DarthEbriate

5:30 to go and the net is empty.

Dunne-Kozak have been very good tonight. Geertsen is there, too. But put another winger with them in the AHL and they’ll earn him a bunch of points— Wahlberg, Neuchev.

Danforth springs a rush… but then is responsible enough to stay back and prevent a clear breakaway. Instead, it turns into a pretty easy save for Levi.

Kesselring and Doan were out there. But it’s true, you can only focus on one thing per season. RHD was too important.

Mrtka has looked solid. 3 seasons ago he’d be staying on the roster for at least 9 games. But I think they finally have enough defenders to keep him down where he belongs.

They didn’t score, but the Sabres did win 2 puck battles on the PP that kept possession in the zone.

Kesselring went for the tic-tac-toe pass, but he fed Geertsen. Missed the net entirely I think.

Columbus had a good replace shift and then the Sabres have a good shift of their own. Power easy shot, bounces back into the slot and Beck buries. Keep it up!

Dunne in front, Kozak cutting across… and Byram feeds it neatly through. Good goal.

Dunne showing that Geertsen has competition. But not really, as Dunne is too important to the Amerks to sit for 60 games in Buffalo.

Kesselring feels the stick at his side, pins it, and draws a penalty. Good work. But the PP looks… usual. No shots on goal for the first unit.

Kesselring steps into one and…. Right into the crest. He’ll fit in nicely.

It’s preseason. I’m in the best posting shape of my life. But I’m gonna take it day by day and play it simple. It’s a marathon not a sprint.

Wolf couldn't even make it into either of Calgary's two split squad games yesterday. Lazy bum clearly was a one-season wonder.

Ullmark's age 22 season would like a word. His 23 and 24 seasons as well, though he didn't get much of a chance to play in either of those.

And if Samuelsson misses any time (however unlikely), that second pairing would likely be the first go at D3.

This is how we win.

Johnson and Rosén are the conspicuous ones missing. But... both had good showings in the scrimmage, so they're getting an extra look with the top squad next game, perhaps. Patience! Soon you will be with him we will be eliminated.

Now, this is what preseason is for. The Sabres should've sent the tall squad to Columbus, then for the next CBJ matchup ice the small squad. Any self-respecting coach should've seen the potential. Thompson - Norris - Tuch Greenway - McLeod - Doan Malenstyn - Dunne - Wahlberg Geertsen - Kopff - Joshua Power - Kesselring Samuelsson - Mrtka Novikov - Komarov Leinonen, Luukkonen, Meloche vs. Benson - Östlund - Rosen Zucker - Krebs - Danforth Slaggert - Helenius - Kozak Savage - Leschyshyn - Costantini Bryson - Byram Johnson - Jones Rathbone - Metsa Levi, Lyon, Georgiev

Partially quoting a post I made upthread, but I'll add some more numbers to it this time. 2024-25 Kesselring 5-on-5 This was a disciplined (well-coached) Utah squad and Kesseling was typically paired with an extremely experienced and competent defender Cole 701 minutes GF% 52.8 xGF% 56.3 Sergachev 206 min GF% 52.8 xGF% 56.3 Valimaki 121 min GF% 85.7 xGF% 47.9 Maatta 114 min GF% 50 xGF% 51.1 Another 7 players with less than 200 minutes combined, too small of samples sizes to include Who are they? (I'm using their current games played, including last season's GP totals, for simplicity): Maatta 761 GP, 82 playoff GP. 6'2", smooth, savvy 2x Cup winner. Age 31. 2nd pairing guy Cole 908 GP, 129 playoff GP 6'1" 235# Will get beat by speed, 2x Cup winner. Age 36, career 3rd pair PK Valimaki 271 GP, 2 playoff GP 6'2" 201, 201# fewer NHL games played, but basically a bigger Jokiharju, solid defender Sergachev 552 GP, 100 playoff GP 6'3, 212#, legitimate #1D, 2x Cup winner, not Dahlin-level but makes his partner better. Age 27 All 1st round picks, and Valimaki is far and away the least-experienced or "worst" defender and he would've easily been a top-4 on the Sabres last year. Kesselring has a bunch of potential. There's reason to be hopeful he can make the Kessel Run up the lineup like he did last season and meet his full potential. But... there's also a chance he's Clifton, who couldn't make that jump up to a 2nd pair guy, particularly because Power and the forwards did the team no services defensively. Adams should've had a Maatta or a Cole for Power and company the last 3 seasons... instead of the husk of Erik Johnson (good player, way past even Cole-level of workload) and a reach in Clifton to try and be more than he is. Aside: If Kesselring ends up playing next to Dahlin for an extended amount of time, I think he'll end up looking fantastic. But... if injuries lead to him being asked to play top-4 minutes with Bryson or Jones, I don't know that he's going to make either of them look like top-6 defenders. It's a big pipe of hopium being smoked. It could work really well. It might not. He's not a can't miss top-10 defender prospect who just needs time. He's being asked to be the veteran.

Goalie problem solved!

I hope "butterfly kisses" catches on Benson isn't going to put up the point totals folks would expect from a LW1 if he isn't on either PP unit.

This is horrifying -- they're kids! I'm really happy she was able to get immediate treatment, and a transplant, and that they'll have the means to provide her with continuing care. I hope she makes a full recovery and a full, healthy road ahead.

First statement: Then, what is depth? And how many teams in the NHL have it -- eight? As an example, Colorado had no depth last year. They rode two elite players (MacKinnon/Makar -- who missed a combined 5 games all year) through a mass of injuries and the shoddiest of goaltending early on. They were a period from going 13-13 to start the season until Dahlin got injured (which sent the Sabres - also no depth last season) spiraling out of control. Colorado also then fixed their goaltending which we know is an impossibility here except for Levi ascending. Second statement: This is a fact. All summer our only debate was which combinations would be among the forwards. But how many non-tanking teams have more than 1 spot "open" after the first surge of UFA?

The depth certainly looks worse with Tuch, Greenway, and Luukkonen already missing from the lineup. This overall roster is missing a 1C and a #1 goalie (ha!... no problems there, those are the easiest things to acquire), but as far as lineups go---this one has depth by recent Sabres standards. Here's the 10/18/22 lineup that won 4-2 at Edmonton and Comrie was excellent in 3rd period Alamo Death Star mode. (the 91-point team) Skinner - Thompson - Tuch Asplund - Mittelstadt - Olofsson Peterka - Cozens - Hinostroza Girgensons - Krebs - Okposo (Quinn, Sheahan) 22-23 Call-ups: Rousek debut end of season, Jost was claimed off waivers Samuelsson - Dahlin Power - Jokiharju Bryson - Lyubushkin (Fitzgerald) 22-23 Call-ups: Pilut, Clague Comrie (Anderson) 22-23 Call-ups: Luukkonen, Levi made debut end of season To today: Bryson isn't a 5 anymore, he's fighting for 7/8/9. And if Jones is "ok" he can be 7 and Bryson is the 8. Johnson could (should?) displace them both. For call-ups, Johnson has played in the NHL in each of the last two seasons. At forward, they now have 13 skaters who were in the NHL last season (JJP/Quinn who entered 22-23 with a combined 4 games of NHL experience). +Geertsen who doesn't count if he's just an enforcer as #14. And your initial call-ups all have NHL GP: Kozak, Östlund, Rosén. And at goalie, they are 5 deep with NHL games played -- it's the quality that is worrying.