ska-T Chitown

But they would not switch which hand they play with...I was speaking to which hands they use where to do hockey things, not where they arbitrarily line up on the ice. (I edited my other post to make it more obvious - I see where the confusion could have been)

If this is true, it is actually kind of staggering. From what I know, most countries now teach you to have your dominant hand on top - so either natural lefties (who would play righty in this scenario) tend to be FAR better at hockey or there are still quite a few kids out there still opting for shot power over control. *Google tells me only ~10% of the world is naturally left-handed, so if everyone played with their dominant hand on top, you would expect the NHL to be like 90% lefties ...

Isn't it only a 90 min drive? 😉

You are probably not wrong about that. From what I have seen - Skinner seems to be a pretty hard guy to play WITH. From observation, he does not seem to play any one style or system or anything with any consistency. I think the times he has been most successful (relative, I know) have been when others are doing well and he can focus more. I seem to recall him scoring many many "dirty area" goals in the past years off of rebounds and chaos. This year the only chaos he seems to create consistently is with his own team? I want to like Skinner The Player, but I can't quite get there 😕

The only goals scored lately have been by a guy who was a healthy scratch most of the season and two defensemen (one of which was on his first shot in his first game with the Sabres) ... sure could use some more of that "scoring" thing around here. Most everyone thought Casey was "soft and weak" when he started - yet he was probably one of the few Sabres this year that won more board battles than he lost ... all this "tough guy" talk is simultaneously hilarious, pathetic, and toxic.

Right? Haven't all the other threads talked about how we need to be patient with D-men because they don't really develop until they are 26-27? Perhaps there was sarcasm that we are not picking up? As in 24 makes him the "old man" on D?

wow. lol.

Would anyone else be that surprised if VO moves and becomes a somewhat meaningful contributor when properly coached and properly used? I will give the guy credit - scratched a LOT this year but still seems to come to play (within his skillset) when called up on.

Katchouk sounds sorta like Tkachuk ... is that good enough?

He forgot he was not playing soccer - lol. When you have been noticed TWICE in a season by the league ... you suck!

Wait - I thought the point of the trade was to appease the SabreSpacers that can't stand the fact that the players hang out and do young adult things? If he knows people already, then it is just right back to Dahlin's basement for more fork-knife, right? /s

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE that was pretty!!😍

Yeah - sorry for ska-splaining earlier, you probably know the regular rules better than me. 🙂 Sadly, I won't know the answer to your question until tomorrow when I check - lol. If anyone is super jonesing to watch this - you could do a 7-day free trial of Fubo? Nope.

If you are a subscriber and the game was shown on ESPN+, then yes.

Joker gotta shoot that one.

What do we think of Messier behind the bench? lol - the "disappointed dad" way he can't stop talking about how he expected more from Buffalo this year 🤣

Someone said upthread that it was not showing up on ESPN+, but I see it. Sorry if that was resolved already...

Did anyone else's mom insist on buying the Ssips off-brand unless Hi-C was like half off? lol

The confusing anomaly for me is that in the end stretch last year the played borderline fantastic (OK, maybe not like, right at the borderline, but they could see it if they squinted) team defense. For the most part, they are getting back to near that level. I don't disagree with your general premise, and they certainly have improved steadily since Jan 1, but I am a bit concerned that it was there at the end of last year, then went up in smoke to start the year, now they are getting back to it? That part is odd to me.

The ESL chat bot is not that sophisticated. (I assume it is ESL based on all the small grammatical errors)

Fair point. Not being even remotely adjacent to the medical community, does this give medical professionals additional ways to help combat the stigma that getting checked out for a concussion makes you less dedicated to your sport or your team? I hope so, because that BS attitude, especially below pro-level, really needs to go away. (Not trying to imply that you have that attitude). @thewookie1 - I guess I see the fear from the other side - if an athlete is afraid of being thought of as a wimp or soft for getting checked out, then that needs to stop.

I took it as more that the older terms are ways for "tough guys" or guys who think others need to "toughen up" to down play the severity of concussions. Having watched poor Patty and then Timmy C (just from Buffalo) have their careers ruined by concussions, I am all in favor of anything we can do to change the culture around these injuries. Those terms imply you can "power thru" a concussion - and no you can't.

I was at the Wings @ Hawks game last night here in Chicago - man did Patty Kane get a long ovation ... it was good to see. There was a lot of star power in town for Chelios's number retirement. Personally, I skipped Cheapshot Chellie's ceremony, it was two hours before puck drop.

Great explanation, I was most of the way there with you before and I am sitting shotgun now. To add my own observation ... the stat says Tage has scored one more goal this year than expected based on his chances - when you put that next to his 16 goals, that means the fancy AI whatever at MoneyPuck (anyone else think the "P" looks like an "F" sometimes?), they only think he should have scored ~15 ... so, yes - the "above expected", like most stats (fancy or plain), cannot really be taken by itself. JJ being +4.4 and having only 19 is not actually all that great, either. Contrast that to Matthews: +15.6, somehow actually does not tell the whole story of how great AM is at scoring this year. 🤮 <-- obligatory after having sullied myself talking goodly about the Loaves.

Isn't sorta the opposite? Maybe I am wrong, but aren't goals expected based on the quality and quantity of chances? So, Benny has had tons of good chances (I think we can all remember quite few) and has not converted (luck, bad shooter, whatevs), some for Cozzy. Tage, on the other hand, it seems like he is scoring when he should - which means he is not getting very many good chances to score. Apologies in advance if I am making up the meaning of the fancy stats in my head and derailing the whole thing.