DarthEbriate

This season they're just as good spelling it as spelling W. TNT!

Tuch caught Kochetkov peeking at Thompson. Gotta make that save. Can they force OT?

I can easily see them getting healthy and playing great (comparatively) down the stretch to get back to 10th overall in the draft, similar to last season. But... this team as constructed and injured, is a bottom 5 roster in the short term. The saving grace? The condensed Olympics schedule means there are 25 games between 2/25 and 4/15. It's basically every other day. If they can somehow... Robinson never did that the for the Sabres. He did for CBJ. And for CAR.

The injuries at forward stink. But take Dahlin off the ice for 24 minutes a game and I'm having definite 2013-2015 full-tank flashbacks tonight. Carolina hasn't even had to step up their game. Neuvirth Lyon is making it respectable.

I know Power has the goal, though I credit that mostly to Östlund's no-hesitation pass. But neither Power or Byram has shown anything in terms of stepping up their game. And as I type it, it's the first time I noticed Byram. Good rush, but no finish. And then... a crossbar.

They do! That's 10. We want eleven.

Can the Sabres get to 10 shots on goal before the end of the 2nd period?

Though, Murray was part of the well-established Murray family and the old boys club of NHL circles.

And we already know Pegula has lost faith in "hockey guys" and the recommendations of the league office from their experiences with Murray, LaFontaine, and Botterill. He wants his sycophants. Or a top-5 QB who makes the team a perennial playoff contender.

He seems a bit too alpha to abide the Darth Pegula "need approval to deal Joker for a 4th" type.

Carolina really likes the drop pass. To their own goalie on the third one. Their PP looks like a mess, too. 4 for 4 Carolina on the drop pass... and they never got established. They needed a rush to get a shot. Enough with the drop pass.

Taylor Hall, Eric Robinson, William Carrier. Kochetkov taken with the pick exchanged for Skinner. Jarvis, who would've been an expected pick in the Quinn spot. Hall misses the open net. Sounds familiar.

Power! Forgot about him, didn't you? Östlund with the quick feed, not the telegraphed pass -- with the full-speed rip to the slot.

Remember, Quinn (RFA) was extended before UFA even began. He was a priority for Adams to bridge two days after the JJP trade.

Ooof. Svechnikov just threw Östlund out of the way to intercept the pass, then rush up ice, then the feed. That's a 1st liner NHLer vs. an AHLer.

Good work by Kesselring. If that's Power, Jarvis likely scores on the rebound that Lyon didn't initially control.

The Concept of Sabrespace.

Nah. It just allows them to start the next phase of their plan. Appert HC. Ruff advisor. Jarmo GM. Sheevyn cackler and resident mouth of Pegula. Same as it ever was.

RB’A will have his team ready. “This is 2 points; don’t embarrass me.” But if the Sabres hunker down, scrap, and get the saves, just as St Louis did to them, they can win one for Rasmus and his fiancée. Then, band together and keep it going one game at a time. As fans we just haven’t seen a team like that in years because they’ve been young and inconsistent and lacked the goaltending needed to steal one when the skaters scuffle. It’s time to go be more than the sum of their parts.

Almost there... Personally, I'd want to hold off on the rebuild/re-tank threads until Adams is dumped before jumping to hyperspace. Or at least until New Year's if he remains. At a certain point, though, you're going to have to think about those "Josh Doan types" -- Doan, Benson -- and whether they want to pull the JJP approach and just not provide counteroffers. Right now, Doan is looking at Buffalo as the opportunity of a lifetime, but that can easily change with how GM Sheevyn executes his master's wishes.

And here we are. Last year, Dahlin's injury ended the season. This year, can Lyon, Ellis, Kesselring, Timmins, and Doan -- the new guys -- help raise the team up to play at a higher level when they're missing their best? (I'd add Danforth. And Norris! Can't forget Norris. But at the moment, they're unavailable to help.) The season stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains...

I should couch it as a worst-case fear and 99.5% unlikely to transpire, and I admit it is abhorrently cynical. But I've seen companies retaliate against employees before. And in the NHL/sports-world, it's easy to positively spin a trade as doing what's right for the player and "needed a change of scenery". It can even become a mutual agreement. But behind closed doors, it's just suits saying we can: Lose just as easily and we weren't winning with him Get a ton of assets for next season's GM to work with Extend our new core and culture of Tuch, Benson, Doan, and Kesselring Power's salary will be justified if he gets 50 points because of PP1 time Let the owner focus on the fun Bills and push that pesky hockey expectations can further down the road

My fear in all of this (from the hockey side) is that Adams/Pegula read this as a "doesn't want to be here". Much like ROR's end of season interview.

They're also in save the season mode. It has to be either Johnson (has played plenty on the right side in the NHL and college already) or Jones for now. Sadly, there will probably be plenty of time for Novikov and Komarov to get their "here's a glimpse of NHL speed" look by mid-December.

I mentioned the 70% --- It was on the Blues broadcast last night. I think it was 68.something% to 31 and change. But it wasn't at the end of the game, so the Sabres may have recovered a bit, although they still were losing puck battles clean through until the end.