That Aud Smell

I have a Perreault 11 that the Sabres Alumni group put together as a gift (from my wife) back in the ... goathead days? I'm not sure. It's an approximate vintage jersey - and now has all manner of food stains on it. It is also signed by the man himself (who one day appeared near our seats, having emerged from an Alumni gathering room of some kind on the 200 deck). And I wouldn't do an RJ, I don't think. I also have a bootleg Drury that is a somewhat hilarious approximation of the vintage royal road blues. That stays on a hanger. Agreed - I just can't do it. We crossed paths with Josh Allen at a Hamburg Village eatery - he and his companion got hung up near us for a minute as we both waited to be seated. My son was just saucer plates for eyes and barely managed a sheepish "hi"; I gave the polite white guy smile (no teeth) and rapid nod, and, God as my witness, asked "how you doin' there, young man." My kid was mortified. I have to admit that, while I obviously did not plan that, it was an affected thing to say -- but I think it came from that awareness that I'm plenty old enough to be QB1's dad. That'd be fun. Have you ever seen one?

Also, don't look now, but, after kissing a few frogs*, the Pegulas appear to have hired two very good head coaches. *Has there been a conversation about Rex Ryan ≅ Ralph Krueger?

I don't know that I've posted here. But I have posted about HC DG elsewhere. So I feel obliged to chime in and say that I am a believer in HC DG. Between the way the team plays under his direction and the things he says (and does not say!) in his media appearances (and how he says them (his "vibe")), I am convinced that he can and will be a successful NHL coach. Hopefully, that success occurs here. And soon! Most recently, I was fairly over the moon when he talked to the following effect on his weekly appearance on WGR -- paraphrasing: "These guys are capable of more than they realize. They are NHL players. That's a huge deal. They've put years and years in to become among the very best in the world. And yet they can forget how good they are, and how good they can be. We're trying to get them comfortable with getting back in touch with just how good they are. And if I am yelling at them for honest mistakes, that's not helping anything. There are some rules of course: Working hard and competing. But I have to avoid being negative with them all the time, and we can't plan to play conservatively." His comments are here --> https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/podcasts/howard-and-jeremy-20258/11-16-sabres-head-coach-don-granato-948493351

Purloined victory. Onward. Also, Dahlin’s play and trajectory are tending to vindicate the FO’s decision to select Power as a potential 1D stud. I think Dahlin is/can be a good NHL’er … but I’m just about done expecting (consistent) *greatness* from him.

Apparently he’s not selling? Or at least he’s not selling his entire stake.

Huh.

Let's go, Buffalo. Mangrove Wisps!

Fair point. He was on WGR this morning and, to my ear, sincerely (albeit vaguely) apologized to the fans for his injury updates. I think he must have read this thread. 😛 On WGR this morning, he clearly indicated that Mittelstadt is not dealing with a break. He said Jokiharju was dealing with a break, and that with breaks, you get a clear cut and predictable timeline (no idea why that was "at least" a couple weeks initially - maybe the break didn't show up on the x-rays for a few days (which happens)). He said everyone else is dealing with soft tissue stuff, and at one point he alluded to a bone bruise (which must be Mittelstadt (?)). Anyway, I really, really like Granato. I haven't trusted a Sabres coach this much since Lindy was in his prime here.

I don’t recall seeing those timelines. As per the first post of this thread, Granato initially estimated their absences as “at least” a couple weeks. So in my tiny brain, I was like: “Two weeks. Bet.”

The Mittlestadt thing is perplexing. Initially announced as a couple of weeks or so … one month later, he’s still a couple weeks away. Seriously. They need to get their sh1t together.

I didn't see much of the walloping the Bills gave the Dolphins earlier in the season, but I was there at the stadium for the other game. The Dolphins struck me as a very well-coached team that has a bottom-third roster in terms of talent. It does not surprise me to see them playing well.

I take no comfort in any team beating any team, except insofar as AFC teams’ records are concerned (so: yay, Dolphins). My mantra remains: It’s a week to week league. Let’s beat the Jets.

If someone's routinely verbally abusive to employees, and is also an alcoholic, those two things are intertwined regardless of whether that person is actually inebriated when they're yelling at their employees. Calls to mind a poem by a Buffalo gal, Ani DiFranco (performed as a spoken word song, "Fuel"): "They say that alcoholics are always alcoholics. Even when they're dry as my lips, for years. Even when they're stranded on a small desert island. With no place in two thousand miles to buy beer. And I wonder is he different. Is he different. Has he changed. What he's about? Or is he just a liar ... With nothing to lie about?"

^ I feel taunted just looking at that photo.

The most likely explanation, to me, is that there are problems (flaws) with the timetables being offered by the team's physicians. And maybe that indicates that the diagnoses aren't always initially accurate, but maybe not -- maybe the estimated lengths of absence are just out of wack.

Let's go, Buffalo!

Again, folks. Ray Borque. The guy has the intellect of a sofa. This thread is wack.

I'm a shirt tail relative of someone who regularly golfs with the Jacobs family (or, at least, used to - I have not asked in a while). One of my favourite stories that he'd relate is how Jeremy would hoot and holler about how incredibly dumb - "as a box of rocks!" he'd apparently say - Ray Borque was.

I meant of the game specifically.

I came here looking for an overview, some perspective on what was clearly a disappointing game. I scrolled through the last few pages ... finding none, I'll look forward to the Detroyat game. If you'd told me at season's start that this team would be @deluca67 .500 after their first west coast road trip, I'd have taken that gladly.

Let's go, Buffalo! Salvage the western road trip - with a @deluca67 .500 record. Meshed Wicker!

So Tuch played his college hockey at Boston College.

There's real risk there, for sure. If he were to get the fusion, I'd say he'd almost certainly return to form -- but with diminished quality late in his career and certainly diminished quality of life post-career. The ADR is a huge unknown. I wonder what happens now that he's with Vegas.