LTS

That’s grade A BS. You can choose to retain quality and accept that people will wait. Turning out a crappy product because you got popular is a cop out to me. People show up and they get your B game and think ... meh, not worth the hype. Don’t compromise... or at least don’t make excuses when you do.

That’s awful. Things are stacking up against the Jets to be certain.

Oh.. I’m getting there. In Munich right now. Lufthansa... but they have some flights going. I’m getting in later tonight, but I’m getting in. So even if today is a wash, the rest of trip is not. Even making the best of the layover.

Patiently waiting in Newark. The next stop is Munich.. my 5 hour layover there will be full of bier. I’d still like to make the Athletic meet up.. I figure I’ll saunter in fashionably late after getting to Arlanda at 5:30 pm. Bags, customs... travel not on the express... but still , In the hotel, then out of the hotel.. and let it begin.

The Ducks in Prague?

The problem with working around the problem is the price on last minute bookings. It would be another $1k just to get it squared away. It’s basically paying an extra $1k for a ticket.. not worth it.. and frankly, not affordable in my economic playbook. lufthansa has been offline most of the day, but as I was working my way through a refund, literally waiting on hold for 5 minutes for them to arrange the final details I received text that I was rebooked out of Munich. I’ll get to ARN 3 hours later..but I WILL get there. She came back from hold to ask for my final confirmation and I was able to save the trip. now I am sitting in Rochester waiting for my flight to Newark.. which is delayed. But I had time to kill. hell of a day so far...

No, I am still in Rochester. I was supposed to leave in 2 hours. Right now it's not looking good. Sitting on hold most of the time to get a run around... We'll see how all this plays out. Train from Munich to Stockholm was like 18 hours.. ? I looked. The flights are expensive too. Tacking on more money, just to get there, really ruins the economics of the trip. Better cutting my losses.

Well.. *****. Lufthansa just canceled all flights in Germany due to a strike. Wonderful. Now to try and figure out a resolution here.

It's getting real... packing up the suitcase tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long.. day?

?

Lay it on me tour guide! I'm not going to Malmo, so we're good.

Careful, you capitalized Him... that may incite some people.

I'm gonna do my best to get a Uppsala/Sigtuna trip in. Shouldn't be hard. I had contemplated Malmo but 4 hours out and back might make it impossible to pull off. I might just head out the Archipelegos and see what i can see. It's so close now.. the excitement.. it's real. I did add a whatsapp account, so if anyone wants it, just PM me.

Or.. Asplund.. a Swede. ? Honestly, I think they'll play him one game. This is one of those things that goes outside the numbers and falls squarely into the psychology of the game. You start your Swedish players, in Sweden, and the team bonds better, they have more faith in leadership, etc. Maybe it translates into better odds of winning down the road, maybe not. I'm not saying it will happen, but I can certainly see it happening.

The comment about bottom 5 really is meant in an overall tone. Truth is, any team can be struggling at any time, and when you play them, you should beat them unless you are in the same boat. It's similar to getting worked up that the Sabres just lost to a team that has won 9 games in a row. The Islanders may very well not end the season at the top of the league, but right now, they are the hottest team in the league. It's clicking and losing to them 1-0 on a fluke goal isn't something to get all worked up over. Which is how we started this discussion isn't it? Now, the Capitals loss, sure. That was a colossal screw up. They happen, but you hope they don't happen often. Discussions like these are exactly why analytics get brought up. They attempt to define the debate. But as we all know, it doesn't get fully defined to the end. It's all probabilities until it happens.

I'll finalize my logistics tomorrow morning I think. It's looking a lot like the public transportation option from the airport since I'll be paying for the 7 day pass anyway. @steveoathkind of talked me into it, despite the transfer fee. The express is just too much. I'm still up in the air what to do on Sat-Tues. I'm heavily leaning on Malmo on the 10th for the St. Martin Goose Festival.. who knows. O'Leary's at 7:30pm on the 7th. MODO has his arrangement on the 8th. I'd have to go look it up at this point.

It's a fair point I think. Perhaps a new thread for the discussion of the upcoming games themselves? I realize this thread started off with the announcement but it did quickly turn into logistics. At this point, all Sabres talk for upcoming games would be focused on the Sweden trip so it might make sense to have a separate thread.

You are your record. I would say that if you are bound to be a top 20 team and you've only played bottom 5 teams your record might not accurately reflect the end outcome. I don't go in for all the metrics. I can appreciate them, but I still maintain the eye test. This team has played better than last year. At the same time, this team needs to beat teams in its division who were seemingly going to be better than them. The league is shaking out and yes the Blues are the best example of ANYTHING can happen. This team is shaking off the last year of crap that was piled on it. I'm looking for a solid finish that sets up nicely for the next 5-7 years. Bad decisions are not easily overcome all the time. As for the stress? I dunno. I've lived through stressful moments and I'm just not keen on letting a hockey team bring me back there. I would imagine it's different for everyone and so be it. But, stress is bad for you. That 's all.

Double-check the SL train time. I was looking at the current rides and it says 1:17min for me. There are a few transfers. I will check again tomorrow around the same time. Keep in mind the 120SEK transfer fee to go from airport to commuter.

As with most things in the world, you are free to feel any way you would like. This does not spare your viewpoint from being analyzed by those who feel differently. As you have just criticized my stance that people should adjust their viewpoint and realize the team for what it is. It's fair. My goal is not to take a shot at the fans but rather to provide a viewpoint wherein setting appropriate expectations based on the composition of the team relative to the rest of the league provides a way to reduce the stress people feel over the team.

Thanks, pretty much echoes what I have read. Just debating paying the 500SEK compared to 200SEK for Flygbussarna, or even cheaper if I choose FlixBus.. which is like $5 each way. That said.. the ease and speed of the Express might seal the deal. Is anyone going to try and attend The Athletic meetup at O'Leary's on the 7th?

Out of curiosity, how are people planning to travel from Arlanda to Stockholm? I've read about Flygbussarna, Flixbus, Arlanda Express, and more. My head is spinning... but i was thinking about Flixbus and then possibly Uber or just walk (pending weather).

For the bolded.. there are only 16 teams who compete for the same thing. We're talking about the playoffs, not the regular season. Overall, I get your point. The alternative at the moment is that the intra-division quarter finals create rivalries that the 1-8 matchups don't necessarily create. Do I care? No. Do some people, yes, I suppose they do. That said, using the 1-8 system begs the question as to why even bother with divisions? If you used a 1-16 system you'd ask the same thing about conferences... or at least I would. There are arguments to say, pair up the winner of each division to get to the final. There is an argument for pairing up the conference winners.. I can see all angles and I suppose that's why, at the end of it all, I just don't care enough. You play the season to get in, you play the playoffs to win. Who cares who's next up.. you win and move on. I'm not dismissing the argument you are making, I could live with any format based on 50% of the teams making the playoffs (thinking ahead to Seattle). I would support an argument that says 6 from each.. I'd just never support more than 50% (again, 16 of 31 teams not withstanding at present).

Much ado about nothing. Surely didn't read the whole thread, but that game was awful, top to bottom. One seriously fluke goal. Both teams had chances. The Sabres are much improved over last year, but they aren't where they need to be. I've no illusions. The only thing that is messing with the plan is that Tampa and Toronto have been absolute disasters this year. This leads people to believe the Sabres are something more than they are... I thought Toronto would be better.. I would have never imagined the situation happening in Tampa. I dunno... I'm fine with tonight. I wanted them to win, but that was one of those absolute shite games that happen in a season. Last night was far worse. The Isles are on a tear of 9 straight now, so they've been rolling. Oh well, move on. Crush Tampa in Sweden and people will feel better... maybe.

In Rochester it's 318. There's also a station in the 30-100 range, but I can't remember it.