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The Blueline Is A Mess


Cascade Youth

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12 hours ago, Cascade Youth said:

Much has been made about secondary scoring and it's an issue, for sure.  The power play is completely ineffective as well.  The Sabres also haven't been getting the lucky bounces they were getting early in the season.

But from my (admittedly amateur) vantage point, the issue is clearly the defensemen.  2-5 times per game, at least, they make GLARING, BASIC, PEE WEE-LEVEL mistakes.  Muffin passes in front of their own net (Pilut last night, Scandella against Edmonton).  They are passive.  They lose focus.  They sit and watch the play happen as if they're spectators.  They fail to pinch.  Risto looks like he's suffering from overuse; Dahlin is still learning the game; the rest of these guys are just not very good.  

I'm wondering whether the increased offensive responsibilities Housley's system puts on them is just too much for these guys - they aren't able to contribute offensively while also keeping track of basic defensive assignments like staying with their man (Scandella is the biggest offender - he needs to sit in the press box ASAP).

I'm starting to wonder whether the blueline isn't a bigger need than another forward who can score.  I think it might be.  The Sabres' leaky defense lost them the game last night.

Just my two cents - don't worry, I don't plan to start threads too often.

In light of the quality start thoughter and the resulting participants and points of view, I’d say start as many threads as you can.

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On 1/19/2019 at 11:31 AM, Weave said:

 

Pilut was on the ice for all 4 goals against last night.  I'd imagine shellshock right about now.  I'd be surprised if teams weren't targeting him.

It's a bad idea if they are. He's been one of the Sabres most reliable and productive defenders. 

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Frankly this entire team is a mess right now.  The goaltending has benn soft.  The forwards don’t back check and the defense is often out of position.  This is a coaching issue somewhat, but it’s a lack of effort from many players.  Lazy.  

For example, Pilut was clearing the puck out of a corner and passed it to an open Risto.  Risto didn’t move his feet and missed the puck causing a turnover wrongly credited to Pilut that ended up in the back of our net.

Ive been begging Jbot to send a message but he isn’t going to do anything until the deadline.  I’m now convinced we have another lost season on our hands.

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Power Play 101:  Move the puck QUICKLY; someone's always open to shoot.  Shoot, shoot, shoot.  Chaos in front of the net.  It ain't rocket science though has been for the Sabres for years.

Power Play 102:  The point man has to get the puck on the net, hard.  He ideally should be mobile with the puck before he shoots.  Watch Larry Murphy tapes from when he was a Capital.

Power Play 103:  Utilize players best able to execute all of the above.

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Ignore his Norris joke. Pilut is not just the best blueliner but the best Sabre when it comes to for and against chances 5v5. So while some may want to be upset with him over the last game, over the course of the year he is very very good. Also the one goal in the last goal was 100% on Risto, guy needs to skate and not just stand there and miss a pass. 

 

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4 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Ignore his Norris joke. Pilut is not just the best blueliner but the best Sabre when it comes to for and against chances 5v5. So while some may want to be upset with him over the last game, over the course of the year he is very very good. Also the one goal in the last goal was 100% on Risto, guy needs to skate and not just stand there and miss a pass. 

 

But Rodrigues...

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1 hour ago, SwampD said:

Good,... fine.

Bad,... sure.

Dull,... um, okay.

Fun?... uhhh,...

 

...and I’m supposed to take advanced stats seriously.

 

?

'you say black; I say white'

'you say bark; I say bit'

'you say shark; I say, hey, man ... Jaws was never my scene and I don't like Star Wars'

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3 hours ago, SwampD said:

Good,... fine.

Bad,... sure.

Dull,... um, okay.

Fun?... uhhh,...

 

...and I’m supposed to take advanced stats seriously.

 

?

Dull specifically relates to where you fall on that axis and so does fun. Dull indicates you are preventing teams from producing chances but also not producing chances yourself. 

Fun means you are producing chances but also allowing chances to be produced, aka firewagon hockey. 

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22 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Dull specifically relates to where you fall on that axis and so does fun. Dull indicates you are preventing teams from producing chances but also not producing chances yourself. 

Fun means you are producing chances but also allowing chances to be produced, aka firewagon hockey. 

You mean like the Caps/ Sharks game last night? Would've liked to have seen that one.

E. Kane tied it up with 1 second left  to send it to OT.

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8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

Dull specifically relates to where you fall on that axis and so does fun. Dull indicates you are preventing teams from producing chances but also not producing chances yourself. 

Fun means you are producing chances but also allowing chances to be produced, aka firewagon hockey. 

I know that. Is it really the job of advanced stats to assign an entertainment value to data? What if low event hockey that comes about because of brutally brutal hockey where guys are sacrificing themselves on both sides of the puck and lots of checking and big hits are the result? There is no way that that isn’t fun hockey.

Just sayin’.

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Pilut has been fantastic this year. He’s had a bunch of hand grenade moments, but his overall game has been excellent. He tilts the ice in the other direction whenever he is on the ice.  He’s the 2nd best puck mover on the team after Dahlin. 

Pilut-Risto, Dahlin-Bogo is the best top 4 we’ve had since Lydallinder and Spacampbell.

 

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4 hours ago, jame said:

Pilut has been fantastic this year. He’s had a bunch of hand grenade moments, but his overall game has been excellent. He tilts the ice in the other direction whenever he is on

 

I'm guessing you missed the Vancouver game? :)

Needs a lot of work on the defensive side of his game if you ask me. 

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4 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I'm guessing you missed the Vancouver game? ?

Needs a lot of work on the defensive side of his game if you ask me. 

Nah, I just don’t overreact to singular bad plays and take the entirety of play in to account. 

Turnovers, bad decision making, etc can be corrected. Instinct and vision with the puck cannot be taught. 

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5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

I'm guessing you missed the Vancouver game? ?

Needs a lot of work on the defensive side of his game if you ask me. 

Disagree. I think he needs minimal work and has made a couple rookie mistakes. 1 of those Vancouver goals was a direct result of Risto not skating yet Pilut keeps getting the blame. He's very sound defensively and only has hiccups here and there.  

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1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

https://theathletic.com/784315/2019/01/25/bang-for-buck-story/ 

So underrated it hurts. Also Erod gets stuck with the boat anchor that is Sobotka.

The downside to being pretty much the only player on the roster that has been able to give him scoring chances that even he can't kill.

Where do scoring chances go to die?  Sobotka.  (Pretty sure it's near Kazakhstan.)

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This topic is OLD. A NEW topic should be started unless there is a VERY SPECIFIC REASON to revive this one.

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