dudacek

I've been clear for months on my position: he is the best prospect in the organization and will be a worthy successor to Miller. The only question is when.

Good post, but I'd aim higher. The Sabres have played very few games with all of Dahlin/Mule/Power/Joki/Boosh in the lineup. I just did a quick count of games where both Joki and Mule were dressed up until the end of February. Our record was 18/10/4. One more defenceman of their quality would make such a difference.

I've brought this up before: the industry as a whole is far less high on Levi than Sabres fans (and presumably Kevyn Adams) are. They recognize his athleticism and attention to detail, but he just doesn't tick the goalie boxes, particularly his size and the path he has taken. Many are skeptical his success will translate to the highest levels.

Sorry guys, I respect most of your hockey takes, but you are out to lunch on this shootout debate How the heck do you have any idea how good any of the Sabres are at shootouts? How many times have you seen them take one? 10 max for most of them, probably less? The team had taken 5 all year before last night. Donnie has months worth of watching them take dozens, if not hundreds, of attempts in practice, plus a library of analytics to lean on. He’s also up close in the dressing room and on the bench to see where they are at the moment. Not buying you know better, sorry.

This. It seemed like he's kinda crafty and with decent hands, but the thing that stuck out most was how he was always headed to the net.

It absolutely is.

This times 1,000. I don't think the fans fully grasp the mental health aspect of situations like that. The guy I worry about is Kisakov, who seems less skilled than Kulich in the language area, and unlike Kulich doesn't have a countryman like Rousek to lean on. Throw in the political turmoil his homeland is embroiled in and his lack of success on the ice, and that is a recipe for issues. It's no surprise to me that Mogilny developed a fear of flying. I hope the Sabres are taking care of that kid.

I'm wondering how well this ever checks out. I think @Thorny has the right of it. The NHL just doesn't seem to work that way. The "better team" is no more of a factor than "current streak" or "how long since you last played" or "what time did your flight come in" or "they were out late" or "who is hurt, or playing hurt" or "where was my wife last night?" or "coach sure is being a DB" or "what goalie is going to show up" or...you get my meaning. Anecdotally, things like getting blown out by undermanned Nashville then knocking off playoff-bound New Jersey seem more rule than exception. If Tage is still hurting, this is the one to rest him. I wonder if Anderson is done save a swan-song farewell in the last home game.

As much as I think the "starting Levi means we've given up" line of thought is utter *****, and as much as I am skeptical of Comrie's ability to play consecutive good games @DarthEbriate is right: let's not overthink this.

Just for the record since we tend to get caught up in how well Kulich is doing for a 18-year-old. He’s 8th among goals for rookies and 17th for points. Overall, he’s 41st in goals and 95th in points. He’s a top 6 AHL player, but he’s not a dominant one. And he’s clearly at least a step behind where Peterka was a year ago and 2 below Quinn. I don’t think anyone should be pencilling him into the NHL roster in October.

Needs to be said that no goalie has ever been traded for such a big haul in the current era. Best return I can find for an established top goalie like Saros was when the Canucks got Shawn Matthias and Jakob Markstrom for Roberto Luongo. Which is kinda like Saros for Levi and Greenway. The best return I can find for a goalie at all, is the 9th overall pick for Corey Schneider, who was 27 and coming off three consecutive seasons of .927 or better playing 30ish games a year behind Luongo.

They'll have to really tank the final three weeks to miss. If my math is correct any combination of Amerk regulation wins and Senator regulation losses that equals 6 should get them in. Top 5 in the division make it. 2 Utica: 71 points, 9 games left 3 Syracuse: 68, 10 4 Rochester: 67, 10 5 Cleveland: 63, 11 6 Belleville: 62, 8 Real battle looks to be versus Syracuse for the 1st-round bye

Precarious?

In my view, every good NHL goalie should be able to pitch a shutout based on the way the teams were playing in front of Comrie last night. It’s sad how unusual that kind of defensive effort has been for the Sabres skaters this year. What’s even sadder is how unusual it’s been for a Sabres goalie to make all the saves he should save. We’ve become so conditioned to expect subpar goaltending that good goaltending looks great.

This is what I mean by suspicious

You're not as far off as you might think. It’s just not going to happen as quickly as you want. Those are the guys who will be there when we are good

Longest they’ve ever gone in a season under Pegula before you’ve found the hook to hang your inevitable disappointment on?

I have. But I get what you’re saying. What’s more notable to me is I have never heard Granato call out his players, not once. To the media, his message has been unrelentingly one of positive reinforcement: when he is talking about good play, he talks about the players being self-starters and eager learners so he’s not surprised; when he is talking about bad play he talks about the same qualities, so he’s sure they will overcome it. When he talks about breakdowns, he talks about them analytically, in a broad sense, as opposed to individual players making mistakes. His overriding principles are positivity and consistency: something that I, personally, would appreciate as a player. It’s also something that I’ve observed people over 50 seem suspicious of.

Tage injury sucks. Not that it’s actually important, but I was really pulling for him to hit 50 and/or 100, and it’s slowly slipping away.

Interesting given the fact we’ve got 14 forwards. Entirely possible Tage and Greenway can’t go and this is just a precaution, but I hope he gets a look for his sake.

Agree with most of this except I think it is poorly understood and often misread and overrated by fans, many of whom just use it as an excuse to cover what they really want: to enjoy the catharsis of “our” guy pounding the snot out of “their” guy. Riley Stillman went after Tanner Jeannot. Dylan Cozens went after Trent Frederic. They “had their teammates backs.” Doesn’t carry a ton of weight for the masses because in the first case they lost the fight and in the 2nd they lost the game. Did it carry weight in the room? Probably, but it doesn’t seem to be carrying much on the scoreboard.

Not exactly. https://www.vancouverislandfreedaily.com/news/unwelcome-spotlight-falls-on-nhl-team-pride-night-events/

And, once again, the fan base braces collectively with a “please don’t embarrass me”

Bottom line is the only thing that really is objective is wins and losses because that, by definition, is the objective. Everything else about being a sports fan is varying degrees of how it makes you feel.

Just gotta pile on, don't ya...😜