DarthEbriate

Hmmm... Should I go to Savoie v. Ratzlaff tonight? I should. Can I convince my wife that a junior hockey night will be the perfect Saturday date night?

Yup. If you want anything from Vancouver, it's the understanding of how to fill out a roster so that your Petterssons and Millers look like top-line players (again). Correctly fill out the bottom 6 and add a top-4 defenseman, etc.

On the one hand... if we think it's intelligent to sit around waiting for Levi, Power, and Benson to reach 25 years old before there are any sustained playoffs, then we're in luck. On the other hand...

Good job, NHL. Way to make your product accessible.

Sometimes you need to drop a little trade talk to the media to speed up the discussions and clear up the distractions. And winning makes the PNW winters a lot sunnier.

Exactly! He's going to crush his numbers vs. expectations this year. 😇 You just have to have patience for expectations to reach zero.

Kane, Tanev, even second-rate veteran goalies like Matt Murray last season. It's just the cycle of lack of accountability within the franchise's ownership and front office. GM Sheevyn can cry about players wanting to be here. But this is a franchise that willingly tanked (and rushed prospects/gutted their farm system, too, to make that happen). First, they fired a GM for being there too long and being reasonable with the directive to tank, then they fired a GM for being daft, then fired a GM for not being willing to fire his AHL staff to save money, then hired a GM who'd been... a guy they liked.) And each GM says: "Give me my rebuild timeline to get the players I want." Through all that they've tanked again and hired "hockey university" coaches and cheap re-treads, and Krueger who defies all categories but talks a good sales pitch. They've done it to themselves. Darth Pegulas (the Wise) is paying the price for his lack of vision. What self-respecting player who wants to win wouldn't have Buffalo on their no-trade list? (And all that can change in a season if they stop churning GMs and make 2 or 3 intelligent moves in the staff and roster and make the playoffs.)

Just gotta be patient with the young guys, right? And... cycle through 4 NHL teams and 3 AHL affiliates.

4-on-3. The Matt Ellis of power plays. Still, it was a really effective S-curve attack by Dahlin and great pass from Mitts. UPL's been solid from the very start of the season. He's gotten roughed up very few times (same as any of the top 'tenders) and he only had a single rough stretch after Thanksgiving. Otherwise, solid. If Levi hadn't been unready (the whole team wasn't ready) for the start of the season, and if Comrie and his 1-6 .868 sv% aren't on the roster but instead an average backup... then tonight's game would have had a very different feel.

All too easy. Nice goal for the winner.

A late PP opportunity. Nice drive by Tuch to force the issue.

Ha-hey! Guess who took the penalty.

The Tampa broadcast is just fascinated with Kucherov's flubbed shot. dang.

Sign of coaching at work: Benson and JJP on the ice. Tampa immediately gets Kucherov, Point, and Hagel on the ice. Dahlin needs to play the body and ignore the puck for a few minutes.

Yet another Skinner backhand whack pass to nowhere at mid-ice leads immediately to a TB rush and a good chance for a goal. Either possess it and make a pass, or get it deep.

Dahlin... where you going there?

Enjoy the show! It's a pretty good gig.

Bryson for a 2nd! Get it done, Sheevyn!

There's definitely a theme to their current top 8 forward prospects (listed in the article) in terms of body build and only one is above average height/weight for a NHL forward. I'll take Savoie, but I'll take a different track on it. 5-9 179# -- 2022 Draft day listing 5-9 170# -- 2022 Sabres Dev Camp 5-9 170# -- 2022 Sabres Training Camp 5-9 179# -- 2022 Winnipeg ICE Preseason roster 5-9 170# -- 2023 Sabres Prospects Challenge unlisted -- 2023 Sabres Dev Camp Roster (a month later) 5-10 170# -- 2023 Sabres Training Camp Roster (couple weeks later...now he's taller!) 5-10 176# -- 2023-24 Moose Jaw Roster 5-10 179# -- Elite Prospects 5-9 179# -- Hockey Reference 5-9 179# -- Hockeydb

At the beginning of the season, this would've been the game on the schedule where the Sabres could've put one of the first nails in Tampa's playoff coffin -- relegating them to 5th at best in the division while the Sabres stayed in the chase. Changing out one of the old guards. Alas, the Sabres had planned the parade for more development and picking 8th overall instead.

You want the next Foligno, not the one whose 4x$4M extension kicks in next season at age 33. Plus, he has a NMC and would likely only waive it to be traded to a contender and not a perpetual rebuild. Besides, you know Marcus. He got lost once in his own museum.

I think this is mostly attributable to the health of the roster. Last season, the top line was healthy and effective (this year it's been a crash-and-burn 2nd line at best), Quinn was healthy all season, and through 3/4 of the year, Olofsson was scoring. Okposo was skating with Girgs to help Krebs learn the all-around game, and then his extra shifts came with leads in the third period when scoring wasn't needed (and JJP/Quinn sat). This season, the entire team has gotten better at team defense. Still maddening for 20 minutes each game (usually the 1st period), but collectively better. But health-wise, Okposo's been playing with the top 6 a bunch more and has contributed on the scoresheet. Quinn and Olofsson have been non-factors and Tuch has been shuffling around the lineup. It's like his season 2 years ago. Okposo was forced into top-6 minutes and PP time and netted 8 PPG on the season -- which was a positive blip on his stats as a Sabre. He's a vet who can still move up the lineup for short stretches.

I like the old Hawaiian punch, but never got into Ecto-Cooler.

Is it playing heavy or showing up when it mattered? Because I think Amerks fans would say that up until Kulich came back from this year's WJC and was possibly just exhausted from the sheer number of games/travel he'd done the last year, he was the guy who played big. Whenever they needed a goal between 1/1/22 and 1/1/24, playoffs included, he was the guy scoring the game-tying/game-winning goal. But he's not a physical hitting type.

I still think the Sabres end up buying out Skinner after next season. And like Carolina, they don't really take off until he's replaced. But this really feels like Roenick is looking at career stats paces and... if Skinner stays healthy another 6-7 seasons (no reason he shouldn't, he avoids contact), he'll quite possibly pass Roenick's career goals total. Quit your bellyaching, Roenick. Go play NHL94 or whatever it was on an emulator.