JoeSchmoe

The Moneypuck simulator has the Sabres at around an 86% "deserve to win" rating. I've never seen a rating so high for an actual score that was so bad. I didn't watch the whole game but from the half I saw we looked really good. It's disheartening to get this kind of result.

Wait... Maybe I missed it, but do we know who's in net today?

Sounds like he's a good judge of character!

I saw the tweet and I was upset only because I don't like UPL as a player and hope he leaves the team soon so we can win more games. 🙂 If it were anyone else I'd think it's cool they're going out in Buffalo having a fun time.

Lyons overall numbers are respectable. I wonder why they seem to have abandoned the idea of him being the #1 unless he's nursing something minor that won't go away.

Crosby and McDavid play two different games. McDavid is all speed and flash, Crosby is more gritty and cerebral. In the debate about who's better at their peaks, the McDavid fans tend to look purely at the skill (to which there is little argument on who's better) but look too little on Crosby's superior IQ and strength on the puck. The fact of the matter is that for all Mcdavid's flash, he should be winning the Art Ross every year by at least 20 or 30pts. But... MacKinnon and Kucherov are always right there with him. Those two are very highly skilled in their own rights, but aren't at McDavid level. However, they make up for it with grit (esp MacKinnon) and IQ (esp Kucherov). And remember that 99 guy with 2857 career points never stood out skill wise. He just thought the game at a level his competition could not.

Are you in the 99th percentile?

I feel like the Grand Canyon sized chasm is the IQ. Malenstyn can skate... His hands aren't great, but it's the vision he lacks most. I sometimes think Scooby Doo and the gang are going to show up on the ice someday, demask him, and reveal Zemgus Girgensons hiding underneath.

Not at all. I look at his advanced stats and it supports the what I'm seeing on the ice. He'll throw hits and skate hard into the other team's corner. But inevitably the puck comes back and the other team out chances us every time he's on the ice.

I'm one of the biggest Malenstyn detractors here, but I would never suggest myself or anyone less than maybe a high end AHL player could compete against Malenstyn. I'm not sure if anyone else is saying that either. All I'm saying is despite his NHL level skill (especially his speed), he doesn't process the game at an NHL level. Using a chess analogy... the good players are thinking two moves ahead and the average players are thinking one move ahead. Malenstyn is a guy who can only think move by move. He lacks all foresight to be able to get himself or the puck into dangerous areas. You see this at all the time at all levels of hockey, where high relative skill does not translate to success. In my opinion, as long as you can have an average level of skill for the league you're in, high hockey IQ will take a player further than any other skillset they can have.

Just got here. Trying to figure out where the group is. I'm wearing an Expos toque.

Will we know what table to meet at at the pub?

This is the stat that's going to sink us. Lyon was playing at around league average... I'm not sure why he's been back burnered. UPL is guaranteed to give you bottom of the league level goaltending. Ellis is still an unknown. If it were me, I'd ride Lyon, mix in Ellis, and waive UPL and tell him to earn his way back. Levi could use a kick in the butt too as he's plateaued or even regressed in his development.

Same here

We're in 117