DarthEbriate

Let's drop in and have some fun tonight.

The Sabres have won a bunch of games this season with those 12 forwards and goalie on the ice. Hopefully, they play defense as a team and get back on track tonight.

Maybe Levi is the backup. And HCDG has recently learned how to pull a goaltender. When it's 3-0 midway through the first... enter the Devon. The comeback and subsequent 12-0 run to 96 points (and the 8 seed) begins.

The new Pilut/Bryson/Antipin. Hope he's as good as they became in Rochester.

Kulich in 2024-25 (with a 4-game cup of coffee next season). Savoie with 8 games early centering Girgs and/or Okposo or equivalent (the Krebs treatment) before heading back to juniors or WJC or even Europe to keep bulking when he's deemed not quite ready. We've seen this season what having too many rookies at once looks like. I've always believed you can safely manage 1 rookie at each position at a time. Any more and you start getting wonky (even if they're great, they'll be inconsistent, get knocked off pucks and off their skates too easily, and be prone to lapses/rookie walls). The Red Wings were the model for years because when it was time to fill a hole in their roster, they had a 23 year-old in Grand Rapids (or overseas in the case of Datsyuk) ready to go -- not a kid. Even just a regular guy like Jiri Hudler had 12 games at age 20, 4 games at age 22, and then was ready to go at age 23. The Sabres need to let the kids stew and become dominant AHL vets on their ELCs. The best thing about this phase of the Sabres rebuild is there aren't endless NHL spots to rush them up to fill; yes, the Sabres are thin in depth, but they do have legit NHL talent (except at the 6-7 D spot and that's only glaring because the top 4 are all still kids). Starting this season, all the "blocks" for the kids are other talented kids. They have to earn it, but next season I'd roll Sabres rookies, part-time Savoie (12F) or Rousek (12/13F) and Johnson (6D). And at goalie it's either UPL (still under 40 career NHL starts) or Levi, but not both. And I'm still shocked Kulich fell as much as he did. I had him as my top forward when the Sabres picked Östlund.

A communications disruption can mean only one thing... invasion. Canada trying to keep their best goalie from playing for a US NHL team.

In terms of cap, it has only been the last couple years that the Pegulas announced the Sabres would be "Effective, Efficient, and Economical" and run lean with the reduced COVID/gate revenues and the new rebuild where most of the players are playing on ELCs, bridge contracts, or in the case of 2022: all $750k deals. Prior to that it was "dig another well" and go sign Leino, Moulson, Okposo, and max out on Eichel. They'll re-sign their own and be right back near the cap in the summer of 2024 when Dahlin, Joker, Power, Mitts, Krebs, UPL are all up for new deals. Even if mostly RFAs, a couple of them will be long-term and big-time extensions. Unless the original post is more about stadium experience, renovations, and replacement, in which case I assume that is coming once the Bills stadium is into construction and projected cost overruns are more clear.

I'm guessing there was no one who set the tone for the Sabres early on. No outracing a Predator to the puck, no solid hit, no desperation. Meanwhile, I'm guessing that the Predators were lining up to show their teammates and their coach that the previous game was a fluke.

I missed this one. Both of these teams were embarrassed 7-0 in their previous game. One team, with one of the top offenses in the league, mustered 5 shots in the first period and then had its goalie chased in the 2nd. It appears the Sabres missed this one, too.

It looks like I'll be sitting in traffic until into the 3rd period. Hopefully by the time I get home the Sabres will be giving me a reason to tune in. Granted, the Sabres showings in recent home games means I won't even have to worry about it by the time I begin sitting in said traffic.

On the next shift... the puck is in the net in 15 seconds. RJ sighs, "It's over."

I think Dahlin could've had a very strong case for #1 if he topped 90 points with the Sabres making up 30 points in the standings and making the playoffs this season. Especially since Karlsson's epic season might end with a Bedard pick. But it's moot at this point. Dahlin (and the team's) fade means he'll be lucky to get a nomination as a finalist. Top 10 though.

And now we know. 2 losses to Boston by a combined 14-1. The 3-game road trip at the end of the stretch required a comeback against TOR (their best game by far), 3 blown 2-goal leads against WSH, and a no-show vs. PHI. The forwards didn't skate a whole bunch of times. 3-7 or worse? They did worse. 2-8. They didn't wear the goatheads enough. They did win 5-3 vs. TB in the goats. VO didn't get his hot streak. He was scratched instead. He did score 2 meaningless goals against PHI though. They came out flat repeatedly --- no one ever started anything. They didn't win those games. I was wrong.

Muel-Power is real. Their record with him in the lineup is amazingly different than without -- whether the top line is scoring or VO is scoring or the goaltending is one of those give-up-4-and-win or not. But of note in his importance: it's Mattias.

I figured Dahlin winning the Norris was dependent on making the playoffs. This stretch of games since late February... Dahlin's Norris case, like the Sabres' playoff chances, are over. Disappointing given where both opportunities stood just a couple weeks ago.

It's one thing to get beat and have Dahlin playing through an injury. But for a couple weeks now and for months in home games... It's quite another thing to look like....

Oh crap, I'm going to give the kid a complex. The complex of The Concept Of Tuch: The Concept Of is strong in my core trade. My trade-father has it. I have it. And my trade-brother has it. Yes... it's you, Levi. Levi: I know! Somehow I've always known. And our other trade-brothers have it, too: Krebs, Kulich (and... maybe... Greenway... in some capacity.)

Skin Solo: How are we doing? Tuch Icewalker: The same as always. Skin: That bad, huh? Where's Levi? Levi (chained to the bench): I'm here.

The puck did not bounce over the Flyers' stick. RJ yells: "It's in the net!"

Losing a faceoff in the offensive zone shouldn't lead to a goal within 3 seconds....

And that's just it. Last game he learned how to use the timeout. It worked -- they settled down and Krebs/Girgs combined to regain the 2-goal lead. This game, it's time to learn how to pull a goalie. (See if he learned from the 10-goal debacle.)

Anderson should not be on the ice in the third. But he absolutely should have been pulled at 3-0. This team needed a kick in the rear at the first intermission and instead they got more lackadaisical.

Keep your distance, Sabres. But don't look like you're trying to keep your distance. I don't know... play casual!

Okposo, Girgs, Tuch, Dahlin... now would be the the time to show some leadership and fire.

One of the top scoring teams in the league now has a negative goal differential on the season.