DarthEbriate

Jackikin Eichwalker gets lower-body surgery after a failed attempt to take the high ground.

Casey's high for PP min is last season's 171 and Backstrom only had fewer than that in seasons he skated fewer than 60 games. Most season, Backstrom was over 220 PP minutes (more than 3x what Casey had) feeding guys named Ovechkin and Mike Green. Fiala will be the very top-end of the cap range ($7.875) because he's got a 33-goal season. But nearly everyone with comparable points to Mitts gets a boatload more PP time than he has received. If he were to be a UFA instead of RFA this next season, a team could easily sign him as a 2C, give him top PP time, and he'd be a bargain who could be a point per game player every season for the next 4 seasons. Boston would put him between Pasta and Marchand and Mitts would a become a legend.

Casey is also the best forward on the team at throwing a reverse check to protect himself, while continuing to stickhandle and maintain possession of the puck and remain a threat to make a pass. Others might learn, and Tuch is OK, but Casey's good at it.

The Hasek trade was an indictment of the ownership's refusal to pay their best players (just pay them, you're thieves anyways!), which led to no leverage in trade negotiations. Either move him the same day you move Peca, or sign the 1-year tender extension (which they did) and let him retire or keep awaiting new offers as the season gets underway. Hasek turns almost any playoff team into a Cup contender. Peca (a good 2C) netted a 5th overall 20 year-old and an 8th overall 20 year-old. Potential cornerstone pieces that you can feature in a reset. Hasek (the most decorated goalie of his era and arguably the best goalie of all-time) netted a 29 year-old 2W (a good player, but with no future upside), a guaranteed end of 1st round pick, and future considerations (that went unmet). It needed to start with a 1st, a top prospect ready to join the team like Connolly/Pyatt, probably another pick/prospect, and only then do you throw in the cap dump veteran. Any one of their top prospects at the time would have been a key contributor to the '05-07 run: Jiri Fischer, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg....

There's only one star on that list. The others are very good players with a few great seasons spread between them.

Great closing shift. UPL!

It's how you win scoring titles. (and set league records in EA NHL campaigns) Wait... now TNT and Tuch decide to press the attack?

Good feed by Krebs to Greenway. And... either an excellent save or just missed the empty net? Let's see the replay: missed it? Missed picking the gaping short side at any rate. But Greenway doesn't miss the ENG.

Good kill and another great save by UPL.

UPL!

JJ! Go the net!

It is the future @Brawndo sees. Cities in the clouds, friends in pain Sabres goals... the usual. They always do a good job. Not sure if Curtis Brown is still on the desk job this season (admittedly, haven't seen many Sharks games this year). After the first period, they did put a pretty good spin on it being a good period -- coming off a heartbreaking loss, etc., as though they hadn't lost 13 of 14. It was pretty Rayzory.

Better period. Gave up some grade A opportunities at the end, though. UPL had the deflectors on double front for a few very good saves to close out the period.

UPL playing soundly today. Team finally woke up and started skating a bit.

Tuched in!

I don't think Joker has the shot to beat the goalie with that one sans screen....

Mittsy! Down-town!

That was the weakest cross-ice pass I've ever seen from Benson. Way too easily intercepted.

At least the coaches have made a quick change to try to jolt them out of their pajamas.

Sabres look like a team that hasn't practiced and has been snowed in. Sharks look like a team who had endless flight delays trying to get in and haven't practiced. And both teams look like they haven't followed their regular gameday routine and napped because it's a matinee. Ugly all around.

Have the Sabres sustained more than 5 seconds inside the Sharks' zone with possession yet?

Wooo, Packers! Always sweeter against the Cowboys. And of course, don't show a single tv shot of the Packers' front office or give them credit during the broadcast for moving on from a grumpy old QB and his veterans. Just show Jerry Jones crying instead. Well... maybe that's OK, too.

I'm awake; I made it. Who plays hockey at 9 am? Justin Bailey sighting. (on the worst roster in hockey, but whatever)

Unrepentant Packers fan going to check in to the thread for a moment here because I'm not sure I'm going to be awake for the Sabres game tomorrow. @Buffalonill High five! And I hope the Bills do well tomorrow, too. Back to the game. Why are you challenging that? Just let them run the clock. And keep running them off the turf.

If Vancouver scores an ENG, I want the next faceoff to result in 150 PIMs.