Marvin

If we miss this season, then we would tie the all-time NHL record. So our futility is rarer than Jack's talent.

You can see Skinner and Eichel really pressing. Them being on the schneid is part of the problem. @bunomatic Sheik Yerbouti?

I could live with JA threatening that status.

IMHO, there are multiple types of grit. One is the ability to play a heavy game consistently. Another is to be relentlessly in your opponent's face. A third is sacrificing to block shots, passes, cover up, etc. Others include stepping up intensity, concentration, attention to detail, tenacity, etc. Chicago and Pittsburgh were not particularly physical, but they were everything else. St. Louis, LA, Washington, and TB were more physical.

I think they were all auctioned off for charity. And they went for a pretty penny.

This bugs me. "Complicated deal" sounds like either there are a lot of pieces, at least one other team is involved, or someone somewhere has a contract issue to be dealt with. Those things take a lot of time which, frankly, we don't have.

The quickest fix is goaltending. Whom to get and how much to pay is the question.

I still see a team that will need several more games to find itself, which is bad because there isn't any time to wait. The lack of extra prep time and the large roster turnover (which was an absolute necessity) is really hurting them. And that does not even consider some of the valid complaints voiced here.

Assuming it is MAF, what can we send that makes sense from the POV of salary and LVGK's needs while not harming the team?

Never miss a game. The only games I have ever missed was when I was lived out of town. Nowadays, not even that would stop me. If you miss, you can't enjoy the good stuff as much.

He and his family need each other. I feel very sad for him. I lost both my parents in the last 3 years.

Not every skill player can be Gil Perreault fighting Keith Magnuson, though.

Funny thing is that the Flyers boards were complaining about the Sabres being too rough. Their top forward line was a combined -10 before Pominville and Connolly went down in game 6. Imagine if Hecht had been healthy too. I thought if the Sabres survived round 1 and then got Hecht and Roy back healthy, then they could have gone a long way in 2011.

The only way this makes sense is if Skinner will eventually be playing regularly with Okposo, who still has some touch. Okposo is also defencively responsible. If Cozens adjusts quickly to the NHL, then Skinner-Cozens-Okposo makes sense as a 3rd line.

That was far better than last night. But they have more rust on them than my car. Also, for much of the game, the lines reminded me of mistaking an ozone molecule for an oxygen molecule: bad chemistry.

Fair enough.

According to a couple of people who were "in the know", Housley was like that. They didn't like it after the TDL his last year. (I would argue that had GMJB done anything to help the team, instead of writing them off as a fluke, then they might not have been worn down by Housley.)

I don't know if RK is a flim-flam artist. However, I feel obligated to note that the actual, credible people advised the Pegulas that GMTM and GMJB were the best of the up-and-comers.. IMHO, the PSE crony had a more constructive off-season than either of the recommended people.

We would probably feel better if our other third liners were Connolly-Pominville (2005-6) or Roy-Vanek (2006-7). Hell, I'd feel better if it were even Paille-Stafford (2007-8). Maybe another question should be how do we mimic that with our current roster?

I don't think that is possible. There is nothing like game intensity. It is natural to go just that little bit lighter in practise where you are playing against teammates. And the longer you are off, the duller you get and the more time you need to get up to speed. This is why they should have let the teams who missed the playoffs to have a brief extra preseason -- which they promised and went back on. This is one reason I never like it when the Sabres win a series when they will have at least week's layoff.

I hope the team has its legs under them. They looked like they hadn't played a real game in 10 months and, to quote Foghorn Leghorn, were "sharp as a bowling ball." Some of the goals looked like a puck carrier looked up and thought, "Oh, $#!+! Too fast! Get rid of it!"

This makes a lot of sense to me. The kids can grow up while getting favourable match-ups.

Demonic Goatheads and Butterknives.

Yay! It's here!