DarthEbriate

Almost. Dahlin opted to send it to 4-on-4 instead.

Can't buy a bounce. Seemingly all season.

Cozens' "harsh words" didn't need to be bleeped. His filter is too good.

Pominvillesque?

Edmonton fired their coach. 7-3 in their last 10. (they had very good metrics but crap goaltending) Wild fired Evason. Won 3 in a row. Likely more of a temporary blip. But this team could use any blip.

I can see why Kane chose to sign with the Wings vs. the Sabres.

Benson with a great chance in the opening minute+. But the ice isn't just slanted, it's a sheer cliff.

I liked Bucci in the '90s with the whole espn2 vibe. But... now that I'm mumblemumble years old... he's not a good announcer.

Net didn't move that I can see on the replay. Good goal. Bad defense.

Is that reviewable? Because Thompson definitely quit on it.

No response from the Wings on the EJ hit. Softies!

I think he simply was frustrated by yet another wheel-spinning bad season and was emotional during a locker cleanout session. [I don't know if he ever officially or unofficially requested a trade, as we've learned Eichel had.] I think if you give him a summer to cool off, he comes back refreshed and ready to go in the fall and is a great 2C, 1C when you need a faceoff or are trailing, to Eichel's up-and-coming stardom. You can still add Skinner that offseason with ROR's contract. Research, research, research. Not sure if it's enough to.... what year, what year, what year... to save Housley's job, though. Damn. This team went through coaches/GMs so fast these past 10 years. I can't keep up.

I think this is advertised as such. Or vice versa. I got them as a Disney bundle a couple years ago so I'm not really sure. But I typically watch my ESPN games via Hulu.

Given Benson's arrival and barring any trades, I hold out hope that we'll see this lineup for at least 1 game in January. Not gritty, but proven pair combos (Quinn-Cozens, Skinner-TNT, Mitts-anyone) while Quinn gets back up to speed (and maybe jumpstarts Cozens). Skinner - TNT - Tuch Peterka - Mitts - Greenway Benson - Cozens - Quinn Girgensons - Krebs - Rousek

Beat me to it.

I still believe that if GMTM had been capable of human interaction, the team he was assembling would have made the playoffs. Sure, the coach probably needs to be able to tell him to move on from a couple knuckleheads, but the team's construction looks decent in hindsight with another couple decent drafts (particularly if you negate that McNabb for D-Lo/Fasching trade because you already have Foligno and Carrier). But then Botts came in and went completely anti-grit, rather than filling out the remaining roster holes. I won't listen to it (I've heard a few ATWs and don't really need too much more of their time), so thank you @Pimlach for the recap. I do want to speak to these two items above. Yes. Power needs a Tallinder, and preferably a Tallinder with some snarl. Honestly, this could be EJ, but it means you need to be willing to play Power fewer minutes. Like 18 minutes (including his PP time). And with a D-corp as young as they have, it means your one of your other pairs needs to be the rock... which means Muel/Dahlin and Muel needs to also be a rock-solid veteran which he isn't this year. Skinner. I said it a couple years ago now, but I still believe that Skinner is going to be gone when this team is good. Possibly in order for this team to be good. It's like when Carolina drafted Svechnikov and said... yup, Skinner's a 2-3W and now we've got Svech. Adios, Jeff! Not only is Svechnikov better, but he also is willing to get physical to provide himself space. If Skinner was Angry/Pest Skinner every game, he'd be amazing. But he only plays that way once every couple weeks. And not great on the PP or defensively, as been covered exhaustively. I think you buyout the final 2 years of his contract because Quinn/Benson/other will be taking his playing time. This doesn't address the bottom 6 issues though.

Defensively sound. And add in the willingness to step into any scrum and protect any and all of your teammates. Maybe throw a tone-setting check once in awhile.

The issues is, nearly all the league is still in contention, or loves their guys who actually do those things. No one who can make the playoffs is going to give up their soul players this early in season unless you significantly overpay.

Good forecheck during the line change by Okposo. And you know what it was... it was a body contact. He confronted them, no hard checks, but actual body checks. The Sabres even briefly won possession of the puck. Even if you're making poor decisions with the puck lately, you can still skate hard and bang some dudes.

Joining for a bit of the 2nd before football. So -- did they at least start out with some hop and gumption? And again it makes no sense. A couple weeks ago, hanging onto a 1-goal lead late, HCDG trusted Rousek out on the ice. So when Girgs, and now Greenway are out -- two of the most responsible (if not the only) defensive forwards on the roster... why is Rosen still up instead of the older Rousek? No one in your bottom 6 should be out on the ice late in the game at this point. I'd only trust Tuch, Mitts, and Benson. You know... if they ever get a lead.

Dang it. I'm back in. (Dinner was tasty.) But I do want to consider one thing. I wonder what Adams would do if Pegula actually gave an ultimatum of, "You will make the playoffs in 2024-25 or you and Granato are both fired." (Unfortunately, I think it's too late to give such an ultimatum for this season because opposing teams are still in contention and Tage/Quinn really need to be in the lineup.) I'm guessing UPL and Comrie wouldn't be the goalies, VO and KO would be moved post-haste, etc.

Dinner time! I'm out. Catch the 'Space on the flip side.

Well, that was a terrible effort. And it really does look like the message is lost. Tuch, Skinner, Mitts... nothing. The under-22 crowd? Nothing. The goalie making a big save? The vets throwing a heavy check? The vets showing some passion? Nothing. This really is a game where you could say the coach has lost the team. And once you get there, there's only one natural next step. And a new coach might make some demands that would refresh the roster for next season.

All too easy.

That was really pretty. And after an icing. Kind of wish our team would do things like that.