Ryan Wilson: GAMEDAY: Penguins vs. Sabres 7PM at Consol Energy Center Penguins take on the Buffalo Sabres who will be playing their third game in four nights.

4 to 2 Pens!!

That 2nd line still looks good. Bennett is not afraid to shoot and with Malkin setting him up, he could have a big game. Also hoping jefferey can do well in the 3rd and pick up where he left off a few years ago

Great write up Ryan.

Do you guys think D'Agostini will have a spot on this team if everyone is healthy? If Kobasew keeps playing this way, the only possible spot would be on the 4th line. I don't see D'Agostini being successful in that role.

Do you guys think D'Agostini will have a spot on this team if everyone is healthy? If Kobasew keeps playing this way, the only possible spot would be on the 4th line. I don't see D'Agostini being successful in that role.
- mw630

@penguins
Coach Bylsma expects Matt D'Agostini to return to practice around Oct. 16th or 18th. #Pens

Neal still injured?

Neal still injured?
- bradstar

Week to week, not day to day.

@penguins
Coach Bylsma expects Matt D'Agostini to return to practice around Oct. 16th or 18th. #Pens
- Ryan_Wilson

I'm just curious where he would fit in? Take Glass's spot? He's not due for another point for about 40 more games.

"Having Matt Niskanen on the team to play a bottom pairing role makes the Penguins a better team. It was nice that they were able to find a way to become cap compliant without trading him."

Nice? Able to find a way?

Um, it took Vokoun having a life-threatening medical condition. That's not nice. And that wasn't the ingenuity of management finding away.

"Having Matt Niskanen on the team to play a bottom pairing role makes the Penguins a better team. It was nice that they were able to find a way to become cap compliant without trading him."

Nice? Able to find a way?

Um, it took Vokoun having a life-threatening medical condition. That's not nice. And that wasn't the ingenuity of management finding away.
- crazzzy

Actually Shero had said on numerous occasions before the Vokoun injury that he would not need to make a trade to become cap compliant.

Actually Shero had said on numerous occasions before the Vokoun injury that he would not need to make a trade to become cap compliant.
- Ryan_Wilson

He said that, but the numbers never backed that up until Vokoun went down with injury. He would've had to trade Niskanen or Jokinen to make the Pens cap compliant. Even sending down - permanently - Bennett and Despres and trading Glass wouldn't have made it work.

I think he was holding onto everybody as long as possible in case something like this happened close to the start of the season. And I also think he was bluffing other GMs, not wanting to sell low on Niskanen when the time came.

He said that, but the numbers never backed that up until Vokoun went down with injury. He would've had to trade Niskanen or Jokinen to make the Pens cap compliant. Even sending down - permanently - Bennett and Despres and trading Glass wouldn't have made it work.

I think he was holding onto everybody as long as possible in case something like this happened close to the start of the season. And I also think he was bluffing other GMs, not wanting to sell low on Niskanen when the time came.
- crazzzy

The numbers are way too complicated for me or you to say what is and what was possible. That is what makes Jason Botterill such a huge asset for the organization.

The numbers are way too complicated for me or you to say what is and what was possible. That is what makes Jason Botterill such a huge asset for the organization.
- Ryan_Wilson

The numbers on capgeek.com are remarkably accurate, from what I understand. And their cap calculator allows you to do exactly what Botterill does. It's actually not that hard if you understand both math and the CBA. It's not rocket science.

The numbers on capgeek.com are remarkably accurate, from what I understand. And their cap calculator allows you to do exactly what Botterill does. It's actually not that hard if you understand both math and the CBA. It's not rocket science.
- crazzzy

Botterill specifically stated that those numbers were not accurate and that they had more room.

Capgeek is definitely the best resource available, but it is not perfect.

Botterill specifically stated that those numbers were not accurate and that they had more room.

Capgeek is definitely the best resource available, but it is not perfect.
- Ryan_Wilson

I'm aware of that quote from him. But I also plugged in his exact personnel moves to their cap calculator the moment it was announced who the sent down, called up, put on IR, etc. And the numbers worked perfectly. I didn't see any error in that function.

It's possible that he doesn't pay a ton of attention to the site, being that he is a professional cap guy and surely has his own spreadsheet or the like, and that he only took a cursory look at it. If you don't look closely, you only notice the salary numbers that include bonuses, which aren't accurate for usage and cap compliance at the beginning of a season. But if you use the cap calculator function, it does take that into account, ignoring bonuses that haven't yet been earned. I surmise that he simply hasn't perused the site and that specific app thoroughly because he doesn't need to. Whereas a fan, or a blogger, having only that app at our fingertips, probably are more aware of how well it truly works.

Or I could be wrong. I'm not perfect.

However, Zemgus Girgensons is going to be a player the Buffalo faithful enjoy for a long time. His development has been quick and he looks like he is ready to take the next step at the NHL level. I would put his development path ahead of other 1st round pick Mikhail Grigorenko.

This is incredibly accurate, and incredibly problematic as well. The Sabres lack elite talent currently, and lack elite talent potential in their system as well. They have a lot of guys who can be "solid", but very few elite. Grigorenko is one of the few prospects in this pool that has the talent to be elite. And for whatever reason, it's not showing any sign of translating. Girgensons is going to be good, and has the work ethic that Western New Yorkers fall in love with, one could argue to a fault, but unless the Sabres acquire an elite playmaker or scorer down the road, either in the draft or by trade, they need Grigorenko's development to surpass Girgensons', or they will not be going that far, either now, or later down the road.

This is incredibly accurate, and incredibly problematic as well. The Sabres lack elite talent currently, and lack elite talent potential in their system as well. They have a lot of guys who can be "solid", but very few elite. Grigorenko is one of the few prospects in this pool that has the talent to be elite. And for whatever reason, it's not showing any sign of translating. Girgensons is going to be good, and has the work ethic that Western New Yorkers fall in love with, one could argue to a fault, but unless the Sabres acquire an elite playmaker or scorer down the road, either in the draft or by trade, they need Grigorenko's development to surpass Girgensons', or they will not be going that far, either now, or later down the road.
- buffalofan19

Also incredibly accurate.

This is incredibly accurate, and incredibly problematic as well. The Sabres lack elite talent currently, and lack elite talent potential in their system as well. They have a lot of guys who can be "solid", but very few elite. Grigorenko is one of the few prospects in this pool that has the talent to be elite. And for whatever reason, it's not showing any sign of translating. Girgensons is going to be good, and has the work ethic that Western New Yorkers fall in love with, one could argue to a fault, but unless the Sabres acquire an elite playmaker or scorer down the road, either in the draft or by trade, they need Grigorenko's development to surpass Girgensons', or they will not be going that far, either now, or later down the road.
- buffalofan19

You would think they would be trying to get talent in the pipeline for the future.

You would think they would be trying to get talent in the pipeline for the future.
- powerhouse

They've been trying to play the "whole is better than the sum of its parts" game for years. However, they seem to miss the fact that at least some of the parts still need to be of top quality.

Enroth in net. Hackett as backup. Should be an opportunity to ramp up the pace a bit more. Bennett and Jokinen on Malkin's line will be interesting but both those guys have admitted that the lines will scramble. We may even see Glass out there with them...


Grigorenko and Girgensons on Buffalo's 3rd line could be fun to watch on a side note.

Enroth in net. Hackett as backup. Should be an opportunity to ramp up the pace a bit more. Bennett and Jokinen on Malkin's line will be interesting but both those guys have admitted that the lines will scramble. We may even see Glass out there with them...


Grigorenko and Girgensons on Buffalo's 3rd line could be fun to watch on a side note.
- HopintheCordoba

Last night Girgensons was with Flynn and Porter

He said that, but the numbers never backed that up until Vokoun went down with injury. He would've had to trade Niskanen or Jokinen to make the Pens cap compliant. Even sending down - permanently - Bennett and Despres and trading Glass wouldn't have made it work.

I think he was holding onto everybody as long as possible in case something like this happened close to the start of the season. And I also think he was bluffing other GMs, not wanting to sell low on Niskanen when the time came.
- crazzzy

I'm not sure what your point is... Because of the injury situations, they didn't have to make any moves. If everyone was healthy, they'd have to do something to get under the cap, and that would probably involve sending players down that they didn't want to, or moving someone for next to nothing in return. But that didn't have to happen, so we hold on to all of our assets.

At some point, you gotta think that the players will get healthy (crossing fingers), and Shero will have to make a move, but at that point later in the season, other teams will have injuries and we can actually get a decent return.

I'm not sure what your point is... Because of the injury situations, they didn't have to make any moves. If everyone was healthy, they'd have to do something to get under the cap, and that would probably involve sending players down that they didn't want to, or moving someone for next to nothing in return. But that didn't have to happen, so we hold on to all of our assets.

At some point, you gotta think that the players will get healthy (crossing fingers), and Shero will have to make a move, but at that point later in the season, other teams will have injuries and we can actually get a decent return.
- rival22

I agree with this.

Anyone looking for streams this season, check out reddit...

I don't really get reddit, or totally understand it (or even have a login), but there are nice threads started for each game with info and links. Here's tonights:
http://www.reddit.com/r/h...sabres_020_at_pittsburgh/

VLC streams are an absolute game changer this season... You can find a FAQ on how to use them through google or searching on reddit, but they are basically free HD streams. Really great stuff...