pastajoe

6.5% chance for 1st, 6.7 for 2nd, 0.2 for 3rd, 44.4 for 7th, 36.5 for 8th, and 5.6 for 9th. San Jose has the best chance for 1st at 25.5%. I wish the league showed it live like this when we lost McDavid. I still think it was rigged to punish the Sabres for tanking.

The next round will be best-of-five, which I think unfortunately if it’s against Laval will be a loss. They’re a tough team to beat. The first round series are best-of-three, the division semifinals and division finals are best-of-five, and the conference finals and Calder Cup Finals will be best-of-seven.

When the team moved to Syracuse from Hamilton in 1992 as the Vancouver affiliate, the Nestle plant in Fulton, north of Syracuse, was a major sponsor of the team. A fan vote picked the name Crunch. Over time its affiliation changed to Columbus, Anaheim, and currently Tampa. But the name remained even though the Nestle plant is long gone.

Defenseman Max Crozier and forward Conor Geekie were returned to Syracuse after Tampa was eliminated.

The 6'1 ", 182-pound Plymouth, Mich. native was a steady force for the Phantoms on the blue line, finishing fourth among USHL defensemen in scoring with 41 points in 55 games and finishing third on the team in assists with 31. Osburn had 19 power-play assists and 20 power-play points, tied for third among league blueliners. The Buffalo Sabres' fourth-round pick and Wisconsin commit finished the regular season with a +10 rating, helping the Phantoms to the second-lowest goals-against average in the league at 2.69. Osburn was named to the All-USHL First Team on Monday.

Minor league teams prefer to play near or on weekends to maximize attendance.

I was hoping Tampa could keep the series going to game 7 so they don’t send their best callups back to Syracuse to play against the Amerks.

Like so many other former Sabres, he underperformed until he left for another team.

ECHL Jacksonville lost their 1st round series to Florida in four straight games. All four games ended in overtime.

Nervous about the Amerks chances. Syracuse has a big physical team, and if they get by them Laval has given them trouble all season.

Cozens with the drive by let Domi cut to the middle. 😒

Wrong, Murray was willing to take big swings to try to improve the team. It’s mind boggling that a team with Eichel, Reinhart, O’Reilly, Kane, and Dahlin couldn’t make the playoffs. Unfortunately nobody knew about Lehner’s issues, and we got the worst couple of years of his career. I’d much rather have a GM like Murray than someone like Adams who clutches his draft picks like they’re his own kids.

It would be smart to give them a game to get used to their old line mates again before the playoffs.

A higher draft pick is worth more in a trade, which is what Adams should do with it this draft in a package for a veteran defenseman.

It stinks that Carolina sat a number of their best players and lost to Montreal, thus eliminating Columbus.

On Sabres Live today they discussed whether Kulich, who is eligible to play for the Amerks in the playoffs, should. Marty said he doesn’t think he should go back, he’s proven he’s a NHL player, and it would take the roster spot of another prospect. I think that’s ridiculous. He would greatly enhance their roster, especially if Kozak isn’t healthy to play. The Amerk fans deserve the best roster possible.

I’d rather have had O’Reilly, and a GM and coach who surrounded him with players who knew how to win a Stanley Cup, and his Conn Smythe trophy, as was the case in St Louis. For all his accomplishments Tage hasn’t gotten the Sabres any closer to the playoffs.

The team that gets the best player wins the trade, regardless of how many players are involved. Granted Adams had a proverbial gun to his head, but it was his decisions that got them to that point.

Christian Ehrhoff signed a 10-year, $40 million contract with the Sabres as a free agent in 2011 after two consecutive 14-goal seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. He was bought out by Buffalo after just three seasons in 2014, leaving the team with an annual payment of $857,143 for 14 years, and will receive checks through 2027-28.

We don’t necessarily need to just build through the draft, but use the high draft picks and prospects to acquire veterans to blend in with the younger players. And the higher the pick, the better the potential.

If he finishes strong then Adams should use him in a trade package to acquire a top 4 defensive defenseman. They have McLeod and Kozak to fill the bottom 2 center positions, with Norris and Kulick in top 2. And who knows if Östlund will push for a spot.