David Legwand potted a SHG from the DZ dot; about 150 feet. Me thinks the CBJ goalie sucks, but it was fun to see. (I don't think Legs even saw his goal; he shot it for a line change and headed for the bench.) Oh, BTW, I think the CBJ goalie sucks.
This was posted in response to comments on the TOR board, but it belongs here: It's hard to be sold on Rob Lehner yet; his body of work in Buffalo is too small. His work, given circumstances, in Ottawa is too small also. We know two things: TM brought him to Ott. & knows him well. And, he paid a very high price to get him. The jury remains out, but he's looked very much the NHL starter lately. He has not gotten much goal support, and that is not an indictment of the D. There is a lot to work with on D. Obviously Ristolainen is a stud. Pysyk is a very steady, albeit boring, blueliner that can develop into a second-pair D, and McCabe could do the same. They drafted well last year with Guhle in the second (the final pick from the Vanek trade), and Will Borgen in the 4th played well at the WJC. Especially Borgen is a few years away, but Guhle came close to making the team this season, (if he had he'd have gone back to the WHL before 10 games). The point is they currently have three very solid young D in the NHL, with prospects that should be ready when this team truly turns the corner. Chicago has proven that you can plug-n-play bottom pair guys. (BTW, Bogosian is still young.) What is lacking is a top-four LHD. That's hard to get, and I expect TM will aggressively try to address that in June. Neither G nor D give me reason to doubt that Buffalo's rebuild is on track.
Risto is 22, he's beginning to shows signs of a puck moving point producing d-man . His +/- last year was -32 and improved to -17 which suggest a signifigant upgrade defensively but still poor. Hopefully next season he doesnt suffer a setback in points like so many (trouba and gardiner) to name a few. To label him a stud already, a little early let's see some consistency like a vatanen or klingberg.
Risto is a stud; the stats do not tell us everything. Of course I'm biased, but I am being more objective when I extol Risto's future compared to any of the great prospects in Toronto. And, I doubt that many Leafs' fans are not "certain" of the future from some of those kids.
Far from it, there is no lock prospect on the leafs including rielly. I could of said that doughty was a stud at 22 or even pk, a little too early for risto but trending there.
There I was the other night watching the third period outside the ACC on the big screen in an area they call maple leaf square. The sabres score and I hear a loud woooop yeeahhhhh, it's two sabre fans pulling out of the underground parking and the fan in the passenger seat is going nuts and I hear rick J in the background on the radio. As they drive off I see that NY state plate and I see they bought their car at northtown auto. To me, this was a symbol that the rivalry is just beginning to take shape once again. I will make my trip to the first niagara soon and will be loud after every leaf goal, yeaaaahhhhhhh!!
I got some good news, bad news, and good news for you, (2 outta 3 ain't bad): - Good: You get to actually get tickets at FN - forgettaboutit in TOR. - Bad: You'll have to pay the Canadian "tariff" due to the low Looney. Pricey. - Good: You won't loose your voice cause the Leafs will only score once. The H/A record is brutal with the home club taking the vast majority of Sabres-Leafs tilts.
Dan, dan, I have a fool proof plan. I wait until the game's ten mins old and get the ticket for less than half price off the scalpers. The seat yesterday was $110, I paid $40 to some guy named joey, next time i'll give him $20, I'm sure there's a joey there too.
Jack! With 1 second remaining in o/t Jack Eichel slips one through the five hole. It was his 2nd G of the day and now has 22 on the season. BTW, when he scored his 20th he became the youngest ever Sabre to pot that many. Pierre Turgeon also scored 20 as a 19 y.o. in 1989, but Jack was about a month younger.
Samson Reinhart scored his 20th goal of the season in last night's win over Ottawa. This is the first time in about 40 years that two Sabres rookies have reached that mark. We're going to start to see the line & pair changes reduced going down the stretch. It's almost as if DB has used most of the season as an extended training camp. Given the massive overhaul to the roster I think this year the focus was on assessing what the team had, and finding out which players would find chemistry with others. This sacrificed consistency - and possibly several W's - but was best for the long haul. The team has picked up points in a lot of games lately and I believe it's still possible for them to get close to 80 on the season. Last year they finished with 54. Between the natural maturation process and probably some more additions, along with more consistent play based on knowing the system and playing like that, the team could make another point-leap next year. That's to say that Buffalo will be solidly in the playoff discussion next season. Team needs are dramatically reduced from two years ago. (At that time the needed a lot of help literally everywhere. A year ago there remained a huge number of gapping holes. Over this summer TM et al have a lot of work to do, but have a much more manageable list: - Top four LHD. - Two top six F's. - Generally, add team speed. They'll have to be lucky to draft in the top three in June. But if they go 1st or 2nd then they're likely to resolve one of these needs immediately. (If they're super lucky and get the right to draft Auston Matthews then it opens up trade possibilities to solve the D problem, or accept the best alternative. OEL a Sabre? The Finnish kid Laine will be ready for the NHL next year IMO.) In Rochester, Will Carrier is showing why he was a big part of the Miller/Ott haul. I doubt he's ready for a top 2 LW role, but he'll definitely push for a roster spot. Jack Eichel has garnered - rightly so - a lot of attention. Samson has been in his shadow. However, a deeper dive into advanced analytics reveals something surprising. And, this should scare everyone except Sabres fans. Jack's stats indicate that he must improve his two-way game (Samson and Gus the Lion Killer are already proficient). Jack trains hard and lives for hockey so I think it's understated to state that he'll work on that. His ceiling is much higher than what we've seen in his impressive rookie campaign.
real happy that I picked up Reinhart in my keeper fantasy league. i think he's on the precipice of something really good.
Hudson Fasching has signed his ELC and is leaving the Univ. of Minnesota. He's one of the more intriguing prospects that I can recall over the past few years. Buffalo has 9 games left; 8 after he passes his physical. I expect he'll play out the season as a Sabre. I do not know what to truly expect of him, but am looking forward to finding out. Next year he'll probably get most of his ice time with the Amerks. But, between him and Will Carrier the winger situation is looking rosier for the future.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGwWGyXgXmU[/video] Alert, you have been warned, the sabre is waking up.
I missed the game... was feeling ill and had to lay down. From what i hear, I missed a hell of a game. Tip of the cap to Buffalo... way to battle.
