GDT/ Buffalo Sabres @ Flyers, 7:30pm TNT WGR

[#freejame]

1 hour ago, PASabreFan said:

Just gonna go by photos?

I’ll die on the hill that neither of those was goalie interference 

[Taro T]

57 minutes ago, JoeSchmoe said:

I personally like Thompson at C. It shouldn't be this way, but I do feel he seems more engaged there.

Send Östlund back to ROC and bring Rosen back up to play wing. Then move McLeod back to 3rd line C where he's better suited.

 

Thompson reminds me a lot of a kid that was on my one son's teams very often (was a very good kid with a really nice family, so always grabbed him when he was available when picking our team); he was big and a little lanky like Thompson and had good speed and good hands.  He was almost always our best F and he always wanted to play C, but oftentimes played him at W because ALL he thought about and cared about was scoring.  He wanted nothing at all to do with coming back deep into our zone and that was one of the C's 1st assignments - take care of our end and you'll get plenty of chances at the other end.

Thompson says he doesn't care if he's a C or a W but he definitely typically seems more engaged when he's a C than when he's a W; but he's better in the Sabres zone at W.  If he's playing with a guy like Tuch who oftentimes takes the C's responsibilities in his own end, no issue with playing him at C.  Maybe if they keep Norris with Tage, they can list Tage as the C but try to get to spots where when they're lining up for FOs it makes sense to have the lefty at the dot rather than the righty.

Not fully ready to break up the experiment of Norris with Tage and Benson, but wouldn't give them too long a leash either.

[LGR4GM]

The league has no idea what goalie interference is. The coaches don't know. The refs don't know. Toronto doesn't know. The fans don't know. The players don't know. Short of punching a goalie in the face, no one knows what the rule is. It is worse than what is a catch in the NFL. 

[Taro T]

51 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Taro, to me it is easy to read into last nights game. It shows something massive about the character and maturity of the team.  They are a work in progress.  Still lacking some key pieces, and we saw example of good game day coaching (Tochett) and bad game day coaching (Ruff).  How many times have they won 2 in a row and failed to show up to get a 3rd win?  Did they look hungry?   They expect teams to roll over for them.  

All the events that preceded the 3 goals in 59 seconds says a lot.  Their inability to regroup and come back, they had a lot of time to get back in the game.  

By far the worse line out there was Benson-Thompson-Norris, the line you expected to carry the team was not at all in sync.  The only line I liked all night was Östlund's line.   

So, after two games I am ready to break up Thompson and Norris to see what else they can do.   

I think Tage is mediocre center, but as a winger he doesn't seem to know how to get himself open for a clear shot.  So put Norris with other players and see what else we have.   I also think its time to move Benson off of the 1st line.  ZERO goal production and the season is more than 1/4 over.  That is not first line worthy.   Maybe Benson can work with Östlund?   Try a savvy vet like Zucker with Norris?     

On a side note:  I find it odd that Dunne challenges Deslauriers once before the game, and again during the game - only to have Deslauriers pass.   

My interpretation is that Dunne is viewed as insignificant, and Deslauriers did not want to risk losing a fight and letting Dunne influence the games momentum which turned to all Flyers after the first 5 minutes and 30 seconds -  the time that Tage Thompson took a lazy penalty on a power play after playing lazy in his own zone.    

Note to Dunne, stop looking for silly staged fights.  Fight only when it means something, and don't wait for an invitation or for clearance.  Just go.  

Deslauriers waited until the game was all but over to get involved in any scrums, he took an extra 2 minute roughing penalty on Dunne, and then watched as our PP failed to put a shot on net for 2 minutes.  

Tochett told the TNT guys he wanted to control the ice in front of both nets and they did. That is were hockey games are won.  

Oh, yes, the game reinforces the immaturity of the team and how, once again on this night, the coach made some inexplicable decisions which ended up playing into that immaturity.  Which, yes, it can be read into, unfortunately, quite clearly.

Meant to be more specific as to how, and how much, adding Norris will affect the trajectory of this squad.  Just like we shouldn't be (and nobody around here is/was, not even remotely implying anyone was) assuming that the Sabres will be one of the best teams because of how good they looked against the Jets with Norris in the lineup; not sure that it's fair to expect them to be just as awful on the road as they have been without him.

The way how the whole thing snowballed, would say we still don't know how much Norris will improve this roster.  (Providing, obviously, if he stays healthy for a significant portion of the season at a minimum.)

[Big Guava]

39 minutes ago, Scottysabres said:

 

The Dodo is going to become de-extincted within the next 5-7 years!

[pi2000]

28 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

The league has no idea what goalie interference is. The coaches don't know. The refs don't know. Toronto doesn't know. The fans don't know. The players don't know. Short of punching a goalie in the face, no one knows what the rule is. It is worse than what is a catch in the NFL. 

And with fuzzy rule it's absolutely asinine that a failed goalie interference challenge results in a penalty.    

You want to protect the goalies?  Make the crease bigger and go back to the "foot in the crease" rule of the 90s. 

[Believer]

19 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

Goals scored needs to be better,  no?  

Yes.

Metrics are metrics, won’t argue them. My anecdotal observation watching nearly every game is that in the slot below the keys our players only occasionally snipe a corner or five hole and too often hit the crest or give the goalie a glove or blocker save. It’s about that half second poise before shooting, picking their target, and hitting it with a quick shot.

As @Pimlach said, it’s about scoring goals.

[inkman]

1 hour ago, Scottysabres said:

 

I just think saying the Sabres need to shoot more accurately is lazy.  The problem isn’t the shooters skill set.  The Sabres have some of the best shooters on the league. What they need to do is develop better scoring chances so they don’t have to always pick the corners (aka Tuch always “missing the net”). It’s happening because the open looks aren’t there.  So he’s left banking pucks off goalie’s backs or missing the net trying to squeeze the puck into a 4 square inch hole.  

Edited 1 hour ago by inkman

[Jorcus]

17 minutes ago, Believer said:

Yes.

Metrics are metrics, won’t argue them. My anecdotal observation watching nearly every game is that in the slot below the keys our players only occasionally snipe a corner or five hole and too often hit the crest or give the goalie a glove or blocker save. It’s about that half second poise before shooting, picking their target, and hitting it with a quick shot.

As @Pimlach said, it’s about scoring goals.

It's one thing I miss about Peterka. He is an on stick off stick shooter. Too many of our guys try to pick the spots.

[Believer]

Our shooting % is middle of the league only slightly above average.

Our High Danger Chances in the slot or close range are middle of the league as well, but have improved from 6.83 to 8.16 per game through November.

So, to your point, we are moving in the right direction. 

[Sidc3000]

5 hours ago, Scottysabres said:

They’ve so far avoided their annual mid/late November 10+ game losing streak. Which, as I pointed out, has become an annual event.

A losing streak would just cement their last or near last place finish. Not wining more than 2 in a row and not wining on the road is better gauge in my opinion 

[Sidc3000]

2 hours ago, inkman said:

 

None of the shooting % stats indicate that shooting is a Sabres issue.  They are above average in almost every shooting metric. 
 

 

Stats are great but it’s obviously not translating to goals so they’re just numbers on a website. 

[Scottysabres]

47 minutes ago, inkman said:

I just think saying the Sabres need to shoot more accurately is lazy.  The problem isn’t the shooters skill set.  The Sabres have some of the best shooters on the league. What they need to do is develop better scoring chances so they don’t have to always pick the corners (aka Tuch always “missing the net”). It’s happening because the open looks aren’t there.  So he’s left banking pucks off goalie’s backs or missing the net trying to squeeze the puck into a 4 square inch hole.  

While this is true, it doesn’t change the blown opportunities last night. They were in those lanes, with wide open nets. And it’s not the first game this has happened.

[Scottysabres]

18 minutes ago, Sidc3000 said:

A losing streak would just cement their last or near last place finish. Not wining more than 2 in a row and not wining on the road is better gauge in my opinion 

I mean, I don’t know what to say honestly Sidc, losing 10+ in a row, 18 in a row one season, is not merely a gauge, it’s an air raid siren with giant rotating red strobe lights to boot.