JohnC

So what you are saying is that when you rabble rouse it can become contagious? You are a natural leader. You have that IT factor which makes the masses want to follow!

Then they all stood up and starting throwing things at you and yelling in unison get this sneaky trespasser out of our selective box! Your engaging personality is sometimes not working. I guess it depend on the audience.

Kirby, Put your bitcoins on Michigan. When the basis for making a decision is admittedly not based on reason then you know are in trouble.What your gut is telling you is that you ate too much and it is in a state of agitation. Or simply put go with your head and not your troubled gut. This time put your money on the more eccentric coach wearing the usual pants.

The schedule is really loaded with a lot of games in a short time span. It is really compressed. There's not not much time to get the aches and bruises healed. In our recent western trip the Sabres played three games in four days' They then returned home for a short break and now are playing back to back with one home game and won road game. This has become a sport where it is a requirement that rosters be filled with a lot of young legs. What was not acknowledged too much in the Montreal game was that Skinner's winning goal came off a Dahlin shot that was on net. The young Swede's role has steadily been increased. Already it is fair to say that he is an instrumental player. He's so smooth that you don't notice him as much compared to Eichel and Skinner who are more explosive players.

Does anyone know how much one of these boxes cost for a game?

Very often stats don't reflect the performance of the goaltender. In the post game reporting of this game Biron made the point that Montreal's goaltiending hasn't been a bright spot because much of that is due to the lackluster play of the the defense. He also made the point that Shea Weber is due to soon come back and that should help the rating of the goaltenders. In this game although Skinner got the first star for his two goals I would have given Hutton the first star, or at least the second star to him. What's really impressive about his very consistent game is that he rarely gives up rebounds. Some observations: Montreal is not a big and hard hitting team. But what is impressive about them is that they can skate and are quick with the puck. Tage Thompson is steadily getting better. You can see his skating, shooting and stick handling ability. Although he isn't accomplished at battling for the puck you can see him putting in the effort. He's not the defensive liability that he was in his early game. Hats off to Housley and his staff in working with the young players such as Dahlin, Mittelstadt and Thompson. I'm happy for the fans, especially those at the games. And Jack is a great captain who is invested in the success of the team.

Carey Price was in net in the previous game. He wasn't too impressive. His stats are a little better than the backup's but not much different. Price's goals against are 3.17 with a save rate of 0.0895 compared to the backup's 3.74 and 0.0887. According to Paul Hamilton Price who is considered one of the better goalies in the league is having a below par year. So going to the backup shouldn't be a big determining factor.

In the post game interview when asked about the fight Larsson said that the Philly player asked him if he was willing to fight. Larsson said okay and then they went at it. It was a staged/set up fight where the Philly player hoped would spark his struggling team. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/11-21-johan-larsson-post-game

I'm not saying this to be mean-spirited and ridiculing but AP is not a very bright person. Or to put it more bluntly he is very ignorant. It's clear that even after going through the legal process and public exposure from the first beating case he simply doesn't believe that he did anything wrong. Being forced to go to counseling was simply a charade that he was compelled to do. In his mind and heart he doesn't believe that he did anything wrong. That's how he was raised and that is how he is going to raise his offspring. He will continue to enforce his discipline code in a way that he wants to. What makes this case most reflective of his ignorance is his willingness to publicly state that he continues to discipline in the way he sees fit. What's the saying? Ignorance is bliss. What's really pernicious about AP's behavior is that this cycle of physical behavior gets repeated because this type of behavior is learned and considered to be the norm. So it is passed on from one parenting generation to the next. That's the tragedy.

Why did you come to the conclusion that WEO voted for Cuomo? And what is the relevancy if he did or did not? WEO has posted on this board for quite a while. I don't know what his political leanings are but if I had a guess it would be as an independent. It seems to me that he is more non-ideological and less rigid in his thinking than many are.

Who is the guy with the beard in the last clip?

I have Center Ice so I get to see all the games. But how do the locals watch the games? Are all the games on MSG or is it blacked out locally? Do the locals have to subscribe to watch them and are away games treated differently regarding being available to the local TV watchers? Just curious.

I would give Hutton the first star in this game. Our goaltending is the difference. He rarely gives up a juicy rebound. I thought all four of our lines played well. The Larrson line with Gergensen and Tage played their role to the max. Gergonsen is constantly getting a stick applied to his face. Rodriques was very active in this game. Our team speed is so much better this year. You can see Tage Thompson gaining confidence with the increased playing time. Housley is making a lot of decisions that are working out. This is one of them.

Simple question: Do you believe that the Sabres are better than Columbus and Washington? I don't. At this point I believe that their rosters are fuller and better. I don't know how you can come away from my original post and say that I said or meant to say that the Sabres aren't transforming into a better team or have higher expectations. It's quite the opposite. With PTR every opinion that doesn't fall into the category of the fawning fan of the hometown team is act of disloyalty. You are much more discerning than that irredeemable lovable zealot.

You are what your record is when the season is concluded. It's a long season with a lot of ups and downs. We are in an up cycle and I am ecstatic about it. But I don't believe that we are better than Columbus and Washington. It's not a criticism of the team but it's where I see this team is from a talent standpoint compared to the elite teams. Your response is predictable. I'm not commenting on a particular game so much as comparing where I believe this team actually ranks compared to what was listed. Although I am a fan of the Sabres I don't believe that they are better at this stage of their turnaround than Columbus or Washington. That's my opinion. If you think otherwise then so be it. You missed the point of my original post. I simply made the point that I believed that they were ranked higher than they should be. I consider Columbus and Washington better teams. I'm not denigrating the Sabres or dismissing their current success. It's exciting and fun to watch. But I don't believe that they are better than Washington and Columbus. If you do then that's fine.

Let's not get carried away. The Sabres are definitely moving up the ranks but they are not better than Washington or Columbus. In almost every game that we have won in the six game streak we were outplayed yet escaped with a victory. That's a tribute to the grittiness of the team and good fortune. That good fortune usually balances out in the season. I'm not diminishing our accomplishments but trying to put it into perspective. There is still a lot to do to be a really good team. The core is forming and there has to be some additions to support and enhance the core. In my view the quality goaltending has been the biggest reason why our fortunes have changed. I'm not discounting the additions of players like Skinner but the goaltending has been very consistent throughout the season. It has kept us in games where before the erratic goaltending allowed the game to slip away.

We could end up with three first round picks in the next draft. We could make a deal for a couple or all of them to move to near the top of the draft to get a high end prospect or just take three prospects. It will be interesting to see how the GM uses its assets.

So what you are saying is that we should root for them to be in the 11th spot.

I was over-simplifying a reason why this team got better. The primary reason is that the GM added talent with the addition of Skinner, Sheary and Hutton. Dahlin was another impacting addition and the (so far) healthy return of Bogo bolstered the roster. My point in the prior post is that with the departure of ROR it allowed other players to move up such as Mittlestadt and allowed Jack to be not only the leader of this team but be a better leader. He cares, and it shows! Overall, there is a better mixture of players and more talent on this roster. Housley has a coaching philosophy where the defense movers up the ice with the forwards and participate in the offensive zone. He didn't have the talent to properly implement his preferred style of play last year. He now does, and it shows.

As you pointed out it seems that every thing that he tries works out from the goalie moves to the changing line combinations. Since he started coaching this team he has preached having his defensemen move up with the play and be aggressive in the other team's zone. As it stands every defenseman has scored a goal. That's quite a change from last year's non offensive unit.

I'm happy to accommodate your weakness. Enjoy your stinky pleasure. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=fart+sounds&view=detail&mid=F99079CC10AFFE93EC55F99079CC10AFFE93EC55&FORM=VIRE

The repercussion of the Ryan O'Reilly deal has reverberated throughout the roster. When he got traded in return we got Tage Thompson, Soboka and Bergland. Tage has offensive talent but still is in the development stage. The other two veteran players are responsible players who are at best role players. In the exchange we also got a first round pick. What this deal did is dispatch a player (who I liked) who didn't want to be here any longer. With his departure Mittlestadt was bumped up and has centered a line. You can see his talent coming into fruition. Also, because the former captain was dealt it elevated Jack to the captain's role. He wanted that role and he certainly has embraced it. Without question he is the leader of the team. When you watch this team play you can see that the roster has a good mixture of veteran, young players, role players and mainstay players. You can also see that the players not only like one another but also stand-up for one another. The point I'm trying to make is that sometimes a judicious subtraction can becomes a big addition I respectfully disagree with you that he lacks speed. Because of his length he is not going to be a quick skater. But he is a smooth long striding skater who has deceptive speed. Jack is a powerful skater with a burst and speed. Tage's style of skating is much different. When in open ice with his elongated strides his speed becomes more evident. He'll never be as fast as Jack and have that burst but he can keep up with the pace of the game. As you noted he still lacks in his physical play but that will come as he physically fills out.

I thought Dahlin struggled on the defensive end. But that is not to be unexpected. What is impressive about him is his supreme confidence which is exhibited in how he handles adversity. He just keeps playing through his struggles as if they didn't happen. I was listening to the post game show on WGR and was intrigued with how Housley believes in the potential of Tage Thompson. He's sticking with him. Tage has a wicked shot and can skate. He struggles with the physical side of the game but he is putting in the effort. What makes me optimistic about this team is the steady improvement in the young players as exhibited by Dahlin, Mittlestadt and to an extent Tage. What is so exciting about this team is the potential of the young players. On top of that there are some good prospects not far away in Rochester. The fans certainly deserve to be rewarded with not only good play but also entertaining play.

As someone else said I thought the first star should go to Hutton for keeping us in the game. Mittelstadt is steadily getting better and playing with confidence. Tage has a wicked shot. Housley is willing to risk playing him because he sees the offensive talent. I thought Reinhart played a real good game and showed a lot of grit staying on the puck. Dahlin struggled in this game. I'm not bothered by it.

Some people would say she is a dumb assss while others would say that she has a cold assss. Or just maybe a combination of both attributes. If a person has a frozen asss does that mean that person is a hard asssss?