LTS

The KHL will take him.

Given that many games they have out shot their opponent this year I'm not sure this is valid criticism. The talent is thin on this team and with 3 of the top 9 players out this is what you will see. Tack on the late trip back from Colorado and you had the makings of a bad game.

:w00t:

Lehner can't save Hawking, he can't save anything. A few bad games and he's getting grilled. Absolutely smoked even.

I love using Rye in my grain bill when brewing. Love Rye Beers.. love rye whiskeys. Rye bread... you're a good man Charlie Brown.

So tonight you two either WIN or Win. Depending on the Sabres outcome. Awesome stuff. Go Sabres!

McGinn is being set up for a good opportunity. Let's play hypothesis time. McGinn was a throw-in to equal the ROR trade but GMTM does not want him GMTM and DD boost his value by playing him top line minutes and increasing his scoring. - McGinn value gets Sabres better trade value. - McGinn gets a shot at the playoffs. - McGinn contract value in the off-season goes up. - GMTM and DD get points with players who see they are willing to do little things for players that have big value. Not bad... Either way.. I've always been a fan of McGinn so I want him here.. but I accept a trade at the deadline with the hope that he comes back. If you love someone... :)

Dumb move. Horrible advice. Don't want him anywhere near the Sabres. Frankly, I think a lot of GMs probably wonder how much of his draft status should now be attributed to MacKinnon and not Drouin's overall ability. Between that and him taking his puck and going home I'm not buying in on him regardless of the circumstances.

I don't know. I look at this team and realize that now they score on the PP which they didn't do last year. I think to myself that when the Sabres can compress their talent into two lines they are able to score. This means that either the rest of the team sucks or they are having a down year, or both. So, I would suspect as they filter in new talent the scoring should increase in 5 on 5. Look at the Bruins abysmal 5 on 5 scoring. I think the same thing is happening there but they are on the decline. Good stuff. Here's the thing though. Different coaching systems might account for some of the reason why the increase is not higher. more below... And here is where I bring that up. What if Ennis and Moulson just do not play well in the DD system? We should expect a decrease in their scoring. Perhaps they were better suited for the Nolan way of life or some other coaching style? It's clear we have some who are flourishing (Risto, Eichel, McGinn, Kane, O'Reilly, Reinhart). A talented player can be diminished by the role a coach requires him to play. We saw this with Ovechkin. We attributed a lot of that to Lindy Ruff too. I don't think all the pieces fit yet. So the 5 on 5 scoring remains improved but not as improved as it could be based on those factors. I don't know how much of it is the coach yet.

I interpreted your increase in rating as coming from the sheer amount of people who voted for John Scott somehow also wanting to watch him play hockey. I suppose there are some fans who will tune in. I know I won't. I couldn't care less about the ASG. Skills competition, yes. Ding ding ding.

With my TV channels fixed I plan on enjoying this game.

Gotta disagree here. I'd be amazed if the vast Internet wastoids actually expend effort to tune into a game. The amount of energy it took to vote for John Scott is far less than it take to actually watch the game. I'm not going to go out and find supporting evidence right now but I'm going to bet we can all agree that People + Internet = Stupid. Simple facts in this. The NHL decided to allow fan voting and over the past few years has seen evidence where something like this would happen. They chose NOT to do anything about it. Why? Well, it sure gets everyone talking, even those who don't follow hockey. The only people who care if John Scott plays in the ASG are fans who are not going to stop watching the NHL. The vast majority of people won't care and won't remember this by the start of March. However, they'll have been exposed to the NHL brand in some way and it might add a viewer or two. As far as what John Scott should have done... it's his decision. Are there any statements made by teammates or other players saying he should decline the honor? Fans voted. He's giving the fans what they "wanted". But at least we have something to talk about.

Only a truly androgynous society can save us from ourselves. It's time for humanity to become asexual. Society apparently wants us all to be equal and by equal we'll all be the same and by the same we'll all be clones. So, I'm just going to say it. Either you all start looking and acting like me or you shall be declared in violation of the laws of civilization and must be punished.

So last night I drive home from youth hockey practice through the lake effect snow storm, pour myself a nice glass of something tasty and sit down to watch the Sabres game. What do I see? Well, a highly pixelated screen and not much of a game. Awesome. Can't just be MSG right? I check NHL Network, same thing. NBCSN, same thing. No hockey for me tonight! More stations are screwed up as well but not all of them... just the ones I want to watch. Check NBCSN streaming on TWC and it's fine. Be nice if MSG and TWC had a streaming agreement... but they don't. So I missed the game and get to wait for a TWC technician to visit. Not a happy person. The best is when I asked if they could activate the NHL Center Ice package for the Coyotes feed to see if it worked and TWC rep tells me the Sabres vs. Coyotes aren't on the NFL channels.... really? No kidding.. and umm oh by the way TWC.. you don't have THOSE NFL channels. Sigh... I missed a good one.

Oy. So, if she portrays a fairly kind persona in public but behind closed doors is a tough person to work for then I don't think there is any harm in saying she's not as sweet as she seems. It doesn't say she sucks at running the organization. I don't pay any attention to her one way or the other but my inclination was to believe that she was competent in the operations and business dealings of the two teams given how involved she has been. There are likely more strange things to shake out when this is all said and done. I don't doubt that the Pegulas are also realizing that the people who advised them in their financial dealing when drilling wells are not the same people they want advising when trying to operate professional sports franchises. Moreover, as they have become more intertwined in the workings of the two leagues I am sure they are also gaining contacts from which to pull resources and learning that perhaps people who put on a good show in the beginning aren't the one's who can get things done.

I thought about it more (and it's not the middle of the night). RJ has become the soundtrack to Sabres hockey for me. Most of the time I don't even know that I am listening to him while watching what is happening on the screen. I hear him. His voice pulls the proper emotion from me while I am visually taking in the game and hearing the skates, sticks, pucks, and chatter on the ice. Take away the soundtrack from a movie and it's dull and lifeless. That's how I feel about RJ calling Sabres games. Without him there's something missing.

Indeed. RJ makes mistakes. He's not what he was in his prime but not many are... I happened to catch another game on TV a few days ago. I'd tell you who it was but i was so damned bored listening to the conversation that was happening while play was live that I turned it off. Honestly, the two announcers were talking about non-hockey items during the live play. It was horrible. So, even half an RJ works for me. I can also live with Dunleavy but RJ will be RJ and that voice still sounds close to what it has been the mistakes aside. For me? That's all I need, especially if I am watching the game and don't need the perfect description.

Am I really up right now? Oh man. :) Can't wait to catch this game. Always had a soft spot for Arizona.. mostly because I love the state.

It was from the side. And his arm finishes as though he's thrown a punch it's so high. He clearly targeted the head. Given the fact that White is a joke of an NHL player as well it would be nice to see him get an in person. But that won't happen.. because the NHL. I still wonder why the NHLPA can't advocate for itself here. Why can't the NHL simply say it will abide by the punishment decision made by the union that represents these players makes? I find it rather amazing that they keep blaming the NHL and yet the NHLPA does nothing.

Hmmm.. Hagelin to Pittsburgh for Perron and Clendening. - http://www.tsn.ca/penguins-get-hagelin-in-three-player-trade-1.423977 Also quoted Bob Murray - ""There's more than just him that's probably out there available right now, let's leave it at that," Murray said. "We're looking at a whole bunch of things. We know he's there, but there's a few others out there, too, that haven't requested trades."" So Anaheim trades Etem for Hagelin. Etem is gone from NYR and now Hagelin is gone. Perron never fit in Pittsburgh and he's gone from the trade last season to Pittsburgh. The jockeying has begun. Perron a UFA just freed Hagelin's $4M from Anaheim over the summer. Picking up Clendening could potentially pave the way for them to move Fowler?

Never. Ristolainen is on the path to be a Top 5 D in the league. He's absolutely one of the best D the Sabres have ever had. Coller is an idiot. Pysyk was back for 1 game and was not played for that 1 game. He's not suddenly not playing. Pysyk is the kind of player no one values until he is gone. He doesn't light up the board, he doesn't level the forwards. He simply takes the puck, moves it up ice quickly, and goes about his business. It's too bad most people need big hits or G/A to determine the value of defense. Trade him.. this team will suffer immeasurably. Bogosian hasn't exactly played on a team that lights it up has he? I don't think he's anything amazing and certainly there are far better D that have been drafted at the spot he was but I'm not sure PPG is a good stat on teams that generally don't score much. (If I am mistaken on Winnipeg's scoring ability, then I apologize). I do agree with your assessment on his boneheaded decisions. I've seen improvement overall as of late but there are still many moments where I wonder. Then again, I also wonder how much he is trying to overdo things because he's with McCabe. I like McCabe but he's got some positional issues without a doubt.

Ding ding. Apparently at age 18 every player should be the top level ultra-elite #1, starter who never plays poorly. Not to mention Murray is heralded as a top level talent evaluator. A LITTLE faith would be good, eh? No damn patience anymore. One game back and everyone wants to throw him to the wolves. Imagine if you were banned for one moderately bad post on this forum? Wouldn't that be a hoot? Lehner played fine last night. His positioning was sound. His rebound control was pretty good. The weakest goal in my opinion was the one off the wall. He missed the deflection. He was clearly looking to direct that puck off the stick to the boards to his right and it went under and then in off his legs. McCabe is the reason for the one in front and Lehner couldn't see a thing in the seeing-eye puck from the point. String him up though. He's washed out.

It's a joke. The NHL ASG is a joke. They should have removed fan voting a long time ago (and never included it). The level to which they are stooping with John Scott is insane. Frankly, he should sue them and claim a conspiracy. If there is evidence they asked him to decline and THEN when he doesn't they send him down? Bring it... John Scott suing to be the Commish of the NHL. :) But really.. he was voted in and I do believe they get some money for that right? So are they not depriving him of his ability earn money?

It's a conspiracy to undo what the fans have wanted. :) Strange.. I had postulated what would happen if someone claimed him on re-entry waivers (before I was reminded that those no longer exist). And then this happens....

The Bruins have one the best cheap shot artists in the league. Physical or not everyone is at risk of a season ending injury from that guy. I love any loss by the Bruins. But if the Sabres can just blow them up it will make the booze taste that much better tonight.