DarthEbriate

"I now understand why the Sabres are where they are in the standings" - Ducks color commentator

UPL just dribbling through everywhere. He's been so consistently good, and... laying pucks like eggs today.

Good. Maybe that'll wake Skinner up for a game.

Nah. They're too tall to go to the net.

You mean Young Ben, that wizard's just a crazy young man!

Not enough shots seen? Gross turnover by TNT + Vatrano goes strong to the net + UPL dropping rebounds = all too easy.

Continuity with TNT? Tuch will occasionally drift across the goalie's face for a screen? Skinner (surprisingly, because he's a turnover-machine on the PP) has 6 PP goals this season to lead the team?

Sabres are so enamored with the drop pass to start the PP rush that they do it when there's a Duck trailing for said drop pass. You're on the PP, meaning if you rush up ice it's a 3 on 3 with lots of space or even a 4 on 3 odd man rush. Instead you drop it and allow that trailer to get back on defense and the zone entry that much harder. Hmmm.

TNT with 2 shots... on goal?

So much time to whip that puck around to Ryan J, but Erik J just holds it until the forecheck arrives. Gah. (forecheck their D and force them into easy turnovers was the Ducks broadcast's #1 key to the game.)

Nice job to force the turnover, then sneak a shot though.

This is the Green Way!

How can you be so... right... all the time?

Good. Gooooood. As a Sabres fan, I like it. If I were a Ducks fan, this would be incredibly annoying. "What's a duck?"

Agreed on all 3 counts. I was just limiting it to last game's lines and no trades/moves. GM Adams and status quo.

This is fun! So if they win at home Monday morning and salute the fans after the game, are we happy that they grew up and acknowledged fans’ financial and applauding contributions again? Or are we angry that they capitulated and didn’t stick to their message?

He's dealing with a minor upper-body injury per moosejawtoday.com. If they needed him, he'd be playing. But they're comfortably in a playoff spot and can give him a week or so to rest and recover for the end of the season. (Hopefully, it's not a seemingly minor injury that is really just an ongoing slow decline. He's had that shoulder injury previously.)

I like Greenway-Mitts-Cozens. Lots of size and ability to win along the boards. Greenway goes to the net and Cozens/Mitts have good enough shots to keep a goalie honest. I don't necessarily want Greenway on a top line (because this season whichever line Mitts is on is the top line), but unless you put Tuch or Quinn there, it's not improving. What I don't know yet is how I feel about JJP with Krebs and Benson. I need to see a few more games of them together. I'd rather see JJP-Krebs-Tuch so at least someone can win along the boards. Then, put Benson with the two struggling guys and give them limited/protected/o-zone only draws for a while until they healed up from whatever is ailing them.

The entire stick salute is some weird "everyone gets a prize" after every home game contrivance anyway. If it is fun or silly or gets embellished naturally (like the Hurricanes? that one season) then, fine. Back in the day you'd win, tap your goalie, then head off the ice and maybe give a few high fives to kids leaning over the railing. Maybe do a stick salute at the end of the season. As an organized "We're not doing that anymore" -- also fine. Maybe it would bring the team together, provide some solidarity and "us against them" mentality, and motivation. I'd love it if inside the locker room they had a big cardboard cutout of 500 Sabres fans with a big "BOOOOOOO!" speech bubble and for every home win they'd take add another fan sticker to the board, until they had a full arena. I still think this team needs a line brawl in the very worst way. Though what they really need is an actual leader. To be fair, they didn't stop practicing hockey because of the booing. They're still collecting checks. They just stopped turning back to the patient after a successful check-up on vitals and giving a Mentos the Freshmaker pose before leaving the room.

The shield is down. Greenway group! All fighters follow me!

No tv studio should hire any announcer until they’ve done at least a few seasons of radio.

1st career NHL goal no less.

Really careless stick on Clifton there. Dreadful timing for it.

Mittsy!