DarthEbriate

We must remember that Dahlin is not a finished project yet, either. He won't reach his peak, particularly defensively, for a few more seasons. And offensively he can pace for 82+ points when healthy. Power won't get the PP1 time to get the same points opportunity. Power also needs to develop and trust his shot which could take a couple seasons like it did for Dahlin. Offensively (at least on the Sabres) the advantage will remain with Dahlin. Defensively, Power needs to do 3 things: 1. Get stronger. This is just a matter of how long his body takes to fill out. Today, he can get overmatched in board battles and knocked off his feet. Someday, he won't. Someday he'll shrug off the little guys and outmuscle the big guys as well. 2. Use his reach to deny zone entries and to deflect shots. Top defensemen force an offsides on a rush attempt or casually extend their stick to make a mid-to-long range shot fly 15' over the glass into the netting seemingly 2-3 times per game. Yes, Power already does this to an extent but not with the surety of a veteran and he still sometimes gives too much space for zone entries. But with his smarts, skating, and reach, he could suppress shots at an elite level (and he's already good). (Then, the team just needs to get better winning faceoffs as a whole and the shots against drop nicely.) 3. Increase his ferocity. This is the wildcard. Dahlin was a softer skill player and then something clicked. Now, he wails on Matthews (TOR outdoor game), sets up people to destroy them (SJ game this season), and arguably goes too far and rides players into his own goalie, thereby potentially derailing the season (Comrie)... But he's a force and when he's on the attack he is the best player on the ice. Can Power learn the dark side -- aggression, attack -- or will he always be a gentle (if high-IQ and positionally excellent) giant? If Power hits on all three, he could become... ...but still not as fun to watch as Dahlin.

Beniers reclaimed the +/- battle later in the evening. But this goes back to last season: Power finished a positive last year in his limited games and he'll be a career + player. Dahlin will take a few more seasons to get back to even.

The Panthers have a chance now that they've gotten past Bobrovsky and found Lyon. In his last 5 games, he's saved 38/40, 18/20, 21/21, 39/40 (BUF), and tonight was 56/58. That's 5 wins in a row and kicking in the playoff door for them. Sheesh.

Boring two-goal lead anyway. Tuch, we're gonna have company!

Blergh. Power.

Clean kill. Well done, gents.

Girgs almost got a 2nd. Greenway with a nice little reverse check, almost got it cleanly to Cozens. That's a very tall line.

Levi is still good. We'd all like to see him cover his 5-hole on his slide better on the 2nd goal. But he's still very sharp.

Levi makes the save, counter, and the captain stokes the fires of the Locomotive.

Now... no flat start ... GIRGS!

Nice! With 1 second left on the original PP. Good timing.

Let's just think back to Krueger's preferred lineup (once Okposo got back to health after missing the opener) and where everyone in terms of their development. Here's the forward lineup on 1/24/2021. Note: This was a 4-3 SO win over the Capitals. Hall - Eichel - Reinhart Mittelstadt - Staal - Olofsson Rieder - Eakin - Okposo Skinner - Lazar - Sheahan (scratches: Thompson, Cozens) INJ: Girgensons

His teammate takes a major in the opening minute of the game. Savoie scores almost immediately and helps finish the PK tied 1-1.

Yup. Lots of opportunities throughout the season to pick up 3-6 more points. By my count the Sabres had 11 regulation losses where they scored 3 or more goals. 6 more times they scored 3+ but at least got a loser point in OT. For comparison, Toronto had 6 regulation losses and 5 OT losses in similar 3+ GF. Poor team defense and goaltending gave away a handful of points -- whether the team was young, inconsistent, streaky, etc.

UPL is subject to waivers beginning this summer based on years since signing his ELC. It's Buffalo or lose him to any team needing a backup goalie or facing injuries. Edit: This could be the lone reason why Levi starts the year in Rochester to get all the starts. Let Comrie and UPL hold the fort until a trade can be brokered because someone loses a goalie... OR... one of them is terrible and you can slip them through waivers. But based on what I've seen of Levi in the Northeastern games, WJC, and now NHL... he's not going to give GM Sheevyn the chance to send him down.

Good catch. The Sabres need any 2 of the 3 others to lose two or more games in regulation. (And go 5-0-1 or better themselves.)

Except the Tkachuk goal. That was a high-talent, practiced deflection that would have beaten any good goalie who aggressively played the shooter. (Maybe a big, slow goalie makes the save simply because they were still stuck in the net... but then they're leaving space for the shooter to pick corners.) However, --- that deflection is also a low percentage play. If the d-man boxes Tkachuk out or disrupts the stick, it's just a harmless shot off the backboards. Levi is a very good goalie. He makes difficult shots look routine and makes the easy ones look like a taunt at the opposition.

With the BUF-FLA outcome the Sabres no longer control their own destiny. The current field's maximum points they can reach: NYI 95, FLA 95, PIT 94, BUF 93. If the Sabres win out, they still need 2 of the teams to end below 93 points (I think they might own 1 tiebreaker if they win out, but that's too much effort). Basically, if NYI or FLA wins 3 of their 4 remaining games, they're in. The Sabres need 2 or more losses from everybody (all with 4 games remaining).

He looks like a legit #1 goalie. As the forwards learn to play better defense next season, and the D-corp grows up, Levi will post above average numbers. Above-average goaltending and a decent offense (which the Sabres have) is definitely playoff-capable. It might look dicey down the stretch as teams clamp down, but the first 2/3 of the season could be silly good vibes. They've been the best team down the stretch. And it's odd to say it, but losing their #1 and #2 goalie was the best thing for them. Lyon's been excellent for them.

Well, shoot. One awful shift at the start of the third, and then unable to push for a tying goal. The season isn't over, but the hope for playoff hockey will have to wait.

Terrible sluggish start from the top line. No jump and an egregious TNT giveaway and then Skinner with poor position for an easily lost puck battle. Turn it on, gents!

Oh gross and then gross again. And then in the net.

The Sabres have a turbo mode waiting in the third. The kids are just warming up.

Panthers took over with possession for a bit, but the Sabres responded well at the end of the period with their own push. Good game. Both goalies playing hot.