GAME DISCUSSION THREAD

[Knightrider]

Any chance they'll keep Ellis up? He was really good tonight.

 

I was glad to see him score on his old teammates. I liked him and Butler last night.

[nfreeman]

He's up for the Holiday roster freeze through the 27th. Also, Gaustad is questionable tomorrow. He took a puck on the chin in practice the other day and while playing in the last game it was affecting him. I'd be happy to keep Max in the pressbox and, if Gaustad can play, put Peters with Max. Of course, it sounds like Kaleta probably won't be playing tomorrow after that sucker punch. Lindy said that he's having trouble seeing. :cry:

Lindy said yesterday before the game that Goose is out for the weekend and possibly Tuesday as well. And in the presser it sure sounded like Kaleta would be out tonight if not longer. That probably means we'll see Max tonight, although I'd be fine with Mancari.

 

I was at the game tonight,it was unreal. I was really impressed with Lydman tonight. He was laying the body,clearing the zone,keeping it to the outside. It seems like the fans are torn. We won but the atmosphere afterward was like,"meh does it mean much?" I would of liked a little bit of more craziness in the air,but the seats i had were great. 300 level,section 327,row 6,seat 2. Perfect view. Plus,i went for free and I GOT DRUNK FOR FREE!!!

I thought Lydman was terrific last night.

 

I ended up going to a party and missed most of the game. Glad to see they won, but surprised that the Kinds outshot the Sabres by a 2 to 1 margin. Was it misleading or did the Sabres play poorly in their own end?

The Kings really took it to the Sabres for about the first 10-12 minutes of the first period. They had a decided advantage in keeping the play in our end and out of theirs. After that point, the Sabres were able to get the forecheck going and I thought had the edge, both territorially and in scoring chances, until we built the big lead. This lasted through the 2nd and into the start of the 3rd. Then, for the bulk of the 3rd period, the Kings had more chances, but by then we had a huge lead and were playing more conservatively and not pushing the forecheck. Miller was outstanding throughout.

 

Other game notes:

 

- Even though the Kings aren't very good, they still came out and played hard. It was a pretty entertaining and hard-fought win.

 

- Great to see Miller dominate.

 

- When Kaleta plays like that, he's quite simply one of the best players on the ice. Unfortunately, given the amount of punishment he takes, it may not be possible for him to stay healthy and in the lineup.

 

- I really liked Lindy putting Kaleta on the top line with Roy and Stafford. That line was effective and very entertaining. I think Kaleta inspired Stafford (who had another strong game) to throw a few checks too.

 

- Another pretty solid game from Tallinder -- good skating, good decisions and 21 minutes of ice time.

 

- Again, not much from Pommer or Hecht. At some point pretty early in the game, I think Lindy got fed up with them and put Vanek with Kotalik and Mair (and Mac with Pommer and Hecht). That line (Vanek-Kotalik-Mair) was pretty effective. Mair can skate and he's usually in the right spot; he just has lousy hands. It actually made me wonder whether it would be feasible to have Pommer centering for Kotalik and Vanek. Pommer is a good skater and a smart player -- if Hecht can play center, I don't see why Pommer can't.

 

- Lydman was outstanding

 

- Solid debut for Butler, but nothing amazing. I can see him turning into a good pro, but it will take time.

 

- Suddenly we find ourselves with a string of injuries -- Gaustad, Kaleta, Gerbe and Rivet. (I'm not going to mention the phantom who wears #19 because he's just a myth, not a reality.) We'll find out whether this team can gut out a few wins until the reinforcements arrive.

 

- I want Lalime tonight.

 

Go Sabres.

[bob_sauve28]

I thought Lydman was terrific last night.

Go Sabres.

Yes he was. Made one bad play along the boards that almost costs us, but didn't. He made a great play on the Roy goal.

 

But that Sekara is just something else. He is so good. Just goes to show, you can have your rough, hard hitting defenseman, but those slick skating, puck handling guys are the ones that get the puck out of your zone.

 

From what I saw of the new guy he looked good. Can't really evaluate his skating yet but he seemed physical and didn't make many mistakes

[Knightrider]

I was thinking of those "cost plus" contracts that defense contractors like so much.

 

Because of the low production runs and the high amount of engineering (non-recurrent expenses) and the absurd amount of regulation, it makes far more sense for a defense contractor and the government to use cost plus incentive. Cost plus means the US government shoulders some of the risk associated with systems that are usually customized to the particular mission.

[carpandean]

Because of the low production runs and the high amount of engineering (non-recurrent expenses) and the absurd amount of regulation, it makes far more sense for a defense contractor and the government to use cost plus incentive. Cost plus means the US government shoulders some of the risk associated with systems that are usually customized to the particular mission.

Unfortunately, it also means that contractors have little to no incentive to control costs after being awarded a contract, which often leads to absurd cost overruns. But I digress ...

 

 

One note about the relative number of shots on goal. RJ and HN mentioned the fact that LA was one of the better defensive teams and had (one of?) the lowest shots-on-goal-against average in the NHL. Unfortunately, they also have terrible goaltending, so it doesn't take many shots to beat them.

[Knightrider]

Unfortunately, it also means that contractors have little to no incentive to control costs after being awarded a contract, which often leads to absurd cost overruns. But I digress ...

 

 

One note about the relative number of shots on goal. RJ and HN mentioned the fact that LA was one of the better defensive teams and had (one of?) the lowest shots-on-goal-against average in the NHL. Unfortunately, they also have terrible goaltending, so it doesn't take many shots to beat them.

For what it's worth, my greatest fear is to hear that my program would end up in the news as one of those with huge overruns. Every contract I've worked in the last 12 years has milestone incentive fees. These are called cost plus incentive fee contracts. Sorry, but absurd overuns tend to be the government's fault. Prior to many development contract's award (like a B-2), they tell the contractors that all of the bid are too much and that they will need to be rebid at lower cost. Now from a company standpoint, they have a pool of engineers that they plan to use to do the development. Those delays force either huge losses in overhead costs, or, a layoff followed by a call back plus additional hirings to make up the schedule delays caused by the government. Good engineers are not exactly a dime a dozen these days, so companies known for laying them off get a bad rep. This leads to very complex systems that are unrealistically bid in order to win a contract before the company bleeds out cash. Most of the programs that I've seen that are troubled, were simply underbid in the first place.