pi2000

3 https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/BUF/2013_games.html

I didn't say that, smh. Sure they played a great game, took advantage of a sluggish Caps squad. I loved how they played. But, lets be honest, the Caps are the cream of the crop in the Mass Mutual East Division, they simply didn't show up tonight.

Nice win, they had their foot on the gas for 60min. But... IMO, and I'll prolly get crucified for this, the outcome was a product of the Caps simply not showing up to play.

Hold up... if they remove the disk, don't the adjacent vertebrae eventually fuse together? That can't be good in the neck area for a hockey player.

Just in time to help oversee trade deadline deals.... oh wait.

posted the numbers in another thread... Even strength possession numbers (corsi), and high danger chances for/against are a bit worse under Granato. Near the bottom of the league in HDCA. Even strength shooting percentage has doubled from 6% to 12% (2nd in the league during that stretch). HDSH% is up from 12% to 19%. ES save percentage is up a few percent thanks to Ullmark. So the only way they keep staying un games is if they continue their high shooting % and get above average goaltending. Is that sustainable? In the short term yes, maybe even to the end of the season. Over an entire 82 game season? Not likely, which is why the should pump the brakes on hiring Granato as full-time HC.

I agree, I was expecting them to be generating more scoring chances under Granato.... which is what my eyes were telling me. RK was fired march 17th. Considering it may have taken 2 weeks for the stink of RK to wear off, we'll take a look at high danger numbers since April 1st. HDChancesFor/60: 9.99 (11th worst in the league) HDChancesAgainst/60: 12.25 (7th worst) ...those numbers are actually significantly worse than under RK. That said, even strength shooting % since April 1st is 12% (5.9% under RK)... second best in the entire league. Is that sustainable? Based on these numbers you could even say they're playing worse as a team under Granato, but are getting lucky recently.

I compared fancy stats (at even strength) for both Kruger and Granato's time with the team this season. The short summary is that I believe the turnaround is primarily because of two things.... improved shooting %, and Ullmark. Kruger: GF/60: 1.59 GA/60: 3.29 xGF/60: 2.09 xGA/60: 2.59 Shooting %: 5.92 Save %: 88.98 CF%: 48.87 High Danger Chances For / 60: 10.04 High Danger Chances Against / 60: 10.4 Granato: GF/60: 2.69 GA/60: 3.14 xGF/60: 2.18 xGA/60: 2.81 Shooting %: 9.62 Save %: 91.09 CF%: 48.03 High Danger Chances For / 60: 10.3 High Danger Chances Against / 60: 10.75 They're generating the same amount of high danger chances as they were under Kruger, but their SH% (high danger) improved from 12 to 19%. HDSV% stayed about the same at 80-81%, but overall SV% as improved a few percentage points with Ullmark. What does this say about Granato? Well, he's successfully brought the team out of their shooting % funk. But that's about it. Their CF% and HDCA are actually a bit worse under Granato, albeit a smaller sample size. Does he deserve consideration as full-time HC moving forward? Sure, however the underlying possession and high danger numbers are actually slightly worse than they were under Kruger, so buyer beware.

I lost trust when he let RK stick around too long. Coach Donny knew right away what needed to be fixed. The fact that KA didn't realize this sooner is a major red flag when it comes to his ability to judge coaching candidates.

They have a losing record under Granato and Ullmark is bailing them out. They're scoring more but still giving up way too many high danger chances. That's fixable with the right coach. Can Donny fix hit? They haven't improved in that area.

That's the job of the GM, I'm not privy to those conversations. Do you trust Adams to make the right hire?

That's just an example. d-zone draws, end of period, end of game, over time, PK, can't ice the puck when he's out there, what if the opposing team puts out their best face-off guy (Bergeron, O'Reilly) do you let Sam take the draw? etc. etc etc. What if you're in one of those situations and his line is due up? Do you sit him? Then he's not getting enough ice time... it's just something extra a coach has to be aware of, that he would be better of not wasting time thinking about. At some point, he'll say ***** it and just put him back at wing because of the severe migraine Sam is giving him.

At what point does it become a concern? mid to low 40's, I'm not too worried about it... but Sam is 38%, career 36%... meaning BUF loses possession roughly 2 out of every 3 times he lines up on the dot. That's a red flag IMO... and the only way I keep him at center is if he absolutely excels in every other area of playing center... and I'm pulling him immediately for d-zone draws, end of game, over-time, etc... It complicates things immensely for a coach, eg Sam absolutely cannot take a face-off in overtime or at the end of a close game, ever.

https://www.the-rink.com/despite-what-some-experts-say-faceoffs-matter/ "if you want to be a possession team—ie, fuel the ongoing Corsi frenzy of so many would-be analytics gurus—and direct more shots at your opponent’s net than they direct at yours—you have to first possess the puck."

Please, I'm begging you, show me where I said we should dump him because he's not good at face-offs. Stop putting words in my mouth and making stuff up to fit your weak narrative.

Nice deflection... JoJo like reflexes, impressive 🙂 Being able to at least break close to even at the faceoff dot is a pre-requisite for playing center in the best league in the world. His 38% is nowhere near breaking even... he's taken 842 faceoffs in his career and Buffalo has gained possession on only 36% of them.... he sucks at it. Let me put this way, there are 248 players who have taken at least 800 faceoffs since Reinharts rookie season.... of those 248, Samson ranks 247th in win percentage. The only player worse than him is Jack Hughes. 3rd worst is a full 2 percentage points better than both them. So, should he stick at center? I think he's a better winger, and not just because of face-offs, but it is part of the equation.

They're playing looser, he's letting guys utilize their natural abilities at a high pace and as a result they're finding more success on the offensive side of the puck... great. Defensively they're still a mess. I don't see any in game adjustments happening when they're getting out played... other than "try harder". He's Ron Rolston all over again.... this may be peak Donny, I'm not sure he hasn't already his his ceiling with this team. There's more to coaching than just letting guys play their game at a high pace... there are better strategists, better in-game managers, better game planners out there. Settling for Granato because some guys are playing well isn't enough for me... DO BETTER... have a higher standard... stop settling for "lets hire this guy because he doesn't suck as bad as the previous guy".

As per the NHL, a faceoff win is determined by the team that ends up controlling possession of the puck after the faceoff has taken place. Therefore, the center is more likely to "win" a faceoff if he can pull the puck directly back to his defensemen. So anybody who proclaims that puck possession matters therefore must also proclaim that faceoffs matter. Checkmate anti-faceoffites.

Why do you think DG is a better HC than any of the available candidates?

So you agree that faceoffs matter?

See a penny, pick it up, and all day long you'll have a penny.

He's a young goalie who has improved at every level he's played. He has the physical tools. Why is it so hard to fathom that he'll continue to get better?

Buffalo doesn't win last night if Reinhart takes that faceoff instead of Skinner.

Johansson > UPL

Do better.