DarthEbriate

I'm tracking with you -- so far: Krebs/Tuch = 16GP 5-8-13pts; Eichel 0GP 0pts. 😇 And it'll look all the sweeter when VGK trades a good player to be able to bring Eichel onto the roster, then Eichel's Hockey Gods curse causes him another high ankle sprain as well as injuries to his fellow teammates, thereby causing VGK to narrowly miss the playoffs, netting the Sabres a mid-1st pick. (And if it hadn't been lottery protected, then yes, VGK would win the lottery and we'd pick #1 and #6.)

Today Risto is going to look like Bogo's first game with the Sabres. On the stat sheet he could outhit our entire D-corps. Of course, if we have patience (and talent), we should be able to draw him out of position a handful of times to make said hits and turn those into grade A scoring chances.

Playing like the parent club --- Amerks outshot 12-5 in the second and 12-4 thus far in the third. Close it out, kid-Sabres!

Agreed. Murray is another not-very-aggressive Sabre who's happier to wave his stick at the opponent (allowing the player a free pass/release up the ice), rather than take the player into the boards (even softly) and thereby preventing them from joining the play immediately, or forcing them to make a bad pass because they're about to get collided with. Checks don't have to be hits or put people through the boards, but they should impact the play. Murray is another Sabre non-checker. (And every once in awhile, it would be nice to see a Sabre put someone through the boards, just to keep them honest. Maybe even start a fight because of retaliation for a clean hit. Help bring the team together.) But as others have said, the aggression has to be part of your makeup.

Murray does not have the speed to play Tuch's game. There's a reason Tuch was drafted 18th overall and Murray was drafted 99th. Also -- let's hope that Anderson's return doesn't coincide with another goalie getting injured and out week-to-week. (Even Dell!) Rochester needs a goalie back, too.

Mitts is almost back! Will Quinn play on Mitts' wing? No. Sadly, no. And that's with half a season left to go.

That stinks. It also explains why Quinn didn't look as a strong in the 3rd and wasn't on the ice for the game-tying goal attempt. ++You don't believe in the Hockey Gods, do you? --Kid, I've skated from one side of this league to the other. I've seen a lot of strange injuries, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful force demanding injury retribution for constant "tanking" and "resetting". There's no mystical energy field that controls my injury list.... But, that doesn't mean I'm not building a shrine to make sacrifices for promoting player health going forward.

And look at those dominant +/- numbers. 😇

Just cannot keep a lead.

Blergh

We had the splashy exciting open. Then the opening credits... Now we have to establish things like plot. And character! Boring!

The electric start has turned into a series of icings.

Their defense makes our defense look downright dead puckish.

Thanks, Dell.

QUINNNNNNERRRRRRRR! But that one was.

Alright... time to get the new-look PP firing on target.

Lovely feed from Thompson to Quinn. Close for the kid.

Pysyk banked it off the boards... right around his teammate and right to the Stars... and immediate re-entry into our zone. Sloppy there.

I guess... keep the A?

Seguin was Muled.

Murray is... sent down, taxi listed? Not listed in the lineup, scratch list, or the injury report...

Odd to break up the Skinner-Cozens-Tuch; and Skinner/Tuch duo entirely.

That too. Still getting assists ala Eichel early last year. Edit: And like Eichel, it's obvious something's very wrong with him.

Totally agree with this if the other wingers could stay healthy. He's starting to shoot wristers now (I remember 2 from last game) but until teams fear that slapshot on the PP and he has confidence/comfort to play like he was early in the year 5-on-5 (that drive and dish to Asplund for the winner in Anaheim), he's a temporary JAG. Trouble is he's stuck in the lineup because everyone else is an injury turnstile. Hinostroza could have taken his place in the top-6/PP role for a bit, but now he's out for extended action, too.

That's the dilemma: in the summer of '06 Max was 26 and the leading points-scorer on the team (because Briere missed time with his hernia). Vanek was a 22 year-old coming off a 25-goal rookie campaign and still learning how to play at the NHL level. Roy was also instrumental to that team, but Connolly is not always of full health, so you hate to lose the center depth. That '06 summer, Max gives you the best immediate trade value. Vanek really breaks out the following President's Cup season... which is what drove his offer sheet to the extreme. It's the get-you-out-of-seat electrifying perimeter playmaker vs. the kid you don't yet know is going to be a PP stalwart in front of the net for the next 10 years and be around 30G every year. That's the next summer. Buy yes... if we had already locked up Briere and Drury, then maybe we've got 8 firsts for the next four years to bolster the core for the next decade. (Although... it was late-era GMDR making the picks, which was not really making hay through the drafts.) And no tank necessary.