LTS

I do want to call out Eichel. I saw a lot of hustle and tenacity from him tonight. It's built on what I've been seeing lately but tonight it seemed that much more pronounced. He legitimately hustled back on many plays and his offensive zone skills were showing. In addition, when Pouliot scored, Eichel seemed to really connect with what he had done to get to the net. It almost seemed like an understanding of one hockey player to another. Well, it's a win. They still have a long way to go but winning helps. There was a notable difference in the team once they scored and then scored again. When the Senators scored they responded by holding Ottawa without a shot for about 10 minutes. They have a stretch coming up here where they can knock out a few wins. Let's see what happens.

Oh damn. That'll hurt.

Absolutely. I think the off-season will see some moves that open up the roster in the style the Botterill wants the Sabres to play.

If you are a team making a run in the playoffs you'll go get a depth D for a 5th/6th rounder in the 2019 draft. I think he can get even more than that but if I want to pick the lowest possible value that might be it.

That's a great quote. They've got all kinds of problems. Perhaps they end up moving to Quebec instead? At this point I think they are really moving things around to see what fits where before they start pulling the trigger on trades. I can live with this. Besides, it's not like any other line combinations have sparked the offense.

I don't know. Georges and Pouliot are rentals that provide experience and depth for a playoff team. They are rentals and can be sent packing for low picks (better than nothing in return). Girgensons has 2 years after this one. Any team taking him has to factor him into their plans for a few more years and I'm not sure they are going to be sold on him. He was just scratched from the lineup from the worst team in hockey.

Based on your statement, you believe Kane has the Blues defender then? Ristolainen picks up Stastny crossing the ice onto his side. Kane is at the Sabres blue line Eichel is at the red line. The Blues defender is at the Blues blue line Tarasenko is crossing the red line. You are basically saying that Kane does not pick up Tarasenko but instead, despite being the DEEPEST defender on the ice for the Sabres he should stay at the blue line and pick up the Blues defender? I completely disagree with you. Until the Blues defender enters the play it's a 2 on 3. Eichel's job is to reduce Tarasenko's ice so Kane can cover him easier. Kane's job is to make sure he does not get beat because lo and behold... he is the last defender. Eichel's job as the high defender is to pick up the Blues defense. Moreover, you want Eichel higher in the zone because he's more likely to beat the Blues player 1 on 1 should Kane or Ristolainen cause a turnover. It's man to man.. but Kane was the man.

I think Botterill will make any trade that helps the team. Overall however, I don't see players like O'Reilly being traded in season. Players with lengthy contracts usually get moved in the off-season when teams can be more flexible in what they do. For the in season work you only really look at the UFAs and some possible RFAs. This becomes even more true as time ticks away in the season. Saying it again.. 100% to be moved: Kane Pouliot Georges 60/40: Falk Johnson/Lehner (1 of them and I would pick Lehner) 40/60: Nolan 25/75: Reinhart Josefson Girgensons Past that I think everyone else is an off-season target at best.

My entire life now consists of waiting to watch a Sabres game and checking the news every hour to see if ANYONE has traded a player. I have no life anymore. Can't wait for tonight... for no good reason.

It wasn't just Karlsson. It was every player with a list. http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/ottawa-senators-ask-no-trade-lists/

So.. I've watched the video a few times. Yes, I think I agree that Kane should move over to take away the direct path to the goaltender. Eichel is clearly playing to take away the cutback and the pass back,. At the start of the breakout the Eichel plays the pass from Tarasenko to Stastny. Eichel knows he has two behind him in coverage. This should immediately mean that the first two guys up the ice are picked up by Kane and Risto. Kane is angling towards Stastny on the wall and Eichel is correctly between Tarasenko and Stastny. As Stastny crosses the ice and Tarasenko transitions up the wall Jack stays in perfect position to keep the pass to Stastny from being made. Kane has to know that Ristolainen will have Stastny now that he's moving to his side of the ice. Kane's ONLY focus at that point has to be picking up Tarasenko as he moves around Eichel. As Eichel moves past Stastny he moves his stick even more behind him to prevent the cross ice pass to Stastny. This is a CLEAR indication he does NOT have Tarasenko (nor should he). As Tarasenko moves past Eichel, Eichel keeps his stick back. If he's taking Tarasenko then he'd move his stick up into a poke check position. As they cross the red-line Kane, inexplicably moves toward the center of the ice. That's the green light at that point for Tarasenko and now Jack knows that Tarasenko has a path into the zone (even though he shouldn't). The only thing that comes into play, and we can't hear it, is any communication from Kane to Eichel. Oh well, a great player forced a defensive coverage screw up.

I wouldn't see Moulson driving back and forth from Rochester each day to be part of the Amerks. He'd need a place to stay in Rochester for game days, etc. There's a difference when you drive back and forth for a 9-10 hour workday. I think what Botterill did shows some real thinking and understanding of the player and the impact on the family. Moulson can feel he has a lot of hockey left but it doesn't appear to translate to it on the Sabres. It's possible a different team can use him in a way that makes him more productive, but it's unlikely.

An interesting thread to read.. thankfully it appears everyone was either busy or didn't care enough to post so it was a short thread. The Sabres still have a long way to go and Lehner kept them in the game. They had their moments but they are still very much like last year's team in their own zone. It's ugly. There is some light that they are trying to some different things but they still get stuck in their end far too often. As for the OT goal. My only comment at the time was that Eichel got Eichel'd. He's done that to other teams (he did it to Nashville last year). It's not like this was Sobotka with the puck. It was Tarasenko. Let's give some credit to the opposing player here. If Eichel goes hard at Tarasenko then it's entirely feasible that he ends up whiffing on him as Tarasenko makes a hard cut back to the center of the ice. One only has to look Tarasenko's break in the 3rd period where he was about to go by the net and then stopped on a dime and almost put it past Lehner. The dude is pretty shifty. In open ice, on a rush, 1 on 1, the offensive talented player should win. Eichel has done it before and in this case it was Tarasenko doing it to Buffalo. I think Eichel has to make a bit of a better play on that but he really is in no man's land against one of the best skaters in the league. From what I was able to watch of the game I saw a lot of effort out of Eichel. He's not there but he's shown an improvement over the past few games (since Moulson was sent packing and Rodrigues came back). One has to hope it leads to better things. There are still trades coming, that much is certain.

There doesn't appear to be any indication that HE wants to sign on in Buffalo. The only information that I've seen is that Botterill had not made a decision on trying to sign him. There's not been anything from Kane.

Going to a HS hockey game tonight... I'll miss the game on TV. Hoping for the best... but expecting the worst.

I'm certainly not going to disagree.

What is a sneaker head?

Well Hamonic isn't going to want to come East after he just got out West to help with a family situation.

Of course not. Quebec City is for the Panthers. 2020-2021 season is the target. https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nba/keyarena-mou-approved-by-seattle-city-council-will-nhl-announcement-soon-follow/

Everyone wants big hits without the damage. NASCAR loves big wrecks because that gets people out of their seats. They just don't want anyone to get hurt in it. It's really a statement on our society. The problem is that even the hard, clean, hits cause significant damage to their bodies. Offensive lineman are some of the worst and they never sustain the same level of hit that a receiver might take. They just take so many hits, over and over again, that it adds up. Honestly, having seen enough documentaries on how NFL players live their lives after the game I am surprised anyone wants to play the game. I understand Mitchell's frustration but it's really unavoidable. Even if he weren't fined for those hits all the NFL would do is lower the bar and set a new line someone would complain about.

I watched it. I watched a highlight reel of his hits. I can't find the specific Eifert play you refer to. The sport is so competitive that it goes two ways. If Mitchell doesn't go all out and destroy offenders he's not going to have a career. If offensive players get a case of alligator arms so they don't get hit they won't have a career either. The sport, and the coaching, demand the players play as close to the edge or over rather than focus on safety of the player. It's the way it goes.. In his highlight reel there are some hits he delivers that look flat out illegal (defenseless receiver) and some leading with this head. There are others that are clean. As for discipline being uneven? We are hockey fans. I think we know all too well about how that works. You have players being trained now to turn their backs to a defender at the last moment and expose themselves to being hit from behind if they screw up the timing. There are suicide passes in the NHL as well. I think, however, the NHL's focus on reducing head contacts and lessening the reliance on BIG hits has lowered the overall "big hit" issue. Football is a different story to be sure. Hits are going to happen. There's not an overarching set of policies you can put in place except to play flag football. Of course I ended up with a bruised lung playing flag football once so I am not sure it really stops big hits from happening.

Right concept, wrong substance.

I think it was Hyde who laid out a great hit in the game this past weekend without resorting to spearing the receiver (it might have been Amendola) and it looked like Amendola made a gesture of gratitude towards Hyde as they separated from the play. You can hit hard and clean. The problem is too many players are only trained to injure with their hits and so it's all they know.

I guess for some... for others it was already crusty.

Since LTS is the same.. I changed my avatar to get in the spirit.