matter2003

They had more shots and shot attempts and had several point blank chances that they typicly score on. The ice also looked kinda crappy because the puck was bouncing a lot but the Rangers dealt with it a lot better than we did.

Honestly i thought the Sabres played pretty well except for a few stupid plays that led to goals...had a lot of chances to get within 1 but couldn't cash in.

Guess they were due for a game like this one

Eichel...what??

Wow...that was really bad

It was answered, several times actually. It comes down to wanting scoring on each line and also carefully managing offensive responsibility with defensive responsibility on the lines as well. RK talked about it at length a few times actually.

The difference is Housley led and nobody followed. Because they didn't believe in what he was saying and they knew that he wasn't telling them the right things that would ultimately lead them to success. Their D zone was chaos, and Housley had few if any answers once the ship started sinking. When you realize your leader doesn't know how to fix the problem and has no answers, it becomes every man for themselves because they are going to play the way they feel best about because it's the only way they feel they can win. And rarely will that ever work with a team of 20+ players where all of them play their own style and it comes together and works out. They believe in Krueger as a person, as a leader and they will follow him off a cliff if that is where he ends up taking them. He makes every player feel like they are an important part of the team's success whether you are playing 5 minutes a night or 25 minutes a night. Every player knows and understands their role in the grand scheme of things and every role is important. Krueger has asked players to accept their roles for the good of the team and they have. Kyle Okposo has gone from a 20-30 goal scorer to a key disruptor role that grinds opponents down in their own end and sets the table for other lines because the opponents get tired out of battling in their own zone all night when they are out there. And he accepts his role and he relishes it. There are no line numbers and some nights one line or player(s) may play more than another based on what is needed that night. If you don't understand the difference in that then you just don't understand. It has less to do with the actual players and much more to do with leadership from their coach, players buying into the belief that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and the way they are allowed to play. I predicted before the season that Krueger would have an effect that was far more positive than most people thought because I have seen first hand on numerous occasions at different jobs the difference a good leader versus a bad leader can make in terms of results with the same people. Leadership matters. A lot. In many different ways that are not tangible. At the end of the day, you are working with other people and having tremendous interpersonal skills matters a LOT. Often times I was considered the "good leader" that followed a "bad leader" in terms of employee morale and results. Nobody wants to work in a place where they get crappy results and the leader has no idea how to fix it. After a while they simply tune that person out because well, "Why bother, it's not going to work anyway, he doesn't know what the hell he is doing. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and get through the day the best I can so I can get the hell out of this cesspool." That becomes a highly charged and negative environment and people just shut down almost as a protection mechanism. A key point in all of this is that you will never get the results you want when employee morale is poor, because they simply are going to be going through the motions while working and have simply stopped caring on many levels. Once you raise employee morale high enough and can keep it there long enough for them to start seeing real results, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of them believing in you, you believing in them and everyone wanting to work together as a team to ensure that it keeps going in the right direction. That's when you can get people to accept their roles they play that might not be the roles they want but will sacrifice for the good of the team. I was viewed by many companies as a "fixer". Several times in different industries I went into places that had terrible employee morale and terrible results where the people didn't care and with the same people in a period of 6 months to a year, the employee morale and results started to drastically change for the better and by the second year employees who were viewed as problems the company wanted to get rid of became viewed as key employees and role models that the district manager would praise in their other stores. The results typically followed and ended up at the top of or near the top of the district and sometimes even the region or nationally. This is why I am a huge proponent of leadership. Because it DOES make a difference in EVERYTHING. When you've lived it many times in person you can see it. When you are an employee that has gone from hating their job under one manager and going through the motions to loving it under a new manager and being 100% on board with everything you see it. More than that you feel it, and that is what is going on with the team...they see it, they feel it and they believe in it and they are going to follow Krueger wherever he decides to take them almost implicitly and without any reservations because they trust him.

Yeah the record actually has looked pretty close to how they have played.

At some point people are just going to have to admit this team is pretty freaking good.

Got a point now lets look for the 2nd one...these last 2 games against the Sharks have been outstanding in terms of entertainment value.

My lord did they dominate that period...they were all over the Sharks that period.

Even when they get hemmed in sometimes they still end up looking dangerous when they end up breaking out.

Recall how Larsson and Girgensons were basically trash last year and now are one of the better lines in the league especially for puck possession in the offensive zone. Can you say coaching?

End to end action...good game...both teams taking turns

Yeah...except teams will still average 10 shots a game too many, let in wacky goals way too much, etc...they add tons of "cool new features" but don't bother fixing things that have been broken for years, just like Madden where im sure teams are still able to return muffed punts for TDs and teams always have all 3 Timeouts at the 2 minute warning each half and all of the teams use their timeouts in the exact same way...

I like the fact this is no longer a one line team anymore. They have gotten contributions from all the different lines so far and different lines have played key roles in their wins. Last year if the Eichel line didn't score they pretty much lost because nobody else did anything. I'm not overly concerned. Keep getting 2 goal leads and they will get plenty of experience on what works and what doesn't. They aren't the only team that has trouble with them...i remember back before the lockout if teams got a 2 goal lead the game was pretty much over because they would just neutral zone trap the rest of the game and clutch and grab and the other team couldn't generate anything...hell the Devils won cups on the basis of that...now that doesn't work as well because they will call penalties and teams are too fast up and down the roster for it to have the same effect...

Trade Risto somehow and have one of RHD move to the other side? Not sure if thats actually done much or not.

Defensive zone coverage has been brutal today

Well damn, did you get up in the middle of the night to post this? I'm impressed with your dedication ?

Im using it...i like it.

Whooped some ass...just as i suspected, this team had more talent than people thought they just needed a coach who knew how to use it and bring it out in them.

No sitting back today...pouring it on!

a little strange to get an afternoon game when it's not a holiday for about 70% of the workforce.

Oh wow...i thought Botts said he was putting Bogo on LTIR when he was interviewed on WGR before the season... The best ability is always availability

Bogosian simply isn't returning. They don't have the cap space for him and likely he will just stay on long term IR to finish out his days as a Sabre.