That Aud Smell

What a player, and what a guy. Thanks for linking it.

He's too young, and was once too good a player to be "done." But - it's confounding to see where his game is. My sense is that he's still not right, still not well. Maybe next year is the season where we see him return to form. Lehner touched on the idea that Chicago succeeds because they play the same way for 60 minutes - consistent, persistent, and some other collection of -ents. They just keep at it, they "stay on their grind," as the ballers used to say. I think there's a lot to that.

Yasss! Getting a 4th straight win against class of the league? Fingers crossed.

Is true. But, somehow, the third, where the SOG imbalance really came -- never seemed as dangerous as the spread would suggest.

Good stuff. Also, if you score ~32 goals in 2016-2017, you may as well have scored 40. The guy is doing work.

Kane's making himself increasingly un-tradable (sp?). GM TM presumably loves him as a player (the center piece of that major deal), and here Kane is doing exactly what GM TM wanted/wants him to do. IMO, if it's not a contemplated #1 LHD coming back for Kane (+), there's no deal involving Kane.

^ Appreciate that.

Went to the game with some of the kids. Fun afternoon. That crowd? That crowd was *feisty*. A. Go Sabres. Also, 3-4 times our whole row stood up for what Eichel was doing. A dad near us exclaimed at one point in the 3rd that it looked like he had "cheat codes." Love this.

I read a few of Scott Gomez's takes elsewhere from last night - they were legitimately awful. And I don't mean that because he was chirping the Sabres -- like, they were not even coherent thoughts.

fair, and funny. #puckluck

Joe Sakic was a terrific hockey player. I think he might be a turbl FO executive.

In addition to what d4rk says, Sullivan reveals his basic ignorance when he slags the D for giving up all those shots. As if that too is not part and parcel of Hot Daniel's approach. I've gone back to reading Sullivan from time to time. He writes well. And he understands a lot about the basic moving parts of how sports teams are organized, operated, and deployed. But I don't think he understands much about the finer points of hockey. I really don't.

Good post. I'll add more generally: You can sooner get/develop a good winger than you can a top/toppish d-man. I just wonder whether Kane's value is, in fact, high enough to garner a high-end LHD.

The question is now even more timely. For those with a good memory and the misfortune of actually reading the sh1t I post here, you'll recall that I had a visceral, somewhat irrational desire to kick this guy to the curb back in the late summer. So there's that. At this point in time, any trade involving Kane would need to involve a LHD that GM TM believes he can pair with Risto. I think there's a way in which, Kane has done so much to increase his trade value, that he's made it less likely that he will be traded (because the price is now pretty high). Someone Tweeted something last night about Kane's 5-v-5 numbers since ... some point in time. The new year? Anyway, it was him and Crosby at the top of the list.

Shutout. The guy's been mostly good of late. Very good, even.

^ If you want a 2nd pairing for McCabe, then it's a RHD? Who plays with 55?

If Kane were to get traded, the return would need to be significant at this point. Like, a solid top 4 LHD player or a similar prospect +.

Samson with the throwback goathead hat on the post game.

I agree wholeheartedly. He seemed every bit a guy who was a physical FREAK, but didn't have his heart in the game. No shame in that, really.

I enjoy it when subjective recollection of the anecdotal is offered to trump the statistical. Anyway: He's likely broken, and he ain't coming here if he has any say in it.

What a hoot. I can recall a variety of isolated things from the 70s, but, based on this factoid, it's clear to me that my first real true memories of the Sabres started around that 1979-1980 series and that 1980 playoff series. I remember Gare getting to 50 that season. And then I remember thinking: Man, we got Perreault, Martin, this young turk GARE - we are gonna win it all! Agreed. But good luck reducing the number of games. Because money.

Seriously? Man - I do not recall that.

Three? No way. Had to be best of 5.

As do I - one of my earlier, clear memories of the team (I mean, my memories pre-date 1979-1980 - but they're fuzzier). Gilbert in his prime. Gare scored 50+. Beat the Canucks in round 1 and then swept the Blackhawks, I believe. And, man, we should've won the Cup that year - but we could not get out of the semi's, as the Islanders were just too much.

Well, that site's information may be slightly inaccurate. More recently, the Fox broadcast pegged his 4th quarter rating as a bit higher than 100. As Fox graphic shared on Sunday, Romo’s 102.9 passer rating in the fourth quarter is the the highest of all time. All time — as in, better than Elway, better than Montana and better than Brady. Also, this subreddit had some interesting numbers to consider: https://www.reddit.com/r/cowboys/comments/1w8gwg/tony_romo_in_the_4th_quarter_by_the_numbers/