The Dominator

I've missed most games since Eichel's injury... But on a Friday night with no plans, why not? I'll tune in

Does anyone feel confident in Buffalo getting a solid return for Kane? Not even the 4 piece return that Botterill is supposedly looking for (or just asking for), but just a solid return. Let's say 1st rounder, prospect, and some guy to fill in at wing until the offseason

I think there's a parallel between the Sabres and Bills and what fans want as far as an approach to things. Under Bylsma, Sabres took an approach similar to the Bills of the past handful of years... play conservative (ground n' pound), shore up weaknesses (build around QB but not through QB), play things tight and hope that you make less mistakes than the other team. As we saw from the Bills, that will keep you in most games and even potentially squeak into the playoffs, but you aren't a true contender looking to achieve the ultimate goal on a consistent basis. Under Housley, the team is (hopefully) taking an approach of a team like the Steelers/Pats who attack more, potentially leave themselves vulnerable but are always in play to contend for a title. Obviously the Sabres don't have the necessary pieces in place yet to do this successfully, but I think that's the blueprint. It's like going from the wing-t offense to a spread attack. Sorry for the football similes but that's how my noggin works

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/964603324761890816 From Rapoport: On the #Panthers GM opening: Now that he was fully cleared, interim Marty Hurney is once again considered the favorite for the full-time job, I'm told. Not a surprise, that's where he was pre-leave. Should wrap up, too. Lake Dawson had 2 interviews with Carolina for the GM job, but it looks like they'll stick with their own guy. Him and Leslie Frazier both stick with our team for at least another season which is good for us

Spent a few hours at my cousins last weekend, he has a pretty nice bourbon collection so we had some fun comparing different offerings. I was a huge fan of Willett Family Estate Rye. It didn't have any ground pepper flavor at all, which opened up to all of these other floral flavors. First time trying Elijah Craig 12. I can't believe it used to be only $25 a bottle. Blanton's straight from the barrel was a treat.

Has anyone seen this before? I found this article that does a really good job of predicting successful NFL QBs before they are drafted. It isn't perfect (it projected Jared Goff to be a bust) but it does a good job of telling you which QBs to avoid. I think it actually projected Dak to be a success. For this upcoming crop of QBs, if I did the numbers correctly, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson, and Mason Rudolph all project to be successful. Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield are projected as busts. Check it out, they list their results and you can use the decision tree like I did to see which prospects fall under which category. http://duelingdata.blogspot.com/2017/04/predicting-qb-success-in-nfl.html

I just laughed out loud at my desk

I'm itching for a good Sabres trade rumor. I need some hint at what offers are being thrown around

I've found this article to be pretty helpful: https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/winter-olympics-2018-full-tv-schedule-usa-medal-count-channels-stream-dates/ Obviously it doesn't have channel numbers since those differ by location but the channel name helps

*Puts on tinfoil hat* Those were calculated, intentional calls to go against New England. Our colony of NFL/Pats truthers is growing so fast that the NFL needed to cloak their true intentions. *Takes tinfoil hat off* Yeah, it was nice to see a few calls go against them in the biggest game of the year.

Would it be fair to say that next season will be do or die in regards to his long-term outlook?

Fair enough. I don't rule that out as being the case in this scenario. I just don't like when someone says "X (food/drink/whatever) tastes like " when everyone has completely different taste preferences. As if one person has superior taste buds than another. That's why I don't hate on someone when they say their favorite whiskey is a budget one like Beam or Jack. Rock on, you do you, and as long as you enjoy your dram and are exploring different whiskey flavors then I'm glad you're a part of the community. And I'm not saying you or Eleven are acting this way, I'm just up on my soap box at the moment and figured I would put it out there in case it comes up :beer:

Such a fitting end to the game

As for whether or not a whiskey tastes good, I'll say there is no such thing as a bad whiskey. Everyone just has different tastes and preferences. No snobbery here. I'll admit that at the whiskey fest I probably tasted about 20+ whiskeys before trying the footer, so my taste buds could have been shot at that point. But all I can say is that I enjoyed it. There wasn't anything magical about it, but it was your standard bourbon flavors and an easy drinker.

Agreed with this. I know personally, the traits of a winger that I wanted to be paired with Eichel/ROR are the traits Nylander was supposed to have.

Yeah it was a classic bourbon. I think my first purchase from the list will be the Iron Smoke. It's an apple wood smoked bourbon and I knew I liked four grain bourbons already, so it's pretty unique. And the price is right, about $40-45. As for the signature, I forget it's there as well. It's a nice surprise when I notice it. See, not all of us millennials think we're wonderful little frail butterflies ;) Funny enough, I almost became sick that night but not from the whiskey. I was eating so much during the day that my stomach was not having it by the time 10 PM rolled around. I tried a little too hard to soak up the alcohol.

I have no issue with how Botterill has approached this mess of a team so far. Would I like to see a faster turnaround? Of course. But X-GMTM took that mindset and completely stunted the potential growth of this team. So if Botterill wants to play this season out for evaluation purposes, land in the top 5 picks and add another blue chip to the pipeline, so be it. I like the slow play on Kane, as I don't think the trade offers will be any worse 2 weeks from now as they are today. I believe they will either be the same or better returns on Kane. From his last interview with WGR, GMJB acknowledged teams like Colorado when asked about his timeline. He comes from a winning organization, I'm sure he would pounce on an opportunity to be a playoff team next year if he can do it in a sustainable way. Next season will either bring a ton of hope or a lot of anguish, as we know there will be a handful of the Rochester prospects coming up. If they don't show they can hang next season in the NHL, it'll push the timeline back multiple years in my mind. I have faith in Ullmark and Guhle, but we need more than that just to be competitive. I don't know if there is a general point I'm trying to make out of all of this, just some thoughts going through my mind on this brisk Saturday morning.

It seems as though you and I have had very similar experiences, having spent time in both cities.

As do I, on both fronts. The truth will be revealed, regardless of outcome. Wait a minute... I'd say there's about a 95% chance Kane is moved, it's extremely hard to imagine any other scenario at this point.

Grew up in Rochester for my first 18 years of life, and I have predominantly lived in the Buffalo/Niagara area since then. Growing up, I never met a single Rochestarian who considered themselves part of central New York. I always considered myself a western NYer. News coverage considers us part of WNY in the Rochester area. Buffalo is a faster commute than Cuse, and anything east of East Rochester seems fairly foreign. Buffalo doesn't have exclusive rights on the WNY moniker. Add that up, and it's an easy conclusion to make.

Way to trust your gut, Dominator of the past!

Buffalo Whiskey fest was a lot of fun, Added a few whiskeys to my wish list from the show: Powers John's Lane Iron Smoke Bourbon GlenDronach 12 Wild Turkey Rare Breed One Foot aka "Rooster" Whiskey Wyoming Whiskey

How often does a team hold an off-season press conference about an injured player? Does anyone remember if Buffalo did that the year Kiko tore his ACL lifting in the offseason?

But I can't remember them playing together on the ice other than for the PP/PK so I'm still curious on whether that stat is accurate or not

If it was, then the stat wouldn't be recorded properly since it's per 60 minutes of even strength, right? Wouldn't that mean they threw out any PP/PK stats?