Doohickie

Yes, and to be fair I don't see Lindy taking Tage out of the center position as long as that line is producing.

Yes and it pissed me off because it made Jack a likeable person. BOO! Ah, so since Quinn is in our Top Six we are building around Quinn, too?

He struck me as the kind of guy that, if we were both on layovers, would be interesting to talk to at the airport bar.

I don't expect Norris at 1C immediately but I think Tage will eventually move back to wing. On the other hand I don't see Lindy making changes as long as Tage & Co. are scoring/dominating. So maybe you're right. Po TAY to, Po TAH to. You're probably right though: It's more of a partnership, but Kevyn is still the public face.

It was more of a screaming into the void kinda thing.

And to an extent, the acting GM.

I bet 99.999999% of the Rosen references on this site are to Isak Rosén. DOOO EEEET!

When Norris is fully recovered he will be 1C and Tage will be back to the wing. Mark it.

So Östlund is corrected, eh? What about Rosen? WHAT ABOUT ROSEN?

We'll see, my friend.

Nice.

He plays a rough game and yet..... in the first quarter of this season he's taken only one penalty.

Sabrespace has heard this story before, but about a year after No Goal, I met Brett Hull at DFW Airport. He was waiting for his bags at the carousel. So I approached him and we talked about the just complete season for a few minutes. Finally I asked him about the Cup winning goal. He said he would have liked to score a highlight reel goal, but what happened happened, so what else could do? The refs said it was a good goal; he couldn't give it back. He said all this season, lining up for faceoffs and stuff, opposing players would nudge him and say, "That wasn't a goal, Hull!" Then I asked him for his autograph. I said I didn't have anything to sign, so could he sign his boarding pass? I told him my nephew, Matt, played hockey, so address it to him. So he wrote, "To Matt, Good luck in hockey, Brett Hull" I thanked him and said I would give it to him when we went up to visit my family in Buffalo that summer. When I said Buffalo, he visibly winced. Overall he was nice guy to talk to, approachable. He caught a lot of ***** for No Goal.

Granted they screwed the pooch against CGY, but in general this team is bringing it more often than not. I think the current roster is playoff-worthy, but they're in a hole. On the other hand, more help should come when Kulich and Norris return. And the bottom six is more effective than it's been in years. To be honest, I'm okay with the D situation. Bryson's been playing pretty well.

You're steadier than I am. I'm planning the parade with every win, ready to abandon the team with every loss.

So he didn't report? Or just scratched?

He's a role player. Every great team has role players that do the dirty work. On this current Sabres squad I see role players just nailing their roles and providing unexpected bonuses, like Beck's goal. When the Red Wings won their first Cup in 42 years, it wasn't Sergei Fedorov who scored the Cup clinching goal, it was Grind Line winger Darren McCarty, on a goal similar to Malenstyn's, similar to May Day. Playoff games are won by bangers like Brad May, Darren McCarty, and yes, Beck Malenstyn.

He did. He propped up the bottom six with improved players. He's got youth pushing up from Rochester, not because they don't have anyone else, but because they deserve their NHL shot, and they're making the most of it.

No, I grant the excuse. My dudes, you're looking at this all wrong. The Sabres have been playing through injuries most of the season and they're still at a .500 points percentage. And what's more, they climbed back to .500 and they still are playing through significant injuries. They're learning how to win without Norris, Kesselring and Kulich. Of course Kulich is only in the conversation because of Norris's injury, but he's been a top six C and he's out. And yet we have a center spine of Tage (really best at wing), McCleod (possibly best as a 3C), and Östlund, Kozak and Krebs in the bottom six. And... we're winning more than we're losing. I think the current roster *is* a playoff roster, and getting our centers back will make this an even more formidable squad. The injuries are not an excuse, they are an opportunity for players to show what they're made of, and for players like Kozak, Östlund, Rosén, to show what they are capable of, to show that they belong. And players like Kulich (although currently injured) and Quinn, they are getting the opportunity to demonstrate that they can be contributing stars on this team. I love Tage and Tuch and Dahlin, but this team is making a playoff push and it's the AHL subs and the role players that are making it happen. To be honest, I'm kind of geeked up about this team.

The best reaction by Ray to a goal: EEEEEYAAAAHHHHHHH!!

Well he set up Malenstyn yesterday....

I didn't play anything more than flooded backyard hockey and street hockey with the other neighborhood kids. I only knew of one guy who got anywhere in sports- made it into the NJ Devils farm system; never heard how far he got but it wasn't very far because he doesn't show up on any of the stats websites (granted, this would have been 40+ years ago, so prior to the stats websites themselves, but they do have some historical records).

Heck, Krebs was a first rounder, wasn't he? Solid 4th liner, not totally out of place up higher, as much as we criticize him. I'm sure he's someone that, at lower levels of play, looked like he had elite offensive skills. He's got speed and is willing to do whatever he's asked, but his offensive skills aren't quite top nine level.

The 2022 Kentucky Derby winner wasn't even supposed to be in the race- Number 21 in a 20 horse field. He's circled in yellow If Rich Strike can do it, so can the Sabres.