GDT Montreal at Buffalo Sabres 7pm ET 10-25-2018

[Wyldnwoody44]

I dont know if my eyes deceive me, but did anyone see Dahlin in the corner, throttle that Montreal guy that was pestering him. It was verrryy subtle and he probably should've gotten a roughing penalty, but I chuckled as he skated away with the Puck. 

 

That game was freaking awesome, I am sad that I didn't attend live, but watching it made me happy inside. 

The Pominville goal was sweet retribution for getting crushed in front, the fact they challenged it was laughable. 

Jack is not on the scores sheet, but if he plays like he did today and we keep winning then I'm good with in, in fact, if the team keeps playing like this, win or lose, in really gonna enjoy this season. 

So now what does Housley Do, when injured played return, are they forced to wait it out now? 

[...]

2 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

Bro.

If you think a game where the Sabres play MTL, get 40+ shots, come back from 1-goal deficits three times, and win with a minute to go is boring — it is time for some genuine self-reflection.

Yeah, the last half of the third had a near-1st series playoff game vibe to it.  I don't know how anyone could call that game boring.

[PromoTheRobot]

7 hours ago, Andrew Amerk said:

Also.

1. Hope those Habs fans that invaded the barn are enjoying their long ride back home. 

2. Hope the STH’s are ashamed of selling their tickets instead of watching a competitive team win in a great game. Please stop trying to help give TOR and MTL “home” advantage in these games. 

Some had to drive all the way from Fort Erie.

Also, why weren't you at the game if you're so worried about opposing fans in your barn?

[Andrew Amerk]

2 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Some had to drive all the way from Fort Erie.

Also, why weren't you at the game if you're so worried about opposing fans in your barn?

1. I’m not a STH. Didn’t realize that you were. 

2. I have a 1 year old daughter that I have sole custody of. Babysitting options are limited, and I don’t trust her with strangers. 

[inkman]

I can't blame season ticket holders trying to recoup a little of their thousands they spend on season tickets. The prices are absurd. 

[darksabre]

20 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I dont know if my eyes deceive me, but did anyone see Dahlin in the corner, throttle that Montreal guy that was pestering him. It was verrryy subtle and he probably should've gotten a roughing penalty, but I chuckled as he skated away with the Puck. 

 

That game was freaking awesome, I am sad that I didn't attend live, but watching it made me happy inside. 

The Pominville goal was sweet retribution for getting crushed in front, the fact they challenged it was laughable. 

Jack is not on the scores sheet, but if he plays like he did today and we keep winning then I'm good with in, in fact, if the team keeps playing like this, win or lose, in really gonna enjoy this season. 

So now what does Housley Do, when injured played return, are they forced to wait it out now? 

I mentioned that too. It looked like he straight punched the guy in the head. I was stunned he didn't get called for it ?

[LTS]

This thread is great.  It should stay pinned for later in the season when the Sabres go through a rough stretch just so people can come back in here and be reminded of what this team can do and how it can make everyone feel.

They are still learning and there will be some rough patches but watching what this team has done and more importantly how they've done it over the past few games is enough to have the hope that people have needed for quite some time.

The defense still has room to improve.  Scandella was trash out there tonight and could use a few nights off to get his head straight. I only blame him for the Armia goal as he basically stopped skating and that's why the linesman waived off the icing.  Sure, you can argue that it should have been called icing anyway and most of the time it would be, but that Montreal player didn't stop skating for a second.  That's a notable point.  If Scandella skates it out that gets called and there's no chance at the net.  The first goal was a bit unfortunate as I believe it hit something on the clear and it popped out into the ice, but Scandella has to be better there as well.

Larsson should get credit for his play (some have mentioned it). It seems like every time I see him on the ice he's maintaining possession working it along the boards in the opponent's end of the ice. I'll take a player who can go out on a shift and do that with consistency.  That whole line just seems to work well at slowing down the pace of the other team. The way I see it, they give the Sabres top 2 lines a chance to rest and can do it without risk of giving up a goal.

There's a video of the Okposo goal that shows Dahlin passing the puck to Okposo at the same time Eichel is pointing to Okposo.  It's a great indicator of how those two think the game and see the ice that they realize the right pass at the same time.  It's pretty cool to see.

Final thought... Jack Eichel is leading this team.  He may not have had points tonight and we are probably looking for more goals from him but his physical play and determination are on full display and the team has to feed off that. It took years for a player like Ovechkin to learn how to really play a sound defensive game while maintaining his scoring touch and it seems like Eichel is well on his way at a much faster pace.  The goals will come for him.

Actual one more final thought... we watch other team that generally back off and try and to close Eichel into a space because if they try to play him man to man they know he'll make them look stupid.  I see teams doing similar things already when Dahlin has the puck.  Teams are backing off knowing that he has the ability to make any single defender look silly out there. It might not be as pronounced as it is with Eichel, but it's there. That's some significant praise for the kid's ability.

 

[LGR4GM]

40 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

I dont know if my eyes deceive me, but did anyone see Dahlin in the corner, throttle that Montreal guy that was pestering him. It was verrryy subtle and he probably should've gotten a roughing penalty, but I chuckled as he skated away with the Puck.  

Dahlin is quietly a physical animal in his own end. 

[sabills]

So I'm still not 100% on the ROR trade, dude has skills and there's no denying that he's a great center, but last year when they go down two different times there's no way they come back from it. This game they looked unphased. I'm sure there's a variety of reasons for that, including just having more skill, and having more confidence because they KNOW they have more skill. But it does make me wonder if that negativity from O'Reilly really did have a true negative effect on them.

[darksabre]

1 minute ago, sabills said:

So I'm still not 100% on the ROR trade, dude has skills and there's no denying that he's a great center, but last year when they go down two different times there's no way they come back from it. This game they looked unphased. I'm sure there's a variety of reasons for that, including just having more skill, and having more confidence because they KNOW they have more skill. But it does make me wonder if that negativity from O'Reilly really did have a true negative effect on them.

Don't forget Lehner's toxicity too. 

[Doohickie]

3 minutes ago, sabills said:

So I'm still not 100% on the ROR trade

I looked over at the Blues:  ROR is a scoring machine (he'd be leading the Sabres in points if he was still here), but St. Louis is not winning games.  So he's making a similar contribution there.  I see the trade as addition by subtraction.

[TrueBlueGED]

I'm going to the game in Columbus on Saturday. A week ago I was dreading it. I woke up today wanting Friday to end as quickly as possible to get me to game day. I think that says it all.

[French Collection]

Finished reading the entire thread, thanks to all for the info. I watched TSN highlights and they only showed a few Sabres plays.

Momentum. That's a powerful thing.

They will have these comebacks in their memory banks and become more relentless.

Missed the game because I was at an OHL game, watched Pekar play. He got a nice shorty and had a few bursts of speed. He may develop into something.

[That Aud Smell]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

I can't blame season ticket holders trying to recoup a little of their thousands they spend on season tickets. The prices are absurd. 

A-freaking-men.

38 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Dahlin is quietly a physical animal in his own end. 

I don't know if this aspect of his play was undersold as a prospect, but it is surprising me just the same. He likes to take the body -- and seems to know how to do it with good technique.

[Radar]

1 hour ago, inkman said:

I can't blame season ticket holders trying to recoup a little of their thousands they spend on season tickets. The prices are absurd. 

If I remember correctly aren't you the one that said if you're not at the game you shouldn't say anything or something to that effect. Seems odd you're defending fans selling tickets. I agree prices are high which is why many fans can't attend games.

Edited October 26, 2018 by Radar

[sabills]

29 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Don't forget Lehner's toxicity too. 

I also was not a Lehner hater when he was here, but seeing a real goalie has flipped the script for me. Even with Hutton's not so hot night there would have been at least 2 more goals for Montreal if Lehner was in net.

[Mustache of God]

Great win last night. I had hockey so I missed most of it and loved what I saw from the extended highlights...minus Scandella, hopefully he can put this one behind him and be better moving forward.

I know its EARLY, but, is St. Louis' pick lottery protected? Because that's looking pretty, pretty good right now.

[North Buffalo]

Dahlin needs to add a few more pounds because sometimes he get wrecked in the corners.  That being said he doesnt shy away and seems to carry a nasty vendetta.  Adding 20 lbs on that frame is gonna make really scary in the corners.  

[Randall Flagg]

If you think the subtraction of ROR (and replacing him with 23 games, 2 non-empty-net points, 3 points total, and about 5 healthy-scratches) has something to do with the team's effort and winning this game (in October last year he willed them back down from 3 goals at Boston to win in it in OT off of his ferocious effort, a much better team than any they've beaten so far), and that it's the absence of his sadness that let them do so, and not the absence of ALL of Matt Tennyson, Justin Falk, Josh Gorges, Lehner/Johnson, Seth Griffith, Matt Moulson, Jordan Nolan, Zemgus&Larsson surrounded and affected by those guys, and lifeless-leg version of Pominville over the players playing the way they are now who were all in the lineup at the same time in our first ten games last year and obviously the reason we were bad considering ROR was one of two players on the team to elevate their linemates' overall hockey abilities offensively and defensively, and one of two to win the important shot share/expected goal battles, and that the presence of ROR in St. Louis that's dragging them down (I've watched some of their hockey and he's been even better than I've ever seen him here, which is probably something to do with not breaking defensive usage records and playing with Tarasenko) over Jake Allen's .876 save percentage on the year, and continue to harp this toxicity and "vortex of sadness" while blatantly ignoring the guy who had those same traits to a degree that he almost f*cking died last year because that guy gave you a story and this guy gives you an out to not bash on your buddies, I don't respect your hockey opinions and you're probably John Vogl, who has shown laughable analysis despite writing some nice pieces about things that aren't on the ice.

To be clear, i"m not calling anybody here out. This was spurred by a couple of posts but taken to this degree when remembering all the trash Vogl has said

Every single one of the reasons we have a good start this year was on the roster last year or acquired in different deals. Every single one. 

As we start playing Atlantic division opponents more, I'm going to get worried about the Sobotka-Tavares, Sobotka-Trocheck, Sobotka-Point, Sobotka-Boston etc. matchups, because that is where our weakness is going to stink the most, which is why I'm exploring the phones if I'm JB today. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Randall Flagg

[WildCard]

4 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

If you think the subtraction of ROR (and replacing him with 23 games, 2 non-empty-net points, 3 points total, and about 5 healthy-scratches) has something to do with the team's effort and winning this game (in October last year he willed them back down from 3 goals at Boston to win in it in OT off of his ferocious effort, a much better team than any they've beaten so far), and that it's the absence of his sadness that let him do so, and not the absence of ALL of Matt Tennyson, Justin Falk, Josh Gorges, Lehner/Johnson, Seth Griffith, Matt Moulson, Jordan Nolan, Zemgus&Larsson surrounded and affected by those guys, and lifeless-leg version of Pominville over the players playing the way they are now who were all in the lineup at the same time in our first ten games last year and obviously the reason we were bad considering ROR was one of two players on the team to elevate their linemates' overall hockey abilities offensively and defensively, and one of two to win the important shot share/expected goal battles, and that the presence of ROR in St. Louis that's dragging them down (I've watched some of their hockey and he's been even better than I've ever seen him here, which is probably something to do with not breaking defensive usage records and playing with Tarasenko) over Jake Allen's .876 save percentage on the year, and continue to harp this toxicity and "vortex of sadness" while blatantly ignoring the guy who had those same traits to a degree that he almost f*cking died last year because that guy gave you a story and this guy gives you an out to not bash on your buddies, I don't respect your hockey opinions and you're probably John Vogl, who has shown laughable analysis despite writing some nice pieces about things that aren't on the ice.

 

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Edited October 26, 2018 by WildCard

[sabills]

6 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

If you think the subtraction of ROR (and replacing him with 23 games, 2 non-empty-net points, 3 points total, and about 5 healthy-scratches) has something to do with the team's effort and winning this game (in October last year he willed them back down from 3 goals at Boston to win in it in OT off of his ferocious effort, a much better team than any they've beaten so far), and that it's the absence of his sadness that let him do so, and not the absence of ALL of Matt Tennyson, Justin Falk, Josh Gorges, Lehner/Johnson, Seth Griffith, Matt Moulson, Jordan Nolan, Zemgus&Larsson surrounded and affected by those guys, and lifeless-leg version of Pominville over the players playing the way they are now who were all in the lineup at the same time in our first ten games last year and obviously the reason we were bad considering ROR was one of two players on the team to elevate their linemates' overall hockey abilities offensively and defensively, and one of two to win the important shot share/expected goal battles, and that the presence of ROR in St. Louis that's dragging them down (I've watched some of their hockey and he's been even better than I've ever seen him here, which is probably something to do with not breaking defensive usage records and playing with Tarasenko) over Jake Allen's .876 save percentage on the year, and continue to harp this toxicity and "vortex of sadness" while blatantly ignoring the guy who had those same traits to a degree that he almost f*cking died last year because that guy gave you a story and this guy gives you an out to not bash on your buddies, I don't respect your hockey opinions and you're probably John Vogl, who has shown laughable analysis despite writing some nice pieces about things that aren't on the ice.

 

[Doohickie]

58 minutes ago, French Collection said:

they only showed a few Sabres plays. 

NHL site with all replays and highlights:  https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/mtl-vs-buf/2018/10/25/2018020135#game=2018020135,game_state=final

 

[darksabre]

10 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

If you think the subtraction of ROR (and replacing him with 23 games, 2 non-empty-net points, 3 points total, and about 5 healthy-scratches) has something to do with the team's effort and winning this game (in October last year he willed them back down from 3 goals at Boston to win in it in OT off of his ferocious effort, a much better team than any they've beaten so far), and that it's the absence of his sadness that let them do so, and not the absence of ALL of Matt Tennyson, Justin Falk, Josh Gorges, Lehner/Johnson, Seth Griffith, Matt Moulson, Jordan Nolan, Zemgus&Larsson surrounded and affected by those guys, and lifeless-leg version of Pominville over the players playing the way they are now who were all in the lineup at the same time in our first ten games last year and obviously the reason we were bad considering ROR was one of two players on the team to elevate their linemates' overall hockey abilities offensively and defensively, and one of two to win the important shot share/expected goal battles, and that the presence of ROR in St. Louis that's dragging them down (I've watched some of their hockey and he's been even better than I've ever seen him here, which is probably something to do with not breaking defensive usage records and playing with Tarasenko) over Jake Allen's .876 save percentage on the year, and continue to harp this toxicity and "vortex of sadness" while blatantly ignoring the guy who had those same traits to a degree that he almost f*cking died last year because that guy gave you a story and this guy gives you an out to not bash on your buddies, I don't respect your hockey opinions and you're probably John Vogl, who has shown laughable analysis despite writing some nice pieces about things that aren't on the ice.

To be clear, i"m not calling anybody here out. This was spurred by a couple of posts but taken to this degree when remembering all the trash Vogl has said

Every single one of the reasons we have a good start this year was on the roster last year or acquired in different deals. Every single one. 

As we start playing Atlantic division opponents more, I'm going to get worried about the Sobotka-Tavares, Sobotka-Trocheck, Sobotka-Point, Sobotka-Boston etc. matchups, because that is where our weakness is going to stink the most, which is why I'm exploring the phones if I'm JB today. 

tl;dr

[Doohickie]

But, narrative, Flagg.  NARRATIVE.

 

(Don't break ranks!)

[nfreeman]

Flagg -- I get your point.  It's not unreasonable.

But it's also not just about the numbers.

It's pretty clear that there were major problems with the team's mental makeup over the past few seasons.  The guys who run hockey teams for a living were in much better positions than we are to evaluate those problems and to come up with solutions. 

One of those solutions was to ship ROR out.

So far, the combined effect of the various solutions they implemented has been a pronounced improvement in the team.  Would this improvement have occurred anyway if they had kept ROR but implemented all of the other solutions?  Maybe, maybe not.  We'll never know.

But the team is unquestionably faster and better, and they seem to like each other more.

And (trigger warning!) it can't be ignored that STL is 2-7 and DFL in their division.