JohnC

Especially for a young goalie, I would rather make a judgment on his recent play than his prior play. There is no question that UPL's play for the past 15 games or so has been good. The current level of play of UPL is a major factor why we are winning at the rate we are. Is this period of time long enough to make a judgment on him? Not definitively, but certainly encouraging. As you point out with your posts on Demko, evaluating a goalie is extremely difficult. There are periods where a goalie can sparkle for a period of time, and then for a variety of reasons, some inexplicable, descend into the abyss. Sometimes a change of teams can temporarily resuscitate the play of the goalie, only then to again falter. There are less than a half a dozen elite goalies whose standard of play is consistent over a number of seasons. For the majority of the pack, it is difficult to predict how the goalies are going to perform. A shining star goalie in one season can turn out to be a dim star the next season. When it comes to evaluating goalies the best approach to take is to be humble when assessing goalies.

You make a good point. The coach assessed his roster and moved players that best suited their talents and the needs of the team.

This is a WGR link with Granato's regular Tues spot on WGR's Howard and Jeremy Show. Within this 20 min link he talks about the development of Power, Krebs and UPL. His comments about the influence of Okposo and Girgs on the youngster were insightful. And he also noted that Krebs has had some influence on the play of the oldsters. When the coach talks about developing players such as Power and UPL he understands that making mistakes are part of the learning process. He stressed that he doesn't want the players to be inhibited by the fear of making mistakes. Don Granato talking hockey is in itself a learning experience for hockey fans, especially for dummies like me. (If this link was previously posted, I apologize for the redundancy.) https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/authors/howard-and-jeremy-show

Maybe so. What I can say now is that their record is impressive, especially when many analysts were predicting that they were a team that was going to slide back. As you said: We shall see.

It really wasn't a risk to move him to center. The coach was involved with Tage in the lower level when he did play center. The coach placed this gangly built player in a position that maximized his unique talents. That's a combination of astute talent evaluation and good coaching.

Most of the prognostications that I read prior to the season indicated that this group/players would be on the downside and the team would start to slide back. Many analysts prior to the season indicated that now was the time to start refreshing the roster with younger players. At least for this season they were wrong.

They are the personification of their coach. To consistently play that grinding style of play in a long and depleting season is quite impressive.

Everything you said about the Canes is true. They are an impressive team. Although they are not a flashy team, they are a relentlessly grinding team that doesn't allow you to relax. It's a top to bottom hard-working roster with no one player sticking out. Boston is known for their toughness. Carolina had them backpedaling all game long. They are an impressive team.

The difference is that Quinn, JJ and to a lesser extent got playing time in Rochester. Although Krebs's stint in Rochester was short it served him well. It just seems that Savoie got caught up in the birthday abyss. I would rather see him getting extensive playing time in the WHL and get the extra year to physically mature. Does that happen much?

The Sabres have played against a number of top-tier goalies. He's one of them. He's a Cup caliber goalie.

Neither do I. Not's not to say that it wouldn't be an intriguing line for a short spell. It's going to be interesting to see where Krebs is placed next year, especially if he continues with is progression!

Joki isn't going anywhere. I have heard DG talk positively about him and his upside on many occasions. He likes his game as a supporting second pairing defenseman. Especially after watching the last dozen or so games you can see Joki being more confident and assertive in the offensive zone. He's not going anywhere unless a deal is so appealing that you couldn't afford to retain.

Odds are that TT, Samuelsson and Cozens will be in the lineup. Why do I believe so? My gut tells me so.

That would be an interesting first line. The reason why I suggested putting Krebs on a line with Quinn and JJ is because they played together in Rochester and were very productive. Cozens moving up to the first makes more sense to me because as a replacement for TT he is more willing to shoot than Krebs is, and his passing is also solid. That would be a closer match to to TT's style of play than what Krebs would be able to provide.

If TT sits out the next game why not move Cozens to the first line and have Krebs center for Quinn and JJ? Krebs played with these two players in Rochester. And my understanding is that the line thrived when together. Then Asplund can be moved to the Okposo/Girgs line for a short stint. Something to consider?????

There isn't much hitting in an all-star game. It's less than a physically strenuous environment. It's a time and place to enjoy the company of players you have looked up to, and enjoy the food and drink laid out for you. This should be a memorable event for him. Good for him---he deserves the recognition that he has worked so hard for.

Unless they are hurt to the extent that playing them Wednesday would set them back, I would play the three listed players. After this game, the players would have more than a week to heal and get physically and mentally restored. Winning a game against one of the top teams at home would give this team a boost going into the last stage of the season. All hands should be on deck!

They are fast and big. I'm not sure if they have any finesse players on their roster. They are built to be rugged. As I said in the prior post what is impressive about their game is that it is a full-throttle game from the beginning to end. I was impressed.

I was watching a portion of the Carolina/Boston game. Carolina is such a tough team. They are rugged and play hard throughout the game. They are relentless. Their style of play is a playoff style of play. They are really impressive. They reflect their muscular coach, Brind'Amour. I hope that Cozens and Samuelsson will be back when we play Wednesday. This is a good measuring stick game for us.

Jack Quinn and Peterka heating up for the final 1/3 of the season would be exciting. It's not a question of will they, as it is when? How soon? I'm not sure. Just steadily getting better and acclimating themselves to the highest level of hockey is what you want to see. With Quinn more than JJ, you can see sequences of exceptional play where you know he is going to be better than good.

The Sabre play of the game for me was the Krebs to Okposo to Girgs' score. This play reflects how Krebs has played since he centered for Okposo and Girgs. Krebs threw the puck in, he battled for the puck on the back wall, and then while battling for the puck got it to Okposo who was on the right side of the net. He then quickly made a pass to Girgs who was standing alone on the doorstep of the net for the goal. The catalyst of the play was Krebs. This play embodied how he has played a tougher and grittier since joining this elder line. I'm sure many will say that the Quinn goal was the most special play. There is no question that it was an exceptional play by a young player who showed determination in retrieving the puck, and then skating to get free, and concluding the play with a laser shot. I'm not going to quarrel with anyone who prefers making this play the play of the game. What each of these plays manifests is that this team has young players who are getting better and better while in the also contributing to the success of this team.

So do some congressmen/women. 🤡

I agree with you that UPL played well. He gave up a bad goal when he wasn't able to quickly enough get back into position. Big goalies have one major advantage in that there is less open space to shoot at when they are stationary. On the negative side, if you can get the goalie to move, he is going to be disadvantaged. Big hulking goalies such as Lehner and UPL are not very good (sometimes atrocious) in shootouts because the shooter has open space and has the ability to quickly shift to force the goalie to move/respond. The big goalies simply can't move quick enough to react to the shooter. However, I'm not going to complain about UPL playing big. That's why he has been so successful this season. The Sabres played 4 games in 6 nights, on top of having to travel. Added to this rigorous road schedule was the fact that the Sabres played a compressed schedule for close to a full month. I thought the team in general gave everything they got. I didn't see any slackers out there. Adding to the challenge in this game were the numerous marginal penalties called that made this game a bigger challenge. Tired players take those kind of sloppy penalties. Anyone who watched a chunk of the games on this road trip has to be encouraged about this team. We played good teams on their home ice. Not once did I get the sense that we were the lesser team. As @K-9pointed out the second period of the Winnipeg game may have been the best period that this team played this season. It was an eye-popping demonstration on how good this team not only could be but actually is! One observation about this game that impressed me: Tuch is a warrior who played his assss out on both ends of the ice. And in general, this team has heart! You could see the exhaustion on the bench. Yet, when the players hopped over the boards, they were playing at full throttle. Regardless of the outcome, they should be saluted for their effort. I like this team.

Sometimes when things are not working for a line you change the players just for the sake of shaking things. The hope is that there will be a different dynamic. It won't be for long because Cozens will probably be back to centering for the youngsters very soon.

Someone else may have mentioned it but it would be interesting to see Krebs in-between Quinn and JJ. And then put Asplund on the Okposo and Girgs line. It seemed that the Quinn-Krebs-JJ line clicked in Rochester. Just a thought. Are these guys fully naked? If so, then this is pornographic. 🤡