nfreeman

Any SabreSpacers attending?

I think Calgary is expected to lose Gaudreau in UFA, innit?

Well, he’s a fringe NHL player at this point and there are only a few outdoor games per season.

Does anyone know whether Pysyk has played in an outdoor game? Maybe DM is giving him this one in case it's Pysyk's last chance to do so.

Indeed it was, but Rivet was still a real captain who conducted himself the right way. It's too bad the Sabres got him so late in his career.

IMHO, Jack was not cut out to be a captain, but with proper team construction around him probably would've been a decent enough teammate not to be an actively destructive force. Combined with his great physical gifts and high motor, he could've been an all-time great Sabre. Sliding doors. Great job, GMTM! (Of course, there are a small number of people who are just highly toxic and bring everybody down no matter what -- it's possible that he's one of those. Let's see what happens in Vegas.)

Right, but no one here has access to the info on character that TM had, and no one here gets paid millions of dollars to get these decisions right. Well said and good to see ya sir!

You're a good man either way. I hope you don't go. That CS could drop anthrax in there at any moment.

This is a charitable interpretation. Good man. Either way, it's another brick in the wall supporting KA's conclusion that the team needed a wholesale culture change and that Eichel needed to go as part of that change.

Petey: "Tim Murray was probably loaded by warmups."

Here's a specific item: Petey said that Eichel didn't speak with a lot of his teammates -- i.e. he held himself above them, like they weren't worth his time in talking to. If true, what a freaking DB and what a terrible captain. Also, I don't think Rivet's outrage was fake.

BTW: I loved Fitzgerald's fight, even though Kolesar (who is 6'2", 221 lbs, compared to Fitz, who is 5'11", 188 lbs) pulled a total punk move in hitting him when they were already down on the ice. Has anyone heard anything on Fitz? I hope he wasn't concussed. He's added a very nice element to the D group.

Anderson was solid as a freaking rock last night. He's one of only 39 goalies ever to win 300 games. That's pretty impressive. He shouldn't be a #1 at this point in his career, but when healthy he's played pretty well this year.

I’d love for him to get his slapper back, but, like TT, he has a good wrister as well. That was an elite NHL goal tonight AND it made all of us extremely happy. I’d like to keep him but as always it depends on the contract.

I had PF in both feet for a while and tried everything -- podiatrist, shoe inserts, cortisone shot, walking boot -- the works. Nothing worked until I met with a trainer/sports physical therapist. He watched me walk, run, sit and stand, told me that I needed to change my stride and posture and showed me what to do. It worked amazingly well. I haven't had any PF issues in like 4 years, and I do a lot of walking and a decent amount of running. So I would highly recommend that you find that kind of professional and give that a try.

I would give that up for Metcalf in a heartbeat.

Yeah, that's a non-starter IMHO unless Weber can return to full health and play, which would be fantastic for the Sabres but which I don't think is expected.

I'm glad DM is mixing up the 2nd and 3rd lines. They've underperformed in the last couple of games.

Well, we're maybe splitting hairs here, but I don't think their views were "muddled." The surgery was a "problem" in that it presented an increased risk relative to fusion surgery. That increased risk had to be justified by the reward. In this case, since Eichel wanted out, the reward wasn't present, so the risk was not so justified. Taking it a step further, if Eichel suffers the same injury again, the Sabres' assessment of the increased risk will indeed be vindicated -- I don't see how one could conclude otherwise.

I don't agree with the bolded. From the Sabres' perspective, the decision on letting Jack get the surgery was significantly affected by his asking out prior to the injury. The surgery carried a substantial degree of risk. Once Jack asked out, letting him get the surgery would've meant taking on that risk without getting the potential reward -- i.e. a healthy Jack on the ice. OTOH, if he hadn't asked out, then their assessment of the risk/reward would've included the potential reward. So, if the surgery doesn't work, I think that supports the Sabres' evaluation of the risk and in turn their decision that it didn't make sense for them to bear that risk.

Indeed. But landing, say, pick #14 from them this June instead of #27 would be an unexpected boon.

Vegas lost to Philly tonight 2-1. Keeping those lottery hopes alive!

Yes -- the Kings are having a surprisingly good year and are comfortably in the playoffs. And the Sabres didn't get manhandled. But still -- they produced 19 shots, including 5 in the 3rd, when they were down 1-0 for most of the period, and IMHO simply didn't bring anywhere near the fire and blood they brought vs Minny and Toronto. And I think there have been quite a few games like that this year. Overall I agree. I just wish I had seen a bit more to convince me that the coaching is in fact quite good, as opposed to "well the roster stinks so this isn't his fault."

But after those 2 wins, with some excitement finally building and a relatively decent crowd at home just dying for the team to show them something, they came out flat vs the Kings and got shut out at home. I am far from coming to any conclusions on Donnie, and I want to like him, but there have been a LOT of games this season where they come out with no life. Is that not coaching? Separately, in response to the point a different poster made upthread about veteran coaches installing the trap in order to squeeze out wins: Canucks record before hiring Boudreau -- 8-17, 2.32 goals per game Canucks record since hiring Boudreau -- 20-12, 3.12 goals per game

This is the equivalent of jamming your fingers in your ears and yelling "La La La" when someone tries to tell you something you don't want to hear. St Louis, San Diego and Oakland are all much bigger markets with long histories in the NFL and all just lost their teams. But you think shrinking, impoverished Buffalo is somehow immune?