LTS

I thought his hit on Talbot was outstanding. The Sabres looked far more patient tonight with the puck. The game against Montreal they were all stone hands. Pucks were bouncing off sticks like crazy. It reminded me of the Nolan system. Tonight was much more like last year. Patience with the puck and make a good outlet pass. That said, Edmonton is not as physical as Montreal or as fast. Montreal's speed was a huge factor. Forget where I heard it but it was somewhere on the broadcast tonight... Edmonton and Toronto are both playing a "hell with the defense" style right now. If they can't get the goals they are going to be in trouble because they will give some up. It's entertaining... if you win. Like what I am seeing.. but Franson is killing me. Each time he touches the puck I cringe that something bad is going to happen.

That's a neck more than anything.

And. That. Was. Beautiful. Too.

That. Was. Beautiful.

Watched most of the Bills game.. got chicken breast and pork chops on the smoker for a between game meal... and yes.. beer. I'm ready.

Emelin does push him.. as he's supposed to do. If you look at Kane's left skate he isn't on the inside edge and it allows him to end up going over and into the boards. Emelin is not cheap on that because in most situations the player is going to lean hard on his inside edge and he'll push back into Emelin and their strength will cancel out. In this case, because Kane is not angling his skate he's opened himself up and boom. It's not cheap, it's a good hockey play and an unfortunate consequence. Icing does not even come into play here. It wouldn't have been icing in the first place and Kane touches the puck... it hadn't crossed the line either, so even if he misses it the whistle would not blow because icing cannot be in effect until the puck crosses the line. The race condition you are referring to only comes into play once the puck crosses the end line. I hope Jack Eichel doesn't come back and start skating as hard as Kane because if he gets injured like that what will this place do? Go fast.. but not too fast, but don't float or go slow either... now speed up here, but slow down there.. you idiot, you suck. But I guess Jack is a good skater so it wouldn't happen... because McDavid sucks on his skates and he didn't have nearly the same thing happen to him last year. Sigh... Hope Kane isn't too injured and that he can come back soon.

Good goal on account of the Sabres not being able to clear the crease. Ridiculous. Weak play. Watch Carr just lumberjack at Lehner. Sigh.

Loving Larsson more and more. He tracks the puck like a hound on a Fox.

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. :)