Porous Five Hole

(If anyone thinks the above isn’t funny/offensive, I’ll delete)

Binnington came out of literally nowhere and went 24-5-1 with a .927 save percentage and 1.89 GAA. It’s hard to see UPL replicating that, but through (Miroslav) Satan anything is possible.

Your reference to JA17’s meteoric jump from year one to year three cannot be overstated. An old measure of a QB’s ability to translate his game at the professional level was a QB’s college completion percentage. Allen was never known for his accuracy, completing 56 percent of his attempts as a junior in college and 56.2 percent as a senior, before his completion percentage dropped to 52.8 percent as a rookie in the NFL (60% was the agreed upon metric for having a chance to be “good”) For him to rise from those metrics to a completion percentage of almost 70% in year three (2020)…it just had never been done before. Like I said, it was meteoric. And with that leap in mind, it doesn’t begin to touch the jump that Tage made from all seasons pre-June 2020 to 2020-2021 season. It’s so hard to explain Tage’s rise to a non-hockey fan. Because the Josh Allen comparison isn’t strong enough. It’s crazy. I need a word stronger than meteoric and I cannot find one.

UPL deserves a 👍👍👍 post. He was great tonight.

I don’t care what the third period looked like. Five D in thin Denver air was a massive undertaking. So happy for these guys tonight.

And I am asking you to defend your point. Maybe I misunderstood your insinuation that Reaves makes his team better somehow. Can you explain?

How many wins can you attribute Reaves as the difference in? While that’s tough to quantify, a big hit highlight is just that. A highlight. Your insinuation that he makes his team harder to play against is only your opinion. There isn’t any proof (he is a -5 in twelve games with the wild…and yes I’ve played ice hockey before).

I’m looking forward to seeing Comrie back with our top four D intact.

Who would you target that might be available?

Drury was an RFA when acquired by Buffalo. He inked a four year deal shortly after the trade. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.380709

So it turns out there’s a week left in the regular season! So now I’m prolly not making the playoffs lol

Remember when he traded away his best WR and best CB during his first training camp and accidentally made the playoffs? The guy is a wizard. He couldn’t even tank when he tried 🤣

To the bolded, this is not at all how I remember it. During Drury’s introductory press conference, I actually remember Chris saying, “it’s nice to be wanted” when he got here because he had already been traded twice in his young career. He then signed a four year deal shortly after he arrived. How it ended is another story, as you said.

The Sabres have had two six goal periods in the span of a week! Simply astounding.

There’s a reason Bease went unsigned all off-season and got cut after a cup of coffee…and it isn’t because he got his feelings hurt.

I remarked to myself more than once on Sunday that Josh’s ball placement/accuracy left something to be desired. He’s not doing his pass catchers any favors. At the same time, McKenzie & Knox were guilty of egregious drops. They just don’t look like they’re quite in sync right now. And the Bills are still winning. I think they’ll figure it out. I understand Bease’s usefulness when you need five yards on third down, but the Bucs could also use that and moved on from him pretty quickly. I think he’s used up.

Ok fine, but were you actually expecting a playoff team in 22-23? The top four D is set and competent (and improving). The goaltending is unsettled, and Anderson’s pending exit gives KA another chance to get it right this off-season. Fingers crossed. It’s a lot easier to acquire toughness when the time is right then it is to acquire goals. It’s also cheaper. If you believe in the Cozens line, then let them blossom together all year. Long story short, it’s hard to address goalie (who was out there willing to sign in Buffalo anyway?), progress your top four young defensemen, and get tougher in one offseason. Setting a record for playoff-missing futility sucks, but there are reasons to be optimistic that next season is the return to playoff form. Here is to hoping.

I agree with this. Maybe I am a Krebs fanboy, but burying him on the fourth line isn’t playing to his playmaking strengths…nor is it developing him to be anything more than a plugger. I am ready to move on from Mitts, so promoting him to the top line helps nothing.

The Sabres have lost three of five so far in December. After Ottawa’s win tonight, Buffalo is last in the division. It is getting pretty tough to argue that they’re not out of it. While it’s “only” eight points, it is also six teams to leap to get into wild card position. Unfortunately, it is looking bleak.

Man, and now Rhamondre & Deebo both go down this week too. Whoever gets me in the playoffs is getting a walkover lol

Just show me the deals he should have made that other teams have made and I’m all in. I’m really not coming from a “defend the Sabres at all cost” POV. There’s nothing out there except spare parts.

Isn’t his job to make the team better in the long run? Ethan Bear doesn’t do that.

I guess I am trying to move the needle. It’s the only way to be a playoff team this season.

He’s a -4 in protected third line minutes. So Lyubushkin numbers. I also want to improve the Sabres, but this doesn’t move the needle.