[Incomplete Title] Sabres (21-12-5) & NHL 2018-19 - Game 39 (MSG-B) vs. BOS (20-14-4) at 7 PM ET on 12/29

[BillsPride12]

If you take Hasek in his prime and put him in Net on the 2006 team we win that Cup hands down! My biggest gripe with the Sabres as an organization was how do you not surround the greatest goalie to ever play the game with a better supporting cast? It was criminal that we couldn't build a better team in the Hasek era and remarkable at the same time he was able to carry the Sabres to a Stanley Cup final.

 

The 05-06 team was definitely a better team all around even though they didn't get as far as the 99 team did.  I agree if not for all the injuries to our D down the stretch we most likely get past Carolina and go on to smoke the Oilers in the Finals that year.  The 716 was rocking that year in a way I hadn't seen since the Bills Super Bowl runs.

[26CornerBlitz]

YouTube Version:

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

 

Morning peeps.    It is only Game 3, 4 or 5.  down 2 goals with 2 minutes left..  Why pull a goalie?   Is this normal so early? 

 

Oshie gets a half rink open netter to seal the game with a 3 goal lead 

 

[GG]

12 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

If you take Hasek in his prime and put him in Net on the 2006 team we win that Cup hands down! My biggest gripe with the Sabres as an organization was how do you not surround the greatest goalie to ever play the game with a better supporting cast? It was criminal that we couldn't build a better team in the Hasek era and remarkable at the same time he was able to carry the Sabres to a Stanley Cup final.

 

The 05-06 team was definitely a better team all around even though they didn't get as far as the 99 team did.  I agree if not for all the injuries to our D down the stretch we most likely get past Carolina and go on to smoke the Oilers in the Finals that year.  The 716 was rocking that year in a way I hadn't seen since the Bills Super Bowl runs.

 

Was that an intentional choice of words to describe the Sabres ownership during that time? 

[ricojes]

1 hour ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

 

Morning peeps.    It is only Game 3, 4 or 5.  down 2 goals with 2 minutes left..  Why pull a goalie?   Is this normal so early? 

 

Oshie gets a half rink open netter to seal the game with a 3 goal lead 

 

Game 3, 4 or 5 all matter at the end of the season.  The only chance of tying that game is to pull the goaltender...

[shrader]

17 hours ago, JohnC said:

You are a finicky critter. 

 

I know I'm not alone on this one.  I know I've heard the same exact comment several times over the years.  Hell, it's even hinted at in a Seinfeld episode.

[JohnC]

1 minute ago, shrader said:

 

I know I'm not alone on this one.  I know I've heard the same exact comment several times over the years.  Hell, it's even hinted at in a Seinfeld episode.

I didn't watch Seinfeld when it originally ran. But I have been a devoted fan since the reruns. One of my favorite shows was the Elaine dance segment. It hasn't got as much acclaim as some of his other shows but it makes me bust a gut. 

 

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=seinfeld+tv+show+elaine+dancing+at+work&view=detail&mid=53B8568CA6273067982F53B8568CA6273067982F&FORM=VIRE

[row_33]

4 Leafs in the top 10 scoring.

 

They can't play a lick of D and are too good to be true on sudden attack on O.

 

 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 hour ago, ricojes said:

Game 3, 4 or 5 all matter at the end of the season.  The only chance of tying that game is to pull the goaltender...

they were down 2 points (2-4) with 2:15 to go 

 

[26CornerBlitz]

Game Preview: 10/11/18 vs. Colorado

 

GAME-DAY RESOURCES

 

Game Notes

NHL Stats

Press Clips

LAST GAME

Monday, October 8

Vegas 2 at Buffalo 4

Goals: Eichel (2), Scandella, Pominville

Goalie: Hutton (35 saves/37 shots)

PP: 1/2; PK: 2/2; Shots: Vegas 37 – Buffalo 17

 

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 17)

Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed

Zach Bogosian (lower body, Oct. 4) – 3 games

Matt Hunwick (neck, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games

Johan Larsson (lower body, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games

Sean Malone (knee, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games

Scott Wilson (ankle, Oct. 4; injured reserve) – 3 games

Vladimir Sobotka (upper body, Oct. 6) – 2 games

 

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS

N/A

 

UPCOMING GAMES

Saturday, Oct. 13: Buffalo at Arizona, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 16: Buffalo at Vegas, 10 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 18: Buffalo at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 20: Buffalo at Los Angeles, 3:30 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 21: Buffalo at Anaheim, 8 p.m.

 

TONIGHT’S GAME

AVALANCHE at SABRES

• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and Avalanche this season.
• Next meeting: Saturday, March 9, 2019 in Colorado
• Last meeting: Colorado defeated Buffalo 5-4 in Buffalo on Feb. 11
• The Sabres are 3-7-0 in their last 10 games vs. the Avalanche; 3-5-2 at home.
• This is the 144th game all-time between Buffalo and Colorado; Buffalo has a 62-57-24 series record.
• The Sabres are 38-22-11 at home against the Avalanche all-time.

 

 

 

 

[row_33]

2 hours ago, ricojes said:

Game 3, 4 or 5 all matter at the end of the season.  The only chance of tying that game is to pull the goaltender...

 

4 minutes seems to be the outer limit for pulling the goalie in the dozen or so games i've watched, with varying interest this year

 

 

[BillsFan4]

17 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

^^^^^^

 

Good to see...speaking of gulies....Linus on Thursday or the first game of trip?

I’m sure Housley will go with the hot hand tonight. Hutton has been too good to put Ullmark in. If it were a back to back it’d be different. 

 

Im guessing Ullmark might get a game some time during that western road trip. 

[plenzmd1]

PHam says Hutton tonight...good. Ride the horse that got ya there

[BillsFan4]

58 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

they were down 2 points (2-4) with 2:15 to go 

 

That’s exactly why they pulled the goalie. 

 

It’s a pretty common thing in hockey. It all depends on the coach and the score of the game. If a team is down by 2+, they usually pull the goalie earlier than if they are only down by 1. 

 

 

Some coaches are more daring about it. Like Housley, for example, during the Sabres 1st game of the year pulled the goalie with 5 minutes left in the game. They were down 3-0 though.

 

That used to be somewhat unusual (and it still is to some degree) to pull a goalie with that much time left. But Patrick Roy kind of started that trend his first season coaching the Avalanche, and it worked for Colorado. Then you started to see other coaches pulling their goalie earlier than normal. 

 

Roy actually pulled his goalie a few different times with 10+ minutes remaining in the game (once with 13mins left)! I don’t know of any other coaches who have repeated that off hand. 

 

Here’s a good article on it from a few years ago, if you are interested -

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/nhl-coaches-are-pulling-goalies-earlier-than-ever/

[K-9]

4 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

 

Morning peeps.    It is only Game 3, 4 or 5.  down 2 goals with 2 minutes left..  Why pull a goalie?   Is this normal so early? 

 

Oshie gets a half rink open netter to seal the game with a 3 goal lead 

 

Down two, they should have pulled the goalie sooner. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 hour ago, row_33 said:

 

4 minutes seems to be the outer limit for pulling the goalie in the dozen or so games i've watched, with varying interest this year

 

 

 

57 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

I’m sure Housley will go with the hot hand tonight. Hutton has been too good to put Ullmark in. If it were a back to back it’d be different. 

 

Im guessing Ullmark might get a game some time during that western road trip. 

 

33 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

That’s exactly why they pulled the goalie. 

 

It’s a pretty common thing in hockey. It all depends on the coach and the score of the game. If a team is down by 2+, they usually pull the goalie earlier than if they are only down by 1. 

 

 

Some coaches are more daring about it. Like Housley, for example, during the Sabres 1st game of the year pulled the goalie with 5 minutes left in the game. They were down 3-0 though.

 

That used to be somewhat unusual (and it still is to some degree) to pull a goalie with that much time left. But Patrick Roy kind of started that trend his first season coaching the Avalanche, and it worked for Colorado. Then you started to see other coaches pulling their goalie earlier than normal. 

 

Roy actually pulled his goalie a few different times with 10+ minutes remaining in the game (once with 13mins left)! I don’t know of any other coaches who have repeated that off hand. 

 

Here’s a good article on it from a few years ago, if you are interested -

 

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/nhl-coaches-are-pulling-goalies-earlier-than-ever/

 

6 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Down two, they should have pulled the goalie sooner. 

 

Thanks all.   I usually only watch Hockey after football.  But my interest has peaked I may watch more of it (Caps) this season 

[K-9]

So, Larsson on the wing with Mitts and Tage tonight? Other than being another faceoff man, he brings NOTHING but diminished speed and absolutely NO offensive skill to the game lineup. Housley just can’t help himself. 

 

Prove me wrong, Phil. 

 

[plenzmd1]

1 hour ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

 

 

 

 

Thanks all.   I usually only watch Hockey after football.  But my interest has peaked I may watch more of it (Caps) this season 

good..more hockey fans the better!  Although i liked in 98 being able to get club level seats at was MCI( now Cap One) for like $50 a seat for the  Sabre-Caps ECF.

[JohnC]

37 minutes ago, K-9 said:

So, Larsson on the wing with Mitts and Tage tonight? Other than being another faceoff man, he brings NOTHING but diminished speed and absolutely NO offensive skill to the game lineup. Housley just can’t help himself. 

 

Prove me wrong, Phil. 

 

I'm with you on the Larsson issue. He's a gritty player with no offensive capability. Botterill worked hard in the offseason to bring some functionality to the third and fourth lines. I don't understand the infatuation with Larsson who is more of an AHL caliber of player. Remi would be a better option. 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

Projected Lineup

43 Conor Sheary - 9 Jack Eichel - 23 Sam Reinhart
53 Jeff Skinner - 10 Patrik Berglund - 21 Kyle Okposo
22 Johan Larsson - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 72 Tage Thompson
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 71 Evan Rodrigues - 29 Jason Pominville

 

6 Marco Scandella - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
19 Jake McCabe - 26 Rasmus Dahlin
82 Nathan Beaulieu - 8 Casey Nelson

 

40 Carter Hutton
35 Linus Ullmark

 

 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I'm with you on the Larsson issue. He's a gritty player with no offensive capability. Botterill worked hard in the offseason to bring some functionality to the third and fourth lines. I don't understand the infatuation with Larsson who is more of an AHL caliber of player. Remi would be a better option. 

Not that I’m going to defend Housley, but:

 

Maybe Housley wants to move Mitts to the wing and have Larsson center that line? That would lessen Mitts’s responsibilities but wouldn’t do anything to help him develop his 200 foot game as a center. And while he hasn’t been lighting it up (yet), Mitts’s two-way game is improving and he hasn’t hurt us, either.

 

Or maybe Housley and Botts need to see what they have in Larsson playing with this new team while the season is still young? Showcase him for a possible trade? 

 

The move flies in the face of the conventional hockey wisdom that says you don’t mess with a good thing while it’s working. Did Elie do anything glaringly wrong when he was in the lineup?

 

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

Not that I’m going to defend Housley, but:

 

Maybe Housley wants to move Mitts to the wing and have Larsson center that line? That would lessen Mitts’s responsibilities but wouldn’t do anything to help him develop his 200 foot game as a center. And while he hasn’t been lighting it up (yet), Mitts’s two-way game is improving and he hasn’t hurt us, either.

 

Or maybe Housley and Botts need to see what they have in Larsson playing with this new team while the season is still young? Showcase him for a possible trade? 

 

The move flies in the face of the conventional hockey wisdom that says you don’t mess with a good thing while it’s working. Did Elie do anything glaringly wrong when he was in the lineup?

 

 

From an analytical sense that line is not doing well. So the coach is subtracting a piece and adding a different piece to the mix. This is clearly demonstrated in 26Corner's color graphic. So the move makes sense. I like keeping Mittlestadt on the line, even as a forward because hopefully the more playing time he gets the faster he develops. As you observed Mittlestadt is not shining but he doesn't look out of place. 

 

I'll make a small prediction that in the not too distant future Tage Thompson will be sent down to the AHL. Tage has a tendency to try to dazzle with little to show for his pretty play. He needs to simply his game and be more efficient with his action. Playing pretty in the NHL is not going to cut it if there is no production to back it up. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

4 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

good..more hockey fans the better!  Although i liked in 98 being able to get club level seats at was MCI( now Cap One) for like $50 a seat for the  Sabre-Caps ECF.

Even if I’m a CAPS fan?    

[K-9]

12 minutes ago, JohnC said:

From an analytical sense that line is not doing well. So the coach is subtracting a piece and adding a different piece to the mix. This is clearly demonstrated in 26Corner's color graphic. So the move makes sense. I like keeping Mittlestadt on the line, even as a forward because hopefully the more playing time he gets the faster he develops. As you observed Mittlestadt is not shining but he doesn't look out of place. 

 

I'll make a small prediction that in the not too distant future Tage Thompson will be sent down to the AHL. Tage has a tendency to try to dazzle with little to show for his pretty play. He needs to simply his game and be more efficient with his action. Playing pretty in the NHL is not going to cut it if there is no production to back it up. 

I take those analytics with a grain of salt as evidenced by the disclaimer at the end. If Housley is seeing something in Elie’s play that is not apparent to me, fine, I fully understand. But other than taking faceoffs in the D zone, Larsson offers absolutely nothing superior, imo; especially speed. That said, Housley is the coach and (presumably) knows far better than anyone in these parts, that’s for sure.

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[GETTOTHE50]

i knew it they were going overturn okposo's goal. great !@#$ing play by eichel and they say screw you. !@#$ing pricks. 

Edited October 11, 2018 by GETTOTHE50

[Bray Wyatt]

A bunch of bad bounces on the pp. Is that really goal tender interference on the okposo non goal? 

[plenzmd1]

can't see the game as rain  been pretty hard since 5...bad as the score indicates?

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[njbuff]

I am fully aware the Caps played last night and they weren't going to have any legs playing a game way less then 24 hours from their last game, but the Devils put a severe whipping on them.

 

It's early though.

 

And the Caps pulled their goalie to try and avoid a shutout. I don't think I have ever seen something like that in hockey. Pulling the goalie with a big deficit to avoid a shutout. Interesting.

Edited October 12, 2018 by njbuff

[plenzmd1]

Housley watch on again? ( i saw zero of the game btw)

[26CornerBlitz]

That was 2017 putrid!

[GETTOTHE50]

Okposo sucks. Murray was an idiot to sign him to that deal. He's a 3rd liner making 1st liner money. 

Edited October 12, 2018 by GETTOTHE50

[K-9]

16 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

Housley watch on again? ( i saw zero of the game btw)

They were tank years bad. 0 for 7 on the pp. And it’s clear that for all the faster players we’ve added, we are no where near the Colorados of the league in terms of overall team speed. 

 

I’m always on Housley watch. Let’s see where they are on 10/31. Tough five game road trip coming up after serving up a stinker at home. Depending on how they respond, Housley’s career may be riding on the next nine days.

[row_33]

Leafs dominate again, this power play is epic.

 

 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

44 minutes ago, row_33 said:

Leafs dominate again, this power play is epic.

 

 

 

Start a leafs thread.  

[row_33]

6 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

Start a leafs thread.  

 

It says NHL on top of the thread

 

 

[Fadingpain]

Sabres played like crap against Colorado tonight.

 

Eichel said, post game, "It felt like we probably weren't ready to play" or words to that effect.

 

It is game 4 after all; I can see where their attention span would be strained.

 

If Housley can't get them ready to play every game, can his soft ass and find someone who can.

 

 

 

[26CornerBlitz]