Doohicksie

Thompson with a good effort to rush the shooter.

Oh no those poor Panthers...

That became the tagline used by the local HS football highlights show in 2003 when the high school my son went to, which had never done better than 4-6 in their history, squeaked into the playoffs at 6-4 and ran the table to win the state championship. Every week when they got to covering the school they'd always say, "Who are these guys?" (My son didn't play football; he played clarinet in the marching band, but I still had to go to all the games.)

He was a steadying influence. Who knew the Sabres played better when they were jittery? I didn't see the infraction on that last one. Looked like nothing but stick to me.

All the Sabres do tonight.

Withering pressure!

(sorry, Joki)

I don't know. If it was easy they'd fix it. I think the problem was foisted onto Donny when he had to juggle three goalies, didn't have Quinn, etc. The focus on defense didn't work with the goalie carousel. I see that as Kevyn problems more than Donny problems. That said, I know Donny may be punching above his weight class as an NHL head coach.

I have a heeler mix and they are great and loyal dogs. Pound for pound I don't think you could go into battle with a better dog. But that said, they don't always know when relax. Ours is great with people but when she sees other dogs she wants to protect me from them. She's gotten into it with pitties and rotties and shepherds and holds her own with her little frame. Fortunately it's only ever been scuffles, no blood drawn. I carry pepper spray when I walk her mostly for the protection of any loose dogs that might approach us. She's 7 and I wonder if I could get her trained to make her more tolerant of and less reactive to other dogs. Anyway, I understand the stresses you're facing right now; I hope you can find good homes for your pooches.

I've been reading the thread on HFBoards Avs forum about the trade. Basically both teams are benefiting because both players were playing about a line below their capabilities but are now able to play in the right spot on their new teams. They desperately needed a 2C to get serious about the playoffs and they've filled that void pretty well. Their comments about Mittsy's play mirrors what we saw in Buffalo, and he's the undisputed 2C there. They know Byram is very good, but he's not about to break into Makar - Toews. The Sabres know Mitts is good, but he's not going to leap over Tage and Dylan (at least in the long term). Both teams benefit.

Why? I think you're connecting too many dots there.

The problem with VO is that he had a good year as a goal scorer in a season when the Sabres sucked (he was one of the bright spots under RK). They paid him to score goals, and he has, but he's also one of the worst +/- players we've had. I think if he'd been used differently, and had tried to be more defensively responsible, he'd be considered a solid NHLer instead of a liability. With the emergence of other scorers he was pushed off to the side. He's a .6 PPG player; he's scored 20, 13, 20 & 28 goals over the last 4 seasons before dropping to only 5 (over 39 games) this year. Those are outstanding numbers for a 7th round pick.

I would word that as "this new duo could recognized as one of the best pairings in the league in the not too distant future." ...because I think they already are, people just haven't realized it yet. Even on the Avs forum on HFBoards they're saying that.

Momentum waxing!

I'm not especially enthralled with the Sabres chances against the Kraken or Canucks this week.

But he will help in the playoffs. 😉

...or unless the Sabres stumble and drop back in the pack.

TWICE. They relocated to Calgary and to Winnipeg. Way ahead of ya, pal.

Jost definitely has some wheels. Does Olofsson? He's never stood out as s speedy guy. But perhaps Jost is faster than Mitts and Ollie is faster than Okposo so overally, yes there's a positive impact on team speed. I noticed yesterday that speed-wise, Kane is washed. Done. Kaput. He had a chance at a break and the D... I think it was Joki?... just skated past him and took the puck away. The frustrating thing is teams that take time and space away by disrupting passes. I think the teams that can stop the Sabres' passing game are the once who give them fits.

I'm not that epic or subtle.

Depending on how things go between Dahlin and Byram, I wouldn't be surprised to see Byram get the C next year. (If they think Dahlin would see that as a snub then Dahlin will get it; the other candidate I think is Tuch.)