Formerly Allan in MD Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 9 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said: Great effort start to finish Controlled play Great stretch passes Didn't notice Eichel and that's fine for tonight Didn't fold when on lots of pk in the 3rd Totally shocked, i mean mind BLOWN from what i just saw Can't wait for Saturday night at the arena! You saw a good, well coached hockey team, for a change. It's refreshing as hell. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doohickie Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) More Buffalo Bros swag Edited October 4, 2019 by Doohickie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Formerly Allan in MD said: Hutton is a good goalie who often looked bad last year because he was called on, night after night, to attempt to carry the team defensively. It wore on him big time. We were always being outshot and took huge chunks of time (periods) off much more often than we did anything effectively. "Thank you" Phil Housley. Krueger has already shown you up big time. Allen teaching a reeeeaaaally aggressive Cross ice slide didn't seem to help either, as by the end of the season both Hutton and Ullmark looked like Lehner crossing the crease (and not in a good way ? ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewookie1 Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 39 minutes ago, hockeyhound said: They looked and played like the Vegas Knights. Speedy, hardworking and tenacious. Full 60 min effort That's it, that's what it reminded me of a lot. They would just keep pressuring the other team and eventually mistakes would be made that helped them score. Aside that 9-2 win last year, this was probably one of a handful of 60 min efforts I've seen in the past 5 years. When Malkin scored they didn't stop and in the 3rd, while more defensively minded, they kept the forecheck going. They only turtled in a few short stints. Wooohooo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, freester said: Pittsburgh messed up by trading Kessel It was Kessel or Malkin. They made the right choice IMHO. 3 minutes ago, thewookie1 said: That's it, that's what it reminded me of a lot. They would just keep pressuring the other team and eventually mistakes would be made that helped them score. Aside that 9-2 win last year, this was probably one of a handful of 60 min efforts I've seen in the past 5 years. When Malkin scored they didn't stop and in the 3rd, while more defensively minded, they kept the forecheck going. They only turtled in a few short stints. Wooohooo They did seem Vegas-esque. Maybe punting Bylsma when Gallant was available would've been a good thing. ? Edited October 4, 2019 by Taro T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Taro T said: Really expect the limited ice time was a function of Krueger not fully trusting him in the Sabres end and not needing his offense in the 3rd. And the lack of trust is probably organizational, as he didn't play any PK last year either. I'm OK with that. He's 19 and still growing his game. It's not a popular opinion, but I'm OK with that. For now. (Should we be in March and he's still getting no PK duty, I'll take issue with it.) Dahlin's pairing and Mittelstadt's line weren't out much in the 3rd. Had they not been protecting a 2 goal lead, that likely would not have been the case. He was 5th at 5 v 5 though, and it wasn't by a small amount. Maybe things would have been altered with a different score, but the TOIs were what they were. He was behind heading into the 3rd, as well. But it's only 1 game. Edited October 4, 2019 by Thorny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Had a phone call to take during our second PP, just finished the game. Rock solid road win. Independent of how our boys took it to them, was Pittsburgh drunk? They looked terrible. We were refreshingly fast with the puck, and took advantage of Pittsburgh's porous defense. If we can consistently generate shots like we did today, we are simply a good team. We handled ourselves well defensively, despite the chaos Pittsburgh can inevitably create, and Hutton was good, and he didn't need to be great. Eichel's points will come. He was wonderful defensively on a lot of shifts. Sam and Dahlin...woah. Mitts with two nice plays for two well-deserved assists. This is not a Sobotka point, just a point on the line in general - aside from Johansson's pass to Jeff and a shift in the third, it looks like their chemistry has to be built from scratch. I'm not seeing any. This always seems to be an issue for Jeff unless he's with Jack, and I predict they'll be back together within 10 games. It took them 7 games to start last season before doing it. No players had bad games. Jokiharju had his best showing as a Sabre IMO. The game wasn't too big for him. McCabe was awesome and you can tell he takes that A to heart. Sam is so good. Colin Miller had an awkward game but was fine overall. Two points now are just as sweet as two points in April. Feels good to win the first one, and I hope the building gives the players the noise they deserve on Saturday. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Fun game to watch. Hutton looked like the Hutton from last October. That SO goal last game seemed to get a monkey off Mittelstadt's back. He looked far more relaxed than he had in a while. Vesey can kill a penalty. Who knew? The 4th line picked up where they left off last year. Lazar has to be bumming, because barring injury to a wing on that line, he's an Amerk this year. Jokiharju lived up to Liger's hype. Which was pleasantly surprising, because since that 1st preseason game against the baby Pens, he hadn't. Scandella seems to be healthy and played like he did in Minny. Nothing spectacular but no wtf moments either. Liking Skinner and Johansson. No goals, but a few nice chances. Can't wait to see what they can do with either Rodrigues or Thompson there. (Yes, Sheary deserves a look there, but Mitts and Conor seem to work together.) Liked the Eichel line as well. Pittsburgh matched their best against it when they could and they won 1-0. McCabe looked healthy. Let's hope he stays that way. And Dahlin & Miller could become really good. What does Botterill do when Montour and Pilut are ready? (Heck what does Krueger do?) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Taro T said: Fun game to watch. Hutton looked like the Hutton from last October. That SO goal last game seemed to get a monkey off Mittelstadt's back. He looked far more relaxed than he had in a while. Vesey can kill a penalty. Who knew? The 4th line picked up where they left off last year. Lazar has to be bumming, because barring injury to a wing on that line, he's an Amerk this year. Jokiharju lived up to Liger's hype. Which was pleasantly surprising, because since that 1st preseason game against the baby Pens, he hadn't. Scandella seems to be healthy and played like he did in Minny. Nothing spectacular but no wtf moments either. Liking Skinner and Johansson. No goals, but a few nice chances. Can't wait to see what they can do with either Rodrigues or Thompson there. (Yes, Sheary deserves a look there, but Mitts and Conor seem to work together.) Liked the Eichel line as well. Pittsburgh matched their best against it when they could and they won 1-0. McCabe looked healthy. Let's hope he stays that way. And Dahlin & Miller could become really good. What does Botterill do when Montour and Pilut are ready? (Heck what does Krueger do?) Move Risto for a top 6 RW and solidify our forward lineup that seems to be 1 top 6 player away. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Popular Post Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Oh, and the Larsson line. Another summer of people wanting to throw him and Z out as if they're easy to replace. Another game where they have the puck 60%of the time whether they're on the ice against Aston-Reese or Malkin. It's incredibly valuable, and we're going on our second season in a row with a fourth line that can actually flip the ice rather than getting blasted in the ass for 8 minutes a night. It's meaningful, and they're good at what they do, and it's not trivial to replace that, as we saw for the 7 years before last one. Nice work for those guys. And how many breakaways and 2 on 1s were sprung by our defensemen? That's Botterill's defensive vision really playing out about as well as it can. Our D can move and they can pass and it's going to get us goals. 8 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darksabre Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Randall Flagg said: Oh, and the Larsson line. Another summer of people wanting to throw him and Z out as if they're easy to replace. Another game where they have the puck 60%of the time whether they're on the ice against Aston-Reese or Malkin. It's incredibly valuable, and we're going on our second season in a row with a fourth line that can actually flip the ice rather than getting blasted in the ass for 8 minutes a night. It's meaningful, and they're good at what they do, and it's not trivial to replace that, as we saw for the 7 years before last one. Nice work for those guys. And how many breakaways and 2 on 1s were sprung by our defensemen? That's Botterill's defensive vision really playing out about as well as it can. Our D can move and they can pass and it's going to get us goals. The only thing that could make the 4th line better is not having Okposo on it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Risto ended just a shade under 24. Better. take 1.5 minutes off of that and he just may be able to play like this for 6 months. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildCard Posted October 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Just now, darksabre said: The only thing that could make the 4th line better is not having Okposo on it. True but at least that's where he is 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Just now, darksabre said: The only thing that could make the 4th line better is not having Okposo on it. A pretty natural spot for Evan to step in if KO gets the pressbox. He scored goals with those two the last time he was with them IIRC, and has similar shot suppression metrics. Probably our only other forward that wouldn't hinder its ability to do its thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 5 minutes ago, Thorny said: He was 5th at 5 v 5 though, and it wasn't by a small amount. Maybe things would have been altered with a different score, but the TOIs were what they were. But it's only 1 game. And again, he is not trusted fully in his own end. A guy that is that good in transition and the offensive end that gets 0 PK work, won't be the guy getting extra shifts working a 2 goal lead on the road. And eventually, he will earn the trust in his own end. But he had pretty much the only clearing pass that was cleanly picked. My guess is, Krueger sees him figuring that part of his game out, and didn't think the risk of that learning curve being worth the possible 3 goal lead that he increases the odds of also. Especially when the other team can put the best player in the world out there. (High event players don't get extra ice time nursing leads. ? ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3putt Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Well that was entertaining. Enjoy the season boys and girls. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Taro T said: And again, he is not trusted fully in his own end. A guy that is that good in transition and the offensive end that gets 0 PK work, won't be the guy getting extra shifts working a 2 goal lead on the road. And eventually, he will earn the trust in his own end. But he had pretty much the only clearing pass that was cleanly picked. My guess is, Krueger sees him figuring that part of his game out, and didn't think the risk of that learning curve being worth the possible 3 goal lead that he increases the odds of also. Especially when the other team can put the best player in the world out there. (High event players don't get extra ice time nursing leads. ? ) Yes but he was also behind heading into the 3rd. He was behind all night. So it wasn't really a score effects thing. It's something to keep an eye on moving forward. I can't see a scenario where Dahlin shouldn't be at the top once we are well into the season, if he's still our best overall D like he was last season. Edited October 4, 2019 by Thorny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 6 minutes ago, darksabre said: The only thing that could make the 4th line better is not having Okposo on it. Perhaps Vesey or Lazar could work better than Okposo with those 2 but wouldn't bet on it. Kyle won't wow anyone, but he clicks very well with those 2 and far better tthan anybody else tried on that line. Housley tried Sobotka, Thompson, Rodrigues, and Sheary in that role. Pretty sure Smith and a couple others got looks as well. E-Rod was the only one that came close to fitting in (and that was when Sobotka was replacing Girgensons). Though GA desperately wants Girgensons and Larsson punted (“we all wanted those 2 gone" :eyeroll:) until somebody actually beats them out, they should keep doing what they're doing. They ( nor Kyle in that role) were not the problem the last 2 years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Vlad. Vlad showed us what he has been showing RK. I have to admit, I was completely okay with his game tonight. I was also impressed by how calm the entire team was. I mean, their calm was palpable. It was kind of weird. As I said in the beginning, if they can do this 60 minutes a game for the rest of the season...they might be more than a bubble team. I'm not ready to leap ahead, yet. We have to see them against a decent variety of opposition, first. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 2 minutes ago, Thorny said: Yes but he was also behind heading into the 3rd. He was behind all night. So it wasn't really a score effects thing. It's something to keep an eye on moving forward. I can't see a scenario where Dahlin shouldn't be at the top once we are well into the season, if he's still our best overall D like he was last season. I believe he should be top 4 in ice time this year and, this will be blasphemy, but he wasn't the best D-man last year. McCabe was early before getting hurt and Montour was after being brought in. A D-man that NEVER plays on the PK, almost by definition, isn't the best D-man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorny Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Taro T said: I believe he should be top 4 in ice time this year and, this will be blasphemy, but he wasn't the best D-man last year. McCabe was early before getting hurt and Montour was after being brought in. A D-man that NEVER plays on the PK, almost by definition, isn't the best D-man. I'm talking 5 v 5. He was our best 5 v 5 d-man, numbers bear that out. I don't have a problem with McCabe getting more mins in a given game hypothetically, if it's due to PK. But I'm a believe that Dahlin should play more than him 5 v 5 in general. I can't really predict what I think he should be at for total ice time at the end of the year, but I see no reason he shouldn't be Number One for ES ice time. Edited October 4, 2019 by Thorny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 54 minutes ago, CallawaySabres said: Great effort start to finish Controlled play Great stretch passes Didn't notice Eichel and that's fine for tonight Didn't fold when on lots of pk in the 3rd Totally shocked, i mean mind BLOWN from what i just saw Can't wait for Saturday night at the arena! If Callaway is this excited, it was a good night to be a Sabres fan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 16 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said: A pretty natural spot for Evan to step in if KO gets the pressbox. He scored goals with those two the last time he was with them IIRC, and has similar shot suppression metrics. Probably our only other forward that wouldn't hinder its ability to do its thing. Will trust your stats if they show otherwise, but almost positive that line gave up more goals with Rodrigues on it relative to with Okposo there. Goals for was comparable though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3putt Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 Just now, Randall Flagg said: If Callaway is this excited, it was a good night to be a Sabres fan Seeing a half empty PPG center with 3:57 left was also indicative of a good night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Flagg Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Taro T said: Will trust your stats if they show otherwise, but almost positive that line gave up more goals with Rodrigues on it relative to with Okposo there. Goals for was comparable though. Maybe. I'm relying entirely on fuzzy memory there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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