dudacek

You guys know that Quinn and Peterka were 30-something-point 3rd-liners last year and that Cozens got half his points playing with other people? Is “Granato doesn’t know how to use him” code for “he’s had to play some games with Olofsson”? Because in terms of when and how he’s being deployed, not much has changed.

He played really well in one game. It's both a small sample size and a meaningless commentary on the quality of our regulars.

Thorny will speak for himself, but i read his post as talking about NHL depth, as opposed to replacement depth Jokiharju, Johnson Clifton Johnson, (the bottom half of the D) are better NHLers than Olofsson, Jost, Krebs, Okposo, Girgensons, Benson, Rousek) (or whoever he sees as F7-13)

I’m going to swim against the tide here and suggest that the defence corps - now that Clifton is starting to smooth out the bounces and find his stride - is a group we can win with. Jokiharju is looking pretty good at 17 minutes a night and off the PK. Erik Johnson has delivered exactly what we’d hoped. Samuelsson is doing his part and Dahlin is great. I need more assertiveness from Power as a #2, but I still find him a net positive. I’m no longer terrified when any of the 6 are in the lineup. And the fact that Ryan Johnson might be good enough to force one of them into the press box is amazing to me.

I can’t read your characterization of Cozens another way. You implied they are building Mittelstadt (who is playing well) up and undermining Cozens (who has been Inconsistent) with their usage. I can’t read your characterization of the line juggling any other way. You said they shouldn’t be mixing up lines so much, even though they hadn’t been working. I always thought their model was more closely related to the Blackhawks and the Red Wings

it's about overall team identity, not having 12 Daniel Brieres or JJ Peterkas. Greenway and Girgensons aren't high-skill, but they are capable of playing with pace and they provide complementary, necessary skills. I said 3 scoring lines and Greenway has shown he can fit in well with more gifted players on one of them. Okposo is slowing but he gets it and was effective last year on the one non-scoring line. And Olofsson has fallen off the roster because he doesn't fit the team identity.

Having an identity since Granato and Adams took over is not a Sabre problem in the slightest. They want 3 lines of high-skill pace-pushing forwards and mobile defencemen who close on attackers quickly and flip the ice effectively. They want their team to play the game faster than you do and be skilled enough to capitalize on the breakdowns their pace causes. They actively seek out players who can play that way. Playing to their identity has been a problem. When the Sabres are moving their feet, they’re good, when they stop skating, they aren’t.

Cozens as the high right guy is the worst offender. The more I think about it, I’d like to see them put Dahlin there. He’s got a good shot and is a lefty. More importantly, he’s got the passing ability to thread the box and find Tage and Tuch (better yet Quinn) on the other side. Power can certainly be the high guy effectively. And I’d replace Skinner with Mitts. Jeff is just too chaotic.

Moving this post to the proper thread: Did we know Mittelstadt is #2 in the entire NHL for even-strength points this year? He’s (temporarily?) replaced Cozens on PP1, but in what role? What’s to stop them from deploying him behind the net as the “down low QB” opposite Dahlin, get him to handle the puck more like Gretzky in the old days? Why not Peterka opposite Tage on PP1? I’ve seen him score plenty from there in juniors and Rochester. Much better at entries and retrievals than VO. He’s a lefty, unlike Cozens. How about Dahlin opposite Tage and Power on top? Greenway net front? Cozens? Or maybe get Tuch and Skinner to, you know, do something? They rarely set people up and they don’t screen, snipe or crash the net nearly enough. Get them cycling with Tage like they do at even strength, with Dahlin and Power at the points So many untapped alternatives. Time to try one.

There’s a lot to like here, especially if your stated team strategy is to employ 3 scoring lines: Skinner Thompson Tuch Quinn Cozens Kane Greenway Mittelstadt Peterka Girgensons Krebs Okposo

You when Granato keeps sending the kids out there after they make mistakes: Players need to be accountable and Granato needs to coach to win, not to develop. You when he shuffles lines that aren’t working and rides players that are: They need to be more patient and put players in an advantageous position to succeed.

Per Granato's presser today post-practice: Samuelsson skated today, could join practice tomorrow and is a possibility to return to the lineup soon.

Per Granato's presser today post-practice; Comrie skated on his own with Benson and Samuelsson today.

Per Granato's presser today post-practice; Benson skated on his own with Comrie and Samuelsson today.

I think this applies to Benson as much as Savoie, but it's responding to a question about Savoie, so I'll drop it here: Seth Appert wishes the AHL were an option for a player like Savoie. He thinks the rule between the CHL and NHL is a detriment to the development of high-end players like Savoie who are ready for a step up in competition. Appert thinks that failure in the right environment accelerates development for players who are wired like Savoie and is more than lighting up the scoreboard in junior. “People think getting a bunch of points is development,” Appert told reporters after Rochester’s win on Friday. “It’s not. Scoring 120, 130 points is not what development is about. Development is about playing at a high level that you’re ready for but it’s high, facing adversity, failing and growing your game through that failure to meet the challenge that the league and your teammates at practice are facing. That’s development.” Who in Wenatchee is going to challenge Benson and Savoie the way playing against Rasmus Dahlin every day in practice is going to challenge Benson and Savoie? i think Appert is voicing the philosophy of his bosses. Neither of them are going down for as long as the Sabres can make the roster numbers work.

Remember when we didn’t care if Johnson walked because he wasn’t a very good prospect - a 3rd pairing guy at best? Remember when Tage was the wrong half of the worst trade in NHL history? Casey Mittelstadt a bust who had one good junior tourney? Linus Ullmark was never going to amount to anything? Disco Dan Bylsma was the high-pedigree coach we needed to turn things around? Jack Eichel was going to save the franchise? I mean Pat Lafontaine was… I mean Terry Pegula… My god, we’re not a very smart bunch, are we? It’s no wonder so many of us start each season predicting we aren’t going to make the playoffs. It’s probably the only thing in the past decade that we’ve ever gotten right.

A team that has owned us since forever. A trend we will have to erase to be taken seriously.

Don said this morning on his radio show that the long-term plan is to run 3 offensively dangerous lines because so few teams have a good 3rd pair on D. With the three developing pairs, Mitts, Greenway, Cozens and Tuch, plus Thompson and Skinner, they certainly appear to potentially have the horses. @PerreaultForever is going to be @pessimisticforever, it seems.

I see what you’re getting at here and you may be right, but I don’t think that’s automatic. I think the evidence for what we’re aiming for was in the Leafs game: the Sabres play fast and score a lot, the goalie makes enough key saves that we win 5-4 instead of lose 6-5. I mean, there’s obviously far more variation over the course of the year, but that’s the broadbrush expectation of what this roster could do with average goaltending. The team issue has been the skaters too often being cute (Montreal) or listless (Philly) moreso than them being too focused on defence (NYI) or the goalies being bad.

This is true if the standard you demand is “good” goaltending as opposed to adequate goaltending. Good goaltending is something maybe 10 teams have. I think the Sabres goaltending has been decent enough this year to deliver the 4 in 6 @GASabresIUFAN is calling for if the Sabres skaters are good. It’s the Sabres skaters that have failed. I say this fully expecting that situation not to last.

Context needed, I think. I think we all want our team to be above average in all areas. You been pretty vocal as playoffs as your pass/fail line. A small number of average teams make the playoffs. A lot of people have subscribed to the idea “all we need is average goaltending” Adams has acted like our goalies are better options than the goalies he could have acquired. Average goaltending supports that premise a lot better than bad goaltending.

My initial take is the goalies are failing the numbers test but passing the eye test, but that's not really true either. They're 17th in a 32-team league in Goals Against; you can't get more dead centre than that. Individually, the numbers show Comrie has been good, UPL has been fine (the high danger save % really sticks out) and Levi needs to be better. League wide averages: Goals against 3.08 Save %: .897 High danger save %: .785 UPL: Goals against 3.10 Save %: .901 High danger save %: .829 Levi: Goals against 3.41 Save %: .886 High danger save %: .703 Comrie: Goals against 2.45 Save %: .914 High danger save %: .808 The Sabres have been an average team, getting average goaltending.

Tage and Greenway. They are actually plus players on the PK: 1 goal against, 2 shorties for. The Matthews goal Saturday was the first time they’d cracked short handed this year. Leading the league in GA per SH minutes played amongst the league’s regular penalty killers, or some such weird stat if memory serves.

Did we know Mittelstadt is #2 in the entire NHL for even-strength points this year? Noticed he’s (temporarily?) replaced Cozens on PP1, but in what role? What’s to stop them from deploying him behind the net as the “down low QB” opposite Dahlin, get him to handle the puck more like Gretzky in the old days? Why not Peterka opposite Tage on PP1? I’ve seen him score plenty from there in juniors and Rochester. Much better at entries and retrievals than VO. He’s a lefty, unlike Cozens. How about Dahlin opposite Tage and Power on top? Greenway net front? Cozens? Or maybe get Tuch and Skinner to, you know, do something? They rarely set people up and they don’t screen, snipe or crash the net nearly enough. Get them cycling with Tage like they do at even strength, with Dahlin and Power at the points So many untapped alternatives. Time to try one.

I would suspect Kulich is the next man up, if/when the Savoie/Benson thing runs it’s course. At least if we are talking about someone to play with Cozens or Mittelstadt in the middle six. Although, maybe Rosen is ahead? I’ve not seen full Amerks games so far this year.