nfreeman

What is this based on?

You don’t put lettuce and tomato on an Italian hero. You don’t intentionally become a terrible hockey team to get a high draft pick. And you take the freaking 3 points on the road, especially when you have a good defense.

Sean the freaking wrestler!!!

It’s time for Jerry Hughes.

Win % likelihood right now is 81.7% per ESPN. That’s why you take the FGs.

Freaking Hauschka is the freaking terminator.

One more FG, then we hold them on D, then we go home with the W. Just like Marv would’ve done it.

Crybaby losers!

Sean the wrestler!!

And look what happens when you take the 3 points!

Taking the 3 points is absolutely the right call.

Seconded. I’d love to see the high-scoring AHL guy get a shot with Eichel and make the most of it. And I have to think Pommer would be more effective against lower-tier opposition than against the other team’s top line. As far as that goes, it seems like Eichel’s line has spent a lot of time in the defensive zone so far, bottled up by the opponent’s top line and giving up a lot of opportunities.

I like Wysh's hockey writing but don't really like MvW.

So Griffith, Josefson, Nolan and ERod are all ahead of Bailey, Baptiste and Fasching. It's too early to give up on Fasching, but if Bailey and Baptiste don't have more than a cup of coffee in Buffalo this year, it will be time to assume that they aren't ever going to do so. I guess that also means that if Reino is going to be the #3C, it will probably be with Pouliot and ERod or Griffith as his wingers. Yeeeeeeeesssshhhh.

Who said anything about the PT? Pommer was on Minny for 5 playoff runs -- 3 1st-round losses and 2 2nd-round losses. That's not a serious SC contender. Regarding Reino: yes, we had differing impressions, but that was on a 1-game sample size. I think that after a full season of (hopefully) #3C under a (hopefully) competent coach, there will be enough data such that our opinions converge, if not all the way.

When? The only time he was on a true SC contender was on the '06 and '07 Sabres. Those teams had: Drury Briere Vanek Connolly Roy Afinogenov Dumont ('06 only) Kotalik Pommer was #12 in scoring in '06 (#7 in the playoffs) and #4 in '07 (also #4 in the playoffs) -- although Max missed 26 games that season with injury and his PPG was well north of Pommer's. So -- it's fair to say that Pommer was well below the #5 forward in '06 -- and that team was a true SC contender -- and #4 or #5 in '07 -- on a substantially weaker team. None of Pommer's Minnesota teams were nearly as much of an SC contender as those Sabres teams were.

I agree that neither Kessel nor Pommer was the type of player who could lift up a team by force of will and dominant play. (I think wingers who can are pretty rare.) And certainly peak Pommer would've been a good player on the Penguins. But current Kessel IMHO still is a much better player in that role than peak Pommer. I don't think Pittsburgh would've considered for a second giving Pommer $5.5MM x 5 years -- but they are happy to give Kessel $8MM. Respectfully, while I agree with some of this post, I disagree with much of it. First, I find the bolded statement revolting and a borderline crime against nature, although in a large enough nation, there is a theory for everyone. More importantly, although you are certainly right that we all bring our individual baggage to our opinion-forming processes, and that winning and losing plays a big role as well, I think that those factors play out on the margins. You don't think Larsson is a #1 or #2 center. I don't think Pysyk belongs in the ECHL. Pi had us all going last year, but he doesn't really think Moulson is a 30-goal guy any more. I also think that while the offseason may be a time for people believing what they want to believe, once the ammo is live, most here evaluate what they see with a respectable degree of fairness.

Respectfully, I think you're weighting point production stats here far too highly. Peak Pommer was a nice player with a well-rounded regular-season game who put up numbers, but he was not dynamic or impactful. The Sabres were pathetic in 07-08. They had just lost Drury and Briere and they carried themselves like Mom had just gotten plastered and run over the dog in the driveway. Pommer put up numbers on a bad team. He wasn't a difference-maker. And he had 1 goal in 5 playoff games in 2011 as the Sabres blew a 3-2 lead to Philly in the 1st round and their entire "top 6," of which Pommer was an integral part, combined for zero goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods of that series. It was one of the most embarrassing Buffalo sports moments of all time. (I think Pommer captained that team -- not sure though.) Meanwhile, Kessel had 8-15-23 in 25 playoff games last year. Out of the guys you mentioned, I think 28 or more NHL GMs would take any of them (except maybe Kesler or Pacioretty) for a playoff run over peak Pommer.

Well, we are pretty far apart on this. I think peak Pommer can't be any better than the 5th or 6th best forward​ (not player) on an SC contender, or at least not one that is built around an elite offense (i.e. if the team is built around Pronger and Niedermayer, then Pommer can probably be the 4th-best forward). And while I recognize that peak Pommer had seasons where he put up numbers, there is always someone to put up numbers on lousy teams. Of course, an SC contender also needs at least 3 defensemen who are more valuable NHL players than peak Pommer. Pommer's game also doesn't translate well in the playoffs, which is borne out by his playoff numbers. As for Pittsburgh, Kessel is in another league compared to peak Pommer IMHO. I'd liken Pommer to Sheary on last year's Penguins -- and I'd argue that Guentzel on that team was better than peak Pommer -- so that puts Pommer in a tie for 5th forward.

I don't follow -- did Reino make it into the top 20 while I was looking away? And you're right that Pommer was a good 2-way player. He just wasn't the kind of player you build a team around -- and I want Reino to be that kind of player.

I agree with both of these, and I really hope that his middle and later years aren't debilitated by his hockey injuries. Connolly's 2005-'06 season remains one of my favorite seasons by any Sabre ever. The redemption story, the surprise, the joy, the 200-foot game, the jaw-dropping moves...he was fantastic. And we'll always have 7-6.

I'm solidly in the "I want more from Reino than slightly better than peak Pommer" camp. Pommer was a nice player, but on an SC contender, he shouldn't be higher than the 5th- or 6th-best forward. Reino needs to be better than that.

Bogo was really flying around last night though. Like a phoenix, rising from Arizona!

Well, this year's forward group being inferior to that of a 300-goal group isn't really an earthshattering revelation. That was a great freaking team. Thanks again, OSP.

I've been skeptical about Reino's game, but I think it's far too early to tell how he'll do at #3C -- and I think the team will be best served if he can center a good 3rd line. So I'd like Howie to keep this going for at least the 1st quarter of the season, although I would be fine with seeing him with other wingers if the current set doesn't produce.