DarthEbriate

In an odd twist, the only Eastern Conference outside of the playoffs that didn't get at least a loser point last night was the Islanders (of the teams that played). The Isles are losing their edge.

That's the impact of fantasy football.

Is it... streaming?

This goal and the Pysyk butt goal would be so much more enjoyable if they were good teams and had an impact on the team being competitive. It's still a neat statistical anomaly.

Or rushing 5 instead of 2 on a Hail Mary attempt. Don't even give the receivers time to get downfield.

Bob Uecker passed away today. Grab yourself a Miller Lite (nah, probably don't). Grab yourself a good beer or a Wisconsin-style Old Fashioned, kick up your feet tonight, and watch Major League. It's a month until spring training games, but it's not too early to give the Ueck a tip of the cap.

The coaches clearly tell them to play passively. It's by design. The players lack the vision (or again, coaching) to identify moments to attack and capitalize on them (which is odd, because they're fine at that on the PK). The players (Muel) don't ever realize they have time and space. Don't blindly ice it. Turn, gather yourself, and if you're going to ice it -- shoot it instead. VO style. And worst of all, they don't want it. When the other team pulls its goalie, you should be salivating to pad your stats and punish them. That means winning a puck battle or two.

To be fair, the entire last decade of my Sabres fandom has been a fanciful revisionist view.

If it were a more frequent occurrence, then absolutely yes. Because you know there would be one time when the puck caught a rut and the player overskated it, or the player toe-picked and lost control while the puck slid harmlessly wide of the net... and we could savor it on YouTube forever. We'd call it... The Stefan.

No shots in the third, eh? Maybe someone should tell Ruff that Granato’s teams were awesome with a lead because the fans counted out and chanted “we want 6” and the team went out and hunted for goal #6. Blowing 2- and 3- and 4-goal leads is not the way to learn how to play defense.

It has the word man in it, but are we sure Pronman is even a human anymore or just a conglomerate machine of previous posts and rankings?

Oh. I see how it is. The one game I can’t watch is when they show up and also score insurance goals instead of going full turtle?

We cancelled our HBO/Max whatever it was called at the end. Oh, shucks. I won't be able to watch.... I'm hit. I can't stay with you. Sorry. <Wedge peaces out and survives to the next movie.>

Exactly. Every UFA player is positive with the place they're playing and excited to help them win. A good GM would take Zucker up on his word because he'll be middle 6 capable for the next 3 seasons. A cheap owner operating on EEE might not.

It would take a lot less in cost to acquire Miller. On the other hand, that means 3 teams felt he was not worth keeping around despite good-to-great production. He also has that pesky NMC that Pettersson does not.

The sad part about Muel is once upon a time he was willing, and for a bit there was the most physical defenseman not named Lyubushkin. Perhaps even an inspiration to Dahlin's growth. But his body just cannot cash the checks, and worse, his brain now knows it and he plays accordingly.

Yup. That's a penalty.

I'd love to see Dahlin be a little more composed in close games when folks purposely try to get him off his game. Just face wash them and let it go from there; the refs will let that go. But, I don't think Doughty is who you're thinking of as someone Dahlin needs to aspire to offensively; Dahlin's offensive numbers are already better. Doughty's career high in goals is 16. Dahlin has already had seasons of 15 and 20 (and pacing for 13+ this year despite missing time). Doughty's career high in points is 60, which would be considered a disappointment for Dahlin in any of his next 5 seasons (barring long-term injuries). And Doughty was always surrounded by superior teams (except maybe a brief lapse in 2018-20), established talent, and he's averaged about 3 minutes more per game thus far in their careers. When folks look back at their careers in 2050, there's a good chance Dahlin's offensive numbers put Doughty's to shame.

There is a direct correlation between contract term and the Sabres letters. Or what Adams would like to call (or what I privately think Adams calls) "wantstobeheredness". If someone loses a letter, Power is next up. And next year he'll be 23 and old enough to be a leader on the roster.

That's flippin' pathetic.

I think that trade worked out just fine. The Sabres had a 1C to transition to all-around 2C once Eichel was ready to take over the mantle. If I could go back in time and see a proper team built around those two as 1C and 2C over the past 5 seasons (ROR is probably 3C this year), I would do it in a heartbeat over having TNT, Tuch, and Krebs in the lineup. And note, the HaHa emoji sounds like Nelson.

I miss 'Sul. I know why he was traded and it certainly galvanized the Packers last season, but dang if I didn't want him on the field all this season especially since Alexander cannot stay healthy.

I did have a thought that maybe I should add Cozens & Krebs to the thread title for clarity. Now, I'm conviinced.

Always two reasons there are. No more, no less. The master (Darth Pegulas) and the apprentice (GM Sheevyn). The ##### rule the Sabres galaxy and we have playoff-less peace.

I think it does nothing and loses the player. Back-as-a-head-coach Todd McClellan twice revoked captaincies with the Sharks. When he was hired, McClellan took the C from Marleau and gave it future HOFer Rob Blake. Then, Blake retired and Joe Thornton got the C. Then, after some more years of almost, McClellan (and maybe the front office? I don't see where anyone directly claimed responsibility) took the C and A away from Thornton and Marleau in an effort to shake up the team and get the kids to take over leadership. Thornton was age 35 when this happened and was already a HOFer barring a conviction of gambling on Sharks games. The Sharks missed the playoffs that season after 10 straight years in the playoffs and 15 of 16 seasons overall. McClellan lost his job. The Sharks would go on to make the playoffs again, including a Cup Final, but the talent of the team is the cause of that, not a letter on a sweater. Don't do it. Dahlin is your captain and you roll with him until he's traded or there truly is a new core on the rise. He's 24, let him and his team grow (and get veterans to help them). You also don't get a mercenary Messier type and just hand him the captaincy before he steps on the ice, either.