Jorcus

I guess i am not sure why 95 points has to be the number. It has been 91 the past 2 years and 92 the year before that. The East is more balanced than ever. The number this year could be 89. Still they are not in a good place and getting to that number is going to be difficult.

Forgot to say interference was what the bench was looking or hoping for.

The replay on the NHL app has the Detroit broadcast. They first pointed out that the bench was calling for a penalty but it seemed after watching the replay they kind of shrugged that off and complimented Thompson on a good play.

On the downside our defensemen took turns giving away the puck that lead to goals against. Timmons first, Byram second, Dahlin third, then Sammy directed one into the net. Amends were made and they came out with the win. They got 4 goals in regulation for the 1st time in 11 games and only the third time this year. In this version of the NHL you are going to need 4 or more on most nights to win. Let's see if they can start ripping twine. On the too many men penalty it was not perfectly clear on the replay but it seemed like one guy was going off and 3 jumped on. Lindy was talking about a dump in and that should not be called but at the end of the day it was on the bench for it happening in the first place. If nothing else the PK keeps coming though though. Still have not seen enough of Ellis but his side to side movement and play down low seems pretty good so far. The comfort level with him seems to be increasing. This is going to be a strange season in the standings. No reason to waive the white flag just yet. I could see a lot of teams fighting for 90 points this year.

I guess it's where you are drawing the line. If it's for a season you're looking at season ending injuries. We have not lost anyone for 82 games like Florida. For this time in the season we have lost a lot. The Avalanche had a ton of injuries to start last year. Probably on par with what we are going through. I don't know the answer but they came to mind and it's probably happened to most teams at one time or another.

20 minutes to fill between periods but they decide it would be better to use the first 10 of the second to not call hockey. That works great for radio broadcast.

I first saw it on the sidebar thing they show on Sabres Live.

After watching most of that pod cast and given both the coach and GM are on expiring contracts It's time. Don't let the Buffalo's run away.

It's the NHL general managers meeting. They are all in Toronto.

I had read some random Byram for Tippett rumors a month or so ago. Tippett is certainly a player the Sabres would like because of his size and speed. It's the kind of player they go for right now. I guess it depends on who would be doing the next big trade. He does not seem to score enough for his abilities but I don't watch him on a day to day basis.

It's an interesting topic about the organization and it's presentation to the media. You do have to admit that in general they keep media leaks to a minimum. There does seem to be a reluctance of lower level coaches to go against the GM's opinions about players. Ryan Johnson is the one that comes to mind the most. When asked all last year he is the one the Amerk coaches pointed too as being almost NHL ready. It just seemed a little divorced from reality. Maybe Appert and Proposal were telling the media the truth or they just did not want a phone call for Adams. I have been having doubts about Levi for awhile. He plays on a team with good defensemen and I think that helps his numbers. He could get better but his size is not ideal. You had to know when they brought in Ellis instead of promoting Levi to play for UPL that the organization is no longer married to him. Maybe Appert feels a little more free to play who he wants when he wants. Maybe it's because Adams is on verge of getting the boot and Appert does not feel beholden to him. I don't think he want's to make waves but like he said it's team first and I am going to do what I feel is right to win. Good for him, Now do something about that tie if you want to be an NHL coach.

Nichushkin is out per Daily faceoff. They list Brindley on line 2 to start.

I watched the 4 part Death by Lightning series on Netflix. It tells the Parallel stories of President Garfield and his assassin Guiteau. If you keep in mind that the factual outline of the events are true but the specific details are embellished then it is pretty easy to enjoy this series. The acting is outstanding. Matthew MacFadyen is stellar as Guiteau. I had recently read a biography about Garfield and it is a very interesting time in US history.

If crappy teams keep failing to score with the goalie pulled eventually the Analytics are going to say not to do it. Generalized statistics should not eliminate other inputs. In my mind they pulled the goalie too early in that circumstance because they had been getting some chances 5 on 5. Maybe I am wrong but the analytics are not stagnant. Very few teams used to pull a goalie in a 1 goal game until under 2 minutes. Now that they do it and the other team expects them to do it. The advantage becomes less and may even come to the point where they say don't do it at all. There is no right answer in a 1 game isolated circumstance. We could have won or lost either way. I would not blame a coach for going against an analytical indicator if they felt other circumstances told them not to.

Well at least you did not link us to Strokin.

Is this treated like IR for roster count?

I know like all of us that this is a post out of disappointment. The thing about off loading UPL is the question of do we have a replacement for him that is any better? It would be easy to say yes but we really don't know. We can't even win with Lyon in the net because we are not scoring enough to support him. Because of that fact I am still fixated on our offense issues. Quinn is part of that. I don't know who decided he should play point on the power play but it was Skinner flashbacks. Its time to put 2 d men on the power play full time.

UPL sucked but even if he was perfect that would have gotten us a tie game. This scoring drought is what is killing us. Very frustrating.

Dunne seems like the kind of AHL player that can come up and give you 10 good games before the grind of the NHL becomes reality and trying hard is just not enough to get you through.

Yes length of service on the short side for a tribute.

Just wanted to point out that Quinn had just come on the ice so that's why he looks to be in no mans land. He did get to his spot but did little once he was there. Ruff can bitch about the play but he was the guy who threw him over the wall in a defensive situation.

The first thing Granato did was to have his best faceoff man at the time (Mitts) take the faceoff to win possession. Mitts would skate off the ice and be replaced by a faster skater. It was all about possession and holding for a breakdown. They would wear the other team down and trap them until they got a really good chance. It was a novel concept at the time and other teams started to copy it. Not having Norris hurts 3 on 3 a lot. He is the best faceoff man we have, he is very fast and can finish his shots. This also huts the power play because of the faceoff issue. Last I looked we were the worst faceoff team in the NHL. Bottom line though the shooting has to get better all around. Just not finishing enough chances.

For me it's the same thing as what has been happening a lot so far this year. They are just not finishing good chances. Quinn had 2 or 3 where it was him vs goalie. Thompson has 2 post hits. The Tuch/ McLoud play. Tuch in overtime. Kesselring had a free look. The defense and goaltending are keeping them in games, They have got to find a way out of the scoring slump.

Technically he is waivers exempt but the injury status may play into that somehow.

I don't think I can tell the difference unless someone is screaming it at me.