GDT - LA Kings @ Buffalo Sabres - 12/11/18 7PM MSG

[inkman]

I really enjoy wins 

[PerreaultForever]

nice to win but there is no way this should have gone to OT. They finally scored on the 4 on 3 in OT but so many PP chances we should have put them away early and scored 6 or 7. There is absolutely no way we go far with this crap PP. 

Also have to question the coaching with a flat start against a tired slow team. We played down to their speed for most of the game instead of coming out blazing against them and burying them. Very bad effort imo. Lots of passengers. We seem to have lost that high tempo possession game we had going in the winning streak.

With that in mind, I don't get why Housley sits Zemgus some nights. Yes, he lacks skill and is far from what was expected where he was drafted BUT he brings effort every night and tonight it was rewarded. We need more of that attitude and tenaciousness and I would play him over some of the floaters or on again off again vets like Okposo, Pominville or Sheary. Larrson and Girgensens play well together and should play every night.

Now I don't see Rochester but is Guhle a huge disappointment? Is Tennyson really the best call up option we have cause he is down right dreadful.

Win is a win but this was not a good game.

 

 

 

 

 

[North Buffalo]

Ghule is finally done pouting not making the team this year and is playing well... not sure he is the best option yet... Tennyson at least has some NHL experience, but yeh he is  garbage.

[dudacek]

36 minutes ago, FuhrUrsinne said:

 

The top 3 teams in the Atlantic are clearly TB, Toronto, and Boston in that order. Washington, Pitt, and Columbus should fill up the Metro spots. Among the remaining 10 teams, Buffalo better ***** finish #1 or #2 or Housley needs to be canned. I don't think I've ever been so dissatisfed after a Sabres win than I am now.

 

It was an incredibly ugly, frustrating second. But we did outshoot them 47-29 and erased a two-goal deficit. The weird thing is, I expected a young team lacking any sort consistency but capable of high highs and low lows as they learn how to win.

But I didn’t expect so many wins. So any dissatisfaction Is playing second to this:

17 minutes ago, inkman said:

I really enjoy wins 

 

[Huckleberry]

Finally a win again  ?

[Tondas]

59 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Ghule is finally done pouting not making the team this year and is playing well... not sure he is the best option yet... Tennyson at least has some NHL experience, but yeh he is  garbage.

North, I agree with a ton of the stuff you post,. but calling Tennyson garbage is over  the line.  He's not a top 6, and may never be, but he plays to the best of his ability and has played hard in his few NHL games.  Plus he is valuable in Roch.   Not sure why the term "garbage" struck me ( and I'm sure you didn't mean it as I am feeling it), but  I can't bust on a guy who is playing over his ability, and living his dream (albeit short) in the NHL. 

[North Buffalo]

58 minutes ago, Tondas said:

North, I agree with a ton of the stuff you post,. but calling Tennyson garbage is over  the line.  He's not a top 6, and may never be, but he plays to the best of his ability and has played hard in his few NHL games.  Plus he is valuable in Roch.   Not sure why the term "garbage" struck me ( and I'm sure you didn't mean it as I am feeling it), but  I can't bust on a guy who is playing over his ability, and living his dream (albeit short) in the NHL. 

Yeh didn't mean it that way... but he is playing way over his head at this point in his game.... doesn't have the speed or the ice awareness to execute today's game and not enough nasty either.  He has bounced around and saw him play for the Kings earlier in his career not sure when and he had a bit more going for him then.  Just not an NHL level player at this point in his career and over his head... No he doesn't make mistake positionally, but doesn't have it at this level anymore... what I see Nelson being in a few years, ok defender when younger but when your legs slow down and you aren't that fast to begin with... I  understand why the Sabres brought him up... experienced and unlikely to be claimed if sent down again and not a huge loss given their long range plans if he is claimed... would rather have Redmond called up, but he would probably be claimed given all the injuries throughout the league on the back end... so there is that.  But not sure if he gives the Sabres enough to justify bringing him up... 

[SABRES 0311]

Glad to get a win but do we need that many PP opportunities to get a PP goal?

I vote for Sam to PP2 and Sherry to PP1 and Sam to FL2.

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

20 minutes ago, North Buffalo said:

Yeh didn't mean it that way... but he is playing way over his head at this point in his game.... doesn't have the speed or the ice awareness to execute today's game and not enough nasty either.  He has bounced around and saw him play for the Kings earlier in his career not sure when and he had a bit more going for him then.  Just not an NHL level player at this point in his career and over his head... No he doesn't make mistake positionally, but doesn't have it at this level anymore... what I see Nelson being in a few years, ok defender when younger but when your legs slow down and you aren't that fast to begin with... I  understand why the Sabres brought him up... experienced and unlikely to be claimed if sent down again and not a huge loss given their long range plans if he is claimed... would rather have Redmond called up, but he would probably be claimed given all the injuries throughout the league on the back end... so there is that.  But not sure if he gives the Sabres enough to justify bringing him up... 

I think Redmond is on a one-way contract and can't be called up.

[SABRES 0311]

IMO Eichel needs a shorter stick. Imagine how terrible of a time it would be to defend against him with those hands and speed if he wasn’t dragging the puck four feet behind. Shorter time/distance to get a shot off.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

They needed to win this game to save the season, IMO.

They fell behind and did a gut check in the second intermission and found a way to win.  No Sabre team in the last 5+ years would have done that, IMO.

Taro, you did it man.  If available, see if you can start the GDT tomorrow.  If not, someone else go for it.  I will not.

I like Inky and I like wins.

GO SABRES!!

 

[MODO Hockey]

@LGR4GM

Guess santa is real ?

[Sabre1974]

9 hours ago, Tondas said:

I'm crushed.  You got me to maintain positivity throughout this game.  Now you've dashed my hopes.

Very true though. We are what we are at the moment, mid table team at best with a young team learning every game. It will take time.

[jsb]

Thoughts on the game:

1. Eichel is playing as well or better than he ever has
2. Skinner is just a PITA in front of the net
3. The rookies Dahlin, Pilot, Casey, Thompson (he's only played 65 games in his career he's still a rookie), Ullmark kick the skill level on this team up to a higher level than it's been in a long time, having said that they are all making rookie mistakes that will eventually go away, be patient brothers and sisters, be patient
4. Dahlin has otherworldly skills especially for a Dman. Wow, nothing short of WOW moments
5. Girgensons must be overly aggressive with Mrs. Pegula, no other reason he's not a mainstay on that 4th line, brings energy every game
6. I know some of you guys hate Bogosian, but I just don't get it, he brings veteran leadership to the backend
7. Coach Smith may be the steal of the year for this team
8. The Dmen are light years ahead of where we were the past few seasons, just night and day
9. Phil find out who coached the PP for disco Dan and bring him back, immediately
10. Larsson scored a goal, Larsson scored a goal, nothing short of a Bucky Dent moment
11. We won't win the cup this year but POINTS against anybody is a good thing for this team. Trust me on this, it's a good thing

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 hour ago, Sabre1974 said:

Very true though. We are what we are at the moment, mid table team at best with a young team learning every game. It will take time.

Love the very European reference here.

[thewookie1]

I have a quick theory on Eichel:

If it is true he shortened his stick to some small degree that would account for three effects

1. He has to readjust his shot and thus his goal scoring was down. He's shooting but his accuracy is down. Now he's beginning to get used to it.

2. He's a tad shiftier than the last three years. His long stick gave him fits with trying many dekes due to it getting caught on everything in the area. We've seen him look less awkward when doing stick tricks.

3. He's playing the body a bit more on defense and back checking a bit harder since he can't just reach half way across the rink to try and poke it away. I think he's worked on D for a myriad of reasons as well, but this may at least have a small unconscious effect

[That Aud Smell]

5 hours ago, SABRES 0311 said:

IMO Eichel needs a shorter stick. Imagine how terrible of a time it would be to defend against him with those hands and speed if he wasn’t dragging the puck four feet behind. Shorter time/distance to get a shot off.

My main takeaway from the game last night is that Eichel is an absolute beast right now - a monster. He is rapidly growing into the role of undisputed 1C and Captain.

Also: I think it's widely agreed that he's already shortened his stick.

12 minutes ago, jsb said:

Thoughts on the game:

Eichel is playing as well or better than he ever has

I know some of you guys hate Bogosian, but I just don't get it, he brings veteran leadership to the backend

Good post. Agreed on that first one. On the second one, I think it's his heavy feet in small spaces that cause the concerns.

1 minute ago, thewookie1 said:

I have a quick theory on Eichel:

If it is true he shortened his stick to some small degree that would account for three effects

1. He has to readjust his shot and thus his goal scoring was down. He's shooting but his accuracy is down. Now he's beginning to get used to it.

2. He's a tad shiftier than the last three years. His long stick gave him fits with trying many dekes due to it getting caught on everything in the area. We've seen him look less awkward when doing stick tricks.

3. He's playing the body a bit more on defense and back checking a bit harder since he can't just reach half way across the rink to try and poke it away. I think he's worked on D for a myriad of reasons as well, but this may at least have a small unconscious effect

Good post - agreed on all points.

I really think there's something to the shorter stick having an effect on finishing (goals). He seems to have sorted that out. Or the puck luck is just coming his way a bit more.

[Samson's Flow]

This team is going to go as far as our Power Play and Secondary scoring takes us. Right now both of these areas are struggling greatly and has contributed to losing a lot of games recently.

While neither one was a strong point tonight, it is amazing how a few goals from the fourth line (Zemgus and Larsson) made all the difference, as it seems with the way the first line is going we can count on them for nearly 2 goals a game. I still don't see any danger at all from the Casey and Sobotka lines, which is really hurting our chances of consistent success. There seems like there should be enough talent in the middle 6 that some combination should be able to provide a goal a game/every other game, but it just isn't working right now.

The Power Play was bad last night as well, but still managed to score two goals (Eichel snipe and the Skinner OT winner). Again we have seen the PP be explosive last year with basically the same personnel, so they just need to get it together and start shooting more. If Dahlin can get his shot going from the right slot it will prevent teams from camping on Jack and provide more space. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Hey Rambo,

Did you put away the knife?  I could barely recognize you.

[PASabreFan]

27 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Also: I think it's widely agreed that he's already shortened his stick.

He said as much. Randall found a podcast. The only question is whether he's shortened it bit by bit throughout his NHL career or dramatically shortened it for this season. It sure sounded like it's been a gradual thing, which argues against Eichel having to to get used to it early in this season.

[LGR4GM]

I decided to pull a Flagg and watch and pay attention every time Sobotka had the puck on his stick. Outside of faceoffs, Sobotka is where the offense goes to die. He is sound positionaly on defense but that's it. He needs less ice time not more and seeing him out their in the 3rd was brutal. 

Also, take Okposo from Mitts and give him Reinhart. Casey I still think needs to sit for a couple of games. It is clear moving too fast for him and he is just focused on his defense. That's not a bad thing but we need him to create and he really isn't.

Pilut... he's clever and crafty. 

Dahlin, heard this on WGR, this is the worst we will see Dahlin play... wowser. 

Zemgus deserved a star last night. He was great and I wish that is the player we got every night. 

Jack Eichel... he's tied for 9th in points and tied for 16th in ppg. Sh% has rebounded from a low of 5.1 up to 7.2% and he has goals in the last 3 games. Still he can't do it alone. 

[PASabreFan]

To clean up the confusion surrounding the ref telling "Buff" (I thought he said "bud") to play the puck after the Kings had highsticked it... Dark was correct. There's no penalty there for failing to play the puck. I had questioned whether the ref might call a player for delay of game. Marty had said he talked to the league and the league said the ref had the discretion to blow the play dead and have a faceoff nearby. I wondered if he had also had the discretion to penalize someone.

Alas, there's no discretion at play:

Refusing or Abstaining from Playing the Puck - The purpose of
this section is to enforce continuous action and both Referees and
Linesmen should interpret and apply the rule to produce this result.

72.3 High Stick – When a player contacts the puck with his stick above the
normal height of the shoulders and a teammate elects not to play the
puck to avoid the stoppage of play, and the opposing team also
abstains from playing the puck (perhaps to allow time to expire on a
penalty), the Referee shall stop the play and order the resulting faceoff
at the face-off spot in the zone to nearest to where the play was
stopped for this violation.

[darksabre]

2 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

To clean up the confusion surrounding the ref telling "Buff" (I thought he said "bud") to play the puck after the Kings had highsticked it... Dark was correct. There's no penalty there for failing to play the puck. I had questioned whether the ref might call a player for delay of game. Marty had said he talked to the league and the league said the ref had the discretion to blow the play dead and have a faceoff nearby. I wondered if he had also had the discretion to penalize someone.

Alas, there's no discretion at play:

Refusing or Abstaining from Playing the Puck - The purpose of
this section is to enforce continuous action and both Referees and
Linesmen should interpret and apply the rule to produce this result.

72.3 High Stick – When a player contacts the puck with his stick above the
normal height of the shoulders and a teammate elects not to play the
puck to avoid the stoppage of play, and the opposing team also
abstains from playing the puck (perhaps to allow time to expire on a
penalty), the Referee shall stop the play and order the resulting faceoff
at the face-off spot in the zone to nearest to where the play was
stopped for this violation.

Yup.

Poor Pilut, who is new to the NHL, made the mistake of listening to the ref. His teammates were anticipating the play to be blown dead and then he touches the puck and rings it up the boards catching everyone off guard. The Kings subsequently score. 

That ref should be penalized by the league for not knowing the rules. That play should have been blown dead. 

[PASabreFan]

8 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Dahlin, heard this on WGR, this is the worst we will see Dahlin play... wowser. 

Maybe they meant it in a good way? I suspect Dahlin will always be that devil-may-care player who takes chances and that'll be the beauty of him. He reads and reacts almost instantly and uncannily usually doesn't get hurt by a bad mistake. The upside is we're almost always out of trouble in our zone and away through center. He'll have his boners and some fans will never forget (Housley to Richer cough cough).

[Sabres Fan in NS]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

Maybe they meant it in a good way? I suspect Dahlin will always be that devil-may-care player who takes chances and that'll be the beauty of him. He reads and reacts almost instantly and uncannily usually doesn't get hurt by a bad mistake. The upside is we're almost always out of trouble in our zone and away through center. He'll have his boners and some fans will never forget (Housley to Richer cough cough).

I am sure they meant that he is playing very well now and will only get better.  

This kid will win multiple Norris Trophys unless something really goes wrong.