erickompositör72

Somehow, half the forum seems to find the bottom 6 more interesting than any of this, which is bizarre to me.

Just for some historical context: Was the word that JBott didn't want to give Skinner that big of a contract, but Terry insisted?

Ah, OK. But they took off under Krueger! right?

Wasn't everyone pessimistic about Girgensons, Larsson, and Okposo, in general, last year? Yet Krueger found them to have magic together? Krueger will get the lines right, and we will have a great team.

To the bolded: true, but we need that line to be a good 3rd line, not a good 2nd line

Let me remind everyone that Skinner - Johansson - Sobotka was a very productive second line last year, until Sobotka got injured. Good enough to get us to #1 in the standings for a bit.

Maybe Eichel/Hall work something out where Hall signs a team-friendly contract and Eichel picks up all the dinner tabs

This is an oversimplification, but generally, a weak bottom 6 and/or goaltending are generally exposed in the playoffs. Teams with a strong top 6 & defense corps (like the Sabres) generally make the playoffs. The variable here may be the strength of our division, as others keep mentioning.

Am I incorrect about you being similarly doom & gloom about the Bills a season or two ago? If so, I hope your judgment of the Sabres is consistent with that 😛

By "might work," did you mean, might be one of the best top 6s in the league? Yeah, that might work 😉

It was alluded to before, but I think it's important to point out that Skinner-type players are "streaky" because so many of their chances are based on good/bad bounces. Someone mentioned he did create many chances last year and didn't get the right bounces, etc. Understandably, every coach wishes you could be more like Eichel (or even Reinhart) than Skinner. But Skinner is one of the best in league at what he does, and I really think last year he was mostly just unlucky. Predicting a big bounce-back for Skinner this season (or, at least- what's the term- "regression to the mean"- but in this case, "progression," rather than "regression")

Exactly. Let's see how Skinner performs with favorable matchups. The top two lines may not need any more help.

Skinner was lighting it up early last year playing with Johansson and Sobotka. I think there is a potential for a line to be constructed outside the top 2 where he succeeds.

This x1000 And that is not to say anyone overrated Larsson on this forum. He was fantastic at what he did. What some people seem to miss is that you can change the style of that line to fit the players on it, and have it be just as effective as the GLO line, but in a different way. Another take on Mittelstadt. How would everyone feel if he kept developing his sense of "defensive responsibility," and became a reliable two-way 3C, who could be depended on to not give up chances to the other team? And who had occasional flashes of putting the puck in the net? I can see he growing into this role very well.

So we have our #1 line?

if, somehow, there is any chance at fans in the building before the end of the season (doubtful, I know), this would be a dream-come-true for NYC-based Sabres fans!

Mitts's wheels look good

Mittelstadt crashes into the boards

in German it should be "toh-BEE-as"

I think he also said "workship" earlier

Risto really just enjoyed stuffing Hallsy

Whether it's just a still picture that the Sabres' fb page shares, or seeing him skate around at this scrimmage... ...I still cannot believe #4 is on our team!

just heard the first "atoll" of the new year! Here we go!!!!

RJ can't be the only person who commutes over the border. They have to have some exemption for that, right?

I think the bolded is a very astute observation. He looked like a different player during that stretch a couple years ago when Jack was injured, when Sam was forced to handle/carry the puck much more. If that element of Sam's game could take off again, he will start turning heads around the league.