DarthEbriate

There's also a wrinkle available in the lineup. Cozens' Matthews/McDavid ownership in November back-to-backs last season was a speed line of Caggiula-Cozens-Hinostroza. Add Hino on RW and use the better forechecker of Krebs/JJP on the left and you've got a modified checking line as well.

Relying on a rookie on each line is daunting, but gotta see what they can do.

Think nothing of it at this time. Granato rolls all 4 lines and it's all about who gels with whom. Thus far, it seems like Mitts-Tuch is a combo. And Cozens will get PP and likely PK time, so it'll work out.

It's why he'll score 30+ this season. hashtag motivation.

I hope Golofsson nets 40 (at home) so we can disco our way through Dunleavy's belated calls. I fear we'd run out of musical choices if each artist/musician who was a bit of a egotist was banned from sing-alongs.

Every empty net goal opportunity at home must be force fed to Boushh. All the gummies!

0 goals allowed in infinity shot attempts. What if Samson Will Be Fine wins a Cup with Florida?

Lock Sabre-foils in attack position!

Someday Levi is going to earn the elusive "double-shutout". It'll look weird in the statsheet. But he's capable of it.

$4M/year for a top-4 defenseman sounds about right. They're skipping the bridge and going right to the long-term, which is fine. And he's not likely to ever get more than 5 goals in a season, but if he plays with Dahlin for the next few years then he'll pick up plenty of assists and it will look like a bargain. It's the Cernak deal but $1M/year less. I'm thinking this is solid.

I didn't think Power would take over PP2... (but, it's named for him, so... why wouldn't he?)... before the season even began. Maybe around December. So now I'm adjusting my expectations appropriately. He'll break 40 points. That's right. We'll have 2 40+ point defensemen this season. Last time we had that 2018. Rookie Dahlin had 44, Risto had 43. (And Risto was a -41 so it didn't really matter how many points he scored.) I stand by Power being a + this season. The previous time with two 40-point D before Dahlin was 2005-06 ECF run season with Campbell and Numminen.

If his Sabres stint last season (and taking over Team Canada's blue line) are any indication... maybe not a game changer in terms of "wow", but more of a game changer in terms of control. A player where you look up... and he's got the puck again and he's making any easy pass to safety, then trailing the rush and establishing possession in the o-zone. Smart pinches and occasional carries below the goal line with the puck. Aggressive but not Makar-high-speed or young Erik Karlsson aggressive. Defensively he's very sound, too.0 The thing I'll watch is early is how he handles NHL forecheckers. Last season, no one really attacked him (he was a rookie in his first few games), and there definitely isn't the same level of hitting in the Olympics. This season, he'll be a test/focal point of opponents to see how he handles pressure and hits. Does he avoid contact and start making poor passes (like Pilut did after his initial first few weeks)? Or does he continue to play sound and smart with elite vision? We'll learn quickly, because I'm betting Ottawa dumps a few pucks into his corner to go make a hit first (Austin Watson, for example) and worry about puck retrieval second. Then, it's up to Power how he adjusts. I remember that Dahlin went through that phase where everyone was hitting him and he still made plays but he also got tight, and he didn't really break fully back out of it until last season.

https://comingupmilhouse.com/ Everything's coming up milHouser!

Tend or do not. There is no goal.

An all-Canada Stanley Cup Final. Very interesting. I think he's pretty spot-on with the Sabres though. I had them at 86 points until Sens' Talbot got hurt and now I'm seeing Buffalo take advantage 11/16 in Ottawa and finish with 88. I also think Boston doesn't make it to the playoffs. They'll be right in the low 90s though. Speaking of oddly specific predictions. Nice blend, Fozzie. Thank you, Fozzie. https://theathletic.com/3673871/2022/10/11/nhl-predictions-down-goes-brown/ DGB/McIndoe states this for his specific Sabres prediction: "Ryan Miller is scheduled to have his number retired on January 19. Hopefully he sticks around after the ceremony, because he’ll get to watch a shutout." That's 1/19/2023 hosting the NY Islanders. Who has the shutout? Buffalo or the Isles? Bonus question if the Sabres get it: which goalie earns the shutout?

Goaltending has been the concern since Hutton's eye year after his hot start. Ullmark wasn't great and had some injuries, but he's a .915 guy every year. This team is in the playoff chase with a .915 guy playing 55 games. Question is now: is Comrie capable of that? If not, pray UPL ascends (and also stays healthy), and that Levi and Portillo flunk out of school by January.

I love your avatar, but I too thought he was destined for Rochester, especially with Okposo recovered to health for the opener. We'll see what happens when Sheahan is off IR. I can't see any way in which you prioritize an NHL roster spot for Bjork over Sheahan except a GM's hubris that Bjork was acquired in the Hall trade. Bjork was disappointing all last season and invisible in the preseason (games that I saw).

I didn't have Power starting on PP2 in my preseason projection for him. He'll be up over 40 points now (health permitting). Throw in Goalofsson on his PP and he might really surprise. Quinn will be on the left dot on PP2 by midyear. So then it becomes -- of Krebs and Mitts, who gets to be on the opposite half wall from Tage on PP1? It should be fun.

Agreed, and he looked decent during the Sabres' midseason free-fall last year. But the sample size for UPL is way too small to compare yet (13 NHL gp). One bad game and his numbers would go off the rails.

Everything hopeful Sabres fans are saying about Comrie, Sens fans are saying about Forsberg. He's been steadily improving the last few seasons and is ready for a larger role after a good 2021-22. Last year: Forsberg: 46 gp, 22-17-4, .917 sv%, 2.82 GAA, and 14.5 GSAA Comrie: 19 gp, 16-10-5-1 .920 sv%, 2.58 GAA, and 7.2 GSAA Where the goaltending skews dramatically pro-Ottawa is in the veteran/backup role. Talbot is a solid 1B-type still in his prime. Anderson is a savvy backup whose numbers have fallen sharply off from his prime years in Ottawa (5 years ago). Compared across the last 3 seasons: Talbot: 108 gp, 63-30-10, .914 sv%, 2.69 GAA, and 20.1 GSAA Anderson: 69 gp, 30-30-4, .900 sv%, 3.14 GAA, and -16.0 GSAA That's a lot of faith to have to put into Luukkonen this season, considering even UPL's current AHL numbers pale in comparison to all 4 of these other goalies.

With Ottawa, it's all about how long it takes for the team to gel and how long Talbot is out with injury. The top 6 will be excellent. The 3rd line is youthful and should improve as the season goes on. Defense: Zub is underrated and Sanderson should be electric and move into the top 4 by season's end. The difference is goaltending. Once Talbot is healthy, Ottawa has an up-and-coming starter in Forsberg and a proven starter in Talbot. They shed their poor goalie and awful contract with Murray. That's what gives them the edge over Buffalo in 82 games. But in one game at the beginning of the season where Buffalo has line continuity and the opening night crowd? The Sabres should win.

^ Only 20 skaters on the roster. They'd best hope no one tweaks anything during any warm-ups or road trips in any game because there's no one else to dress.

I think we're past the JAG horizon. There's true JAGs (good AHLers/tweeners) like Bjork. Or an even better example --- our 2nd liner in the tank: Seth Griffith, or the Matt Ellis of JAGs: Matt Ellis. And then there's actual NHL-caliber 4th-line grinders who get to the big league and stick: Girgensons. Lazar. Sheahan. I'll throw out a name to whom Sheahan compares very favorably: Dan Paille. Both late 1sts, both became good defensive forwards, and both (have) had decade-long careers. The difference is one was on a perennial contender and the other broke into the league on a team heading into its twilight. Could Blidh become as good as Sheahan or Paille? Maybe. But I'd keep Sheahan over him for the next couple seasons. We all love JJP and Kulich, but based on where they're selected, if they become Paille or Sheahan, and play 10 NHL seasons: that's a win. If they're 4th liners on a good team they'll be beloved. If they play on cellar-dwellers they'll be mistakenly called JAGs. We're underselling Sheahan's capability. He's a low-mistake vet with good enough size and wheels. He'll stay in the suite until needed, help settle rookies on a 4th line, kill penalties, and calm things down. He's a Zemgus-insurance plan if the Locomotive needs repairs. Some numbers on Sheahan last season in Seattle: 69 gp. 17 points, 60% D zone starts at 5-on-5. And a ridiculous +6 on a team with a -69 goal differential. (Soucy, Sheahan, Tanev, Blackwell, Borgen... those are the only plus players for Seattle with over 10 gp and they're all defensive/bottom 6 grinders -- Tanev/Soucy with mid-tier potential-- who take care of their end first.) This Sabres team needs a few of those Sheahan-level players while the kids improve their games in all 3 zones.

Nadeau for sure. But probably every prospect needs to work on their skating.

We can only hope. I don't know how they even have a profile page for Kriukov. He never ever left the KHL or even came across the pond that I can recall. Good #15 overall selection.