Phil Housley should be fired.

[That Aud Smell]

12 hours ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Personally, I just wish people wouldn't care about these things at all. Or at least, not confuse them with whether a coach has emotion or how he coaches the players. 

Thing is, people do care -- the overwhelming majority of them (often, my included). This is not just an X's, O's, player-development, player-management business. It's a largely an entertainment enterprise. Phil is one of the main faces of the franchise. How he presents to the fan-base is all we have to go off of.

5 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

My own view is that you, like so many Buffalo fans for years, over values the players on our roster. 

Pommer, for example, an over the hill cap dump by Minnesota is our 4th highest goal scoring forward. Something wrong with a roster where that's the case. 

I saw some analytics Tweets a while back indicating that, contrary to commonly received wisdom, Pominville has been a useful NHLer this season. True?

My eyeball test probably won't help me. I stopped paying attention to this squad some time ago. From what I can recall, he was ... okay.

[Eleven]

2 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

I saw some analytics Tweets a while back indicating that, contrary to commonly received wisdom, Pominville has been a useful NHLer this season. True?

Very much so.  He's this team's Jochen Hecht.

[dudacek]

12 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Housley has tried just about every combo possible, but no matter who plays with who there is zero secondary scoring and since the top line has dried up there is virtually no scoring, period. Our goal differential is almost at the bottom of the league.

I'm no fan of Housley's, but I do think believing that a coaching change will fix this is false hope.

How do we explain the first half of the season - not the streak, the first half?

Between Oct. 20 on Jan. 11 we played 37 games. We lost by more than 1 goal six times. We either won, or had a good chance of winning 31 out of 37 starts.

If Housley is that bad, if the players are that bad, how did that happen?

It boggles the mind.

[Curt]

9 minutes ago, dudacek said:

How do we explain the first half of the season - not the streak, the first half?

Between Oct. 20 on Jan. 11 we played 37 games. We lost by more than 1 goal six times. We either won, or had a good chance of winning 31 out of 37 starts.

If Housley is that bad, if the players are that bad, how did that happen?

It boggles the mind.

In the first half of the season, the goaltending was much better.  That’s a major part of how.

[klos1963]

4 hours ago, kas23 said:

If I was a betting man, it was Pegs that hired Housley. He was a glamorous pick. A past Sabres hero - a pick that offered fans nostalgia. It’s just smells too much like a Terry pick. 

This has nothing to do with his performance as coach, but does anyone remember when he played here? It's like nobody ever paid attention back then. He was the face of our failures. He was a scorer who couldn't play defense. Right or wrong he and Andreychuk took a lot of them blame for the playoff failures. I don't know how you can call him a 'sabres hero'. Fans couldn't wait to get rid of him. If Pegula did this for any other reason than thinking he was the best choice , it confirms some of the worst fears about his judgement.

[Eleven]

5 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

Right or wrong he and Andreychuk took a lot of them blame for the playoff failures.

Two Hall of Famers.  I'd say "wrong."

[klos1963]

59 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Two Hall of Famers.  I'd say "wrong."

they didn't help much at the time, but I agree.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, Curtisp5286 said:

In the first half of the season, the goaltending was much better.  That’s a major part of how.

 

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

How do we explain the first half of the season - not the streak, the first half?

Between Oct. 20 on Jan. 11 we played 37 games. We lost by more than 1 goal six times. We either won, or had a good chance of winning 31 out of 37 starts.

If Housley is that bad, if the players are that bad, how did that happen?

It boggles the mind.

I think goaltending is a major factor in this Jekyl and Hyde season.  I’d like to see the stats broken down by month on Save %, shot attempts, shots allowed, shots on goal, and scoring chances.

My feeling is that for much of he second half of the season the ice tilted more toward our end as our D broke down.  I think injuries didn’t help, but overall I think the level of play diminished by the D and the goalies.  

[Broken Ankles]

8 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

 

I think goaltending is a major factor in this Jekyl and Hyde season.  I’d like to see the stats broken down by month on Save %, shot attempts, shots allowed, shots on goal, and scoring chances.

My feeling is that for much of he second half of the season the ice tilted more toward our end as our D broke down.  I think injuries didn’t help, but overall I think the level of play diminished by the D and the goalies.  

it's in Hockey reference.

[Radar]

Agree on goaltending. I think it went bad second half but we didn't look all that great in front of them either. Frankly I'm not sold on Ulmark or Hutton but not sure where to get anything better short term. 

[...]

6 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I think goaltending is a major factor in this Jekyl and Hyde season.  I’d like to see the stats broken down by month on Save %, shot attempts, shots allowed, shots on goal, and scoring chances.

My feeling is that for much of he second half of the season the ice tilted more toward our end as our D broke down.  I think injuries didn’t help, but overall I think the level of play diminished by the D and the goalies.  

I think our one-dimensional style, lack of real talent and inexperience all played a hand in this.  Once the book was out on how to discombobulate our D, there were never adjustments made to counter that book because the focus was on execution.  But they're not going to get Nashville-style execution with the lack of talent on one side, and the inexperience on the other.

Goal-tending suffered, then, because a lot of the shots against were either high-quality, or took advantage of the chaotic D.  On the last point, there were way too many "flukey" goals for them to be random.  I guarantee part of the book was to lob the puck from below the dots 90 degrees at a Sabres D man in front.

Both goalies were sufficiently rattled starting in late December and never recovered.  While the latter half of the season has shown us our goalies do not have the mental fortitude or technical skill to be number ones, I think nearly any good goalie would have looked bad in front of our D.

Injuries, lowering confidence, inability to maintain the appropriate pace throughout the season, and general positional and in-game strategic confusion was added to an already teetering D core, which features a lack of appreciation for puck possession, an inability to control zone exits, and at least half who can't stand the thought of laying a hit or receiving one to make a play.

 

[LGR4GM]

The league adjusted, Housley never did and never will because he isn't as smart as he thinks he is. Yet another coach like Rolston, and Bylsma who is not a leader but soft spoken guy who only holds people accountable sometimes because it makes him uncomfortable. He should have been fired on February 1st and this stage fire him the 2nd Buffalo finishes their season. 

[PerreaultForever]

5 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

Thing is, people do care -- the overwhelming majority of them (often, my included). This is not just an X's, O's, player-development, player-management business. It's a largely an entertainment enterprise. Phil is one of the main faces of the franchise. How he presents to the fan-base is all we have to go off of.

I saw some analytics Tweets a while back indicating that, contrary to commonly received wisdom, Pominville has been a useful NHLer this season. True?

My eyeball test probably won't help me. I stopped paying attention to this squad some time ago. From what I can recall, he was ... okay.

Don't get me wrong, not blaming or picking on him. Just saying he can't be your "okay" 4th best forward. he has to be your okay bottom six guy. You can run through all the names and every single one of them was simply not good enough. Even the top line, for a top line, wasn't good enough. Sam is only a 20 goal scorer. That's 2nd line, not first.  

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

How do we explain the first half of the season - not the streak, the first half?

Between Oct. 20 on Jan. 11 we played 37 games. We lost by more than 1 goal six times. We either won, or had a good chance of winning 31 out of 37 starts.

If Housley is that bad, if the players are that bad, how did that happen?

It boggles the mind.

Here's how:

1. Much better goaltending.

2. More energy and speed from our side. Skinner was red hot and under the radar for opposing teams.

3. Faced a number of back up goalies, we were not taken seriously and teams were not playing their better second half hockey.

4. Lastly, a little luck during the streak. A few bounces.

That's it. Even then we lacked secondary scoring. We won by a goal or in OT. I can think of one game this year we dominated. Maybe there were a few but not many. Fragile win streak to say the least.

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Don't get me wrong, not blaming or picking on him. Just saying he can't be your "okay" 4th best forward. he has to be your okay bottom six guy. You can run through all the names and every single one of them was simply not good enough. Even the top line, for a top line, wasn't good enough. Sam is only a 20 goal scorer. That's 2nd line, not first.  

Reinhart is 63rd in league points. He has more than Skinner. This is a bad definition of what makes a first line player especially considering reinhart was on a line with Skinner and Eichel for a good chunk of the year and would have naturally passed to them. There are 90 first line NHL players, Reinhart at 63 would fall in that list. Is he better as a 2nd line yes but I am just arguing the definition you are putting forth.

 

Also, Reinhart should have been given his own line to run from the start unlike what Housley did. 

[dudacek]

2 hours ago, klos1963 said:

they didn't help much at the time, but I agree.

 They did their part. That’s the mistake people make blaming the top players. 90 per cent of the NHL and nearly as many Sabres can help in the right situation, but you can only carry so many replacement level players. A third-liner can produce like a second liner if he is playing with two first liners. And like a fourth liner if he is playing with two fringe guys.

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

 

I think goaltending is a major factor in this Jekyl and Hyde season.  I’d like to see the stats broken down by month on Save %, shot attempts, shots allowed, shots on goal, and scoring chances.

My feeling is that for much of he second half of the season the ice tilted more toward our end as our D broke down.  I think injuries didn’t help, but overall I think the level of play diminished by the D and the goalies.  

Ullmark in Oct. 935 (just three games)

Nov. 922

Dec. 915

Jan. 902

Feb. 889

Mar. 884

 

36 shots against per game in November, 31 in March.

Edited April 1, 2019 by dudacek

[PerreaultForever]

1 minute ago, LGR4GM said:

Reinhart is 63rd in league points. He has more than Skinner. This is a bad definition of what makes a first line player especially considering reinhart was on a line with Skinner and Eichel for a good chunk of the year and would have naturally passed to them. There are 90 first line NHL players, Reinhart at 63 would fall in that list. Is he better as a 2nd line yes but I am just arguing the definition you are putting forth.

 

Also, Reinhart should have been given his own line to run from the start unlike what Housley did. 

Maybe, but he's not a playmaker. A lot of his points are garbage assists. Jack is the only playmaker on that line and almost always has to carry the puck in and make the pass. The 3rd guy has to be a sniper or a tougher front of the net guy depending on your philosophy.

Housley tried the Mittlestadt/Reinhart combo. For a few games I thought it might work,  but it didn't hold up for long.

Not aimed at anyone  personally, but I never understand why Sam gets so much defense on this board while Jack takes heat for not being amazing every night. Both 2nd overalls. Go figure. 

[LGR4GM]

11 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

Maybe, but he's not a playmaker. A lot of his points are garbage assists. Jack is the only playmaker on that line and almost always has to carry the puck in and make the pass. The 3rd guy has to be a sniper or a tougher front of the net guy depending on your philosophy.

Housley tried the Mittlestadt/Reinhart combo. For a few games I thought it might work,  but it didn't hold up for long.

Not aimed at anyone  personally, but I never understand why Sam gets so much defense on this board while Jack takes heat for not being amazing every night. Both 2nd overalls. Go figure. 

... this just isn't based on facts. 2nd on the team in primary assists at 5v5, Sam Reinhart with 17. 2nd on the team in primary assists at all strengths, Reinhart with 28. Oh and he is tied with Eichel for 5v5 goals as well. 

... that's because Housley is a moron. 

 

I think Eichel is amazing. Sam is good in his own ways but not on Jack's level. The reason I defend Reinhart is because for 2 years I heard all about how he was garbage and a bust and a bad pick which was never true. Reinhart will be fine. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by LGR4GM

[LGR4GM]

Dahlin has a really high number of secondary assists. That's something to keep an eye on next year. 

[Ogelthorpe]

Agree on goaltending.  Allen needs to be looked at heavily. Both goalies regressed and that has to be remedied.  I want Allen gone before he ruins UPL

[Zamboni]

 When someone judges a player on  only the goals he scores,  And nothing else, it really says a lot about what they watch or don’t watch in a game.

 Therefore… Everybody must suck Except Jack Eichel.  Unless you expected him to score over 50 goals this season, then he sucks too!

Edited April 1, 2019 by Zamboni

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

... this just isn't based on facts. 2nd on the team in primary assists at 5v5, Sam Reinhart with 17. 2nd on the team in primary assists at all strengths, Reinhart with 28. Oh and he is tied with Eichel for 5v5 goals as well. 

... that's because Housley is a moron. 

 

I think Eichel is amazing. Sam is good in his own ways but not on Jack's level. The reason I defend Reinhart is because for 2 years I heard all about how he was garbage and a bust and a bad pick which was never true. Reinhart will be fine. 

lol. Okay, pin your hopes on Sam. Good luck with that. 

[LGR4GM]

25 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

lol. Okay, pin your hopes on Sam. Good luck with that. 

I'm not, you stated something that wasn't true. Now you're attempting to changing the conversation. 

[Zamboni]

Pinning hopes on one or two players in a team sport of 23, is at best desperate.

And i’m not seeing anyone pinning hopes on one or two players for team sucesss. ?‍♂️

Edited April 1, 2019 by Zamboni

[PerreaultForever]

7 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

I'm not, you stated something that wasn't true. Now you're attempting to changing the conversation. 

I'm not. You're making it an argument between us when my mentioning him was only a small section of the larger overall point, which was that we do not have enough talent. 

Sam, as our top RW has 20 goals. You want to be the best, your top players have to be better than that. That's just Gourde on Tampa. Kucherov has 39 as his actual counterpart. Looking at the draft, Draisaitl has 47 on an equally crap team to us (and if you want to try the he plays with McDavid line, that was my argument for many of Sam's assists so don't bother).

So sure, defend Sam all you want to, but the fact is that drafting him was one of our big errors in rebuilding this team and he simply isn't as good as other top line players. On most teams he is second line at best, and his on again off again work ethic and defensive errors would probably get him benched on strict teams like Boston. he is not a star player, and if you view him as one, you've set the bar way too low.