dudacek

Personally? I always thought that was strictly political. 😜

The Sabres contacted Hall right away. Their's is one of the first pitches he heard. It's been reported that other teams offered considerably less than the Sabres did, or said they needed to clear space. It has also been reported that the Sabres were on Hall's list prior to free agency opening. The video is on the Sabres site and is worth watching

Flyers aren't going to overlook the Sabres next time we come around.

Samantha Pell @SamanthaJPell · 1h NHL rules this yr on players/hotel rooms: "Each member of the Club’s Travelling Party will be required to stay in a single occupancy room, and no individual shall permit guests or other personnel in their room (with the exception of housekeeping or engineering staff, as needed)"

On the road it's very strict. This was a good rundown if you get the Atheeltic: https://theathletic.com/2319928/2021/01/18/from-plane-etiquette-to-elevator-rules-nhl-road-trips-have-a-new-look/ The NHL also has individual sections covering what is required for air travel, buses and hotels with great detail. The section on airplanes lists how players will sit in assigned seats, that they shall remain seated for the whole flight unless it is to use the bathroom, and to avoid eating and drinking at the same time as others in the same row. The section for buses details how teams will have at least two buses with each bus filled at no more than 50 percent capacity, with no eating or drinking on the bus. Perhaps the most detailed guidelines were reserved for the team hotel. It is more than four-pages long, covering everything from housekeeping, equipment and luggage, to food and beverage service and elevator usage. For example, the elevator guidelines state that teams have a designated elevator that may be subject to capacity limits and have floor markers. And, the use of stairs is preferred to avoid close contact. The NHL also suggests using knuckles or elbows and not fingers to press elevator buttons; not entering crowded elevators; not lingering or standing around in a crowded elevator bank; and not talking to others while in the elevator.

And we have the giraffe gif to prove it.

COVID exposures are publicized as per the Return to Play Agreement. Injuries are also reported through standard channels. Something upsetting or traumatic has happened to him or someone within his close circle and the team is giving him some time to deal with it on his own schedule. Whatever it is has not resulted in him immediately leaving the team for Buffalo or Sweden. I suspect he will either play this weekend or take some kind of leave of absence.

Tage Thompson: Bad Orange Mother pucKer?

And for those asking ^^^ is Ralph's system in action.

So I was right about them not locking the vodka cabinet?

Pretty sure that's the case, not sure where the threshold lands. Caps have the full 29 listed, so they should have 25 guys still available.

Agreed. After a shakey first game, we are getting Risto mostly used properly and at his best IMO. And McCabe over four games has been the Sabres best defender.

Gonna get our first postponements? (Sounds like the Caps shoulda locked the vodka cabinet)

Those fancy stats line up well with the eye test and support my opinion that the current panic is unwarranted. All four of our games have been against two teams considered contenders and I saw nothing to indicate that our skaters couldn't match them stride for stride. We've had one game when we played poorly and our goalie was bad. We've had three games when we played well and our goalie(s) were fine. Over the course of the season we are going to score enough goals. If our goalies can be a net positive in the tight games we will make the playoffs.

At this point in his career, Fleury is probably worst than Linus and better than Carter. At his salary, the idea of acquiring him expecting a better team is a reach. However, if either of our current goalies (or god forbid both) is going to be out, by all means.

Vegas couldn't get a team to take Fleury and a 2nd for free, which is why they ended up moving Schmidt for only a 3rd instead.

If you're worried about production (IMO it's too small a sample size, but for the sake of discussion) the issue is the middle of the lineup: Thompson, Cozens, Skinner and Staal: zero goals. Eichel Hall, Olofsson and and Reinhart have five.

The bottom 4 players (Sheahan, Reider, Lazar and Eakin) have combined for 3 ES goals in 4 games — pacing for 60 over an 80-game season. They've also won faceoffs, allowed just 1 PP goal against and been plus players at ES. Exactly what were you expecting?

I'm glad someone else watched the same four games I did. No issues whatsoever with the way Eakin Rieder Lazar and Sheahan have played. Eric Staal has been very disappointing. We may have to move Hall beside him to create a second line.

Toronto waived Dell and he was picked up. I think the same happened to another goalie as well, but I can't remember who. Do we have any clarity as to the availability of Hutton or Ullmark?

A few leftover thoughts: After starting god-awful, then progressing to poor, then OK, Brandon Montour actually had a good game. That unnecessary goofy flash he has seemed channelled into positive areas. He was getting pucks out of our zone, keeping it in theirs and playing with pace. In a game where the Flyers were working hard to keep us outside, I thought we could have used Tage's size and reach. I knew Taylor Hall was really individually skilled, but what has surprised me a little is his strength on the puck. He's been a very complete player. I'd like to see he or Jack add "snipe" to their resumes. Is it possible Curtis Lazar might take a step up this year from utility guy to actual third-liner? He's been noticeable. Sheahan lacks skill and flash, but he works and he knows how to play the game. Eric Staal is really scaring me. He seems to be trying harder and the brain is there, I'm just not sure he can keep up. Dahlin had his best game last night. He just seemed more poised. Not happy he seemed to be dropped from PP1. Also liked that Henri Jokiharju was trying to impose his will on the game more. We need to see growth there. When he's not tossing up hand grenades and trying to do the jobs of three men in the defensive zone, I love what Risto brings. Right now he's a treat to watch. What the heck was Colin Miller doing on the 2nd goal? He pushed it softly to the net in what was essentially a giveaway, and then he got all tangled up on the blueline instead of peeling back to protect the rush. Most goalies either need work technically, or athletically. Johansson looked terrible in both areas on what was a tough but very saveable 2-0 goal. Hutton played well. We cannot afford bad goaltending. If either he or Linus is out for any length of time, Adams needs to make a trade today.

We weren't as fast as the game before. Philadelphia actually came to play tonight and got in our way. I'm not a fancystats guy, but they support my eyes: Expected goals charts had the Sabres way ahead. We were also way ahead in zone time, the shot clock, and corsi. Philly was kept mostly to the outside and their scoring chances were limited to fairly easy shots and few rebounds. And I didn't say we were the better team, although if pushed to pick one, I would say it was us. It was up for grabs. They won.

I guess if it's retroactive to Jan. 12, that's not that much longer, and there is the question of salary cap gamesmanship. I'm with Swamp, we're better with Kyle.

LTIR means 10 games or 24 days, right? Or has that been prorated by the shortened season? These day-to-day Sabres injuries that blow up into extended issues are frustrating.

We did skate hard, but we were not shut down. Not by the eye test, not by the shot clock, not by the fancystats. You've watched a lot of hockey. You know the better team doesn't always win; it's the nature of the game. No one on here thought they were anything other than a playoff bubble team and nothing we've seen in four games should have changed minds. Nobody should be getting too high or low about a small sample size; Jack Eichel is not going to get 100 assists this year and Jeff Skinner is not going to go scoreless. We played well. They played well. It was a good hockey game. They won. It's frustrating, but it happens.