Buffalo Sabres & NHL 2018-19: Sabres picking 7th overall (6/21/19). Ralph Krueger hire as new head coach!

[BillsFan4]

I am starting a new Sabres thread. I will try to keep the thread title updated like 26CB did.

 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by BillsFan4

[BillsFan4]

https://www.nhl.com/fans/all-star

 

Quote

2019 Honda NHL® All-Star Weekend

NHL All-Star Skills, Jan 25, 9pm ET │ NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS 

Honda NHL All-Star Game, Jan 26, 8pm ET │ NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS

 

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/key-advanced-statistics-for-all-star-game-standouts/c-304173292?tid=277549086

 

“Skinner, Crosby, Josi, Burns stand out from other all-stars”

 

Quote

Skinner has scored 30 goals this season which is tied for second in the NHL.....

He is also second in the NHL in goals per 60 at 2.04 (minimum 45 games)....

Part of Skinner's all-star caliber season has been his ability to score at even strength, where he ranks fourth with 23 goals... Skinner also is tied for second in game-winning goals with seven. However, the difference between Skinner and other top goal-scorers is his shot volume. He's tied for 25th in the NHL with 153 shots on goal, but his 19.6 shooting percentage is ninth among skaters to have played at least 45 games.

 

Edited January 24, 2019 by BillsFan4

[BringBackFergy]

Thanks for doing this. Not sure if 26CB is coming back but that thread title was old. 

[plenzmd1]

2 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Thanks for doing this. Not sure if 26CB is coming back but that thread title was old. 

Ha, the irony!! you calling something old!!!

[shrader]

Just out of curiosity, is there really a need to update the thread title constantly?  Why not just keep it simple?

[BillsFan4]

I have no issue just keeping the thread title simple if that’s what everyone wants. 

 

I just remember some people saying in the old Sabres thread that they relied on the thread title to know when the next Sabres game was, that’s why I did it that way. 

 

Let me know what you all want me to do. It doesn’t matter to me either way. 

[ExiledInIllinois]

2 hours ago, shrader said:

Just out of curiosity, is there really a need to update the thread title constantly?  Why not just keep it simple?

Please take this to the controversial topic thread. ? 

 

I like it, I am lazy, like knowing when next game is.

[BillsFan4]

There is a Rochester Americans game being broadcast on MSG tomorrow night (at 7pm) for anyone interested. 

 

It is 1 of only 3 games MSG is broadcasting this year. 

[plenzmd1]

21 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

There is a Rochester Americans game being broadcast on MSG tomorrow night (at 7pm) for anyone interested. 

 

It is 1 of only 3 games MSG is broadcasting this year. 

*****, wish it was tonight, I need an excuse to drink on Thursdays..Fridays are built in!!

. 

Plus, I could come up with more trade scenarios to piss off @JohnC

 

Trade the whole lot of em

[shrader]

37 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Please take this to the controversial topic thread. ? 

 

I like it, I am lazy, like knowing when next game is.

 

Not lazy enough apparently.  The truly lazy person (me) stops reading the thread title after the second word.

[JohnC]

38 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

*****, wish it was tonight, I need an excuse to drink on Thursdays..Fridays are built in!!

. 

Plus, I could come up with more trade scenarios to piss off @JohnC

 

Trade the whole lot of em

You are becoming more irascible and more of a curmudgeon as the season advances than I am. That's quite an achievement! And, I'm waiting for one of your hallucinogenic trade scenarios that you are great at that will knock me out. How about having an auction for Okposo and Sobotka? Do you think we can get a bag of stale bagels for these two dynamos?

Edited January 24, 2019 by JohnC

[plenzmd1]

Your 

3 minutes ago, JohnC said:

You are becoming more irascible and more of a curmudgeon as the season advances than I am. That's quite an achievement! And, I'm waiting for one of your hallucinogenic trade scenarios that you are great at that will knock me out. How about having an auction for Okposo and Sobotka? Do you think we can get a bag of stale bagels for these two dynamos?

damn, your posts make me laugh!!! I have too look up most words, but all good!

In all seriousness, if you can find a way to trade those two, you should immediately take over for JBotts. I really don't know right now,, is there any squad out there struggling to get to the floor that we could trade Kyle, Sobotka and a first for 6th?

[shrader]

1 minute ago, plenzmd1 said:

Your 

damn, your posts make me laugh!!! I have too look up most words, but all good!

In all seriousness, if you can find a way to trade those two, you should immediately take over for JBotts. I really don't know right now,, is there any squad out there struggling to get to the floor that we could trade Kyle, Sobotka and a first for 6th?

 

you

[yoo; unstressed yoo, yuh]

 

---

pronoun, possessive your or yours, objective you, plural you.

1. the pronoun of the second person singular or plural, used of the person or persons being addressed, in the nominative or objective case: You are the highest bidder. It is you who are to blame. We can't help you. This package came for you. Did she give you the book?

2. one; anyone; people in general: a tiny animal you can't even see.

3. (used in apposition with the subject of a sentence, sometimes repeated for emphasis following the subject): You children pay attention. You rascal, you!

4. Informal . (used in place of the pronoun your before a gerund): There's no sense in you getting upset.

[JohnC]

11 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

Your 

damn, your posts make me laugh!!! I have too look up most words, but all good!

In all seriousness, if you can find a way to trade those two, you should immediately take over for JBotts. I really don't know right now,, is there any squad out there struggling to get to the floor that we could trade Kyle, Sobotka and a first for 6th?

I aim to serve. 

 

With respect to your trade question especially for Okposo what weighs him down is his contract and the length of time it still is in effect. I just don't see any organization dumb enough to bail us out. That's why I hector him so much about his lack of roughing it up in front of the net in the offensive zone. He is actually a tough hombre who is difficult to knock off the puck when he has it. But that's the problem with him in that he refuses to change his style of play to help us in an area that is lacking i.e. muck it up in front of the nest. If we have to be stuck with him it might be useful to get more utility out of his game. 

Edited January 24, 2019 by JohnC

[K-9]

Hold the fort on trading Okposo; he’s doing well with Angry Larry and Girgs on the mucker line. Yes, we are paying nearly six times what a typical winger on such a line usually commands, but he’s not the offensive force he once was and that contract prevents us from moving him to a team not in the market for a 4th line mucker.

 

He may be a grossly overpaid mucker, but he’s our grossly overpaid mucker.

[plenzmd1]

10 hours ago, K-9 said:

Hold the fort on trading Okposo; he’s doing well with Angry Larry and Girgs on the mucker line. Yes, we are paying nearly six times what a typical winger on such a line usually commands, but he’s not the offensive force he once was and that contract prevents us from moving him to a team not in the market for a 4th line mucker.

 

He may be a grossly overpaid mucker, but he’s our grossly overpaid mucker.

would you trade him and 1st for a 6th? I would consider it

[K-9]

4 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

would you trade him and 1st for a 6th? I would consider it

Nah. He's found his niche. Finally. Albeit the exact opposite niche he was expected to find here. Then again, Angry Larry and Girgs, regardless of who fills the other wing, have been driving play all season, so he may not be as valuable there as I think. 

 

JohnC is right about Okposo in that he doesn't want to park his big, strong frame out front and engage often enough. I wonder if he's a little shell shocked after that concussion and subsequent threat to his life. Can't say as I blame him if that's the case. 

[YoloinOhio]

 

[plenzmd1]

24 minutes ago, K-9 said:

 

JohnC is right 

 

Those words shall never be spoken again, here or anywhere else.

 

(but i do agree)

[K-9]

2 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

Those words shall never be spoken again, here or anywhere else.

 

(but i do agree)

JohnC is right about a lot of things, including this Sabres team. Not selling our prospects for a (miniscule) chance at the playoffs, for instance. 

 

I'm hoping he's right about a 20 point increase in the standings over last year, but I can't see it since the Sabres have to play .500 hockey to get there. Outside of that fluky streak, .500 hockey is something Housley and Co. haven't come close to achieving. 

[JohnC]

On ‎1‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 11:11 AM, shrader said:

Just out of curiosity, is there really a need to update the thread title constantly?  Why not just keep it simple?

Too many participants here are punctilious. I'm too imprecise to fall in that category. 

2 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

Those words shall never be spoken again, here or anywhere else.

 

(but i do agree)

Your are a rascal and a provocateur. 

[JohnC]

6 hours ago, K-9 said:

Nah. He's found his niche. Finally. Albeit the exact opposite niche he was expected to find here. Then again, Angry Larry and Girgs, regardless of who fills the other wing, have been driving play all season, so he may not be as valuable there as I think. 

 

JohnC is right about Okposo in that he doesn't want to park his big, strong frame out front and engage often enough. I wonder if he's a little shell shocked after that concussion and subsequent threat to his life. Can't say as I blame him if that's the case. 

I don't subscribe to the theory that he is shell shocked from the peril he was subjected to last year. When you watch him play when has the puck he is tough to knock off the puck. He also is willing to battle behind the net and along the boards either to pursue the puck or maintain the puck. He can be a bulldog. That's what is so baffling about him. I don't any player other than Reinhart who consistently mixes it up in front of the goalie. When Sam doesn't have the puck that is the location he usually claims. From a physical standpoint Okposo is more suited to do what Reinhart does. 

 

I have not been much of a critic of Housely because in general his team plays consistently hard. That's not to say that his players always play smart. What has crushed them is not their effort so much as their egregious lapses. How many times has a Sabre lost his man leaving him free for an open net? Hockey is a fast moving sport so you can't always be on your man but that doesn't mean that it is acceptable to be oblivious and  lose sight of your man/responsibility in the high scoring zone.

 

Housely has shown that he is not afraid to sit players. He has constantly preached the necessity to get traffic in front of the net. Well when your words don't resonate with the players then scratching a player from the lineup will get the recalcitrant player's attention. Okposo is built like a bulldog. He has a squat build with a muscular arse. He needs to either do what needs to be done for his team or be dispatched to the team's box in the stands and forlornly watch the games from there. The irony is that Okposo is now playing better than he previously has. That's not good enough for me. He needs to more frequently muck it up in front of the net to be a bigger asset for his team. 

 

I agree with you that the Larsson and Girgs line has played it role as well if not better than any of the other lines.  

 

 

Edited January 25, 2019 by JohnC

[BillsFan4]

Reminder that the Amerks game is on MSG (channel 28 on spectrum cable).

It just started. 

 

 

 

 

NHL all star Skills competition also starts at 9pm. 

 

Eichel will I’ll be in the fastest skater event ans Skinner will be doing the puck control event. 

 

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/01/25/nhl-announces-2019-all-star-skills-participants/

 

Happy that Eichel gets another crack at fastest skater. He got a bad start last year and then blew a wheel coming around a turn. I’d like to see what he can do with another chance at it. 

Edited January 26, 2019 by BillsFan4

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, BillsFan4 said:

Reminder that the Amerks game is on MSG (channel 28 on spectrum cable).

It just started. 

 

 

 

 

NHL all star Skills competition also starts at 9pm. 

 

Eichel will I’ll be in the fastest skater event ans Skinner will be doing the puck control event. 

 

https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2019/01/25/nhl-announces-2019-all-star-skills-participants/

 

Happy that Eichel gets another crack at fastest skater. He got a bad start last year and then blew a wheel coming around a turn. I’d like to see what he can do with another chance at it. 

If you watch the Amerks game would you give a report on Nylander's play. Please don't say anything too bad about him because Plezmd would go into one of his spasms of rage about the necessity of trading prospects for expensive old goat third liners with long term deals. Sometimes it's difficult to tell whether he has better judgment when he is sober or has his regular night time buzz?

[K-9]

18 minutes ago, JohnC said:

If you watch the Amerks game would you give a report on Nylander's play. Please don't say anything too bad about him because Plezmd would go into one of his spasms of rage about the necessity of trading prospects for expensive old goat third liners with long term deals. Sometimes it's difficult to tell whether he has better judgment when he is sober or has his regular night time buzz?

He's been unnoticeable tonight, but so has the entire team. 

 

Not NEARLY as bad as Scandella, though. 

[YoloinOhio]

On 1/24/2019 at 11:11 AM, shrader said:

Just out of curiosity, is there really a need to update the thread title constantly?  Why not just keep it simple?

I don’t think there is a need but that’s just me. I just look at my OneBuffalo or ESPN app for the schedule.  Sabres in Cbus on Tuesday, woot

On 1/24/2019 at 1:52 PM, BillsFan4 said:

I have no issue just keeping the thread title simple if that’s what everyone wants. 

 

I just remember some people saying in the old Sabres thread that they relied on the thread title to know when the next Sabres game was, that’s why I did it that way. 

 

Let me know what you all want me to do. It doesn’t matter to me either way. 

Thanks for the new thread. I am not a fan of  enormous threads. 

[K-9]

Roch wins in a 7 round shootout. Glad they came back to force the OT, but I wasn't impressed by anyone as being NHL ready. They wouldn't be worse than several of our current players on the Sabres, but certainly not ready to help in any big way. 

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

25 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I don’t think there is a need but that’s just me. I just look at my OneBuffalo or ESPN app for the schedule.  Sabres in Cbus on Tuesday, woot

Thanks for the new thread. I am not a fan of  enormous threads. 

 

 

Was at the game earlier in the year, but have to be out of town this week for a work conference ?. Can’t believe the NHL schedule makers didn’t consult me first...

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

He's been unnoticeable tonight, but so has the entire team. 

 

Not NEARLY as bad as Scandella, though. 

I did watch a little of the game. As you stated no one stood out. One noticeable characteristic of their style of play is that collectively the Amerks are fast. Sometimes in these fast paced games it is difficult to determine the quality of individual play because it is such an up and down game with little puck possession and continuity. 

[BringBackFergy]

Anyone watch All Star skills comp? How did Jack and Skins do?

[K-9]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

I did watch a little of the game. As you stated no one stood out. One noticeable characteristic of their style of play is that collectively the Amerks are fast. Sometimes in these fast paced games it is difficult to determine the quality of individual play because it is such an up and down game with little puck possession and continuity. 

The single element I look for in an individual, especially in a fast paced game, is what he does in the split second he has to make one play or the other. All the great players have the ability to posses the puck that extra tick of the clock to give them the time to make the better/best play with the puck. While everyone else is in a hurry around them, they let the play slow down and come to them. We have two players that do that with regularity: Eichel and Dahlin. Nobody on the Amerks showed that tonight. 

[Q-baby!]

WTF is with Jack’s frohawk? 

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

Is anyone else watching this train wreck of an attempt at a “late night” show with PK Subban hosting? Good lord this is bad. So bad I just poured another whiskey. 

51 minutes ago, K-9 said:

The single element I look for in an individual, especially in a fast paced game, is what he does in the split second he has to make one play or the other. All the great players have the ability to posses the puck that extra tick of the clock to give them the time to make the better/best play with the puck. While everyone else is in a hurry around them, they let the play slow down and come to them. We have two players that do that with regularity: Eichel and Dahlin. Nobody on the Amerks showed that tonight. 

 

 

Dahlin has that so much more than I can remember seeing in one of our guys for a while. I think even more so than Jack. He makes so many incredible little plays that go unnoticed by most people (unless they’ve played) 

[ChevyVanMiller]

8 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Anyone watch All Star skills comp? How did Jack and Skins do?

Jack just edged by McDavid for fastest skater. A female participated and was 7th out of 8 - stole the show.

 

Skinner not a factor in his event,

[Greybeard]

2 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

 

Skinner not a factor in his event,

           That puck handling event is brutal at the end.   It is easy to blow the entire performance getting the puck through the obstacles.   I think the order that they list the targets makes it somewhat unequal.

[JohnC]

11 hours ago, K-9 said:

The single element I look for in an individual, especially in a fast paced game, is what he does in the split second he has to make one play or the other. All the great players have the ability to posses the puck that extra tick of the clock to give them the time to make the better/best play with the puck. While everyone else is in a hurry around them, they let the play slow down and come to them. We have two players that do that with regularity: Eichel and Dahlin. Nobody on the Amerks showed that tonight. 

When you talk abut the caliber of play of an Eichel or Dahlin you are describing generational players. There are good reasons why neither of these scintillating players played in the minors: They were demostrably too good for that level of play. You don't have to be a hockey fan or know anything about hockey to know that when you are watching them they stick out from the pack. 

 

I agree with you that none of the Ameriks stood out. I am a little more upbeat about some of the players currently playing there being able to, in time, be contributing NHL players. Are those prospects ready now to make the jump? Probably not. But in a year or so (some cases less) I see some of them moved up to the NHL and phasing out some of the sluggish veterans. 

 

I still believe that sometime near the end of the season there are going to be callups. If the GM feels that a playoff run in Rochester is more important to the developmental process of his players then I will support his judgment. It simply takes time,

[K-9]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

When you talk abut the caliber of play of an Eichel or Dahlin you are describing generational players. There are good reasons why neither of these scintillating players played in the minors: They were demostrably too good for that level of play. You don't have to be a hockey fan or know anything about hockey to know that when you are watching them they stick out from the pack. 

 

I agree with you that none of the Ameriks stood out. I am a little more upbeat about some of the players currently playing there being able to, in time, be contributing NHL players. Are those prospects ready now to make the jump? Probably not. But in a year or so (some cases less) I see some of them moved up to the NHL and phasing out some of the sluggish veterans. 

 

I still believe that sometime near the end of the season there are going to be callups. If the GM feels that a playoff run in Rochester is more important to the developmental process of his players then I will support his judgment. It simply takes time,

Given JBott's often stated importance of developing a winning core in the minors, I see him doing his best to keep that Amerk's team as tight as possible late into the season. I can even see Pilut being sent back down late if our place in the standings indicates little hope making the playoffs. If it were up to me, I'd get on with the youth movement and bring up Nylander, Smith, and Guhle now. 

[BillsFan4]

15 hours ago, K-9 said:

Roch wins in a 7 round shootout. Glad they came back to force the OT, but I wasn't impressed by anyone as being NHL ready. They wouldn't be worse than several of our current players on the Sabres, but certainly not ready to help in any big way. 

I felt the same way watching. 

 

There are no saviors down in Rochester, waiting to come up and save the Sabres season. 

 

14 hours ago, BringBackFergy said:

Anyone watch All Star skills comp? How did Jack and Skins do?

 

Eichel came in 2nd in the fastest skater. McDavid edged him out by a couple 10ths of a second. I actually think Eichel had the faster straight line speed, but mcdavid is just so amazing on his edges. The way he went around the corners was just on another level than everyone else. 

 

Skinner finished middle of the pack in the puck control event, but that was only because of the very last gate. 

 

He made a mistake at the at the very beginning but recovered and was set to finish 2nd in the event (which would have moved him past Pat Kane for 1st at the time) but he just barely missed putting the puck through the last hole/gate and the puck went flying. By the time he recovered it he stood no chance. 

 

It was actually pretty impressive though because of his mistake at the very start of the event. 

 

Actually, here. It’s easier than me trying to describe it. Skinner goes 3rd.

 

 

And here’s the fastest skater event -

 

 

 

 

[K-9]

12 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Eichel came in 2nd in the fastest skater. McDavid edged him out by a couple 10ths of a second. I actually think Eichel had the faster straight line speed, but mcdavid is just so amazing on his edges. The way he went around the corners was just on another level than everyone else. 

Somewhere on line is a stating trainer breaking down the strides of various NHL players, including Eichel and McDavid. IIRC, McDavid's advantage lies in the sheer number of strides he's able to take, while Eichel's is the power generated in each stride. Eichel may be the fastest straight line skater in the league as he's able to achieve top speed after a couple strides, which is a huge advantage when you consider how much of hockey skating is done from a stop or slow glide. But watching McDavid churn around the corners with no stop in his stride was amazing. 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Is the all star game interesting/fun to watch?