DarthEbriate

Olofsson's all-around game is getting approved. I don't know where this team would be without him this year... probably in 8th place. First minute, last minute. Sometimes the puck bounces for the team that's playing better.

Skinner goal? Now that's a phase I've not heard in a long time. A long time.

This line needs to start next game. Lazar is a good opening shift kind of guy. And McCabe-Risto on the back end. Just for a bit of tone.

It's been a trend the last few years, but when other teams ramp up the intensity, we rarely escalate to meet them. (In the tank years, teams would ramp up the intensity to get a lead or tie-and-take-the-lead and then coast, but that was more a massive talent gap and there was no need to take us seriously.) This is far more alarming. This team needs to make the playoffs in the worst way just so they can learn how much harder they are going to need to play shift-in and shift-out.

Eichel had the opportunity to lug the puck up ice with speed. Instead, a guy easily caught up to him on the backcheck. That's not normal... unless it's the new normal, in which case... his hyperdrive motivator is damaged... we're in trouble. No light speed? We're in trouble!

Lazar's line had a decent o-zone response. We're at least trying to skate and respond with some pressure. But the devils are in a sync we are not.

Lindy has his team skating hard to start. Imagine that.

That line had hop in their step yesterday. And attacked immediately today. Where's our energy line?

RK: Always with Mitts it cannot be done. Hear you nothing RK say? Eichwalker: RK, moving Skinner around is one thing. This is totally different. RK: No! No different! Only different on your line.

This is the big one. We need to win in regulation and build up a buffer if we're going to make the playoffs.

Great point on this. In the short-term, everyone else has to lock up their RFAs this year and next on cheap deals (TBL just got everybody on the cheap) which is going to leave a slew of those $4M and $5M players for the expansion draft. Seattle will easily get their cap hits on those shorter contracts and build a much better roster without spending the cash on Skinner. They could also just sign Hall for a shorter contract at less $ than Skinner. The other big note (and now we really should be discussing this in another thread) is that the NHL just borrowed $1B. I can't imaging the cap doesn't drop again next season, because there's likely no way they can play in full stadiums leaguewide even in 2021-22.

This is where I disagree. As GMTM showed us, it's easy to fill up cap (Meszaros). There's a UFA player every year who's worth a flier for a good salary -- last year Kovalchuk, this year Hall that you can overpay a bit if you need to. Seattle won't just take Skinner. Especially when they're going to have options from us like: Hall, Borgen, and Ullmark (if we don't re-sign in-season). The cap is flat for 2 more seasons, then will rise but probably not too much. So that's 3 more seasons at 9M for a guy who really hasn't done anything in the last three seasons when he wasn't skating with Eichel/Reino in a contract year. That's not eating cap, that's crippling cap. The back half of the contract the cap will go up, but the contract will be even worse. It's as Lando said, the deal that is getting worse all the time.

The easy part is getting him to waive the NMC to go to Seattle. The tricky part is getting Seattle to take him through 2027....

As ever, we've gotta put our other-GM flight helmets on... the Sabres are going to really have to sweeten the offer for us-as-other-GMs to take 7 more years of Skinner at $9M. Maybe an emergency compliance buyout is put in place, or in 2 years the cap skyrockets, but for now, he'll be with us, like The Concept Of... always.

I mean... he's better than me. But he definitely looked like Asplund gets the next look. I learned that Eichel needs Reinhart and that the team stepped up when Eichel was off the ice. Okposo looks slower than ever. A really sloppy turnover and d-zone coverage led to a snipe against Ullmark he'd like to have back, and then the soft one where he slipped the post, but he gamed back and won the shootout nicely. We still don't look cohesive, but it's getting to the time in the season when we better darn well start looking cohesive.

Ruff is going to have them playing better and better as the season goes on. Overall I still think NJ finishes 6th/7th this season; there's not enough on the back end or in goal. We need to bank our points against them early. I'm definitely not sold on the Pens this year (I think they miss the playoffs). I don't know about the Islanders yet, haven't caught any of their games. But history says they'll play defense well and that'll get them a lot of OT points and are likely in that 4th-5th-6th range. Gotta win the series agains them if we want to make the playoffs, too.

Risto's screen is definitely planned. They did it a few times late last season. My comment was more that Thompson was on the PP in the 1st and playing the high slot instead of in front of the net (Skinner was there), and if you're going to put a 6'7" out on the PP and he's not blasting away one timers (which he wasn't) then he'd better be a screen on the goalie.

Ullmark is solid in shootouts. Gotta keep beating this Devils team. Hopefully tomorrow in regulation. Because the Bostons, Isles, and Pens of the division are going to take the season series vs. NJD and NYR.

Ullmark --- good, good stop there.

Just shoot. Don't dangle while waiting for Greedo. Nice.

Cozens getting an OT shift....

Too bad we didn't salt that one away and give NJ 0 points.

Ok --- let's win this one in regulation.

Olofsson, shoot! Don't pass to Eichel right now.

What in the Hall was that? Now that's interference (by Kulikov) having been beaten and grabbing. As opposed to the first period interference call on Johnsson. But tie game late, and the whistles disappear.