooms. @Taro T My comment was not meant to throw shade at people not being there - rather "man, I cannot wait to hear that place erupt when it is full again!"

Couldn't watch the game live - just watched it on demand ... place was not even full and the crowd at the end STILL gave me chills!!

Okay, Okay 🙂 No jokes until 1K posts. I honestly remember being so happy when it happened, I did not care how it happened and it was such a great day - I'd love to have that feeling with the Sabres again. Jeez, you are right of course ... guess I need two monsters this morning.

Too bad Cincinnati does not have a hockey team to beat a Pittsburgh team in the last game to sneak us in.

Hi folks - my profile says I have posted one other time, but to be honest I don't remember it! Long time lurker and appreciator of all the discussion that goes on here. I was reading an article on ESPN about 100 point players in college hockey, they cited improved goal tending as one reason and threw this little tidbit: "Levi, a Buffalo Sabres prospect, is considered one of the most promising goalies in the game." Feels good to get some national validation on that point 🙂 https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/35971007/paul-kariya-100-point-scorer-ncaa-hockey