Marvin

This is far more interesting than provoking @SwampD in the schadenfreude thread. Over the past few days, I went over some highlights posted from their games by fans and media alike starting when Eichel returned. Is it just me, or is Lehner flat out worse when Pietrangelo is on the ice? Whenever Lehner gives up a goal that looks really bad, it seems like Pietrangelo did something unexpected or wrong immediately beforehand. That defence seems to cough the puck up in their own zone increasingly often. This seems indicative of losing the feel of the structure of the system. Are forwards leaving the zone too early? Are defencemen less aware of the opposition? How much of this is due to players having long stints on LTIR needing to get integrated back into the team concept. Note: I don't think Peter DeBoer is a good head coach. LVGK often look disorganised in both the offencive and defencive zones. We saw this in San Jose, so I was wondering if it's a trend. Speaking of San Jose, often their scoring would inexplicably dry up for stretches under DeBoer. How much of that is related to the defencive responsibilities the forwards have, the lack of ensemble play, and the seeming loss of structure in the offencive zone? And how much of that is players coming back off of IR? And is it just me, or is Lehner flat out jittery when either Pacioretty or Eichel is on the ice in the defencive zone?

Welcome!

If I did not greet you before, welcome. Vancouver is firing on all cylinders. They are on a 110 point pace since their coaching change.

They have looked very good and are getting a lot of shots -- but their goaltending has been, um, suboptimal and they suddenly can't score. If they just get average goaltending and average shooting percentages, they would have several more points. That dressing room has to be really frustrated. Oh, and given the talent they do have, their PP should be much better.

The Devils told the K-nig-hits that they fart in the Knights' general direction. NJD 3 - LVGK 2.

Welcome back!

Welcome back! Welcome back!

They went top shelf where Daddy hides the whistles?

Welcome back.

Welcome back!

Agreed. I am just pointing out that this has "uninformed hot takes" written all over it. I expect that people will get overly pushy like many did (and still do) to those of us who opposed The Tank. Consider this my plea to fellow posters to not attack those who disagree.

As someone who never really starts evaluating Presidents and Congresses until at least 20 years are passed, I find these discussions after less than 1 season at best premature and at worst foolhardy.

Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot. That makes absolutely no sense to me. Welcome back! Welcome back!

This is why we have to expend assets immediately for goaltending. This team with Anderson and Tokarski is playing at a 100 point pace against a gauntlet of playoff and near-playoff teams. Imagine if we had even league-average goaltending... I need to vastly improve that bottom pairing and the goaltending. I personally would have Bjork in Rochester with Drake Caggiula in Buffalo if we make few changes off the current roster. I can easily get above the cap floor just with those moves.

Who are slated to be on LTIR next season?

13th largest in the country.

This. So much this.

Welcome back!

My memory is that the weasel-words in the threat allowed one to infer that if the Sabres went all out and LTIR-ed Connolly, Afinogenov, and a couple of other guy to get a loaded team for round 1 in retaliation, then they would only be able to activate the 1 player per series who was not in the minors all season, even if there were legitimate injuries. I called Schopp, Bulldog, and Hamilton to ask if I was misreading things and the best they could do was, "the league would not do that." The primary reason I remember it so clearly and the reason it pissed me off was because the normal recovery times for everyone outside of Connolly was normally into round 1 and that any setback to Connolly would have shelved him for the playoffs -- and it took someone noticing on Satellite Hot Stove one week later before people got upset. So the league deliberately handicapped the Sabres even though the normal course for the injuries was coincidental. I will bet big money at big odds that after Chicago, Tampa Bay, and Las Vegas have done this that the first small market that tries this will get landed on with a tonne of bricks. Why do I assume bad faith from the league? Remember after the numerous back-diving deals from big market teams that the issue only became a problem with the NHL was when the Sabres signed Christian Ehrhoff.

I fully expect LV to make the Conference Finals unless their goaltending fails them. They are just starting to peak.

Thank you. Correction made.

The Sabres really need to add a LOT more talent to the system. Regardless of the injuries, we need Rochester to survive and thrive for Buffalo to be set up for long-term success. This season is not acceptable for the Buffalo Sabres system.

Our bottom pair needs to be better than Bryson-Fitzgerald. That's one place to start. In the games I have been at, the team as a whole plays hard along the boards and are improving their tenacity as checkers. They need to be much more structured and intelligent in the defencive zone. After that, they need more quality depth. That is going to be a problem with how thin Rochester is.

Is there a chance Power could convince Portillo to go to Rochester over the summer?

Welcome back!