DarthEbriate

Godspeed, Swampcat!

Yup. Let the pros get their video scouts on him, let teams scheme for it... But thus far he's been much better than his AHL numbers would have indicated (though he was starting to warm up in Rochester before the COVID postponements). If he can give the Sabres average goaltending, then... that's the best they've had in years from anyone not named Ullmark or Anderson.

Good win. WPG didn't look especially with it or dangerous, but lots of shot deflections that UPL was nice and set squarely for. Solid road game.

Alright... let's put them away.

Nice play by Hino, and calm Joker, to break the forecheck .... and... ice it.

Crawling by the end of the game. SKINNNNNNER!!!!! It also says a lot about absolutely-lost Dell, try-hard Tokarski, and first-game Subban (which by the time he played was behind a defensive team with no confidence in complete disarray). Once you have a goalie settle down, the rest of the team can relax, too.

This is a good third with a lead. Staying aggressive offensively. Remembering the Death Star. Making good quick passes in the D zone to get it clear to safety.

Phew. UPL's arm. Negative... it didn't go in. Just impacted on the surface post.

I was always a fan of Cragganmore 12. Not doing Scotch very much these days, but it is the holiday season.... perhaps it is time.

Chex Mix is baking. Trying the new Elysian Skalrok Nordic style pale... which apparently has replaced their Bifrost winter beer this year (at least at my local market). It's garbage. Bring back Bifrost! Oh, and Dahlin Dahlin! The Clone of Lukonen looking really solid.

The Sabres are really neat, The Sabres are not elite. We believe in the Sa-brrres!

This thread is my kind of scum. Fearless and Sabres-based.

But we don't have that point. So... it was good. Or will we finish 2nd lowest by 1 point, and then the team that finishes 3rd lowest wins the lottery?

I'm still thinking 23/24 at the earliest. All our D will still be under 25 then and Cozens won't yet be in his prime. TB and FLA will still be good-to-great in 2 years. DET on the upswing, TOR still should be decent. Bergeron and Marchand should still be good in 2 years, too. It's not like the division is projecting to be weak or facing a lot of teardowns that haven't already started in the next two seasons. Skinner should have either been extended upon completion of the trade, or rented at the deadline for a 1st. He would have been the top scoring threat winger, worthy of a late-round 1st and a prospect as a rental (like Evander Kane was traded for). Instead, we'll end up buying him out in after 2 or 3 more seasons because he'll be too much on the cap as we try to re-sign the next core.

I missed last night's game, but it looks like it didn't have any controversy or anything interesting happening, so that's fine.... Will also miss tonight's game, but if Dell or Subban starts, at least the entertainment will be in watching to see how many Ovechkin can net in his Gretzky chase. That should be fun.

Nice. The Amerks are now responsible for 2 of the Comets 3 losses on the season. Now, to get some AHL-level goalies back onto the squad.

For sure. And anyone who saw UPL last year knows he wasn't ready for NHL full-time duty... so the Anderson-level deal this year should have theoretically been a 2-year deal to attract someone possibly younger. A 2-year contract wasn't going to block UPL, Levi, or Portillo. It's a failing on GM Sheevyn to slight us on the goalies... getting a 40 year-old who had said he was going to retire and an AHL-level goalie who'd regressed in the last couple years. Brossoit could be a decent stopgap.

Bummer. For him and the Sabres. It'd be nice to see the team at full strength, even if briefly. day-to-day: a player appears to be horrifically injured... but is fine in the next scene week-to-week: a player requires a swim in a Bacta tank month-to-month: a player is encased in a metal suit with limb replacement

This stinks. I guess the good news is: hashtag Jankowski is already signed to rock and or roll. It was quite the slash...

Good PP if a shot ever ends up on net.

Not at all. Until UPL starts stringing multiple quality starts together at the AHL level he can't even be considered to be the NHL backup. (Note: if UPL plays consistently great the rest of the season on the Sabres, fine... then they still need a starting caliber goalie who is ready for the grind.)

There's a reason NJ traded us a 5th to take his salary.

To be fair... our recent what-used-to-be-Carruba collision of the game has often been the opponent initiating said collision. We don't often throw a noticeable check.

From time to time. Dear, oh dear.

Yup. Also a.k.a. the clone of Lukkonen (for folks who've read the books back in the day).