Doohickie

Oh yeah, and NJ is 8-3!

So basically they are this year's incarnation of last year's Sabres?

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They're better.

Do you think he reads Sabrespace?

Oh I think the Devils and the Sabres are pretty evenly matched. And both ascending rapidly. Seems like the Wings aren't there yet, the Sens are close and the Habs much better than expected but not there yet. Apparently Lindy isn't the dinosaur everyone thought he was.

After I saw him with his buzz cut last night I wouldn't be surprised. He looks like a tough hombre now.

I thought Clague has for the most part played well. Better than some of our top 6 D in recent years. I think Kevyn didn't just sign random available Dmen over the summer; they were probably scouted and selected based on analytics as potential NHL Dmen, knowing that the cupboard was a little bare. At some point forwards will get dinged up and need a few games off. Nice to think the replacement is someone of Hinestroza's level.

It's like that Honda commercial that gets a lot of airplay during the games for the out-of-towners. No one ever said they couldn't win motorcycle races or any of that other stuff.

Can you imagine how tough it is to body check him over the course of a game? He doesn't have to initiate to wear opponents down, he just needs to absorb their futile energy without getting knocked off his pins. He's quite good at that.

I think it's a matter of Granato's coaching style, stressing "playing the right way" versus stressing results. I also think it's a matter of the top players not getting too high with the good stuff and not getting too low with the bad stuff. During his hat trick night the other night someone remarked that Tage should smile once in a while. But he himself has said we works hard to stay on an even keel. I think Okie and Girgs model that behavior. Past editions of the Sabres seemed to have players who would get so emotionally invested in games they would get off their game. This year they seem to be on a mission: Win the game they're playing. Stuff in the past doesn't matter; games down the road don't matter. This game right now matters. But when it's over don't dwell on it, good or bad. I think same thing is going on with the goal scoring thing: When the other team scores they don't let it get them down too much. When they score they don't enjoy it too much. It's just back to work. I don't think Donny is preaching this but the players seem to have adopted it.

Some of the JAGs. Bjork & Caggiula never really amounted to much.

Tage will get into a fight with Hedman and pound him into next month.

I think Donny is sensitive to the team's vibe. For instance, did you notice he put Tuch back on the Thompson line in the third period last night, and Okie was back with Gus? I didn't quite catch how the rest of the lines settled out but he was tinkering. I think the 13th forward is also a tweak he will use to give the team a boost. When they need Vinny, Vinny will play. The hard part right now is- who does he replace? Also, having such a high quality 13th forward means that minor injuries that a player might try to play through can be rested. There's little to no drop off with Vinny in the lineup.

I don't know it either, but I strongly suspect that he would. Putting him at center really kickstarted him. Making him the 1C launched him. If you moved him to wing now, he might be fine. But I think without the transition to center he'd still be struggling to find his game.

Speaking of which, what's the word on Swayman's injury the other night?

In my view, the current record really is just a continuation of how they finished last season. The thought at the time was that it was a shame the season was ending since they were playing so well and we worried they wouldn't be able to pick up where they left off. There was a little adjustment the first few games, and and again when the D injuries hit, but both were blips and the rest of the games look at least as good, if not better, than they were playing last year.

Totally agree. If Anderson played more I don't think he'd be as good either. He needs some recovery between starts.

The funny thing about the Sabres is, for most teams the "backup goalie" is not as good as the starter. In our case, at least so far, a well-rested Anderson is actually better than the workhorse Comrie. I think this might actually be a sustainable tandem without a weak spot. And if one does falter or get injured, UPL is waiting in the wings for his opportunity.

I think they *will* win against the top teams in their immediate future. Not all of them, but probably two of the four. Their point pace going back into last season is at a strong playoff pace. The concerns coming into this season were rekindling the "magic" of last season's late run, stabilizing the goaltending, and more recently getting through the injuries to the Dmen. I would say we're there on the first one, the second one is looking good, and they've managed to do quite well even with the injuries. So all they have to do is maintain their current level and get a little better on D, particularly with the odd man rushes, and they should continue to put up standings points.

Based on those lineups I'd say Boosh is not yet ready to play.

Actually, @North Buffalo *did* have the Pittsburgh game on Hulu. I think it's because he has Hulu + Live TV which is $70/month vs standard Hulu at $8/month.

I want to see Okie and Gus lifting the Cup. This. Year.

Or if someone needs a maintenance day.

Of course not, all I was saying is that if the pundits are projecting McDavid like that, it's fair to do the same for those Sabres.