GDT - Florida Panthers @ Buffalo Sabres - January 3, 2019 - 7:00 PM

[Andrew Amerk]

-Tage has one of the wickedest shots in the league. Let him shoot as often as possible

-Larry was a beast in faceoffs tonight. Cannot overlook that work

-Dahlin was getting pushed around, then got a penalty for a hip check? That’s a penalty? Or, did I miss something else?

-Okposo got a penalty for stick-work? That’s a thing now? So, if you lift another players stick from behind, that’s a penalty? Or, withholding another players stick from above (same thing, different angle), that’s a penalty now?

-Ullmark over Hutton now

-Skinner needs Eichel? Guess not. Does Eichel need Skinner? If not, when 9 comes back, split them to lead different lines 

-HCPH is not the coach for this team. He’s going to get his leeway as long as they keep winning and the D keeps chipping in offensively, but he is not a coach built for the playoffs. 

[Doohickie]

19 minutes ago, pi2000 said:

Did not like Rodrigues between Skinner/Reinhart.    That line was pinned in their own end on quite a few occasions.    Rodrigues just doesn't have the strength to win any pucks down low.      If I'm Housley I move Reinhart to center on that line and promote somebody like Sheary who's been snakebit.    

The line scored three goals.  He's not touching it.

HOWEVER:  If they do, let Larsson center the line with Reino and Skinner.  He's earned a shot with the big boys with his play all year (and yeah, he was out there for the first Skinner goal).

Edited January 4, 2019 by Doohickie

[SwampD]

6 minutes ago, Taro T said:

No.  It was not the ref's decision whether or not to challenge the ref's call.  It was Housley's.

 

And I disagree with Hamilton that the call absolutely would not have been overturned.  The hit from the 1st Panther sent him towards the net & the 2nd redirected him into Luongo.  Not saying it absolutely would have been overturned,  but there was a legitimate argument to have it overturned & should it have happened, the game was essentially over.  In a worst case, they lose a timeout that they didn't use any how.

I think there is no way that gets overturned. If I'm the coach, there is no way I'm wasting a TO on that. Qkoposo trips over the first gut, then guts nudged by the second guy and completely wipes out Luongo. Even Okoposo knew it wasn't a goal.

[SABRES 0311]

2 hours ago, MODO Hockey said:

Dirty game, skinner saved us, ullmark was between bad and almost ok.

 

Great win, important as any win but feelsgoodman! gnite

Between bad and ok? Not sure we saw the same game.

[Doohickie]

I couldn't watch the game live.... looks like no one posted this.  We need this even more now while Jack is out.
 

 

[North Buffalo]

16 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Nicely done.

 Not sure what you were watching.Tonight he was clearly carried by ERod. ?

Wonder if 80 points gets him any respect. Most points ever scored by a 2014 draftee: 80 by David Pastrnak.

I remember when leaning on a guy’s stick was called good defence. Pretty sure that was in the second period.

***

Jeff and Sam did OK without Jack, eh? 

Tage and KO each created chances for their lines. This team is so much better when that happens.

Sobotka is much easier to take when others are scoring.

I love Dahlin, but his pillowy soft side is starting to grate on me.

Sheary is grinding his stick to sawdust.

Casey Mittelstadt was as invisible as I have ever seen him.

***** the details. We finally beat Florida.

Mitts was invisible till the third, played good D and really needs a setup guy with him... Sam's pass to him and his shot almost beat Luongo... got get another passer on his line.  Agree on the rest.  Maybe move Jack to Mitts line and keep ERod up with Skinner and Sam?.. when Jack gets back.

[dudacek]

17 minutes ago, Andrew Amerk said:

 

-Okposo got a penalty for stick-work? That’s a thing now? So, if you lift another players stick from behind, that’s a penalty? Or, withholding another players stick from above (same thing, different angle), that’s a penalty now?

 

Two plays in recent games:

Opponent carrying puck. Sabre behind him taps down one-handed on the shaft of his stick. Puck carrier not disrupted. Sabre gets penalty for slashing.

Sabre carrying puck. Chara behind him taps up two-handed on the shaft of his stick. Puck carrier loses control of the puck as his stick flies up, catching Chara in the face. Sabre gets penalty for high-sticking.

Both calls seem to be consistent with what seems to be the league standard right now.

How the ***** can that standard be considered fair and good for the game?

It used to be that stick on body was a foul and stick on stick was not. That’s the way it should be again.

[North Buffalo]

Ok's was a Penalty, he hooked his blade down over top of his opponents stick... I have had that penalty called on me in beer league last year.  It's the new standard.  That being said hate that Penalty... If you just put your blade flat over top of the opponents stick it is not a penalty.... just saying.   Watch the replay, KO inverts his stick.

Edited January 4, 2019 by North Buffalo

[dudacek]

1 minute ago, North Buffalo said:

Ok's was a Penalty, he hooked his blade down over top of his opponents stick... I have had that penalty called on me in beer league last year.  It's the new standard.  That being said hate that Penalty... If you just put your blade flat over top of the opponents stick it is not a penalty.... just saying.   Watch the replay, KO inverts his stick.

I agree it was the proper call given today’s standard.

I just think it’s a stupid standard.

[SwampD]

Upon further review, Reinhart's goal was something' special. That Panther that pretended he got ht  by Sam should be suspended for a game for being a douche. There is just no placer that  in hockey.

[North Buffalo]

23 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Upon further review, Reinhart's goal was something' special. That Panther that pretended he got ht  by Sam should be suspended for a game for being a douche. There is just no placer that  in hockey.

Eklab... and Yandle should be run..

Edited January 4, 2019 by North Buffalo

[...]

I'm pretty much on board the consensus analysis of the game except the "Dahlin was/is soft" narrative.  For the body he has, he's playing a good game.  He's no Bogo, McCabe or Risto, but he hits.  The dude is a year older than my oldest kid - there is no way a boy that young is going to play a game like a man.  All of that considered, his game isn't soft, so I don't know what y'all are watching.

[MODO Hockey]

1 hour ago, SABRES 0311 said:

Between bad and ok? Not sure we saw the same game.

We did, just expect more of him. He didnt look sharp at all, i know when he looks sharp and not, trust me. 

 

4 hours ago, Pimlach said:

How was Uhlmark anything but solid?  He won and got little help in front of his net. 

He wasnt solid at all, if he was solid Sabres would have won 4-1. 

[SABRES 0311]

1 hour ago, MODO Hockey said:

We did, just expect more of him. He didnt look sharp at all, i know when he looks sharp and not, trust me. 

 

He wasnt solid at all, if he was solid Sabres would have won 4-1. 

3 GA on 38 SA. 2 for 3 against a top 5 PP unit. Held it down as a backup for a team who has difficulty maintaining leads and earning regulation wins post streak. I think he did good.

[Huckleberry]

1 hour ago, MODO Hockey said:

We did, just expect more of him. He didnt look sharp at all, i know when he looks sharp and not, trust me. 

 

He wasnt solid at all, if he was solid Sabres would have won 4-1. 

You have been pretty harsh on him this year, but you know him the best.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Great win.  It looks like they played well as a team and earned it.

Now we can focus on those dastardly Bruins.  Some one start the GDT.  

GO SABRES!!

[DHawerchuk10]

6 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

That was fun. 

I need to say it, the refs did not have a good game, they really just missed big plays and it bit buffalo on the 1st one. 

Yandle needs a shot, bad, I can't believe it didn't happen, but we won, so in the end I guess that's what matters. 

Tage looked great and Okposo had some bull moves and some beast mode out there tonight. 

Middlesuck probably needs to sit for a game, his confidence is shot. 

Dahlin is soft-ish, but he's like 9 years old, he skated tonight like he was in the beginning of the year, I enjoyed his little moves to get us outta trouble. 

We slayed a panther, now let's harpoon a Bruin 

I wouldn’t say Dahlin is really soft, but lacks urgency in his game.  I think where some folks see calmness, I see someone who is having issues with the speed of the game.  I might be articulating it wrong, but always he seems to wait too long with the puck, and gets stripped a lot.

[Marions Piazza]

10 minutes ago, DHawerchuk10 said:

I wouldn’t say Dahlin is really soft, but lacks urgency in his game.  I think where some folks see calmness, I see someone who is having issues with the speed of the game.  I might be articulating it wrong, but always he seems to wait too long with the puck, and gets stripped a lot.

He's going to make mistakes, he's only 18. Kid has 20 points in 41 games, I can take some mental errors as he continues to learn the speed of the game.

Victor Hedman had 20 points in 74 games as a 19 year old rookie, just throwing that out for reference. 

[PASabreFan]

7 hours ago, Taro T said:

No.  It was not the ref's decision whether or not to challenge the ref's call.  It was Housley's.

And I disagree with Hamilton that the call absolutely would not have been overturned.  The hit from the 1st Panther sent him towards the net & the 2nd redirected him into Luongo.  Not saying it absolutely would have been overturned,  but there was a legitimate argument to have it overturned & should it have happened, the game was essentially over.  In a worst case, they lose a timeout that they didn't use any how.

I hate to be cynical (teehee), but if I had to guess, Phil didn't know or forgot that you can challenge that play. Rob and Rick didn't know, and they temporarily convinced me that the play couldn't be reviewed.

I think it was better than even odds that the call is overturned. I suspect that the ref from his angle didn't catch the crosscheck, only seeing that Okposo was already falling.

[DHawerchuk10]

11 minutes ago, Marions Piazza said:

He's going to make mistakes, he's only 18. Kid has 20 points in 41 games, I can take some mental errors as he continues to learn the speed of the game.

Victor Hedman had 20 points in 74 games as a 19 year old rookie, just throwing that out for reference. 

You are totally right of course.  But I don’t think it is wrong to analyze his weaknesses.  

[Marions Piazza]

20 minutes ago, DHawerchuk10 said:

You are totally right of course.  But I don’t think it is wrong to analyze his weaknesses.  

i agree with the above bolded, but my take is that they aren't much to worry about.

[Pimlach]

Middlestat, Pommer, and Ellie all played under 7 minutes so no matter how you stack them, they are the 4th line.   All are underperforming.   CJ Smith already fitting in better than these three.  

 

Road game coming versus Boston, it will be harder to hide this trio.    We get Eichel back, then we get Girgs and Wilson.  We still need a 2nd center, one that can actually play NHL hockey, to make a playoff run.  

[dudacek]

7 hours ago, ... said:

I'm pretty much on board the consensus analysis of the game except the "Dahlin was/is soft" narrative.  For the body he has, he's playing a good game.  He's no Bogo, McCabe or Risto, but he hits.  The dude is a year older than my oldest kid - there is no way a boy that young is going to play a game like a man.  All of that considered, his game isn't soft, so I don't know what y'all are watching.

Not soft as in lacking toughness, soft as in lacking urgency, or authority.

I have no doubt it will fade as he matures, but right now he is clearly a boy playing with men way too often. He’s out of sync with the power of the game around him and it results in poorly executed clears, pinches and coverages.

You’re right. There is no way a boy that young - particularly playing defence - is going to play the game like a man. That’s why I will get frustrated with his play at times, why I forgive him and why it is so rare for someone his age to be doing what he is doing.

[LGR4GM]

31 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Not soft as in lacking toughness, soft as in lacking urgency, or authority.

I have no doubt it will fade as he matures, but right now he is clearly a boy playing with men way too often. He’s out of sync with the power of the game around him and it results in poorly executed clears, pinches and coverages.

You’re right. There is no way a boy that young - particularly playing defence - is going to play the game like a man. That’s why I will get frustrated with his play at times, why I forgive him and why it is so rare for someone his age to be doing what he is doing.

I agree. I was thinking this 2 games ago. He just very nonchalantly skating towards the opposing player behind the net. I was yelling for him to hustle. He looks lost at times and I really do feel, he should sit a couple of games. He played 67 games last year spread out further than his NHL time thus far. I think there is a little burnout going on. 

Still... he is almost exactly on pace for his projected points. If he hits 36 points this season, he basically was exactly where he was supposed to be. That is impressive for an 18yr old kid. 

[inkman]

Is it out of line to want to see Tage on the top line?  I'd say top 6 but after Jack, Sam and Jeff, there really isn't much there.