Mango

Yes and no. I think you hear "we like this part of his game, but we need a bit more that part". It seems as though we have heard two different situations mention physicality, training, and/or hard work. You almost never hear a HC or player publicly say "We work harder here then they did over there".

I think part of the issue is that the Sabres baseline just isn’t good enough. It just takes waaaay too much effort for them to really compete and that’s why they are so Jekyll and Hyde sometimes. The last two period were the Sabres of old. Sloppy passing. Beating their heads against the wall vs. a strong forecheck.

Right. But who we lose to and when matters. This is something this current iteration of the Sabres needs to fix and fix quickly if they want to make a jump next year.

This was a Sabres game we knew well. Strong forecheck, defend the blue line, dare the Sabres to adjust. In the Sabres defense they couldn’t hold onto the puck all day. A lot of weird hops and bad passes. Curious if the talk in the first intermission was “take a minute to control and deliver a crisp accurate pass” and that’s why that period went the way it did.

Totally agreed. I will say that this team has looked closer to a real life, complete NHL team the last 3-5 games than at any stretch last year. Last year they looked like a team that would lose to Boston in 4 maybe 5. This version we’re seeing this week looks like a playoff team. But they have to do it first.

Bull shirt hooking call.

Tight game. About as close to playoff vibes as you can get without being in the post season. We need to bury one of these in short order.

Probably @ NJD last April.

I don't think Levi v UPL is an issue. I don't think Levi's personality is an issue. But at the same time I wouldn't be shocked if he does passive aggressively chirp a bit that he should be up at the big club. Even that would be directed at Comrie though.

I think Mr and Mrs are on the board lately and rumor has it that 1T 1E 2R 1Y might even have an account too. Maybe we will get an inside line sooner rather than later.

I don’t like the yo-yoing mid season. You have to let your backup practice and play. But with the season, 15-ish games left, and 13 years on the line, bringing up Levi for 2-3 games sporadically seems like a slam dunk

I would bring him in to start one of the back to back. Maybe throw him a bone as the backup for one to get him an extra skate or two with the team. If we keep winning I would guess Levi is the one to spell UPL. And if by some gift from the invisible magic hockey people in the sky this team makes the playoffs Levi is the other goalie on the bench.

Good point. She can figure some stuff out, but also no, no she can't. haha.

3rd in shut outs.

I get the CHL - NHL agreement. I just don't like it at times. For a kid like Benson it makes sense to have a provision where if an NHL team is willing to eat a roster spot or dress an 18/19 year old for I don't know 30, 40 games in a single season that they become eligible for the AHL. If a team is willing to eat a roster spot for half a year to get a kid skating at practice then they should be able to send him to the AHL. That way the CHL still has some protection of it's stars and the NHL does have a work around but it does create some sacrifice. There should be a set process rather than asking for special permission. Just spit balling.

PRO TIP for @Marvin and anybody else. If you aren't using Chat GPT for your resumes and cover letters, start now! The free version (3.5) does a good job but the paid (4.0/ $20/month) does noticeably better. Either way it is rare that any company is manually reading all their resumes these days. They are weeding them out via AI so it makes sense to use AI to give yourself a leg up. The prompts are super easy. I recommend fiddling around with them based on your resume, the job description, etc. But at its most generic it is: 1. Here is a job posting (copy paste) 2. Here is my resume (copy paste) 3. Optimize my resume for this job posting. 4. Write me a cover letter using specific experiences from my resume that make me an ideal candidate for this role.

She was "OK' for a long time. She can use an iPad, set the timers on her DVR, put a VHS in and set it to record Wheel of Fortune or Seinfeld or whatever when she left the house. Way back when she could set the pre-set numbers on her house phone. etc. I would never consider her tech savvy at any point but she kept up at a reasonable pace for a long time. I think it is easy to forget how quickly the world has progressed in the last 15 years. It has been remarkably quick. Re: the socials. I agree with your overall point on the current tech trends and prioritizing what is important. But one thing I keep pinned in the back of my head is similar to the situation with your kids. At some point the kids consuming all the IG, TT, Discord, etc. will be the same people shaping what technology looks like tomorrow. My parents taught me until I taught them. I teach my kids until they start teaching me and part of that is learned through their "daily drivers" that they use.

Great post. To add on I think part of it is how best to develop a goalie and letting UPL struggle for a few season in the NHL seems to fall in the category of "just because you can doesn't mean you should". It feels like a no brainer that the best thing for UPL was to have some stability in net to learn from or spend more time in Rochester. Not a whole lot different than Levi. The kid has the potential to be really good, but you have to let him bake. There are a lot of pro-athletes that never turn out because they got rushed into responsibility. You never hear of a player in any sport that was "ruined" by being a back up for an extra year or spending an extra year in the minors. Happy for UPL and Sabres. Super amped to come into next season with UPL and Levi.

They played fast last night v NYI. If they can maintain that pace anything could happen. That is a big if though. I think part of the problem with this team has been that they can't sustain their best hockey. It is just so taxing for them. The one thing I am worried about is goaltending. The stakes are just too high to start Comrie at any point right now. They should be bringing Levi up here and there through this stretch and managing his games in the AHL to prepare for it. And if by the grace of all the good hockey ju-ju the Sabres do make the playoffs I think you have to keep Levi up as the backup.

I think there is this correlation to when people begin to age out of technology and what generation they think all people younger then them are. Totally anecdotal, but when my grandma complains about millennials she means gen Z. But she has been doing that since she created her 6th different facebook account because she forgot her password and didn't know how to reset it. In all honesty stuff like what I posted is why I always download the new apps, social media's etc. I don't love tiktok, or discord, or twitch at all. I don't even like some of them. But I understand the world is advancing at a wild pace and I cannot afford to age out of it. It took my grandma something like 70 years for the world to pass her by. In 2024 it can happen in an instant.

I hope these guys don’t write any letter to the fans anytime soon. Bad things always happen when they do that.

This post has very Pegula “wet blanket” vibes. I’ll have to do some digging to see if that’s you Terry. Thanks for the PSA though. This is the no fun zone when you are around. And if anybody does want to have fun Hank will call you names. Noted. Get over yourself. I haven’t done anything offensive or egregious. Especially nothing to deserve any name calling. You are not the arbiter of…well….anything.

Listen 1H 1A 1N 1K. I get it, you want to be Kevyn Adams. But you can’t be him and the Mrs. are already here.

That’s our second 3G W streak. What a year!

He’s much too far along for juniors. He fits on this roster because we don’t have anybody else. But I do think that if rules allowed the AHL would be a better spot. I think he’s likely in blue and gold next year but I wouldn’t be shocked if he were in Rochester next year.