Official 2015 tank thread IV

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

You think suckiness is your ally, but you merely adopted the suck. We were born in it, molded by it.

 

[Beerz]

Least Canucks beating the Islanders.

 

[cybresabre]

Least Canucks beating the Islanders.

Aaaand now it's 3-2. I still can't believe some of you don't believe that messages on this board are directly impacting events in the real world.

Harrington is now going after me for calling him a clown. Oh, fun. And I thought I was going to get work done tonight.

What does the man have against clowns? Clowns visit hospitals and cheer up ill children all the time. First he drops the R-word, offending millions, now he wants ill children to be miserable?

 

[B U F F A L O]

Aaaand now it's 3-2. I still can't believe some of you don't believe that messages on this board are directly impacting events in the real world.


What does the man have against clowns? Clowns visit hospitals and cheer up ill children all the time. First he drops the R-word, offending millions, now he wants ill children to be miserable?

Let me test this thing out... the Canucks are going to win!

 

[cybresabre]

Let me test this thing out... the Canucks are going to win!

You fool! Don't you know what you've done?!

You have to be more specific, anyway. Barring some tragic cosmic event, a Cascadian secession movement, or dissolution of the the NHL, the Canucks will both win and lose games.

Edit: Oh, I see--the game's over. If the jinx didn't work, that must mean the worse jinx was the Islanders losing. Uh oh.

 

[1972]

Positives, Edmonton has really improved and is getting compenent goaltending and Eberle and Nuge are playing great. Only 4 points it should only be a matter of time if they continue to play well.

 

[Zip15]

Given the opponents of our competitors, holding serve and not losing ground was about the best I could've hoped for heading into last night. Obviously, it would've been nice for Carolina and Edmonton to earn at least a loser point, but it wasn't to be. We are still in good shape. Thursday night another must-lose game at Carolina.

 

[dasaybz]

Wondering if the Sabres will win another game this year ....

 

[Sabretooth]

Love that he thinks that there's a functional difference between sports journalists and sports talk radio hosts.

I think his point is that WGR is the official radio station of the Buffalo Sabres. Not that I agree with him or think it matters, but that's the dumb argument he's trying to make.

So Harrington is FOR media censorship basically.

Not that I agree with the dumbass, but no "free speech" is being violated here by anyone, as I don't see any goverments stepping in here passing any laws or arresting anyone based on what WGR says about the sabres.

If WGR said something the sabres didn't like, the sabres would be well within their rights to pull their broadcast rights and settle any contract obligations. Just like if a pro athlete says something unpopular, advertisers will drop their endorsements, and that is not illegal censorship or a violation of free speech either.

 

[Zip15]

So we're halfway home.

We have 31 pts in 41 games. Excluding shootout team goals, we have a -67 goal differential. Last season we had 26 pts at the same juncture and a goal differential of -49. We finished last season with a (non-shootout) goal differential of -93. We are on pace for a -134 goal differential this season.

Last year, we had scored 67 non-shootout goals through 41 games. This season, we have 72 non-shootout goals. Last year, we finished with 150 non-shootout goals, so if you double our current total, we will finish with 144 goals, or six fewer than last year.

Of our final 41 games, we play 22 on the road where we are 4-14-1. Extrapolating that previous performance to the second half, we should expect to earn another 10-11 points on the road. We have 19 home games remaining. We are 10-10-2 at home (.500).

Remaining home games for Tank Competitors (home games/total games remaining):

Edmonton - 19/41
Carolina - 23/42
Arizona - 21/41
New Jersey - 22/40
Philadelphia - 24/42

I only included teams below .500, to date.

 

[Gabrielor]

So, based on the math Zip provided, a 60-63 point finish.


I think a big pro-tank move would be to trade Mitchell once he's healthy.

 

[Husko]

So, based on the math Zip provided, a 60-63 point finish.


I think a big pro-tank move would be to trade Mitchell once he's healthy.

Agreed, the wheels feel off when he got hurt. He provided great stability to our second line. Can't have that.

 

[Zip15]

So, based on the math Zip provided, a 60-63 point finish.

I think a big pro-tank move would be to trade Mitchell once he's healthy.

It's tough to assume the final point total. Yes, they earned 31 pts in the first half, but do you think they have another 9-3-1 stretch in them where they repeatedly win shootouts in games that their goaltender stole for them? Then again, maybe the points get more evenly spread out as playoff contenders play conservative down the stretch, especially in 3rd periods to ensure themselves of at least one point? Is it likely that a team with a goal differential 35-40 goals worse than a 52-point team really finishes with 8-12 more points in the standings? Does the team get better swapping out guys like Stewart, Stafford, and (possibly) one of Enroth/Neuvirth for AHL-level guys who probably won't be expected to produce much in the NHL?

I suppose they could repeat earning 31 pts in the second half, but I'm skeptical. I'm thinking 25-27 pts over the final 41.

 

[truthbluth]

So, based on the math Zip provided, a 60-63 point finish.


I think a big pro-tank move would be to trade Mitchell once he's healthy.

Would rather resign him. Best pro tank move would be to trade Enroth before he gets hot again.

 

[Gabrielor]

The problem with moving Enroth is there's little behind him that appears ready to be the #1 guy next year. I agree that moving him would help the tank, but moving Neuvirth looks like the better move long-term.

As for Mitchell, he's the easiest move I make. Removing him removes some potential for center-stability, which could be credited in-part for our run earlier this year. Also, there would be plenty of options to fix our center structure next year. Girgensons,Reinhart,etc. growth. I'm also a big fan of going hard after Stoll.

 

[Gabrielor]

It's tough to assume the final point total. Yes, they earned 31 pts in the first half, but do you think they have another 9-3-1 stretch in them where they repeatedly win shootouts in games that their goaltender stole for them? Then again, maybe the points get more evenly spread out as playoff contenders play conservative down the stretch, especially in 3rd periods to ensure themselves of at least one point? Is it likely that a team with a goal differential 35-40 goals worse than a 52-point team really finishes with 8-12 more points in the standings? Does the team get better swapping out guys like Stewart, Stafford, and (possibly) one of Enroth/Neuvirth for AHL-level guys who probably won't be expected to produce much in the NHL?

I suppose they could repeat earning 31 pts in the second half, but I'm skeptical. I'm thinking 25-27 pts over the final 41.

A run could be had, but a few deadline moves could help prevent that, namely, Mitchell. Losing Stafford/Stewart/Neuvirth won't impact much, I'm more concerned about who comes in for them. Hopefully Rochester guys (if you're thinking pro-tank).

I just went off of your numbers in a vacuum where the past designates the future. Obviously won't happen, but securing less than 31 points is obviously ideal.

 

[Beerz]

The problem with moving Enroth is there's little behind him that appears ready to be the #1 guy next year. I agree that moving him would help the tank, but moving Neuvirth looks like the better move long-term.

As for Mitchell, he's the easiest move I make. Removing him removes some potential for center-stability, which could be credited in-part for our run earlier this year. Also, there would be plenty of options to fix our center structure next year. Girgensons,Reinhart,etc. growth. I'm also a big fan of going hard after Stoll.

Also with Mitchell... Flynn seemed to come back to his meh ways once Mitchell was hurt. Trading Mitchell would be a tank approved move as funny as it sounds.

 

[joshjull]

Also with Mitchell... Flynn seemed to come back to his meh ways once Mitchell was hurt. Trading Mitchell would be a tank approved move as funny as it sounds.

Not funny at all. I had suggested it during their little run. His emergence as the 2nd line center allowed the coaches to properly slot other players in roles they are better suited to at forward. Or mitigate the ice time of those that were really struggling. Since Mitchell has been out several players have been tried in his role and have been unable to handle it. Its led to the chaotic forward play we saw at the start of the year.

 

[NEcoli]

The problem with moving Enroth is there's little behind him that appears ready to be the #1 guy next year. I agree that moving him would help the tank, but moving Neuvirth looks like the better move long-term.

As for Mitchell, he's the easiest move I make. Removing him removes some potential for center-stability, which could be credited in-part for our run earlier this year. Also, there would be plenty of options to fix our center structure next year. Girgensons,Reinhart,etc. growth. I'm also a big fan of going hard after Stoll.

If they like Enroth that much, they can resign him in the off-season. Personally, I don't think he'd be all that hard to replace. He's an average starting goalie.

 

[Beerz]

Not funny at all. I had suggested it during their little run. His emergence as the 2nd line center allowed the coaches to properly slot other players in roles they are better suited to at forward. Or mitigate the ice time of those that were really struggling. Since Mitchell has been out several players have been tried in his role and have been unable to handle it. Its led to the chaotic forward play we saw at the start of the year.

While I agree... it still sounds funny to say.

 

[joshjull]

I don't even understand what would have set Harrington off recently? The WGR guys that are heavily pushing the tank have been doing it since the summer.

 

[joshjull]

While I agree... it still sounds funny to say.

Thats true


As an aside I would like to see him re-signed in the summer. he would be the perfect stop gap vet center.

 

[MayDay]

I don't even understand what would have set Harrington off recently? The WGR guys that are heavily pushing the tank have been doing it since the summer.

He's a professional troll. It's what he does for a living.

He doesn't need any particular thing to "set him off." Inciting people to hate him is its own motivation.

 

[joshjull]

He's a professional troll. It's what he does for a living.

He doesn't need any particular thing to "set him off." Inciting people to hate him is its own motivation.

So its just his typical schtick and nothing actually caused it.

 

[Gabrielor]

I don't even understand what would have set Harrington off recently? The WGR guys that are heavily pushing the tank have been doing it since the summer.

When you can't write informative or interesting articles, you can always start controversy instead.