French Collection

Josh Bloom with 2G and 2A tonight for Saginaw. One of his goals was shorthanded, I think he has 6 or 7 of those this season.

Levi had 60 saves and an assist. I go vote for him every day for the Hobey Baker. Poll runs for a while yet.

UPL with the win in Rochester, stopped 54 of 55 shots. Peterka with a pair of assists.

Nice scorpion save but a lot of coverage issues. Toker had no clue where the puck was.

Okposo and VO are back.

He is now an NHLer. I suspect he is not one and done.

I don’t hate it, that goaltending platoon could work and help UPL develop. Growth from the youth is key for that lineup to take a step forward. I don’t mind Orlov but he is a LHD playing the right side. I would rather a tough RHD like Gudbranson or help the Wild get out of cap hell by taking Dumba off of their hands.

I was wondering about goals to assists ratios and found this story. Skinner at 11 and Rico at 16. https://thehockeywriters.com/nhl-highest-goal-to-assist-ratios/ Interestingly, every guy in the top 25 is a winger. I usually view the centre as a distribution guy on a line and this kind of confirms my thoughts. The NHL hands out 2 assists for every goal therefore these ratios should be rare. I was just looking for ammunition to argue with the Leaf blowers who think Auston Matthews is among the greatest players ever. Great scorer, doesn’t contribute as much in other ways.

I want Tage to have a good game. I hope Dahlin can return to form, he looked a little banged up vs the Habs. 2 PP goals, 1 by Tage, Krebs and Dahlin with 2 assists each.

Low end JAG line with the numbers to back it up. Bjork’s contract can easily be absorbed if he is sent down to the AHL. Eakin can go for a roll of tape, otherwise just go away. I’d rather see anyone lose draws than him win the occasional one. Any competent C can work on this skill and get to at least 50% by next fall. Hayden just doesn’t have enough skill. Sabres need to upgrade the skill level above JAGs.

I do but the stress is wearing me out. I go to bed p*****d off and wondering why I just wasted 3 hours of my life.Last game vs Habs is gut wrenching.

Dumba could be #1 RHD. Sabres have cap space.

I like the Headstones’ version as well.

Article from Bleacher Report on the trend of large goalies. The story discusses the success of Saros (5’11”) and Shesterkin (6’1”). There is a mention of Devon Levi as a future small goaltending star. https://apple.news/Arl519OIwR2aK1X3GxtcAEQ

Just above JAG status is Nick Paul of the Sens. Awkward looking skater but he gets there. Plays wing and centre. Big body and wears an A. Good on the PK. Reminds me of Gaustad. 4th line depth signing.

Impressive C spine with him as 2C behind Matthews, playing to a packed house if 4500 fans.

Pylons!

It is tough. I was a supervisor for apprentice crews for 9 years and had similar situations. Termination was difficult as they were unionized from day one so there had to be multiple issues over time to build a case. Nepotism was rampant so there was also a lot of politics involved. Overall, it was pretty satisfying to watch kids learn and progress through a trade.

It is an evolving thing and I don’t think we can identify the core yet. To me a core 4-5 forwards, 2-3 D and a goalie. My best guess is Dahlin, Power, Quinn, Cozens, Krebs, Levi and Tuch. Some recent “dynasties” have done it differently. In Detroit’s case the goalie was a fluid thing as Vernon, Hasek and Osgood led them at different times. Those teams could win with non elite goaltending. Tampa just lost their entire 3rd line, who were not considered core guys but extremely important in their runs. Their goalie is elite and they probably don’t win without him. Chicago had a core that stayed together for three Cups but had to turn over all the supporting players due to cap issues.

Kids playing like JAGs tonight. Cozens, Krebs, Mitts

Skinner draws another penalty, one of his best traits.

Keep that shot low Mule.

Sportsnet saying Joker is out.

I’ll drink to that. He cannot even get it to the red line and dump it in. He tries to stickhandle and gives it up. Bjork is where a rush goes to die while Eakin can’t start a rush.

Habs just beat the Leafs, St Louis is trying to right the ship. Don’t take them lightly and attack. Let’s go Buffalo!