IKnowPhysics

Talk of Mark Sanchez is picking up. I don't like it.

Ville Slugburger?

Double ugh. Looks like Arizona wants to come play too. From Puck Daddy about the goaltending trade: Has Arizona played the ace that we always had in our sleeve by paring down their goaltending to league-worst? Or does this start up a goalie carousel that sends a Buffalo goalie to the desert, ensuring we kick every other CHL team in the jibblies on our way down the abyss?

Yep. Dubnyk to MN for a third.

Well, Darcy did this with Ruff a few times, some of them well (years) before he was actually fired. I think there's been a few other cases where this isn't the end-all-be-all. I'm not sure if Yeo's out or not, at least yet. Before the season, Yeo was pretty pissed about the goalie situation. Some analysts think that situation will cost Yeo his job, including perrenial perineum Jeremy Roenik. But some question the timing of firing Yeo, especially when the players are likely at fault. Fletcher and even Sidney Crosby have come out publicly to defend Yeo, with Fletcher saying 'this isn’t a “coaching thing”' But the real storyline is that Yeo is already sounding like Lindy Ruff did in his last days, and it may be enough to push Fletcher to oust him: Puck Daddy summarizes the whole mess fairly well. In the trade rumor trenches, there's enough fuel from this flash fire to ignite speculation that Fletcher will try to bring in a goaltender. Of course Buffalo goaltenders' names come up, although most are at least a little doubtful that a move like that could really right the Minnesota ship and sail them into the playoffs. Maybe they should've traded for Halak at the deadline.

Yep, by about a factor of two for road games. I considered small sample size and the fact they're a hair better recently than they were a month ago.

Ugh, Edmonton is so brutally bad on the road; 2-11-7. They might only gather 4-5 points on the road in that stretch. And they might only pick up one or two wins out of those three home games.

Wild fans are getting antsy about being 23rd in the league in points and 2-6-2 in their L10. Seems like they're pretty split: either Yeo should go (despite the vote of confidence from Fletcher) or there needs to be player moves made pronto. Those that think Yeo could be fired think it'd happen sometime in the next couple days or weeks; Peter DeBoer is thought to be a leading candidate for a replacement. One thing's for sure, that Central Division is brutal this year.

http://youtu.be/FkhBPF4yfkI

Holy displacement. You're pissed about the way the team plays or is motivated or what ownership or the front office is up to, but you're going to jack up the game production and PR guys in an email about a banner raising ceremony and declare a personal TV and attendance strike? Zany. For what it's worth, the TV rights were settled well before the Sabres announced the banner raising date. And if the game's on NHL Network, isn't it blacked out locally on MSG...? I also think getting two of the four remaining retired players on the ice isn't so bad. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not sure the Red Wings could beat that number going forward (Lidstrom and Yzerman may unfortunately be the only guys that can still lace their own skates). And there's this stuff: "The Buffalo ceremony comes just a few months after he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. It is also part of a quest team owner Terry Pegula wanted to see happen since he bought the Sabres four years ago." I didn't see if the Pegulas were in the building or not, but I'd be surprised if they missed it. Did they need to be on the ice? Did Gionta? Maybe. And so what if Joe Arena Worker's got a clubbed hand from a Zamboni accident on the job and couldn't quite get that little hook thing to clasp in front of 19,070 like they practiced it? No pressure. Yeah, they could've and probably should've put more pizzazz on it. I'm happy for Dom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7x2LfbByaY

Hahaha, stupids.

That's a good piece of Sabres trivia. Only current Sabres player to play with Hasek.

Just a couple, because I don't have the time. From 1992 to 2001, NINE YEARS, he crushed the rest of the league with Buffalo. SIX of those years, he won the Vezina, which, by definition, made him "adjudged to be the best at this position." Since '82, when this criteria for the Vezina was adopted, he's won it more than any other goaltender (Brodeur with 4, Roy with 3). He was the first and only goalie to win the Hart Trophy TWICE, both times with Buffalo. In '98, he carried the Czechs to a gold medal in Nagano. That was fun as hell to watch. He was an early master of the butterfly technique, but really elevated the position so much more with his distinctive and innovative improvisation and determination. This not only made him a truly dominant force on the ice and a major contributor to the sport, but also a player that was fascinating and hilariously fun to watch on a nightly basis. Articles detailing his routine shutdown of opponents, like "Dominator Does His Thing Again," were commonplace. He was a major part of a very competitive Sabres team, he gave the team a chance to win every night he laced them up, his dominance intimidated opponents, he brought home a lot of hardware, and he was a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

Best hit of last night, maybe last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8mTH0IPb7Q Just good, clean demolishment of a guy who's caught head down and shooting across his body. Good reasons why is in Norris conversations.

A friend picked up free tickets, so I went to the Kings game in Sabres gear last night to boo the Leafs. I photobombed a lot of Leafs fans' group photos. Good times.

I know why. Rex 'Tater Salad' Ryan? Rex 'Tater Salad' Ryan.

It can't be that long.

Shouldn't be too far.

Exactly my reaction.

I wasn't really in the mood to agree with you, but then I saw this today on Facebook. He's back.

It probably isn't that far.

That's gotta be all Boudreau.

Time to go to crush depth.

That's a good thing to notice. Not only are the kids not done growing (even Myers grew more than an inch since being drafted), the training regiments, coaching pressures, and lifestyles change so drastically from juniors to pro that it's no wonder that they considerably change physically, mentally, and emotionally. And it understandably takes time. The best thing to do for Samson, and really all of the kids, is compare him to his peers. He wrecked it at the WJC. And Risto and Zad, compared with many first rounders from 2013, are ripping it up pretty good.