Sabres Power Play

[thewookie1]

15 minutes ago, Taro T said:

OR the Sabres got stupidly lucky on the PP against a team that's now given up 8 PP goals on 17 chances.  Only the BJs have sucked worse giving up 7 of 14.  18 teams have given up 2 or fewer PP goals.  The Otters have given up 8.  Only 2 others have given up more than 4.  Sometimes it's good to play a bad team.  

The Sabres 3 PP goals:

Goal 1, Quinn misses the net by about 3 feet and the rebound off the glass hits the goalie in the back and goes in.  Quite likely EXACTLY how Appert drew it up.

Goal 2, Dahlin ends up below the goal line, Thompson literally against the RW boards, and Benson at the point.  Benson saves the puck from getting out of the zone, sends puck low to Dahlin who sets up Zucker almost where he normally sets up but on the opposite side of the net.  2 for 2.

Goal 3, point shot hits a defenseman's stick then bounces against Zucker's chest and has enough momentum to get into the net.  3 for 3.

 

The 1st goal isn't going to happen again this year in all realistic likelihood.  The 2nd goal SHOULD happen again, but what are the odds that Appert will intentionally have them out of position?  Not very likely.  And the 3rd goal should also happen again, and with Zucker being the guy at the netfront will happen again, but how long will it take for puckluck to give us a bounce like that again.

Would absolulte love to see them start scoring 1-2 PP goals / game regularly.  It would go a long way towards making this season successful.  But have absolutely 0 belief in Appert.

Loved seeing them "out of position" that is how good power plays score goals. By moving and keeping the D having to pay attention to the players and the puck.

[matter2003]

31 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

Loved seeing them "out of position" that is how good power plays score goals. By moving and keeping the D having to pay attention to the players and the puck.

Just make something happen...at some point they have to trust their instincts and just "play" and stop being so worried about following structure so strictly. Structure is there as a guideline for overall play NOT to force them to stick to it blindly when doing something else based on their instincts and hockey smarts would be better and more effective. 

This team is actually REALLY good at that type of creative stuff, they just seemingly don't understand how to use it while still maintaining general structure overall.  They either go full on creative with no structure or full on structure being completely rigid with no flexibility or creativity.  They have to learn how to be BOTH and knowing when to use one versus using the other and the right times and situations for doing so.

They also have to realize that if one player is going creative then another player needs to temporarily make up for them by playing structured, not also joining the creativity frenzy like a kid trying to join in at a pizza party.

Edited 9 hours ago by matter2003

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, matter2003 said:

Just make something happen...at some point they have to trust their instincts and just "play" and stop being so worried about following structure so strictly. Structure is there as a guideline for overall play NOT to force them to stick to it blindly when doing something else based on their instincts and hockey smarts would be better and more effective. 

This team is actually REALLY good at that type of creative stuff, they just seemingly don't understand how to use it while still maintaining general structure overall.  They either go full on creative with no structure or full on structure being completely rigid with no flexibility or creativity.  They have to learn how to be BOTH and knowing when to use one versus using the other and the right times and situations for doing so.

They also have to realize that if one player is going creative then another player needs to temporarily make up for them by playing structured, not also joining the creativity frenzy like a kid trying to join in at a pizza party.

Disagree to an extent.  The PLAYERS understand that stuff.  

The coaching staff are full on idjits.  

The reason the players were in non-usual spots was the Otters got a clear and then kept pressure on the Sabres outside the zone but the puck got over to Dahlin and HE will actually carry the puck in when it is there.  He carried it in and he and McLeod ended up deep with Thompson and Zucker higher and Benson as the last man back.  (He'd passed the puck to Dahlin on a SHORT drop pass to start the entry and then was hanging deep (actually outside outside the zone) and pinched to keep the puck in at the zone.  Dahlin came into the zone with speed and they had 4 guys all moving with speed entering the zone because when the drop pass happened they were all near the red line not the opposing team's blue iine.)

But THAT entry was completely against what Appert coaches and exactly what teams that are good on the PP do.

[matter2003]

13 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Disagree to an extent.  The PLAYERS understand that stuff.  

The coaching staff are full on idjits.  

The reason the players were in non-usual spots was the Otters got a clear and then kept pressure on the Sabres outside the zone but the puck got over to Dahlin and HE will actually carry the puck in when it is there.  He carried it in and he and McLeod ended up deep with Thompson and Zucker higher and Benson as the last man back.  (He'd passed the puck to Dahlin on a SHORT drop pass to start the entry and then was hanging deep (actually outside outside the zone) and pinched to keep the puck in at the zone.  Dahlin came into the zone with speed and they had 4 guys all moving with speed entering the zone because when the drop pass happened they were all near the red line not the opposing team's blue iine.)

But THAT entry was completely against what Appert coaches and exactly what teams that are good on the PP do.

How was the Amerks PP under Appert?  Seems hard to keep blaming coaches when many different coaches have tried to coach the PP and they all have ended up getting the same results eventually. Especially if we have situations where they have then coached the PP elsewhere (either before or after) and had success at doing so.

At some point the players have to take responsibility for their lack of productivity and lack of making anything happen. I mean, I'm pretty sure the coaches are not telling the point players to constantly shoot the puck directly into the oncoming players shinpads like they do so often or to shoot the puck directly into the goalies chest from the slot. Coaches can't force players to make good decisions on the ice, they can only teach them what they "should" be doing and to practice doing it, but the players then have to be able to carry that over into the game and actually execute it properly.

Edited 7 hours ago by matter2003

[Taro T]

8 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

How was the Amerks PP under Appert?  Seems hard to keep blaming coaches when many different coaches have tried to coach the PP and they all have ended up getting the same results eventually.

Many?  Ellis and Appert.  Neither of which should be coaching an NHL PP.

 

[matter2003]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Many?  Ellis and Appert.  Neither of which should be coaching an NHL PP.

 

the same struggles have gone back far before any of them were on the team.  Try again.

[Porous Five Hole]

16 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

How was the Amerks PP under Appert?  Seems hard to keep blaming coaches when many different coaches have tried to coach the PP and they all have ended up getting the same results eventually. Especially if we have situations where they have then coached the PP elsewhere (either before or after) and had success at doing so.

At some point the players have to take responsibility for their lack of productivity and lack of making anything happen. I mean, I'm pretty sure the coaches are not telling the point players to constantly shoot the puck directly into the oncoming players shinpads like they do so often or to shoot the puck directly into the goalies chest from the slot. Coaches can't force players to make good decisions on the ice, they can only teach them what they "should" be doing and to practice doing it, but the players then have to be able to carry that over into the game and actually execute it properly.

23-24: 17.9%, 10th best in the league 
22-23: 20.6%, 9th best in the league 

21-22: 23.5%, best in the league. 
 

Appert’s PP was always good in Rochester.  

[Taro T]

13 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

the same struggles have gone back far before any of them were on the team.  Try again.

Not with these players they haven't.  But, you knew that.

Bob Woods never should've been allowed to leave the building.

[matter2003]

12 minutes ago, Porous Five Hole said:

23-24: 17.9%, 10th best in the league 
22-23: 20.6%, 9th best in the league 

21-22: 23.5%, best in the league. 
 

Appert’s PP was always good in Rochester.  

Exactly my point...hard to say it's him not being a good PP coach when his other teams have done pretty well.

[Taro T]

21 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

Exactly my point...hard to say it's him not being a good PP coach when his other teams have done pretty well.

That "best in the league" PP had Peterka and Quinn blowing through the AHL with nearly unprecedented for teens stats.  

When those 2 moved up, the PP regressed SIGNIFICANTLY.  And that's even with adding Kulich to the mix.

And, btw, until that last year in Ra-cha-cha, he had this guy, you might've heard of, named Peca who was helping him.  He MIGHT've made a bit of a difference there.

Edited 7 hours ago by Taro T

[PromoTheRobot]

Believe it or not, as of now, the Sabres have the 13th power play in the league. 21.4%.  Penalty kill is #3 at 93.8%.  Keep in mind a 25% PP% would put you at 7th best last season. Scoring on 1 out 4 is all it takes.

[LGR4GM]

Remember, Ottawa is bad and Buffalo got some luck. The way they generate pp chances is the issue. 

That said Jack Quinn suddenly remembered that there was indeed a center to the ice surface and he could go there, was fun. 

[Wyldnwoody44]

It was a fun game 1000% and that jolt of energy from the crowd, man it was palpable... This team should realize what this city can be, it doesn't take that much. 

With that being said... We didn't look "good" Ottawa just looked that bad, so I'm very cautious 

[inkman]

34 minutes ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

It was a fun game 1000% and that jolt of energy from the crowd, man it was palpable... This team should realize what this city can be, it doesn't take that much. 

With that being said... We didn't look "good" Ottawa just looked that bad, so I'm very cautious 

All the players interviewed as well as Lindy mentioned how they fed off the crowd’s energy. Just need them to harness it, recall it and use it at their will in the future. The in arena experience should also be focused on getting the crowd amped at home games.  If Lindy isn’t feeling it, dress Geertsen to eat a few fists and get the crowd amped. This isn’t that hard.  

[LTS]

4 minutes ago, inkman said:

All the players interviewed as well as Lindy mentioned how they fed off the crowd’s energy. Just need them to harness it, recall it and use it at their will in the future. The in arena experience should also be focused on getting the crowd amped at home games.  If Lindy isn’t feeling it, dress Geertsen to eat a few fists and get the crowd amped. This isn’t that hard.  

The players need to realize that in order to get energy from the crowd they need to feed them first.  Then the fans can reciprocate into an upward climb where both reinforce each other.

The in arena experience will only go so far, especially when most people who show up are rooting for the other team or expecting a loss.

[Taro T]

42 minutes ago, inkman said:

All the players interviewed as well as Lindy mentioned how they fed off the crowd’s energy. Just need them to harness it, recall it and use it at their will in the future. The in arena experience should also be focused on getting the crowd amped at home games.  If Lindy isn’t feeling it, dress Geertsen to eat a few fists and get the crowd amped. This isn’t that hard.  

The ironic thing is, after Tuch hit the post and they were carrying play that next shift, the crowd really got loud for the 1st time that game and then the Otters immediately went down the ice, controlled play for all of about 10 seconds and evened it up at 1 apiece.

So, the team got us into it, and the building was loud for the 1st time in 3 games, and then it got very quiet for a bit.  Building got loud again in the 2nd.

It was a fun one to be at.

[Taro T]

2 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Believe it or not, as of now, the Sabres have the 13th power play in the league. 21.4%.  Penalty kill is #3 at 93.8%.  Keep in mind a 25% PP% would put you at 7th best last season. Scoring on 1 out 4 is all it takes.

Net PK, they're tied for 2nd at 100%.  1 PPG against and 1 SHG for.  Only the Rags, who have 0 PPG's against and 1 SHG for are better.

The PK has looked good.  Having a goalie that can make a save tends to help there.  😉 

[inkman]

1 hour ago, LTS said:

The players need to realize that in order to get energy from the crowd they need to feed them first.  Then the fans can reciprocate into an upward climb where both reinforce each other.

The in arena experience will only go so far, especially when most people who show up are rooting for the other team or expecting a loss.

I agree. It’s why a lot of teams send out their muckers to stir things up a bit, rattle the boards, and get the crowd going. These are layups for an organization yet thus one acts like they’ve never been to a hockey barn.