TrueBlueGED

You know it's not happening, right? I think it's pretty clear Murray is wholly uninterested in bolstering the forward depth from the outside.

I have no idea how he corralled that puck and managed a tape to tape pass. Great play.

Was the assistant coach who left the one who ran the PK?

You seem more upset that you had to clean up a fallen tree than the fact said fallen tree totalled your car :lol:

And this appraisal may have happened just in casual friendly conversation. Remember, Jack and Vesey were friends well before the Sabres acquired his rights, well before anyone knew he'd be a UFA for that matter.

The value of +/- as a stat, the value of hits, the value of a defenseman who can't get out of his own zone effectively, the overratedness of faceoffs over the course of a season, the general ineffectiveness of a dump and chase, when to pull the goalie, and more.

If Bylsma's whole thing is a grand experiment, why have we never seen a few things? Eichel on O'Reilly's wing, never. O'Reilly on Eichel's wing, never. O'Reilly on Reinhart's wing, never. I could go on. I just don't buy it at all. Byslma has his notion of who belongs where and does not deviate until injuries force his hand. Speaking of injuries forcing his hand... The fact that it takes a bunch of injuries for him to put players where they are best suited is damning. His judgment is all off. Reinhart at center for an extended stretch? Nope, not until he has literally no other options. McCabe with Risto? Nope, not until Gorges gets hurt. How long did it take him to try Larsson as a matchup center last year? Until O'Reilly's injury? And so on. I don't have time to respond to the rest, it it's been a fear of mine that he and Murray really are on the same page. In that case, the results speak, and they don't speak highly of that page.

-"Defensive defenseman" is simply a term used by people to describe a bad defenseman in a way that gives value to that player. -A defenseman's first job is not defense. His fist job is the same as everybody else's: help the team win. -If Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky switched eras in which they played, Sid would be The Great One. -Zemgus Girgensons is a good player, and still the best fit for Jack's LW on the roster. -The nets should be bigger. -The biggest myth in the world is that having a guy who can fight is a deterrent. -The only "physical play" that matters at all is willingness and ability to engage in puck battles. Everything else is a stylistic preference, not a contributor to winning. -Most of the blowback against analytics is because people's brains won't let them believe things they've "known" for 40 years are wrong. -As frustrating as it is to see his passes flubbed, the best wingers for Eichel are not necessarily the most skilled. He needs wingers who do the dirty work for him, can cover defensively, and play off the puck well. At least one of them has to do this, anyway. -Labeling lines as 1-2-3 is an antiquated notion that stifles quality conversation. -The 4th line is not a place to stuff players because that can't play hockey beyond hitting--it can and should be designed to be a contributor.

We match up well with the Rangers. They win by having great scoring depth and creating dangerous chances in transition. Our neutral zone defensive scheme does a pretty good job of neutralizing those types of chances. Additionally, their blue line is pretty slow footed outside of McDonagh, so our chip n chase does allow us to get behind them with a reasonable chance of recovering the puck, unlike against other teams. So it's not just luck, but luck plays a part. For instance, even though he's having a down year, Lundqvist was still worse last night than he's been playing this season. We got lucky to hit a goalie on an off night. Wasn't the first time it happened this year, won't be the last. Good teams lose to bad teams. And so on. It happens, doesn't mean it's evidence that prior conclusions about bad team being bad are wrong.

You're deader to me than my grandparents, all of whom are actually dead.

Nice. It's also always worth keeping in mind that hockey is a pretty random sport game to game, and this fact can usually explain an individual weird result.

Unsurprising. Last I looked they were near the bottom of the league in shot suppression; they just make up for it with really high end shot generation. It's like a modern incarnation of firewagon hockey.

Yea, I had to go with the OT goal because of everything involved with it.

Of course they did, because Toronto. That team is an unmitigated disaster defensively. Still super fun, though.

Yup. This team is better without him.

Hell of a move by Bailey there.

That passing sequence was glorious. I was hoping for a howitzer one-timer, but I'll take it.

To be clear, this isn't about what we have or don't have. It's entirely about them, their "tanking with dignity" and "perfect tank" and the hilarious ass-kissing coverage they got from the media, and their fans who have a completely unjustified sense of self-importance. I hate the whole thing. F 'em.

It doesn't. I hate Toronto, its fans, and its media with a burning passion. I wanted nothing more than for them to continue to wallow in terribleness while running Tyler Bozak as their top center forever.

I do. Because Toronto. I'm unreasonably upset they have him.

Me too, and the prettier the better. (Yes, I just saw the Matthews assist and I'm mad)

It's better without him. If Gorges were playing like he is now, but was a rookie as opposed to a vet, he'd have been banished to Rochester ages ago.

Imagine Scott Stevens back in the day with that kind of a hit lined up? Yikes.

I don't think Gionta's speed is a problem at all. His stick length and reach, on the other hand...

I do what I want, especially if you don't want it.