LTS

Let Reinhart be Moulson's Tavares.

:) A little more fight from Buffalo. But we need those finishers right now.

That's not on him. Kane needed to stay tucked in and leaning into Emelin. He attempts to stand up and he ends up over his edges and it's lights out. Similar to McDavid last year except this was further out from the boards so he slid in full speed.

I'm going with hip injury.

Love hearing that.

For those complaining about the goal. Gallagher is carrying the puck outside of Gorges. At the last moment he changes the release point by pulling it in and wristing it through Gorges. He picks the perfect spot. That's a great goal, tough save and not the fault of the Gorges either.

Foligno... Stupid. Ugh.

And there's RJ. I'm good now. Scary good.

In Rochester I've had pregame and the game the whole time.

Sweater: blank dark blue Beer: Ballast Point Ginger Big Eye Stereo: 11 Let's go Buffalo!

There's video of a Leafs fan in the catwalk shooting Jack's ankle. It's going to be released any day now by Russian hackers who lost a lot of money betting against Matthews over/under for his debut game. Love this.

Look.. here's what I know. My Sabres sweater will be on. My sound system will be blasting. This is the opening of the Sabres season. This is what I wait for every year regardless of what every paid and unpaid analyst has said about this team. This is what I need to get through the long months of winter. Despite any injury, any prognostication of success, this is Buffalo Sabres hockey. I love hockey and no gods are going to take that away from me. I cannot wait until tonight. Oh, and as for hockey gods. As I see it, there is nothing crueler than having your franchise savior score 4 goals and still coming up with a loss. All the credit in the world to Matthews for a great game, but the rest of the Leafs couldn't stop the Senators.

It's not good. Could be better. I'm gonna keep on doing what I do... Could have done without this...

No quote thoughts. Crosby - it's awful. Just too much respect for the guy now. It's a horrible thing for Pens and hockey as was said above. Given the severity of what he's gone through in the past with concussions it makes all that much more scary. I think by saying the "in house" comments Sullivan opened himself up to be scrutinized and basically gave the media dogs rare meat for the locker room. They'll be all over it. Could have simply said that he collided awkwardly with a player at practice and hit his head and boom. Story done. Gaudreau - good on him. Let's hope he can live up to that deal for the next 6 years. He's fun to watch.

This many unsigned players makes me think there is a lot of talking happening behind the scenes. Someone is shopping something out there and everyone's waiting for that to happen before locking in. Either that or you have GMs playing the quiet game of "chicken" on who signs their RFA D man first and establishes the baseline. Either way.... it's entertaining.

If nothing else all the players who play a similar role should serve to push a few to elevate their game a bit. They are fighting for a job on a 3/4 line. It's not easy to get that opportunity inside another organization because most have a plethora 3/4 line players already. So losing out in Buffalo could mean the end of an opportunity. Best case.. too many elevate their games and the Sabres can trade a few away. Not yet however. I think 1 yr contract players are definitely trade bait material if the younger players prove worthy but not at the beginning of the season. If Murray can keep some in the AHL and take advantage of a top level team losing a few players to injury he can maximize his return. If nothing else he waits until the trade deadline. I think one thing is certain, choosing between Foligno, Girgensons, Bailey, Fasching, etc. is not going to the deciding factor of making the playoffs this year.

Ahh yes... I recall that. Of course they weren't winning anyway right so coming up with a slogan on how to lose just a few extra games isn't so bad.. we all know how that is. :)

I thought Edmonton was just incompetent. Saying they tanked is almost giving them credit for having a strategy.

I'm going to go clown hunting instead.

Whether a player is 19, 29, or 39 there is no age aspect to who they will follow. If a 19 year old player walks into the locker room and can act like a captain he will command respect without asking for it. His work ethic and his personality are going to show. If you have more than 1 player who falls into that mold then I would suspect the younger player would defer to the veteran and if the franchise decides that having the younger player as the C is better for marketing I suspect that both the younger and older player will understand the business aspects of that decision and the letter on the sweater will only matter for ceremonial puck drops and trophy presentations.

So I can wear my Sabres sweater then? Do I wear the one signed by a favored whipping boy? Do I wear one from the goathead era? Do I wear a current one? Or maybe.. I'll wear another teams sweater.. just because.

I think you made a typo.

Lehner?

There's a baseball game on? Guess I'll miss it. I could care less, no really I could, if it were a basketball game then I couldn't care less. :) Should be a fun game to watch (the hockey game).

Definitely disagree. Vesey's numbers are showing as Gudas comes in. Every player is trained now to turn their back out to the player coming in because they aren't supposed to get hit. Gudas knows that too. He could have tied Vesey up on the boards but he doesn't. He goes for the big hit and he deserves to get what he's got coming to him. Loved this article. I read it earlier today and was glad someone beat me to sharing it. It's a must read into GM decision making and the facts behind the scenes.