DarthEbriate

They should probably trade for Farabee. He wants to be here.

Not out!

Harrumph. Go to the net, put the puck on net.

The Sabres got their legs going at the end of the first and throughout the second, but Calgary is winning the races lately.

Rosen lost his coverage on Frost. Dang.

Blech.

That's how the Sabre Sale Team gets you!

Sportsnet rolling the Rob Ray dig on Stuart Skinner (empty net, no difference from when the goalie was in). Seriously, that shouldn't be a viral thing. He's a homer color broadcaster. They're supposed to talk a bit of smack.

For my part, tonight is a simple Bifrost (Elysian's winter ale). They've sold out, but their beer is still decent.

It's the Reverse Granato. He knew defense, fell apart for a bit, but is learning offense.

Keep drinking! We must do our part.

Muel-PO has been adjusted.

Woohoo!

No one skating and only 5 shots on goal (that counted) is not exactly This is how we play now.

Finally in. Dunne, you don’t have that much time in the NHL.

Definitely needs more consistency. One thing in his defense this season: Early on, when the Amerks were missing only Dunne and R Johnson, he was lights-out. When the Amerks were missing Rosén, Östlund, Dunne, and some combination of Jones/Metsa, he's been a lot worse statistically. I want to see him steal some games when he's missing the big guns.

The market is set. Tuch is half a year older, but both are 29. Top-line wingers on their team for 5 years running (except at times when TNT isn't at center). Kempe is the slightly better scorer. Since Tuch joined the Sabres, Kempe has played in 38 more games, but otherwise they are close. Kempe has a much higher shot volume (he gets the shots on net, and not rimming around the boards and out of the zone, hey-oh!) https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/hockey/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=forall&year_min=2022&year_max=2026&player_id1=tuchal01&player_id2=kempead01 Kempe GP 338 145-143-288 +58 PIM 223 PPG 30 SHG 10 GWG 25 1046 SOG point share 34.3 Tuch GP 300 113-146-259 +38 PIM 166 PPG 15 SHG 10 GWG 20 790 SOG ps 28.4

The issue with the standings isn't that they're only 4 points back, it's that every single team in the East currently has a better points percentage than the Sabres. Any team could get hot at any point in time and the Sabres need to be one of the teams to do it soon so they aren't looking up at 7 teams still between them and the final wild card berth with so many head-to-head matchups going to OT. Tampa and Boston are already starting to stack wins where they could get clear of the .500ish mass.

He could... if he's traded or some form of sign/trade or with an extension announced as part of the offer so the Sabres get a bit more in the return.

If Zucker draws into the lineup tonight, I want him in protected minutes. For tonight, I'd have him take Rosén's spot in the lineup, and then have Östlund or Krebs each take a couple of his shifts. I keep Östlund in the lineup because of the 2-goal night vs. Edmonton and his ability to create more. Zucker takes Östlund's spot by the net on the PP and Östlund kicks out the half-wall. Once Zucker plays a couple games and is full strength, then the line he naturally fits on is current defensive matchup line: Greenway - Kozak -Krebs Zucker.

With regards to "buyout proofing" - my understanding is it's not about preventing the buyout, it's about preserving the cash coming to the player post-buyout. The signing bonus are essentially the player's guaranteed money, while the base salary is what gets cut down to 2/3 or 1/3 after the buyout. So, the contrast Skinner's recently bought-out Sabres contract (2 signing bonus seasons of $7.5M = $15M guaranteed https://capwages.com/players/jeff-skinner What was left of his $57M base was subject to the 2/3 reduction. vs. Necas' new deal with Colorado (signing bonuses each season to the sum of $60.4M, even if bought out https://capwages.com/players/martin-necas And he only has the buyout reduction applied to up to $31M in remaining base salary.

This is how we play now? The important thing is to go to the center of the ice and drive the net, whether it's weak-Oilers-defense, whatever Calgary has, or big-bad Zadorov and the Bruins. The Sabres need to use their speed and attack the net. If Rosén/Östlund or TNT revert to settling for perimeter shots (and there's no screen and the goalie makes it look easy), the vibes will sway right back the other direction.

Savoie is where Rosén was last year. Will he get better? Probably. I think he had one decent look with a shot when the game was tied. Otherwise, he was just another one of the Oilers' bottom 9 that didn't particularly do anything.

Podkolzin was addressing Krebs' hit/almost-boarding on McDavid. Krebs was game to go for it and was throwing before the linesman could make up his mind to let them go. That's not a fight Greenway can (or should) step in for. As to value, Krebs is a better 5-on-5 option, but Greenway's PK ability is his foremost skill and he has muscle that Krebs will never dream of. Really, Greenway is the role of Geertsen on this team except he doesn't go looking to fight, but he has the strength to hold off anyone. Case in point: Greenway was the reason Tom Wilson missed half the WSH game this season. Greenway crunched a player, Wilson wanted to fight and got all the extra PIMs and Greenway simply tied him up the entire scrap. Maybe Geertsen is a better fighter, but Greenway just wore Wilson out.

They'll look better if/when they get RNH and Kapanen back in the lineup. But it may not matter unless they trade all the goodz for Luukkonen. They need a goalie.