dudacek

While I think zone starts are interesting, they tend to be overrated on the internet. They have to have some influence, but I'd be curious to see how they relate to actual zone time. 5%? 30%? %50?

That's largely a function of being the 1C, wanting his line out when you need a goal, rather than sheltering. Cushy implies not having to go against other team's big guys, I haven't noticed that to be the case. Tage 17:28 Zemgus 16:35 Dylan: 14:40 R2: 12:43 That's textbook 1-4 ice time. How would Tage finishing the year as a centre with 20 goals and 40-50 points affect your view of him? Statistically, that's average 2C production.

The weird thing for me is Tage, who is clearly the 1C right now. It certainly wasn't planned and I have no idea how that is going to play out as the season goes on. But even with Casey out, Dylan has been the sheltered 3C in terms of ice time and usage (Z is the shutdown 2C), which is exactly where we want him to be.

Our goalies have been good to very good every game this year. We've faced Montembeault, Vejmelka, Demko, Ullmark, Daws, Elliott, Stalock. Maybe I'm putting too much weight on the past 3 0r 4 games, but as it continues, I'm not thinking it is all that different.

They didn't show the blind passes, the dangles when he should have passed or the plays without the puck. Those will disappear with experience. Amazing talent.

This is not getting enough praise.

I read it as him connecting the dots, more than having any inside knowledge The dots do connect, but I would have thought Theodore too important to their team, and not really what Buffalo is looking for. Vegas does seem up to something.

Eichel and a young Sabre defenceman for Krebs and Theodore + conditional picks?

Theodore goes against everything we’ve been told about what the Sabres want. As a LHD he’s also at our position of least need. Of course there’s also that thing about him being far and away the best player we’ve heard associated with an Eichel deal since Matt Tkachuk kissed and made up with the Flames.

Why dont you just let @pi2000 tell us himself?

Not your point, but I don't know that enough attention is paid to the 12-foot pass. One of the reasons the Sabres are having some success this year is that they are making and completing so many more of them. One of my issues with Jeff Skinner over the years is that it sometimes seemed like he could go games in a row without completing one 12-foot pass.

It will be interesting to see how the Sabres handle this. Kotyk has been working with him for years, right? And Appert is a former goalie. I will say that UPL's development is more important to the organization than Amerks' wins and losses, but you can't ignore the negative effect UPL's play could have on the other prospects in Rochester. There is a Mendoza line you can't ignore for too long and right now he is clearly below it.

Noooooo!!!!! Don't break the luck!

This thread title is aging well.

The team is playing well, but they are going to have to sustain it a lot longer than 6 games before I am going to consider them legitimately a mid-pack team. I think the attention to detail and the work ethic can be sustained. The 40-year-old and the scrappy minor league goalie, not so much. I expect cracks. Victor Olofsson is probably not going to keep up the 50-goal pace and I doubt Zemgus and Miller are going to finish with 60-plus points. I expect droughts. But all I really wanted from this year is to be entertained, see development from the kids and have a team worth cheering for. And all of those signs look good.

Don't you have to go all the way back to Denis Potvin to find a Norris-caliber D from the top of the draft? Sorry, Doughty, Pronger, Neidermayer, Hedman — I guess I'm exaggerating. There are a lot of good to very good D picked high, like Ekblad and Hanifan, but just three of the past 20 winners were top picks. 13 weren't even picked in the first round.

He plays hard and smart, good passer, can play C or W and be used in all situations. He not going to dangle or blow shots by people or blow people up. He projects as just a good, useful Sam Reinhart-level player. I find the idea they don't want to give him up for Eichel odd. I'd do that in a second if I was Vegas.

And there’s the false agenda thing again. Save your heroics for someone who actually wants the Pegulas to fail. Did you, or did you not dismiss @bob_sauve28’s post as basically unimportant? Do you or do you not have a track record of posts that similarly attack the poster’s motivation or dismiss the poster’s content without ever addressing the actual meat of the post? Am I misreading these, because they don’t look like sincere attempts to better understand your fellow poster.

And there’s the other one. I swear if we removed the hand waving dismissals, and the accusations of other people having agendas you’d have nothing left to post about. Guys like @Marvin, Sabres Fan and @nfreeman and @K-9 share much the same opinions as you do but actually talk about why, respect other views and contribute interesting takes to the conversations without the snide character attacks and the “I’m so superior” BS. You need a hug.

A hand wave dismissal of something that doesn’t match or support your opinion? You’re right, nothing new here.

Agree with this take wholeheartedly. Well said.

In you view, what were his bad games and why? In my view his worst games this year have been better than his best games last year pre-Granato. The team is 4-1-1 with him playing the 1D role.

3rd overall pick, big centre, in the NHL at 18 impresses me, but I've not watched McTavish enough to make an intelligent call. Fan of the other 3 players and either as a base return is reasonable to me as well.

I wish I could intelligently discuss this, but it's lines and dots to me. In something I can understand, Dahlin has been on the ice for 129 shot attempts for and 101 against, giving him a Corsi of 56.1%, which, last I checked is pretty damn good. He is leading the team in ice time. Or, you could just watch him; his entries and exits have been outstanding and his in-zone coverage the best of his career. I'm starting to get excited.

Olofsson has 4 goals and 6 points in 6 games with Tage Thompson in his engine room. To your point, Quinn drove his own line to the tune of 52 goals in junior. To argue otherwise would tell me you didn't watch. He's played 15 games as a 19-year-old in a men's league with a hernia since, and 3 more as a healthy 20-year-old. Seems a little premature to decide he's a sidekick, no? His coach just this week called him a line driver.