DarthEbriate

At least in terms of the draft, it's the age-old discussion of drafting kids scattered across the world in different-style leagues at age 18 vs. what the NFL does which is essentially one self-contained feeder program and drafting a few players at 20 or 21 but mostly at 22-23 with 3 years of "minor league" play under them in NFL-style systems and coaching (with maybe a few draftees each season from overseas football or Australian Rules football for punters, or the 1 guy every few years who is a monster and was playing rugby.) If the NFL drafted 18 year-olds out of high schools they would need 20-round drafts to make up for the mess and attrition.

Rasmus Larsson, D, 6'3", 198 currently playing for the Västerås IK J20 team. Angry Larry + Rasmus the 4th.

Pilfering either of them from Boston would be a good win-win. You'll get pushback from some folks with Clifton on account of his size.

Dad Kposobi tells Jackikin Eichwalker that he can't win, and if Jackikin strikes him down he will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine... Followed by Tuch Icewalker, Jeff Solo, and Tagebacca teaming up with a snarky Princess Levi and a bunch of rebellious pilots to blow up a space station Stanley Cup?

Next season the core of the defense will be aged 29 Boushh, 24 Joker, 23 Dahlin and Muel, and 21 Power. That core 5 (yes, including Boushh for next season) is about to become very good. And the current 6-8 guys (with only Clague RFA this offseason): 26 Stillman and Bryson, 25 Clague. And the only realistic AHL callup: 22 Johnson (if signed). They need one more top-4 capable 19-21 minute capable UFA signee (or trade acquisition) who is a savvy vet that has been-there done-that to provide some steadiness and clear people from bowling over Levi/Comrie.

This was my assessment as well. If Comrie is hurt and Anderson is getting maintenance days, then you can reasonably assume that UPL is making a lot of the shooters look better at the end of practice than they are. Levi will set them right for future shootouts. Or break their spirits completely.

I liked Rousek last night and feel good about him as the 13F Hino role next season that I've kind of been slotting for him. Hopefully, he's also a competent PKer.

It is possible, however unlikely, that the Sabres might find a Pens weakness... and exploit it. The issue is that the Panthers (even free-falling at the moment) are still between them and that final spot. And the games-in-hand are gone but only relate to the NYI who are now 8 points up. And that's impossible, even for a computer!

Mitts loves the posts and crossbars this season.

Stillman sends him to the stills! (And makes up for the lost stick run to the bench that left MTL unattended for the goal).

JJP!

If you're not going to shoot off the one-timer, then you'll need to have someone screen the goalie.

Good work by the Dad. Edmundson gets lazy and goes with the free hand rather than moving his legs. Hope the Sabres close this period with the PPG.

Not-so-bold prediction: Rousek will score more points and have a better +/- in his first 100 games than TNT did.

Front of the net, bounce to the open gap and put your stick on the ice. All too easy!

ROU to the SEK!

But help is on the way. Let's go, Rousek!

If there were, he'd be the first D off the board after the top 3-4 forwards. The Sabres would need a 9- or 10-spot lottery jump to get him.

Half the home games where they didn't wear the goatheads and were basically no-shows for half the game or more have been a significant problem this season.

^ Yup. Next season, anywhere from 2-10 games barring a rash of significant injuries. Then in 2024-5, the hope is he's ready to go from opening night. But even then he might only be a half-season guy (and that's not necessarily a bad thing as it would mean the NHL roster is healthy and everyone is playing to their potential).

Here we go again!

The grossest part of it all is that if the Sabres had merely gone 6-6-2 instead of 4-8-2 in the last stretch, they'd be 2 and 3 points back of the WC spots with 1 game and 2 games in hand. They were on the cusp and no one broke away from them. They did it to themselves.

Let's not overthink this tonight. Levi hasn't practiced yet so he's not an option. Comrie had the shutout and a day's rest: It's Comrie's net. UPL as the backup to get used to being the backup. Let's go win again. As to Anderson, many thanks to him for giving us the March of 2022: that was a bunch of fun. And many props to him for being the best goalie on the team most nights these last 2 seasons and providing a comfort blanket to a ridiculously youthful roster. But at this point he should only get the start in Ottawa the remainder of the way (unless Levi has a shutout streak going, of course). (Edit: And Anderson could get 1 home start and dress as the backup in the final home game of the season.)

The issue isn’t losing games when allowing 4 or more. That’s sort of expected. The issue is they had 32 games with four goals against or more this season. That is absurd. Ridiculous! Ludicrous! Plaid! Goaltending will solve part of that. The defensive core each getting a year older will help. And the forwards getting collectively more defensively conscious in their own zone instead of immediately breaking up ice will at the sight of a loose puck will do wonders. Next season, try to get that number closer to 20 (figuring in some losses with empty net goals where you don’t mind how many you allow in the last minute as long as you were going all-out to tie it up).

Went back to watch the 3rd. Good period. The Isles had a couple good looks but were otherwise stifled, even after they were down a goal. They wanted to play for overtime and the loser point and it backfired on them and their veteran-ness. The Sabres were the better team in the 1st and 3rd, and Comrie made the 2-3 big stops he needed for the shutout. Good victory. It'd be nice if the Sabres could replicate that effort and response against other teams that have tried to out-hit and intimidate them. Another 3-4 efforts like this game over the course of the season and this game would have been the lead in the wildcard race. Next up, see if Comrie can play another strong one. Then unleash the Levi to a series of shutouts and the ferocious run to 8th (or 9th).