nfreeman

Morale is low following a disappointing loss last night in which the Sabres were unable to muster any shots on goal in the 3rd period, after playing competitively with a good Islanders team for the 1st 2 periods. The fan base is good and PO'd. The expensive forwards haven't done anything. The goaltending is lousy again, and everyone saw it coming. The coach talks a good game, and he seems to connect with the players, and he has clearly improved some parts of their play, and there are a number of key factors out of his control, but still: where are the wins? Most ominously, there is reason to be concerned that the franchise player is mailing it in until the season ends, at which point he'll demand a trade. As for tonight, the roster has taken some major hits due to Covid -- ESPN reports as follows: Still: we're here because we care about this team. Tonight could be the night when they start to right the ship. They haven't been that far off. A save here or there, a star forward burying a chance instead of shooting it into the goalie's pads, and they're 6-5 and in the playoffs instead of 4-7 and out. I'm not giving up hope just yet. Let's see how this goes.

But both the Murray and Botteril hirings were the result of taking advice from NHL insiders. I agree. He's coached 80 games with the Sabres, the first 69 of which were spent trying to make chicken salad out of JB's chicken poop roster, and the most recent 11 of which have been spent trying to get a team's sharpness back after a 10-month layoff plus a 15-day layoff and a virus outbreak -- and he's had bottom-20% goaltending the whole time. I think he's also reasonably well-respected around the NHL, and dumping him at this point would be another log on the fire of TP's reputation for firing people. Yes indeed -- and they played pretty well in the 1st 2 periods last night before running out of gas in the 3rd.

The overall picture presented by the Isles in 2018 was no better than that presented by the Sabres. Also, what about Bylsma?

So, the Leafs blew a 5-1 lead vs Ottawa today and lost in OT, 6-5.

That is interesting regarding Trotz. However, if Lou was willing to go to the Isles he probably would've been willing to join the Sabres.

In the summer of 2018, after JB's and Howie's first year, a year in which they were both trying for the Sabres to be a good team, but still led the Sabres to finish DFL, both Lamoriello and Trotz became available. The Islanders, which had been about as bad a franchise as the Sabres for a number of years at that point, snatched both of them up and immediately became a solid NHL franchise. The Sabres stuck with 2 guys who in retrospect were in way over their heads. And here we are.

Not sure but I don't think the Sabres have a shot on goal in the 3rd period yet and we are 7:45 in.

My recollection is that he had a good relationship with RK, who had resurrected his play from being a frequent healthy scratch and scapegoat the prior year. I wouldn't have been surprised if he had signed an extension. I don't recall who his most frequent partner was though.

I think the diamond is in the right place and that Pageau was well below the dot.

Well, that move was certainly a debacle, but Scandy was an upcoming UFA when they traded him, so they would've had to have given a new contract (which might've been the right decision).

Like most of their games this season, the Sabres are very competitive against a good team, but are being let down by lack of production from their top guys, plus lousy goaltending.

2 out of the 3 Isles' goals have been of the "get dirty down low" variety.

Pretty fortunate deflection there for Anders Lee, but the record should still reflect that the scoring play started when Reino lost a battle on the boards.

Why do you think this? I think almost everyone in the US who wants to be vaccinated will be able to do so by the summer.

I really liked 1917.

I wonder if TP meddles in her training.

NS, you know I luv ya, and I've heard that it's a great movie, but this is a bridge too far. Who is going to watch a movie in a foreign language without subtitles?

Let's hope so, although I'd vote for replacing Irwin, who has frequently looked like a train wreck IMHO, instead of Montour, who has looked pretty good.

Kinda looking forward to seeing Borgen in a game.

Both of these, plus, as a number of posters have noted, Hoop Dreams. Also: Manhattan Annie Hall Major League Broken Arrow

The Terminator Speed Animal House Caddyshack Monty Python and the Holy Grail Talladega Nights Ronin Pulp Fiction Inglorious Basterds The Matrix Full Metal Jacket LA Confidential The Man who Shot Liberty Valance Miller's Crossing True Grit Blade Runner On the Waterfront Royal Tenebaums Stand by Me

Let the record reflect that @Taro T is right — I had forgotten about games 81 and 82 and was using 96 pts as the cutoff. Having said that, this all came up in response to a different poster up thread citing NHL .500 as a meaningful status, which it simply ain’t. Certainly a 98-pt pace is meaningful.

More to the point, I think the more critical idea here is not that you are probably going to make the playoffs if you finish at DeLuca .500 -- it's that if you don't get to DeLuca .500, you are not going to make the playoffs. The key is to stay at or very close to DeLuca .500 during the season and then finish strong so you end up at least a couple of games over -- and not to delude oneself that one's team is doing fine because they are at "NHL .500".

Well, in the last 3 years, 3 teams have finished "NHL .600" or better and not made the playoffs so you, sir, are equally guilty of propounding a less-than-infallible formula. May God have mercy on your soul.

The Sabres are not a .500 team. They have won 40% of their games. If they end up the season having won 40% of their games, they will miss the playoffs by a country mile. This is a similar terminology item, but I also don't think "win percentage" is used correctly here. The Sabres, Rangers, Devils and Isles have all won less than 50% of their games (and the Caps and Pens have won exactly 50% of their games) -- so I would say 4 teams are below .500 in win percentage and only 2 teams are above .500 in win percentage. This goes back to DeLuca .500 -- i.e. a team needs to win at least 50% of its games to have a shot at the playoffs. It may seem like a silly argument over nomenclature, but the key point is that "NHL .500" -- e.g. where the Sabres are at 4-4-2 -- is a useless mirage that doesn't get you to the playoffs.