DarthEbriate

Got to watch some of the rest of the game I missed live yesterday. Solid home win for the once-road goatheads. McDavid skated 26 minutes, Draisaitl added 23 minutes. Good thing Edmonton has both of them because when they're off the ice, there isn't a lot there to worry about.

They've already got Dahlin who can play the right side, Bernard-Docker files for arbitration and then gets a 2-year extension, and Clifton. Ryan Johnson as a 7 who can play on either side. Offseason complete. 😇

^ This is one part of a point I'd make, and the other half being... and wait until he isn't being told, "Keep it simple while you adjust to our schemes and your new linemates/responsibilities." I do think they eventually move him to wing, but for the moment, he has Perron (veteran who will consistently cover up his mistakes; a Zucker, if you will) and Batherson - a legit top-6 winger who is 26 years old and has improved his points totals every single season. And he's only on PP2. This was not the case in Buffalo (at least not for more than a few games here and there) for his entire tenure. Even this season, he was basically always on PP1 and was skating on a line with Quinn or JJP or Benson or even Kulich. He never got Zucker-Cozens-Tuch for 10 games in a row. This season, he had 2-game stretch between Zucker-Thompson (the Sabres were 2-0).

He's more machine winger now than center, twisted and evil toe-dragging and sniping. As long as TNT is a 40-goal scorer and his linemates are two-way players, the team is better off than if he's a center and Jeff Skinner (for example is his winger.

I seriously doubt Dahlin told GM Sheevyn he wants out if things aren't fixed. That's standard content-saturation sensationalism. But I don't doubt that in their conversations he's expressed frustration with GM and ownership about wasting years and talents of players and the need to continuously improve. Dahlin has one hockey lifetime to be the best he can be, and this present hockey lifetime it is impossible to be the best you can be on the Sabres. (And that's not because Dahlin occasionally makes turnovers like every other puckhandling NHL defenseman makes turnovers.) I want my captain pushing leadership to improve. "We [the players] won't get another shot at this, Admiral [the owner]." so to speak.

Yup. Cozens has had the benefit of 2 home games where the statisticians are crediting everything. His first period with the 5 hits was more like 1 hit, maybe a 2nd, and then 3 nothings. If that statistician were tracking Owen Power like that, he'd have over 200 hits already this season.

That should be 4-2. Alas, a win anyway. They learned how to play a 6-on-5 when Cozens isn't one of the folks out there. Progress?

When Benson has the puck, GO TO THE FRONT of the net and stay there.

Bad turnover from TNT and another extended zone possession and a goal.

Shoot in a screw! Where? Anywhere!!

Slow pit crew on national Tv We fix this end board and it’s all uphill from here. To the Cup!

Yes; the Oilers skate faster than the Sabres. But they also pass faster. Recover faster. Take away space faster. None of it matters because Tage shoots harder.

Henrique with a strong stick lift there. Good defensive center.

Showcase Byram on his own pair for the trade deadli.... oh. Oh, wait. It's a fun start for any casual fan, at least.

I'd say it would be a Skinner revenge hat trick game, but let's face it, he could just as easily be a healthy scratch as he has been the last 3 games.

The Dunne callup made more sense after learning that Greenway was still sick Kulich was newly sick and out of the lineup, coupled with the trade of Gilbert.

Ovechkin is 9 goals away. The Caps' 9th game out on their schedule is a home game against the Sabres. That game is sandwiched by 2-game road trips (at Winnipeg/Minnesota before, and at Boston/Carolina afterward). There is a chance that Ovechkin is the only Capital who takes a shot on goal in that Sabres matchup....

Short answer: Overall, not much -- it's on Darth Pegulas, the EEE mandate, and unqualified GM yes-man-Sheevyn and the culture and roster they've assembled. By Ruff's admission he didn't want the job, but took it anyway. He didn't act on instinct and that is his fault. But... The long answer: This season is Ruff's mess. If he is buddies with Pegula as has been posted on this board and reported elsewhere, then they had conversations before his hire. And my supposition: then they also had conversations before Granato's firing. This makes him essentially the de facto POHO upon hire as he has the most connections and tenure around the league and was Adams' mentor/coach years ago. His uncontested hiring was the beginning of this season's timeline (except HCDG's firing). Because Ruff was the first domino and had the GM's and owner's direct ear, he was complicit and part of the design of every event this offseason and season. And he will be so again once he officially is in the front office at the end of next season (barring retirement). ---- Instead, he should have said, "I'll come on as POHO and here is what we'll do: Adams remains GM/Pegula's sounding board, but I make the hockey decisions. I will make the decision on the Head Coach and new coaching staff, and I will provide the shopping list for players for the GM to execute. And to hell with EEE; if you want to say it's 'Playoffs or bust' then we spend to the cap in every way, shape, and form. We are getting a top-flight coaching staff. It is the Ruff Solo way or the highway, and if you, Darth Pegulas say no to any of these conditions, then your tauntaun will freeze before the first marker, I'll enjoy my retirement, and I'll see you in hell." Then, go hire McClellan or Gallant or whomever and put together the best staff you can find.

The one clear takeaway from this game: Florida is obviously peaking too soon. 1st round exit. It is their destiny.

There was no reason for Cozens' crosscheck and no reason for a fight there. The bodycheck was minimal, just Hathaway being a strong checker. The game was over. If you want to start a fight, you don't pick that guy. What's fun is you can clearly hear someone say "What a ###### idiot. What an idiot," at the conclusion of the fight. They weren't wrong. Note: Cozens wasn't playing all that well at the start of the season before the fight, either.

I don’t know what the Panthers were upset about. Malenstyn gave Kulikov a good solid check. Glad Dunne was there. He’s not an NHL player, but he would’ve wrecked Greer if not for the turtling.

Nope. Tuch still on with JJP.

Benson gets the opening shift with the top line. And the second shift, too. Is Tuch out?

If they get to 10 losses in a row, could GM Sheevyn do anything? No? Oh. Ok. Carry on.

Dunne really isn’t an NHL-caliber player. Sabres get all scrambly. Goal. They looked like the tank squad on that shift.