DarthEbriate

Local football team playoff game... Sabres intrasquad scrimmage... Sabres win, obviously.

Execute Order Twenty-Eight, or as I like to write it: Order 2$!

Luke, The Concept Of will be with you... always.

Oh -- I totally skipped past Risto! Yes, they were both in the opening-night lineup vs. Detroit on 10/2/2013, and Girgs scored the Sabres' lone goal. I guess then technically Girgensons is our longest-tenured and in-the-lineup Sabre as he was drafted in 2012 vs. Ristolainen's 2013. McCabe was also drafted in 2012 but didn't debut until later.

I'm with you, too. There was nothing more fun than hearing the Irish jig pop on after Shanahan scored in Detroit. It's like when Ullmark makes a big save and we get the Vince Guaraldi Trio for a moment --- those are the things the kids are going to remember. (Plus, if the players have input, you get to know them more. They become more a part of the fabric, especially now that we're not churning for tank purposes. Even better if you get someone like me who'd be all about anything but a loud/everybody-get-up track. Lovin' Spoonful "I Didn't Want to Have to Do It" and a selected excerpt from Miles Davis ***** Brew --- yup, kids, you're gonna have to listen to some oldies when I sneak a puck through. Players could have a lot of fun with it.

Indianapolis? Let me read it like Jim Mora saying "playoffs?" Indianapolis?! 🍺 Of course, what's interesting is highly subjective.

Looks like he and McCabe both first skated with the Sabres in 13-14. Edit: More research says yes. Zemgus skated 70 games that year, McCabe only got a look-see with 7 at the end of the season.

This is crummy news after one scrimmage. So, Sheahan, about that PTO... (I say Sheahen because I think his size/style/experience matches Girgensons the best. He can be that same role.) Edit: I say this despite Rieder skating on the Eakin/Okposo line today. Either/or works if they make the line work. Get well soon, Zemgus! Get into that bacta tank ASAP!

To be sure, that was a chump move by Seattle to push back their start year. But it also means JBot and now GM Sheevyn needed to pivot a bit (yes, difficult, perhaps -- especially since acquiring Jokiharju for Nylander still looks like a great move) to get the right roster configuration in place for this year. If that means moving Montour/Risto/Miller/Borgen for something at last year's trade deadline, maybe that's the simple fix. That said, can you imagine this past offseason also including an expansion draft --- and this abbreviated season being the inaugural season for a franchise where fans can't go to the games? That would have been mesmerizing to watch. I want cat gifs, not excuses.

Does anyone else hear the Art Instruction School commercial theme song in their head?

Agreed. The US was all over him at every opportunity. It was a great game plan by them; Cozens was not going to beat them. Whenever he got the puck inside his own blue line, he got pinched by the defenseman and gave up the puck -- it was like watching it on repeat. Good thing he's coming to Buffalo where he can be just-a-guy for awhile.

Canada couldn't skate with the US for about 10 minutes across the 1st/2nd, and then couldn't solve Knight. I didn't like Cozens in this game, and there seemed to be a lot of hesitation "do you have it?/should I get it?" between Canadian players when the puck was loose in their own zone and the US skaters just went and got it.

Your game/feed is either way behind mine or way ahead. No spoilers! 🍺

Johnson's got to get that on net.

Cozens off the top line, Quinn up

It's something like 10-1 in shots US in the last five-six minutes or so.

Quinn was pressured into a turnover instead of getting it deep, followed by an amazing US shift... and that's the first 5-on-5 goal surrendered by Canada... in the entire tournament?

Haben wir Technofieber? Ehhhh... vielleicht.

Nicely closing it out there, Finland. Fun factoid just mentioned on the broadcast: Finland and Russia are flying home on the same space transport tomorrow morning.

I like this read on Quinn. Would we prefer to have a top-ten pick be an all-world player each and All Star every year? Sure. But what if instead, he's just a glue guy who makes everything go --- and then throughout the course of the playoffs you look up and... oh, Quinn was on the ice for that game-winning goal, he scored that empty-netter, he wore an A, and at the end of a career you're like --- whoa.... sure, he won't be in the NHL HOF, but he's got his number retired as a Sabre. Those guys are pretty fun, too.

It's called carbonite.

As a Seattle representative (not born here, but here more than long enough to call it home), I'm not sure what you mean. This is an excellent sports town, an area that supports two WHL teams nicely, and is dying for a winter team to follow. This is a sports-base that sends 40,000 to every home soccer game (when there's not a global pandemic), but really wants something with a little more tenacity and hitting. Also, Seattle is building a multi-rink practice center with light rail access to downtown/KeyArena and the airport and has two WHL rinks within 30 minutes in either direction (Kent - Seattle Thunderbirds; Everett - Everett Silvertips). They're going to start taking Buffalo's World Juniors and other American hockey events in short order. This fan base is about to unleash on the Americas. (Also, we're all transplants from other areas, so we also get that Vegas --- the Sabres on a Tuesday night? It's packed! crowd. You'll be amazed. We can always hope that JBot reallllllly loves Skinner and Skinner waives his NMC. But yes, Borgen is gone at this point because Montour will be UFA.

Nice! I look forward to the Palm Springs Baby Kraken having a competitive veteran lineup, and a prospect pipeline filled with NCAAers who project to 4th liners in five-to-six years on my local NHL franchise. I wish him well out here because these rainy winter months could use some quality hockey. I still like aspects of JBot's approach while he was in Buffalo. I don't like the execution. Based on timeline of events, I also dislike he was fired more for not firing people and not for ineptitude as a GM attempting to build an NHL roster.

Redemption: Hutton 1, Gold 1

The Miller Shutout?