That Aud Smell

the travolta pulp fiction gif fits nicely with the idea of young sabres looking for mentoring.

Such a good take. The problem ain't any of the players in isolation -- okay, maybe a couple stink out loud -- rather, the problem is how GM KA built the team and roster.

wait - is this a bit? i haven't been around enough to keep this sh1t straight.

We wait. We are bored. ... In an instant all will vanish and we’ll be alone once more, in the midst of nothingness!

a player for whom tage thompson once dropped the gloves.

I prefer to keep using the phrase, notwithstanding the fact that I keep getting the same outcomes. it's a rancid pint container of shrimp fried rice that's been in the back of the fridge for 3 weeks. but it's food still, technically.

My apologies for the confusion. I said Opie. Not Upie (sp?).

we can start by ditching the nickname.

Mike Harrington?

I think I'm even more angry about the organ-eye-zayshun giving Samuelsson the cover of an injury designation for tonight's scratch than I am about anything else surrounding the Tage Thompson non-response. That's the root of the rot right there. And I'd bet dollars to donuts that Opie was involved in thusly sheltering his chosen, foundational steady d-man.

Ding, ding, ding. That said, how pathetic is it that he's being given the LBI cover? Just say he's a healthy scratch. JFC. I'm open to the idea that Zucker was trying to be a paternal veteran and cover for the shmucks. Plenty of talent. Which is what makes the gutlessness so frustrating.

He's a healthy scratch being afforded the courtesy of a phantom LBI designation.

Like, what happened to you, dude? I'd lay even odds that some other hockey fan managed to hijack this account.

Yeah. I don't think I'm talking about stats. But thanks for digging those up. He was on track to having a game that features real grit and snarl -- and an occasional spirited bout when circumstances required it. Not so much anymore.

My guess: He’s effectively a healthy scratch but is being given the cover of an LBI designation. Which is more mamby pamby coddling BS. that dog won’t hunt. it’s such a shame cozens got his face broken like he did — it changed him and his game.

We fu*kin' around with the definition of insanity here.

It’s wild to me that there are regular posters here whose take is - more or less - that the non-response isn’t actually a big deal and that getting 2 points off a good Devils team is the more important thing. I feel like - if you watched the game - the implications were clear. New Jersey (a not overly physical team?) demonstrated throughout that the Sabres can be bullied

but it's not quite a fit. as someone pointed out upthread about deer -- the plural of deer is deer. it's the same with moose - the welcome meese/mooses yolk upthread notwithstanding. the plural of mammoth is mammoths. so it'd be funky to have it be just "mammoth." even so, the plural of avalanche is avalanches.

Manitoba Moose, yo.

None, as you noted (or was noted) above. Stanford Cardinal is the only sports team/program that I can think of that has a singular version of an animal as its mascot. Wait - isn't there a Lynx team in the WNBA? (If that counts.) I also like Mammoth because they can play on the word having become an adjective.

I hope they go with Mammoth. It is a little strange, I guess. But what of Avalanche? Lightning? Kraken?

I'm not suggesting he give up on the season.

This is hugely important factor in how I feel about the incident with Thompson. Sabres hung on to win. But throughout the game they just got smacked around, physically dominated. No response. And again: But, yea, 2 points. That's the response. To that, I say: No it isn't.

Is this an echo of what Zucker said? Count me out. Plausible deniability, I guess? I don't know why any fan of this team would extend a benefit of the doubt to this cast of characters. I just watched and re-watched the play. And I'm not buying it. The two D are on the ice, engaged in the play, they are seeing it develop. They are tracking the puck, sure. But don't tell me that they don't pick up on what happened in their peripheral (or in Power's case, his direct line of vision). There's an immediate groan of protest from the home crowd (good job, home crowd). The linesmen start sprinting in. And those 2 towering jamokes just look around, baffled -- they're apparently waiting for a plenary inquiry. Just fu*k that. Not a totally rational take, I will admit. It's a bit emotional. I wish more Sabre players were. I like the vibe of this and your other posts on this topic.