DarthEbriate

Speaking of delicious bowls of soup and chili...

Sutter has the Flames playing very staunch defense and choking the life out of games. Their goalie numbers, both Markstrom and Vladar, read like dead puck era numbers. The Flames have 8 wins.... 5 of those wins are shutouts. This game should be fun to see how Granato attempts to attack.

I know it's super silly, but giving up only 12 shots all game is... too few? We constantly see a goalie not face a SOG for like 10 minutes and then the first one they face is a goal. No excuse for 3 goals against... but I can see a bad one sneaking past when you're not in any flow of the game whatsoever as a goalie. Still would've been nice to take them off the list of unbeatens when you outshoot them 2:1.

How are the play features of AHL TV? Easy skip-ahead, skip-back dragbars? Little pop-up icons where the goals take place and periods start? (like what NHL TV had and what ESPN+ is sorely lacking)? I mean... DarthEbriate can't start commenting on the Younglings games, too. That's too much effort. But I could watch the games.

This is why when someone runs him, we need to address it on the ice and immediately. Our PK is solid. If Toker gets popped, by golly, you pop 'em back. You shouldn't even be able to throw a punch because the entire team has jumped the person. (and then the refs are going to dole out penalties to the roughing the goalie, because clearly it was more vicious than they initially thought -- or at the very least the person who did it is off the ice for 5 minutes for fighting.)

Errrr... getting outshot by... 17 ("Seventeen thousand!") even if many from the perimeter, is full-on Alamo Death Star mode and is not sustainable for winning or holding 3rd period leads. Closing out the game is what we did to Tampa in the 3rd. Outshot them. Added the insurance goal. Then, patiently crushed them with empty netters to pad our stats.

One note on the 5-game losing streak. It happened to be on he west coast trip, but what it coincided with was taking Olofsson out of the lineup (over 1 pt/gm) and putting in Hayden. We blew a 2-goal lead in Olofsson's injury game, then were scrambly no-shows in SJ/Seattle. It took time for the Sabres to rebound without the 5on5 scoring and without the PP even being worthy of respect, let alone fear that Olofsson can bring. They're getting by now that they're settled down. And that all points to a big plus on HC DG. Weathering the injury storm and still winning some games = good coaching. Oh, and Tokarski smoking.

If the lineup ever gets fully healthy, I don't think R2 dresses. With those three back, a Bjork/Caggiula-type still needs to dress to kill penalties.

Wooooo! (sighting) Now the question is... is it because Murray can play in ROC on Wednesday, then get back to BUF for Thursday? Or is it because one of our forwards is coming back from injury?

Remember the Alamo Death Star! Keep on the attack and win this game.

We're due one more at least. That wasn't a makeup, that was missed egregious elbow/fist to the face. There's more coming.

Hey refs... so we're gonna get 2 makeup calls in the third for that garbage, right? You know, after you get the call from Toronto for letting them run Toker?

Toker toeing the line. And... yes, pipes. And the children danced to the Pipes of Pan! (drink)

I've gotten that. On both, actually. And...funny story, it helped me reunite with my estranged son, albeit briefly.

It's risky, but you do it if you truly believe UPL will take much longer. Or you believe he has no chance. (Launch the patrols!) Yes, it was a quote.

Once @pi2000 generations generated immense optimism for the Old Sabres. Before the dark times, before the Tank.

You'd have to treat it just like you would if you're in a normal "playoff-contender" season, but tend toward the conservative because this franchise still needs to re-stock all the talent it can get. The depth still isn't there. So -- let's say we're in an awesome spot, sitting 3rd in the division and statistically/historically we're nearly guaranteed to get in: then yes. Give up a 2nd for a vet rental who is a proven playoff contributor on a junk team. A 1st is only in play if it's a good player with term (1 more year). Like usual. If you're below the cusp, I say no. Trust the kids. Maybe look for a really cheap rental (4 round or lower), but let them run with it. Then stockpile, stockpile, stockpile in what should be a really deep draft. We're playing the long game.

Why doesn't the goalie W or SO have an emoji?

Mercer was the most impressive player on the ice in our prospect scrimmages this preseason.

The caveat to this is with Olofsson and Mitts out... Hayden and Caggiula and R2 are playing. R2 with Skinner or Bjork or Hinostroza or even winging with Cozens.

UPL will have that shield down up, we've gotta give him more time games! Yes, it seems like he's been around for a long time (a long time), but K^6 is still only 22 years old. But more than age, he hasn't even played 60 professional games on North American sized ice yet. He did have the one season of 53 OHL games, but he's got to get the chance to work on his craft for a bit. We can debate whether it's ECHL or AHL, but he goalies need games and he's had two shortened seasons impeding his development. Barring injury, we should see the beginning of what he is by the end of this season when he gets close to about 100 pro games. Compare that workload to Ullmark (127 AHL games + 26 in Buffalo before he stuck in the NHL); Miller (170 AHL gm, plus all NCAA games on NA ice); Biron (99 AHL + 9 NHL + 2 ECHL); even Hasek (a much older player than any of the others, got 53 IHL games and 53 NHL games before he took over for good in '93-'94).

Mule will that shield pairing # down. We've gotta give him more time! <cut back to ewoks>

Toker would’ve won this one for us.

Roger roger. Sigh

Dell yikes