pi2000

IMO I don't think Eichel ever really wanted to be in Buffalo. I've been on the keep-him-at-all-costs bandwagon, but after today I'm ready to move on because his heart just isn't into it. He'll never give the team what it needs.

The guy that squeezed 78 points out of a tank squad sans Jack Eichel for 3 months? Sign me up

welp

One dimensional

So Buffalo's last game in Saturday the 8th, yet the regular season will run to May 19th? Why did they condense their schedule so much if they had 10 extra days to play with?

Wilson didn't seek out and go after Panarin. If they're trying to clean the game up then suspend Panarin for being 3rd man in on the Wilson/Strome scrap.

Auditon for Seattle?

I've never advocated for a player to "stand up" for a teammate if he's not physically capable. Cozens is a big boy, he can handle himself. If Bryson went after Wilson? Well thats just stupidity. Panarin wasn't even near Wilson when he punched Buchnevich in the head, it was Strome who jumped in and pulled him off. Panarin was actually 3rd man in on the Wilson/Strome melee. He had no business getting involved.

Whatever he's teaching them is resulting in LBI's, so in a way yes.

Maybe a 170lb Panarin shouldn't engage a 220lb Tom Wilson as being completely overpowered in a scrap could result in injury. If somebody much smaller than you is attacking you, your first instinct is to throw them on the ground.

Watch in slow mo starting from 15s in... his head does not touch the ice, he lands on his shoulder.

Cody Eakin: 1g 0a 4 SOG 1 hit 2 blocked shots 8 of 14 on faceoffs Samson Reinhart: 0g 0a 2 SOG 0 hits 0 blocked hosts 3 of 14 on faceofss EAKIN > REINHART

He deserves his own thread. Is he legitimately in the mix next season? He has more wins than Hutton, a .938 sv%, unbeaten in OT and shootouts, and the players seem to really really like him.... a lot. Or is this all a mirage? Due to a small sample size... recency bias? A stroke of luck for a career journeyman?

This is ridiculous. If you watch the replay slowly, Panarin is the aggressor, he jumps on Wilson's back who stands up and receives a face wash and stick rake to the face while trying to push Panarin off of him. They both fall to the ice together, largely because Wilson simply overpowers him... hell, he's practically twice his size. What did Panarin think was going to happen?! Panarin does NOT hit his head on the ice when they fall. At that point Wilson is on top of him and easily could have clubbed him in the head repeatedly but he holds back, and instead gives him a casual facewash and stands back up. Meanwhile Panarin continues to reach for Wilson and tries to stand back up but Wilson pushes him back to the ice. It was dumb for Panarin to engage with Wilson a big powerful guy who can dominate him physically. Wilson held back, he could've really tuned him up, and with Panarin being the aggressor I don't see why a suspension is necessary. EDIT: I see the fine was for his punch on Buchnevich, I'm ok with that, it was unnecessary and reckless.

He won more draws than he took, now THAT's impressive! the actual numbers.... BOS 6 for 13 BOS 6 for 15 NYI 12 for 20 NYI 3 for 14 27 for 62 the last 4 games = 43%

That's great. Hope he learns how to be fully engaged every game, not just when guys are out. He's been great at the dot too, would like to hear from him what he's done to improve.

At this point make the game purely a skills contest, eliminate checking and any touching after the whistle is an automatic ejection. Wilson would not have done this years ago because he woulda had to answer to Probert or Twist or Ray at some point. You think he's gonna release his hold of Panarin because of threat of disciplinary action? Lol.

Granato is capable, but if you think you can do better, then do better.

Where was this Sam during the middle of the season when he had something like 5 points in 20 games.... That's when the team needed him the most and he didn't show up most nights. Now he's lighting it up in meaningless games with a contract on the line, what does that tell you about his values? Winning? Meh. Money? Definitely. I just hope they take the entire body of work into consideration and not just his recent play.

Disagree. He should be punished for punching Buchnevich while he was down. After that play, Panarin was the aggressor, it was a hockey fight and Panarin (at his size) had no business going after Wilson. It's hockey, and why smaller players didn't make the NHL years ago because they would get rag dolled and injuried in physical confrontations.

In the land of the blind, one-eyed man is king.

I liked the Rieder and Eakin signings, thought Eakin would be a more offensively skilled Larsson. Was never a fan of the Hall deal, had low expectations just based on the guys history of bouncing around the league, but liked them going after him and with Eichel thought they might click. Hated the Staal deal, thought M. Johansson was the better player at this stage if their careers. That said, I've been saying for a while now their only way out of this is to draft well, develop well, hire the right coach, shore up the goaltending.... and exercise patience. But all that starts at the top with the right folks calling the shots and providing oversight. Is Karmanos the right guy? Who knows, but until that happens I largely expect the shitshow to continue.

They had 6 new forwards to start this season. How'd that turn out?

That's encouraging. However... he already had a large sample size before this season and was < 40% for his career. So... recency bias much 🙂 ? That said I do hope he's putting the time to improve.

Goaltending is more important than coaching.