That Aud Smell

From Vogl. His context was talking sbout how Miller, at the height of his “power” made himself subject to Ruff. Holy smokes: “Too many Sabres either don't care or think they're in charge. Coach Phil Housley has a great knack for forecasting exactly what the opponent will do, and he explains it clearly in the morning. When the puck drops, the opponent follows the blueprint and the Sabres stand there and get run over.” “The players don't listen or, even worse, don't feel they even have to listen. It's a major reason why the Sabres are bottom-feeders once again.”

Be well, fella.

Well, yeah - that is a hallmark of more recent arena and stadium developments. That was not so when the Crossroads Arena was built.

So, it's the discrepancy between those two tiers, not the actual quality of the players that matters?

Ah, yes -- that sounds like it.

It's interesting that our arena is talked about as unusually cold. I mean - it's cold in there. I know that. And I plan accordingly. Wasn't there some big roll-out with Ted Black and the world class quality of the facility's ice? I recall him talking about how the place was going to have to be colder in order to achieve the desired ice quality. I've been to KBC 5 times this season. I have no real complaints.

Um - welp. That could have done it, for sure. Sorry to hear that.

Something changed for and/or with Hamilton — right around the time that Pegula bought the team.

Perish the thought.

In his replies on Twitter, he confirmed that O’Reilly said “very likely” in response to the possibility of his being traded.

I’ve really come to doubt whether he’s a top-6 dman on a playoff team.

Amen!

If the team could slot in Nylander and Middlestadt in the next 2 years, that'd probably solve the speed problem. As for Nylander, I saw an encouraging Tweet last night from Kris Baker. Not encouraging like: He's almost NHL-ready! More like: He is showing signs of improvement and is still just 19 (until tomorrow, anyway).

Oh, man. That was bad. I think my strong distaste for Graham started then. I don't recall it quite that way. He was engaging with a fella who gives as good as he gets.

It was a guy named Mike Straw. He has a Twitter handle of @MikeStrawMedia

I did see that. That is quite different from saying it was "very likely" he'd be traded.

Did he really? That really is a shame. Disappointing, to say the least. Good on him for attending that and being a good guy when he does. I had thought he was above or beyond that sort of activity, but the Cheektowaga blogger really seemed to touch a nerve with the local MSM sportswriters. The MSM writers did NOT cover themselves in glory by pillorying the blogger. My visceral reaction to what they were going was the same sort of feeling I've had when I felt prompted to stop bullying behaviour.

The guy will have no shortage of suitors, I'd imagine. And hey - not for nothing and I know the thread was locked - but I'd heard that Hamilton doubled down on his statement that O'Reilly said it was "very likely" he'd be traded.

I know he's had bad stretches, but I have really liked the look of his game and how he's projecting. He's arguably the picture of a modern d-man.

Sorry to hear this.

Well, now, wait. I concluded a while ago that Infowars is a "work," to borrow some wrestling parlance. It's a corrosive and dangerous work -- but it's a work. I think "all" is probably strong, but I think there's plenty that he just does purely for clicks and traffic.

Same. It has not been an order of magnitude, of course. But they have improved.

I'm not saying that, no.

Through 41 games, the team was 30th in the league in points. They had 6 more than Phoenix, and 8 fewer than the next worst team (Ottawa). From the 42nd game onward, they are 21st in points. And they're bunched up with several teams that have anywhere from 20-24 points during that span -- that'd be the Blues, Panthers, Coyotes (!), Devils, Kings, Islanders, Red Wings, and Blue Jackets. I know they got the Lightning's backup goalie (?) twice and probably Boston's too -- but they've repeatedly beat the best teams in the East. I was at that Lightning game at home, and they looked very good. Consistency is the thing. They are getting better (?).

Beane responded to questions about people (Polian) dogging Lamar Jackson -- said similar things were said about Cam. Also: J-Stew cut by Panthers.