Broken Ankles

What I can appreciate from RK, and it was never directly discussed in the article, was the decision behind breaking up the Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart line. There is a quote from Skinner and how he is working well with MoJo, but the question is never asked WHY was the decision made. I think it's significant. I think Reinhart has the offensive skill set to drive a line (whether from the RW or C position). But Sam is in a contract year, and its vital that he proves himself for this contract. Having Jack center him is a way of RK saying I'm going to give you every opportunity for you to succeed and get a long term deal. While at the same time saying to JB, let's see him validate his worthiness to the upcoming contract offer. The same (to a lesser extent) can be said of Olafsson. He's also an RFA, and while his term and AAV will not be near what Sam's will be, the stats he can obtain to increase the overall value are attainable with Jack more so than anyone else on this team. And the message to Skinner thus far has been, you earned the right to your extension, now deliver under more difficult conditions.

.......and these are all his highlights.

1920s: pig Latin for nix1.

seriously? One game? Hilarious. Maybe some mid-level production coordinator took it upon himself to make the change and the product put the ixnay on that. I know Vogl changed after Montreal, so I'll watch his updates to see if it changes.

Maybe Casey has been reading Sabrespace and how we almost unanimously downgraded his line to FL#4 and that provided the proper motivation.

....or Scandella, or Sobotka, or Vesey, or Sheary and probably not Rodrigues. But other than that, yeah, all of them.

I saw Vogl or Reardon start around the 9th. Sabres vs Habs. I think this has been debated here quite robustly. I’m on the record after the MTL game that it should be that way. But the Daily Face Off has not changed...yet.

This is why I think the decision was to play Ullmark last night. Last night was a decision to play with “house money” and see if they could steal two on the road from an improved Anaheim team. Tonight you should win.

Agreed. I think the Henrique goal at the of first, then again at the end of the second were weak and changed momentum. The Rakell goal in opening seconds of the second was a poorly played poke check against a highly skilled player. They solved the Sabres PP and killed extremely well. Better Goaltending, solid PK and some BS thuggery.

Ducks PK> Sabres PP Gibson> Ullmark Rackell is very good. That’s about it for high end talent on that team. There is zero chance that move him. Especially not for Risto + parts. Should have been 4-0 after the first period. An excellent showing by the Sabres fans tonight at the Honda Center.

This. E- Rod did nothing tonight but Jimmy did less. I hope Lazar and Sheary are in tomorrow. Casey had a solid game and it was all for not.

Wasted by Jimmy

Wrong. E rod is now dressed. And so is Gilmour

E-Rod is on the bench and not dressed. Sheary made trip, but the projected line up did not have him starting. Was this reported?

No change to the Sabres Line up. LW C RW Forwards VICTOR OLOFSSON Rating: 74.5#37 LW JACK EICHEL Rating: 80.2#8 C SAM REINHART Rating: 75.5#22 RW FL1 Rating Rating: 76.73#14 FL1 JEFF SKINNER Rating: 77.3#16 LW MARCUS JOHANSSON Rating: 73.5#75 C VLADIMIR SOBOTKA Rating: 68.9#178 RW FL2 Rating Rating: 73.22#17 FL2 JIMMY VESEY Rating: 70.9#110 LW CASEY MITTELSTADT Rating: 71.3#132 C EVAN RODRIGUES Rating: 72.3#68 RW FL3 Rating Rating: 71.49#22 FL3 ZEMGUS GIRGENSONS Rating: 70.8#147 LW JOHAN LARSSON Rating: 70.7#150 C KYLE OKPOSO Rating: 73.0#54 RW FL4 Rating Rating: 71.48#13 FL4 DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS Defense JAKE MCCABE Rating: 71.9#89 LD RASMUS RISTOLAINEN Rating: 73.5#46 RD DL1 Rating Rating: 72.68#27 DL1 RASMUS DAHLIN Rating: 75.8#13 LD COLIN MILLER Rating: 75.5#22 RD DL2 Rating Rating: 75.65#3 DL2 MARCO SCANDELLA Rating: 71.7#95 LD HENRI JOKIHARJU Rating: 72.5#10 RD DL3 Rating Rating: 72.10#22 DL3 1ST POWERPLAY UNIT VICTOR OLOFSSON Rating: 74.5#37 SK1 JACK EICHEL Rating: 80.2#8 SK2 JEFF SKINNER Rating: 77.3#16 SK3 SAM REINHART Rating: 75.5#22 SK4 RASMUS DAHLIN Rating: 75.8#13 SK5 LW C RW Forwards RICKARD RAKELL Rating: 75.2#37 LW ADAM HENRIQUE Rating: 73.0#84 C JAKOB SILFVERBERG Rating: 75.7#26 RW FL1 Rating Rating: 74.67#26 FL1 MAXIME COMTOIS RYAN GETZLAF Rating: 74.7#45 C ONDREJ KASE Rating: 77.2#12 RW FL2 Rating Rating: 75.98#5 FL2 NICK RITCHIE Rating: 70.8#116 LW SAM STEEL Rating: 73.7#61 C TROY TERRY Rating: 72.4#66 RW FL3 Rating Rating: 72.28#11 FL3 MAX JONES Rating: 72.9#66 LW DEREK GRANT Rating: 70.0#164 C CARTER ROWNEY Rating: 69.2#107 RW FL4 Rating Rating: 70.69#25 FL4 DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS Defense HAMPUS LINDHOLM Rating: 74.7#28 LD JOSH MANSON Rating: 72.3#71 RD DL1 Rating Rating: 73.51#21 DL1 MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO Rating: 72.1#85 LD CAM FOWLER Rating: 75.5#17 RD DL2 Rating Rating: 73.77#19 DL2 JACOB LARSSON Rating: 71.4#13 LD KORBINIAN HOLZER Rating: 71.9#79 RD DL3 Rating Rating: 71.67#24 DL3 Betting line: I'll be there too.

that Gif never gets old. A shame we only play them twice.

The "fourth line" is Sheary/Casey/Vesey. Our third line (GLO) is utilized correctly (IMHO) with a 65% D-zone start.

Miss his presence in the broadcast booth regularly.

According to NHL’s On the Fly, Jack has 8 PP goals since March 28 making him first. Tied for second are Olofsson and Dahlin with 7 each. Impressive stat.

Agreed. What is it? Is there any statistics that capture rebounds or the control of rebounds, because it seems like it's so much better.

Like: *Usage of the “third line”. *Protected usage of the “fourth line”. Not playing last 8 minutes of our close games is a good call. *two D-man (including Risto) on the 2nd PP. Although this speaks to the lack of depth with our forwards. It’s a different look and I like it. Dislike: * Vlad on the second line. Yes better than last year but an offensive liability. He has zero points while Skinner and MoJo have 4 each. Too much TOI each night. *Vesey playing with first line in lieu of Olafsson. Too conservative. Not like Jimmy is some kind of Defensive wizard. A good defense might be a good offense. Score or possession will protect your lead. ambivalent *Ristos minutes and 5v5 play. He was a -10 in October last year with five points (PP#1). So far he has only one point and a -1, with similar minutes/usage, so better? Smarter people than I will need to explain why it’s better or worse.

Jimmy lies a lot doesn’t he. Jimmy’s close to getting healthy scratched.

According to Capfreindly he never has been on LTIR, just IR. Only Hunwick is on LTIR. Why do we even try?

Let’s look at what he looks like in April. I’ll bet he has 5 x the goals of Vlad.