Doohicksie

The overpaid I can handle. It's the overpaid until 2027 that gives pause.

Uncanny.

Good for him. That's a nice chunk of change.

I looked up the FO stats for the team: Asplund actually *could* use some help on the dot, and Casey *is* indeed not bad there. If Casey is the teams' "faceoff specialist" he basically replaces Cody Eakin: Good on the dot but otherwise.... More significantly though: The Sabres have been a terrible FO team in recent years. So far they're at 50% overall: Not really too bad.

On the other hand, I think he knows he's at best a marginal NHLer and (although I'm not sure what his AHL salary is), he will still be getting paid to play the sport he supposedly loves. fify

He's never really had NHL game.

I don't see it as an issue per se. If our top line is not as good as another team's top line you're going to see these kinds of stats, and it's unrealistic to think our top line is going to outperform every other top line. The key to winning that matchup is in lines 2-4. The Sabres right now are constructed with 2 second lines, a 2.5 line (optimistically) and a 4th line. If our bottom 9 outperform the other team's bottom 9, we can still win games if our top line gets caved (as long as they don't get caved too bad).

It wasn't clear to me. I thought his non-carrying elbow was down. I didn't see enough views of the replay to know positively that the ball was across the first down marker when his elbow touched. It turned out Coach Clappy was right not to challenge it the way the game turned out.

I really think it's a question of wanting to keep the Cozens - Peterka pairing together and not saddling Cozens with a struggling Mitts. This is just my impression but I think Mittelstadt might be the guy they are losing patience with, at least in the center role.

There's a "mid-west" trip in late January: @DAL, @STL, @WPG, @MIN; I'll be going to the Dallas game.

Yeah but the Bills have a bye this week. We'll spend a few days admiring yesterday's win but the next Bills game is almost two weeks off.

Could be lucky/small sample size or maybe he's finally putting it all together.

Click the Youtube Share link at the point you want, and it gives you an option of "Start at"

I think this early in the season he's still working to "develop" them. I don't think it means he believes in them; it's that he's given them the opportunity to grow into their roles. If they don't grow eventually there will be changes.

Maybe he's investing in Mitts, trying to get him to get his confidence back.

But they clicked in the AHL. The thought is put them in the combination where they've been successful. Donny seems to be trying it here and there (after PP/PK sequences I think); let's see if it becomes a more regular thing. I think this is somewhat by design; Donny Meatballs said he is encouraging them to "just play" but is making corrections in the locker room.

Not now, but give him wingers he's comfortable with.

Prediction time: The first line will break out during the west coast swing.

....which, as we know, was the plan all along.

They already have been in the regular season. I think the benefit of it is that putting Krebs at center with wingers that are younger than him and with whom he's already played, will activate Krebs and his play; it will make him a driver not a passenger.

TAGE THOMPSON IS FINE

Skins - Tage - Ollie Mitts - Cozens - Tuch Quinn - Krebs - Peterka Z - Asplund - Okie I think this is what Granato will go to with his first line shuffle. The top line will figure it out. Mitts is trying but bless his heart it's not clicking; try him on the wing with play-driving linemates. Q -K -P played as a line in the AHL playoffs, no? Give them sheltered minutes but let them grow together. The fourth line is solid.