nfreeman

I'm not a huge fan of Graham's but this seems a bit harsh. And his stance as he articulates it doesn't seem unreasonable, although I know your view differs.

The apprehension about the good start just being another mirage is palpable. They need to come out fast and determined like they did vs Calgary and Vancouver. They also need more out of Power, Fitzie and Pilut than perhaps it's fair to expect. And they need Skinner to start lighting the lamp, which is entirely fair to expect. And they need good goaltending. Go Sabres.

The PP has indeed been a travesty. I don't disagree that the scheme is likely a problem, and not just the personnel, but I'd really like to see VO in his office on the #1 PP instead of Mitts. Also, I second @Brawndo in recommending the PDO podcast. It was a very good analysis of the Sabres from a couple of pretty knowledgeable Sportsnet hockey guys.

If you're going to throw this into the conversation, you need to back it up with details and links. Otherwise you're just wasting everyone's time.

Because he'd parachute in as the highest-paid defenseman on the team, despite being a 3rd-pairing guy whose team dumped him as part of a burn-it-down process, and despite not having proven himself here. These guys are human. They compare themselves to each other on a number of factors, and one of those is pay.

For those of us who already loved Diggs:

I've always liked Myers, but I don't think KA would bring in an outside vet making that much money. Even though the Sabres have the cap space, I think there is inevitably still a negative effect on the locker room. That might change if Vancouver were to retain some salary.

Seth Appert was on WGR last week and spoke glowingly about Rosen. He said Rosen's improvement from the summer to now has been remarkable.

Yikes. I know there aren't a ton of options, but that D lineup is asking a lot of Loobie and Bryson.

Fair enough, but if KA could've given the Kraken, say, a 4th-rounder for them to take Bjork instead of Borgen, wouldn't that have been worth it?

I think Tuch needs to stay with TT and Skinner on a permanent basis. Now, Kulich or Savoie with Cozens and JJP sure sounds interesting.

I'd guess that DG has been reminding the team early and often that they lost both games to Seattle last year, and that if they want to make the playoffs, this is the kind of game they need to show up intense and determined for.

Let's take it down a notch on the hostility please.

Yes -- it seems like he's gotten steadier each game. I don't think I noticed any rookie blunders vs the Canucks.

I'm curious as to whether Krebsie will get back in. I didn't see much from Quinn vs the Canucks, other than missing an open net from the doorstep. (I'm not really worried about Quinn over the long term -- I just think that it will take him a little while to get up to NHL speed. In the meantime though I think Krebs has played better than Quinn has, although neither of them has set the NHL on fire.)

That doesn't sound good. I'm sure there are MRIs in Seattle.

Very nice period. Vancouver came out hot as expected but the Sabres weathered the storm and after 4 min or so had the better of the play for most of the period. Anderson was very solid. TT looks like he has his confidence and is playing aggressively. I think he and Skinner are going to start scoring. The other lines look pretty good too, notwithstanding JJP’s brain lock and Quinn missing a great opportunity. vancouver will probably quit if the Sabres get the next goal.

I freaking love the HNIC song.

@dudacek @PerreaultForever and the other BC SabreSpacers — you know what you have to do. Tonight is YOUR night. Now go out there and take it!

Further to the point upthread about Eichel's ice time, we should note that he had 17:33 last night, leading all Vegas forwards .

I don’t think they’ll mess with a winning lineup, so I think Quinn sits again.

I don't want them to do this either, but it's 100% certain that there will be at least 1000 posts advocating for it. Separately -- my game notes: - What a great win! Unquestionably their best game of the season. - Comrie might be the real deal. That was another excellent, calm performance with numerous good saves at key times. - Best games of the year for a number of guys, including Mitts, TT, Power, Bryson and Vinnie. - Bryson was criticized in here a fair amount during the game, but I thought he played well overall, and in difficult circumstances -- over 22 min of ice time, on the road against a very good team, and with the pairings jumbled due to Joki's injury. He eluded the forecheck with quick skating moves quite a few times, although on a few occasions after doing so he made lousy passes -- so that is something to work on. Still, I thought he acquitted himself very well for the #6 guy. - For that matter I thought Fitzie played pretty well in a challenging situation too. - As others have noted, the reshuffled top 2 lines look much better. Skinner and VO still need to start scoring, but those 2 lines produced much more O-zone time and scoring chances than their predecessors did in the 1st couple of games. - Another strong game from the Cozens-JJP pair. - Ice time was very evenly distributed among the forwards, with everyone between 13:21 (Zemgus) and 18:46 (TT). - Zadorov's hit on Skinner was a dirty play and was suspension-worthy IMHO. - TT has been much more effective the last couple of games, but as others have noted, his shooting percentage does seem to have regressed. He's missed a number of shots (like that rocket that hit the crossbar) that would've been goals last season. - If they can keep playing like that, and get Skinner, TT, VO and Quinn lighting the lamp, they will be a major problem. - I'm guessing Comrie goes vs Vancouver on Saturday and Anderson vs Seattle on Tuesday, so Comrie can rest before the long trip home on Wednesday and then play at home on Thursday. Go Sabres.

I heard that when Jack heard about Tuch's hattie, Jack demanded of Cassidy that he put Jack on for the ENG, then demanded of all of his teammates that they pass it to him. Referring to himself in the 3rd person, he said "Jack wants to score again."

There's a lotta posters in here claiming they don't care about Eichel but still reading and posting in an Eichel thread. Just sayin'.

Good question. I'd guess that the Sabres want it to be Miller/Biron and hope Comrie can carry the mail. Among other reasons, they have to know that Anderson can't physically hold up to 35+ starts.