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It's The Dominator's big night. And the Battle of the Czech Goalies

Sorry for all the new thread haters but everyone is discussing this in 3 different threads. Lets consolidate it. Rumor is Detroit wants Tyler Myers. The price is unknown. Now I have openly argued that Tyler Myers is maxed out for the most part. He will be a 30-40pt a year defender and is a 3/4 guy. His physical talent does not match his mental limitations. Now some have argued against this with some good points including his improvement last year. No one wants to see him shipped off and then turn into a star. That would make us look like crap. So where do you see Myers going forward? Does the Detroit rumor interest you at all and if so what would it take to get Myers? Do you think his value is low? Do you want Myers on this team for another year or 3 or 6? What in your mind is Tyler Myers potential from here on out? I have stated mine, now it is your turn. If a mod has the free time combining the other discussions on this would be helpful.

Here we are, trying to start a winning streak, and no one wants to start the GDT?

Let's go Buffalo!

So, the little round-robin tourney between Calgary, Detroit and Buffalo continues. Sunday, Calgary beat the Red Wings, pushing Detroit's current losing streak to 4. Monday, the Sabres defeated the Flames. So if we can beat the Flames, and the Flames can beat the Wings, it's only logical that we should beat the Wings. Let's hope logic holds and the Sabres can defeat the Red Wings, who are on the back end of their dynasty. The Buffalo lineup I'm showing is the same as Monday's. If ROR is ready to go, look for him to slot into Larsson's 1st line center spot and Larsson to drop down to the second or third line, making COR the odd man out. On the Detroy-it side, look for old friends Thomas Vanek (in just his second game back after missing 11 with a LBI) and Steve Ott. The Wings have been struggling mightily this year to fill the void left by Pavel Datsyuk's departure. The conveyor belt of Eurotrash has finally dried up and the Wings just aren't the team they used to be. Goalie-wise, the Wings have split the goaltending duties pretty evenly. Jimmy Howard with a miserly 1.85 GAA and a miserable 4-5 record played the last game, so maybe they'll play Petr Mrazek (3.16 GAA, .904 SV%) tonight. If that's the case, the key to the game looks like it will be shoot early and shoot often. Correction to Sabres lines (ROR is back!) Lehner: "YOU SHALL NOT PASS." GO SABRES.

My pappy always said, "When ya gotta dog down, step on his head."* This is what the Sabres need to do to the Red Wings who are coming off a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday. The Wings are in freefall. They are currently on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs go, with their 24-year playoff streak in jeopardy. They will come in playing desperate hockey, leveraging studs Justin Abdelkader, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, and hoping the infusion of new blood in Dylan Larkin and Andreas Athanasiou will be enough to get them into the postseason. The bad news is that both of their goalies got pasted on Saturday; Mrazek allowed 4 goals on 27 shots (.852) and Howard allowing 3 goals on 14 shots (.786). The dynasty appears all but dead, and it's up to the Sabres to show them what an up-and-coming dynasty looks like. The Sabres need to pressure their shaky defense and it will crack. Although they still have some fast players, by and large the Red Wings' legs are feeling their age and no amount of experience will help them if the Sabres push on them and push hard. The Wings good luck charm for the game is Gordie Howe himself; it's been reported that despite fragile health, he will be in attendance at the game. Look for Chad "The Big" Johnson to start for the Sabres. I would expect Mrazek in goal for the Wings, but after Satruday's meltdown, who knows? *My pappy never said that, but I wanted to start the thread like that.

Here it is folks, Larkin vs. Eichel 4.0. Both red-shirt rookie phenoms stand tied at 30 points and 14 goals a piece, each 1 point behind Max Domi and a distant 15 behind Artemi Panarin for the rookie leading scorers. Whereas Larkin came out blazing from the gate, earning himself an ASG nod and plenty of well-deserved hype, Eichel took a little while longer to find his legs, and still may be doing so, indicating the best is yet to come. Since the start of December, only Panarin has more points than Eichel, and it's those two, then the rest. Eichel comes into tonight with 16 points in his last 15 games, and will look to build on his last success vs Detroit, a contest that saw Jack post 2 beautiful goals and Reinhart contribute a ppg in a 4-3 loss after the Wings scored late on a softie let in by Johnson. The Sabres will look to even the season series tonight at 2 games a piece, and continue to make a push up the standings. The Red Wings, 5-41 in their last 10 and coming off a 2-1 loss vs. St.Louis on Wednesday night, will look to further entrench themselves in a playoff picture that has seen the collapse of the Canadiens and the resurgence of the Lightning. Detroit, the only EC playoff team with a negative goal differential (-6), has only 4 more goals than the Sabres on the season, and 9 less allowed. The Wings provide a great test for our young team; filled with savvy vets and on ice-smarts that make us all look like Ted Cruz, the Wings are a team where our system and positioning is absolutely essential if we have any chance of winning. Look for Johnson and Mrazek to go. Both of these are complete guesses. Reinhart left the Avs game with an UBI, no news on his status yet, and both Zemgus and Ennis are also out with UBI's. Our team really needs to hit the gym Game Preview (Available now) STATS: All Stats Buffalo @ Detroit (5-4 SO loss) All Stats Buffalo @ Detroit (2-1 win) All Stats Detroit @ Buffalo (4-3 losS) All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Buffalo: Forwards: (Holy hell is this forward lineup just ###### brutal) 9 Evander Kane – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 26 Matt Moulson COR – 15 Jack Eichel – 88 Jamie McGinn 82 Marcus Foligno – 22 Johan Larsson – 12 Brian Gionta 84 Phil Varrone – 59 Tim Schaller -17 David Legwand Defense: 47 Zach Bogosian – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 4 Josh Gorges – 46 Cody Franson 6 Mike Weber – 3 Mark Pysyk 29 Jake McCabe Johnsons: 31 Chad Johnson 40 Robin Lehner

The Buffalo Sabres will play host to division rivals the Detroit Red Wings Saturday in a little bit of afternoon delight to kick off the new year. Buffalo has had a tough time of it of late, losing 3 straight including 2 against the leagues best team in the Caps. Most recently, Buffalo's shot barrage method against the Islanders yielded a 2-1 loss, as Buffalo continued to struggle offensively, scoring 3 goals in the last 3 games combined. The return and subsequent loss of Tyler Ennis proved little difference in the Sabres scoring, and one starts to wonder just how valuable Pysyk is, and how much longer Reinhart stays with ROR. The Red Wings find themselves in a similar struggle. Losers of 3 straight, Detroit will look to rebound from a 5-2 loss against Pittsburgh last Thursday, a contest that saw Mrazek go 32/36. The Wings are also struggling to find the right line combinations, and many are starting to question rookie coach Blashill's combinations. Blashill's team find themselves at 43 points for the 2nd WC spot, a 1 point lead ahead of Ottawa The Red Wings may be without Jurco (UBI), and Buffalo will miss Pysyk and Ennis (maybe). Look for Mrazek to get the start. Game Preview STATS: All Stats Buffalo @ Detroit (5-4 SO loss) All Stats Buffalo @ Detroit (2-1 win) All Team Rankings Team Comparison Chart Friday Practice Report Buffalo: Forwards: 88 Jamie McGinn – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart 28 Zemgus Girgensons – 15 Jack Eichel – 12 Brian Gionta 9 Evander Kane – 22 Johan Larsson – 26 Matt Moulson 44 Nicolas Deslauriers – 17 David Legwand – 82 Marcus Foligno Defense: 4 Josh Gorges – 55 Rasmus Ristolainen 25 Carlo Colaiacovo – 47 Zach Bogosian 6 Mike Weber – 46 Cody Franson Johnsons: 31 Chad Johnson 35 Linus Ullmark 40 Robin Lehner