Doohickie

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.

OMG GUYS..... CLEAR THE ***** PUCK

LE WOW!

le sigh

Oh, I'm okay with the criticism. It's when the complaining goes on and on and on....

The Oiler just tripped Bryson, leading to a scoring chance...... no call.