LTS

If we count 12:00 then I go to $90 Well... you know. :) It's for charity..

I'll bid $80.

It was.. I meant to comment. I hate the shootout to decide this. Of course the World Cup (Soccer) is decided this way too if need be isn't it? By the end of the OT those kids looked exhausted. It was similar to watching NHL playoffs when teams get to late 2OT or into 3OT. They leave everything they have out there.

It was interesting to watch that neutral zone formation. The Rangers did the same thing a few times and caught the Sabres D man moving up to stop the puck carrier at the blue line so the chip went in behind him and the second attacker gained possession. Could be something that teams can deploy against the Sabres or it could be their overall style. Guess you have to watch games against other teams to know.

Should be... it's 12 degrees out overnight and still frigid.. you are good to go! Well done sir!

Sounds about right... a whole six pack eh? I do not envy how you must have felt the next day. :beer: - Awesome.

Well, I'll admit that after a few of those calls last night I was muttering BS about the refs wanting to make it out of the arena unscathed by the fans (I may have said F Canada but that might have been the whiskey talking). The timing of the call or no-call and the subsequent result can also impact the egregiousness of the mistake. How the referee did not call full on tackling behind the Canada net is beyond me. The fact that it led directly to a goal is what makes it worse. Then the timing of the "cross-check" penalty also plays into its magnitude. That and the fact that it was just an absolutely horrendous call. I'm not going to analyze the game but I do know that in the 3rd and especially in OT the infractions were not called on the US either and I saw a few of them. Still, a HELL of a game. It was fun to watch even though I missed some of it because I was flipping back and forth and at one point my cable box locked up leading to me missing 10 minutes of both games. (GRRRR).

Heard about that being available. How was it? I'm an oak fan and I like it in IPAs as well. Been awhile since I had Jubilee. Friday night's are always a good night for a 750ml 12% beer... I'll probably do that tonight even. I'll just guess... there was one time when he had 2 and decided he was the Storm King? :P

Please, we all know the fans will be Canadian there as well. The officiating was horrible and early on there were some seriously screwed up no calls or calls. The first goal should never have happened due to the tackle that occurred behind the Canada net. The "cross-check" was also quite obviously a horrible call. Jaffe wanted to admit it but had to cage his statement. They blew calls everywhere.. some were much more obvious than others. Great game overall though... man.

Mostly watched USA v Canada last night.. Gold Medal games... you know. Nice to have 3 players from Buffalo on the ice in a game. Says a lot about the city itself. Jack looked really good. Zemgus looks like he has some fire, perhaps the renewed hope of proving himself with Larsson out is doing it. When you get out shot that badly in a game you are lucky to do as well as they did.

You didn't have to do that you know. :)

If that were true Vesey would be less sore today. But yea.. other than that.. useless. :)

I have an ignore option... it's called self-control... it doesn't always work but that's on me. :)

You know those guys at poker games who just raise big right away? I don't play poker because of them. Good thing this isn't poker. $60

Logic on how to manage a losing a season is not the same logic required to build a winning team. Claiming those players was a short term attempt to upgrade the little talent that was on the roster. It was basically replacing parts with the same parts hoping one performed slightly better. Murray is controlling the changes as needed to build this into a long term team. Bringing in a new piece just to bring in a new piece won't necessarily lead to better things and could disrupt whatever team chemistry exists. What if Moulson's presence on the team accounts for a 10-15% boost in the production of Okposo or another player simply by making it a happier workplace? The Jim Rutherford article on The Players Tribune spoke volumes about a lot of items no one ever realizes when moves are made.

The Sabres haven't proven they can win with those players in the lineup either. I think the key is that they are generally performing the same regardless of who is in the lineup and as such you have to look at the coach. Either that or you want to say your skilled players aren't as good. Moreover, Kulikov and Gorges are not the top 4 D on most good teams are they? I mean.. losing a SUPERSTAR player is more impactful than losing a STAR player... and so on. Eichel and ROR are great players... but they are not yet Stamkos and Price.

Also interestingly enough the Sabres give up an average of 1 more shot per game when Nilsson is in net. If I did the math correctly Lehner is averaging 31.07 shots per game and Nilsson 32.25. Now I am not sure how many shots attempted there were.. that would take longer to figure out.. I'd start Nilsson. He looks more composed overall.

Play 10 minute 5 on 5 overtime. Reward winning with 2 points, lose or tie no one gets any points. Let's see how many teams play conservative then.

Great game... but the lag in the second period was painful at times. So few shots on net... Still, they have to beat the top notch teams.. hopefully it keeps rolling for them.

You are correct.. there has to be a chain of command. What you are not correct about is what that chain HAS to be.... in the case of the Bills and the GM and Coach the Coach reported to the owner. This is changing, but it wasn't the case. A more nuanced point is that Pegula would have been wise to inform Whaley of the situation ahead of time and those two work together to craft a unified statement to the public. Pegula is very guilty of making poor organizational design and personnel decisions. He is certainly pretty poor at PR lately as well. Is he learning or is he just inept... that remains to be seen.

Eichel was called out in a game a few weeks ago about not hustling back and then proceeded to show some serious skating the next game to make up for it. I don't think he's feeling it that much. I think he's there physically, just not mentally. He can burn, he's just not choosing too. And I hope he expects more from himself.. I've no doubt he's every bit the competitor we want him to be... I just want to see it.

I was going to be there... I figured I would stop and watch the game before continuing onto Erie to spend the night before a double-header youth hockey matchup on Sunday... But then my son went and screwed everything up by getting himself in trouble.. so he gets no reward of seeing the game and hence... neither do I. Sigh.

I'm just looking for improvement out of the the players who need to be improving. If Eichel wants to bitch about the Sabres level of effort then he needs to set the example. Gliding behind plays, stupid passes into covered areas, and weak puck play along the boards is not the best example. If he wants to be the leader, then he needs to show it. So, I'd like to see Eichel, Reinhart, and Ristolainen put this team on their backs and say.. this is how we are going to play.

Here's the thing... The Bills don't actually suck as bad as people might think. The coaches were idiots. Ryan took a very good defense and managed to make it worse and then hired his brother and it became even worse than before. Two defensive "gurus" and the defense declined? Meanwhile, the offense is throwing up points. I'd say keep Lynn and go get Jim Scwartz back for defense. As for the Sabres... the injuries play a part in this. The talent isn't at the development point it needs to be and so all injuries are still significant (especially the players that have been missing). There are a few players that have been out or could be out and the team might improve but at the very least stay at the same level. Losing Eichel, ROR, Kane, and now Larsson creates a huge problem for the team. That said.. coaching is still a big issue.. something is still rotten in the locker room.. perhaps its the owners.

Well... you have to wonder what's happening with these franchises and the Pegula family now. The Bills debacle has certainly opened the door to the questions. It could lend to why Murray has been real quiet so far as well. Perhaps Bylsma was pushed by Pegula and Murray's distancing himself from the show? I think it's only a matter of time now before the question gets asked to him.