EmotionallyUnstable Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 I wish I wasn’t such an old man and stayed up late enough to watch the puck drop... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said: Then shoot Scandella to the moon and never let him set foot on the ice again. Hunwick has to be better. I’m not so sure about that... lol. (Hunwick being better, I mean) WTF happened to Scandella though? He was a solid top 4 defenseman for buffalo last season, even spending quite a bit of time on the top pair. This year he has really struggled. He’s had some good games here and there but a lot more bad ones. I keep hoping that he will return to last years form. It would be a big boost to this team if he did. But I am starting to lose hope now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 45 minutes ago, EmotionallyUnstable said: I wish I wasn’t such an old man and stayed up late enough to watch the puck drop... I might, and I stress, might make puck drop. I thought i would not watch last game, and ended up watching the whole thing as I was so pissed I could not fall asleep. But I won't be pissed tonight, so i suspect i will not be up late one way or the other Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said: I’m not so sure about that... lol. (Hunwick being better, I mean) WTF happened to Scandella though? He was a solid top 4 defenseman for buffalo last season, even spending quite a bit of time on the top pair. This year he has really struggled. He’s had some good games here and there but a lot more bad ones. I keep hoping that he will return to last years form. It would be a big boost to this team if he did. But I am starting to lose hope now. I don't consider Scandella a second pairing caliber defenseman. Not last year or this year. At best he is a third pairing type of player. One of the worst things you can say about a defenseman is that he is inconsistent. This year he has been inconsistent. Sometimes there are episodic flashes of being good. But in general he is what he is: A third pairing backer. If a player is a third pairing talent that isn't an indictment of the player so much as it is a ranking of him. But his uneven play is what drops his standing as a player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boca BIlls Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 4 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: 26cornerblitz usually updates things but he hasn’t been around in a while. Does anyone know if he is ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 16, 2019 Share Posted January 16, 2019 1 hour ago, JohnC said: I don't consider Scandella a second pairing caliber defenseman. Not last year or this year. At best he is a third pairing type of player. One of the worst things you can say about a defenseman is that he is inconsistent. This year he has been inconsistent. Sometimes there are episodic flashes of being good. But in general he is what he is: A third pairing backer. If a player is a third pairing talent that isn't an indictment of the player so much as it is a ranking of him. But his uneven play is what drops his standing as a player. Last season, he was a third pair D man. At best. This season, he is a 7 and should be seeing the press box most nights. But he has nothing to worry about as Housley goes out of his way to protect him. Pilut makes a mistake he’s out of the lineup. Scandella makes multiple mistakes? No problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) Looks like Beaulieu has requested a trade. That’s what being paired with Scandella does to you! https://mobile.twitter.com/renlavoietva Edited January 17, 2019 by K-9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 4 hours ago, K-9 said: Per the bold text, I think this is a bit unfair to Mittelstadt. In college, he had the misfortune of playing for Don Lucia, a conservative coach who believed that freshmen shouldn’t get big, unprotected minutes in lieu of veteran upperclassmen who “earned” more minutes. In spite of that, he was still second on his team in scoring. He also missed three games playing in the World Juniors, where he dominated his international peer group. With their season on the line vs. Penn State to get a birth in the NCAA tourney, Lucia let Mitts play and he had a damned good two games with five points. His line was the only one to do anything. No, he wasn’t an Eichel (how many college players are?), but he played very well at the college level and dominated at times. He dominated against his own age but didn’t quite show that same level against older opponents. That feels like an analog to making that jump to the pro game. I’m not so sure any of that means he’s ready right away, at least not for the role he was thrown into from day one. But hey, all part of “the plan”. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) 22 minutes ago, K-9 said: Looks like Beaulieu has requested a trade. That’s what being paired with Scandella does to you! https://mobile.twitter.com/renlavoietva I laughed at the "pairing with Scandella" comment..but Nathan Freaking Beaulieu requesting a trade might be even funnier!!! On a serious note, Housley sure seems to have a penchant for...what in the room? I mean last year ROR, this year Berglund, Beaulieu...i dunno, is there anything there? Edited January 17, 2019 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 27 minutes ago, shrader said: He dominated against his own age but didn’t quite show that same level against older opponents. That feels like an analog to making that jump to the pro game. I’m not so sure any of that means he’s ready right away, at least not for the role he was thrown into from day one. But hey, all part of “the plan”. There were times he flat out dominated against NCAA competition, too, including those older than him. He would have led his college team in scoring, as a freshman at a preeminent hockey school in a preeminent hockey conference, if he hadn’t needed to miss those three games. He was better than good as a college freshmen. Again, playing for a conservative coach with long time issues giving playing time to freshmen. His jump to college was a helluva lot easier than his transition to the NHL. Stands to reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) Man, as much as I wanna kill Housley, the puck luck against this team last 4 games has been unbelievable. Another one perfect bounce off #4, right to Johhny hockey, and with 1 second left. Lets see how they respond, thought they played a decent first Edited January 17, 2019 by plenzmd1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Well, there’s the standard “shot of the pads, center comes in to sink the rebound” goal. The next Calgary goal will be a “shot from blue line with two guys in front of net and deflection off screen or stick”. Sabres seem to think they should only score with beautiful passing plays and clean shots in top of cage...we need to get sloppy goals - put Girgensons and Reinhardt in front of goal...get screens off their damn skates or sticks. Take slap shots at wing and have Skinner or Mitts grab rebounds. So frustrating when we try so hard to make “pretty plays” that fail and go the other way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 We better first period, leave down 1-0. They better second, tied, 1-1. Hockey a whacked sport sometime. I think this this is an important period for the Sabres. Even a point here I think will help there psyche moving forward. *****, had not intention of watching this game. Now I am off to the fridge again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 10 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: We better first period, leave down 1-0. They better second, tied, 1-1. Hockey a whacked sport sometime. I think this this is an important period for the Sabres. Even a point here I think will help there psyche moving forward. *****, had not intention of watching this game. Now I am off to the fridge again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 (edited) 38 minutes ago, K-9 said: Haha! 35 looking a little shaky to start this period, as is the whole team texting with my nephew.,told him we due for a butt goal no? Yep, there it is. Should have gone to bed. Man, to see the difference between these teams. Now, we really need a butt goal got the bounce! Now get point! got the point! Now let’s get two! Edited January 17, 2019 by plenzmd1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 How many third period leads has this team given up this year? Sorry, but that’s not fixed by some “process.” That’s an immediate coaching issue. Same with the power play. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 The captain!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 If ever a player needed that, it was Eichel. What a snipe! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Yess!! They desperately needed that win. Buffalo played a damn good game tonight against one of the best teams in the NHL. Happy to see Eichel get the game winner. I think that might be his first point since coming back from injury? He hasn’t looked quite right since coming back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Just now, BillsFan4 said: Yess!! They desperately needed that win. Buffalo played a damn good game tonight against one of the best teams in the NHL. Happy to see Eichel get the game winner. I think that might be his first point since coming back from injury? He hasn’t looked quite right since coming back. 2nd point. He had an assist on Dahlin’s goal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Brown Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Never saw a player fake a line change for an ot winner before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Just now, Doc Brown said: Never saw a player fake a line change for an ot winner before. That was sweet! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 3 minutes ago, Doc Brown said: Never saw a player fake a line change for an ot winner before. That was highlight reel for sure. And those two points were sorely needed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Boston lost to Philly (in regulation) tonight. Buffalo is now 3pts behind Montreal and Boston and only 2pts behind Pittsburgh for the final wildcard spot. We have a game in hand on Montreal and Pittsburgh has a game in hand on us. There is only a 4pt difference between the 2nd place team in the Atlantic (Toronto) and us, so the Sabres are still in this playoff race with the win tonight. https://www.nhl.com/standings/2018/wildcard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Brown Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 38 minutes ago, K-9 said: How many third period leads has this team given up this year? Sorry, but that’s not fixed by some “process.” That’s an immediate coaching issue. Same with the power play. I just wonder how we'd look at Housley with this record if the wins and losses were more evenly spaced out. This team record wise is right where I expected them to be, but I didn't think our top line would carry us as much as it has. We need to add a forward asap (preferably not a rental player) to try and jumpstart our second line hopefully without giving up too much. If we do that and we still miss the playoffs by a comfortable margin then it's time to move on from Housley. Looking for a head coach with a history of successfully developing young players should be the priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 The best player on the team leading the team. Calgary is one of the best teams in the league. It's apparent that Calgary is the better team for the obvious reason that they have more better players. But when the Sabres play hard and smart they can for the most part can keep up. Stay the course. https://www.nhl.com/video/eichels-stellar-ot-winner/t-277350912/c-64996803 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 10 hours ago, Doc Brown said: Never saw a player fake a line change for an ot winner before. I just watched it now thanks to John's link. I'm not so sure I'd call it a fake line change. It seems more like a player biting on what he thought would be a drop pass, creating the opening. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 52 minutes ago, shrader said: I just watched it now thanks to John's link. I'm not so sure I'd call it a fake line change. It seems more like a player biting on what he thought would be a drop pass, creating the opening. Whatever you want to call it, he made Calgary look silly. That was much needed for both Eichel and the Sabres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 Has McCabe asked for a trade yet, after being paired with Scandella? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 12 hours ago, Doc Brown said: Never saw a player fake a line change for an ot winner before. Yeah that was pretty cool. Even Mark Giordano complimented Eichel for that play. He said it looked like he was going to go off on a line change and that it was a hell of a play by Eichel. He said something you just have to tip your hat to the other team/player. Eichel really needed that goal (even he said as much). Hopefully it gets him going again. He was racking up points at a career pace before that injury. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 41 minutes ago, K-9 said: Has McCabe asked for a trade yet, after being paired with Scandella? What about Hunwick if/when Scandella sits out a game and they're the extra pairing in practice? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 21 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: WTF happened to Scandella though? He was a solid top 4 defenseman for buffalo last season, even spending quite a bit of time on the top pair. This year he has really struggled. He’s had some good games here and there but a lot more bad ones. I keep hoping that he will return to last years form. It would be a big boost to this team if he did. But I am starting to lose hope now. Players do have off years and I don't believe Scandella has fully developed yet. In the Lightning game the announcer said Hedman took 5 years to get up to speed and he was a 2nd overall. D-men sometimes take more time, so I don't have the negativity a that a few here have. He also gets blamed for anything if he is within 8 feet of the goal scorer. On the goal that he hit into the net that was falling behind Hutton, he tried to get it out and he missed. If he did nothing and it fell in the goal, he would have gotten the same amount of abuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 9 minutes ago, Greybeard said: Players do have off years and I don't believe Scandella has fully developed yet. In the Lightning game the announcer said Hedman took 5 years to get up to speed and he was a 2nd overall. D-men sometimes take more time, so I don't have the negativity a that a few here have. He also gets blamed for anything if he is within 8 feet of the goal scorer. On the goal that he hit into the net that was falling behind Hutton, he tried to get it out and he missed. If he did nothing and it fell in the goal, he would have gotten the same amount of abuse. Scandella is 28 years old with 8 years in the league already. He is done baking and he is what he is at this point. I think it’s unreasonable to assume the light is gonna go on at this stage of his career. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 28 minutes ago, Greybeard said: Players do have off years and I don't believe Scandella has fully developed yet. In the Lightning game the announcer said Hedman took 5 years to get up to speed and he was a 2nd overall. D-men sometimes take more time, so I don't have the negativity a that a few here have. He also gets blamed for anything if he is within 8 feet of the goal scorer. On the goal that he hit into the net that was falling behind Hutton, he tried to get it out and he missed. If he did nothing and it fell in the goal, he would have gotten the same amount of abuse. Scandella is a third pairing caliber defenseman. If he plays at that level I would be more than satisfied. I'm not as harsh as many in my assessment of him, maybe because my expectation is less than some. What I would like from him is a little more consistency in his game. When defensemen make bad plays it is usually more evident than when wingers don't play so responsibly because their mistakes often directly lead to opposing scores while forward lapses are more likely to indirectly lead to scores. The Sabres have for the most part played well against superior teams such as Tampa, Toronto and Calgary. More often than not the more talented team prevailed. But that is not to say the losing team (Sabres) didn't play well and hard. The problem for the Sabres is that there is an imbalance of talent throughout the roster. Or simply put there is a dearth of overall talent. That's the heart of the matter that can't be missed. While some people see the HC as a problem I don't see it that way. The last thing this team and franchise needs is a churning of the staff. My recommendation that I strongly held (right now) is to stay the course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 I would have thought him to be higher than a 3rd pair d-man, but at 28, he's probably already on the down slope of his career. It's amazing how early they get there in today's game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 36 minutes ago, shrader said: I would have thought him to be higher than a 3rd pair d-man, but at 28, he's probably already on the down slope of his career. It's amazing how early they get there in today's game. Our defensive unit is exponentially better than last year's group. Having a healthy Bogo has made a difference. He's not our best defenseman but he is a player who has improved the play of everyone who has been paired with him. We have the making of a good unit now and for the future. Risto, Dahlin, Pilut, McCabe and hopefully in the not too distant future Guhle. I always considered Risto more of a second pairing caliber of a defenseman. I have elevated my view of him and consider him a legitimate top pairing player. He's certainly increased the breath of his game with more offensive participation. Pilut may have the most accurate shot of the defensemen. I envision him playing more on the PP because of his shooting ability. Dahlin is in a class of his own. A couple of years down the road when he physically matures he is going to be an elite player in this league. He already has the vision and skating ability. Now he needs mother nature to take its course and allow him to muscle up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 (edited) Blockbuster! seriously though, I wish Bailey well. I’ve been waiting for that kid to put it all together since his draft year (2013). It was pretty clear that his time in Buffalo was up. I really hope a fresh start does him some good. I think he needed it, TBH. As for Leier, I can’t say I know anything about him. Here’s his bio - https://www.nhl.com/player/taylor-leier-8476955 Quote Taylor Leier Bio Leier, 24, was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the fourth round (No. 117) in the 2012 NHL Draft after he had 37 points (13 goals, 24 assists) in 72 games with Portland of the Western Hockey League. Leier, who spent the next two seasons with Portland, where he had 141 points (64 goals, 77 assists) in 126 games, signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers on Sept. 9, 2013. In 2014-15, Leier played for Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, where he had 31 points (13 goals, 18 assists) in 73 games in his first professional season. He played most of the next season with Lehigh Valley before he was called up by the Flyers on Nov. 14, 2015 and made his NHL debut that night against the Carolina Hurricanes. He played in six games in 2015-16 and didn't have a point. He played in 10 NHL games the following season and scored his first goal against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 17, 2016. After, he returned to Lehigh Valley and was named MVP at the 2017 AHL All-Star Classic. Leier signed a one-year contract extension with the Flyers on July 14, 2017 and had five points (one goal, four assists) in 39 games in 2017-18. He looks to have somewhat similar stats to Bailey - https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/45615/taylor-leier Edited January 18, 2019 by BillsFan4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 As much as I love watching Pettersson play, I am glad the Sabres don’t have to face him tonight. Getting 2 points tonight really helps Buffalo’s playoff outlook heading into the 11 day all-star break. If Dahlin records a point tonight, he will hold the record for the longest point streak for an 18yr old defenseman in NHL history. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Technically he already holds the record 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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