DarthEbriate

Practice speed can also be driven by, and probably should be driven by, the players. You know when you're not putting in the effort; you know when your teammates are dogging it in practice. The players are allowed to get on each other and drive each other harder during practice as well as before/after. Do they want to win? Then practice like you're going to win. And yes, the team probably needs a Drury or a ROR, or any of the long list of players who will come in and put that stamp on the locker room. And then the kid core needs to embrace it.

As of now, GM Sheevyn has successfully lowered the expectations of the fan base. And he has successfully altered/executed the goals of the ownership from Stanley Cups plural, to just make the playoffs, to just be EEE.

There were too many teams to jump over in the standings in January and there are still too many teams to jump over in the standings. But rest assured, we know who our goalies are next season! Now, maybe overhaul the bottom 6 to have be able to force the issue, throw the occasional body check, and find someone willing to go to the net. And maybe even some sort of mid-twenties late-blooming mid-round pick who is simply willing to go to the net to play on TNT's wing. The Zach Hyman approach. You can have a Skinner, or a Peterka (and I like him, but he's so inconsistent and soft still, maybe someday), or Olofsson, or Jost (who was at least a little feisty today). But you can't have all of them.

TNT walks in... and not even a shot on goal.

Yay! I just had to play with my dog and leave the room for them to score.

Benson couldn't have set him up any better. Of note, the Canucks are poised to outshoot the Sabres simply with PP shots.

Nah, the lack of work is going to get to him. Then... 3 goals in 8 minutes to steal the win.

Skinner pinches Zadorov's stick under his arm, so Zadorov drops it before taking the penalty. Then, Zadorov just throws Skinner into the boards. Good defense.

Greenway overthought it. TNT trying to throw hits instead of getting into position on the PK. Now, we'll see a team that is desperate for their playoff lives! Oh... 8 shots on goal at the moment.

It's a pretty interesting strategize to give up the 1st goal and then play in Alamo Death Star Mode the rest of the game.

That's the master plan. Dump Kelce and start dating a real footballer from abroad. She'd be the Weapon of the Century. Cobra Commander on every TV channel in the world level of power.

When you just dawdle coming cross the blueline, Hughes can throw a hit, too. Dahlin with a very foolish penalty. Was that some sort of retribution for the VO hit? Why?

ESPN+ changed their filler commercial music to some sort of marimba thing from the "Live sports!" yelling message. Same video though. Good rush negation by Byram and Benson. Two of our most alert players.

I've got a bad feeling about this. The shots are 14-5 and the Sabres are the ones with 2 powerplay opportunities thus far.

I thought you said this team was fast! Watch yourself, Sabres fan, or you'll find yourself floating home. Not skating. Atall. Or however Ray spells it.

"The Sabres who have a group of players who you think would have a good powerplay." - Canucks broadcast And you can see why. They stand around waiting for passes, lack intensity to win the puck battles, and only 1-2 guys are even allowed to shoot.

The backchecker tried too hard and basically overskated Krebs and ended up with the hook. Krebs' lack of speed drew that penalty.

Check it out: a PP -- struggling lately, percentage-wise -- someone in front of the net the entire time and lots of quick, hard passes. Should have scored on 2 or 3 different occasions. Hire their PP coach.

PP2: No one goes anywhere near the front of the net, so when Power and VO look to shoot from the point there's a wide open view from the goalie. Pretty obvious challenge outcome. And... thoughts on Vancouver's matte helmets? This is one of the prettiest matchups of the season, but I don't know about the matte helmets.

The key to tonight's game: Byram/Dahlin v. Hughes/Hronek. Who wins their 5-on-5 time? Whose cuisine will reign supreme? And now for the important part of the GDT! Great, Terry! Don't get cocky. I do think the only comparison across the board is the Beatles. They basically changed a generation's of American men's haircuts overnight, and continued the clothing, rise of drug culture, etc. for half a decade. The Mania, multiple films, an endless string of #1 albums and singles, spawning the entire Monkees (fabricated band, album, TV that became a #1 selling thing of its own), and inspiring a whole generation of regular folks into thinking "I could be in a band, too" on account none of them were musical virtuosos. They started their own record label, which James Brown was doing, but was he never going to get similar positive or massive publicity from it. And then there's the other musical side of it and their influence on taking the unordinary or new and making it instantly accessible and popular (e.g., ADT, tape loops, the "album" and its cover art as the centerpiece performance). It helps that concert tickets are basically a minimum 4-5x higher in cost than they were in 2020, compared to just the general inflation over Elton John's career. It's a good time to be a live act.

And now it comes to it... It's a beautiful day. The Sabres are in town. Normally, I'd have my tickets months in advance at full price. Vividseats is claiming tickets as low as $32. Maybe I'll walk my dog to the local taproom and watch part of the game from there.

Stupid NHL Network. But... it is supposed to be sunny and 70 in Seattle today, so... good luck, 'Spacers! Keep winning and keep dreaming the playoff dream.

Road trip? General, count me in!

Kulich, Rosen, and Neuchev get goals to pull away by the middle of the third. However, the Amerks collectively go full Alamo Death Star mode with for the entire 2nd and 3rd periods and are outshot 36-9 in those final forty minutes. Get that team a Byram. Levi saves many.

Where does Dahlin play on Detroit? LD1 or RD1, PPD1. Where does Seider play on Buffalo? RD2. PPD...4? Seider's floor was higher than Dahlin's floor, as evidenced by the excellent rookie season and Calder. But Dahlin's ceiling has been and continues to be way ahead of Seider. Seider's play and points have gone down each season. Dahlin has gotten better and better (all-around). This season they even have the same number of hits (153 Dahlin, 151 Seider) for folks who tell you that Seider is a wrecking ball compared to Dahlin. And Seider is, in general, more physical. He also has a much worse Corsi and has a lot more opportunity to throw hits because he doesn't control the ice and possession. Note: Seider would look a lot better with Byram, but the sample size of BB-4 and R2-D2 is so small that we don't even know how good they can be.