GDT: 1/28/21 7pm ET, NY Rangers at Buffalo, MSG & WGR

[Brawndo]

33 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Eakin Line is RK's checking/shutdown line and he wanted to counteract the Panarin line.  Didn't work.  

Okposo Actually made Eakins and Rieder’s Metrics worse. I understand the leadership he provides in the room and that He is one of Jack’s Go Sources for Advice, but so far this year His Play has really fallen off and He is more of a detriment to the team. I would waive Him to the Taxi Squad and have him move back and forth between roster as needed. He would still be around and travel with the team, but it would allow some of the younger guys to get looks.

I would love to see Borgen get a game or two before Seattle takes him. 

[Ruff Around The Edges]

In an NHL season there are some games when one team has such a high sense of urgency that the opponent has a hard time matching it.

This was last night with the Rangers.

The Rangers needed this game a lot more then the Sabres did. They came out with a determination and it showed.

The Sabres didn't lose because of effort.

Kudos to Ullmark for stealing a point. We have rarely seen goalies on Buffalo steal points over the last decade. Other good teams have nights like that more often then most realize. Lets hope Ullmark has a few more like that when the team isn't firing on all cylinders.

Edited January 29, 2021 by Ruff Around The Edges

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just now, Brawndo said:

Okposo Actually made Eakins and Rieder’s Metrics worse. I understand the leadership he provides in the room and that He is one of Jack’s Go Sources for Advice, but so far this year His Play has really fallen off and He is more of a detriment to the team. I would waive Him to the Taxi Squad and have him move back and forth between roster as needed. He would still be around and travel with the team, but it would allow some of the younger guys to get looks.

I would love to see Borgen get a game or two before Seattle takes him. 

Small sample size, but I have thought for a while that KO was diminishing to the point of going the route of his buddy Moulson.  At some point some guys are just to slow to stay in the league.  We may be reaching that point with Okposo.  If he remains ineffective for a few more game, I wouldn't be surprised if he is bench, but I think the taxi squad is unlikely.  

The Hall issue to me is of greater concern.  Hall's play last night was just horrid.  Seriously, if someone that talented can't achieve with guys like Eichel or Staal, where must his head be at.  The timing is lousy.  Just as Eichel begins to score, just after Sam rejoins Jack, Hall falls off the table.  Is Jack to comfortable with Sam that he now ignores Hall?  It's weird.  

[inkman]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Eakin Line is RK's checking/shutdown line and he wanted to counteract the Panarin line.  Didn't work.  

Show some Chutzpuh Ralph, holy smokes.  Eichel is one of the best 10 players in the game.  Let’s treat him like it. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

7 minutes ago, inkman said:

Show some Chutzpuh Ralph, holy smokes.  Eichel is one of the best 10 players in the game.  Let’s treat him like it. 

I agree.  That shift set the tone for the game and we never recovered.

[spndnchz]

14 hours ago, Curt said:

You are right.  It was an NHL regular season game.

Has anyone ever told you 82% of your posts are so cryptic that I feel like a shaman trying to divine the meaning from your words?

Thanks. I think. 💃💃

[nfreeman]

5 hours ago, Taro T said:

If Ullmark can continue to play this way, this team should be in good shape on the back end most nights.  He was excellent this game & deserved a better fate.

Thought Staal & Dahlin had their best games of the short season though neither ended up onnthe score sheet.

2 bad games out of 8 is way too many.  Can give them a pass on opening night as it was the 1st night playing a real game in an empty building for nearly all of them, but can't give them a pass for last night.  They should've known the Rags would be desperate to not lose 5 in a row.  They needed to have that same desperation to put them on a 5 game losing streak.  The small sliver of a silver lining, when was the last time this team played this poorly but still snuck out a point?  They should've lost 6-2 at best.  If this was the real Linus last night & not just a mirage, playing like they did the 6 previous games should have them well above 0.500 moving forward.

Now need to sweep the Devils to be on the 12/10 playoff pace.  It is still possible, but would've been much easier stealing an undeserved 2nd point last night.

Won't talk much about individual players, but really hope if Jokiharju can't go this weekend that somebody tells Irwin that when under pressure he should throw the puck to the boards, not through the middle.  That cost them 1 goal & if not for some excellent work by Ullmark, would've cost them the loser point as well.  Overall, he's played well these 2 games all things considered, but that's the sort of move that gets Squirts benched.

As others have rightly noted, this is an excellent post.  I too have been pretty sour today about them coming out flatfooted and with no urgency in 2 out of 8 games so far this year.  That is what a loser team does, not a team that needs to be taken seriously.

OTOH, that might've been Ullmark's best game as a Sabre.  I thought he was kinda shaky in the 1st period but settled down and was just outstanding for the rest of the game.

 

59 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

Okposo Actually made Eakins and Rieder’s Metrics worse. I understand the leadership he provides in the room and that He is one of Jack’s Go Sources for Advice, but so far this year His Play has really fallen off and He is more of a detriment to the team. I would waive Him to the Taxi Squad and have him move back and forth between roster as needed. He would still be around and travel with the team, but it would allow some of the younger guys to get looks.

I would love to see Borgen get a game or two before Seattle takes him. 

Yes indeed.  KO was pretty lousy last night IMHO and looks like he's pretty close to out of gas.  I'd much rather see TT or Mitts in his spot next game.

Other game notes:

- I though Irwin was pretty bad as well and would like to see Borgen next game if Joker can't go.

- As others have noted, Eichel was lousy and Hall was worse.

- I thought Reinhart and VO were pretty good, and Staal's line generally was good.  It looked like Cozens got benched for the last 8 minutes or so -- RK probably wanted to keep the vets on the ice in a tight game.  I did like Cozens though and thought he made a number of good plays.

- Lazar's line was strong, but it seemed like Eakin's line got caved in quite a few times.

 

 

 

[Brawndo]

The problem becomes the only player who can be moved back and forth between the taxi squad without waivers is Cozens. So bringing Borgen or Mitts off would require Cozens to sit or they could waive the player who is least likely to be claimed in Okposo, allowing the younger players to get games. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

6 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

The problem becomes the only player who can be moved back and forth between the taxi squad without waivers is Cozens. So bringing Borgen or Mitts off would require Cozens to sit or they could waive the player who is least likely to be claimed in Okposo, allowing the younger players to get games. 

Mitts is waiver exempt

[Brawndo]

3 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Mitts is waiver exempt

Yes, but he is on the taxi squad right now , I should have clarified Cozens is the only player on the active roster who is eligible to do so 

Edited January 29, 2021 by Brawndo

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 minute ago, Brawndo said:

Yes, but he is on the taxi squad right now , I should have clarified Cozens is the only player on the active roster who is eligible to do so 

Lets send KO down

[Brawndo]

17 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Lets send KO down

It’s the best of both worlds, He doesn’t leave the team, still practices with them and remains a locker room presence. And it allows the flexibility to move players on and  off the taxi squad. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

How about LTIR. His leadership hasn't really helped.

Edited January 29, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

Yes, but he is on the taxi squad right now , I should have clarified Cozens is the only player on the active roster who is eligible to do so 

Well, besides Dahlin ...

(Wouldn't THAT cause some heads to explode? 😉 )

 

 

 

 

(And for the record, no, not advocating for that.)

[tom webster]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

How about LTIR. His leadership hasn't really helped.

How do you know this?

[GASabresIUFAN]

44 minutes ago, tom webster said:

How do you know this?

Well lets look at the anecdotal evidence.  He was brought in for his "leadership" and scoring.  His game has diminished and our record hasn't really improved. He seems perfectly ok with performances like last night year after year of his tenure.  He is supposed to be one of the guys Jack relies on.  Jack has spent much of this campaign floating the on ice.  Bottomline he hasn't held anyone accountable, just like Jack and the other so called leaders.  If they did, games like last night wouldn't happen.  There is enough talent on this team to win and win now and they still seem perfectly OK with mediocrity.

[tom webster]

5 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Well lets look at the anecdotal evidence.  He was brought in for his "leadership" and scoring.  His game has diminished and our record hasn't really improved. He seems perfectly ok with performances like last night year after year of his tenure.  He is supposed to be one of the guys Jack relies on.  Jack has spent much of this campaign floating the on ice.  Bottomline he hasn't held anyone accountable, just like Jack and the other so called leaders.  If they did, games like last night wouldn't happen.  There is enough talent on this team to win and win now and they still seem perfectly OK with mediocrity.

Games like last night happen all the time. No one plays with playoff intensity every game. 
I like the back n forth with you and I respect your opinion but this is a load of crap.

The only thing I know for sure is that last night KO drew the penalty that led to the game tying goal procuring a point that will be important in the end.

Has been great this year, of course not but he’s played two or three games with players he barely knows.

Finally, it’s a long season and while you may want to lament a poor performance in one game, I’ll take solace in reveling in their point streak and development. 

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, nfreeman said:

 

 

 

- I thought Reinhart and VO were pretty good, and Staal's line generally was good.  It looked like Cozens got benched for the last 8 minutes or so -- RK probably wanted to keep the vets on the ice in a tight game.  I did like Cozens though and thought he made a number of good plays.

- Lazar's line was strong, but it seemed like Eakin's line got caved in quite a few times.

 

 

 

You make a couple of keen observations. VO is showing a more well rounded game. His passing and skating are quite good. Staal is not standing out but he is steadily getting better. At this late stage in his career he is not going shine as much be a solid and steadying type player. It seems that he is more comfortable in his new setting than when he first started with us. 

[dudacek]

21 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Well lets look at the anecdotal evidence.  He was brought in for his "leadership" and scoring.  His game has diminished and our record hasn't really improved. He seems perfectly ok with performances like last night year after year of his tenure.  He is supposed to be one of the guys Jack relies on.  Jack has spent much of this campaign floating the on ice.  Bottomline he hasn't held anyone accountable, just like Jack and the other so called leaders.  If they did, games like last night wouldn't happen.  There is enough talent on this team to win and win now and they still seem perfectly OK with mediocrity.

 

I’m really struggling to juxtapose your three years of preaching patience with Jason Botterill’s .442 hockey team with the air raid siren you’ve been sounding about this team over two weeks of .500 hockey.

Honestly, I’m baffled.

Edited January 29, 2021 by dudacek

[PerreaultForever]

9 hours ago, Radar said:

The only part of this I'll question is your comment lack of effort. I've not seen lack of effort.

To be clear, the lack of effort was for the entire team, not Eichel specifically. When you are being outshot 14-4 in the opening period it means either the other team is really good or your team hasn't shown up. The Rangers are not really good. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

 

I’m really struggling to juxtapose your three years of preaching patience with Jason Botterill’s .442 hockey team with the air raid siren you’ve been sounding about this team over two weeks of .500 hockey.

Honestly, I’m baffled.

Don’t be baffled.  This is year 4 of what I thought Jbot was building to and I’d be just as annoyed with this team if KA or Jbot was the GM, especially because this is Jbot’s coach running the squad.

I’m annoyed because the team plays the same up and down game despite all the additions up front and returning coach continues to run the offense in the ground.

[IKnowPhysics]

One weird detail I'm watching is that in each of the past two games, Cozens has not played past the 52 minute mark.  When it was 3-2 Sabres, Okposo and Sheahan each took a turn doubling to cover Cozens' shifts.  When it was tie game last night, Sheahan was double shifted twice to cover Cozens' shifts.  No injuries that I know of; not sure what's up.

Also, generally speaking, Krueger seems to keep lines together for the first half of the game, and then in the third period, he fires up the blender.

[Taro T]

15 hours ago, IKnowPhysics said:

One weird detail I'm watching is that in each of the past two games, Cozens has not played past the 52 minute mark.  When it was 3-2 Sabres, Okposo and Sheahan each took a turn doubling to cover Cozens' shifts.  When it was tie game last night, Sheahan was double shifted twice to cover Cozens' shifts.  No injuries that I know of; not sure what's up.

Also, generally speaking, Krueger seems to keep lines together for the first half of the game, and then in the third period, he fires up the blender.

Krueger has been benching the kid (whomever it happens to be on any given night) in a tight game either tied or with a lead for at least the past 4 games.  Pretty sure it is done to ensure the kid doesn't end up the goat.

In the 2 of those games that went to a SO, the kid got an opportunity to win the game in the SO.

And the line shifting actually starts w/ about 6 minutes left in the 2nd.

[JohnC]

17 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Don’t be baffled.  This is year 4 of what I thought Jbot was building to and I’d be just as annoyed with this team if KA or Jbot was the GM, especially because this is Jbot’s coach running the squad.

I’m annoyed because the team plays the same up and down game despite all the additions up front and returning coach continues to run the offense in the ground.

@GASabresIUFANI'm not making excuses because the challenges the Sabres are facing are the same challenges that opponents are also contending with. It has to be considered that because this is an altered season that includes a lot of back to back games it is really tough beating the same team in consecutive games. If you look at the standings it shouldn't be surprising that so many teams are bunched together. 

Where I disagree with you is on the issue of effort. I don't see the level of lassitude that you do. I do see uneven play and I do see line disjointedness but that shouldn't be surprising with so many new additions and a lot of juggling of lines. An example of that would be the play of Hall. When he is on the Jack line he just seems out of sync with him. I just think once he grows more familiar with his line mates (whoever they are) his production will increase. 

What I recommend is a little more patience before solidifying your opinion on this team. It's not as dire as you make it out to be. (My opinion.)

[GASabresIUFAN]

27 minutes ago, JohnC said:

@GASabresIUFANI'm not making excuses because the challenges the Sabres are facing are the same challenges that opponents are also contending with. It has to be considered that because this is an altered season that includes a lot of back to back games it is really tough beating the same team in consecutive games. If you look at the standings it shouldn't be surprising that so many teams are bunched together. 

Where I disagree with you is on the issue of effort. I don't see the level of lassitude that you do. I do see uneven play and I do see line disjointedness but that shouldn't be surprising with so many new additions and a lot of juggling of lines. An example of that would be the play of Hall. When he is on the Jack line he just seems out of sync with him. I just think once he grows more familiar with his line mates (whoever they are) his production will increase. 

What I recommend is a little more patience before solidifying your opinion on this team. It's not as dire as you make it out to be. (My opinion.)

Our opponents face the same challenges, many with even shorter camps and many with just as many new players and the Sabres are the same up and down club. To not give a maximum effort to win the 2nd Rangers game to get the team firmly into the playoff race and above 500 was unacceptable and a symptom of this team and this franchise; they don’t know how to win. That is a failure of leadership from the ownership on down to the coach and players.  Guys like Hall should be helping the team find that effort.  Instead he plays his worst game.  The excuse “they needed it more” doesn’t fly anymore for a team that has sucked for a decade.  We need every game and until they learn to sustain an effort night in and night out I’ll be pointing it out.

It’s not like I haven’t voiced my displeasure before.  I’m the author of the Jbot Do Something Already Threads, which implored Jbot to go get pieces to support the team when they fought to get themselves into playoff contention and bashed Jbot for never adequately replacing ROR.  I’ve also praised KA for getting Staal and Hall and for being aggressive to try to fill the roster holes up front.  My displeasure is nothing new, just magnified because what I’m seeing on the ice is year 2 of RK and year 2 of the same thing.  Good D structure and terrible offense.  New players, same coach, same result.