GDT - Devils @ Sabres, 7:00pm MSG, 1/8/2019

[Thorny]

23 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Don't be such a stick in the mud.  They've been hot, they can get hot again.  They will probably improve as a team going forward just due to better knowledge of the system, better chemistry with each other, and individual improvement among the youth movement.  They may falter, but they're not going away.

I won't argue, but they are possibly our top pairing of the future.  I don't mind putting them out together when we have a 4 goal cushion.

Ya. I just think Boston is going to be tough to beat, they were ravaged by injuries and are still ahead of us, and that's with us having a 10 game streak. Not sure we are ready to compete with them over a full 82 yet. But I like the cut of your jib.

I hope not, both lefties. (I KNOW)

[inkman]

19 minutes ago, Taro T said:

They could be.  Dahlin WILL be 1/2 of that pairing.  I'd guess that he ends up paired up with McCabe when he is on that pairing because he's earned it.  But Pilut could be that partner.  Waaaay too soon to tell.  They both will grow from where they are - Rasmus significantly.

But in 2 minutes together the past 2 games they've given up a goal, a breakaway, and had Ray convinced that Drew "the Staph Infection" Stafford had roofed one.  That pairing is nearly as scary as Meszaros-Benoit.

Messy Balls!!

[Thorny]

26 minutes ago, Taro T said:

They could be.  Dahlin WILL be 1/2 of that pairing.  I'd guess that he ends up paired up with McCabe when he is on that pairing because he's earned it.  But Pilut could be that partner.  Waaaay too soon to tell.  They both will grow from where they are - Rasmus significantly.

But in 2 minutes together the past 2 games they've given up a goal, a breakaway, and had Ray convinced that Drew "the Staph Infection" Stafford had roofed one.  That pairing is nearly as scary as Meszaros-Benoit.

My guess is his LT partner is going to be a guy not on the current roster. A right shot, someone like Laaksonen or Borgen.

I feel like we are sitting pretty on the left for the future with Dahlin, Pilut, and McCabe. On the right, Ristolainen is locked in. Having 4/6 of it filled, with those names, is pretty nice. I'm sure Botterill can manage the other 2 on the right, and maybe already has by the early looks of a guy like Laaksonen. 

We also have Samuelsson in the mix on the left. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Thorny

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, Thorny said:

My guess is his LT partner is going to be a guy not on the current roster. A right shot, someone like Laaksonen or Borgen or Samuelsson. 

Very likely that their LT #2 isn't currently wearing B&G.

ST, should they find a way of getting the Scandella from the 2nd 1/2 of last season back, that partner SHOULD be Bogosian.  But they can't put Marco with Ristolainen & neither Pilut nor Beaulieu are able to handle, IMHO, top pairing road minutes either which means either the 3rd pairing suffers without McCabe covering for Marco or the top pairing becomes very problematic if Dahlin isn't with Scandella.

PLEASE make that 2C trade happen soon & please have the requisite D-man going out be Scandella.

[Thorny]

5 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Very likely that their LT #2 isn't currently wearing B&G.

ST, should they find a way of getting the Scandella from the 2nd 1/2 of last season back, that partner SHOULD be Bogosian.  But they can't put Marco with Ristolainen & neither Pilut nor Beaulieu are able to handle, IMHO, top pairing road minutes either which means either the 3rd pairing suffers without McCabe covering for Marco or the top pairing becomes very problematic if Dahlin isn't with Scandella.

PLEASE make that 2C trade happen soon & please have the requisite D-man going out be Scandella.

Dahlin with Ristolainen?

Left D has got to be the strongest position organizationally, no question, right? Things change so fast. 

[Brawndo]

 

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Dahlin with Ristolainen?

Left D has got to be the strongest position organizationally, no question, right? Things change so fast. 

I have not been impressed with the 2 Rasmi on the ice together.  And the biggest issue for me there is that IMHO Dahlin isn't ready for top pairing duty yet.  And Ristolainen doesn't seem to anticipate when Dahlin's going to start freewheeling.  They simply, again IMHO, don't mesh well.  That could change down the road, but at this point there are 2 partners that work well with Dahlin (which when he plays with either both create/ exacerbate the Scandella situation) & when he's with Scandella the 3 pairings overall are probably their strongest.

[JohnRobertEichel]

20 minutes ago, Thorny said:

My guess is his LT partner is going to be a guy not on the current roster. A right shot, someone like Laaksonen or Borgen.

 

Agreed. I doubt that any of Scandella, Bogosian, Beaulieu, Nelson, or Hunwick will be on the Sabres roster 1.5 years from now. I also am unsure if one of McCabe or Pilut fits into the long-term plans because of the expansion draft. And it's too early to say anything about Guhle, Laaksonen, Borgen, or Samuelsson...none of which really project as top-pairing NHL material. Ristolainen will be a long-term Sabre, but he's not a good match with Dahlin.

So the only long-term glaring hole on defense is this #1 right shot d-man to pair with Dahlin. But the Seattle draft looming in the future puts some near-term constraints on where and how we can find this guy.

[darksabre]

1 hour ago, Scottysabres said:

Pilut looked really good tonight.

The Legend of Skinner Grows...……….for how much and how long?

Reinharts CF 77% topped all players.

Botterill's interview revealed nothing we didn't already know. 

Beer night ?

Reinhart on his own line forever please.

[Thorny]

4 minutes ago, Marchand'sNose said:

 

Agreed. I doubt that any of Scandella, Bogosian, Beaulieu, Nelson, or Hunwick will be on the Sabres roster 1.5 years from now. I also am unsure if one of McCabe or Pilut fits into the long-term plans because of the expansion draft. And it's too early to say anything about Guhle, Laaksonen, Borgen, or Samuelsson...none of which really project as top-pairing NHL material. Ristolainen will be a long-term Sabre, but he's not a good match with Dahlin.

So the only long-term glaring hole on defense is this #1 right shot d-man to pair with Dahlin. But the Seattle draft looming in the future puts some near-term constraints on where and how we can find this guy.

Definitely too early to say anything with certainty like you say, but I feel like when Dahlin is nearing his prime (or even just settled in) we aren't going to need a true stud top pairing guy beside him. Someone with the merely steady, functional game of a player like Borgen would I think fit right in.

[Thorny]

9 minutes ago, darksabre said:

Reinhart on his own line forever please.

I never thought I'd say this again but I almost want to try Reinhart at centre one more time. If he bonds to the position this time, and we've got a near point a game, ice-tilting C on line 2, how do we look when Casey is fully bloomed as our 3C?

But maybe Sam can only be that player on the wing.

Edited January 9, 2019 by Thorny

[Doohickie]

15 minutes ago, Thorny said:

But maybe Sam can only be that player on the wing.

That seems to be the case thus far, but I wouldn't mind taking another look.

[dudacek]

52 minutes ago, Thorny said:

Definitely too early to say anything with certainty like you say, but I feel like when Dahlin is nearing his prime (or even just settled in) we aren't going to need a true stud top pairing guy beside him. Someone with the merely steady, functional game of a player like Borgen would I think fit right in.

Samuelsson was drafted to be that guy.

***

Liked the 3 balanced D pairs and the 4 balanced lines, but it’s easier doing that against a Hall-less Devils than a lot of other teams. They sure didn’t look like the team that outskated us into the ground last time.

Wonder what it would look like if we kept Jack away from Sam and Skinny and used him to prop up Okposo or Mittelstadt the way Sam and Skinny ignited their linemates?

Dahlin looked more like himself tonight. Maybe Thorny is on to something with that LD stuff.

Happy that Casey got a goal. More happy that he got a skill goal. Really liked how happy Dahlin was for him.

Maybe it’s not what we hoped for from them three years ago, but Larsson and Girgensons are very good bottom six forwards. If you don’t expect them to score they are really quite effective.

Lot of things to like tonight but Bogo kneeling on top of that Devil like an alpha dog might have been my favourite.

Edited January 9, 2019 by dudacek

[Thorny]

32 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Samuelsson was drafted to be that guy.

***

Liked the 3 balanced D pairs and the 4 balanced lines, but it’s easier doing that against a Hall-less Devils than a lot of other teams. They sure didn’t look like the team that outskated us into the ground last time.

Wonder what it would look like if we kept Jack away from Sam and Skinny and used him to prop up Okposo or Mittelstadt the way Sam and Skinny ignited their linemates?

Dahlin looked more like himself tonight. Maybe Thorny is on to something with that LD stuff.

Happy that Casey got a goal. More happy that he got a skill goal. Really liked how happy Dahlin was for him.

Maybe it’s not what we hoped for from them three years ago, but Larsson and Girgensons are very good bottom six forwards.

Lot of things to like tonight but Bogo kneeling on top of that Devil like an alpha dog might have been my favourite.

Agree with everything. Great post. 

To the bolded, I can take ownership of no original thought here as I really think it's usually as simple as, D at the NHL level, even/especially the star defencemen, play their proper hand. They just do. Of course there are exceptions but statistically it's not that common. I think Dahlin being able to and even preferring the right side is somewhat over-hyped. It's very likely statistically he'll end up on the left. There's a reason all teams do it the same way, it's easier with the speed of the NHL game for D men to have their stick blade on the side of the boards closest to them. 

That's also why I am not sure that Samuelsson was drafted to be his partner. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Thorny

[North Buffalo]

2 hours ago, SwampD said:

Couple of nicknames I figured out tonight from interviews-

Rodger=Rodriguez

Larry=Pilut 

Larsson=Larsson 

Larry is Larsson just saying... 

[Doohickie]

Interesting fact:  14 Sabres registered points tonight.  Every one of them scored exactly 1 point.  No player scored more than a point.

Of those who did not register a point:

• Scandella... not surprising although I thought he played a good game tonight.
• Pominville... the invisible man.
• Girgensons... back after injury, timing off a bit perhaps?
• Reinhart... this shocked me, as he seemed dominant at times.

 

Another interesting fact:  No Sabres registered a - in the +/- ratings tonight.  All forwards were 0 or +1 except ERod, who was a +2 (I thought he played a gritty game).  The Dmen were all +1 or +2 except... you guessed it, Scandella, who had a 0 rating.  If they could do this consistently, they would win consistently.  Perhaps the line shakeup got them all playing for each other again; I hope it continues.

Edited January 9, 2019 by Doohickie

[JJFIVEOH]

23 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Samuelsson was drafted to be that guy.

***

Liked the 3 balanced D pairs and the 4 balanced lines, but it’s easier doing that against a Hall-less Devils than a lot of other teams. They sure didn’t look like the team that outskated us into the ground last time.

Wonder what it would look like if we kept Jack away from Sam and Skinny and used him to prop up Okposo or Mittelstadt the way Sam and Skinny ignited their linemates?

Dahlin looked more like himself tonight. Maybe Thorny is on to something with that LD stuff.

Happy that Casey got a goal. More happy that he got a skill goal. Really liked how happy Dahlin was for him.

Maybe it’s not what we hoped for from them three years ago, but Larsson and Girgensons are very good bottom six forwards. If you don’t expect them to score they are really quite effective.

Lot of things to like tonight but Bogo kneeling on top of that Devil like an alpha dog might have been my favourite.

Eichel needs to be with that line. At this point it's all we have. Ride it out until we get some secondary scoring. 

I'm glad to see Bogo come around. We all knew he is very talented. He's just had a string of bad luck. I really don't think he is injury prone. 

If he can stay off the injury list he could become a long-term D-man. 

[JJFIVEOH]

5 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Interesting fact:  14 Sabres registered points tonight.  Every one of them scored exactly 1 point.  No player scored more than a point.

Of those who did not register a point:

• Scandella... not surprising although I thought he played a good game tonight.
• Pominville... the invisible man.
• Girgensons... back after injury, timing off a bit perhaps?
• Reinhart... this shocked me, as he seemed dominant at times.

 

Another interesting fact:  No Sabres registered a - in the +/- ratings tonight.  All forwards were 0 or +1 except ERod, who was a +2 (I thought he played a gritty game).  The Dmen were all +1 or +2 except... you guessed it, Scandella, who had a 0 rating.  If they could do this consistently, they would win consistently.  Perhaps the line shakeup got them all playing for each other again; I hope it continues.

2011-2012........... the last time a Sabre scored 30 goals. And that was Pominstein. And that was for an entire season. The ballerina is one goal away from that and there is still half a season left. 

How incredible is that?

[Broken Ankles]

1 hour ago, Thorny said:

I never thought I'd say this again but I almost want to try Reinhart at centre one more time. If he bonds to the position this time, and we've got a near point a game, ice-tilting C on line 2, how do we look when Casey is fully bloomed as our 3C?

But maybe Sam can only be that player on the wing.

While he is not listed as C or playing in the D zone, is Sam not the making the plays of a true C in the O-zone?  He was behind the net, creating chances and scoring opportunities which is what has been missing on our 2nd line.   Call him C or RW but I’m onboard him moving to his own line.   I’m also keeping Tage at RW when Jack returns.   Casey scored but overall did not impress.  Struggled mightily on a few occasions to get the puck out of his zone.   Ready for Vlad to slide to 3C and Casey to learn how to ride a bus for a few months.  

[Thorny]

23 minutes ago, JJFIVEOH said:

Eichel needs to be with that line. At this point it's all we have. Ride it out until we get some secondary scoring. 

I'm glad to see Bogo come around. We all knew he is very talented. He's just had a string of bad luck. I really don't think he is injury prone. 

If he can stay off the injury list he could become a long-term D-man. 

No, he was injury prone. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say was because it serves my point: By his own admission he had a nagging injury that went unaddressed, that was the culprit behind his many absences. He was prone to injury for years, because of it. That's all according to him.

Granted, he's not going to use the same definition of injury prone as me, as generally when used, people mean the person in question is naturally prone to being injured in a more general sense. Random injuries. But it comes to the same thing; there was an underlying reason he was missing so much time, so consistently. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Thorny

[Thorny]

4 minutes ago, Broken Ankles said:

While he is not listed as C or playing in the D zone, is Sam not the making the plays of a true C in the O-zone?  He was behind the net, creating chances and scoring opportunities which is what has been missing on our 2nd line.   Call him C or RW but I’m onboard him moving to his own line.   I’m also keeping Tage at RW when Jack returns.   Casey scored but overall did not impress.  Struggled mightily on a few occasions to get the puck out of his zone.   Ready for Vlad to slide to 3C and Casey to learn how to ride a bus for a few months.  

That's a great point. Sometimes I forget to think about it that way. The league leader in Assists over in Winnipeg plays on the right wing. The primary playmaker, usually, I'd say, synonymous with Centre, can definitely be on the wing. Marner does that too. 

[PerreaultForever]

Pah, that was simply fun to watch and I was entertained (and amused by Bogo just sitting on a guy :)) 

Good things happen when everyone plays the system and they play with energy and like a team. This is what the future holds. When we add a few more scorers to this mix we will see greatness. 

The plan is working.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Was that the most complete game the Sabres have played all year?  If not (maybe the Ducks) it's very close.

SO, does NB get the next GDT start?  He's hot ..... ?

[Weave]

Really liked the pace in the first two periods. And really liked TTs game.

Sam did a nice job playing set up guy from the wing.  That might be a good role for him.

Casey...... every once in awhile the kid shows some real flash.  I hope it comes together soon.  He’s hot the skills.

Ill say it, Sobotka looked OK moved up in the lineup.

[North Buffalo]

7 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

Someone was asking about the T shirts the other day  and where you could get one... Now that I see them... yeh I want one!