pi2000

Had covid 2 months ago. Is there any point in getting vaccinated right now? Maybe wait until the fall when the antibodies weaken?

For whatever reason, Ullmark looks like a better goalie under Granato.... and I'm not just talking number wise, can't really put my finger on it, but it just looks like he's playing with more determination, focus and confidence.

about time

Is it?

My point with Sam, and same could be said for Olofsson, is that if he's not scoring he's kinda useless and a liability defensively. Casey is a better defender at this point... his battle and compete for pucks, strength on his skates at the point of attack, is ahead of Sam. The closer I watch him it appears that Sam's base is just not very strong, his platform is weak so he has trouble in battle situations unable to create leverage at the point of attack, so you see him easily get knocked off the puck, stumble, lose balance, which is why you see him fall down a lot.

Has Sam improved under Granato? He's now 10 for 30 on draws since moving to C.

It's easier to bury your chances when you're in better physical shape. I think part of the poor puck luck was guys just being tired and missing their opportunities. They look lighter on their feet now, don't slow down as much during a shift, which tells me whatever Granato is doing in practice to condition these guys is working. Maybe taking shorter shifts too.

Oh I butchered that, it was the Nylander pick. For me anyway, swapping Reinhart for Draisaital and Nylander for Sergachev woulda put this team on a much different course.

Did he play tonight? <checks scoresheet> Ah there he is... 0g 0a, 0 hits, -1, 4 for 7 on facoeoff

Yep. The true test now, as it is for any young player, is consistency. For how long can you sustain thay level of play? Are you bumping up against your ceiling? Or setting new floor?

There's really only two picks that stand out to me that would've been game changers for this franchise.... Reinhart over Draisaital Mittlestadt over Sergachev ...and the jury is still out on Mittlestadt. Reinhart is a goos winger, but Draisaital woulda been a game changer. Those two and over drafting of European players by JBOT... but guys like Asplund, Laaksonen, Weissbach, UPL.. are promising prospects.

Yeah it sucks, hindsight is 20/20 tho especially when it comes to the NHL draft where you're picking teenagers. At the time, nobody had a real issue with any of those picks. Look how many teams passed up on Brayden Point. I think it's more to do with developing these kids properly and not eroding their confidence by asking them to do too much before they're ready.

trade piece

With the way the hockey gods are treating Buffalo this season, they have no choice but to keep him out.

I like what I've seen from him recently, but i think him and Tage would benefit by playing one more full season in Roch next year. Let them kill it down there, solidify their confidence and develop as leaders together. They still need to work on the fine details of playing the pro game IMO.

Ullmark and better practices both have helped. Getting Cozens and Borgen back will help again, as will Eichel at some point down the road. I hope they don't panic and blow up the entire thing. That losing streak was a product of many unfortunate events along with garbage coaching. A healthy Ullmark, Eichel, McCabe, Borgen, Cozens, a real coach, with a real training camp and pratice time... I dont think they're that far off.

Anybody but Hutton.

Staal is probably my most hated Sabre of all time. He was absolute trash and contributed zero leadership. Seems like was trying tk llay his way out of town from day one.

when it's a deflection and they can't tell who scored then what

Isn't great at it? He's downright terrible at it. Being bad at it doesn't preclude him playing center, but it's part of the overall package. He's a much better winger at this point of his career, less of a liability defensively.

Curious why you think he was good at center? 6 for 23 on faceoffs. He looked lost in the d-zone IMO. He was OK as a fill in, but he's a better winger IMO.

There's several NBA teams that have been fully vaccinated already. NHL, like NBA, is high risk because it's a contact sport indoors, in a small confined space.

Rolstonitits

vaccinate

The higher pace in practice has shown up in bits and spurts during games, but I think tonight they played as complete a game as we've seen start to finish all season. You play how you practice.