erickompositör72

No, Lundqvist gave the Rangers a chance to win

The fact is that we have a tradition here in Buffalo of strong goaltending. Lehner just does not live up to what we've come to expect. I don't expect another Hasek who single-handedly carries us to the playoffs, but we at least need a goaltender who steals a few games for us. We have the opposite.

Lehner looked like I do in goal- after not being on the ice for a few years

He's "under the weather"

Lehner is swiss cheese

Was away and couldn't post, but just dropped in to say- Lehner was the Sabres worst player on the ice this game. The goal where he couldn't cover up the rebound- when it was next to his knee- was the most pathetic example of a type of goal he lets in all the time. Locate the ###### puck and cover it up, dude

Let the refs try to give them the edge. McDermott is going toe-to-toe with Belichick and has outsmarted him a couple of times. We're in their heads.

Phil may turn out to be a fine coach, but he's definitely no prodigy. The fact that he is the only difference between the best powerplay and the worst powerplay we've ever seen shows that he's not too good at multi-tasking his coaching priorities

Think they may give Rodrigues a shot on the Kane/Okposo line?

I think he could have a Moulson-like career, with the right center. If that turns out, I'm not incorrect in saying many #2 overall's haven't had Moulson's career numbers, right?

So his ceiling is, like, Ovechkin What a shame

You will believe it, too, when a winning team gives up some assets to acquire him

agree 100% Re:speed- I think Reinhart has adequate speed to be part of a rush, but he just needs time to build up the speed (he doesn't have good acceleration). He does, though, lack a 3rd gear. His 2nd gear is adequate for a rush, but not enough to blow by someone I think, through junior, etc, he didn't have to be fast to score goals. So, he didn't even worry about it (similarly to Jack not having to worry about play away from the puck before getting to the NHL). I watch Samson with the puck, and he just coasts. He probably could play at a faster pace, but has just not developed that as part of his game. The sad thing is, he doesn't seem to be trying to. Last night, I saw him receive a pass after he had built up speed, and I thought, wow, he looks good flying down the right wing- why doesn't he do that more often? I think it will take a concerted effort of focusing on how to inject more speed into his game, and then understanding how to integrate that into the new system. Basically, I think there are a lot of other factors contributing to his lack of speed- not just a physical deficiency.

Yeah, this is kinda a lazy take, IMO:

Dream scenario: package Okposo in a trade with Kane, then re-sign Kane July 1 EDIT: I just thought about this more- it'd only work if we take someone who's salary is equal to Okposo's, but would be UFA after this season

Whatever their strategy for Antipin is... I'd say it's working :thumbsup:

Wait for a team that's making a playoff push whose goalie goes down. If he keeps these stats, a desperate team may overpay for him

I really liked these lines. Any chance we'll ever see them again?

I knew we should've signed him

The anomaly is his amount of assists this season. His goal pace is .41, up from a career average of .31. You could argue that's not too far off his average. And, I'd argue, the fact that he has grown as a player in many ways contributes to this, as well as his chemistry with teammates. I don't buy the "contract year" trope.

As long as Falk isn't playing OTOH, I've had no problem with Gorges's playing

Your chuckling/laughing is hardly a convincing counterpoint to my assertion. But at least someone is amused at the situation.

Maybe he can't shed the Bylsma system?

I have this bad feeling that Phil is just in panic mode, and that in this panic, he can't even correctly assess which lines are working and which are not. It seems like line combinations are changed even after we win a game, or at least have an extremely competitive game. It seems like things start working, but it doesn't sink in to Phil that it's working. Is there any truth to this, or am I mis-remembering?

I think this is exactly it. Reinhart will be what Moulson was. He'll put up 30 goal seasons on a line with Eichel, but he's not fast, not good down-low and not too strong on the puck. But he can put the puck in the net, knows the spots to be in, and has good hands. I think it's a shame it was in this current setting that he got his "chance" at center. And I'm getting a little worried about Housley's "system." I think Sam may even deserve another chance when the team gets better (or if they get another coach); maybe he will if he's traded.