All Posts

Today’s ESPN FHL scoreboard highlights East Division Team Fitzgerald earning nearly 40 points in the last two days to become the only team to score over 60 points for the week building a 23.8 advantage over division rival Team Beaulieu.

In the West Division Team Iglesias now has the ice thin 1.8 points lead versus Buffalo Winter after scoring approximately three and half more points than their West Division rival last night.

Second place in the East Division team Buffalo Sabres collected 8.3 points last night to increase their weekly matchup lead over Team ALEX by 9.8 points in their divisional conflict.

First place in the East Division Downton Flyers after absorbing a negative 2.2 deficit score for last night’s efforts remain 4.7 points ahead of Team Beaty halfway through the week.

The West Division and League leader Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap battles for division supremacy against their division’s second-place team, Team Borowicz as these teams are separated by half a dozen points.

SABRES NEWS 2 KNOW

If Mr. Dahlin scores tonight versus the Calgary Flames it will be in his fourth game in a row equaling a Sabres record set 34 years before by defenseman extraordinaire Mr. Phil Housley, the only Buffalo defenseman to score in four consecutive games.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

The NHL has unveiled 32 “Reverse Retro” Hockey sweaters and each NHL team will sport one of these during the 2022-2023 regular NHL season.

As an artist, I can appreciate the newer designs and color schemes, mostly. Additionally, a model or two that can smile and not appear belligerent might make them more appealing.

The NHL has scheduled 12 games from seven to ten o’clock with Buffalo taking on Calgary with the opening faceoff at 9:30 this evening.  

Fortunately, the LM for our league was able to “catch” a miscalculation by ESPN fantasy Hockey for Team ALEX and with the correction Team ALEX gets accredited with their well-deserved weekly matchup win in week one.

This afternoon’s FHL scoreboard reflects Team Fitzgerald leading every other team by at least 10 points and with an 18.2 points lead over Team Beaulieu in their weekly matchup.

In the West Division teams, Buffalo Winter after scoring over 20 points last night has skated to an ice thin 1.6 points lead over Team Iglesias as each of these teams battles to earn their first weekly matchup victory.

The Second and Third place teams in the East Division teams Buffalo Sabres and Team ALEX are so evenly matched that they are within a point and a half of each other as well as each having earned a winning daily point total.

First place in the League and East Division team Downton Flyers is maintaining a solid 10.5 lead over Team Beaty in their inter-division matchup and if Team Beaty can keep shaving off the points each night could come within striking distance towards the end of the week.

The top two teams in the West Division, Team Borowicz and first-place team Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap are off to a slow start as each team has a single-digit effort for one night of competition in their weekly matchup.

SABRES NEWS 2 KNOW

Buffalo’s impressive road victory over Edmonton last night was an exciting game fueled by the Sabres first power-play goal of the season courtesy of Mr. Dahlin and Mr. Thompson scoring his first of the season.

A pass from Mr. Hinostroza to release Mr. Peterka on a breakaway, he converted into his second goal of the season to put Buffalo up by two assisting the Sabres to score twice in the second period for the 3-1 lead.  

Just 93 seconds remaining in the contest and the Oilers score to make it 3-2 affording the opportunity to pull the goalie and they do and pay for it as Mr. Tuch literally has to muscle off an Oilers player twice while skating in to score with 4.9 seconds remaining.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

The Ottawa Senators spayed snow all over Boston’s undefeated record as the Bruins scored five times but not enough to win during the Senators Home Opener as Ottawa tallied eight times (one ruled “no goal”) last night for their 7-5 final for their first win of the season.

This morning’s FHL scoreboard highlights this week’s matchups and after one week of competition the number one team in the league and West Division team Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap is matched up against the second place team in the West Division Team Borowicz.

First place in the East Division team Downton Flyers will be challenged by Team Beaty from the West Division although ranked differently in their divisions these two teams are evenly matched as far as points scored for and against.

West Division rivals teams Buffalo Winter and Team Iglesias begin battling for division supremacy and with Team Iglesias with nearly two dozen assists and Buffalo Winter leading in SOG (shots on goal) this interesting conflict could go either way.

To remain in second place in the East Division team Buffalo Sabres will endeavor to keep East Division antagonist Team ALEX a team who has earned slightly more points across the board in check.

Team Beaulieu will attempt to gain their first win versus inter-division last place and the lowest-scoring team in the league to date opposes Team Fitzgerald a team whose misfortunes will turn positive as Team Fitzgerald leads the league in hits and a solid third place overall in blocks.

SABRES NEWS 2 KNOW

Head Coach Granato quoted on the loss to the reigning President Trophy-winning Florida Panthers:

“Looking at specifically the third period, love our compete out of our guys I mean our guys played with a chip, and they played hard, and I loved that response.”

HC Granato went on to explain they might have started slowly but picked up the intensity against a very good team and he is impressed with the level of play for game two of the season.

 AROUND THE LEAGUE

HC Boudreau of the Vancouver Canucks attempts to earn win “600” as he faces his former team at the Capital One Arena tonight as the Canucks are winless in their first two and the Capitals managing one win in their first three games.

The NHL has scheduled nine games for this evening beginning at seven o’clock with one late start on the West Coast.

At the official end of the first ESPN FHL weekly matchups this Sunday there are no NHL games scheduled an oddity in part created by the Global Series early season start in Czechia.

This evening’s FHL scoreboard reflects the five winners with Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap the only team to hit 100 points with the average league total leveling off at 86 points for the week.

With the rare Sunday quiet except for Holidays team managers should take this lacuna to add to or to create a “watch list” which benefits the team manager’s ability to utilize the waiver wire to their best advantage.

Life is more important than any fantasy league of course, but one of the rigors to becoming a successful FHL team manager is daily maintenance, and realistically that at minimum could amount to just five or ten minutes a day.

One of the more daunting realizations for some FHL team managers is the actual length of over five months and, with little exception, to managing the team every day to gain enough winning weekly matchups to earn one of four playoff spots.

SABRES NEWS 2 KNOW

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Both the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders teams scored seven goals last night against their opponents which earned the two their first wins of the season.

This morning’s FHL scoreboard reflects the top four teams all scoring more than 60 points with team Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap leading the pack but only leading Team Iglesias by 7.2 points in their weekly matchup.

Team Beaulieu earning the second most points in the league this week scored 6.8 points last night and has increased the lead by 15.4 points over Downton Flyers who had no eligible players to earn points last night.

Team Beaty and Team Borowicz remain the same point gap apart as these two teams scored 13.5 and 13 points respectively yesterday heading into today’s 14 games the last day of the first FHL week.

Not taking advantage of their own point-producing players as they sit on the bench Team ALEX has fallen even further behind than necessary to Buffalo Winter and with today being the last scheduled NHL games for the FHL week, roster management is a must.

Even with three players 2 (IR), and 1 (O) on their roster team Buffalo Sabres have built a solid 17.8-point lead over Team Fitzgerald who is inserting all eligible players so for today’s 28 NHL teams in action each team manager has an opportunity to earn massive points.

Sabres News 2 Know

For this afternoon’s contest downtown at the arena versus the Panthers the Sabres are hosting HOCKTOBERFEST a Party in the Plaza starting at 11am this morning with live music, beer specials, food, and children’s activities planned.

Around the League

The Winnipeg Jets in their Home Opener stop the New York Rangers in their skates with a 4-1 victory with Mr Scheifele scoring the Jets first goal of the season and the third on seven shots with Mr Hellebuyck’s .976 save percentage.

The NHL has 28 teams playing today affording all FHL team managers an opportunity to earn positive points, and get a better perspective on which players are or not contributing, populating the team’s watch list for improved waiver wire movement.

Team Iglesias earned 32.8 points last night and leftover 10 points on the bench in an attempt to overtake team Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap who scored 28.8 points with no points left on the bench in the closest battle this week.

The Waiver Report has announced a team name and nickname change for Team Fazzone who is now known as “Doughty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”, nickname “DDDD”, apparently an AC/DC and Drew Doughty fan.

Buffalo Winter has begun to pick up steam scoring near 25 points last night to take a 14.4 lead over Team ALEX who could improve by inserting eligible players from the bench into the lineup to ensure the team receives all points earned.

Team Fitzgerald and team Buffalo Sabres were earning within four points of each other last night but overall the weekly gap is 16.7 points which would be a lot closer if Team Fitzgerald would have possibly collected the over nine points left on the bench.

Endeavouring to catch and pass Team Beaty, Team Borowicz scored over 21 points last night while leaving over six points on the bench, when your team has open slots in the lineup team managers would do well to insert eligible point-producing players.

Sabres News 2 know

The Sabres JJ Peterka scored his first NHL goal during Buffalo’s first game of the season at the Home Opening victory over Ottawa.

The Buffalo Sabres are the youngest team in the NHL with an average age of 25 years old and the league is at 27.4 years of age on average, ironically the Sabres also have the oldest active player in the league with Mr. Anderson at 41 years of age.

Around the League

Ovi and the boys are off to a 0-2 start as Toronto scores a goal in each period to beat Washington 3-2 in the Maple Leafs Home Opener.

The Rangers have picked up where they left off last regular season, on a winning note, cruising through their first two contests and leading the league in goal differential.

The NHL has scheduled four games tonight beginning at seven o’clock this evening and finishing up with a West Coast game at 10:30 EST.

This morning’s FHL scoreboard reflects Team Beaulieu earning over 26 points leading the league with nearly 40 points and doubling up on their weekly opponent Downton Flyers but with four more nights of NHL action, no lead is permanent.

Second-place overall team Buffalo Sabres the only other team to acquire 30 or more points has put together an 11.5-point lead over Team Fitzgerald in their weekly matchup which could have been a larger deficit if all point producers were off the bench.

Buffalo Winter scored over 17 points despite a -5.6 point deficit from the goaltender to overtake and build a 6.8-point lead over Team ALEX a team that unfortunately left over 12 points on the bench.

Team Iglesias scores three more points than Team Fazzone as these two teams seem evenly matched as their totals are separated by approximately half a dozen points which might have been less if some of the point-producing players were put into the lineup.

Team Borowicz over 11 points behind Team Beaty could have been within three points if the eligible players that generated over eight points were active in the lineup and not on their bench, fortunately, there is time remaining in the weekly matchup to earn or lose the lead. 

It is the first week of ESPN FHL and team managers have to readjust their personal time to be able to invest the necessary effort in their team, or all is for naught.

The NHL has another full rink of games as 20 teams take to the ice this evening including the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Ottawa Senators in their Home Opener led by newly anointed Captain, Mr. Okposo.

BUFFALO SABRES NEWS 2 KNOW

“We don’t talk about him enough,” Dahlin said. “He’s an amazing guy on and off the ice. … It’s super easy to have a guy like that. He plays the right way and (goes) great places with the puck. He’s a guy that you can really trust.”  This quote was reported by Mr. LaBarber at Sabres.com

AROUND THE NHL

Toronto has their Home Opener tonight versus Washington who just had their skates handed to them in their Home Opener last night by Boston while the Leafs were losing a close road opener to the Canadiens so this should be one entertaining struggle for a first win.

This morning’s FHL scoreboard reflects Team Beaty after the first four NHL games played has a solid 15-point total and a 6.1 lead over Team Borowicz in their first weekly matchup.

Team Buffalo Winter has managed four points with a losing goaltender still generating positive points but has some ice to make up as Team ALEX has a 9.2 advantage.

An interesting battle between Team Beaulieu and Downton Flyers has emerged as these teams are separated by only .8 of a point.

Team Buffalo Sabres earning double digits are within half a point of doubling up on Team Fitzgerald for their weekly matchup.

For some FHL team managers who did not have players or positive point-producing players for the first four NHL games, their low scores are not indicative of how the end of this week’s totals will yield.

As Team Iglesias gets on the board against Team Fazzone and neither team generates double digits in positive points this is still considered too close to call  

In their Home Opener newly anointed Captain Trouba and the New York Rangers took it to Tampa Bay by overwhelming them with SOG, HITS, and FO% as well as Mr. Zibanejad scoring shorthanded and on the power play for the 3-1 victory.

The Los Angeles Kings drop their Home Opener in the last half a minute of the game as Mr. Quick was outstanding in net absorbing over 50 SOG but Las Vegas was able to pull out the last-minute victory on Captain Stone’s goal.

Today’s Waiver Report highlights two team managers making moves in the past two days as Buffalo Winter drops Mr. Graves to make roster room for Mr. Boeser to come off IR.

Tonight the NHL gets into full swing as there are a dozen NHL teams in action affording most FHL team managers an opportunity to generate positive points and ensure all available players are off the bench and in the lineup tonight.

Dave Dryden was the backup goaltender to Gerry Cheevers on their Toronto Marlboros Major Junior Hockey team in the late fifties and early sixties this true journeyman goaltender has played for no less than 15 different teams across seven leagues.

Dave was an inch or two shorter than his younger brother each was over six feet tall and well-educated and both had a passion to play in net but their career paths were completely different as well as their skills and talents.

Few fans realize that Dave contributed so much to the goaltender position as far as equipment innovation but even fewer people know that he also was an amateur photographer that worked with a small Toronto company called Telecraft Films that created highlight content for the Sabres.

His camera/helmet gear looks so cumbersome and barbaric compared to what technology is available today, ironically the film footage shot by Mr. Dryden was not used in the movie it was meant for.

Mr. Dryden played in 10 games with a three-goalie rotation during Buffalo’s Inaugural NHL Season and earned decent stats across the board, in his second season with Buffalo, he played double the amount of games as Mr. Crozier’s only backup goaltender for the season and did not do as well. 

Mr. Dryden’s third season with the Sabres was the charm as he was over 900 save percentage, a 2.65 GAA, and three shutouts, earning a 14-13-7 record as the backup goaltender as well as starting Buffalo’s first two playoff games.

Mr. Dryden’s fourth and last season with Buffalo at 32 years of age became the starter earning a 23-20-8 record on a team with a 32-34-12 overall record.

Mr. Dryden jumped to the WHA Chicago Cougars and then became an Edmonton Oilers player where he remained and was part of their first season in the NHL where Mr. Dryden was one of six goaltenders for Edmonton and played 14 games winning two and retired from playing after the 1979-80 season.

An average to good goaltender Mr. Dryden should not be remembered as a footnote or in the shadow of his brother but as a major NHL innovator of modern goaltending equipment and as a journeyman NHL goaltender who earned positive statistics as well as an outstanding WHA goalie.

I was a 12-year-old boy when Mr. Dryden left my boys for the WHA, and now in my later years I have watched him leave again, and although I never met him I have included the Dryden family in my thoughts and prayers.

San Jose and Nashville in Prague, Czech Republic

After the first two 2022-23 NHL regular season games, the FHL scoreboard this afternnon highlights team Buffalo Sabres maintaining the overall lead on the strength of yesterday’s goaltender’s 8-point production with team Downton Flyers following closely with 6.9 points.

The Global Series’ first two regular-season contests went well for Nashville and FHL team managers with at least one player from either San Jose or Nashville.

The Sharks Czech Republic native Mr. Hertl received yet another standing ovation to begin the game and ironically he gets whistled for a high sticking penalty five seconds into the game.

Nashville’s backup goaltender played the game of his career to hold off the onslaught of a near 3 to 1 SOG San Jose advantage with the Sharks scoring first, winning more faceoffs, and scoring on the Power Play but the Predators hold on for a 3-2 victory.

The next two NHL games are scheduled for this coming Tuesday, Oct 11^th with an East Coast game in New York as the Rangers host the Lighting and out West the Knights travel to Los Angeles to play the Kings.

Team managers could use this slight pause at the beginning of the season to readjust their rosters by reassigning injured players, acquiring another goaltender, and ensuring players available are off the bench.