Taro T

It's counter intuitive that the offense-first LH D that can play either side that historically has had problems in his own end is a better fit to pair with the much better version of that than Jokiharju is, but here we are. On paper, the 2 way Jokiharju who was actually good in his own end when paired w/ the more defensively minded 2 way player Scandella should be an ideal partner for Dahlin, but the pairing simply hasn't worked to date. Am hopeful that Granato will see this & try Henri with Bryson when he's ready to come back. At this point have no issues w/ choosing Miller or Henri to sit depending upon opponent. Would not break up Dahlin- Butcher and would not break up Hagg-Pysyk. Bryson has been very good on the PK even though the 2 goals given up have come through his side on very well executed passes (to the back side against the B's & from the missed net shot pass in Joisey). Which leaves Miller or Henri as odd man out. And, to your point on Hagg, as said previously, he's been way better than expected. When Samuelsson is healthy would consider sending him down to get game action as though the team on paper really needs a true defensive defenseman, not sure that he should go in ahead of Henri (especially with not having played in a month). In all the Botterill era, the D was always a strength on paper but not in practice. Now that it should be a budding tire fire it's actually a strength. Seems to be a true testament to Steve Smith's coaching ability. And, no, did not see this hodge podge of D being a strength. Hopefully they can keep it up. There's no reason to believe they can't.

Fun game to be at. Was there with 1,800 - 2,200 close friends. No idea what the official attendance was, there were fewer in the building than opening night, which had previously set the bar. There were at least 14 sections in the 300's w/ 35 or fewer people in them. Behind both nets there were very few patrons. Sabres played them fairly evenly in the 1st but the quality of their chances were way better than the Sabres. Anderson stood on his head & Killorn helped by hitting him in the leg with an otherwise wide open net and then missing the net on another tap in. Unfortunately, hadn't finished laughing at that 2nd one when Butcher bumped him into Anderson (yeah, right). Killorn knew exactly what he was doing, but it was too likely that the refs would uphold the goal for Granato to risk the challenge. The league really needs to alter the system for challenging goalie interference because it's too risky at times to challenge even though there's a real chance the call should be overturned. The call is subjective. The league should have an off-ice official challenge that when it's close. Let the coach continue to decide if he wants to challenge off-sides - that isn't subjective. Though Barre-Boulet didn't make the game program he did play. And he's a guy that it still is puzzling about why Adams didn't make a claim on. He was OK, but would've been better than Bjork & he can play C. Was fun to watch both Cirelli & Stamkos get roughed up in the 1st a bit. They didn't give the Bolts much space but they will be susceptible to cross ice passes to the back side. There were guys getting space, but it would take a really good passing team to get the puck there. Fortunately the passes were just off or Anderson was ready to play superman, or the puck went to Killorn. 😉 Nice job getting the puck to Olofsson in his office to get the lead early. He's deadly from there but still surprised to see so many Sabres goals coming short side this season. Not sure that will be sustainable. With the long change in the 2nd, the Sabres definitely had a hard time getting guys off the ice and found themselves pinned in fairly well but they ready didn't give up nearly as many grade A chances as would've been expected had you been told the Sabres didn't get a single shot in the 1st 15 minutes or so. Did ANYBODY not related to him expect Cagiula to score on that breakaway? He did a great job fending off Sergachev & then making Elliott look silly again. Still think the Sabres got a 4th shot that period, but 3 was enough. Great job by Granato getting them to build off their strong final 5 minutes of the 2nd period as they marginally outplayed a better & presumably more desperate squad in the 3rd. Did anybody not related to him expect Hinostroza to score? The guy finally for once converted an opportunity. Yea! The refs were bad all game but it was beyond ridiculous in the 3rd. How did Stamkos not get at least 2 & deservedly 4 for the 2nd cross check on Cozens after the delayed call on Cernak's cross check of Dylan? How, just after TB pulled Elliott was there not GT interference for running over Anderson? How in the pseudo-scrum after the whistle (while the puck was loose in the corner) & 5 of the Bolts in the scrum did the faceoff stay in the Sabres zone? (Did that rule change recently?) How did icing get waived off? And the big Q of the night, how did Cooper think planning on going goalie-less for almost 6 minutes would be better than keeping Ellioott in net? (Well, maybe he watched him. But even still Elliott wasn't THAT bad.) That move worked out as bad as not playing Vasilievsky on b-t-b nights. Anderson won that. But the Sabres played hard enough that his heroics mattered. Really liked the D tonight. Though now that it's been mentioned by others, Miller does have a LOT of passes/shots blocked. He also had one puck sent from behind his own net into the slot in the 1st which could've turned the tide, but the C was alert & picked up the loose puck and got it out of harm's way. Still, as the 6th D-man, his gaffes are acceptable as he and Bryson had several strong plays to counteract them. Again, fun game to be at. Off to Anaheim. 96-1-1. 😉

Not going to argue this. It's really getting away from the point of the thread.

Good point. Hard to run the "interminable cycle" when 1 or 2 guys are setting up in front of the net waiting for the puck to get there. Granato's style is way more entertaining.

Eichel suffered under Krueger? Was on pace for over 100 points in a full season prior to injuries & shutdown in Ralph's 1st year. Reinhart suffered under him? Barely off his career pace in Ralph's 1st year. Olofsson suffered under him? Hall suffered under him? Ralph & Jack were the reasons he came to Buffalo. That's 2/3's of the top 2 lines. Before Hutton fell off the map in year 1, the team didn't have offensive issues. Small sample size. After stuff went sideways last year, due in large part to Covid issues, Ullmark breaking, & Eichel finally breaking to the point he couldn't play through then EVERYBODY suffered. Krueger didn't have an answer for how to get out of the tailspin. Until Ullmark came back, neither did Granato. And, until the Covid shutdown things weren't too far off pace from being where they needed to be. And that's w/ Hutton in the fold. IMHO, the reason Adams was comfortable with Granato as the interim coach was he'd spoken with him. Granato understands the game very well. And, after Smith thankfully also went out the door, there were 2 options available to him without going outside: promote Bales to interim or promote Granato. Suppose they could've promoted Appert, but that messes the Amerks up as well. So, going w/ Granato was a no brainer. Adams conducted an actual coaching search in the off-season & Granato won out. So far good on him.

He likely did use him that way. But Granato was not responsible for the D - that fell to Smith who is a bad coach. And, Granato worked X&O's within Krueger's philosophy. Again, both guys wanted fast skating & pressure on the puck carrier at 5v5. But they had significant philosophical differences as to whether to full on attack or to use more of a jiu jitsu counter attack. And, when Hutton was playing well, Krueger's forces countered more effectively and actually DID score, so just how fully they disagreed about philosophy may not be as big as we've assumed it is. That team that went 9-2-2 through October had 43 goals though 13 games not counting the SO victory credited goal. That's 3.31 GPG which is equivalent to 271 through 82 games. Right around the time the Tre White Goalie Academy skit came out, the wheels fell off. It remains to be seen what would happen to Granato's squads should Anderson hit a wall. (And hopefully, it DOESN'T get seen. 😉 ) Take away the 2 freebies Cooper willed the Sabres & this squad is under 3 GPG through 6. It looks good & is fun. But the Q remains whether it's sustainable. Hoping it is.

To your 1st sentence. Absolutely. Will, hopefully tonight, be posting observations from last night's game and a sentiment to that effect will go in there. They are very non-passive in their own end but they tend not to over pursue (which was even noticeable in Joisey when they were gassed). That is a product of coaching (not getting out of position when pressuring hard, Skinner showed what happens in OT when you do let your pursuit take you out of the play). But to the bolded, expect it was that, combined with having the Sabres playing the body which was likely not in the scouting report after the prior 2 games (both Cirelli & Stamkos took good hits in the 1st, fun times), AND a general disrespect of the Sabres. Cooper has a ridiculous record against the Sabres (nearly Belicheat-Brady level vs the Bills) and they're playing a Pens team that's on fire tonight. That probably went a ways towards missing open nets & misfiring on cross ice passes as well. By the time Anderson had survived the 1st, he was ready to face what they had in the 2nd. And though TB dominated the 1st 15 minutes of the 2nd, they didn't get the same quality of chances they had in the 1st. (At least that's how it looked from up above.) Aka, when the Bolts were ready to take things seriously, the Sabres were able to clean up their own end even though their own blue line seemed to be something they dare not cross for fear of dragons being on the other side. (That long distance to get to the bench is even further when the other team is pouring it on.)

A very interesting point. Prior to Krueger taking over ALWAYS went to at least 1 training camp practice every year. When Ralph took over, the Sabres said those were not open to the public. Wasn't about to drive 80 minutes to find out they were serious. Obviously practices weren't open last season. Recall hearing that they were open again this year, but was too busy to attend. Between work, home projects from h-e double hockey sticks, & family commitments attending this year was not in the cards. Even Rolston had his practices open to the public. That Ralph's weren't might be telling in it's own right.

They definitely do that & the former HC would've been having kittens. (In the Vancouver game the Sabres even iced it once because the high forward couldn't get back out of the 'Nucks zone.) But the key is, that's causing the opposing D to hang back. Which opens up space to get out of the zone.

Puck luck goes a long way. If Killorn scores on his 2 open nets & the goal that he runs over Anderson doesn't happen, that 2-0 lead is likely insurmountable, even with the shell of Elliott at the other end. If either of Marchand's cross checks get called, does that game go differently? And agreed, there was more than a bit of luck last night to make things jibe. But to a certain degree, you make your own luck. Cooper certainly did.

Had posted most of the following in the Granato thread a few days ago but wanted to give it its own thread because thought of 1 additional difference between the 2 that hadn't been included and realized there was 1 other 1 as well last night. And then have a couple of lesser observations to add, too. Not sure if this is the right spot for this, but wanted to compare Krueger's style vs Granato's now that we've actually got 3 games of Don getting to set & implement his whole scheme. Krueger and Granato both wanted the team to skate fast & put pressure on the other team. But thats where the similarity ends. Krueger always wanted his guys back on their side of the puck when the other team had control. He wanted to make sure a F dropped back pretty much fully should a D join/lead the rush & he would definitely reduce the forecheck with a lead. He didn't stress as much as Granato does having bodies in front of the other team's net even before the puck was there. He actually kind of frowned on it before there's a serious chance to get the puck there because it's tough to get back to your point in your own end from the front of the other guy's net.. He employed a very passive PK which in today's NHL will be bottom 5. The shooters eat that up. It's a kind of joyless game when things aren't clicking & had to be tough to sustain over a full schedule. Granato wants that pressure & and speed, but he also lets the players do the fun stuff: drive to the net, be there creating havoc even if the puck still has a ways to go to get there. Rush up the ice 4 men strong - create the offense & trust that if they chunk it away, the 5th & and the guy that's always back can get there. Let a player hang back provided the other teams D is staying honest hanging back so that stragglers can't create a breakaway. Pressure everywhere on the ice, including on the PK - but don't be out of control; there's a fine line to walk there but this team is doing it so far. And, if you're going to mess up, make sure it's via an act of commission & not omission. And if that's what the screw up was - go right back out there and make up for it. No dog house for that. There's a joy to the game he has them play. It's also extremely high energy. Hopefully they can maintain that energy over the full 82 (dare we say 82+) but that will be tough to carry on the whole way; at least they're young so maybe they can. Fortunately Cozens got a bit of swagger back after getting that 2nd 2ndary assist. Thompson seems to have it too. And Eakin & Ruotsalainen are fitting in well w/ their linemates. The 3 D pairings are all working for the 1st time in what, 14 years? Am ready to buy in on Don, Friday's test will be huge because the Bruins are both relentless and skilled. The Bergeron line might be the league's best as they can do it at both ends of the ice. If a shorthanded squad is ever going to be ready for the B's & the goalie that spurned them, it has to be now. Bring on the Bruins. Thought they did a very good job of hanging with the B's, but they just couldn't solve Ullmark for various reasons. They clearly were out of gas vs the Devils as they started great, just couldn't get that 2nd goal, then started onto their heels in the 2nd, & had nothing in the tank by the 3rd. But they didn't go into the same shell they'd've gone into last season just hoping to not give up a good scoring chance while never planning to leave their own zone. The observation that got overlooked was that this team, unlike teams in the past doesn't go into a defensive shell with the lead. They never fell back into a shell against Moe-ray-all nor the 'Nucks. That is another difference in philosophy. The item noticed last night is that this team rarely dumps the puck in. They either try to skate it in or turn back to regroup if there isn't a lane. Krueger's teams (much like Bylsma's teams) were perfectly willing to dump & then try to get it back. That puck control might help them stay fresher over the course of the season & reduce how many games they will run out of gas like in Joisey. The lesser observation is that Granato doesn't seem to have favorites as Eakin got back into the lineup though he'd definitely been disfavored and neither Dell nor UPL is in Buffalo but the career AHLer is and is playing great (so far). That will be put to the test when Jokiharju is healthy as fully expect him back w/ Dahlin though Ras has blossomed since getting away from him. Any other clear differences in playing style? Any stuff that isn't accurate due to the lens of proximity & recency? They both seem able to motivate their squads over the short term. Granato's style being more fun to play will likely be able to sustain that. Hope he can. And for an appreciably longer period. The 2 biggest questions about Granato's style are: is it sustainable over most of 82? It clearly isn't fully sustainable as the Joisey game highlighted, but in general can it work over 3 in 4 & 4 in 6 scenarios or does it just take too much effort to stay at a playoff pace all the way through? And, what happens if the goaltending goes back to what we've normally seen since Miller's departure. Granato has said the goaltending they've gotten let's them play more aggressively. How much tighter do they have to play if Dell or UPL get called upon or Anderson hits a wall? (Hoping we don't have to answer that one, but odds are we will. It's relatively rare for a team to get through the whole year without ever playing their 3rd best option.)

Within market, you can watch the ESPN+ exclusive game's replay as soon as an hour after the game is done. No data if it could be watched sooner and presumably that works out of market too, but can't test that presumption. Got back home ~10:15PM Friday night and had the B's game on from the opening puck drop shortly after that. Could even fast forward through the commercials, which was nice.

Like stated above, 1st & only game that the stuff Miller's detractors bring up every game seemed noticeable. And am really developing an appreciation of Bryson. He's been waaaay better in his own end than he'd been in the past. And he still can move the puck. Hagg is another pleasant surprise. He was 3rd pairing on a bad Filly D. He's looked extremely comfortable w/ Pysyk. Honestly, all 3 pairings are working right now. Did NOT see that one coming. But D is definitely the spot where chemistry plays it's greatest role. And, if you find pairings that work DON'T BREAK THEM UP. Trading away Scandella cost the Sabres 2 good D-men, not just 1. Not sure where they fit Samuelsson nor Jokiharju back in when they're available. (Yeah, yeah, Henri's going back with Dahlin. That'll be a mistake.)

CI is for cable/satellite. Just like season's past, it will carry all the out of market games that have a local broadcast. Unlike for the past how ever many years when NBC had the primary broadcast rights, there are 75 games that the primary national US rights holder are only streaming w/ no cable/satellite/ota way to legally watch those 75 games. (8 of which are Sabres games.) ESPN+ games & TNT Games will not be on CI. Pretty sure ESPN & ABC games won't end up on CI either, but not positive about that. ESPN+ has replaced NHL.tv for streaming. All out of market games, with the possible exception of the TNT Games (including the Heritage Classic) will end up there. Pretty sure ESPN+ is $6.99/ month and includes EVERYTHING ESPN streams, not just hockey.

Don't recall who's shot in the 1st Daws got a piece of then it hit the crossbar then his back then harmlessly out of the crease, but have that bounce off Daws back & into the net & the Sabres win. Overall, thought Bryson played well, but 2 bad bounces/ breaks for him were instrumental in the loss. The Sabres killed the 2nd PK of the 2nd off, but found themselves on their heals a bit & really seemed to start to wear out then simply have nothing left in the tank in the 3rd. On the PP goal, Bryson had good position for a play originating from in front of the net, but when the shot went wide (likely intentionally) there wasn't much (or really anything) he could do. Tokarski continues his Tim Thomas imitation. Hopefully he can keep that up as even Granato admits that with the team trusting the goalies that they can play a more wide open game & they'd have to adjust their play if they didn't. Interestingly, Granato also said that if one of the 2 goalies gets hot, he'll ride that guy but right now they're playing pretty evenly. Also, interestingly, Tokarski was in net both games that the Sabres pretty much couldn't buy a goal. Hoping for his sake that trend doesn't continue. Cozens continued his strong play. They'll need that to continue to have a chance against TB and to surprise a few people on the 4 game road trip. SJ is on fire, but the Sabres ALWAYS are their kryptonite and IMHO the other 3 are all winnable. Last night, Miller had the game his critics have been claiming he had the 1st few games. His blocked shot that led to Tokarski doing his Hasek imitation needs to not happen. He'll need to be better than that tomorrow. They definitely ran out of gas yesterday, but didn't collapse into a shell. The Krueger led squad would've had long stretches where they'd be unable to get the puck out of their zone under such circumstances, but this team didn't get the myriad of 1+ minute stays in their own zone. So, there is that. Hadn't noticed before just how chippy Joisey is on the opposing team's goalie. Lost track of how many times Tokarski got whacked by a Devil right after making a save. Hischier alone must've done it at least 4 times. They'd better get a good night's sleep tonight. Tired legs would let tomorrow's game get out of hand. 96-1-1 would still be respectable. 😉 PS - how long before Ruotsalainen gets Asplund's role on the PK. There's a reason the 2nd unit is scoring & the 1st isn't. Girgensons can actually screen.

Hopefully they can get to Daws early. Don't give the kid a chance to get comfortable in his 1st NHL game.

Like the swap of Bjork & Caggiula. The Girgensons line seemed better after the swap last night.

Yep. It's always been expected that he'd be good. The biggest reason that people would rather have seen Adams take a C is that at the time there were no high ceiling C prospects in the pipeline other than Mittelstadt & Cozens & only Asplundv& Ruotsalainen as guys that have played there that might be up by about now. There was a greater need for a C and there were several that were rated higher than Quinn. Add on that since the trade deadline of the Covid stopped season they've had the following C related transactions: (not saying all were high end C's, just that they're moves of C's): In: Staal, Eakin, Sheehan. Promoted: Asplund, Ruotsalainen, Cozens Out: Johansson, Larsson, Rodriguez, Staal, Sheehan, Reinhart As good as out: Eichel Remaining: Mittelstadt Swapped from wing: Thompson, Girgensons. There was and is much better W depth. The need was C, there were C's available, & they went wing. They added to the well-stocked shelf while ignoring the 1 that was and still is looking fairly barren. IMHO, there isn't the same angst about grabbing Peterka because there weren't other C's available there that are expected to do what he looks like he's going to do. If there were then there'd likely be some discussion about how that pick was misguided. Hopefully they both end up 1st liners. It'll really help with the trajectory of this rebuild.

Who do you expect is injured to get Murray into the game?

Covid pause & the associated lingering effects. Ullmark's injury. Eichel being unable to further battle through injuries. The unholy trifecta that completely derailed a start that was off-pace, but not by much, last season.

Defenseman? Huh?

Yep. For the most part the Sabres outplayed them &/or played them even. But the B's experience & some puck luck trumped the Sabres effort. Absolutely Marchand crosschecked Dahlin but expect the combination of him being a "star" and the leeway they are afforded (even when being seriously dirty mo-fo's) along with him being cagey enough to do it from a spot he knew the ref couldn't fully see the cross check allowed him to get away with it. Even in the "we're cracking down on crosschecks" environment we're supposedly in. The cheap hit later on Dahlin on the PP was worse IMHO because it was another example of Marchand having zero respect for his opponent & being willing to make a hit when he knows there's a real good chance he'll injure that opponent. Dahlin needs to realize that Marchand is one of 2 or 3 top liners that will make that play and act accordingly. IMHO Dahlin seemed shook by the cross check that led to the goal and was not good the next 3 shifts but he settled down after that. Ullmark had his A-game. That, getting lucky on the Hasek-esque save, and a post or 2 along w/ bad bounces was all he needed. Will Hinistroza EVER take a shot from the slot? We get it, his hands are trash. But there are no rebounds or flukey deflections created by bad passes to players outside the slot. Really liked Cozens game. Small sample size, but he's looked like he did when he 1st came up since getting that 2nd assist. Butcher was on the ice for the 1st 2 goals against, but neither seemed to be on him. (Might need to rebook at the 2nd to verify that.) If Eakin were available that 1st Bruin goal might not have happened as he's used to playing C and covering that 3rd F trying to find space. Girgensons has been out of that role for a long time. Loved the effort. But, especially w/ no Mittelstadt, these guys just don't have enough finish. Still want to see Ruotsalainen on the top PP unit. Having a guy that can deflect pucks & force home rebounds might be the only way to get the PP actually functioning well rather than getting lucky goals or none. Even in games 1 & 2 when they got 4 PP goals total, they were not sharp. Bring on Joisey. 97-1. 😉

Interesting. Would've figured the flight #'s get retired after an event like that. Not simply flipped on the direction of the flight. Any word on what F was called up to take that commuter flight?

Well, considering they only have 12 healthy F's and are traveling today, that was expected. Do they take Peterka on the trip or Murray? Or do they go off the board w/ somebody that's toiled longer on the farm waiting for their shot?

Will put this here, though it could be in the Friday thread. The greatest woman I ever knew (my m-i-l) was buried today. Being around the love that her family had was truly amazing. I'm so grateful to have been a part of that. This has been the worst summer ever.