pi2000

Has nothing to do with talent. It's scheme, positioning and mindset.

Once again got dominated in the third period... this time in a tie game. Outshot 13-4 Gave up 8 high danger chances against, and generated 0 of their own. It's a recurring theme. Teams make adjustments and Buffalo has no answer except to get caved in.

outcoached

The Eiffel Power

I was 160lbs entering college, it was extremely difficult for me to add weight as a late teen. Outside of being on the ice nearly everyday I didn't do any other cardio. Spent hours in the gym each week trying to gain muscle mass but I struggled, maybe added 5lbs my freshman year (as a 20yo). Was considered scrawny for a 5'11 hockey player back then when the game was much more physical than it is now. I saw doctors, dieticians, tried all kinds of supplements and powders, etc... spent a summer doing Cybergenics and finally was able to bulk up a bit, eventually reaching 185lbs by my junior year. After my hockey career was over I quickly lost all that muscle mass settling back down to 170lbs were I'm still at today in my late 40s... some people just have a naturally high metabolism. That said, diet science is mich more advanced these days and I wouldn't expect these kids to struggle with it as much as I did.

There are countless defensive systems, specifically neutral zone traps that make it very very difficult (even for superior talented teams) to maintain possession on zone entries. I didn't see any evidence in last nights game to suggest they implemented any such system at any point in the game. I don't care what the talent differential is, an NHL team should never give up 20 shots (16 of which were scoring chances) in the 3rd period when protecting a lead.

I'll preface this by saying I like Granato, he's the best coach they've had in a while (since Bylsma, who squeezed 78 points out of a team 1 year removed from the bottom of the tank). Granato is getting the most out of these guys and they're improving as individuals. That's what Granato is, a developmental coach, he's the right guy for the job at this time, and he's excelling at it. That said, he continues to struggle with in-game adjustments. Lindy was really good at this. His teams could adjust on the fly and protect leads. Granato has yet to show he can stop the bleeding mid-game or lock down a lead late in a tight contest. He'll need to evolve as other teams figure out how to neutralize his system.

The line with Cozens, Hinostroza and Caggiula will stay intact. They're fast, generate puck pressure, turnovers and scoring chances. That's the blueprint. R2 is the odd man out.

PIT had an astounding 80% CorsiFor advantage in the 3rd period. Tokarski beat their talent, not Granato. To me it looked like they were running around in their own end, out of position, nervous with the puck, making panic induced decisions. The next step here is to teach them how to play with a lead, it might take a few weeks before they're all comfortable, but there's simple things they can implement right away to help lock things down.

There's a number of effective neutral zone traps you can install to choke teams off. This makes it very difficult to maintain possession into the zone. One of my favorites was called the diamond press. They're really quite simple, but takes all 5 guys to execute correctly, hopefully Granato can install some of these systems. That said, to my eyes they didn't appear to learn anything from the last 3 or 4 times they had leads going into the third.

That's great, now let's see if he can teach them how to play with a lead. Really hope to see some progress. They work their bags off to get a lead then panic, get on their heels and give up glorious chance after glorious chance. It's not a difficult thing if implemented correctly.

I really hope Granato figures it out... how to protect a lead in the third. By the looks of it, they don't appear to have spent much time practicing it. Perhaps that's just growing pains of a young team, but as someone who's played it's not exactly rocket science either. There are subtle adjustments you can make to choke teams off in the neutral zone and give yourself the best chance to hold a lead. The Sabres aren't even close, they got absolutely caved in in the third. Not even a timeout by Donny to calm the boys down and talk some sense into them.

"Better" is probably the wrong word, "experienced" is the word I'm looking for.

A better coach would be able to make the necessary in-game adjustments. They're blowing multi goal leads. It's a concern because they're not improving at protecting the lead. Hope he figures it out and installs a system these guys can execute.

IMO it's not a matchup issue. It's a system issue. They're not making any in-game adjustments to counter aggressive offensive pushes.

Color me concerned about Don Granato. This is already 3 or 4 games in this young season where they've been severely outplayed in the third after holding a lead. So far he hasn't shown the ability to make in game adjustments to counter the onslaught.

I think Caggiula has solidfied his spot on the roster. He plays the game the way they want to play.

It's a hypothetical. What happens if Terry tells KA to go after player X to nudge them into the playoffs?

THN is the worst.

MIDGET WAR

utcas goaltenders ae the reason theure 10-0, not size.

If his solid play continues through this week and Roch isn't I'd call him up for a game or two to backup Tokarski.... maybe even give him the start in Columbus next Monday then send him back.

I'm gonna chalk this up to Granato's inexperience as a head coach at this level. Take whatever the doctors tell him and add 2 weeks to it.... it's all about setting expectations.

Let's be real. Crosby has faced the top defensive forwards in the league for almost 2 decades. Sure it will be a great experience for Cozens, but lets temper our expectations just a bit.

We're allowed to judge him based on what he showed in the preseason... which wasn't even decent, it was terrible. He had a full offseason to prepare. For a guy who the franchise has been hyping up as the future in goal, was very very concerning to say the least. That said, he'll need to show more than just flashes of ability at the AHL level before we start talking about him as a potential future starter in the national league again.