Quint

A bit early here but interesting...Not surprisingly, Thompson is among the leaders in the NHL in hitting the post with six. (Trocheck leads with nine) When you shoot as much as Tage, you're going to dent a few posts too. Olofsson is up there, so is Peterka. Most of the best shooters in the league are in the top fifty hitting the post. But as dramatic sounding as the clink it off the post, it's still missing the net. One thing that I noticed in the first stat sheet at least, is how little the Sabres hit. Of course, the Sabres are the youngest team in the league and there are a lot of positives, mainly on the offensive side. Stating the obvious, including the second chart, areas to address include: hitting, penalty kill, faceoffs and shots and goals against, the nuts and bolts of hockey. As long as they maintain their scorching offensive pace, when the Sabres catch up in the areas mentioned above, look out. https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?report=realtime&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20222023&seasonTo=20222023&gameType=2&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=missedShotGoalpost&page=0&pageSize=50 https://www.nhl.com/stats/teams

Tage will get over 60 goals.

Risto just got his first assist of the season along with his zero goals. In 27 games. That awful output is a shocker. He's a specimen, sure and he hits. But I think he's weak mentally and he's been ruined by the chaos of the Sabres organization, too much losing and too many coaches/gms. I expect he'll go back to Europe relatively soon.

Tage has a few patented moves already plus the 105mph (?) shot but I'd like to see him blast away more on faceoff one-timers (if we could develop a good faceoff guy) and use his reach for wraparounds, which I haven't seen yet. Wonder what Perreault thinks?

Has Luukonnen turned a corner? I'm hoping.

Is Skinner back tonight?

I forgot. I can't talk about these things here.

You think the knives are out for Paul Maurice in Florida? They've really dropped in the standings this year. Zito's trade of Huberdeau and Weegar for Tkachuk doesn't seem to have worked out either. I know Quenneville wants to get back to NHL coaching...

They serve a purpose, making room for the guys who are good at hockey.

Right off the top of my head Kolesar, Kane, Zadorov,Reaves, Lucic (Calgary has at least two), Arber Xhekaj and Oleksiak. If you need more, just look at who wins the fights on youtube. Buffalo needs some rougher guys to counteract getting bullied, especially in front of the net.

I feel rewarded for being a fan of Tage Thompson from the beginning of the O'Reilly trade. I thought he had tools and he did great with the Amerks. I knew about his booming one-timers and wristers but I had no idea he had such skilled hands, especially different from any other player because of his size, reach and amazing coordination. Check :11 of this amazing clip and slow it down maximum to witness the magic. First he steals it on the forehand and quickly toedrags to the backhand to get it out of reach of the defense. Then the forehand deke of the goalie to the backhand move to the forehand tuck-in. All in a matter of a couple seconds. Look at all the ground he covered so quickly. Although I don't know if Tage is a superstar yet, I feel privileged to witness his development. He's truly spectacular and fun to watch. I like it now that more broadcasters are announcing the mph on Tage's shots...including Rob Ray who now seems to do it with every one-timer.

In my view, Lucic never paid the price for what he did to Miller. He should have gotten his face caved in but Buffalo hasn't had a good fighter since Rob Ray. All the Sabres did was push him around a little. I'm sure he still laughs about what p*****s the Sabres were and are. Why can't Adams get a policeman? They're not too expensive.

Does that make the entire Sabres organization, now and then, Hollywood Finocchios?

Never again!

Sidney Crosby, Sabre killer.

Have the Sabres (or Bills) ever tried an exorcism? Couldn''t hurt.

I didn't like Skinner cross-checking Guentzel in the mouth but...I like Skinner the player. Sure he's never made the playoffs in his career but the guy has skills and apparently, a temper. I liked that he stood up for his goalie. Haven't seen the Sabres stick up for their goalie too often and hopefully this changes everything. Buffalo is no longer the doormat of the NHL. As I saw it, earlier in the play, Guentzel discreetly pitchforked Anderson after he froze the puck. Then Skinner went after Guentzel and was chirping the Penguin and then Guentzel chopped at his leg, which set off the melee. Then Skinner chopped back at Guentzel's leg and then went after his his body then his head. Guentzel started it, Skinner finished it. Buffalo lost the game and Skinner might miss a couple but maybe the message is out that you don't mess with the Buffalo Sabres.

Mittlestadt worked well with Jost and Olofsson. Could be a thing.

Better than John Gurtler.

You mean this Steven Penny?

Oldie but goodie.

Isn't winning fun?