DarthEbriate

Sweden's first shot on goal is 12 minutes into the first period. Rosen takes a stick up high to draw a penalty. Then, Rosen makes a sloppy drop pass for a turnover, and then takes a trip later in the sequence -- and there goes Sweden's PP. Rosen with a horrid PP shift. The 4-on-4 expires and Sweden has 5 guys on the ice for a long time. Not called. Refs have a hard time catching too many men.

ESPN+/Hulu with a Sabres prospect WJC morning. Finland opens their quarterfinal hot against Sweden; excellent forechecking. Östlund defends Kemell who deflects a puck, Östlund follows up with a stick check and does his job defensively, but the deflection's rebound pops across the crease and Finland buries it for 1-0. Nothing from Rosen's line yet beyond being pinned in their own zone. Östlund's next shift with a great forecheck and almost picks a second pass off in the slot.

Tough loss, but a deserved win for Ottawa. They played fast and physical and forced Anderson to make some quality saves. Checking the competition, the Rangers got 2 points and Florida none. Devils got a point against Carolina. But the Kraken are doing their part through two with a 3-1 lead on the Isles. Next up: the red-hot Caps.

I like how Ottawa's going about their business with the lead. The Sabres are going to have to earn the tying goal tonight.

And then the kids get hemmed in for an entire shift. Back-and-forth a bit.

Great shifts.

Dahlin so slick in the corner to win it, hang onto it, and keep the line pressuring.

Angry Larry with offensive skills someday?

...while I was prepping... dang it. Alright, go get it back.

I missed the goal prepping dinner, but it appears they woke up a bit. It's the little things.... The Sabres' D are getting better at tying up sticks on deflection attempts this season compared to years past. Dahlin just had a nice one.

The league has the book on Tage, even though only a few teams have the tenacity, defensive centers, and wherewithal to make it happen. Pressure him everywhere as soon as he has the puck. His reach is a great weapon, but it's also a stickhandling liability. If you take away all the space you can force the turnover. Tuch and Skinner need to help carry the puck and keep their spacing so he has room and a bit more time. (And TNT himself needs to skate and move the puck quicker.) He has to adjust to the League's adjustments.

Thompson started the season sluggish and has come back from the break also very sluggish. Needs his visual scanning turned back on and to play with some pace. You need to be more desperate than the PK.

That's the question. It'll be two tired squads in the third.

Get this tied up before the break.

Ottawa is hopping.

Need to start going to the net instead all perimeter shots with no screen.

Anderson and Tokarski both got back into the lineup at the very end of January, but the team kept scuffling through February with injuries (Girgs, Okposo, VO's wrist/hand recovery). The change really seemed to coincide with the big games: Toronto outdoors, Eichel's return, RJ Night. They got up for those and with a few blips, haven't really come down since.

Maybe one of Mitts, VO, Asplund is moved in an offseason "hockey" trade, but otherwise yes. Okposo still has game and I can see he and Girgs getting 2-year deals. (If the Sabres make the playoffs, and their games translate well to playoffs... then I could see both being courted and overpaid as the missing piece for several teams.) We've seen JJP and Quinn be great and also very quiet this year as you'd expect from rookies. As the team transitions from this building season to "now we have expectations" I'd think you only want 1 rookie F and 1 rookie D coming in at a time. Rousek makes it from camp, Savoie with his 9 games scattered through early November, and then only one of them stays on. Kulich midseason.

Good call on JJP. The kid line was definitely worn down during the 5 wins leading into the holiday+blizzard break. In those 5 wins they combined for 1G,3A. They got rested and looked dangerous again against Boston. JJP-Cozens-Quinn gets at least 1 goal today and probably 4 points between them.

Without precise calculations you could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova and that would end your Cup-run real quick, wouldn't it? Also: the math checks out. 66-14-2 would qualify for the playoffs and 16-0 in the playoffs wins the Cup.

The youth is working and the speed is beautiful. It's working and they're forcing turnovers on the forecheck. I also want to see a few more checks thrown simply because they'll need to condition themselves for the checking in the playoffs. It's better to stay healthy for now, but when they're in that final push, they'll need it, because the East is going to be a battle down to the wire this season. Finishing checks, being finished by checks, taking the hit to make the right pass, forcing and avoiding turnovers. When the opponent knows you're going to pull up and just stick check, they don't have to worry and can make the play. If you pop them, even once, they have to consider that you will hit them the next time. Could you imagine Mitts just crunching a d-man on his first shift of the game -- and what it would do for the tone, the team, and for him?

And Anderson is right behind him at #18.

Happy New Year, 'Spacers! It must be noted that the last time these teams met, the Sens won. But it must also be noted that the Muel was not on the ice. Boushh was on one leg. It was also the game in which Comrie got injured courtesy of Dahlin planting Joseph right into his own goalie. Season series tied 1-1. Both teams believe these are the games they should win.

I'm relieved the Sabres won because this one was so egregiously bad. Unmarked #7 is stepping on, too. The skater who brings the Bruins back to even is #4. You'd think 7 and 5 are the ones making the change, but really it's 5-6 and 7-4 (which is fine, it's a lazy change by 4 but has no impact on the play).

If there's fear in either of those locker rooms after the game, it's Boston knowing that they had to do everything in their power (including having refs use their playoff whistles) to earn a point in today's match. And they know the Sabres will only get better, and will soon learn to clutch and hold and get away with all the sneaky stuff, too, while the Bruins are relying on 1) an old guy who is fantastic but very close to retirement, 2) another old guy who already left the NHL for a season and is also close to retirement, 3) another old guy who is fantastic and also plays a ratty game and really needs 1 on his line whether for Boston or Team Canada, 4) a great D-man in McAvoy, and 5) a guy who is going to either get paid $10M+ or leave in UFA this summer. 1 and 2 are playing for a combined $3.5M this year on "one last ride" deals. That's noble of them and they're both great players, but this is a team that is "built" on Coyle, Marchand, and Taylor Hall next year up front. Fear is a great motivator. (It also leads to suffering.)