pi2000

IMO his issues are all mental. He seems to go through the motions most of the time, like he's just trying to blend in. Doesn't yet realize what he's capable of, but when he does, he will dominate the game.

They need plenty more than just one or two more pieces. D, goaltending, and scoring depth. Really tho, the only thing they don't need is a #1 or #2 center. Will Kane pan out as a top winger? Maybe. They need some 15-20g scorers. Doesn't seem like Larsson, Foligno, Legwand, Gionta or Deslauriers will sniff anywhere 15-20g. Moulson doesn't seem like a good fit either. Girgensons is a disappointment. Maybe Fasching, Bailey or Baptiste fill some of those spots eventually. They also need some speedy defenseman. Gorges and Weber need to go. Franson has played OK filling his role, but painful to watch that guy skate. Replace them with some young guns like a Tyson Barrie or maybe Guhle makes the jump next season after a short stint in Roch. They could use a veteran leader to QB the power play and be a mentor for Risto taking some of the pressure off him. He seems to grip his stick too tight most of the time. Bogosian has his moments, but also has terrible defensive lapses. Is Lehner the answer in net? Who knows. Somebody from the group of Lehner, Ullmark, Peterson, Makarov, Kasdorf needs to step up over the next 18 months.

Let's hope we don't go to OT, Monahan/Gaudreau are deadly 3-on-3. I'd take a regulation loss to save face.

The way things are going, you have to include Auston Mathews in the core group.

The fact that Mike Weber played the other night is a signal from GMTM that we're back in full tank mode. ONE point out of 30th. As much as they've improved, still only 1 point from DEAD LAST again. Starting goalie has a "set back" in his rehab. Ennis playing like dog , now out indefinitely with some "upper body" injury. Pysyk MIA. Weber back in the lineup. ...the tank ain't over folks. Send Eichel down to Roch, let him learn the pro game in a non-toxic environment. Send Reinhart down too, and McCabe and Ullmark. Let the veterans go down with the sinking ship.

...and stay away from The Rio. Stayed there for a hockey tournament and saw a guy get stabbed at the blackjack table right next to me. Blood everywhere, big fight broke out... they shut down the casino floor. I felt like I was in an episode of CSI. Anyway, years ago The Rio was nice, now it's a seedy run down joint. Just stay away from that part of town in general.

Anybody see Josh Gorges spin himself into the ice last night? He's killing this team... and Weber was very Weber like. That pass he made right in front of his own bench, oh boy. He had no pressure what-so-ever and put it right on the tape of Henrik Sedin. You'll be surprised how much this team will improve with better defensemen who can win retrievals and make a crisp first pass. It all starts from the back-end.

I'd put Reinhart in the same group as Risto, Bogosian, McCabe and Girgensons. Watching Eichel it's easy to tell he's a future superstar. He does thing physically that very few other players can. Watching Reinhart, I just don't see anything special about him physically that separates him from other prospects. Yes I know his upside is in how he sees the game and making veteran plays at very young age. Where is his ceiling? Can he continue to develop physically? Will he get faster, quicker? Or just always be the guy he is today? McCabe and Risto made some bad plays, but Gorges was just flat out physically unable to keep up with the pace of the game.

I go there a few times a year. Last time stayed at the Mirage, centrally located on the strip, moderately priced compared to other casinos, nice pool, nice restaurants, would highly recommend.

The core players will be self-evident. They will reveal themselves as this team transforms into a contender. O'Reilly and Eichel are the only evident core players today. Beyond that you can only guess. This team hasn't won anything yet. Who will be the players that support a playoff run? Risto is developing nicely, but can he continue to improve at this rate, how long until he plateaues? Nobody knows. Does Guhle have a higher upside? Maybe? Are any of these guys injury prone? It comes down to the players themselves. Who is willing to put in the work, make the sacrifices to elevate their game? Who are the leaders in the locker room? Only the players and coaches know those answers. That said, Gorges is killing this team. He was brutal last night. Normally he's the slowest guy on the ice, last night EDM made him look like he should be playing beer league. He lost every dump into his corner, I felt bad for him. You know it's bad when you start to wonder if Mike Weber would be an upgrade.

He's shown lots of promise, no doubt he's talented. It's not that he's had a bad a game, it's the type of goals he's let in... rebound control, positional issues, recovery, finding pucks through traffic.... those are all things that become apparent at the NHL level due to the pace of the game. It takes all goalies time to adjust, but he's not going to develop playing 1 or 2 games a week. It's better for his development to be the workhorse in Rochester than splitting time with Chad Johnson in the NHL. MODO, what's your take on Jonas Johansson? Kasdorf and Petersen are also doing well. Somebody from the group of Lehner, Ullmark, Kasdorf, Johansson, and Petersen most likely ends up being the long term solution.

Makarov has played well, he's earned his call up. Chad Johnson is hot, let LInus play lots of minutes in Roch.

I'm still here. He's dust. Slower than Weber, doesn't fit the style this team is playing.

It's time for Linus to be sent down. Call up Makarov for a 2-week stint or so. Anyway, will be nice to cheer for a win this time around. ARI is surprisingly good this season.

I blame the unregulated consumption of energy drinks.

Give Eichel a few weeks down in Roch to get his groove back and work on his defensive play.... ....great idea? or greatest idea?

Are we sure this will be at the Ralph? Or the new downtown stadium adjacent to the Harbor Center.

Better offensive awarenes.... MIN: Suter, Spurgeon DAL: Klingberg, Oduya PIT: Letang, Maata BOS: Chara, Krug OTT: Karlsson, ??? FLA: Ekblad, Campbell OTT is the only team wear RR might see 2nd line PP minutes.

KP is running the Bills, she got duped by Rex. TP is running the Sabres, nice upward trajectory thus far. It's a family competition, who can win a championship first? Probably a $1 bet between them.

Disagree, i can rattle off atleast a dozen teams with better options for a second unit (assuming 1 D-man per unit)... ANA, MIN, NSH, NYR, NYI, PIT, BOS, DAL, CHI, FLA, TBL, MON, OTT, and so on.

Bylsma only uses 1 D on the PP, Risto would likely see 2nd unit time if they had a top tier QB. I'm not saying he sucks, he's above average, but he's not a top 20 defenseman in the league yet, and who knows if he ever will be. So all these comparisons to Lidstrom are premature at best.

As a defenseman you learn the stick lift at the squirt level. The second part of the equation is foot speed to stay within reach of the guy.... wait for him to square up the shot and pop up his stick. That play happens a hundred times a game. I don't see anything special about the play that Risto made. It's a play that any defenseman should be expected to make, if he doesn't then he shouldn't be in the NHL.

I live in southern California and watch just about all Kings and Ducks games in addition to all the Sabres games. First thing that jumps out at you is how slow Buffalo is on the back-end. They constantly lose puck races, fall behind the play as it moves up ice, etc... With guys like Doughty, Fowler, Vatanen, Lindholm, etc... those teams rarely give up breakaways and I've seen many many times where they catch a guy from behind or at least can skate neck and neck with him to make a stick check like Risto did. They guys who are too slow to make those plays, don't exist on the top teams in the league. Risto is a PP guy this year because he's their most offensively gifted defenseman. If a guy like Barrie, Campbell, Doughty, Fowler, Suter, Giordano, Keith, should I keep going? ... if Buffalo had a top tier offensive defenseman, Risto wouldn't sniff the PP. I expect TM to fill that void within the next 18 months.

Lots of good advice on here wrt financing, so as a homeownwer, my advice when looking at a house you like would be to carefully inspect the plumbing. Plumbing can be very expensive, have the main sewer line inspected with a camera to verify no roots are invading the line and the pipe is secure. Ask the previous owners if they've had any issues with pipes bursting in walls, etc... How old is the plumbing, etc.. It can be a real nightmare. Other things a good home inspector should be able to point out, make sure you trust the guy and take notes.