GDT: Senators @Sabres 4-13-2023 7pm MSG

[Doohickie]

1 hour ago, sabrefanday1 said:

So glad to see CA get the win...wonder if he really will retire?

Although he left the door open, it sure sounded like it in his postgame interview.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Doohickie

[DarthEbriate]

8 hours ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

By the way, the Atlanta Braves are doing a Star Wars Night with a Mando Bobble Head.

 

Because "This is the A"

But... there isn't an A on it. With the exception of the arm/tomahawk wrap that could be any team (which is subtle and cool, but... that's it?). Get some branding on the figure, marketing team!

[Pimlach]

11 hours ago, JohnC said:

The interesting issue regarding Mitts isn't whether he is going to be with this team. Based on what the organization has said about him it is apparent that he is in their plans. The more intriguing issue is on what line does he play on. Does he stay with the first line with Tuch and Skinner where he currently thrives or does he play on a 2A or 2B line? And related to the Mitts issue is how does it influence the line Tage plays on? This team is starting to reach the critical mass of talent where there are a number of line options with a number of versatile players. It wasn't too long ago where due to a deficit of talent players were playing on higher lines and pairing that they were suited for. That's not the case now. 

There will be some interesting line combo's next season.   I assume KO retires but think about Tage healthy again and in his prime with Skinny and Tuchie back.   JJP and Quinn both playing a stronger and more confident game, Cozen still progressing, Greenway finding a new game, Mitts now progressing.  Add Savoie for a 9th. 

We still have Krebs working hard at his game.  Kulich is coming up at some point and maybe Rousek? 

Jost and Zemgus will be FA's but could still be a part of it.  Perhaps they add another vet that is a skilled defensive player that can take faceoffs and play on the PK?  

That doesn't yet consider Östlund, or Rosen, or the Russians.   Many more pieces than positions.  

[Pimlach]

1 hour ago, Doohickie said:

Although he left the door open, it sure sounded like it in his postgame interview.

I looked like the Sabres retired him.   I think we move on to Levi and the right backup.  

[JustOneParade]

3 hours ago, JohnC said:

Tough decisions are made when assembling line combinations. I still like Cozens in between Quinn and JJ. There's still a lot of growth potential on that line. When you move one player, you are also affecting how the other lines are pieced together. Granato has been very smart in putting together lines. I trust his judgment. I still believe that the most impactful line decision he made was to put Krebs in between Okposo and Girgs. It made Krebs an exponentially better player. 

Refreshing that DG will have ample skill to assemble lines. I believe the Sabres will have 3 very potent lines soon, regardless of Granato’s mixing and matching of personnel. Just a matter of how quickly Savoie and Kulich can get up to speed.

[LTS]

2 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Although he left the door open, it sure sounded like it in his postgame interview.

 

1 hour ago, Pimlach said:

I looked like the Sabres retired him.   I think we move on to Levi and the right backup.  

He said point blank in the post-game interview he's done.  I'm not sure the door was open at all.

[Taro T]

11 hours ago, LTS said:

Ray said in the broadcast that an email came out and it was determined it was not a distinct kicking motion.  That's the explanation from Toronto.

I'll call as much BS as I can about it.. but clearly the Sabres should practicing using their skates to put pucks in the net.  I would argue he was trying to kick it to his stick which would be a distinct kicking motion.

NHL wants more goals.. that's how you get more goals.

Which is nuts.  

Thought they were hanging their hats on the very slight possibility that Giroux's stick might have nicked the puck.  Didn't believe it did, but it was close (at least from seeing it on the Jumbotron).

They also showed the angle the ref saw it from and how he could even for an instant say it wasn't a distinct kicking motion defied credulity.  We've had that ref before and he flat out is very bad at his job.

[Believer]

3 hours ago, Doohickie said:

Although he left the door open, it sure sounded like it in his postgame interview.

Like to see KA bring him back as third goalie and mentor to Levi and UPL, if he is interested… Another vet in the room with SC experience… Who knows… Sabres could take it all and Anderson gets his SC.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Believer
Dreaming

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, Believer said:

Like to see KA bring him back as third goalie and mentor to Levi and UPL, if he is interested… Another vet in the room with SC experience… Who knows… Sabres could take it all and Anderson gets his SC.

Really don't want to see 3 goalies in Buffalo full time next year.

It puts too much of a constraint on what the team can do once injuries hit either the F's or D.

[kas23]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Which is nuts.  

Thought they were hanging their hats on the very slight possibility that Giroux's stick might have nicked the puck.  Didn't believe it did, but it was close (at least from seeing it on the Jumbotron).

They also showed the angle the ref saw it from and how he could even for an instant say it wasn't a distinct kicking motion defied credulity.  We've had that ref before and he flat out is very bad at his job.

This kick in was more clear than Fasching‘s. There should be penalties for refs. Suspension without pay for egregious calls. 

[JohnC]

3 hours ago, Pimlach said:

There will be some interesting line combo's next season.   I assume KO retires but think about Tage healthy again and in his prime with Skinny and Tuchie back.   JJP and Quinn both playing a stronger and more confident game, Cozen still progressing, Greenway finding a new game, Mitts now progressing.  Add Savoie for a 9th. 

We still have Krebs working hard at his game.  Kulich is coming up at some point and maybe Rousek? 

Jost and Zemgus will be FA's but could still be a part of it.  Perhaps they add another vet that is a skilled defensive player that can take faceoffs and play on the PK?  

That doesn't yet consider Östlund, or Rosen, or the Russians.   Many more pieces than positions.  

As you point out, there will be many line options to consider. That's a good thing because it indicates that the body of talent has grown to the point that when injuries occur the lines could be jumbled without the cascading effect as evidenced when Samuelsson got hurt. Another advantage of having a greater amount of talent on hand is that when the lines are not clicking within a game, the coach has an option to scramble the lines simply to change the dynamic and provide a spark. 

You make a keen observation about Greenway. There is a chance that he will be a surprise contributor beyond what many people expected. As you know, it was Granato who strenuously argued for his acquisition because of his familiarity with this player. The coach believes that there is more potential to draw from. 

There is no question that moves have to be made this offseason, especially on the blueline. But there is also no question that this roster is close to already being filled, mostly by in-house players. How can you not be optimistic about next season, and beyond!

[RangerDave]

12 minutes ago, kas23 said:

This kick in was more clear than Fasching‘s. There should be penalties for refs. Suspension without pay for egregious calls. 

The only explanation I can come up with it is has to be a distinct kicking motion with the "intent to score".  I don't think the rule says that, but it sure seems to be interpreted that way.  One can argue that in this case, he was not trying to score, but attempting to play it to his stick.

If the purpose of this interpretation is to increase scoring, why not allow all goals that are kicked into the net?  That would increase scoring as well as eliminate the need to interpret whether it was kicked in purposely or not.  Teams on one side or the other will be mad, whichever way it gets interpreted.  What is the reason for disallowing goals that are kicked in?  Is it to keep scoring purely hockey related, i.e. with a hockey stick?

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, RangerDave said:

The only explanation I can come up with it is has to be a distinct kicking motion with the "intent to score".  I don't think the rule says that, but it sure seems to be interpreted that way.  One can argue that in this case, he was not trying to score, but attempting to play it to his stick.

If the purpose of this interpretation is to increase scoring, why not allow all goals that are kicked into the net?  That would increase scoring as well as eliminate the need to interpret whether it was kicked in purposely or not.  Teams on one side or the other will be mad, whichever way it gets interpreted.  What is the reason for disallowing goals that are kicked in?  Is it to keep scoring purely hockey related, i.e. with a hockey stick?

Because the players all have very sharp knives on the bottoms of their feet and if they start kicking at the puck, players WILL get sliced by those knives.

The rule serves 2 purposes.  1, it keeps to the spirit of the game which requires players to use their stick to propel the puck.  And 2, it is a MAJOR player safety issue.  The Sabres have been involved in 2 separate games where a player had his jugular sliced by a skate.  Was at 1 of those 2 games.  It was VERY sobering wondering if we'd just seen a player die before our eyes.  Really not looking forward to seeing them end up in a 3rd such game.  That doesn't even get into the players that have had other injures caused by cuts from skates.

[kas23]

Yeah, if a goalie loses a puck in the scrum, I don’t want a bunch of dudes to start making kicking motions to get that puck into the net. It’s hockey, not soccer. Remember Malarchuk. 

Edited April 14, 2023 by kas23

[Cheektorado]

18 hours ago, Eleven said:

No one is crying and no one has been a bigger critic of Mittlestadt than I have been.  I'm happy that he scored that goal to bring it home for Anderson and the fans at the game, and I'm happy that he and Olofsson increased their trade values tonight.

It seems to me you don't want to trade away 100 points in 2 players this offseason.  Get what you can with VO and lose his $4.75M cap hit but I think you just have to keep Mitts for another year.  His $2.5M hit is peanuts and you just have to see if he can make another big step next year.  IMO.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Cheektorado

[dudacek]

2 minutes ago, Cheektorado said:

It seems to me you don't want to trade away 100 points in 2 players this offseason.  Get what you can with VO and lose his $4.5M cap hit but I think you just have to keep Mitts for another year.  His $2.5M hit is peanuts and you just have to see if he can make another big step next year.  IMO.

It think once it all shakes out Adams will have effectively traded Olofsson for Greenway, which is exactly what this season showed he needed to do in terms of the composition up front.

Time will tell if he choose the right player to trade and the right player to acquire.

[Cheektorado]

12 minutes ago, dudacek said:

It think once it all shakes out Adams will have effectively traded Olofsson for Greenway, which is exactly what this season showed he needed to do in terms of the composition up front.

Time will tell if he choose the right player to trade and the right player to acquire.

I can see that if you look at cost in cap and picks, but wouldn't you agree Greenway is more of an Okposo replacement?  I will hold out hope that VO can get packaged to get the second pairing D-man they desperately need.

I'm going to think that VO playing style would be replaced with another young guy moving up.

[dudacek]

32 minutes ago, Cheektorado said:

I can see that if you look at cost in cap and picks, but wouldn't you agree Greenway is more of an Okposo replacement?  I will hold out hope that VO can get packaged to get the second pairing D-man they desperately need.

I'm going to think that VO playing style would be replaced with another young guy moving up.

I was more looking at it from the perspective of middle six wingers, that they had too many “VOs” and not enough “Greenways.”

I know others think otherwise, but I don’t think they got Greenway intending to use him on a grind line with the likes of Girgensons, I think they got him to ride shotgun with skill guys higher in the lineup.

[Taro T]

42 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I was more looking at it from the perspective of middle six wingers, that they had too many “VOs” and not enough “Greenways.”

I know others think otherwise, but I don’t think they got Greenway intending to use him on a grind line with the likes of Girgensons, I think they got him to ride shotgun with skill guys higher in the lineup.

And where and how they deploy Greenway will likely effect how and where they deploy Mittelstadt.  Prior to Thompson playing through his injury but not being able to play C effectively, would've expected that yes the most likely usage of Greenway would be either in Okposo's slot or Olofsson's but seeing how the lines worked being all jumbled; could see a lot of different permutations of how they are deployed.  And those could change based on opponent and whether the game is at home or on the road as well.

If they want Greenway as some muscle for Thompson (Tuch is a very good power forward, but don't see him as a deterent to somebody running Tage; Greenway could be that guy) could see them running lines similar to what they did last night but with Girgensons having 2 different linemates (Savoie and a 4C to be brought in this Summer).  Honestly, could see Greenway in a slot on pretty much any of the 4 lines depending on just how balanced Granato wants things and also where he thinks the muscle will have the most positive effect.