DarthEbriate

That stinks for Subban and the Amerks. And... 0 shots on goal in the first period of the (second and) final preseason game? Being outshot 15-0 is not really a recipe for success.

I don't think Cozens was rushed. I do think Cozens didn't have to do much to make the team. He beat out Ruotsalainen and Ogelvie as the final cuts. Asplund and Mitts were placed on the taxi squad. This was HC Krueger's opening night roster on 1/14/20: Hall - Eichel - Thompson Olofsson - Staal - Reinhart Rieder - Eakin - Cozens Skinner - Lazar - Sheahan (Asplund) INJ: Okposo Skinner should've been in the top 6. Then-winger-giraffe-Tage should have been bottom 6. Okposo was hurt. Every other player [edit: in the bottom 6], yes, rookie Cozens should play over. I contrast that with JJP in this year's preseason. Hino had one egregious turnover to Crosby (and was that an AHL D communication error, or Comrie not communicating, or did Crosby call for it and fooled Hino? -- anyway, Hino has to use his speed and carry the puck) but otherwise showed he's in the top 12 on this roster and has a role and speed. JJP didn't pop this preseason and until he does, he gets to hone his game in Rochester until he comes up and pops. He'll get many chances to do so. (I'd also argue Krebs didn't pop this preseason, but I'll take his passing on PP2.)

Okposo's been the captain in spirit since Eichel last skated in a Sabres uniform, and was probably the captain off the ice even before then. This is the obvious, overdue choice. It's the right choice for this season.

No worries on that. Bjork will be bottom 6 veteran presence for the Amerks. Helping kids like Rosen (if he stays stateside) and Kisakov.

It's a 6-1 cakewalk preseason game. It's boring from their POV. They're just praying no one gets hurt. Every one of these AHL defensemen is <6' and 185#. They're going to have to possess the puck better and make very quick and decisive passes to break the forecheck even in Rochester this year. Because otherwise they're going to get hunted down and destroyed. All the size on defense on this roster is in the top 4.

But what would you talk about during a preseason game against an opposition B team that hasn't made the playoffs in an NHL record amount of time?

Quite big since he's going to have to start against the Marlies on Friday.

There's more to prove in the AHL. Defensive positioning, being the go-to guy on the top line (no Quinn), and consistency across the board. He'll get there. Hino had a horrible turnover in the first, but I think Comrie can prevent that reversal to Crosby by yelling at Hino where to go. Hino can float the lineup where needed. Right now I think he's the 12, Sheahan is the vet 13 who can play any position, and JJP gets to go be a top line forward in Rochester and skate 19+ minutes/night. He'll be fine.

JJP isn't thinking the game fast enough yet. 38 will look fine at AHL speed.

This is what many road preseason games look like. Look no further than last game when Carolina sent their B squad up to Buffalo. The Sabres were ahead 3-0 in similar fashion. The question is: how does this Sabres B squad respond? That's what this game is about; it's an ideal situation to assess effort and teamwork. Who rises to the occasion, who folds, who rides the bus to Rochester?

Crosby's too smart for that.

Perhaps it's meant to be 6th round pick Gustav Karlsson... but that's the magic of the worldwide leader in sports. No Tsujimoto though.

Ha-hey! Casey Nelson is no longer on ESPN's Sabres roster. They got it updated for training camp! Wait... wait... https://www.espn.com/nhl/team/roster/_/name/buf/buffalo-sabres What's this? Artem Kriukov! Age 40. 6'4" 193. He's in camp this year? Right there between Kozak and Kulich. ESPN NHL, you are the gift that keeps on giving. https://www.espn.com/nhl/player/_/id/2413

Kiefer Sherwood has the first goal of the 2022-23 NHL season.

He could've tweaked something and thus the Malone recall? Or he's a proven veteran and they know what they've got. For the lineup, that's a good preseason road lineup. Time for folks to make their final push for the 13th F, the 7th D, or the top spots in Rochester.

Norris and Robertson both left money on the table. Norris especially. He's locked in for 8 years and now he also gets DeBrincat (and temporarily Giroux) in addition to his regular mates of Tkachuk and Batherson (if say, Batherson gets hurt [Dell] and misses time). If he had a bridge he'd be collecting $9M+ [edit: from 10 down to 9, but that's minimum, Batherson drives a lot of that top line with his speed and playmaking] in a few seasons when the cap is above 90.

If Robertson wants a big payday when the cap rises, then he should still be getting $8.25Mx4 on this short term deal to get to UFA (which this deal doesn't do; he's still RFA for 1 more season at the end). Plus, an agent can be replaced -- there's no guarantee this agent gets to negotiate the next really big deal, the agent is leaving money on the table, too. If I'm the agent, for below $8M, it's a 2-year bridge. Then, Robertson gets Pavelski's salary added next season and we can talk $10+ with the cap rising in 2 years after my client puts up another ppg season and leaves Seguin and Benn in the dust.

I blame movies.

I don't like this deal for Robertson. Yes, it kept Dallas under the cap and that's polite of him. But he has outperformed all of Stutzle, Norris, Kyrou, and Thomas the last two seasons. To get paid less than any of them is garbage. If Dallas was unwilling to give him $8M, then... get that agent sending out inquiries on offer sheets to force Dallas' hand. An $8.3M offer sheet is still only a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

It's not the correct answer, but Houser has 3 contracts for 6 NHL gp.

Is Malone successfully through waivers yet?

Oky-Lan Kposobi: Your trade-father was seduced by the Dark Side of the Concept: the Cap. He ceased to be Jackikin Eichwalker and became VGK. When that happened, the good man who was your trade-father was destroyed. So what I told you was true... from a certain point of view. Tuch Icewalker: A certain point of view! Oky-Lan: Tuch, you're going to find that many of the fandoms we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view. Tuch: <contemplating> Oky-Lan: When we first knew him, Jackikin was already a great scorer. But I was amazed at how strongly the Concept was with him. Gionn and I took it upon ourselves to train him as a Sabre. We thought that we could teach him just as well as our own prior captains... We were wrong. Tuch: He's still a good player. Oky-Lan: Yes, but he's more Golden now than man. Twisted by the Cap.

I'm listening to a security hologram radio stream of the Sabres... killing younglings.

If HCDG is going to rock a GAO line and start them against opponents' top lines and roll them out after goals against like he did with Okposo's line last season, then that's not a 4th line in terms of time on ice even strength.