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GDT: Oilers at Sabres 1/03/12 7:00PM


spndnchz

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sweet. another hockey game. hot dog, hot dog ... hot diggity dog. it's a brand new day; whatcha waiting for? get up, stretch out, stomp on the floor ... hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog.

 

You , sir, have the proper attitude.. Any night you get to watch a Sabres game is a good night.

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I think the idea of sending McNabb to Rochester is ridiculous. He has been very solid defensively, and as another poster pointed out, he's earned his time on the PK and against team's top units. For a rookie, he's made very few mistakes. I hear what shrader is saying about timing his hits -- the one where he tried to line up Ovechkin and missed led directly to a goal against. But that really hasn't happened all that often... a handful of times tops. Certainly McNabb's play the first half of this season was better than Myers' play the first half of last season. I think McNabb deserves to stay here more than Kassian, although I'm on the "don't send Kassian down" boat too.

 

Haters gonna hate on Kassian, "1 point in 10 games!! Not good enough! Send him down!" McCormick has 2 points all damn season and, I love Cody as a player, what he's done for the team on several occasions the past few years has been invaluable -- but he really has no role on this team anymore. He has little-to-no actual hockey skills.. he's nothing but an undersized "enforcer." He doesn't even throw big hits very often... he just fights. Do we really need Cody in the lineup every night to be our designated fighter when guys like Gaustad, Kaleta, Kassian, Weber, and Regehr (and even Ehrhoff/Ellis proved they have a set lately) will fight when the situation calls for it? (Key words: "when the situation calls for it.") I think not.. Kaleta, also limited offensively, has a role. He DOES throw big hits, gets the fans going, sways momentum. He deserves a spot so long as he can stay healthy... but by having both him AND McCormick in your lineup, you are really losing the ol Lindy Ruff ability to "roll four lines." You can't roll four lines when one of them is comprised of three guys who can't score.

 

I don;t disagree with your premise that Kass should play over McC, but the the Lucic incident shows pretty clearly that Gaustad, Kaleta, Kassian, Weber, and Regehr do NOT fight when the situation most clearly calls for it. Goose in particular has learned to carefully pick his spots. Unfortunately, McC was clearly suffering the effects of a concussion and didn't do anything that game either.

 

And I'll disagree with Kaleta's overall effectiveness anymore too. I cannot recall the last time a Kaleta hit did anything to sway momentum. Heck, I don't recall the last time he drew a penalty. IMO when we talk about Kaleta changing the momentum of a game we do it in past tense. His noggin no longer allows for him to be a wrecking ball and overall pain in the ass. He said himself last year that he needed to change his game. He's not that guy any more.

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I don;t disagree with your premise that Kass should play over McC, but the the Lucic incident shows pretty clearly that Gaustad, Kaleta, Kassian, Weber, and Regehr do NOT fight when the situation most clearly calls for it. Goose in particular has learned to carefully pick his spots. Unfortunately, McC was clearly suffering the effects of a concussion and didn't do anything that game either.

 

And I'll disagree with Kaleta's overall effectiveness anymore too. I cannot recall the last time a Kaleta hit did anything to sway momentum. Heck, I don't recall the last time he drew a penalty. IMO when we talk about Kaleta changing the momentum of a game we do it in past tense. His noggin no longer allows for him to be a wrecking ball and overall pain in the ass. He said himself last year that he needed to change his game. He's not that guy any more.

 

How does the Lucic incident prove Kassian won't fight, he was not on the roster during that game.

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i don't *want* to be on team stormcloud ... i just find myself without a lot of options.

 

 

Our team is sucking pond water right now, but that does not mean that i do not enjoy every minute of each game (i have to watch them anyway) regardless of how well or poorly they play.

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McCormick has played poorly this year, which is a little surprising to me when he put up a pretty respectable 20 points on the fourth line last year in addition to handling the fighting. He just seems to be really sloppy with handling the puck. It's not at Andrew Peters level of on-ice liability but he's been pretty bad. That said I too never really agree with anybody who suggests Gaustad to be the fighter because he's generally not that great at fighting. Weber is even worse than him. Kaleta only does it when he has to as well and wouldn't likely ever step out of the "middleweight" range. Of who they have now Kassian is probably the best hope for having somebody who is a good player who can also fight well when needed but he still requires some seasoning.

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I don;t disagree with your premise that Kass should play over McC, but the the Lucic incident shows pretty clearly that Gaustad, Kaleta, Kassian, Weber, and Regehr do NOT fight when the situation most clearly calls for it. Goose in particular has learned to carefully pick his spots. Unfortunately, McC was clearly suffering the effects of a concussion and didn't do anything that game either.

 

And I'll disagree with Kaleta's overall effectiveness anymore too. I cannot recall the last time a Kaleta hit did anything to sway momentum. Heck, I don't recall the last time he drew a penalty. IMO when we talk about Kaleta changing the momentum of a game we do it in past tense. His noggin no longer allows for him to be a wrecking ball and overall pain in the ass. He said himself last year that he needed to change his game. He's not that guy any more.

 

Well, the Lucic situation was a bit of a fluke. For one, none of them (spare Goose) were on the ice when it happened, and also, none of them have the size to go toe-to-toe with Lucic. Not really a good excuse to do NOTHING when your goalie gets flattened, but it is what it is. I think they learned a lesson from it and have been very protective of Miller and each other ever since. We have several guys who will fight every once in a while, do we really need that one guy that fights almost every day (at the expense of offense)?

 

As for Kaleta, he doesn't do as much running around as he used to, but he still throws big hits. Almost equally importantly, he still pulls his patented "charge full steam at a defenseless player and stop before making contact" maneuver... keeps 'em honest. Donno if he does it as a scare tactic or if he just changes his mind at the last second, but he is still keeping opponents on their toes.

 

I think any hit that really gets the crowd going helps change the momentum. There aren't many plays in hockey that can send the game in a total 180 in terms of momentum.. it's all gradual. A hit there, a scoring chance there, a fight here... he contributes. And he's done it cleanly.

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Leino's not playing tonight, but he will be signing autographs and hosting the pre-game tailgate tent party. Just in case anyone was interested.

I wonder if he sucks at that as much as he does playing hockey.

 

Now to players that don't suck, it is very disappointing that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins may not be playing.

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As nfreeman said the bone he broke is a slow healer. It gets little blood to it so it takes longer to heal. Does anyone know if the Sabres have one of those hyperbaric chambers that increases the oxygen in the bloodstream to speed healing. I know the canucks owner bought one for them.

 

Which bone did he actually break in his wrist???

 

I fully expect to be laughed at, but this is a pattern now so I am willing to not put it out jokingly but seriously. What are the odds he is suffering from Marfan Syndrome? It's one thing to say that just because he is tall.....but if you do even a quick research there are warning signs. A lot of times it isn't diagnosed until early adulthood. It can have varying degrees. Here are some warning signs: The Buff News wrote an article early in the season that he was having unexplained fatigue and they were working on different things. That's what caught my attention. He has a long disproportional neck compared to the size of his face, he has a narrow and thin chest, he has long arms, I can't really tell his hand or foot build though. Skeletal features include weak wrists and abnormal healing time needed for broken bones. I am not sure how quickly the disease progresses when it comes to the circulatory system, but the fatigue thing really caught my eye on top of his physical appearance. I would think if he has a progressive form of this, we will see more and more issues crop up going forward and a short career. I have NO idea if this is the case, but he is a physical freak of nature in any case and that should always be met with open eyes. Like I said, I joked about it before, and yes the bone he broke can take time to heal. I'm in the "hmmmmnnnnn?...." stage right now. Maybe Wildnwooley44 can ask his buddy Macre if they ever looked into it.

 

Hmm, but those are just indicators. My arms are longer than my legs and I fit the profile, though not as tall as Myers and was checked out and negative. Like I said those are indicators. His chest is not that narrow, so I would think it doesn't apply, but yes he should get his heart checked just in case. P.S. It is an easy cardiac sonogram, takes about 15 minutes to verify and I almost guarantee Myers has been checked for it.

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