pi2000

We have no choice but to be patient. They're not Cup contenders yet. They need to continue to develop their young players and keeping adding through the draft. They're still 2-3 years away from being at a point where they should look at adding immediate help to bolster their roster for a long playoff run.

It's impossible to prove a negative.

Big test here for Housley to get these guys in the right frame of mind after a big weekend on the road. This has all the markings of a big letdown type of game where nobody plays well. Can Housley get these guys ready to play?

wrong.gif The best team doesn't always win.

Why?! What else are we supposed to do until the season ends? Just not think about it all? It why we're here.

Quennville to SEA. E5

I would elaborate but I'm currently eating In-N-Out.... Bogo has been good but not +$5m good, and the season is still young durability is still a concern.

I'll often stop the game and rewind 30s just to watch him make a pass or evade a forechecker on a simple play because he's one of those players where you see a play developing and think he has only one option (based on my own playing experience) and then he does something completely different, making a much better play. My mind doesn't see it in realtime so I have to go back and try to visualize what he saw and figure out why he did what he did even tho most of the time I'm left dumbfounded anyway. He leaves you with that same sense that he is a special player who just sees the game differently on a completely different level... his ceiling is I don't even know but makes each game must see TV.

acute berglunditis

Here's an interview with Berglund from Dec 3rd after the loss at NSH. He would play only two more games, logging 10-13min/game. https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/patrik-berglund-postgame-12318/t-277437090/c-63630603?q=Berglund

4.8% of the time (1000 iterations) BUF wins the Cup... that's 48 times out of 1000... maybe we live in one of those 48 universes?

McDavid should've gone to BUF, and Eichel to ARI... then EDM ends up with Hanifin and therefore keeps Taylor Hall around. The entire league would look different. With everything that happened, ARI is the true loser. They get neither McDavid, nor Eichel... all because they won an OT game in BUF on March 23 1015. The tank centered on that one game. Mission accomplished.

IMO the concept of "rivalries" went away when they took fighting (and violent checking) out of the game. There isn't any true hate between teams these days... so the league felt the need to manufacture rivalries with the goofy playoff format... and it's not working IMO, so just get rid of it.

The tank was only ever about McEichel... because they were guaranteed one of them by finishing last. Dahlin was luck... that said, consider this... if BUF won the McDavid lottery it's very likely they don't end up with Dahlin. So would you rather have McDavid and one of Svechnikov, Kotkaniemi, or Tkachuk.... OR Eichel and Dahlin?

Pettersson is that good tho... he deserves to win it even if his production tails off... which is likely as the season moves along.

I liked when they would rank them 1-16.... with 1 vs 16 in the first round. IIRC, BUF played VAN in the first round one season? That would truly reward the top teams, and you'd also guarantee to the two best teams face off in the SC Finals.

But. Let's say the last game of the season BUF is the top wildcard team, one point out of 3rd place... Do they throw the game so the get a better matchup in rnd 1?

Could they have sent him directly to Cincy?

Dahlin needs to get faster... well, I guess he doesn't need to... but if there was one thing he could improve, that would put him on a level with the all-time greats, would be to get faster and more explosive. That said, a guy like him already has this self-realization and has probably already figured out what he needs to do next off-season to get there. I'm still giddy about winning that lottery... every time he does something special... it's just a reminder of that lottery win and it feels so good.

Yeah, the format is beyond stupid. You would have 2 of the top 3 teams (BUF vs TOR) in the East playing in the first round.... so a top 3 team exits in round 1. Then you would have the number 1 team (TBL) playing the number 2 team (BUF) in the second round. The idea was to create divisional rivalries, but you end up punishing a team for finishing 3rd (BUF) vs finishing as the top wildcard seed (who would play the winner of the Metro in rnd 1).

IMO Dahlin is having a greater affect on this team than we give him credit for. His calmness with the puck, willingness to take calculated risks, doesn't get rattled if he makes a bad play... is rubbing off on the entire D-corps. As a somebody who played competitively, having a player like that on your team, the qualities they bring can be highly infectious. If I had to rate what's having the greatest impact on their turn-around... 1 - Goaltending 2 - Dahlin 3 - Skinner (shooting 23.5%)

Is Eichel fully pregnant, or only second trimester?

Fun game to watch though too many costly mistakes by BUF (Hutton turnover, Reinhart missing a wide open net, etc). Talent wise BUF can hang with anybody, they just need some seasoning, a 2nd line C, and another winger for Eichel. Nice job by Housley to have these guys ready and focused with the whole Berglund ordeal. Would've liked to see some Skinner in OT. With Pilut, Beaulieu, and Mcabe out... what do they do? Call up Redmond?

Third place gets you TOR in the first round. 1st WC team gets WSH or maybe CBJ.