Marvin

I believe Buffalo has the fewest OT games this season. The inability to tie games because of lack of scoring, especially because of the horrendous power play, is killer.

This is a very interesting theory which could explain the facts. It would mean that others have to be willing to continually drive to the net more often because of the lack of a sustained presence and the inability to stay there. I need to look for this. Thanks!

Like I said, the 5-on-5 system is sound enough. They must drive to the net consistently for this team to perform well.

We need to find a way to gerrymander our scoring.

I remember watching channel 50 when I was in college (Cleveland 1983-7; East Lansing 1989-96). Yzerman made a huge jump in 1986-7 in his positional awareness. He definitely took it up several notches beyond with Bowman. As I think about it, your assessment of his teammates' reaction to his willingness to all-out sacrifice offence for defence is spot on.

Dre-e-e-e-eam. Dream, Dream, Dream. Dre-e-e-e-eam... May I join you here?

Who, LA? Of course...oh, waitaminnit. Buffalo? Is this the universe where Spock has a beard?

How is our current cap situation? Who are some important UFAs?

Welcome back!

Perreault was far, far better in his own zone later in his career than most remember, particularly in the 1980's -- but the team around him was more suspect. Then again, he rose from quite the depths of defencive cluelessness (-39 and -40 in his first 2 seasons). He was never great at it, but he made a big jump in his defencive play in 1972-3 and again in 1979-80. Also, Yzerman learnt 2-way play with Gallant under Jacques Demers in 1986-7. The Red Wings really focused on defence under Demers and then Bowman because their goaltending was unreliable. Perreault played on a team that took far more risks to create offence.

Monumental waste.

The biggest deal for Adams would be someone who can tell him what he is missing and can convince him to change his mind and go for a heavier, more defencively responsible team.

Here is one that I got from Part Two of the Doctor Who story, "The Caves of Androzani". Fecenine means "feces-like", so I use it in place of $#!++✓. Two points: 1. The only reason that I have a larger active vocabulary than most is because my wife reads so much. She reads Dostoevsky and Dickens for fun. 2. A couple of my ex-co-workers said they noticed that I uncork the thesaurus more often when I am angry as a way of venting politely. Starting with The Tank, the Sabres have given me a lot of reasons to be angry. And the more upset I get, the more that you see the fruits of the trips to the dictionary that my wife forces me to do.

Yes. It would show that he has gone too far in the "want to be here" talk and be more likely to trigger his replacement. I want a real shake up of the hockey management side.

BTW, the way I refer to X, formerly known as Twitter, is as Xitter with the pronunciation of the last word.

Even though I know that you are being facetious, I would love it if you were right.

The way I will know that at least HCDG is serious about improving is if he hires someone who could replace him and be respected around the league. I could live with Gerard Gallant and Bruce Boudreau as assistants under Don Granato. (I would bet heavily against that staff happening, however, but it gets my point across.)

Also, people like me who are currently not motivated to purchase tickets anymore would reconsider with some hope. I would like to go back to row 1 or section 313 or a high row in section 111.

A better partner than Jokiharu would help too.

Elliot Friedman reports that HCDG is very upset that many players do not go to the net like they did last year and that GMKA is looking at a "now" trade rather than purely selling this trade deadline. Timing is everything, eh Kevin?

I have friends and family coming in from all over the country. We have back-up plans in case of clouds.

Thank you very much, kind sir. That is very flattering and you rarely say things like this. I am touched.

There was an article in my news feed on how the Sabres are both bad and boring that you might like.

The worst part is that the Sabres allegedly have a reputation around the league of firing guys too fast. Let us look at us logically. First, the positive. Miraculously, just before the All Star Break, the Sabres were 16th in regulation wins. Also, just before the break, the Sabres were NHL .500 against the top 12 teams by points in the league and can strangle the best offences in the league. The Sabres are apparently positive on 5-on-5 goal differential. Ukko Pekka-Lukkonen is in the top 25% of goalies in save percentage. These look like the statistics of a team who should be in the conversation for a playoff spot. Now, the negative. They are inexplicably horrible at home for the 2nd straight season. They are awful in the first period. The power play is execrable. Defencive awareness, let alone coverage, is spotty at best. Face-offs are at best a problem. They are dead last in forcing OT when behind by 1. Back-up goaltending has been spotty. The team looks unsure of what to do when they have the puck. They often look like a team that is plunging in the standings. What do the above tell you about the coaches? One thing it tells me is that the fundamental structure of Donnie's system is solid, but the players have not internalised their roles and responsibilities within the system. There is something fundamentally wrong with mental game-day preparation. Not only do the players and prospects seem to have the same strengths, but they also appear to have the same weaknesses.

Because of him, I would not go to KFC for decades. I still resist going there even though it has nothing to do with him any more. I lost interest in the NBA until I went to grad school and met a kindred sports spirit who is a Bucks fan, so I follow them a bit. I went to college in Cleveland and my friends there are Cavaliers fans, so I was happy for them when Cleveland's drought ended. If not for them, I doubt that I would care about the NBA given the rigging by officials starting with that infamous Sacramento Kings - Los Angeles Lakers Conference Finals.