Your Biggest Concern and Biggest Advantage vs the Bruins?

[GASabresIUFAN]

I’ve been listening to and reading a bunch of previews and there are a couple of things that standout to me about this series.  Everyone keeps pointing out Boston’s experience and Swayman, but these aren’t my concerns.

Advantages for the Sabres 

1.  Team depth - Buffalo can role 3 effective scoring lines and 2 great D pairs. Boston simply can’t. 

2. Team speed. Buffalo is among the fastest teams and Boston is slow, some by design, but they lack foot speed. 

Biggest Concern for the Sabres

1.  PP - Boston is going to give us opportunities and we need to score. 

2. Power - This is going to be a physical series.  If Power’s lack of physical game becomes a liability against Boston’s top line, that could be a huge problem.  

Edited April 18 by GASabresIUFAN

[#freejame]

My biggest concern is that we won’t adjust to Bostons trap and we’ll spend an entire series beating our heads against the wall trying unsuccessfully to knock it down. 

Swayman is going to beat us once. Whatever. We will need to adapt and that scares me. 

[French Collection]

9 minutes ago, #freejame said:

My biggest concern is that we won’t adjust to Bostons trap and we’ll spend an entire series beating our heads against the wall trying unsuccessfully to knock it down. 

Swayman is going to beat us once. Whatever. We will need to adapt and that scares me. 

Lindy’s got to assume Boston is going with some version of the trap. That is what Buffalo has been stifled with in multiple games.

Whatever strategy works best to beat the trap using their strengths is what I would go with. Play to your strengths, altering the game plan too much removes the instinctual play the Sabres have thrived on. Speed in breakout/transition with the D joining in will have the slower Bruins on their heels. A couple of great scoring chances using their skills will have the Bruins doubting themselves early.

[GASabresIUFAN]

14 minutes ago, #freejame said:

My biggest concern is that we won’t adjust to Bostons trap and we’ll spend an entire series beating our heads against the wall trying unsuccessfully to knock it down. 

Swayman is going to beat us once. Whatever. We will need to adapt and that scares me. 

We have seen the Sabres lose some low event games recently, but we have also seen them dominate those games by hemming in the slower team in their zone for 2 minutes at a time.  A reasonable concern, but if the Sabres can score early, Boston will have to open things up assuming we don’t take stupid penalties

[dudacek]

21 minutes ago, #freejame said:

My biggest concern is that we won’t adjust to Bostons trap and we’ll spend an entire series beating our heads against the wall trying unsuccessfully to knock it down. 

Swayman is going to beat us once. Whatever. We will need to adapt and that scares me. 

One of the biggest reasons that Sabres got good is that they stopped trying to outscore teams in every situation and started doing what the situation dictates they have to do to win. We've seen them win when games got physical and we've seen them win when games got tight.

The Bruins are hoping and betting exactly on the scenario you describe. Ruff and his team should be saying "take those outside lanes they give you, get the pucks deep and use your speed to force their D into coughing up pucks and taking penalties."

The Sabres don't prefer a dump and chase, but with guys like Tuch, Krebs, Doan, Benson and Malenstyn they can definitely play it.

Will guys like Thompson, McLeod, Power, Dahlin and Quinn still try and force things in the neutral zone?

I guess that's why they play the game, but they don't need to do that to win. 

This hits right at the heart of the question: "are the Sabres for real?"

If they are, they can beat the Bruins without the rush offence.

Edited April 18 by dudacek

[PerreaultForever]

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I’ve been listening to and reading a bunch of previews and there are a couple of things that standout to me about this series.  Everyone keeps pointing out Boston’s experience and Swayman, but these aren’t my concerns.

Advantages for the Sabres 

1.  Team depth - Buffalo can role 3 effective scoring lines and 2 great D pairs. Boston simply can’t. 

2. Team speed. Buffalo is among the fastest teams and Boston is slow, some by design, but they lack foot speed. 

Biggest Concern for the Sabres

1.  PP - Boston is going to give us opportunities and we need to score. 

2. Power - This is going to be a physical series.  If Power’s lack of physical game becomes a liability against Boston’s top line, that could be a huge problem.  

#1. isn't really true. Boston rolls their lines as well and it's arguable as to which is the best one. Now you can say Buffalo has more scoring skill as a whole, but not that Boston can't roll their lines. They do and they will. 

#2. Yes, Buffalo is faster. Boston will attempt to find ways to slow them down and that's where the battle takes place. 

#1 sounds like another advantage? Or are you suggesting the PP sucks so bad they have a problem?

#2 Power? I don't know if Boston is going to target the D. They don't usually. They mostly try to force wingers to the outside and crunch them coming up the wall. They try to disrupt you coming up the wall to exit your own zone and thus create a turnover. In their own end they play a rope a dope kind of game and as such the biggest issue imo is giveaways. Sabres do do that and Boston does exploit that. Whoever gives the puck away more will lose. 

 

For me the biggest issue is will the Sabres stick to their own game and force their way through or will they be thrown off and end up trying to win at the Bruins game (which will likely fail). This is why Sturm said what he said about being "bigger" and "coming at them". It's a mind game. Like a bully on a playground trying to make you flinch. Will they get in their heads. The comment certainly has gotten in the heads of Sabres fans on twitter that's for sure. Ruff knows it's a mind game. We'll see if the Sabres are ready or not soon enough. 

 

[Nacho Libre]

Sabres should win. They are the better team. I think even with the Powerplay remaining as is… they’ve proven they can win this way already, if the gap shrinks in the playoffs because it’s more important here, well I still don’t think it shrinks enough to eliminate the gap to Boston. This is, without getting out-played in between the pipes. Which is my only real worry (besides health, as it’s key going forward in other rounds), as it’s the single true one-man equalizer there is in the NHL. Sometimes dramatically so in the playoffs. That’s my one fear - otherwise I’d say the Sabres roll, probably in 6, would be my prediction 

[GASabresIUFAN]

7 minutes ago, PerreaultForever said:

1 sounds like another advantage? Or are you suggesting the PP sucks so bad they have a problem?

I’m saying our PP sucks so bad it’s a liability for the Sabres.  

[aristocrat]

The key should be declining all power plays. I don’t want to see us on the power play once. So as soon as they take a penalty we take a penalty. Would be hilarious. 

[PonyBoy2]

#1 Biggest concern: Power Play/ Hokey ref calls.

Every time a team gets up by 2 or more goals, here come the refs to keep it close via "undisciplined" plays by the team with the lead. 

#1 Biggest advantage: Multiple 10/20+ goal scorers. It's a lot of players to shut down

[LGR4GM]

Advantage, Benson. I think outside of Buffalo he's not thought of much but he can have real impacts in game and the playoffs seem like a place his style would thrive 

Disadvantages/Concerns, goaltending. Swayman is better but also will UPL keep his stellar play going?

[Eleven]

Goaltending.  Both sides of the ice.

[dudacek]

I wonder how well Peake, Aspirot, Zadorov and Lohrei are going to handle, well, most of the Sabres forwards.

Its not a group I perceive to be particularly athletic or poised, and Buffalo’s puck pressure and puck protection is a real thing.

 

[Nacho Libre]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I wonder how well Peake, Aspirot, Zadorov and Lohrei are going to handle, well, most of the Sabres forwards.

Its not a group I perceive to be particularly athletic or poised, and Buffalo’s puck pressure and puck protection is a real thing.

 

Who? 

[dudacek]

Also, with all the “inexperience” talk, the Minten Khusnutdinov and Hagens group is by far the greenest group in the series.

[Carmel Corn]

Sorry, but IMHO - our power play sucks and is simply not working, so that will be advantage Boston.  Second, the Bruins have had a decisive head-to-head advantage this year….so again advantage Boston.  Third, Buffalo has seemed to lose vision of key opposition players.  In the last Boston game, our defense and forwards inexplicably lost sight of Pasta and he ate us for lunch….so again advantage Boston.  Last, Boston has already been in playoff mode, while Buffalo has played only so-so with much less pressure….so advantage Boston.

Hopefully I am wrong on all points above.

[SabresfaninSB]

Getting goalied. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

14 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

Second, the Bruins have had a decisive head-to-head advantage this year….so again advantage Boston.

Not exactly. The first two games were early in the season before the turnaround.  The first game was the 2nd game of the season and the second game, also in Oct, the Sabres came back down 3-1 and forced OT.

The last two games were a dominating 4-1 victory and an OT loss where the Sabres played lousy and still almost won.  It was also the first game back after a West Coast tour trip. 

 

 

[steveoath]

Biggest concern: they try to get our players to take stupid retaliation pens. 
 

biggest advantage?? We are Atlantic division champs. Something a lot of the media talking heads seem to forget. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

59 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Advantage, Benson. I think outside of Buffalo he's not thought of much but he can have real impacts in game and the playoffs seem like a place his style would thrive 

Disadvantages/Concerns, goaltending. Swayman is better but also will UPL keep his stellar play going?

Is Benson the new Marchand on behalf of the Sabres?

[Taro T]

27 minutes ago, Carmel Corn said:

Sorry, but IMHO - our power play sucks and is simply not working, so that will be advantage Boston.  Second, the Bruins have had a decisive head-to-head advantage this year….so again advantage Boston.  Third, Buffalo has seemed to lose vision of key opposition players.  In the last Boston game, our defense and forwards inexplicably lost sight of Pasta and he ate us for lunch….so again advantage Boston.  Last, Boston has already been in playoff mode, while Buffalo has played only so-so with much less pressure….so advantage Boston.

Hopefully I am wrong on all points above.

6-3-1 vs 5-3-2 to end the year.  The team with the 6 isn't based in Beantown.

Final game of the year, the Beanies announcers were talking about how well Boston played down the stretch (not sure what they were considering the start date of that).  What teams did they say did better than those Beanies:  Buffalo, Carolina, Montreal, and IIRC Ottawa.

Swayman has a better pedigree than UPL.  Pastrnak has the NHL playoff experience that Thompson doesn't have.  The Sabres PP is hot garbage.  That's about the extent of items that go into their column.  Only the PP (and Sabres lack thereof) is definitely an advantage.  

Yeah, the Sabres could lose this series.  But there's much less that needs to break the Sabres way for them to win than the guys with cubs on their shoulders will need to have break their way for the Sabres to not win.

[steveoath]

Just now, GASabresIUFAN said:

Is Benson the new Marchand on behalf of the Sabres?

I think/hope that this is where Benny arrives on the radar of the casual fan. He’s going to be an awesome pita!!

[steveoath]

Benny’s just posted his own hype video on instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXSQj8qDQUQ/?igsh=YWF2ZW4zc3d5aHU4 
 

Zucker just responds with “🐀🐀🐀” haha. Love it. 

[Scottysabres]

Biggest concern: my liver on game nights

Biggest advantage: my experienced well seasoned liver on game nights

[DarthEbriate]

My biggest concern is the standard cold power play that results in short-handed opportunities, and untimely goal against, and squanders Buffalo's pace at 5-on-5. The Bruins can definitely win this series.

The biggest advantage is what we've seen consistently for 4 months --- with maybe 5 notable exceptions that entire time. About 12 minutes into the game, after Boston's adrenaline and skate-as-fast-as-you-can-at-all-times shifts conclude and the coach says, "great start! now, let's play our game" and they begin to settle it down... the Sabres are just warming up. That's when the Bruins are collectively going to have a real "I thought you said this thing was fast....  Oh. Oh, crap." moment. They've never played these Sabres at peak intensity -- and we haven't either, because now it will be with the added playoff surge.