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Winston

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Posts posted by Winston

  1. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't shed a tear if Bylsma was sent packing. However, something I keep thinking... Maybe all of this is because our talent on the back end is so bad DEFENSIVELY, not offensively. Sure, our blueliners struggle tremendously to produce points outside of Risto. They're bad at moving the puck, they're mostly unable to join the rush, and boy do they find a lot of shins out from the point. These points have been beaten to death and I agree the team will be incredibly improved when this aspect of the game is improved. 

     

    But they're also severely lacking defensive talent, and I think this is forcing Bylsma's hand. Bogo and Kulikov often look like they're out for a leisurely skate at canalside. Gorges has his moments, but the speed of the game has mostly passed him by. Risto and McCabe are young and developing. They still find themselves out of position at times, although I'm pleased with both of their defensive performances this year. As a whole, I think our lack of defensive talent on the back end is forcing Bylsma to incorporate a system where we bottle things up and slow things down. It requires our defensemen to sit back. It asks our forwards to limit their aggressiveness to cover for others' deficiencies. 

     

    I don't think him nor GMTM trusts these guys to shut down opponents without major stylistic changes. Would I prefer we open things up and try to win 5-4? Yeah, obviously it would be more fun to watch. But I think our defense is so bad that we'd lose more games 3-5 than we'd win. Our goaltending certainly isn't good enough to regularly bail out a terrible defense if we open things up.

     

    At the end of the day, maybe Bylsma and GMTM want to slow things down and teach this style now while the offense is young. Teach them to be responsible instead of playing loosey-goosey hockey. Maybe playing wide-open now would teach some bad habits and we'd lose just as many games anyways. Then when we fill the back end with players that deserve second- and third-pairing minutes, open things up a bit. Maybe some of our guys in the pipeline will work out. Maybe Bogo and Kulikov will remember they are playing in the NHL, not on a first date. Maybe we'll bring in a huge upgrade via trade or UFA. And maybe then we'd have a happy balance of scoring and defensive responsibility, and we can take the league by storm instead of grinding them to a pulp before losing shootouts.

  2. I had the speedy heart thing too, I just wrote it off as my usual heart problems (I've got metal in there over a big ol' hole). Truth be told, I had a lot of problems with the anesthetic. I almost crashed post op, have struggled with depression pretty badly since and then silly things like parts of my hair falling out/not growing back well. I've had many surgeries in my lifetime, but that leg one was the first time I've had problems like that. I didn't really want to tell you all that prior to your surgery- just stay aware of things! 

     

    The incision burned/throbbed for me. My surgery was day before Thanksgiving, and I remember the car ride to d4rk's family's house in Buffalo pretty well- my vivid imagination was having a ball with the 6 inch incision and stitches and gauze sticking to things. It'll get better pretty quickly!!!

     

    And if it doesn't... do something. Better safe than sorry!!! I almost lost my freakin' toes because the hospital people wrapped my leg up too tight for the weeks prior to surgery. They were black, massively swollen, and numb before I decided "no, this ain't normal..." 

    best of luck! 

     

    Geez, sorry to hear all that! This is my second surgery, so only my second time with anesthesia. First time I had no problems whatsoever. This time the racing heart was really scaring me, so I'm glad that has stopped. I think I'm mostly back to normal, but I'm obviously on the lookout for anything strange. Just took another dose of medication not too long ago, and it made me a little jittery but nothing bad at all. Normal pain med type of feeling. Tomorrow I have the six hour car ride from Columbus to Rochester. We'll see how tough it is the get comfortable for that! I'm going to be all set up in the back seat so I can keep elevated. I'm hoping I can sleep some of it away so I'm not just hanging out and thinking about the throbbing. 

     

    PS: Thanks for being me internet vent buddy through all this :)

  3. Oh man, I'm sorry. I hope they gave you some additional meds to pull through the worst of it. And I hope the rest of the surgery went well! 

    Oh yeah, I've got some quality pain meds. First few times I took them though, they made my heart race uncontrollably. I'm talking to the point that I was taking tylenol instead of them and dealing with the pain because it was more appealing than the pounding chest. However, that "pain" was before the block wore off. I have given them another chance today out of necessity, and no luckily I've had no ill effects. Heart rate is fine, and the stronger meds are helping out a lot. Chatted with my surgeon's nurse, and she said that is was likely a combination of the stronger meds and the lingering effects of anesthesia that sped up my heart rate. 

     

    What's bothering me the most right now is the incision. I obviously haven't seen it since I'm in a hard cast, but the surgeon said it's about 6 inches long. It's throbbing like crazy. That was the last thing that the nerve block was shielding me from. Now I can feel the cast pressuring the incision, and it feels like a machete in my ankle! I'm hanging in there though. Very happy there's a Sabres game tonight to watch :)

    So I had some blood work done two days ago. My doctor called this morning because my numbers with the liver were out of whack. I'm getting an ultra sound of my abdomen done right after xmas to apparently look for tumors on my liver. I'm really scared to tell my wife. Should I tell her before or wait until I've had it done and see what they say about it? I really don't want to ruin xmas for everyone.

     

    Very sorry to hear this. Best wishes that everything turns out okay! I can't imagine how stressful it is going through the holidays not knowing. I don't do well with uncertainty like that.

     

    Me personally, I would tell my fiancee right away. I wouldn't be able to keep it from her, just because I'm not good at hiding things. Even though it would upset her and would damper the holidays, I know she'd want to know. And I would want her to know so that she could support me. I wouldn't want to go through the holidays internalizing this kind of thing. I don't think I would tell everyone else until you've got more info. But the wife, I would tell now so we're on the same page and get through it together. Best of luck either way!

  4. I had a nerve block for my ankle surgery. It was awesome. They did an incredible job, hit a giant nerve in the outside of my knee, and numbed the out of it. I could hardly feel my shin, toes, and most importantly, ankle for a full 34 hours.

     

    It wore off. Holy hell, it wore off.

  5. Do it. The tournament is awesome, especially round 1 and the final 4.

    I think I'm gonna go regardless. If it turns into my bachelor party, all the better. The best man and I live down here in Columbus. But the rest of the party lives up in Buffalo, Amherst, and Batavia. Perfect timing, saves them the travel, and something I've always wanted to do. Also I got engaged right there at the Marriott (way back in the olden days, when the arena was known as First Niagara Center :P) so it would be fitting to party it up right there.

     

    I'm talking myself more and more into this even though it's not mine to plan haha.

  6. While I wish my thinking was along the lines of Sakman's response, I am once again ignorant of how the standings work. Give me wins, losses and ties, dag-nammit. That's what we had in the old days AND WE LIKED IT. A tie was kissing your sister.

    I would like to see 10 minutes of 3-on-3. If neither team can score during that time, it's a well earned tie. Point a piece. I feel this way regardless of the Sabres struggles this year and last. It just makes more sense to me and would be significantly more exciting.

    I can think of one shootout goal only, and that's from O'Reilly, Cal O'Reilly.

    Samson has scored twice (2/5 on the year I think). The rest have come up blank other than Cal's snipe you mentioned.

  7. One thing that baffles me is that we don't seem to utilize scouting reports. I don't have any data or any clips to support this claim. It's just a gut feeling. I watch a lot of non-Sabres hockey. It seems other teams chat with the coach and have a game plan of where the goalie is weak, where to attack him.

     

    For us, it seems like Dan goes, "Uhhh, O'Reilly, I choose you." Then ROR tries that same move that Bylsma obviously hasn't coached out of him. It doesn't seem like we have a targeted approach out there. Meanwhile, Lehner has a couple tendencies that other teams must pick up on. Gaping 5 hole and bites on dekes to his glove side. I think other skaters are coached to know that, and Lehner is a sitting duck.

     

    Our shooters have the skill to be so much better. Obviously Lehner has the skill to be better than he's been too. It seems like both are just guessing though. Maybe this is the wannabe baseball coach in me. But damn, Bylsma, utilize a scouting report for opposing shooters and especially opposing goalies!!!

  8. (Not directly in response to Pi, although it might apply. More a general thought on Risto)

     

    Really interesting to look at top performing Dmen and their ozone vs dzone starting percentage this year. All slash lines are O% / D%

     

    Karlsson: 58.2/41.8 (first time ever not cracking 60/40

    Burns: 60/40

    Letang: 53.3/46.7

    Subban: 48.8/51.2

    Byfuglien: 46.5/53.5 (first time ever below 50/50)

    Josi: 54.3/46.7

    Weber: 47/53

     

    Risto: 43.9/56.1

     

    Despite being up there with elite scorers, he's starting far more of his possessions in the defensive zone than anyone else. Is that a testament to his great defensive play or the lack of talent on our back end? I think it's a little of both, probably much more of the later. But, I wonder what his ES offensive numbers would look like if he got Karlsson's cushy offensive minutes.

     

    No matter how you slice it, it's a testament to how important he is to this team. Bylsma uses him as our defensive anchor. He goes out there and performs as our offensive anchor too.

  9. Currently on pace for 61 points. Dmen that scored 60+ points last year: Karlsson, Burns, Letang, and Josi.

     

    Also on pace for 34 power play points. Dmen that scored 34 points last year with the man advantage? Zero. Burns led the way with 31.

     

    I said this in the GTD, but I'll say it again. Jack is and always will be my favorite player. But damn, Risto is closing the gap.

  10. Buffalo expressways, and the way I refer to them, always cracks me. It's "the 90" and "the 290." It always will be no matter how long it's been since I drove them. But never once have I caught myself saying "the 71" or "the 670" down here in Columbus. Nor do I ever say "the 490" when I'm visiting home in Rochester. I'm guessing it's a product of what we hear on the radio.

  11. Nowhere clear to put this and I need an answer fast. Which of the following is correct?

     

    "...faculty at the University of Rochester blah blah blah"

     

    or

     

    "...faculty at University of Rochester blah blah blah"

     

    another example:

     

    "Doing research at the University of Rochester"

     

    or

     

    "Doing research at University of Rochester"

     

     

    Please help me sabrespace

    That's a question we don't have to ask here in Columbus :P

     

    Fwiw, I agree. Go with the "the" if you're writing University of Rochester in long form. It sounds odd because normally you'd just say "U of R" and omit the "the."

  12. The Marriott it is thanks guys. As for the whole engagement thing, that's not happening anytime soon ha ha

    Haha just having a little fun. It's a special place to me.

     

    Hope you guys enjoy the game and the Marriott! Definitely check out 716, and I also love Pearl Street for food and beer (short walk). If you're getting into town early or staying the next day, the ice rink at canalside is neat. Fun "couple thing" to do.

  13. I highly recommend the harbor center Marriott. It's a beautiful hotel. And it's more than just "walking distance," it's attached to the arena.

     

    But you could find cheaper I'm sure. Hard to beat the convenience though if price isn't a barrier. 716 sports bar is on the ground floor of the hotel too, and there's a Timmy's for the morning.

  14. If you guys have been in the random thread, you know my current predicament. I broke my right ankle when I fell on some ice. When all is said and done, I'm "walking" away with some added hardware (plate, screw, sutures) after my surgery on Tuesday. 

     

    I'm currently way heavier than I'd like to be. My plan was to hit it hard at the new year (isn't that everyone's plan?) so that I'd be in better shape for my wedding in June. 6-8 weeks in a boot puts quite a kink in that plan though. I'm thinking it will be tough to stay in shape, let alone lose weight.

     

    So I turn to you guys- any advice on exercise options? I know some of you have experienced similar injuries before. How did you stay in shape? Just core and upper body? Crutching around? :) Did you alter your diet knowing you'd be less active?

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