LTS

Sorry, it was discussion on NHL Radio on Sirius. I was listening to it the other day while driving 3 hours. The players very much want this because they're looking to get into that UFA status as early as possible. The league wants it so they can be out of bad contracts quicker. I think it will happen and I think the UFA age might drop as well. There was a lot of discussion on that. I can see the arguments..

I am concerned. Because at some point the penalties stop getting called and you have to find a way to put the puck in the net 5v5. Right now I am happy they are cashing in on the PP, but 5v5 will be critical.

I think Okposo and a pick or a player are destined for Seattle. Not sure how receptive Okposo would be to that but I would think that it might be the hopeful target for Botterill.

The general consensus is that players and the league are looking to shorten contracts overall. The target being the 5 year mark for the major contracts. It's expected that in the next CBA the current 7 year (8 year) limit is reduced to 5 year (6 year). This should change things considerably. I think a lot of what happens will depend greatly on the Sabres record on Jan 1. If the team shows signs of faltering then the veterans are likely to look to more established markets. They'll almost force their way out of town by not signing a contract and becoming parts of trades at the trade deadline. I don't think Botterill will have reservations about pulling up 2-3 bodies from Rochester this season if he needs to move people at the deadline. The depth in those roles is established.

Looks like another late night... but it's okay. Go Sabres!

I routinely outpace people on the moving sidewalks.. usually keep pace with those who are "walking" while on them. A mess... the appearance of speed.

They are whatever anyone wants to call them. The point of all of this is that Krueger, the guy who sets the lines, calls it the Larsson line. Since he sets the line, he's the definitive source. After that, everyone else is just labeling it to please themselves. I cannot even fathom why it's being argued.

I wouldn't downplay this victory. Florida is an excellent team with an outstanding goaltender. Their record is not indicative of where they will end up by years end. They are putting on a ton of pressure and are getting a ton of shots and from what I saw, they are getting a lot of good shot opportunities. The Sabres held on there, but they did win it. They've got a long way to go, but so far they are finding ways to win which is great. I agree that this is a regulation win but for the broken stick and the uncalled penalty on Barkov. Mittlestadt needs to learn to play in the crowd. He's got great hands and great vision. I also think he's the kind of player that will benefit from having a linemate that draws attention away from him. It's a great choice to use him in the shootout.

There will be those who agree with you and those who don't. Everywhere. Conversing and responding in the way you do will invite similar type responses back at you. The snark about pretty graphs invites a response from those who support statistics and since you demeaned them you are likely to get a response back about how you love neanderthal hockey or some other snarky insult. Then you wonder why it happens?

Damn Panthers... time to get a W against this team.

NHL 20 is already out.. so it'll have to be NHL 21. ?

I sincerely hope she finds a good lawyer. After going through all of that, she should be entitled to living comfortably for a quite some time. Unfortunately it happens.

Not necessarily. In reality only OLED displays will benefit from this. Other LED screens need to use the LED to generate the "black" so they are still on and therefore still using battery. Not that I don't like night modes.. I happen to. But the battery savings aspect isn't always there.

I'll be curious how minutes might get distributed when Montour is back. I think with the other pairings have young D on them it's leaning towards a bit of sheltering. I have missed a few games.. but I'll say this. they are competing and winning so I'm happy at the moment.

Yes, but I think we have to accept that he's not the player who signed for $6M for a few reasons. He's not going anywhere, so we have to be happy with this level of output otherwise he's a player making $6M who doesn't belong on the team and that's even worse.

And a turdburger ‘in the central time zone for this one... could make it tough to see with dinner requirements... I mean, I might stream it on the phone a bit..:)

Kid had his own puck drop at 6:45pm tonight. The arena WiFi let me down a bit but I managed to stream a good portion of the game by propping the phone up in the scorer's box (I run the clock). Thankfully our game went quickly (team won, 6-1, and my son was moved up from D to center and netted 2 goals and had an assist, not bad). Shot home and was able to watch most of the 2nd and 3rd on TV. Dayumn. I mean, I'm holding reservation until they play within their own division, but if they play hockey like this and lose, I can live with it. It's clear, at least for now, you are going to have to outwork the Sabres and they aren't going to make it easy. But hell yeah to the atmosphere in the arena... regardless of where things go, people should hang onto that feeling. That's what can be.... and hopefully what "is".

It;s not summer anymore. ?

I'm up... my kid has a game during the Sabres game.. sigh. But I will see what I can... if I can. Hope it's more of the same from the first game.

No truth to the rumor that the hockey gods declared that the Leafs shall not win in the next 5 years in response....

You're new here... so let me just post this link and then you can lock the thread yourself. http://www.startribune.com/casey-mittelstadt-lifting-gophers-with-strong-start-to-college-career/454779223/ Have a great day.

I didn't watch every minute of pre-season, but I recall Dahlin turning the puck over quite a bit. This might be one reason to lower his minutes. Also, by lowering his minutes you reduce the workload as it stretches across the season. That said, the trend could reverse itself in other games too. If you believe your D pairings are somewhat equal, then perhaps you are rotating who is eating up minutes each night. It would be a different concept, but when I look at the Sabres D, I don't see a clear 1D pairing. McCabe looked good, but Risto is still Risto and if he drags that pair down on a night perhaps the Miller-Dahlin pairing is expected to step up. We shall see. Dahlin will need to prove himself and I think we should be confident that it will happen.

Now the euphoria has worn off. I'm still working through the first cup of coffee. They were good. Now they need to prove they can be consistently good. They will still struggle against top teams, but they have to believe that changes they've made to their game play can lead to success. It's just game 1...

I forgot to add that next weekend I will be in Pittsburgh for my son's hockey tournament. Gonna need that new 50th sweater to wear around town ?