GDT: Sabres at Habs -- 1/21/17, 7:00 pm

[Huckleberry]

Anyone praising Lehner tonight should stop. He was sloppy and his "big saves" were a product of bad rebound control and positioning.

 

I was listening to the canadian broadcast about all the Lehner rebound control, first thing they always comment on: bad positioning of the sabres on rebounds.

 

I see a goalie, you know there will be rebounds no matter what, I see our defense and forwards always being a step to late, but that just might be me :D

[Ogre]

I had so much fun listening to yesterday's game that I thought I'd tune into a Montreal station to have a listen. My French has gotten so rusty that I had a very hard time following the game. Very sad day for me:( I eventually switched to the tv and saw a pretty good win against a good team. Winning makes me feel like a winner.

[ct fab]

Instead of lehner doing the easy thing and diving across with his glove, I think he should have turned around, dove backwards and saved it with the waffle. Always taking the easy alternative....Yeah and that Jack Eichel kid mails it in every game. He didn't really defend Moulsen after that hit from behind. What actually happened is he tripped and fell into the CAD dman. Too bad Eichel is such a bad skater

[Doohickie]

Zemgus is playing much better hockey recently.

I think it's time to put Carrier where Foligno is too.

I think it's time to put Carrier where Foligno is too.

 

I think it's time to put Carrier where Foligno is too.

[pi2000]

i liked watching the game. it was nice. a win is a good. the players played good. the goalie did good stuff. it made me feel good.

 

thanks for listening.

[Doohickie]

There are some nights to wave that flag, tonight is not one of them

 

We can't waive Flagg.  He's one of our most valuable players!

I've said for awhile that Zemgus was being underutilized and a better all around player than Larsson. Now he's getting a chance to prove it to DD.

 

I'm coming around to that view too, but I still think Larsson has been good in his role as 3rd line center (although he was in a bit of a funk prior to his injury).

[Huckleberry]

We can't waive Flagg.  He's one of our most valuable players!

 

I'm coming around to that view too, but I still think Larsson has been good in his role as 3rd line center (although he was in a bit of a funk prior to his injury).

 

The biggest Issue why I chose Larsson over Zemgus is winning face offs, I don't like that Kane needs to take them for him.

Kane has been doing that for Eichel and Samson to though.

Also Larsson has more of a mean streak.

Edited January 22, 2017 by Huckleberry

[Doohickie]

I had so much fun listening to yesterday's game that I thought I'd tune into a Montreal station to have a listen. My French has gotten so rusty that I had a very hard time following the game. Very sad day for me:( I eventually switched to the tv and saw a pretty good win against a good team. Winning makes me feel like a winner.

 

You get sprinkles!

[Sabel79]

ANTICS!

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPjbcfeAc42/

[Doohickie]

Now that's funny.

[Kristian]

This should be some sort of Sabrespace law.

Thought we already passed it back in '08?

[nucci]

Anyone praising Lehner tonight should stop. He was sloppy and his "big saves" were a product of bad rebound control and positioning.

but he recovered to make the saves. This is becoming like the Bills board...more criticism than praise after a win....

[jsb]

but he recovered to make the saves. This is becoming like the Bills board...more criticism than praise after a win....

 

I thought he was being sarcastic

 

Observations:

The boys are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games

The non-terrible 2s..... 2 wins in a row, 2OT wins in a row, Kane with 2 assists, has he ever had 2 assists before???? He should have had 2 more in this game

I'm in the I like Girgs better than Larry club

Jack's ankle is not 100%..... It really shows in back to backs, I'm not sure many know how hard it is to come back from a high ankle sprain

Is Ristolainen the best player on the team??

Samson doesn't blow you away but he is slowly but surely becoming a better and better hockey player

Bogosian is not as bad as many say and I think he's just rounding back into form after his knee injury. He's actually played well for the past few games

Lehner won us a game finally, outplayed Price who I thought who also played a heck of a game

For being out as much as he's been the past 2 seasons, I think Ennis has had his moments and I think he's 3-0 since returning

Foligno gives his line someone who can win a board battle but I don't see him as a long term answer in that spot

Randall Flagg was NOT the most negative poster in the GDT yesterday....... Kudos to him for being #1 for so long

TrueBlue must have been in the back of the bunker because it took him a loooooong time to post after Bogo's winner

[nfreeman]

It will go largely unnoticed, but we were struggling to even touch the puck in OT, with Risto in particular responsible for another force up the boards and giveaway in OT. But directly leading to the goal, Kane got the puck in our zone along boards and instead of trying to force it, calmly played it back to keep possession. Up the ice, we score.

 

Whale of a game today from Kane.

 

Kane was a freaking beast and created multiple chances.

 

seriously, how do you manage to even manage to get yourself out of bed in the morning? I couldn't imagine being so negative.

 

WC is an excellent poster and is far from negative in tone. 

 

I too thought Lehner was a bit out of position on that play.  Yes, he had to get to his right because of the sweet play by Radulov, but I thought his momentum took him too far.  (Pretty happy with his recovery though!)

 

I can't remember hearing Casey Nelson's name called at all tonight.  That's probably a good thing.

 

With 3 AHLers on the blue line, DD managed to distribute ice time pretty well (and by that, I mean he kept Risto under 30 minutes, even if just barely):

 

Risto:  29:36

Bogo:  25:12  (game winning goal)

Franson:  21:28 (tying goal)

Fedun:  18:08

Falk:  12:47

Nelson:  9:33

 

I found it interesting that Fedun got that much more time than Falk (although I thought Fedun earned his minutes -- he played a nice, steady game and made a number of nice passes).

 

I also noticed that the pairings were pretty fluid -- a bunch of guys got shifts with Risto.

 

Zemgus is playing much better hockey recently.

I think it's time to put Carrier where Foligno is too.

 

Agree on Zemgus.  His line with Kaner and Gio created a lot of chances.

 

Separately:

 

- That was one Lehner's best games as a Sabre, and one of Eichel's worst.

 

- I know I said that Zemgus-Kane-Gio played a strong game, but I'd still rather see Reino centering that line and Zemgus on the 4th line.

 

- Radulov is a dangerous player. 

 

- I didn't like Ennis' game and thought it was a poor decision to play him back-to-back.  I don't see the speed he used to have -- and without it, he's JAG.

 

- Very strong game by ROR.

 

- Risto got a lot of PP time -- 4:42.  Risto is good on the PP, but I thought DDB might've given those minutes to someone else to save some of Risto's energy.

 

- The Sabres still have plenty of issues but they haven't quit.

[TrueBlueGED]

TrueBlue must have been in the back of the bunker because it took him a loooooong time to post after Bogo's winner

Hey! I was pretending to have a life and went out for the game. It's good to pretend once in awhile!

 

...Sorta like people pretending we're still in the playoff race :nana:

[PASabreFan]

Just caught the highlights. Holy Jesus was RJ in fine form tonight! Looked like a great goaltending bout on both sides and I'm happy to see two wins in a row (despite giving up points to divisional teams in OT).

This is one of those Bill Maher "I don't know it for a fact, I just know it's true" deals, but Rick must have been a Habs fans growing up. We know he listened to a lot of Danny Gallivan. There's just something extra special in his calls from Montreal on a Saturday night. Tuesday night in Columbus? Not so much.

 

hahahah unreal. How am I wanting to be negative but yet everyone blaming Kane for not covering his guy is not? I had a different take on a bad play but a great save. Even said it was the best save I've ever seen. Sorry for trying to stimulate some conversation

You're in for a tough haul, son, if you want to have unpopular opinions and try to stimulate conversation in this joint. Imagine getting raked for 12 more years. Our overlord might even accuse you of not being a fan. And your mental health might even be questioned. Fun. Good luck.

 

I had so much fun listening to yesterday's game that I thought I'd tune into a Montreal station to have a listen. My French has gotten so rusty that I had a very hard time following the game. Very sad day for me:( I eventually switched to the tv and saw a pretty good win against a good team. Winning makes me feel like a winner.

I used to listen when I was taking French in school, and I still didn't get 99% of it. La rondelle is puck, I think. Le tire et le but! Sabres de Buffalo.

[Huckleberry]

How did Nelson look like ? didn't watch the game was out getting drunk :D

[Randall Flagg]

Eichel 's play from his stomach to get the puck to Okposo and set up Risto with 6 seconds left was lunacy. He didn't have his best game but when this kid is 23 he's going to be able to do whatever he wants and will be succesful

[pi2000]

How did Nelson look like ? didn't watch the game was out getting drunk :D

He played 9 minutes, was a 0 +/-, and registered 2 shots on goal. Personally I didn't notice him, which means he did his job.

Eichel 's play from his stomach to get the puck to Okposo and set up Risto with 6 seconds left was lunacy. He didn't have his best game but when this kid is 23 he's going to be able to do whatever he wants and will be succesful

He hasn't played well in the second game of back to backs. Which is typical of young players. It takes years to build that endurance without sacrificing strength and speed.

[Ogre]

Eichel 's play from his stomach to get the puck to Okposo and set up Risto with 6 seconds left was lunacy. He didn't have his best game but when this kid is 23 he's going to be able to do whatever he wants and will be succesful

I saw a young guy still learning. Several times in the PP he stood still with the puck(a few folks were criticizing him for it) and suckered in the defenders. One time he drew three in and dished it off to the now wide open spot. Very smart. He knows what kind of space he can create and like you say, at 23 the rest of the league is going to regret taking the penalty when they see Jack come over the boards.

[Doohickie]

I thought he was being sarcastic

 

Observations:

The boys are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games

The non-terrible 2s..... 2 wins in a row, 2OT wins in a row, Kane with 2 assists, has he ever had 2 assists before???? He should have had 2 more in this game

I'm in the I like Girgs better than Larry club

Jack's ankle is not 100%..... It really shows in back to backs, I'm not sure many know how hard it is to come back from a high ankle sprain

Is Ristolainen the best player on the team??

Samson doesn't blow you away but he is slowly but surely becoming a better and better hockey player

Bogosian is not as bad as many say and I think he's just rounding back into form after his knee injury. He's actually played well for the past few games

Lehner won us a game finally, outplayed Price who I thought who also played a heck of a game

For being out as much as he's been the past 2 seasons, I think Ennis has had his moments and I think he's 3-0 since returning

Foligno gives his line someone who can win a board battle but I don't see him as a long term answer in that spot

Randall Flagg was NOT the most negative poster in the GDT yesterday....... Kudos to him for being #1 for so long

TrueBlue must have been in the back of the bunker because it took him a loooooong time to post after Bogo's winner

 

Responding to the bolded ones:

 

To me, Larsson versus Girgensons is not an either/or.  It's worked out that way because Girgensons has largely been filling Larsson's role since his injury, but I like both players when they're playing well (and both have played well for long enough stretches now to evaluate that).  The challenge is on DD to find a way to give each of the right assignments to thrive when they're both healthy.

 

Samson's passing blows me away.  The best or one of the best on the team in terms of passing.  His defensive game is rounding out nicely too.  Maybe some people haven't recognized this yet so they don't see him as a top player, but he's coming along nicely.

 

I agree about Foligno.  I see him as a bottom six guy who can acquit himself well in the top six for stretches when need be.  If you're looking for the board battle guy, that may end up being Carrier.  Or it could be someone who hasn't played in the NHL yet.

How did Nelson look like ? didn't watch the game was out getting drunk :D

He played 9 minutes, was a 0 +/-, and registered 2 shots on goal. Personally I didn't notice him, which means he did his job.

 

Yep.  That's pretty much the way I worded it in my post about D ice time.  I really didn't notice him at all and that's because he didn't play much and made no mistakes.

[Doohickie]

Did anyone else notice how frequently the Sabres D pinched off puck-carrying Habs along the boards? It seemed to happen more frequently than I remember- if a puck carrier was along the boards, rather than try to fight with him along the boards, the D would simply pin him to the boards and let the puck slide free, and more often than not there was another Sabre to pick it up.

[LTS]

They have a lot of forward talent, but that blue line after Hedman and Stralman is a mess.

 

Yea.. kind of like the Sabres and yet a lot of people think they should be better after missing ROR, Kane, and Eichel for many games. :)

 

hahahah unreal. How am I wanting to be negative but yet everyone blaming Kane for not covering his guy is not? I had a different take on a bad play but a great save. Even said it was the best save I've ever seen. Sorry for trying to stimulate some conversation

 

See, I'm not even sure why you were put off by my message so much to respond like this.  I didn't say you can't be negative.  I said it sounded like you were being negative just to be that way and that you were dismissing the counter-argument to your claim that Lehner was out of position rather than discuss it.  You kept on about how he was out of position when others were providing explanations on why he was that far over.  Instead of responding with a rebuttal you reverted to "He overcommitted".

 

I am begin negative on Kane.  I am up for discussing it should there need to be discussion but no one has questioned his positioning as being incorrect.

 

Why is it unreal that someone may attempt to refute your initial statement?  If you want to stimulate conversation stop being offended that people are questioning you and engage with a rebuttal that furthers the conversation.

[Randall Flagg]

Yea.. kind of like the Sabres and yet a lot of people think they should be better after missing ROR, Kane, and Eichel for many games. :)

 

 

 

I

Yes, we did expect a 40 game stretch of better than tank level 5v5 offense from a team that with injuries still had 6 players better than the best tank player. No, we did not get that. No, nobody expected a division winning team. Nobody was being ridiculous with expectations. The team woefully underperformed. They operated at an even strength offense less efficient than teams that were losing on purpose, teams where Foligno was the third most talented forward. That was a problem whether you want to pretend it wasn't or not.

 

and TB's coach IS rightfully on the hot seat right now, much more than our coach is.

 

The criticisms of the team's strategy and production was and is legitimate and went into tremendous detail that you do a disservice to with dismissive comments like that.

[Jsixspd]

Two very good wins back to back.  Would love it if they could keep it up.  They are 6-3-1 in January,  with 13 out of 20 points.   Still skeptical but a decent run over the next 10 games might make me rethink my opinion of the team.