pi2000

I'm in Simi Valley for my kid's playoff game so unfort... er... fortunately I'll have to watch this one later.

are we done here?

My expert analysis on CBJ's goals. 1st goal: Clean face-off loss by O'Reilly. Kane takes a poor angle to the d-man and fails to fill the shot lane in the process (this is a recurring theme with this team all year). Lehner not out on top of his crease and down on his knees leaves the top of the net open. 2nd goal: PP redirect by Nick Foligno. Nicely executed by the Jackets. Would've liked to see McCabe take away that pass lane... he had his stick on the wrong side of his body. Nothing Lehner could do. 3rd goal: PP slapshot by Gagner from the left dot. This one I blame on coaching. CBJ enters the zone and Rodrigues is on the right side, Girgensons on the left. The puck moves from righ to left... to Gagner, but instead of Girgensons sliding over to challenge the shot, he drops down into the high slot leaving Rodrigues to chase from the other side of the zone. That's just a poor PK scheme.... and Gorges gets lost in no-mans land between Lehner and Gagner, leaving a CBJ player all by himself to screen Lehner. Gorges drops down to a knee in a weak attempt to block the shot but man alive, that's some terrible PK design. This late in the season to look that bad on the PK is unacceptable, don't they watch video? It's not rocket science. 4th goal: Fransonitis.

Eichel is still an immature professional. That said, benching him for a shift isn't just meant to influence his own play, it sends a message to the team that it doesn't matter who you are..... you're going to held accountable. That said, IMO he should've benched Ennis, Foligno (twice), Gionta and Girgensons for long stretches. I don't know if he did or not.

Turnovers are fine, as long as you're not doing it near your own blueline. There's a time to dangle and that wasn't it. There were 3 guys near him at his own blueline.... that means 1) somebody else is wide open, and 2) you're 10ft within your blueline, there can't be a turnover there, that's basic hockey you learn at a young age. He tried to slide the puck through a guy and lost it. I don't care how hard he back-checked, it was too late. Make that move in the o-zone or near the other team's blue line is fine... that's the message Bylsma is trying to send and Jack just seems to think he's good enough to that he doesn't need to consider where he is on the ice. He'll learn, hopefully.

Sorry I agree with Bylsma on this one. Eichel needs to pick his spots better. Jack basically brushing off his turnover doesn't speak well for his maturity as a professional.

Yes, 1 point for an OT "win" (carrion league speak). I swore I'd never cheer against them again after the tank season, but it's only for a dozen games or so... no harm right?

A regulation loss would give BUF 70 points lost on the season. Tied for 4th. A win would keep them at 68 points lost.... good for 8th. With 15 games remaining, there has to be a point to all of this right?

As a fan I'm curious how the team plays hockeys against other teams. Which team can hockey better? Watch and find out!

upper body injury "extreme weirdness" Can't imagine why Cal asked to be moved. Something smells.

Connor Hellebuyck (UMass-Lowell): 2012-13: 1.37, 0.952, 20-3-0 2013-14: 1.79, 0.941, 18-9-2 2016-17 (WPG): 2.83, .908, 22-17-3 Petersen: 2015-16: 2.20, 0.927, 19-11-7 2016-17: 2.21, 0.927, 19-10-5

I'm just not very high on Petersen. Let's compare him to Ryan Miller's final 2 years in college. Miller: 2000-01: 1.32 GAA, 0.950 sv, 31-5-4 2001-02: 1.77 GAA, 0.936 sv, 26-9-5 Petersen: 2015-16: 2.20 GAA, 0.927 sv, 19-11-7 2016-17: 2.21 GAA, 0.927 sv, 19-10-5 Petersen is a good college goalie, Miller was one of the best ever. I don't see Petersen ever becoming a regular starter in the NHL.

Imagine the numbers he'll put up with a legit winger or two and a defenseman with some offensive awareness.

My expert analysis on all 6 Flyer goals: 1st goal: Foligno out of position, not in the shot lane, Risto not engaged with this man. 2nd goal: Foligno turns it over at the blueline, Girgenson vacates the zone, McCabe and Risto both take the guy driving the center lane and Gudas has all day to rip it home from the ladies tees. 3rd goal: D-Lo whiffs on his check, Risto fails to get his stick on the pass. McCabe ties up his man, but poor recognition he fails to block the pass as it careens in off a Flyer skate. 4th goal: Gio out of position standing in no-mans land 6 feet in front of Lehner, O'Reilly recognizes and tries to cover Gio's point but it's too late as the shot gets through. Gio stands and watches the puck, motionless, then makes a lame attempt to cover Giroux when he realizes he's all alone because O'Reilly is trying to cover for him on the point. 5th goal: Ennis leaves his position to make a weak play at the puck at the top of the circle on his weak side, leaving his point man (Del Zotto) on his strong side wide open to waltz in and rip a shot over a screened Lehner. Risto fails to clear the net front. 6th goal: Poor decision by McCabe to pinch, Moulson/Reinhart too slow to get back leaving Konecny 1-on-1 with Risto who whiffs on a weak stick check, backing off instead of stepping up and playing the body allowing Konecy to get off a clean shot top shelf on Lehner. Some bad positional play, lack of communication, poor effort. Ennis, Gio, Foligno just as much to blame as Risto and McCabe.

How is he ever going to make through a playoff series?

Del Zotto a pending UFA IIRC.

Yeah he's not a #1 dman I guess, those guys can eat minutes the entire season. Unfortunate.

That's nice, so he's due to give up some goals.

Risto with the -5. Very disappointed in his play the second half of the season. He looks extremely fatigued every shift, conditioning issues?

...he's a -16 on the road this season. This should be good.

40% of the cap is tied up in 6 players, Ennis, Moulson, Gorges, Gionta, Bogo and Kulikov, with only Gio/Kuli coming off the books this offseason, leaving $20mil on the books for Ennis, Moulson, Gorges and Bogo. If I'm GMTM I incentivize Vegas to take one of them in the expansion draft, preferably Moulson. That leaves Ennis, Gorges and Bogo.... I buyout Bogo, which will save about $4mil against the cap each of the next 3 seasons. I can live with Gorges as a bottom pairing guy with only 1 year left on his deal, and swing a deal with Vegas/tank team for Ennis. Those moves and the UFAs coming off the books would give BUF about $43mil in cap space.

Sabres are what... 27-27-12? So this is a game they win, they might even win the next game, and then lose 2 in row. I'm looking for a big game tonight from O'Reilly.

I don't believe that's the case. IMO the youngsters are those who need to learn how to play with a lead. Eichel seems to think they need to have their foot on the gas the entire game. That's not the answer. You have half the team backing off, and the other half with their foot on the gas, and it shows.... you need the entire team buying in to the style of play for it to be successful. It's not "keep pushing and pushing and pushing"... it's situational hockey, and frankly I'm a bit surprised they're still figuring this out... that's where guys like Gionta and Gorges should be tutoring these guys... they're not doing a very good job IMO.

Enough of the excuses. Every team has scheduling issues, this is pro hockey, time to grow up.