nfreeman

Rayzer has has flaws (like the rest of us), but he has a pretty good sense of humor IMHO. Last night, at one point they showed an old clip of Craig Rivet fighting with Daniel Carcillo and mentioned that that those 2 fought twice in 1 game, at which point Rayzer, tweaking Rivet, noted several times how Rivet's teammates and everyone else who had seen the fight were shocked at how badly Carcillo had thrashed Rivet.

It's not just the team playing better IMHO. I think Risto has gotten more comfortable and confident in Howie's system and as a result is making better decisions. Also, Howie's system encourages the D to push the offense, which allows Risto to use more of his skills (which evidently include Perreault-type rushes and dekes).

Welcome Andrew!

The evidence is that JB and Howie -- the guys who were best situated to evaluate ROR -- got a good, long look at him and decided to get rid of him.

Welcome Matt! (heh.)

I agree and would just add that I think Larsson, with a bit more experience and perspective -- and the appreciation for having an NHL job after missing a year with a serious injury -- has likely embraced the checking-line role a bit more than he had previously.

It's up to PA, of course, but maybe there should be a separate category for SO goals? In any case, there are tons of contenders this year. Risto's masterpiece last night has a strong claim for the #1 seed.

My game notes: - Other than the GTG, Hutton played another excellent game. - Speaking of the GTG, that was exactly the kind of late-game softie that Lehner habitually gave up last year. This year, of course, the team has the mental toughness to come back from that kind of setback. - I thought Reino had a very strong game. I still would prefer that he play with Sobotka and TT, but he looked good with Eichel and Skinner last night. - Skinner was *this* close on a number of opportunities during regulation -- I was thinking "well, it's not fair to expect him to cash them all in" -- and then he delivered in OT. And that GWG wasn't just a putback -- he put a pretty nice forehand-backhand deke on Jones and then buried it. - Every single defenseman on the Sabres (except the FNG) is substantially better than he was last year. That's to their credit of course but also very much to Howie's and Steve Smith's credit. We're now seeing what we were hoping to see when they hired Howie -- a system in which the D play a huge role in creating offense, from defensive zone exits to driving deep into the O-zone for scoring chances. - In particular: Bogo is reborn! 25 minutes of rock-solid defense, nifty hands and stickwork in the D zone, a rush to the doorstep that almost led to a game-clinching goal, the big poppa bear holding down the fort on the PK -- did anyone see this coming? - It was great to hear the crowd into it last night. Go Sabres. This team isn't afraid of anything.

Awesome. Just awesome.

Well, Max had seasons of 40, 61, 61 and 73 points -- not too shabby.

I watched "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" the other night. Didn't love it -- I'll give it a B-minus. "True Grit" is a far superior Coen bros. western IMHO.

I hope Sheary isn't out for long, as I think he's a valuable contributor, but still: I'm kinda looking forward to seeing TT with Mitts and KO.

So if Zemgus is playing tonight, does that mean he wasn't injured for the last game and was just healthy-scratched in favor of Elie?

From the Athletic today:

Sharks line combos: LW C RW Forwards Evander Kane Rating: 76.7#24 LW Joe Pavelski Rating: 79.5#24 C Joonas Donskoi Rating: 73.6#51 RW FL1 Rating Rating: 76.60#22 FL1 Tomas Hertl Rating: 75.7#45 LW Logan Couture Rating: 79.9#21 C Timo Meier Rating: 75.7#30 RW FL2 Rating Rating: 77.09#4 FL2 Marcus Sorensen Rating: 74.6#38 LW Joe Thornton Rating: 75.8#44 C Kevin Labanc Rating: 74.1#43 RW FL3 Rating Rating: 74.83#1 FL3 Barclay Goodrow Rating: 69.4#126 LW Lukas Radil Melker Karlsson Rating: 68.9#113 RW FL4 Rating Rating: 69.14#31 FL4 Defensive Pairings Defense Brenden Dillon Rating: 72.5#61 LD Erik Karlsson Rating: 82.6#2 RD DL1 Rating Rating: 77.54#8 DL1 Tim Heed Rating: 75.7#23 LD Brent Burns Rating: 83.2#1 RD DL2 Rating Rating: 79.46#2 DL2 Marc-Edouard Vlasic Rating: 74.8#29 LD Justin Braun Rating: 72.3#51 RD DL3 Rating Rating: 73.57#3 DL3

Just so it's handy: https://www.nhl.com/sabres/video/recap-buf-3-det-2-fso/t-277443696/c-63318403

That was a very nice goal indeed, but TT's were nicer.

TT's laser vs Detroit has to be a contender, and if shootout goals are eligible, his SO goal vs Detroit should be one as well.

A real sweetener will be required to get Seattle to take Bergy or KO. If both goalies continue to play well, I think JBott will pay to avoid exposing them in the same way that he offered up Carrier to avoid exposing Ullmark.

I think ROR's locker room presence was pretty much the entire issue. If ROR hadn't been a problem in the locker room, he'd still be here IMHO. Otherwise, JBott wouldn't have taken 75 cents in dimes and quarters in exchange for a dollar bill. Now, if TT turns into Afinogenov 2.0 and/or the 1st-rounder hits, it may end up being $1.50 in exchange for that dollar. We'll see.

Critical question answered: in his post-game interview the other night, Eichel referred to TT as "Tommer."

Outstanding. Please post more often!

I thought Allen missed a number of throws but made quite a few excellent ones too. Overall I found it a pretty encouraging game by him, especially since his last few games pre-injury were stinkers.

Paris is a fantastic city.

I agree with most of this but I think Max was pretty good around the net too. He had 2 61-pt seasons and a 3rd with 73.