PerreaultForever

Well nobody's going to argue against McDavid's abilities, but you have to admit that Tage's goal was better than anything McDavid did all night.

he plays hard and physical so these things are going to happen. Hopefully it's short term.

I don't think he's up there with Beniers etc. at this point but he certainly has played better than I expected this early in. I wouldn't be surprised if he still had some ups and downs this year but I don't see him going back to Rochester, that's for sure.

Told ya we could win this game. Sure, we hung on and almost blew it. A little more veteran presence might have helped calm these kids in the late 3rd but overall we matched their speed and when you do that they show their weaknesses. Comrie is solid. Peterka is the real deal. Keep these lines and when Granato thinks he's ready Quinn for Vinnie but otherwise this arrangement is the better one. Oh and have I mentioned I'm really starting to like this Lybushkin guy!!!!!!!

Ya, I think this is a real thing. Young teams often play better on the road early in the year than they do at home. Less pressure, team bonding, and a greater focus on hockey first. It's a good thing.

I actually think the Sabres are capable of winning this game. Not saying they will, they could just as easily fall apart and get blown out of the building BUT if we get better goaltending than them (which is quite possible), Cozens frustrates McDavid a little, and the reunited top line gets it together in a wide open game we could surprise people. It's a style match up that we generally play better with. Draisaitl is the guy who might kill us. Depends on the line match ups.

The team culture is arguably the best in the league. Krejci back and DeBrusk happy, both hated Cassidy. Ullmark looking the best he ever has. Rumour has it Bob Essensa is a very good goaltending coach. Montgomery has them playing a style more conducive to the current league and thus several players have elevated their game. Bottom 6 is contributing more. If Marchand and McAvoy come back 100% they will be a true contender.

Boston and Pittsburgh look better than last year. Agree on Washington and Kuemper doesn't look like much so far. They miss Wilson more than people think. Don't count the Leafs in yet. With their goaltending issues all it would take is one or two of the big guns going down for them to fall apart. Carolina looks like the cream of the crop.

So he's been bumped down to the 4th line as he should be. Quinn sits for Vinnie as I said he should. Granato's moves here are all very reasonable and totally based on the on ice performance we've seen. He's just coaching. That's his job.

that's why that doesn't work.

McAvoy, Gryzlyk and tonight Carlo all out, that's half their starting D. Ullmark absolutely robbed Reinhart on a break which was an odd thing to watch. I'm not sure what the deal was with Florida, I'm guessing it was salary cap related, but they only dressed 5 D and then Ekblad went down leaving them with 4 D for the second half of the game. They miss Weeger big time. It was however, a good hockey game to watch.

He can be an effective winger. I'm not going to argue that, but he doesn't belong on that line. You've got 3 guys who like to shoot the puck and nobody that likes to play on the wall or in the corners. It's a terrible mix. Tuch seemed to create a little mayhem and open up more space for Skinner and Thompson. Thompson would dominate that space last year. These 3 have just been shooting from a distance with little follow up. Tuch also seemed to get both of them to play a little more physical by contagion or leading by example or whatever, and so far this year they just aren't. VO Mitts and a physical body we don't have on this roster at the moment would be the best option imo as I like Peterka with Cozens.

What game? When did he ever have it?

I wouldn't read too much into the order. I bet they play Cozens line against McDavid's. I can't argue with this shift. Krebs is playing his way off the roster.

I agree. Why I said it is obvious Tuch drove the line as I've been saying since he got here. When Granato put them back together in the 3rd they were improved . I get the idea, move Tuch down with Mitts to get the 2nd line going, but that means Thompson has to drive the top line and he simply isn't doing that. Skinner so far is playing like Kreuger era Skinner. VO is what I've always felt he is. A shooter, with little else to offer, and fully dependent on his linemates to set him up. We need another Tuch on this roster. (or two)

He avoided contact when he first got here. Remember how we all wrote him off (well most of us) as a guy who could be a power forward but just wouldn't use his body like he should? Maybe he simply prefers to play non contact and now has a locked up contract....................................just saying. Really, no excuses. It's game 2. Why on earth would any team play an injured player in game 2? He needs to be accountable. If injured just get that info out there and get healed but I seriously doubt it. Did we reward him too quickly? Well that remains to be seen.

Looks like Vegas is buying in to Cassidy. They are playing a solid shut down (Bruins style) game and I saw Eichel even back check on a play so that was something new. The early speculation of that move not being a good fit might have to be tossed out the window.

This is so strange but I'm sort of intrigued by it. We were talking about this Mitts thing last game and had opposite views. This time I thought he was better and you thought he was worse. I haven't figured out how we are seeing this so opposite yet. Let's see how this plays out over the next 10 games or so.

and he's a little (maybe a lot) dirty. But we need some of that.

I'm not on board with your name suggestion but I am liking a lot of things about Peterka. He needs to back check a little harder but he's got an edge to his game and he attacks well. As he develops he should become a very solid winger.

I know and that's not what I said. I wouldn't have protected Borgen (because of the rules) but I would have dangled Bjork out there unprotected and hope they might have taken him. They might still have taken Borgen, but at the time Bjork looked more valuable than he does now and they were short on forwards. The idea of 2 Bruins (sort of) rather than a Bruin and a Sabre might have seduced them and Borgen would have been passed over. No guarantee obviously, as I said.

I agree on Quinn and would play Vinnie next game. Bring Quinn back in slowly if he works hard in practice, if he doesn't down he goes. Power is struggling with the speed and pace a little. Not sure how that plays out going forward but I would consider 3rd pairing minutes for a while.

Wrong. Just wrong. After the game doesn't cost us a bad penalty. We stood up to him earlier as well remember. In this case they shot the puck up at Cozens face so he was pissed and went after the rat. You have to love the fire and the compete.

Well after watching this I don't think there's any question Tuch elevates the play of his linemates substantially. Thompson looked like the Thompson of 2 years ago and Skinner was a lazy floater until Tuch was put back on that line and then they were our best again. Thompson got the money, he needs to step it up on his own. Mitts wasn't a problem this game. In fact he was pretty good. Quinn however, imo, doesn't belong out there yet and should sit the next game in favour of Vinnie. That line just doesn't work as a unit. Is Mitts really our best face off guy though? I mean he might be, but is that good enough? I don't think so. Unlike Thompson, Samuelsson is earning his money. Comrie was okay. Dahlin and Tuch were our best players. Cozens is definitely getting there. I'm also starting to like this Lybushkin guy. Gimme more of the same and he might just become one of my favourites. Overall we look more like a real hockey team even though we were outplayed all game. We took advantage of some chances which was good, but we do not have much sustained offense and we will have to be much better than this to win. (Florida won't get out of the division with their D as it is)

It doesn't guarantee it but AT THE TIME he may have been more appealing to Seattle than Borgen so they might have taken him instead. If you remember they picked a ton of D men and ended up trading a few away. Forwards were few and far between for them in terms of availability and at that time Bjork hadn't played his way off our roster yet and was valued higher from being a Bruin. They weren't excited about grabbing Borgen, he was just the best we left exposed of the younger players.