LTS

Posted in the Ennis thread... summarized here: 17 of Sabres first 24 games are against teams that are higher than they are in the GA ranking in the NHL. The Sabres are 17. I don't think everyone else can say that yet. Give it time.

We're all over the Sabres lack of scoring. The top 17 in GA in the NHL include: Canadiens, Predators (6), Sharks (9), Islanders (10), Lightning (8), Stars (11), Blues (15), Panthers (14), Senators (16), Devils (5), Penguins (4) (with the Sabres at 17) The Sabres have played: Senators - 1 Lightning - 4 Panthers -2 Canadiens - 1 Devils - 1 Penguins - 1 Islanders - 1 Stars - 2 Blues - 1 So, 14 of their 20 games have been against teams near the top 50% of the league in GA. 3 of their next 4 are against teams in the top 50% (Blues, Preds x 2) When they are done with November they will have played 17 of 24 games against teams that give up less goals per game than the Sabres. I'm not ready to blow anything up yet.

Said in the STL GDT. Sabres are scoring better than Detroit and Anaheim. I don't feel bad.

<conspiracy_theory> Go back and rethink the decisions on player usage with the following in mind. 1. The Sabres do not want to make the playoffs this year. 2. The goal of this season is to show they can compete. 3. The Sabres will get a lottery pick in 2016. </conspiracy_theory> Now.. that said.. NHL network had a stat up today on the Sabres being the 5th lowest scoring team in the league. Anaheim and Detroit were tied or below them. I don't feel so bad anymore. Didn't see the game.. can't comment more than that.

I'll be flying back from Dallas during this one. Was strange watching the Sabres vs. Stars game in a sports bar in Dallas. No one even cared it was on. Sigh. I was hoping I'd still be here so I could go watch them play the Stars but alas that did not happen. I feel so out of touch being away for a few days. Go Sabres...

Well, he's on the third line and 6th in points. Now he's a +1. I see him out there actually hitting people as well. Perhaps he's not been put in the best position to score but he's still more reliable on the ice than everyone but Reinhart. On THIS team I think it's what you are going to get for his $5M, at this time. That said, it doesn't seem to be so bad. It's the idea of what Moulson was in the past versus what he is here to do now. I do believe his scoring will improve as the season moves on as well. We shall see.

I can't get over the opinion that Moulson is not contributing or below expectations. He is 6th on the team in scoring and at an even +/-. He is 4-5 minutes lower in TOI and 4-6 less shifts per game than those above him (two are D) What is he doing wrong? Is he not flashy enough? Does he not shut people down enough? He's here to contribute scoring and clearly he is doing that. Gio is here for other reasons and he's really more of the steadying mentality. His production could be a bit better but he's dependable. I think the Sabres have a great mix of talent and personalities. The scoring has started to come together and we are seeing times where the Sabres have just pinned other teams in their own zone. We are at game 16 with all of this. Let's see how they do through November against some tough competition.

McCabe. I don't particularly care for Simmonds. I can see why people would want him, but I'm not giving up anything proposed so far for him. I just don't think the Sabres need him. This year is not the year and trying to make it "the year" will mean that next year is likely to be less of "the year". People are antsy to win now and almost at all costs. I get it.. but the patience has to be there. Weakening the already thin depth defense would be a heinous crime. Removing a top 6 forward to get Simmonds does the same thing. No thanks. The Sabres have all the bigger banging forwards they need right now and they have more in the pipeline. We don;'t know how many goals they can score because the past two years they've been on a really bad team. The Sabres have scoring on 3 lines right now. I think any trade that weakens one of them reduces the scoring change and trading a top 6 for a top 6 would be kind of pointless except to change player types and I don't think that's needed either.

I assume the CF boot is enough. Not that I am at all surprised but the discussion from the goaltenders was interesting. Knowing exactly how much more push they have, the gap under the pad, etc.

What is football? :) Truthfully? I can stream the Bills game (I believe) using TWCTV app. I can't stream the Sabres game. So I will have Sabres on TV and stream the Bills game. Unless I can't.. in which case I'm watching the Sabres.

I saw it and wondered if it was illegal. It's not.. that's interesting. As the story goes, everyone knows who plays with an illegal stick out there. No one says anything until the exact moment it's required.

I have to go with McCabe for the positive. I truly expected him to be the roster filler. He could be moved up and down with impunity and I expected that flexibility to be the key factor keeping him in the AHL. He's not going anywhere at this point. He's forced the hand of the Sabres. Ullmark is a surprise but when Lehner comes back he's still going to be sent down to Rochester. He's here because of necessity. He sure is making the most of his time here however. As for Zemgus it's a bit misleading. There are 4 regular roster players on the Sabres who have a positive +/-. Reinhart and Larsson are +1, Zemgus and Pysyk are 0. I know some aren't huge fans of +/- but still. Comparably, Gio is -6. Moulson is -1. Anyway.. the whole team looks really good. These games against DAL, STL, and NSH will be some good benchmarks.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=787521&navid=nhl:topheads Interesting read on goalie skates... This could have gone in the scoring thread or the science thread but there's no scientific evidence that these changes will lead to less scoring. :)

I can watch the game tonight... so, that's a positive for me. Looking forward to it.. as I do every game this year..

The only thing I saw in the McDavid injury was a guy who took a shot and twisted enough to put his center of gravity on the wrong side of his edges. Once that happened he was going to fall over. Given where he was at he was most likely going to come away with some serious hurting. The problem was made worse by him taking out two Flyers defenders with him. I don't see anything cheap there at all. It's an unfortunate play and McDavid is responsible for taking out the Flyers players as well. I don't think anyone is going to cheap shot Eichel. He's already one of the faces of the game. He's likely to get some extra bumps and a few other knock downs but as far as a pure cheap shot goes? I don't think so. There was a ideo posted a few years back that I believe showed Gallagher against the Bruins. He gets dropped by the goalie, then the defender knocks him down, and then he gets knocked down again all while just trying to get out of the Bruins zone and get back into the play. I would expect THAT level of irritation. That said... I do think there is an entire team that is going to come to his defense at this point.

I'm always amazed at how poor the defense plays those moves. We teach the defender to not focus on the puck, the body matters and yet there is another example of the defender staring at Vanek's stick and puck. By the time he realized what was happening Vanek had his arms in the air. Great moves by Vanek to get to the goal.

What are the fancy stats on that? :) Yep. Hard to figure. And the thing is the schedule doesn't happen in a vacuum. So, for DAL, NSH, STL, and TB they've cleared the Sabres off their schedule early which means they are stacking other teams later on as well. Surely there are a variety of good teams to play against? I look at it this way. The Lightning did not have to face Bogosian once. It's just a schedule quirk this year.. can't recall anything that seemed this concentrated before.

The Sabres play the Lightning for the final time this season. Greater than 25% of their games so far have been against the Lightning. Who makes this schedule? It's awful. Go Sabres... I'm just over annoyed at the schedule makers to be all that excited.

There is still a lot to be said for the evolution of protective equipment and the willingness of players to stand in front of shots more. Goalies are bigger, there's no denying that. I agree it's not as bad as it was back then but there are times when it still comes up. That said, it's not always the obstruction that is the problem. Not calling cross-checks also dismisses an opportunity for a power play that could raise scoring.

If it were Johnson you would do it just for the headline. But "Bylsma pulls Linus" doesn't have the same ring.

I believe they studied the NFL for exactly how to execute this. But there is still a good amount of hooking, grabbing, that goes uncalled. Look back at Girgensons being everything short of tackled the other night and no penalty called.

Thank you for the response. With regards to the likelihood I would agree, but I just wanted confirmation of my thinking that he could charge her if it were truly a false accusation. As for the moratorium, thanks for the clarification. I think a better way for me to ask is that do we think it's likely that those who have voluntarily engaged in the moratorium will then release her name or at least use it freely if she is no longer considered a legal "victim". Honestly, i would hope that would not use her name.

The simple solution is to call the penalties that are happening. Allowing the interference, etc. is a way to keep the teams closer together in the standings by not allowing the truly talented to move more freely and create goals. I don't see anything else required at this point.

Another game where I will miss most of it due to coaching... but man.. the key thing is that I will actually MISS it. Go Sabres... keep growing.

I feel exploitation. As in many men being separated from their money for an outcome that will never happen. I laugh. It is what it is... and it's not my thing. Good stuff. Love it.