Stanley Cup! 2025

[SabresBillsFan]

2 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

Also dig the replay. Skates collide and McDavid going for a repair but Ekblad did one that no one does vs. McDavid. F(orget) the puck, take the body. 

They also score in bunches like no one else. 

Love it and need more of it, McAvory did it to him in the 4 Nations. Keep pounding him and Draisaitl and you will beat Edmonton. Both teams are definitely trying to injure each other, tons of crosschecks and lots of dirty stick work! 

Edited 17 hours ago by SabresBillsFan

[PerreaultForever]

4 hours ago, Gatorman0519 said:

We moved down here 20 years ago and I did. Nice to take the boys to the rink when they were growing up. Zito is the opposite of Adams. Everything he does is right. Absolutely love the style of hockey they play. We could only dream of a Buffalo team like this. 

Rick Dudley, Senior advisor to the GM. Just saying. The only thing that has kept us from being them is Pegula. 

[Night Train]

Back on topic

It will be interesting to see if the Oilers have a response. They lost puck battles at a Sabres level last night. McDavid looked like the only player skating hard for the visitors. 

[Demoted]

Panthers in 6

[Pimlach]

8 hours ago, Thorny said:

We tanked for Reinhart and Eichel and they may win 3 straight cups in some form. Kinda funny, tbh 

It says it all.   You cannot just tank for draft picks and win. Somewhere along the way you need people that know how to build a team. 
 

 

[Jorcus]

1 hour ago, Night Train said:

Back on topic

It will be interesting to see if the Oilers have a response. They lost puck battles at a Sabres level last night. McDavid looked like the only player skating hard for the visitors. 

 

If the Oilers go on to lose this series I have wonder what they were thinking when they traded McCloud for a prospect. Every other team that is as close as they are to a cup chance trades future assets for players that can play now. The bottom half of the Oilers lineup is killing them. They just can not clear the zone. I know salary cap was a concern with the Evander Kane injury but If they had to move on form McCloud they could have traded for someone who might actually play games for them this year and into the playoffs. Not matching the Broberg offer for a draft pick falls into the same category. They could have traded him for a player but took a draft pick instead. You just can not waste your superstar years for assets that do not help you now.  

[That Aud Smell]

8 hours ago, SabresBillsFan said:

Glad he got lit up, ***** McDavid!

I can't fathom this perspective.

When I watch these games as a neutral hockey fan, I am simply in awe of how the guy plays the game.

And, honestly, I can't understand the perspective even coming from a fan of a team playing against the Oilers.

[Pimlach]

2 minutes ago, Jorcus said:

 

If the Oilers go on to lose this series I have wonder what they were thinking when they traded McCloud for a prospect. Every other team that is as close as they are to a cup chance trades future assets for players that can play now. The bottom half of the Oilers lineup is killing them. They just can not clear the zone. I know salary cap was a concern with the Evander Kane injury but If they had to move on form McCloud they could have traded for someone who might actually play games for them this year and into the playoffs. Not matching the Broberg offer for a draft pick falls into the same category. They could have traded him for a player but took a draft pick instead. You just can not waste your superstar years for assets that do not help you now.  

Florida has to figure out how to retain Bennett, and it looks the "The Rat" would not mind playing for the Cats. 

[That Aud Smell]

36 minutes ago, Jorcus said:

If the Oilers go on to lose this series I have wonder what they were thinking when they traded McCloud for a prospect. Every other team that is as close as they are to a cup chance trades future assets for players that can play now. The bottom half of the Oilers lineup is killing them. They just can not clear the zone. I know salary cap was a concern with the Evander Kane injury but If they had to move on form McCloud they could have traded for someone who might actually play games for them this year and into the playoffs. Not matching the Broberg offer for a draft pick falls into the same category. They could have traded him for a player but took a draft pick instead. You just can not waste your superstar years for assets that do not help you now.  

Really good takes/insights here.

[That Aud Smell]

Following the Oilers' OT win to start the series, one of my group chats was going on and on (and on) about what a freakish alien McDavid is on the ice.

Eventually, that led to the chat reflecting on how fans of Buffalo sports have their own alien to support and enjoy.

That, in turn, led to some half-baked takes on likening McDavid to Allen on some level.

For my part, I think McDavid is a notch above Allen in terms of being superior to his peers and being an historic great in his sport.

But there's something to it. Both players just do sh1t on the ice/field that seems impossible. And they're both joys to watch. EDIT: And both players have been bumping up against a ceiling that is short of ultimate glory.

Edited 8 hours ago by That Aud Smell

[thewookie1]

11 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Following the Oilers' OT win to start the series, one of my group chats was going on and on (and on) about what a freakish alien McDavid is on the ice.

Eventually, that led to the chat reflecting on how fans of Buffalo sports have their own alien to support and enjoy.

That, in turn, led to some half-baked takes on likening McDavid to Allen on some level.

For my part, I think McDavid is a notch above Allen in terms of being superior to his peers and being an historic great in his sport.

But there's something to it. Both players just do sh1t on the ice/field that seems impossible. And they're both joys to watch. EDIT: And both players have been bumping up against a ceiling that is short of ultimate glory.

 

Pretty on the nose to be honest, both are genuine freaks of nature who seem blocked from true glory by a small number of opponents.

As for being a historically great player, Allen has 65 rushing TDs so far in his career. He is 3rd in Active Players behind Ezekiel Elliott with 74 and Derrick Henry with 106. 35 more in his career and he'd be only 1 of 10 NFL players to ever score 100 Rushing TDs.

[Pimlach]

58 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Following the Oilers' OT win to start the series, one of my group chats was going on and on (and on) about what a freakish alien McDavid is on the ice.

Eventually, that led to the chat reflecting on how fans of Buffalo sports have their own alien to support and enjoy.

That, in turn, led to some half-baked takes on likening McDavid to Allen on some level.

For my part, I think McDavid is a notch above Allen in terms of being superior to his peers and being an historic great in his sport.

But there's something to it. Both players just do sh1t on the ice/field that seems impossible. And they're both joys to watch. EDIT: And both players have been bumping up against a ceiling that is short of ultimate glory.

Makes a good story until you look at Allen's stats. 

Allen would have needed to score points (mostly TDs) on every single possession for the Bills to win in their last two playoff losses.   A very poor defense and some untimely missed blocks/dropped passes on offense are too much to overcome.  

[...]

 

 

[That Aud Smell]

2 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Makes a good story until you look at Allen's stats. 

Allen would have needed to score points (mostly TDs) on every single possession for the Bills to win in their last two playoff losses.   A very poor defense and some untimely missed blocks/dropped passes on offense are too much to overcome.  

The story is not dissimilar for McDavid.

[Pimlach]

2 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

The story is not dissimilar for McDavid.

True, until right now in the Cup final series.   McDavid has ZERO goals so far in this series.   He has to be better in game 4 than he was in game 3 (no points).   He has to take over.  

[French Collection]

48 minutes ago, Jorcus said:

 

If the Oilers go on to lose this series I have wonder what they were thinking when they traded McCloud for a prospect. Every other team that is as close as they are to a cup chance trades future assets for players that can play now. The bottom half of the Oilers lineup is killing them. They just can not clear the zone. I know salary cap was a concern with the Evander Kane injury but If they had to move on form McCloud they could have traded for someone who might actually play games for them this year and into the playoffs. Not matching the Broberg offer for a draft pick falls into the same category. They could have traded him for a player but took a draft pick instead. You just can not waste your superstar years for assets that do not help you now.  

McLeod, Broberg and Holloway were 3 homegrown guys that were entering their productive years. You are right that getting futures for these guys cost them depth and experience.

Skinner was a gamble that didn’t pay off but Kapanen was a good pickup.

If they don’t seal the deal this year I wonder what tweaks they undergo? Nurse is hugely overpaid, they could get similar value for half that price, imo.

[...]

Sorry, McDavid has the charisma of an old shoe. Sure, his personal stats are great, but the league and NHL media have been shoving this guy down our throats since well before he was drafted. That alone is enough to be sick of hearing the name "McDavid", but combined with the flatness of his presentation, the roster of dooshy players surrounding him, I am far from compelled to root for the guy. 

 

 

[Archie Lee]

1 hour ago, Jorcus said:

 

If the Oilers go on to lose this series I have wonder what they were thinking when they traded McCloud for a prospect. Every other team that is as close as they are to a cup chance trades future assets for players that can play now. The bottom half of the Oilers lineup is killing them. They just can not clear the zone. I know salary cap was a concern with the Evander Kane injury but If they had to move on form McCloud they could have traded for someone who might actually play games for them this year and into the playoffs. Not matching the Broberg offer for a draft pick falls into the same category. They could have traded him for a player but took a draft pick instead. You just can not waste your superstar years for assets that do not help you now.  

All season long it looked like Oiler management had erred big-time in not keeping Holloway, McLeod, and Foegele and opting to keep Henrique and add J. Skinner, and Arvidsson. Then after looking finished early in rd 1, they rattled off a 13-2 stretch to put themselves up 1-0 in the cup final. Now though, it looks like they are running out of steam. 

The Oilers are still an elite team. It was said last night on here that it doesn’t seem that the Oilers have “IT”. Maybe so, but if the Oilers don’t have “IT” then the Panthers are the only team that does. Maybe the Oilers are getting sucked into the Panthers game, but watching the last few minutes last night, it seemed to me that the Oilers were doing what we would want the Sabres to do. They were sending a message that they aren’t going quietly. And, they have a lot of guys who can participate in the shenanigans. One line after the other had someone willing to drop the gloves or mix it up with the toughest of the Panthers. 

Maybe this is fence sitting, but I would not count the Oilers out until they are down 2 late in an elimination game. I could easily see them losing Thursday and then winning game 5 at home, putting them one road win from a game 7. 

[That Aud Smell]

44 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

True, until right now in the Cup final series.   McDavid has ZERO goals so far in this series.   He has to be better in game 4 than he was in game 3 (no points).   He has to take over.  

Allen's never even made it to a Super Bowl.

Also, the sports are so different. It's arguably simpler for a QB to take over and dominate than it is for a single skater to do the same. 

[LGR4GM]

 

 

[inkman]

32 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

 

 

I know there are ways to make these charts a wee bit easier on the eyes and brain.  A graph or chart should be something that easily identifies the measurable data you are trying to disseminate. I don’t get that looking at this chart.  Maybe the color shade changes aren’t dramatic enough.  Idk, but if it takes me more than a quick glance to interpret what you are saying, you probably didn’t do a good job of communicating that information. 

[LGR4GM]

7 minutes ago, inkman said:

I know there are ways to make these charts a wee bit easier on the eyes and brain.  A graph or chart should be something that easily identifies the measurable data you are trying to disseminate. I don’t get that looking at this chart.  Maybe the color shade changes aren’t dramatic enough.  Idk, but if it takes me more than a quick glance to interpret what you are saying, you probably didn’t do a good job of communicating that information. 

Sam Bennett shoots below average just about every spot on the ice. 

Blue is below average

White is average

Red is above average

[inkman]

14 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Sam Bennett shoots below average just about every spot on the ice. 

Blue is below average

White is average

Red is above average

Yeah I figured it out.  I’m guessing Micah’s target audience is accustomed to see these types of charts so it’s a familiar language to them. It takes me a couple minutes to figure out which colors are good and which colors are bad. 
 

Typically, red is bad in most areas of life.  So I have to recalibrate my brain to red being good and blue, a neutral to positive color, is now bad.  

Edited 5 hours ago by inkman

[Taro T]

12 hours ago, Thorny said:

We tanked for Reinhart and Eichel and they may win 3 straight cups in some form. Kinda funny, tbh 

Well, they did tank to win multiple SCs.  So it ... worked, ... , uh, riiiiiight?  🤔

[Taro T]

3 hours ago, Jorcus said:

 

If the Oilers go on to lose this series I have wonder what they were thinking when they traded McCloud for a prospect. Every other team that is as close as they are to a cup chance trades future assets for players that can play now. The bottom half of the Oilers lineup is killing them. They just can not clear the zone. I know salary cap was a concern with the Evander Kane injury but If they had to move on form McCloud they could have traded for someone who might actually play games for them this year and into the playoffs. Not matching the Broberg offer for a draft pick falls into the same category. They could have traded him for a player but took a draft pick instead. You just can not waste your superstar years for assets that do not help you now.  

Said it at the time, it was an interesting take to decide the problem they had in the final was that they weren't offensive enough as they let several of their defensively responsible players leave without any true replacements for them.

Loved the McLeod deal when it was made and it likely will only get better.

And it is possible the Eulers will rally and pull this out; but FLA has consistently gotten stronger as their series have gone on, so definitely wouldn't want a mortgage payment riding on it.