DarthEbriate

Seriously. Does @Brawndo operate in the same sphere of time and space as the rest of us? He can see the future... goals, the past, old friends long gone.

To the powerplay... for those that want to see a Quinn goal, maybe this is the time to snipe one.

That's correct, as he's overtaken Fox tonight. Though Fox plays late tonight. Erik Karlsson has been otherworldly on offense this season. 21 gp, 11-18-29 thus far.

I don't understand the makeup of that line other than as an odds-and-ends combined line. VO is a sniper who finds open space but needs a distributor/puck carrier, not a boards guy; Mitts can stickhandle, but doesn't rush up the ice or force anything to the center of the ice, nor win board battles; Hino is a forechecker has has speed, but he's also very much the 13F complimentary piece. It's just not a good construction. Each of them is the 3rd guy you put with two other forwards.

True. But in this particular case, Skinner also took a matching penalty and the previous comment was about him getting a Gordie Howe hat trick.

Here's hoping. It's been a month since he blocked that shot in Edmonton (and then missed the Calgary game). If can get back to first-week (and TOR last-year version) going into December, we'll be much improved.

Skinner has zero career fights. He'll talk but that will be it.

Yes. And yes.

It's not so much the injuries as the who is injured and who replaces them. Joker is a 5/6 (I think someday he can be a Lydman-type, but right now at his age and experience he's a 5/6), but the Sabres use him as 3/4 and top PK guy. Muel is a 3/4 guy but the Sabres use him as top-pairing lockdown defensive D and Dahlin's life preserver. Lyubushkin is a defensive 5/6, and the Sabres use him accordingly. And Dahlin missed a game, too. Taking 2 top PKers (Joker/Muel) out of the lineup, limiting Boushh with a foot injury so he's not as mobile or able to be physical, and then missing Dahlin for a game... and replacing them with Bryson and his clone Pilut (both 7/8 at best) for extended minutes is a big problem, especially for an offense-first team made up of kids. Fitz maybe could replace Boushh for a few games, but when all 3 of those guys or Clague are in the lineup, it's a bad situation. Then, take Okposo out of the lineup and neither goalie making a big, game-changing save, it's a recipe for disaster. Next year, they'll be able to weather a rash of injuries better from the forwards and goalies.

One post and two days. It's a good newcomer approach --- that or the Bernier 2-goal special.

Clean up the penalties a bit and keep the energy high, because tomorrow the buzz in the building with the goatheads is going to carry you through the backend of the back-to-back.

So... it's going to be 18-6 at the first intermission?

It is the future you see!

Muel plays; Dahlin scores. It's as simple as that.

Boom! My preseason prediction of "Will any Sabres center win greater than 50% faceoffs?" is off to an excellent start. Sheahan. 10 faceoffs. 7 wins. The leader is in the clubhouse.

Nah, GM Sheevyn is still wishing he could somehow get Jost on a $750k contract. There's always room for improvement.

Just like dragging Hall's husk around for half a season (and missing the playoffs) netted us drafting Unlimited Power!

HCDG's a madman! Now he's got Muel and Dahlin on the third pair! If you hurry, you can overreact to a practice, too. Oh! All this excitement has overrun the circuits on my right winger here. If you don't mind, I'd like to give him a day for maintenance.

This is it. Ullmark was a very solid and improving goalie (.917 behind a dismal Sabres defense for 2 seasons), but he had two non-contact knee injuries. Trade him to a contender with a questionable backup/starter/injury at the deadline. And if he prices himself out of a return, then so be it. If he doesn't and you like him, bring him back. But you either trade him or you lock him up way before free agency. If the injuries scare you, you deal him at the trade deadline and don't bother with him in UFA. Never worry about a goalie "blocking" another. You always need two. And if you can trade one, they're easy to trade because it's a critical commodity for any playoff team.

Honestly, at this point I'll say Jost. Not because he's got any snarl to his game whatsoever, but because he's the new guy and he'll want to show his dedication to the team by jumping in to someone's defense. Fighting is mostly gone from the game and I'm mostly fine with that. Its overall usefulness is minimal because of the instigator penalty. And yet, I think this team desperately needs a fight to bring them together and wake them up and shake them from the doldrums. Probably a line brawl, honestly. What they really need is an instigator/rat who keeps them on their edge because they never know when they'll need to answer for his antics. (And no, although Skinner is the closest they have to a rat, he's not one...he's a talker, but he's not nearly dirty enough and he won't ever stick up to anyone who wants to fight him.)

That may be. But it was perfectly executed and what the play needed. Contrast that with Tuch's spin and blindly fire the puck up the boards when on the PK, directly to the D holding the wall for a turnover. That's players executing the fundamentals and being situationally aware of the time and space they have/where their teammates are.

Whichever game Muel returns to the lineup.

I'm hit! My wife wants to go out for dinner and I can't stay with you. (And I'm just as reluctant as Wedge was to stay alive and blow up a Death Star another time.) Sorry! I hope the Sabres stage an amazing comeback and win in regulation, sending Toronto and its fans into a tizzy.

Lack of response from Toronto after Tage goes skate-on-skate with the goalie. Weaklings! Start a fight you cowards!

<tugs collar> Nyuk, nnuyk,... claiming Jost and his top-10 pick status but no supporting fancy stats since juniors off of waivers?