DarthEbriate

Electricity returned. Unlimited power and such. Catching some highlights from last night. SJ is going to love Smith-Celebrini in the next few years. They play quick. Krebs has been working on his shot for the last two seasons -- now he has an actual NHL-level shot. Quite good. Reimer, that's why they got him (initially); steady, controlling the game like a Craig Anderson -- but the right age and the backup to a better goalie. (And it helped last night to make an amazing own-rebound-backhand glove snare.)

I had this in the around the NHL thread, but it fits better here. What’s the best thing you can do when retiring the number of one of your franchise’s best players? 1) pick a historically crappy opponent, 2) on their second night of a back-to-back, 3) and make sure that that opponent was involved in your retired player’s crowning moment: the Sabrepede. (Thornton got a primary assist) Hope the Sabres have some juice left over for Joe Thornton Day [today], because the Shark Tank is going to be in a silly-nostalgia-frenzy. The good Sabres team needs to show up tonight.

All wings report in from the restaurant with electricity…. 13 shots and 8 shots midway through the game? C’mon gents, get it in gear!

Now that his development is complete, it’s time for a 1:1 trade for Joker. Boom: top 6 fixed and cheap! 😇 Gah! Why was it not Sergachev?

That’s our Darth Pegulas the Wise at work. Home games? VEEEgas, baby! EEEichel!

Still no power at the homestead, so I’m almost certain to miss this one, too. I’ll check the score a couple times, though, and hope they can hit the DeLuca.

What’s the best thing you can do when retiring the number of one of your franchise’s best players? 1) pick a historically crappy opponent, 2) on their second night of a back-to-back, 3) and make sure that that opponent was involved in your retired player’s crowning moment: the Sabrepede. (Thornton got a primary assist) Hope the Sabres beat the Ducks tonight and have some juice left over for Joe Thornton Day tomorrow, because the Shark Tank is going to be in a silly-nostalgia-frenzy.

Stupid bomb cyclones. Also, just call it a category # cyclone (hurricane/typhoon) so everyone knows what you’re talking about.

That’s exactly who Reimer is, given his career stats and the variety of good/bad teams he’s been on. He’s had 1B to 2 usage and consistent numbers. Just need Luukkonen to be a real #1 and last night was a good example of that possibility.

Sabres won! Yippee!

Still no electricity (LIMITED POWER!) back on the homestead. Silly bomb cyclone might have me miss the game tonight.

It’s time we started holding the fans accountable. They’re easy to blame and the most numerous. Every time one of them says “Because Buffalo!” Or “We can’t have nice things.” Or has too much hopium or predicts the team making the playoffs or has a weird delusional comparison between Terry’s purchase and the prequel Star Wars trilogy. That’s where the blame lies, placing any expectations for success on a franchise that doesn’t warrant it. That said, Darth Pegulas the Wise is a terrible hockey owner.

It’s a good thing they’ve gotten points in their games against all the other scuffling Eastern teams: Habs, Pens, Flyers, Isles…. oh. Oh, right.

Just under. It looks like they were together in the lineup for 34 games. Their final game together was a 3-2 SO win over the Rangers on 4/3/21. The Sabres record after that win: 8-23-6. The result of them together? No playoffs. Unlimited (Owen) Power!

It does sound cooler than a "winter storm". And the satellite view is fun. I look forward to our new bomb cyclone overlords. Here in the south Sound region the evening weather report is gusty winds (up to 50 mph, so not all that bad) and drizzle. The bomb cyclone is too powerful to rain.

And it will be interesting to see if they get any Sacco bump, or they just fall apart without a coach who getting more out of less. I wonder where Montgomery ends up. I've got a great spot for him as an assistant to go on a Revenge Tour... oh, wait. The Sabres already have their next HC on the bench in Appert.

GM decisions: either to ditch Skinner to make the playoffs or reacquire Taylor Hall to go for the draft lottery win. Can you imagine a team with both Jeff Skinner and Taylor Hall on it?

Montgomery is a good coach; the Bruins have a good culture and organization. The roster looks a little weak and has ever since Bergeron and Krejci retired. But they're at the quarter pole and trailing NYI and OTT in points % and with a -21 goal differential. This is their wake-up call like Edmonton last season. But Edmonton had McDavid and Draisaitl.

Lindholm was a very good 2C, much akin to his draft-year and former CGY teammate Monahan. Solid system guys who play well defensively and could step into that 1C role in an occasional capacity -- and sometimes, you get a great year out of them. Lindholm centered Tkachuk and Gaudreau when they had their breakout Huzzah Calgary season. But Lindholm, the center, finished over 30 points behind both of his wingers. And then you wake up one day and five years have passed, and that season was a statistical outlier, and honestly, he should be making 3C money, and..., good signing, Boston! And Father Buyout is likely waiting for you there in 3 years or some playoff contender will take him with retention or some tanker will get him to reach the floor.

This poses a hypothetical situation (which we could easily see): If the Sabres and Bruins both miss the playoffs this season, which team makes the playoffs first? If I could be completely objective, this would be pretty interesting to see how each franchise were to go about it. ----- The Red Wings are preceding the Sabres through the California road trip. They earned 1 point combined vs. the Sharks, Ducks, and Kings. And good job on the Habs shutting out the Oilers.

It wouldn't be nasty of you at all. At the time, Luukkonen had yet to show any above-average goaltending in the NHL or AHL and didn't play down the stretch, Comrie was Comrie, Anderson had retired, and Levi had just made a pretty solid multiweek 5-2 debut and resuscitated a team that had been slipping through two 4-game losing streaks (as Dahlin/TNT battled some injuries) into a 10-2-1 finish and barely missed the playoffs. Help us Devon Levi, he was our only hope. (All that and he still needed more AHL time, but that's not how this organization is run... [no blockers!]. The GM instead opted for the 3-headed monster.

If it were only style, then KA's credo of "wants to be here" wouldn't exist. Instead, you'd keep the offensive firepower that is so hard to attain in this league. The players that bring in the casual fan or the person whose kids love to watch them; the players who make you stand up when they get the puck (Eichel), or elevate their average linemates (Reinhart), or are super inconsistent, but when they're on, they can be really on and entertaining (Skinner), or great on the rush from the back (Montour).

In my experience, anyone who likes Star Wars should be actively distrusted until proven otherwise. Levi: I don't what this chart is talking about. I'm a young goaltender on a diplomatic mission to Rochester... GM Sheevyn: You need to play everyday... and you're a traitor (for not being the best goalie ever despite my gifting you a starting job after you kept the team afloat with some good games right after college because I couldn't set the team up with a goalie so I need you to cover all of my mistakes, but you still aren't even close to your professional development curve as you're only at 63 professional games played). Bring the shuttle!

Well, hopefully Rosén has learned and gotten stronger since last season's debut. 7 games of... invisibility?... were normal for most kids. If TNT is out and Rosén suits up, he'll skate more than 10 minutes and possibly even get some PP time. Last season he skated under 10 minutes in 5 of his 7 games.

Doc. Are you telling me -- you built a time machine... out of a Delorean rake?