GDT: Hurricanes @ Sabres - 7:30pm, Feb 1st, 2023 - TNT 📺 WGR 📻

[K-9]

36 minutes ago, mjd1001 said:

That team in a full 7 game series vs the Leafs or Boston would be really, really fun. Stanley Cup level entertainment.

The Canes/Bruins first round series last year was just that. Seven games of punch and counter punch. 

[JohnC]

5 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

Can't help but think Granato got outfoxed again even with the last change. The home record is really damning. Pointing to players eager to please the fans is weak sauce.

The better team won. It had nothing to do with Granato being out strategized. Carolina has the second most points in the Eastern Conference. They are a more veteran and experienced team compared to the youthful Sabres. Every hockey analyst would tell you that Carolina is a cup contending team while the Sabres are at best a playoff contending team. There's a big difference between being a cup contender and a playoff contending team. The better team outplayed the inferior team and made fewer mistakes. No one should be surprised at the outcome. The outcome had little to nothing to do with coaching. 

[Quint]

(Unfortunately this picture is vertical and doesn't tell the whole story, but it tells enough...)

When the other team has possession and passes to each other so well and you're running around in circles in your own end....

 

[Eleven]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

The better team won. It had nothing to do with Granato being out strategized. Carolina has the second most points in the Eastern Conference. They are a more veteran and experienced team compared to the youthful Sabres. Every hockey analyst would tell you that Carolina is a cup contending team while the Sabres are at best a playoff contending team. There's a big difference between being a cup contender and a playoff contending team. The better team outplayed the inferior team and made fewer mistakes. No one should be surprised at the outcome. The outcome had little to nothing to do with coaching. 

I am not sold on Granato YET but nothing you wrote is incorrect.

[Pimlach]

This really does not need much analysis.   

We can beat this team if:   we play at our best AND we have a hot goalie And they don't play to their normal standard.   

None of that happened and we need it ALL to happen.  The building does not matter.  

[JohnC]

4 hours ago, K-9 said:

The Canes/Bruins first round series last year was just that. Seven games of punch and counter punch. 

To play that hardnosed and relentless Brind'Amour style for a full game is in itself impressive. It certainly isn't as aesthetically pleasing to watch like Colorado is capable of playing.  But it is a grinding and full throttle brand of hockey that you have to respect. I was really impressed by how Carolina played last night (especially on a back to back.) As you said in a prior post their play is a reflection of their muscular coach. 

[Taro T]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:16 PM, Doohickie said:

Just because they're there for one-timers doesn't mean they're pinned to a spot.  Look at the VO goal recently on a 2-on-1 when he was fed by Boosh.  They were both flying down the ice and VO one-timed it.  Also, the three way passing play from Skinner to Tuch to Tage that was one-timed in.  If they're not moving around, it's not because they're planning a one-timer, it's because they're not moving around.

fify

How ####### often on the PP is the winger off looking for the 1 timer able to "fly down the ice?"  It is somewhere between seldom and never.

And yesterday, that unit w/ both Thompson & Olofsson did get 1 more shot off, by Skinner.

 

[JohnC]

14 hours ago, Pimlach said:

This really does not need much analysis.   

We can beat this team if:   we play at our best AND we have a hot goalie And they don't play to their normal standard.   

None of that happened and we need it ALL to happen.  The building does not matter.  

As you point out the Sabres have less margin of error against superior teams. And as you also point out the Sabres are capable of beating the superior teams if they play at their maximum level. Where I disagree with you is that the Sabres do seem to play better (home and away) when there is a large and energized crowd. Apparently, they seem to feed off of the energy of the crowd. The record in front of big crowds in contrast to smaller crowds seem to indicate that.  

[PASabreFan]

If the Sabres' return to the playoffs is predicated on large and enthusiastic crowds at home, we are screwed.

[Taro T]

On 2/1/2023 at 9:36 PM, Brawndo said:

 

They only did that on the shift after the PP or until they gave up that 4th goal.  After that, Cozens took Thompson's spot & Krebs took Jost's spot.  Jost took a regular shift alternating between Okposo's line & the Kid Line.

By the start of the 2nd, Bryson & Samuelsson had flipped partners.  That, and Carolina trying to conserve some energy really helped the Sabres stop the bleeding & make a game of it.  And, yes, that's how much Muel's injury was bothering him.  Bryson was more effective top pairing vs arguably the 2nd best team in the league's top 2 lines than he was.

Considering it was the team they match up worst against, trying to take small comfort from them playing them essentially even or even getting the better of play for ~45 minutes.  Hard to do when Carolina adjusted after the 1st to try to just hang on.  But will do so anyway.

Break comes at a good time as they're banged up worse than at anytime since Samuelsson returned.

[Eleven]

4 hours ago, PASabreFan said:

If the Sabres' return to the playoffs is predicated on large and enthusiastic crowds at home, we are screwed.

 

[Pimlach]

7 hours ago, JohnC said:

As you point out the Sabres have less margin of error against superior teams. And as you also point out the Sabres are capable of beating the superior teams if they play at their maximum level. Where I disagree with you is that the Sabres do seem to play better (home and away) when there is a large and energized crowd. Apparently, they seem to feed off of the energy of the crowd. The record in front of big crowds in contrast to smaller crowds seem to indicate that.  

Uh, no.   They play better on the road because they are not distracted.  They live, breathe, and eat hockey when on the road.  They get the sense of being a team on the road, that may be lessened at home.  

When they are home they are doing other things and not thinking of the game all the time.  They have more distractions at home.  This team is extremely young and this is not uncommon.   

Sure, every team prefers to play in front of a large enthusiastic crowds.  Home or road, its more fun.  If this is their problem then pump more noise into the home games.   

 

[Doohickie]

On 2/2/2023 at 9:31 PM, Taro T said:

How ####### often on the PP is the winger off looking for the 1 timer able to "fly down the ice?"  It is somewhere between seldom and never.

My point was that people were saying that because they were looking for one-timers they were stationary.  I was just pointing out one-timers are possible without the player being stationary.

[PASabreFan]

6 hours ago, Doohickie said:

My point was that people were saying that because they were looking for one-timers they were stationary.  I was just pointing out one-timers are possible without the player being stationary.

If you were smart, you would shave your mustache and try to get over the border into Nova Scotia. I know someone who can help once you get there. Can you operate a tugboat? How is your western Scottish accent? 

[Taro T]

8 hours ago, Doohickie said:

My point was that people were saying that because they were looking for one-timers they were stationary.  I was just pointing out one-timers are possible without the player being stationary.

A quality 1 timer (which is what they're looking for w/ the one timer) requires the player to be ready for it, meaning he can't be mid stride.  If you notice in your video of the "skating Olofsson 1 timer" he hasn't taken a stride for well over 20 feet by the time Lyubushkin passes him the puck.  He has been set to shoot for nearly 2 seconds by the time he gets the puck.

Look at the areas that the 1 timers on PP's are taken from.  When a guy is getting ready for it, he's in a very limited area typically.

There's a reason teams don't typically line up looking primarily for 1 timers from either side - that being that it's easy to defend a motionless PP.  And that's effectively what you get w/ 2 guys looking for 1 timers as it's only the guys in the middle spine of the PP moving and often they don't move much either w/ that configuration.

You can have Thompson & VO moving around on the ice, but you are limiting their windows to try the 1 timer.  Because they're not going to get a quality 1 timer off if they aren't set.

The gimmick formations work when used sparingly because the other team isn't ready for them and some confusion sets in.  (See Chara or Ristolainen in front of the net.)  But when teams know what to expect, they become fairly easy to stop.

MHO.  YMMV.