nfreeman

FWIW, on the WGR post-game show last night, both Hammy and the host (I think Brian Koziol?) said that they think Nylander has made the team.

So when do we expect them to announce the cuts?

Nylander has made it a competition, but I think TT has been more consistently effective. And the difference in ice time likely means that Howie favors TT. I voted Nylander, Baptiste and Larsson, and Pilut, Tennyson and Guhle on D. The 3 D choices are pretty self-explanatory. On offense, I wouldn't be unhappy if they kept Nylander and waived Zemgus or Wilson or Bailey, but it seems unlikely. They probably want to keep one of Zemgus and Larsson for the experience and grit (and I have them waiving Larsson), Wilson is their guy and Bailey has been getting a pretty long look -- more than Baptiste it seems (although I didn't check the stats on that so could be mistaken).

Good call here sir. This I think is a bit overstated and weave's point about relativity to expectations is probably right. I think Casey and Thompson both looked more ready for prime time than Nylander, and that most of the fuss about Nylander is that he looked pretty good and like he might turn into a good to very good NHL player, whereas until now he had looked completely ineffective and like a high risk to wash out. Mitts didn't come out like McDavid, as we were kinda half-hoping he would, but to me he still looks like he's ready to be an effective NHL center, albeit in a more sheltered role to start. As for my preferred lineup: Skinner Eichel Reinhart Sheary Mittelstadt Okposo Nylander Berglund Thompson (but only if Howie and JBott are sure that Nylander earned it, including in practice) ERod Sobotka Pommer (really CJ Smith though instead of Pommer)

I think they were hoping that Bogo would be healthy, but not counting on it. That would've been nuts. I think they thought their top 4 would be some combo of Risto, Scandy, Dahlin and McCabe, with the other 2 coming from some combo of when-available Bogo, Nelson, Hunwick and Beaulieu, with Guhle and Pilut pushing from Rochester. At this point, with Bogo and Hunwick out, I think I'd prefer a 3rd pair of Nelson and Pilut, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them start with Nelson and Beaulieu.

It's a (IMHO) pretty lousy snack -- kinda like a frito in a cone shape, but not as tasty as fritos.

LTS -- I see your point, but I don't agree. I think the value that can be extracted by keeping vets like Zemgus, Larsson, Pommer, Baptiste, Bailey and Bogo on the Sabres' roster with an eye towards trading them is negligible -- and does not outweigh the cost of loss of team morale that would result from seeing guys who have earned roster spots not get them.

Yeeeeesssshh. Pilut and Ullmark both just got undressed, and not by one of Pittsburgh's stars, either.

Pilut had a nice little play just now to settle down a bouncing puck in the D zone with a forechecker bearing down and made a nifty pass to exit the zone.

I’m kinda disappointed that O’Regan didn’t get more of a look. I’m not disagreeing with JBott’s and Howie’s evaluations of DOR — just hoping for more out of the guy we got for Kane. OTOH, it looks like Tage and Nylander are still in the running to make the show.

I don't think it's just local newspapers. National papers like the WSJ and the NYT have done the same thing, as have magazines like the New Yorker. Overall, "print" media seems like a very difficult business. I don't begrudge any publication for charging for its content.

Recent viewings: - Sicario 2 -- pretty good -- if you liked the 1st one, you'll probably like this one. B-plus to A-minus - A Simple Favor -- also pretty good, including for date night with your significant other. Excellent performances by the 2 female leads (Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively). Also B-plus to A-minus.

Flagg -- step away from the precipice and holster those weapons. JBott and Howie want to win this year at least as much as we do. They aren't going to keep Larsson or Wilson over Thompson unless they have determined that doing so will increase the team's chances of winning. They also aren't going to make like Darcy and be too paralyzed to waive someone for fear of losing him to waivers. I too would like to see Thompson start the season in Buffalo (and CJ Smith and perhaps Nylander too for that matter). But Howie and JBott get to see a lot more of these guys than we do. Let's see how it goes. I'm highly confident that they will be much improved. I'm also highly confident that even if all of the FNGs start in Rochester, they won't be ruined for the experience, and if it makes sense to call them up, it will happen.

For the record: the Sabres have 2 dudes named Casey -- and I thought Nelson looked pretty good last night. With Hunwick out, it seems pretty likely that Nelson will be in the top 6 on opening night.

I certainly agree with the importance of having watchdogs, but sizzle is right about bias and I think there are tons of non-newspaper watchdogs that have sprung up in the last decade or so.

What a great article and what a terrifying experience that must've been for KO and his wife.

I thought they were pretty good before Reino arrived, but he absolutely elevated them to a potentially great line.

But they looked terrific the other night vs Toronto.

2 good posts here. I think Casey will have a good season overall, but will have some rough spots. Dahlin will have a few hiccups but will be terrific and much more solid and consistent than Casey. When Casey is in a rut, Weave's concern about 2ndary scoring will likely be borne out, but there's reason for general optimism that a few of Casey, Thompson, KO, Sheary, Sobotka, Berglund and perhaps Asplund and/or Nylander will be contributing at any given time. And as I posted elsewhere, if the top line is Skinner-Eichel-Reino, that line could be very dangerous pretty much every shift. I agree that the D will get hemmed in and look overmatched from time to time. So far I like what I see from Hutton, who is mission-critical. Hell yes I'm optimistic.

Awesome but never again please.

Allen looks pretty good, innit? I think the sun was in McCloud's eyes on that deep sideline drop just now. NP -- Allen scrambles for the first. Pretty close to getting out of this half with a 27-0 lead!!

It was great to see Reino play that well. When Howie moved him up to the top line with Eichel and Skinner, I thought that line was extremely dangerous and created a ton of chances. If they keep those 3 as the #1 line, it will create questions as to whether there will be enough 2ndary scoring -- and a bunch of guys will have opportunities to provide that scoring. Casey, KO, ERod, Thompson, Nylander, Asplund, CJ, Berglund, Sobotka -- all are skilled enough to seize a role and produce. Howie will need to figure it out. Marleau definitely showed Dahlin a couple of times that he ain't in Kansas anymore. But I didn't think Dahlin looked overwhelmed. And I want Dahlin on PP1 instead of Risto. Hutton looked pretty good, although the GWG was a disturbing flashback to Lehner. Overall that was a pretty exciting game. It's a bit sobering to recall that in the regular season, Toronto will also have Tavares, Marner, Nylander and Kadri.

Also: Hickey, the defenseman they got for Fasching, really looked out of his depth.

FWIW, I thought Pilut was kinda shaky, but better than Guhle and Nelson, both of whom looked very much not ready for prime time. This brings me back to my preference for Hunwick at #6 and Beaulieu at #7. Of course, if Hunwick's not ready for the opener, I could be convinced to jump Pilut to #6 and keep Beaulieu at #7. But I'd rather have Pilut join Guhle and Nelson in Rochester. I could also be convinced pretty easily that any or all of Thompson, CJ and Nylander should be in the opening night lineup.

Awesome.