What an amazing game. To see the place explode on the OT winner and all the depressing Habs fans was so great. I was chirping them and throwing OLE OLE all the way from my seat to my car. They really couldn't handle it. Nothing beats it.

Not if we take them lightly. We have turned a lot of trends around this year (e.g. our performance against Boston). I pray we do not take them lightly or they may turn the tide. We need to come out flying against those Sabres and bury them early.

Meszaros was also not top 4 in his rookie year, he played much more sheltered minutes than Karlsson has been seeing what with playing the likes of Malkin.

Yes and no. I vaguely remember him playing some crazy minutes towards the end of his first season when we had a bunch of defencemen all out with injuries. Sure enough, I've posted below his ice time over that 10 game stretch. Those 37 minutes against Buffalo are particularly ridiculous. If I remember correctly it was this stretch that had most of us here (myself included) anointing him the future #1 D and comparing him to Phaneuf.

Yes and no. I vaguely remember him playing some crazy minutes towards the end of his first season when we had a bunch of defencemen all out with injuries. Sure enough, I've posted below his ice time over that 10 game stretch. Those 37 minutes against Buffalo are particularly ridiculous. If I remember correctly it was this stretch that had most of us here (myself included) anointing him the future #1 D and comparing him to Phaneuf.

Yes and no. I vaguely remember him playing some crazy minutes towards the end of his first season when we had a bunch of defencemen all out with injuries. Sure enough, I've posted below his ice time over that 10 game stretch. Those 37 minutes against Buffalo are particularly ridiculous. If I remember correctly it was this stretch that had most of us here (myself included) anointing him the future #1 D and comparing him to Phaneuf.

Yes and no. I vaguely remember him playing some crazy minutes towards the end of his first season when we had a bunch of defencemen all out with injuries. Sure enough, I've posted below his ice time over that 10 game stretch. Those 37 minutes against Buffalo are particularly ridiculous. If I remember correctly it was this stretch that had most of us here (myself included) anointing him the future #1 D and comparing him to Phaneuf.

Yeah, but Karlsson hasn't played that many games in the top-4 either. I think its fair to say that there is reason to worry about whether Karlsson will meet his potential.

I'm not ready to annoint him as a Norris winner or anything, don't get me wrong, but his situation and Meszaros's situation in their first year are quite diffrent, which is all I was trying to point out.

Meszaros was playing protected minutes which led to his ridiculous +/-. He was quite impressive, but IMO Karlsson's performance is moreso. Despite not having played that many game in the top 4, during our franchise record streak Karlsson has been top 4, and has not been sheltered in any way shape or form.

There are no guarantees when it comes to potential, but since the healthy scratches, Karlsson has been playing excellent hockey.

You'd think that after Mezsaros people would be weary of calling a young defense man in his first year "franchise calibre"

Meszaros never did anything to warrant that label - anybody who called him "franchise caliber" was guilty of extreme wishful thinking. He never showed legitimate #1 upside, although there was reason to hope he could turn into a solid #2-3. Really, he never did anything particularly well - he had decent size and could show a bit of a mean streak time to time, but his mobility was below par, and in particular his offensive skills were always greatly exaggerated by the stats-obsessed like Fuhr. Half his goals were fluke wristers from the point, and his assist totals were obviously padded from playing a supporting role on a stacked PP. And no, i'm not just criticizing the guy after he's gone - I always expressed skepticism towards those hyping him up.

Karlsson couldn't be much more different. He has much higher upside because his skating and puck skills are much stronger. At the same time, he is undersized, meaning there isn't much room for error if his development doesn't go as hoped.

I love how Murray pulls boarder line franchise players with like mid round picks...unreal

Getzlaf, Perry, now Karlsson just to name a few...

If his picks pan out as they have then are we ever heading towards a bright future.

I LOVE YOU MURRAY AND I LOVE YOU KARLOSSON

Lots of franchise players come from the middle of the first round. That's not exceptional - historically first round picks have the greatest chance to make it to the NHL and to make an impact in the NHL, and the stars are almost as likely to come from the middle or tail end of the round as the first couple picks. So far Murray has drafted a handful of them - but it's important to remember that he has just as many failures as successes. He's been doing this for a very long time.

No hate with Murray on this one, as I'm really liking Karlsson. He's a pleasure to watch right now.