Taro T

Pretty sure Allen is so different that the past is irrelevant.

Thought the Black Keys "Lonely Boy" was better.

Sabres will only have the 1st pick based on last season for a short while more. IIRC, they only go on last year's record for the 1st 2 weeks (maybe it's a month) but it won't be long until this season's record is what matters. Here's to hoping the Sabres continue to screw up their chances of having their choice of all waived players.

Either the classic: The Kings - This Beat Goes On Or less well known: The Men - The Church of Logic, Sin, & Love

Close. You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet.

And why, w/ the extra 1st round pick would like to have seen them draft 1 of the 2 expected studs. So they'd actually have 3 legit prospects and 1 longshot.

It would definitely rival the '05-'06 season. Not sure if that was the most enjoyable, but it was the most improbable. (And that's even w/ an expectation they'd get in the playoffs when the season began.)

They make the playoffs, beware. Pretty sure that a team this green w/ no established non-middle aged goaltending making the playoffs is the 4th sign of the apocalypse.

The Bolts coach is doing a pretty good job of helping the Crows as well.

Agree. But IF they somehow pull that off, Granato wins the Jack Adams hands down.

He's looking OK. Hard to say just how good because they've played 2 bad teams. Vancouver is better than either and the Bruins are still the Bruins, so we'll know better soon. He has definitely looked better than at wing, though in a very small sample size.

They did. And those wins were almost (not entirely, but almost) entirely in game 2's facing backup goalies after being handily beat in game 1 of the 2 game set. Yes, Granato gets credit for that, but the opponent not being able to bring their A game against statistically the league's worst team right after winning in a relatively easy game also factors in. It's hard to always be on, especially if you don't respect your opponent. It'll be really sweet if your expectation bears out. But until they show they can beat Vancouver (and they have a legit chance) won't expect to see a win on Friday. Even if they win on Tuesday, won't EXPECT a win Friday, but will be more hopeful.

It's awesome that you're optimistic, but let's see them go 0.500 vs the 'Nucks, Wild, & BJ's of the league before we expect (hope?) they pull that off against the near elite squads. Baby steps.

Instead of BBFS (Battered Bills Fan Syndrome), BSFS (Battered Sabres Fan Syndrome) which seems more insidious because unlike the Bills that always seemed to "win the offseason" (well minus finding a QB, details) but show their true selves by week 3 at the latest, the Sabres typically hold a very frustrating off-season under the current owners and then start the year very well. (1st in the league ~Thansgiving 3 years ago, 1st in the league through October 2 years ago) Which builds false hope and then absolutely crash to the Earth HARD after temporarily climbing that peak. Close - BATTERED Sabres Fan Syndrome.

Would love to see them have their typical October, will give the kids a boost & significantly boost ticket sales, but November will tell us what they are.

You realize that Moe-ray-all squad snuck into the playoffs (which worked in their favor because they caught the playoff choking Loafs in the 1st round) & they were led by Price in net (out on personal leave), Weber (on BF-LTIR), Danault (playing in California now), & IIRC 1 other really good player that isn't available at present but dogged if his name comes to mind). They didn't even have Allen between the pipes and played the night before. Honestly, beating the 'Nucks on Tuesday will be more of an accomplishment and winning Friday would be light years removed from Thursday's accomplishment. But a win is a win. Here's to 96 more. 😉

Yeah, the only reason to buy him out at present is if he's one of the guys that "doesn't want to be here." There is no tangible benefit as they aren't anywhere close to the cap but dropping him could result in them going below the floor causing them to need to bring in another overpaid guy. About 3 years from now there's a decision to be made, but not now.

Am really coming around to Granato. But these next 2 games will be very telling. Vancouver is better than either team they've faced yet and the Bruins are used to coming into town and blowing stuff up.Really looking forward to seeing how they do against both a team that on paper should beat them and 1 that should on paper destroy them. Don't see this team getting blown out but really don't have a good read about how either game will go. The encouraging thing is the players really seem to like what Granato is asking them to do and he seems to be both a teacher & a motivator. The scary thing is the Sabres looked like world beaters 2 seasons ago in beating Pittsburgh & then destroying Joisey. They went 9-2-2 in October but then when the calendar flipped so did their results with no more than a 2 or 3 game win streak surrounded by lots of L's except for a 7-3-1 run at the start of February which did not fully offset downturns of 1-7-1 & 0-6-0, the latter which kept them out of the expanded playoffs. Hoping this play is sustainable. The fear is getting kids playing at a playoff pace of game in October isn't sustainable as other teams get out of their "it's only October" mindset. (Too early for BSFS to kick in?) At some point things have to get better. Hoping we're at that point.

For whatever it's worth, and it's been ~18 months & memory is a strange thing, but the building seemed louder w/ ~3,000 in it than it did with a full/nearly full building back before the world went kerplewy.

To the 1st bolded, don't know but know personally 2 that did. 😉 To the 2nd bolded, why wouldn't we count on Canadian fans to be a large part of the audience minus the border closing? The rink is ~5 miles from the Peace Brigde. Fort Erie is LITERALLY across the river. There are MANY Canadians that live closer to the barn than many people in Erie County and ~1MM that live closer to it than yours truly lives. And, it is pathetic but there are caveats to that. 1/2 of the STH base were allowed to defer their tickets to the following season with no penalties nor repercussions (because they can't come to the games even if they wanted to do so), that in itself cuts 6-8k out of the attendance base. And come early November there is a natural goosing of the attendance on the way when Canadians can buy single game & partial season tix. And personally am still shocked how dumb the Yotes (& Swamp Cats management too) were in building/moving into barns that are so inaccessible to significant fractions of their fanbase. But don't see how you can say 1/2 your fanbase doesn't refuse to show up to games when you state that 1/2 of them live a Ra-cha-cha to Buffalo commute away from Glendale and you then state people won't want to make that commute.

Fun game to be at, again. Noticing a trend here. Felt they missed Mittelstadt today. Cozens got set up clean in front a few times (good on him for being in the right spot) but is still gripping the stick waaaaaay too tight. Expect at least 1 & likely 2 of those chances get buried otherwise. And who knows how much an early goal would've messed with the kid goalie's head. Loved that Granato let Thompson & Ruotsalainen get the 1st 2 SO shots. They both should've scored during regulation and Granato allowed them both the opportunity to make up for the earlier misses. Olofsson got robbed in OT & got the opportunity to rectify that as well. The score says this was a close game, but except for about 5 minutes in the 2nd after Olofsson's penalty, the Yotes never sustained any real pressure. The Sabres had at least 3 shifts of simply hemming the Yotes in for over a minute. And had a ton more scoring chances. That said, the last 5 minutes of regulation were nerve wracking. The Sabres owned the game and deserved 2 points, but the Yotes had opportunities to steal 2 points there. Last year, the Sabres would've found a way to blow this. This team refused to do so. Loved the time keeper giving the Sabres extra rest at the end of the game after the icing. Stuff like that always seems to happen in other buildings. Was probably a legit accident, but will take any gamesmanship we can get. Was this Dahlin's coming out party? Arizona is a very bad team, but Ras really made them look worse than they are at both ends. Hope he plays like this Tuesday & even more importantly on Friday. If he can, oooooh baby. Hated seeing Eakin in the lineup but he was OK on Thursday and downright good today. Don't know who will sit when Mitts is healthy, but if he keeps this up, it won't be him. Okposo had another great game and should've had an assist on the PK. He was a beast again on the next PK forcing 3 Yotes to take 5+ seconds to get the puck out of the corner. The only down moment of his game was his full ice breakaway in OT that was completely overtaken by the AZ blue line. Would've liked to see him somehow get a shot off there. Was there ever a duller OT in NHL history? That was brutal. Loved Bryson's work on the PK. Kid is really growing. Hope he keeps it up. Hinostroza is blazing fast. Too bad his hands are 2 bricks. He could've been really special with even average hands. Love the effort though. The refs (especially L'Ecuyer) were awful. Can't recall a game where the ref was more out of position & what was up with the near minute long delays between shootout shots? The Toker continued his Tim Thomas impersonation. Don't know how long he & Anderson can continue to defy the odds, but enjoying it while it lasts. All 4 lines generated chances & Miller seems rejuvenated too. Do it to the 'Nucks now.

Don't forget, unlike in AZ where 1/2 the fanbase simply won't make the trek to the otherside of Phoenix; 1/2+ of the fanbase can't legally attend games. The US is closed to Canadians until early next month. If Canadians could attend, probably would've had a sellout opening night & would've had at least 8,000 in attendance, likely more like 10k with an announced attendance of over 16k today.

Dahlin played arguably his best game as a Sabre and had a fair amount of shifts at RD? You don't say. 😉 Was REALLY impressed w/ Dahlin's play on odd man rushes today. He broke 1 up clean and slowed one down (on the PP IIRC) to allow 2 teammates to get back & steal the puck. The offensive stuff like keeping the puck in the zone when 90% of guys would've missed it & the sick dangles he's flashed before. But his play in his own zone & transitioning back into his own zone were the best on the team today. The other very pleasant surprise on D is Bryson has been GOOD in his own end and on the PK. Flat out did NOT expect that. As for Power - Dahlin, those 2 on the same D is really intriguing. Once Power acclimated those 2 could be a pair like Keith & Seabrook, OR they could be used like Anaheim used Neidermayer & Pronger. Give them their own pairings & then "wondertwin activate" for the final 2 minutes of the game. Intriguing indeed.

He's the guy Miller tripped to save a sure goal in the 2nd. Wasn't very noticeable other than that.

Officially it was 8,000+ on Thursday and 7,400+ today. Would guess actual attendance was ~2,600 on Thursday & 3,200 today. It seemed there were a few less in the middle the rink but the other sections all seemed slightly more crowded. If they can win the next 2 crowds should start coming back some. Canadians being allowed in country next month will help, too, a lot. Would not be at all surprised if they end up sub-65 easily.