erickompositör72 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 One thing I've noticed, game after game, and illustrated by a graph someone posted recently: Every team we play against is successful keeping us to the perimeter when we're in the offensive zone, and forcing us to take low-percentage shots, and shots from the point that get blocked. We win puck battles in the corners by sending 2 or all 3 of our forwards in to win the puck, then have no one in front of the net to pass to. Often, we still throw it in front, basically giving it back to the other team and allowing them and easy break-out, often leading to odd-man rushes unless our forwards haul ass. These are just a couple things. Why does Housley keep having them do the same things, when the entire league has obviously caught on to how to limit our scoring? Is this a coaching failure? There seems to be no creativity. One possible conclusion: our players are not strong enough on the puck to win puck battles in the corner or to get a stick on the puck when they park themselves in front of the net. Other teams seem to have much more success getting point-blank scoring chances, we we don't seem to be able to get a handle (possession/clean shot) from the same spots when we're in the offensive zone. Could this be chalked up to a basic lack of skill? here's the graph I referenced, posted by Randall Flagg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 (edited) IMO it's a system issue. Housley's system is predicated getting as many shots on net as possible and having a net front presence... so players are shooting the puck first chance they get, which is more often than not, from the perimeter. Eichel hinted at this during one of his interviews where he questioned the Sabres shot selection... mentioning he'd like to see them take more high quality shots. It was a from a few months ago, but it stands out to me because it gives some insight into what they're being asked to do... and he obviously didn't sound happy about it. Edited January 8, 2018 by pi2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erickompositör72 Posted January 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 ...insight into what they're being asked to do... and he obviously didn't sound happy about it. are you saying, "here we go again"? But in all seriousness, that system could theoretically work, if our forwards were better and stronger at converging on the net and cleaning up the garbage. It would also require our defensemen to perfect the point shot in traffic- the Goldilocks zone- not too much traffic to get blocked, but not so little as the goaltender sees it clearly and can freeze any rebound. I don't see our team doing any of this well. Maybe Botterill's idea is to acquire players who can do this, and build the team that way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PASabreFan Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 Coaching to possession/analytics? This has always been my fear about that metric. Well, if you shoot the puck, you must be in possession of it, and possession is good, so... fire away, boys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 I don't think it is a system issue. Housley himself has complained about not enough shots in the dirty areas. I think it is a personnel issue. If I am reading the shot map on this site correctly, Jack tends to shoot from the perimeter more often than the league average as well. So if he is complaining about the team shooting too much from the perimeter he can look in the mirror too. https://www.icydata.hockey/players/2610/jack-eichel https://www.icydata.hockey/players/2610/shot-heat-map.png Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 I don't think it is a system issue. Housley himself has complained about not enough shots in the dirty areas. I think it is a personnel issue. If I am reading the shot map on this site correctly, Jack tends to shoot from the perimeter more often than the league average as well. So if he is complaining about the team shooting too much from the perimeter he can look in the mirror too. https://www.icydata.hockey/players/2610/jack-eichel https://www.icydata.hockey/players/2610/shot-heat-map.png Right. It's the players. They just don't seem to have any desire to go where it matters. They play a very perimeter game and I doubt it is by design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 8, 2018 Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 Right. It's the players. They just don't seem to have any desire to go where it matters. They play a very perimeter game and I doubt it is by design. Maybe somebody found some old videos of Housley going to the "dirty areas" & they're just emulating what they've seen. :angel: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi2000 Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 are you saying, "here we go again"? But in all seriousness, that system could theoretically work, if our forwards were better and stronger at converging on the net and cleaning up the garbage. It would also require our defensemen to perfect the point shot in traffic- the Goldilocks zone- not too much traffic to get blocked, but not so little as the goaltender sees it clearly and can freeze any rebound. I don't see our team doing any of this well. Maybe Botterill's idea is to acquire players who can do this, and build the team that way? Housley's system (and 99%) of systems out there today are to get the puck deep, work the forecheck, win the puck back, get it back to the point, go D-to-D if available and fire at the net while the forwards are creating havoc at the top of the crease. It's a safe system that limits odd man rushes against if played correctly and pucks are eventually going to find the back of the net. It's not sexy, it's not fun to watch, but it's basic vanilla hockey that can lead to success if executed consistently. It's the consistency that's an issue... 3 or 4 point shots a period isn't good enough... you need to send 10-15 of those at the net every single period non-stop and you'll get some goals. Housley keeps talking about getting away from that and I agree... they do it for a while, generate some offensive chances, then go back to trying to beat guys one on one if they don't find immediate success. My take is that this style of hockey sucks, it handcuffs the talented players by not giving them scoring chances they would otherwise create with their skill and creativity. It's hockey for dummies IMO, and it doesn't work unless you have a bunch of meatheads willing to get into the dirty areas and pay the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weave Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 Maybe somebody found some old videos of Housley going to the "dirty areas" & they're just emulating what they've seen. :angel: :lol: It's like the parental curse of having kids that behave the way you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 Maybe somebody found some old videos of Housley going to the "dirty areas" & they're just emulating what they've seen. :angel: :lol: :lol: It's like the parental curse of having kids that behave the way you did. Perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 (edited) Their passing still sucks Tampa works around but passes are tape to tape and they are much crisper thru the neutral zone so allow many odd man rush or forcing players out of position creating high quality chances. They just move the puck so much faster. Nashville’s D does much the same. Sabres dont move puck to each other fast enough so many shot are relegated to perimeter. Edited January 9, 2018 by Kottbullar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmel Corn Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 So much for the "attacking" style of offense we heard about during the summer. Don't even get me started on the powerplay....dreadful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 the biggest problem i see, line in and out, there is not someone camped in front of the goalie distracting them and popping in the rebounds and trash. i think there should be 1 person tickling the goalie, telling him a joke or talking about the weather at all times in the offensive zone. reinhart does it on the power play when he is in, but it should be all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 It's like the parental curse of having kids that behave the way you did. :w00t: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erickompositör72 Posted January 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 (edited) the biggest problem i see, line in and out, there is not someone camped in front of the goalie distracting them and popping in the rebounds and trash. i think there should be 1 person tickling the goalie, telling him a joke or talking about the weather at all times in the offensive zone. reinhart does it on the power play when he is in, but it should be all the time. It may be because it takes all 3 of our forwards working down-low to maintain possession of the puck. When we finally get it back to the point, the opposing defensemen have already set up camp to keep the front of the net clear. Someone like Reinhart is certainly not going to bump a defender out of the way I'd have to actually watch more tape to confirm this, but nothing they seem to do works in establishing a presence in front of the net, and actually cashing in on a rebound. It almost seems like every team can just watch the tape, though, and know exactly how to neutralize our attack. It's systematic. Every game exhibits the same failure to execute this. Edited January 9, 2018 by erickompositör72 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 Maybe somebody found some old videos of Housley going to the "dirty areas" & they're just emulating what they've seen. :angel: :lol: :w00t: It's like the parental curse of having kids that behave the way you did. :w00t: This is pure solid gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTS Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 It may be because it takes all 3 of our forwards working down-low to maintain possession of the puck. When we finally get it back to the point, the opposing defensemen have already set up camp to keep the front of the net clear. Someone like Reinhart is certainly not going to bump a defender out of the way I'd have to actually watch more tape to confirm this, but nothing they seem to do works in establishing a presence in front of the net, and actually cashing in on a rebound. It almost seems like every team can just watch the tape, though, and know exactly how to neutralize our attack. It's systematic. Every game exhibits the same failure to execute this. Reinhart is actually pretty good at standing in front of the net and deflecting pucks. He's scored quite a few that way. Gionta was good at it as well. I think it's more about getting the defender occupied on moving you and adding to the screen than moving the defender. Just need to get the tip on the shot. The problems are nailed in this thread quite well and you have it down here with a few others. They can't win puck battles at even numbers and many times even with an extra guy. They are too slow at making decisions and moving the puck. They are not clean on the passing when they finally decide. The last two issues are real killers and definitely one of the major problems on the power play. Even if they could skate fast they will slow themselves down with decision making and passing. They are getting better at board battles and I think we've seen some control of the puck around the perimeter but they are terrible at retrieving the puck after a shot. This is likely because they needed to get a little more out of position in puck support (and battles) just to set up the shot and the players aren't able to get back into a workable area for scoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 (edited) My critique of Housley is that I don't like the way he combs his hair. I mean really.... what's going on there? Edited January 9, 2018 by Anordning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabres Fan in NS Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 My biggest problem is with his wardrobe. I mean, who dresses this guy? Who wears that tie with a checked shirt? And don't get me started on the whole checked shirt thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 (edited) That shirt would look nice draped over a table though, amirite? Edited January 9, 2018 by Anordning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Buffalo Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 especially with a subtle stripped jacket, white or light yellow plain works. His wife is a politician and should know this, but she is not around to dress him.. just ask my wife what happens... taken years of training but Im Phil’s age and have been trained... what is his excuse? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woods-racer Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 (edited) My biggest problem is with his wardrobe. I mean, who dresses this guy? Who wears that tie with a checked shirt? And don't get me started on the whole checked shirt thing. I like his style. Checked shirt. Stripped jacket. Polka dotted tie. Who came up with really lame fashion faux pas to begin with? Just imagine if he wore white! My goodness its after labor day. BURN HIM! Edited January 9, 2018 by skogslopp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTS Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 My critique of Housley is that I don't like the way he combs his hair. I mean really.... what's going on there? ZFG? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 ZFG? That's SOOOO 2014. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBlueGED Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 My critique of Housley is that I don't like the way he combs his hair. I mean really.... what's going on there? He's a man in denial about what's going on up there. He needs to just cut the cord and shave it. Alternatively, he could beg Taro for a transplant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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