GDT Penguins At Sabres Preseason Game 2 MSG WGR 550

[Randall Flagg]

2 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I see Pommers as a 3/4 line guy now, who can jump up to the top 6 to change things up or backfill an injury in game.

 

I truly believe that Pominville's top six role is a top 5 reason why we were the worst team in the league last year. 

This team had no idea how to use its veterans and no idea how to maximize its most important pieces, which is how any good team works. We now have a load of pieces with which to figure out how to do each of these effectively and I will be incredibly disappointed if we fall back on things that we leaned on when we were hot garbage

[hockeyhound]

5 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Yeah Vegas was unbelievable. Never have seen a team turn over so many pucks in the neutral zone as they did.

Yeah, and in the playoffs.

Wouldn't that be nice.

Sabres make the Playoffs. ☺️

[Thorny]

15 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

I will say one thing - I don't think Mittelstadt should be a lock, even though I think he is. 

Hm. I thought he looked good today.

[bunomatic]

My Gawd the ballwashing over on the Ott./Tor. game is over the top.

[darksabre]

1 minute ago, Thorny said:

Hm. I thought he looked good today.

He did. And on the power play to boot. 

His talent is undeniable and the team needs it. 

[Thorny]

3 minutes ago, bunomatic said:

My Gawd the ballwashing over on the Ott./Tor. game is over the top.

The guys on TSN Overdrive are probably frothing at the mouth.

[Randall Flagg]

5 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Hm. I thought he looked good today.

Yeah, I don't think he played bad or anything. But a lot of the time when writing him in, I had visions of Pronman's list in my head, and not the hockey I've seen Casey play to date. Which isn't bad, but might need seasoning. 

Similarly, I wouldn't be mad if Asplund didn't make the cut right away even though I love what he's brought so far.

[Doohickie]

But that's okay.  I want some hungry players in the A that are chomping at the bit and ready to move up when the injury bug bites.  This is how JBot builds a team:  From the farm up.

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

Hm. I thought he looked good today.

At times, yes.  But heisn't ready for 2nd forward line C.  Next year he will be.  

He (& the rest of the team) was going against the Wilkesbury(sp?) Pens for the most part.  & swapping out goalies nearly bought them an L.

 

[ubkev]

7 minutes ago, Taro T said:

At times, yes.  But heisn't ready for 2nd forward line C.  Next year he will be.  

He (& the rest of the team) was going against the Wilkesbury(sp?) Pens for the most part.  & swapping out goalies nearly bought them an L.

 

Wilkes Barre

[North Buffalo]

6 minutes ago, Taro T said:

At times, yes.  But heisn't ready for 2nd forward line C.  Next year he will be.  

He (& the rest of the team) was going against the Wilkesbury(sp?) Pens for the most part.  & swapping out goalies nearly bought them an L.

 

That and laying back late in the 3rd... they took their foot off the gas... the forecheck of the first two periods was gone late in the third... 

[Taro T]

3 minutes ago, ubkev said:

Wilkes Barre

Danke.  

[ubkev]

1 minute ago, Taro T said:

Danke.  

Prego

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, ubkev said:

Prego

Really? Congrats.  When's she due?

[nfreeman]

I only saw the 2nd half of the game and the postgame, but I liked what I saw.  Especially Dahlin.

a few other notes:

- very sweet finish by Eichel

- I thought KO looked pretty lively.  I will predict that he’ll get his timing back and have a pretty decent year, and will be ahead of Pommer in the rotation   

- nice hip check by McCabe plastering one of the pens’ forwards into the boards on an attempted rush   

- Marty spoke highly of Hutton’s puck retrieval and passing shills in the postgame, and said that it can be a big factor in taking possession in the D zone and exiting.  

- solid 8 pages on the GDT for a preseason game gents.  

 

[Doohickie]

5 hours ago, nfreeman said:

- solid 8 pages on the GDT for a preseason game gents.  

Pent-up demand.

[woods-racer]

It's been 2 games and we've seen enough to know that there is a very good fight by several players just to make the team for the beginning of October. Young skilled players may not make the team and will be going to the AHL.

Good problems, very problems.

 

The team speed is really improved also. They may not all skate any faster than the players we had just a few years ago, put the puck sure does get up ice faster.

[North Buffalo]

31 minutes ago, woods-racer said:

It's been 2 games and we've seen enough to know that there is a very good fight by several players just to make the team for the beginning of October. Young skilled players may not make the team and will be going to the AHL.

Good problems, very problems.

 

The team speed is really improved also. They may not all skate any faster than the players we had just a few years ago, put the puck sure does get up ice faster.

Oh the young guys skate faster, but yes the puck is moving faster too and skill level is way up.  Combination of factors.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

13 hours ago, ... said:

Is it me, or is Pittsburgh getting their elbows up on the head when they have a Sabre against the boards?

Also, I hate to mention it, but Crosby, Malkin and the Pillsbury Dough Boy aren't out there.

I thought about that too for about 10 seconds.

Then I thought about it and I still hold hope for the Sabres because most of our guys are young and new to the team.  I can only see it getting better for us. We dominated for most of this game and Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, and Letang would have made it a much tighter game no doubt. But it will take time for chemistry to develop and I see good things happening right now and in the near future.

 

[Sabel79]

KO looks to have gained half a step.  Yes, please.  

[jsb]

My takes on the game:

1. Jack is taking his responsibilities seriously, played D, banged on the boards, has the look of someone who's ready
2. Risto's conditioning work from my 1st observation, looks faster, quicker, more engaged
3. Casey seems like he's still figuring things out but every now and then he makes a whoa that was very nice play. A pass to Rodrigues in 3rd for an example
4. Too much passing not enough shooting on PP
5. Some Dmen have a handling the puck and skating skill others don't, Dahlin has it, this guy is going to be special
6. Hutton likes to handle the puck and is already looking better at it than Lehner ever was.
7. McCabe looked better than I've ever seen him, Scandella looked like our 4th best Dmen
8. Even for a preseason game, we were getting the puck out of our own end much quicker than I can remember in quite awhile
9. I know most of you guys like Marty B. but he doesn't know when to STFU. For every good thing he says he bungles something else
10. Does he wear blue contact lenses, it just looks wierd to me especially because he wears blue shirt, blue jacket, blue tie
11. Pilut looks ok but needs strength work, I think he needs to go to Rochester to bulk up a little, I think he gets abused by bigger forwards in NHL
12. NHLTV had the game on the air, preseason game..... NICE, will they do all the games shown on MSG??

Edited September 19, 2018 by jsb

[Doohickie]

1 minute ago, jsb said:

8. Even for a preseason game, we were getting the puck out of our own end much quicker than I can remember in quite awhile

In general, even with the early preseason rust, passing looks better than it's been in ages.  This may finally be the HCPH system we've been waiting for.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

4 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

In general, even with the early preseason rust, passing looks better than it's been in ages.  This may finally be the HCPH system we've been waiting for.

It's also a product of getting the right players to fit that system. Dahlin and Pilut fit that mold of Preds style. We also seem to be getting the support from forwards finally along with better short passing game going up ice. 

Some of that I'm sure is related to coaching and system but also the skill level brought in has alot to do with it. Coachable people can make a difference as well.

[mjd1001]

I watched the game and thought about it, and the things that stood out to me:

1.  Eichel and Skinner didn't mesh well, if they are going to play together, they need more time together to get to know each others tendencies

2. It will be bordering on a Crime if Erod goes to Rochester.  Need to find him a spot on the Sabres

3. McCabe and Risto just want to throw hip checks all day (and its good)

4.  Pilut looks good enough to make the Sabres

5.  The dark navy jerseys are so bad. Why can't they just go to a lighter royal blue?

[PASabreFan]

Haven't read the entire thread. Rick, oh man. Is this a preview of where he's at or just a rough first preseason game? He's approaching Van-at-the-end territory. He had Pominville scoring, not McCabe. He rambled on about his radio job in Ontario while the Pens were pressing to tie the game. He really sounded lost at times. The calls are getting more and more generic as he apparently can't pick up numbers or make the connections anymore.

I thought he made a strong comeback from cancer and heart problems. I'm not sure he can overcome the simple ravages of time. The thing is, I don't think he'll voluntarily retire as long as he thinks he's doing a respectable job. And Kim almost certainly wouldn't want to have to relieve him of his duties, even though it would be justified (in an ideal world, someone who's reallllly good would be waiting in the wings; alas, this is the Buffalo Sabres/PSE we're talking about; hello, Dan). So we're stuck in this awkward situation for who knows how many years.

I keep saying that one thing that could help would be getting Rick a spotter. Or letting him sit in a repurposed suite so he's closer to the action.

We all want Rick to go on forever — mostly we want his voice associated with more great moments in franchise history, maybe even the greatest moment. One way of accomplishing that, and I imagine Rick would rather be tortured by ISIS than agree to it, would be to reduce his role to recreating calls after a game.