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81 Transactions / No goaltenders / Third Overall

Here along the Lake We have another team manager eliminated from playoff contention and the top five teams are in a quagmire of parity competing for the four playoff seedings.

Transactions In the past five days three team managers have been busy; there are defensemen that I rotate in and out of my weekly lineup, usually the ones rated at 1.7 points per game on average which is just low enough that most team managers do not notice them, but these defensemen are the ones who get me the most blocks, and the half points earned from them add up quickly.

This is why I am consistently moving (D) Chiarot, (D) Cole, (D) Pesce & (D) Lindell in and out of my lineup depending on which NHL team is playing and how many of my weekly allotment of transactions I have used, I am not losing anything even if another team manager selects one of these players for their roster because there are plenty of 1.7 rated players to go around.

My previous two transactions were to drop (D) Chiarot (rated 1.7) and added (D) Montour (rated 1.9) which strengthens my roster considerably, fortunately I am reviewing my watch list and the “add players” listing each day to notice which players are trending up to add to my watch list.

These are players I am currently monitoring, (D) Cole is rated a low 1.5 but has 98 blocks which can be useful and his NHL team Utah is the number one wild card seeded team in the Western Conference, so this player’s rating is a bit misleading so that most team managers will dismiss this player’s ability to contribute.

Six weekly matchups remaining before the playoff seedings are frozen and this final stretch of weeks is going to be interesting indeed.

Overly Officious

Sabres 4 Wild 5 (OT) The Buffalo Sabres were tied by the Minnesota Wild in a closely played game which saw both teams take the lead and score all their regulation goals and earned penalties including a fight in the first two periods.

During the second period the Wild were able to take a 3-1 lead just one minute into the period, then Buffalo scored three straight goals to not only tie the game but take the 4-3 before Minnesota was able to tie the score 4-4 before the end of the period.

The Sabres 9 SOG and the Wild 10 SOG could not score in the third period and neither team were whistled for a penalty until the Referee called a weak hooking infraction on Buffalo with only 11 seconds remaining in a tight 4-4 game handing Minnesota a power play to begin overtime with.

The Minnesota Wild earned a tie with the 5-4 overtime victory in the two-game regular season series with the Buffalo Sabres as each team won on the road, and now the Sabres embark on a five-game road trip beginning on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this Monday afternoon at 1:30 pm EST versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

Sabres (C) Thompson records Hat Trick

Sabres 5 – Canadiens 3 (en) There were many red Canadien sweaters in attendance last night and at times in some seating sections it looked as if Buffalo was on the road, but Montreal fan support was not enough as Buffalo defeats their division rival.

Buffalo’s rookie (G) Ellis looked a bit shaky at times earning only a .870% save percentage but was an absolute ice wall as he stopped all Montreal third period shots on goal preserving a Sabres one-goal lead until (C) Thompson completed his hat trick with the empty net goal for the 5-3 score and victory.

The Sabres fell behind twice but never panicked even when the Canadiens scored with the 5-on-3 power play to tie the game at two apiece early in the second period the Sabres did not falter and with the win have tied Montreal 1-1 in their four-game regular season series.

Buffalo hosts the Minnesota Wild who are the Western Conference’s third best and NHL’s fourth best team overall this coming Saturday afternoon at 12:30 pm EST in the Sabres final and fifth game of this current five-game homestand.

Efficacy Wins the Day

Sabres 5 – Flyers 2 (en) The Sabres scored twice on the power play, twice even strength, and one shorthanded empty net goal, led by Captain (D) Dahlin’s two power play goals and Buffalo’s (G) Luukkonen who earned a solid .909% save percentage and thrilled the home crowd early in the game with one outstanding highlight reel glove save.

Buffalo scored four times on just 11 SOG over two periods of play, quality over quantity, of course more volume is going to be necessary for some games, additionally the game was nationally televised on TNT with humorous host & commentator former NHL (LW) Bissonette providing some fun insights from his spot between the benches.

Although the Flyers were penalized for cross-checking, slashing, roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct the Sabres were not, and Buffalo stuck to their game plan while continuing to play efficiently and productively by taking and holding the lead all game ultimately bringing down the broad street bullies.

The Buffalo Sabres in the second game of a back-to-back are hosting the Montreal Canadiens tonight at 7 pm EST in the fourth game of the Sabres five-game homestand.

When NHL goaltenders dropped the gloves and fought

Here along the Lake There are many hockey content creators on notyourtube and this gem was posted by Classic Buffalo Sports Video highlighting a late 1990s version of the Sabres beating the daylights out of their opponent.

This unfortunately is what happens when the officials lose control of a game, not all the blame lays at the skates of the Referee (only one) and two Linesmen, players contribute as well when players stick up for one another…over, and over again.

There is a meme that states, “Life should be like hockey, if someone angers you, beat the snot out of them, then sit down for five minutes.”, it is always amusing when an athlete from a different professional sport watches a hockey altercation for the first time and wonders aloud, “Are they allowed to do that?”.

In today’s NHL we still witness scrums to full blown donnybrooks, and violent boarding/checking/slashing plays, but mostly the “fighting” that occurs in the NHL today is more…jostling than anything else, the gloves are not dropped as quickly as they were in past seasons.

Do fisticuffs have a place in ice hockey, most definitely, should it be? Well, this is a volatile subject with many people explaining that it does, and some say that it should not.

Bottom line, if blackeyes and bloody noses make you squeamish perhaps a more sedate game would be more palatable, for example…curling or golf.