DarthEbriate

Was that a hand pass out of the faceoff dot and should have been a penalty?

Not any player. A guy who wears an 'A' and is noted for being extremely sound defensively while earning only $1.8M and under contract for last season and this season. Having him in the lineup last season is a positive. Having him on the payroll for this season makes it very easy to trade VO in the offseason, or move on from either KO or Girgs, or let Benson stay in juniors to get another year of growth. He's another bottom 6 Greenway type that can float up the lineup if you need him to.

Now would be as a good time as any to point out that Martinook was waived by the Canes at the start of the 2022-23 season when the Sabres were dressing Asplund and scratching Bjork. Hinostroza and Sheahan also on the roster. No one in the league claimed him. After clearing waivers, he played all 82 games for the Canes last season with 34 points and 21 more points this season.

Carolina with great response shifts after the goal, but UPL holds strong.

Yay!

Only trailing by one after one? That's practically a win in the moral victories column!

Aho just tweaked something against Dahlin.

And Svechnikov engaged physically early, because he's not just a one-dimensional top six winger. He's an everything winger.

And therein lies the difference. Dahlin attacks the net for a pass -- Martinook right there to block it. DeAngelo drives the net... completely unmarked for a tap-in.

Typical home start. Edit: Amend that, typical home start in anything not goat-related.

Sunday afternoon. Got a couple sets to break and bag... and a Sabres game. Lock s-foils in attack position!

Maybe he was just cleaning the counter with Ajax, and realized he needed more, and got out the credit card to get an Amazon delivery?

In the stretch between and including the Columbus games (12/30/23-2/23/24), the Sabres played 7 games against playoff teams and 14 games against non-playoff teams (aka the UPL hot stretch). They're 11-10 in that time. [2-5 vs. playoff teams with both wins coming against LAK; 9-5 vs. non] This was the time to make up ground and they didn't. They played NHL .500 hockey. In the next 20 games, the schedule flips. 13 playoff teams and 7 non-playoff teams. We'll see a few things: 1) Does the team defense still have good shot numbers?, 2) Can UPL maintain consistently above-average play?, 3) Can they keep playing .500 hockey?

Missed everything after the 1st (radio-only anyway). Sounds like UPL goalied 'em more than Tarasov goalied the Sabres.

Total Body Injury?

Radio delayed Wooooooo!

My scope's negative; I don't see anything. Based on Dunleavy's play-by-play on the radio.

Gah! I had just looked at the Columbus and Philly no-show losses and Tortorella got flipped in my mind. He's everywhere! Thanks for catching that.

He was already well-free from the Sabres. His final season in the NHL was with Nashville (thus the AHL re-start with Milwaukee). But, it may have something to do with the loss of the annual paycheck coming from the buyout.

Jackets are playing their 1st game home after their California road trip. Newly-acquired Nylander probably makes his debut. The Jackets have embarrassed the Sabres 9-4 and taken the other game to an OTL. Should be fun to see if the Sabres can break the Torts' defensive shell.

Bemstrom needed a change of scenery so they replaced his .34 ppg with Nylander's .35 ppg? It's the same guy. (Granted, Bemstrom got powerplay time Nylander hadn't earned in the NHL.) Nylander could get a little career jumpstart here (stats-wise), before Columbus too, realizes he's not really made for the league.

That's a feel-good story right there. Good on him on his perseverance.

Absolutely. I can appreciate the beauty of the individual tree while still planning a massive clear cut of half the forest.

It was also an excellent bounce back for him from his previous game where he was fighting the puck. His teammates might not be capable of scoring to carry a winning streak, but he ensured there was no losing streak.

Physical, sloppy, fun. Good win.