bob_sauve28 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Girgensons TOI got cut way back right after he didn't help his Dmen on either Oiler goal. He was late getting back on both if you watch the tape. After that he only played in spurts and I'm guessing he missed an assignment. DD also played the ROR and Larsson lines multiple minutes in the 2 period and for good reason they were both outstanding in that game. Foligno for all the bashing he receives on this site, really plays well with Larsson and Gionta as the old vet knows where to play off both of them. That line was really impressive this game Love that line. It's a playoff line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I've watched a bit more than half of the first two games. As I think maybe you're aware (was it someone else with whom I engaged on the subject?), I allowed myself to develop something of an off season man crush on this guy. It's taken just this amount of regular season hockey to make me question what I had in mind. It's easy to fall in love with a guy like Deslauriers when you're watching two of the worst teams ever assembled (I loved him during the tank years too, and overrated his actual hockey ability). But when put on a team with real talent and playoff aspirations, I think its blatantly obvious the guy doesn't belong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 (edited) Observations: Robin Lehner needs to work on his rebound control. Our backcheck needs to improve. Okposo, Reinhart, ROR are 3 of the smartest players I have watched and for the first time in years I saw a line consistently slow the game down. Matt Moulson is better but Al Montoya is hot garbage. Connor McDavid was disappointing. He was a non factor. Rasmus was better this game but still looked like crap. Jake McCabe is currently our best defender and was fantastic last night. We should work on passing in every practice if that is the result. We should come back East with Cam Fowler on the team. We need to figure out how to make that happen without breaking our bank. Ennis, Zemgus are prime candidates and I would consider giving up our 1st in 2017 if it was lottery protected. I enjoy games more when I am not also on SS. Edited October 17, 2016 by LGR4GM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Yeh I watch then between period i might post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 It's been a while since I criticized Risto's game so here it goes.. Risto had a nice offensive game. He moved the puck well out of his end and made good decisions on the power play. However, he still looks lost in his own end at times, especially when things get scrambly by the net. He gets caught staring at and playing the puck instead of engaging a body. He also still lacks that quick first step when transitioning from backwards to forwards skating, or from a stand still, which was very noticeable against a fast team like the Oilers. McCabe has that foot speed and quickness, which is where the NHL is trending these days. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this team will continue to get exploited by faster teams until guys like Gorges, Franson, even Bogo are gone from this team. Sure Bogo is fast at top speed, but he has no quickness, he can't get to loose pucks quick enough in the corners, or make a quick escape with the puck on this stick. That said, Risto can still eventually be a highly effective defender, but we need more McCabe like skaters on the back-end to consistently compete in today's NHL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude_Verret Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 For the love of god, that looks awesome!!! please invite me :D We got this boys, 3-2 in pp commin up, risto! If you ever make it to NC MODO then consider yourself invited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTS Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 The team looks extremely well coached. What especially stood out to me was the dominant forechecking. The Sabres of the last x number of years would send one skater at the puck carrier and the guy would sort of waive at the carrier and nonchalantly drift away from him. Tonight we were frequently sending two skaters deep into the zone to really harass the puck handler and make the breakout very difficult. Aside from the forecheck, we were on the puck all night and hitting like it mattered. BTW, Lucic remains a p---k, and it's clearly rubbing off on other Oilers. This got me to thinking. Montreal used the same forecheck against the Sabres. As near as I can tell they were going 2-1-2 on the forecheck and that's designed to either pressure slow defensemen or to keep well skating D from getting up the ice too quickly. I think it worked on Edmonton quite well. They want to be up tempo and if they are pushing their forwards up the ice too early the 2-1-2 should counter that fairly well as the D won't get the puck up the ice in time. In the case of Montreal they were all over our "slow" D. Franson, Nelson, Bogo, etc. http://buffalonews.com/2016/10/17/irate-oilers-coach-mclellan-loss-sabres-looked-like-bad-news-bears/ McLellan really ripping his team :D Like saying a PeeWee team could beat you? This is an interesting observation (made by others as well upthread). Three or four times last night, I noticed an Oiler player giving Larsson an extra shove, slash, etc. as the play ended or moved the other way. He must be getting under people's skins, eh? Must be his smug chin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 It's easy to fall in love with a guy like Deslauriers when you're watching two of the worst teams ever assembled (I loved him during the tank years too, and overrated his actual hockey ability). But when put on a team with real talent and playoff aspirations, I think its blatantly obvious the guy doesn't belong. He has his place; the team needs a guy or two like that. Steve Ott in his prime, Marcus Foligno (who has considerably more upside), Sean Avery, etc., can be effective players on a championship team. D-Lo in my mind is in that group. Offensively I wouldn't expect as much from him but not unreasonably to expect him to chip in a goal when the opportunity presents. But.... if we already have Foligno and he's doing that job, do we need two of them? Probably not. The one advantage of D-Lo on the roster is in that rare occasion where three D-men go down and/or in the penalty box, you can turn him around and skate him on the blue line. He has good versatility. But I think we've already seen his best. He's not a problem on the team, but at some point he will be supplanted by one of the guys in Rochester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 It's been a while since I criticized Risto's game so here it goes.. Risto had a nice offensive game. He moved the puck well out of his end and made good decisions on the power play. However, he still looks lost in his own end at times, especially when things get scrambly by the net. He gets caught staring at and playing the puck instead of engaging a body. He also still lacks that quick first step when transitioning from backwards to forwards skating, or from a stand still, which was very noticeable against a fast team like the Oilers. McCabe has that foot speed and quickness, which is where the NHL is trending these days. Unfortunately, I'm afraid this team will continue to get exploited by faster teams until guys like Gorges, Franson, even Bogo are gone from this team. Sure Bogo is fast at top speed, but he has no quickness, he can't get to loose pucks quick enough in the corners, or make a quick escape with the puck on this stick. That said, Risto can still eventually be a highly effective defender, but we need more McCabe like skaters on the back-end to consistently compete in today's NHL. How can you say Risto looked lost defensively? He was a +1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Love that line. It's a playoff line Yes. Gio/Larsson/Foligno is a good line for the playoffs. This is an interesting observation (made by others as well upthread). Three or four times last night, I noticed an Oiler player giving Larsson an extra shove, slash, etc. as the play ended or moved the other way. He must be getting under people's skins, eh? A Big Ball of Hate, perhaps? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 He has his place; the team needs a guy or two like that. Steve Ott in his prime, Marcus Foligno (who has considerably more upside), Sean Avery, etc., can be effective players on a championship team. D-Lo in my mind is in that group. Offensively I wouldn't expect as much from him but not unreasonably to expect him to chip in a goal when the opportunity presents. But.... if we already have Foligno and he's doing that job, do we need two of them? Probably not. The one advantage of D-Lo on the roster is in that rare occasion where three D-men go down and/or in the penalty box, you can turn him around and skate him on the blue line. He has good versatility. But I think we've already seen his best. He's not a problem on the team, but at some point he will be supplanted by one of the guys in Rochester. The players you listed are far and away better hockey players than Deslauriers. Deslauriers is Pat Kaleta without the defensive acumen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Which is why he'll eventually be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampD Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 The players you listed are far and away better hockey players than Deslauriers. Deslauriers is Pat Kaleta without the defensive acumen. Not sure I agree with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Not sure I agree with this. In what way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampD Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 In what way? I think D-lo is pretty solid defensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GASabresIUFAN Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Another cheap shot by Lucic. This time an elbow to Okposo. Why has no Sabre ever stood up to Lucic? Enough already. We can't rely on the NHL to discipline punks. Foligno, Nick etc.. need to protect the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfreeman Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 I think D-lo is pretty solid defensively. Me too. He's a good 4th liner. I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with him. He hits, he fights, he plays a creditable 4th-line shift, he can kill penalties and he doesn't take up cap space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 How can you say Risto looked lost defensively? He was a +1! He's improving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksndmonster Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Me too. He's a good 4th liner. I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with him. He hits, he fights, he plays a creditable 4th-line shift, he can kill penalties and he doesn't take up cap space.I like him as the 13th forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsb Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 How can you say Risto looked lost defensively? He was a +1! Or that Bogosian was bad, he was a +3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted October 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 How can you say Risto looked lost defensively? He was a +1! This is an analytics trap right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Or that Bogosian was bad, he was a +3 Who said Bogo was bad? I liked his game last night, can't really put my finger on any glaring mistakes he made. That's the thing about defenseman, when you don't notice them, they're usually playing well. When you notice them it's usually because they missed an assignment, got caught flat footed, or whiffed on a check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LGR4GM Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Who said Bogo was bad? I liked his game last night, can't really put my finger on any glaring mistakes he made. That's the thing about defenseman, when you don't notice them, they're usually playing well. When you notice them it's usually because they missed an assignment, got caught flat footed, or whiffed on a check. True. I will say I have noticed Jake McCabe a lot this season and it has been for good things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted October 17, 2016 Report Share Posted October 17, 2016 Risto's definitely not looking right. We need him to get better.I'm thrilled that bad Ristolainen is on pace for 164 points. :P And yeah, please let McCabe be for real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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