Doohicksie

You list Krebs twice. And... I simply don't agree with your vision.

He fancies himself Lumiere, methinks.

Fair enough.

I disagree, and not just because of Mittelstadt's performance of late. From all reports he's also a pretty good glue guy, a good locker room presence. We've talked for years about the Eichel Era locker room being toxic and how prominent players from that era needed to be removed to improve the culture. I think Casey might be part of the culture they're trying to foster and will keep him for that reason. Trade VO. Trade Jost. Trade Hinostroza. Retire KO. Phase Girgs out after another year or two. But keep Casey.

I'd like to see Tuch there but Quinn could also be a good third member for that line. Thinking of playoff hockey, I think Skinner is experienced enough to handle the rough stuff, Thommer has the size and Quinn is already pretty savvy. The three of them together are very creative in their playmaking (not that Tuch isn't, but it's really clicking for Quinn right now). If you put Tuch with Cozens and Mitts you have a line that might be able to out-physical just about any line in the league *and* score goals. Either way though I think Quinn's first line experience would help him elevate the Cozens line if Tuch goes back to his old spot. He's not.

Isn't he? I mean, maybe he's not quite there yet, but that's the way his game has trended over the last year or so. And Angry Casey is Pretty Effective Casey.

wut. You're thinking of 2019 Casey Mittelstadt. I think the game he's playing on Cozens' line will translate well to playoff hockey.

I think he forms a great tandem with Cozens and I'd staple Casey to Cozens' hip going forward. Casey doesn't get pushed around anymore; in fact he does the pushing now, especially along the boards. He's gotten much more rugged. When Tuch comes back I wouldn't mind seeing him on a line with Cozens and Mitts; that could form a second "1st line" if the chemistry works.

Had the Sabres managed to tie it late and pull out the win in OT, we'd be discussing about how our depth is (almost) adequate.

I must have turned it off right away... thought the goal counted. Offside apparently.

I actually agree with you. If you watch the Sabres in transition, it is predicated on the high winger recognizing Sabres getting possession and breaking for a long pass. It happens dozens of times a game. This time... EDM got it back and Ollie was hung out to dry.

Thank you for contributing something.

This right here is the heart of his ineffectiveness.

I think Quinn has emerged to the point that when Tuch comes back it won't matter which line he goes to, we will have two #1 lines. I would like to see Tuch with Cozens and Mitts though because that would elevate that line more than getting Quinn. Also, a Mitts-Cozens-Tuch line could out-physical just about any other line in the league.

If you watch VO throughout a game, you can see that the effort is there 85% of the time. He's really good, for instance, backchecking on the rush. He's pretty good at keeping up with the opponents and has a knack for breaking up passes. Once the play settles into the Sabres zone, though, he holds his position covering the point guy, but only nominally so. He never aggressively pressures the point, he just does a drive by and curls around, giving the point man a ton of time and space to advance the play. I would say his game only lacks 50 feet, but those 50 feet result in too many goals. I'm also a little surprised that Donny doesn't correct that. If it's obvious enough that I noticed VO's poor point coverage, Donny has to know.

Yeah, I wish you could, too. 😉

I would say the Sabres had just as many Grade A chances as the Oilers. The difference really was that on the bang-bang plays, too many of them hit Skinner; some of them were too fast for him to react. It would be expected that one or two of those opportunities that didn't go in, should have. Cozens and Mitts were both smoking the puck at him. They left expected goals on the table.

It was a pretty evenly matched game. The difference really was puck luck.

Fortunately for me I'm barrio-adjacent and those kinds of guys are looking for work on Nextdoor all the time.

When we get to the playoffs, we will all learn that Mittelstadt is a playoff beast.

Staple him to Cozens and never separate them. They have some special chemistry going.

Dahlin walking the line and no one fills in behind him.... 😞

Mitts looked like he was shot out of a cannon on that backcheck. Fantastic.

And again.... Mittelstadt turned Cozens loose. They were meant to be together.