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

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Finish. 

[BringBackFergy]

Crunch time. Have to get the points. 

[Big C]

Phew! Wasn't east but they got the regulation 2.

[K-9]

Well, this game proves it: the key to our success is keeping Scandella and Hunwick together as a D pair. 

Edited January 30, 2019 by K-9

[YoloinOhio]

I’m still convinced Housely does not own more than one shirt 

[BillsFan4]

Big win tonight. It puts buffalo within 2 points of the last wildcard spot, 3 points of Boston and 5 points of Montreal, who is sitting in 3rd. We still have 2 games in hand on Montreal and 1 game in hand on Boston. buffalo desperately needs to take advantage of them. 

 

I like how how they played tonight. The 2nd period wasn’t great but it was a solid game overall. We won on a night Eichel didn’t carry the team. Sheary, Mittelstadt, Rodriguez and Thompson all had pretty good games. That’s what buffalo needs if they’re going to make a playoff push. 

 

Tomorrow night is another big game. They can make up another 2 points on the competition. It’s a very winnable game against a struggling Stars team. 

[K-9]

43 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I’m still convinced Housely does not own more than one shirt 

That means he owns one more shirt than clues.

[JohnC]

9 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Big win tonight. It puts buffalo within 2 points of the last wildcard spot, 3 points of Boston and 5 points of Montreal, who is sitting in 3rd. We still have 2 games in hand on Montreal and 1 game in hand on Boston. buffalo desperately needs to take advantage of them. 

 

I like how how they played tonight. The 2nd period wasn’t great but it was a solid game overall. We won on a night Eichel didn’t carry the team. Sheary, Mittelstadt, Rodriguez and Thompson all had pretty good games. That’s what buffalo needs if they’re going to make a playoff push. 

 

Tomorrow night is another big game. They can make up another 2 points on the competition. It’s a very winnable game against a struggling Stars team. 

I don't see us passing Boston. They are the better team. However, I do see us being able to pass Montreal. 

 

What was encouraging about this game was that we were getting secondary scoring. Sheary scoring is encouraging. What I continue to find troubling is the lapses on defense around the net that leaves the goalie exposed. 

 

I continue to believe that the Sabres will be in the playoff hunt until the end of the season. 

[K-9]

14 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

Big win tonight. It puts buffalo within 2 points of the last wildcard spot, 3 points of Boston and 5 points of Montreal, who is sitting in 3rd. We still have 2 games in hand on Montreal and 1 game in hand on Boston. buffalo desperately needs to take advantage of them. 

 

I like how how they played tonight. The 2nd period wasn’t great but it was a solid game overall. We won on a night Eichel didn’t carry the team. Sheary, Mittelstadt, Rodriguez and Thompson all had pretty good games. That’s what buffalo needs if they’re going to make a playoff push. 

 

Tomorrow night is another big game. They can make up another 2 points on the competition. It’s a very winnable game against a struggling Stars team. 

Aside from one or two shifts, Eichel’s line pretty much dominated every time out. It contributed two goals on the night but it was nice to see the continuance of the secondary scoring we’ve seen the last few games. 

 

It was Sheary’s best game of the year. Let’s hope he doesn’t disappear for the next 30 games. 

 

I’m happy for the win, but from an analytics standpoint, it wasn’t that pretty. Our warts were on display but we were able to overcome them tonight for a change.

 

Going into tonight, I figured we needed to get to 96 points to make the playoffs, meaning we needed to capture 42 of the remaining 68 points on our schedule; a .617 clip. I’m skeptical we have what it takes to get there given what I’ve seen the last seasons and a half, but we got off to a good start. And I’ll take it. 

[Jauronimo]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

Aside from one or two shifts, Eichel’s line pretty much dominated every time out. It contributed two goals on the night but it was nice to see the continuance of the secondary scoring we’ve seen the last few games. 

 

It was Sheary’s best game of the year. Let’s hope he doesn’t disappear for the next 30 games. 

 

I’m happy for the win, but from an analytics standpoint, it wasn’t that pretty. Our warts were on display but we were able to overcome them tonight for a change.

 

Going into tonight, I figured we needed to get to 96 points to make the playoffs, meaning we needed to capture 42 of the remaining 68 points on our schedule; a .617 clip. I’m skeptical we have what it takes to get there given what I’ve seen the last seasons and a half, but we got off to a good start. And I’ll take it. 

I thought Sheary Middlestadt and ERod were the best line on the ice tonight from either team.  They were dangerous all night and sustained pressure in the offensive zone.  A few weeks ago I commented that nearly all our scoring was coming from the rush.  Tonight we saw three beautiful goals from sustained pressure.

 

Hutton instills zero confidence.  I am still shocked this one didn't go to OT. 

 

Reinhart looked dangerous tonight. 

 

What the f@#$ is it with this team and beginning/end of a period??? How many goals do they intend to give up in the final seconds of a period?  Unacceptable. 

 

Game puck goes to Scandella who I barely noticed tonight.  He finished a respectable -1. 

 

Dahlin and Bogo were a +4 in a 5 goal effort.  2 assists a piece.  Keep them together, please. 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

 

[ChevyVanMiller]

4 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

 

 

Thank God those ping pong balls went our way for a change. Dahlin will be considered one of the best ever when he hangs them up at the end of his career.

[BillsPride12]

Is it just me or did anybody else think Mittelstadt just had his best game of the season?

[tbarg12]

1 hour ago, BillsPride12 said:

Is it just me or did anybody else think Mittelstadt just had his best game of the season?

Agreed, that Sheary Middlestadt ERod line was phenomenal last night. Can't wait for tonight's game, I'll be the only guy in a Sabres jersey in the Stars season ticket section. 

[Cripple Creek]

13 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

I am not at all surprised to see Pilut sit tonight. He is young and he had a very rough game in his last outing. His mistakes last game led to at least 2 goals against (I think it may have actually even been 3 iirc).

 

 

 

NHL coaches prefer experience. This is nothing new. IMO, most veteran coaches are worse than Housley when it comes to playing youth vs relying on veterans. 

Housley has a lot of young players in the lineup as it is. More than many/most teams. He is actually giving the young guys more opportunity than a lot of other experienced coaches around the NHL give their young players. 

 

 

 

Though I’d prefer Pilut in the lineup to Hunwick, I understand why Housley is going with a bit more experience tonight, in a crucial game. We have 3 games in hand on Montreal and it is vital to our playoff hopes that we make up ground. They are currently 7 points ahead. We have a chance to make up 6 of those 7 points. 

 

 

Housley talked about how he wants the team to tighten down their game and not make so many mistakes so it doesn’t surprise me that he is going with experience over youth. This team has kind of been living and dying by these young guy’s mistakes all season. If they are serious about making a playoff push I can understand why he feels that limiting all these mistakes is so important. 

 

 

 

Hunwick was lost out there.

Edited January 30, 2019 by Cripple Creek

[shrader]

7 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

 

 

 

 

-64.4% centerfield?

-73.9% Stanley Cup Finals?

[Pete]

It's a big game tonight. They played great last night against a very good team.  They are starving for the playoffs, and it's right there for the taking. Poor Risto.  That Middlestadt-ER-Sheary line played great, and might just be that secondary scoring line we need.  My guess is Sabres turn it on here and go on a nice run.  

[JohnC]

The below link is Paul Hamilton's comments on WGR about the Columbus game. His observations matched my observations. I consider him to be a fair-minded observer. I have never considered him to be a homer when it comes to evaluating players and games. What I'm seeing seems to be different from what some others are seeing. I thought Hutton played a good game in a loosely played game. And that shouldn't be surprising after a week long break. So it's not unexpected that on the defensive end there was some slack play. Other than one soft goal I thought Hutton played well and came up with some big time saves at critical junctures. 

 

I thought Hunwick played solidly for a player who has been out all season long. He wasn't too noticeable. And that is a good thing! He, like Scandella, is at best a third pairing caliber of player. And from what I saw he fulfilled his role. Scandella is what he is. I don't understand the bashing. Where Scandella becomes exposed as a liability is when he is asked to play beyond his role of a third pairing defenseman. In this game I thought he, as with Hunwick, played reasonably well. 

 

In the big picture its about the young players getting better. I thought Mittelstadt played very well. And Tage's goal was a typical Tage shooting goal from the slot. From a visual standpoint Eichel is the most eye popping player in the game. On the other hand I thought that Dahlin was one of the best players in a game full of very good players. There is a smoothness to his game that belies the actual dominance of it. What a gem. 

 

When making a judgment on this game let's remember that Columbus is a good team with a lot of very good players. Let's put things in perspective: We beat them on the road. I'm not going to predict that the Sabres are going to make the playoffs because there is little margin of error for us to qualify. What I can comfortably predict is that we will be in the playoff hunt until the end of the season. Looing back from last year I consider that tremendous improvement. 

 

 

https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/01-30-paul-hamilton-howard-and-jeremy-0

[YoloinOhio]

Dahlin is a freak 

[K-9]

1 hour ago, JohnC said:

 I thought Hunwick played solidly for a player who has been out all season long. He wasn't too noticeable. And that is a good thing! He, like Scandella, is at best a third pairing caliber of player. And from what I saw he fulfilled his role. Scandella is what he is. I don't understand the bashing. Where Scandella becomes exposed as a liability is when he is asked to play beyond his role of a third pairing defenseman. In this game I thought he, as with Hunwick, played reasonably well. 

John, you are an intelligent man. But if you’ve watched every game this season and can’t understand why Scandella gets bashed, I don’t know what to say. He’s been our biggest liability on the back end all year and the analytics bear that out. But he’s a veteran and Housley is too chicken s**t to hold him accountable while, conversely, he sits our best analytics-based defenseman at the drop of a hat. 

 

He is decent on the PK. But that’s it. Decent. He’s been a train wreck everywhere else this season.

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Is it just me or does Mittelstadt seem to have 1 or 2 second chance opportunities per game but he never seems to bury them. 

 

 

[Boca BIlls]

10 minutes ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

Is it just me or does Mittelstadt seem to have 1 or 2 second chance opportunities per game but he never seems to bury them. 

 

 

It's one of those things where you say "It has to go in sooner or later" problem is they dont have later anymore.

[K-9]

13 minutes ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

Is it just me or does Mittelstadt seem to have 1 or 2 second chance opportunities per game but he never seems to bury them. 

 

 

Yeah, he gets his opportunities it seems. It’s a good news/bad news thing I think. Good that he’s getting the chances and bad that he’s not capitalizing. He plays too fast it seems. When he slows it down a bit and let’s the play develop an extra nano-second (also known as poise), I think some pucks will start going in for him. 

[BillsFan4]

4 hours ago, shrader said:

 

-64.4% centerfield?

-73.9% Stanley Cup Finals?

 

lol. 

 

‘Corsi For’ percentage (basically measures puck possession and/or offensive zone possession. It’s the share of all shots for and against while Dahlin is on the ice) and ‘Scoring Chances For’ percentage. 

 

I’m not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to these advanced stats but both numbers/percentages are considered pretty exceptional. 

 

Anthing over 50% is considered a solid Corsi number, and an elite corsi for % is usually considered to be anything over 55%. 

 

15 hours ago, K-9 said:

Aside from one or two shifts, Eichel’s line pretty much dominated every time out. It contributed two goals on the night but it was nice to see the continuance of the secondary scoring we’ve seen the last few games. 

 

 

I didn’t mean to imply that Eichel didn’t have a good game. I just meant that we won, and scored 5 goals, on a night where Eichel only had a single assist. It wasn’t just him carrying the team out there last night. 

 

[JohnC]

1 hour ago, K-9 said:

John, you are an intelligent man. But if you’ve watched every game this season and can’t understand why Scandella gets bashed, I don’t know what to say. He’s been our biggest liability on the back end all year and the analytics bear that out. But he’s a veteran and Housley is too chicken s**t to hold him accountable while, conversely, he sits our best analytics-based defenseman at the drop of a hat. 

 

He is decent on the PK. But that’s it. Decent. He’s been a train wreck everywhere else this season.

Needless to say he is not a top two pairing. Even the blind can see what is obvious. He is a functional third pairing caliber defenseman. No one is extolling his virtue as an impacting player. His minutes should be as limited as is his role. But as you rightly noted he is a veteran player playing on a team attempting to scratch out a playoff spot. Does Pilut have more talent and  more upside? Absolutely, no one is saying otherwise. There is a delicate balance going on here between playing a functional and experienced defenseman versus playing a more talented rookie player who has a tendency to make a glaring mistakes that result in scores against. 

 

Pilut is not being forgotten. He is getting playing time that will serve him well in the near future. So he is not a forgotten player lost on the shelf. I doubt very much that he will be sent back to Rochester. As it stands Housely has an excess of lower caliber defensemen. So he has to do some juggling. What he can't do is sit too many of the end of the line players for too long because they will lose an ability to contribute when called upon. 

 

Scandella and Hunwick played as a pair in the Columbus game. They were our third pairing defensemen. And considering their roles and talent level they played adequately enough.  If the pickings are slim at the time you are picking then you go with what you got. What other choice is there to take? The player/s you want to play are playing but not to the extent you want. As I previously stated he is parceling out playing time balancing the need for experienced play for a playoff run versus the need to develop players who will in the not too distant future be regular players on the roster. 

[CowgirlsFan]

My best wishes for an injury free game.

 

I'll be in attendance.

 

To those here from the DFW, there's a meet up at Valor's at 5:30 PM CST later.

[K-9]

45 minutes ago, JohnC said:

Needless to say he is not a top two pairing. Even the blind can see what is obvious. He is a functional third pairing caliber defenseman. No one is extolling his virtue as an impacting player. His minutes should be as limited as is his role. But as you rightly noted he is a veteran player playing on a team attempting to scratch out a playoff spot. Does Pilut have more talent and  more upside? Absolutely, no one is saying otherwise. There is a delicate balance going on here between playing a functional and experienced defenseman versus playing a more talented rookie player who has a tendency to make a glaring mistakes that result in scores against. 

 

Pilut is not being forgotten. He is getting playing time that will serve him well in the near future. So he is not a forgotten player lost on the shelf. I doubt very much that he will be sent back to Rochester. As it stands Housely has an excess of lower caliber defensemen. So he has to do some juggling. What he can't do is sit too many of the end of the line players for too long because they will lose an ability to contribute when called upon. 

 

Scandella and Hunwick played as a pair in the Columbus game. They were our third pairing defensemen. And considering their roles and talent level they played adequately enough.  If the pickings are slim at the time you are picking then you go with what you got. What other choice is there to take? The player/s you want to play are playing but not to the extent you want. As I previously stated he is parceling out playing time balancing the need for experienced play for a playoff run versus the need to develop players who will in the not too distant future be regular players on the roster. 

We will just agree to disagree where Scandella is concerned. 

 

Pilut should be be in the lineup, period. And it’s hard to stomach Housley’s bull crap coach speak about him needing to learn and play through his mistakes. How the F is he supposed to do that up in the press box? He’s our best Dman from a metrics standpoint and he needs to play and develop at this level. I have ZERO faith that Housley is a good coach. None. 

 

On another note, Dallas beat us by a combined 12-2 score (5-1 in Dallas, 7-1 at home)  in the two games last year. We could not deal with their speed. What’s it gonna be tonight?

Edited January 30, 2019 by K-9

[JohnC]

17 minutes ago, K-9 said:

We will just agree to disagree where Scandella is concerned. 

 

Pilut should be be in the lineup, period. And it’s hard to stomach Housley’s bull crap coach speak about him needing to learn and play through his mistakes. How the F is he supposed to do that up in the press box? He’s our best Dman from a metrics standpoint and he needs to play and develop at this level. I have ZERO faith that Housley is a good coach. None. 

 

On another note, Dallas beat us by a combined 12-2 score (5-1 in Dallas, 7-1 at home)  in the two games last year. We could not deal with their speed. What’s it gonna be tonight?

We are for the most part not disagreeing on Scandella's talent level. On the other hand I don't see him as being as much of a liability as you do. The Sabres have a number of players who are not helping us but are also not hurting us. Players such as Sobotka, Pominville and  to a lesser extent Okposo, among others, fall in that category. They are what I call filler players who get some limited time. That's the category that I put Scandella in. Don't worry about Pilut. He is not a forgotten play. He will get more playing time. 

 

Where we do have a major chasm is that my view of Housley is much less negative than yours.  To be fair he does not have a full/complete roster. And, for the most part his team consistently plays hard. Maybe not always smart on the defensive end which is exhibited by the goals resulting from the lapses. But in most of our games, even against the better teams, we are competing toe to toe. 

 

It seems you are more receptive than I am to a coaching change. My position is that it would be a disastrous mistake. The time for constant changing and churning of the coaching staff has to stop. You appear to be carrying over your angst about Scandella and allowing it to contaminate your view of Housley. My recommendation is to be more patient and allow things to play out a little longer. 

[K-9]

16 minutes ago, JohnC said:

We are for the most part not disagreeing on Scandella's talent level. On the other hand I don't see him as being as much of a liability as you do. The Sabres have a number of players who are not helping us but are also not hurting us. Players such as Sobotka, Pominville and  to a lesser extent Okposo, among others, fall in that category. They are what I call filler players who get some limited time. That's the category that I put Scandella in. Don't worry about Pilut. He is not a forgotten play. He will get more playing time. 

 

Where we do have a major chasm is that my view of Housley is much less negative than yours.  To be fair he does not have a full/complete roster. And, for the most part his team consistently plays hard. Maybe not always smart on the defensive end which is exhibited by the goals resulting from the lapses. But in most of our games, even against the better teams, we are competing toe to toe. 

 

It seems you are more receptive than I am to a coaching change. My position is that it would be a disastrous mistake. The time for constant changing and churning of the coaching staff has to stop. You appear to be carrying over your angst about Scandella and allowing it to contaminate your view of Housley. My recommendation is to be more patient and allow things to play out a little longer. 

My view of Housley is based on his entire body of work since he came aboard. I’m just not impressed. And yes, I know he doesn’t have a roster full of stars, but every coach would be a great coach if that were the case. I think he’s an interim coach and not the one who will get us to the cup eventually. 

 

About those “filler” players, I agree; they are taking up spots until other prospects take over. But them not helping us is just as bad as them hurting us much of the time. Their lack of contribution costs us games. 

[BillsFan4]

 

 

[plenzmd1]

So  Beauliu in for Hunwick, Scandella still in, Pilut still sits. I say Scandella has something on Housley... this whole thing just makes zero sense. 

[BillsFan4]

1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said:

So  Beauliu in for Hunwick, Scandella still in, Pilut still sits. I say Scandella has something on Housley... this whole thing just makes zero sense. 

My guess would be that He’s a proven veteran who is well respected in the room and by the coaching staff, and is one of the only players on this team with significant playoff experience (he probably has the most playoff experience out of any Sabres player). He’s also relied on to play on the penalty kill (that is ranked #9 in the NHL). He’s #2 among defenseman in average minutes per game on the penalty kill. 

 

 

Plus, it’s a lot easier to scratch a young, unproven player like Pilut vs a well respected veteran. Scandella has earned his stripes in the NHL. He’s proven to be a top 4/6 defenseman over the past 8 years of his NHL career. Younger players tend to get scratched more often than older, proven veterans. The vets are usually given more leeway in their mistakes and time when they are struggling. It is not a unique situation to Buffalo. We may not like it as fans, but it happens all over the NHL almost every night. Unless the young player is a top draft pick, they are usuallly required to “earn their stripes”. 

 

And Every single fan base around the NHL has at least 1 player that they don’t understand why their coach keeps playing. Every fan base has their whipping boy(s). 

Even the very best coaches around the NHL have players that they rely on that make their fan bases bang their heads against a wall. There are well documented complaints of this against Babcock, Quenneville, Trotz, Cooper, Boudreau, etc etc. 

It was a common complaint about Lindy Ruff for years, too. 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by BillsFan4

[K-9]

1 hour ago, plenzmd1 said:

So  Beauliu in for Hunwick, Scandella still in, Pilut still sits. I say Scandella has something on Housley... this whole thing just makes zero sense. 

But how else is Pilut gonna learn other than sitting in the press box while our worst Dman plays instead. I just loved Housley’s crap when, confronted with the question of why he is sitting our best Dman according to the metrics, he spewed some bs about analytics being nice and all but it’s about WINNING every night. Really? Scandella’s gaffes have cost us more games than Pilut’s this year. 

 

Dereliction of duty on Housley’s part. 

[BillsFan4]

 

[Turk71]

bull#### goalie interference call on that tying goal. He was obviously pushed into him, they review it and still no goal. Wtf???

  And of course it is against Dallas. ?

[BillsFan4]

These refs are absolutely brutal tonight. Sooo many calls that should have gene made against Dallas. 

 

This was one of the worst -

 

 

And I counted at least 3 blatant slashes that went uncalled. 2 of them even interfered with a shot/scoring chance. If you Shawn a guy in the hands when he is trying to take a shot in net, it is called for a penalty 10 times out of 10. 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by BillsFan4

[BillsFan4]

29 minutes ago, Turk71 said:

bull#### goalie interference call on that tying goal. He was obviously pushed into him, they review it and still no goal. Wtf???

  And of course it is against Dallas. ?

 

Agreed. That goal should have counted if you go by the rule book. The red took all of 2 seconds to review it, too. There were only 2 damn games in the whole NHL tonight. Why couldn’t it have been reviewed in Toronto? Seems like a better idea than letting the red who made the call review it... 

 

Goaltender interference is like the catch rule in the NFL. Nobody seems to know what the hell it is and everyone calls/reviews it differently. 

[K-9]

Disappointed with the loss as it drops us to .500 since the break and we had to be at .617 the rest of the way to realistically make the playoffs. But I’m not disappointed with the effort at all. It was a tight, defensive game from puck drop and given we played last night and got to Dallas late, it was an honest effort. 

 

We need to be a .700 club during the upcoming seven game home stand. Must. Make. Hay. 

 

I pray coach clueless can somehow impart that urgency to his players. 

[Turk71]

5 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Disappointed with the loss as it drops us to .500 since the break and we had to be at .617 the rest of the way to realistically make the playoffs. But I’m not disappointed with the effort at all. It was a tight, defensive game from puck drop and given we played last night and got to Dallas late, it was an honest effort. 

 

We need to be a .700 club during the upcoming seven game home stand. Must. Make. Hay. 

 

I pray coach clueless can somehow impart that urgency to his players. 

Only been two road games so far though, I am expecting another win streak coming up starting with this home stand. They got screwed out of at least a point tonight. This is a young team and I am still hoping they can finish the season strong and make the playoffs. Even a first round exit would be a big step.

43 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said:

These refs are absolutely brutal tonight. Sooo many calls that should have gene made against Dallas. 

 

This was one of the worst -

 

 

And I counted at least 3 blatant slashes that went uncalled. 2 of them even interfered with a shot/scoring chance. If you Shawn a guy in the hands when he is trying to take a shot in net, it is called for a penalty 10 times out of 10. 

 

 

That boarding non call was so blatant and dangerous to a star player. Unbelievable wtf???

[K-9]

10 hours ago, Turk71 said:

Only been two road games so far though, I am expecting another win streak coming up starting with this home stand. They got screwed out of at least a point tonight. This is a young team and I am still hoping they can finish the season strong and make the playoffs. Even a first round exit would be a big step.

I hope you’re right, but I’m skeptical. There are 64 points left after tonight and we need 40 of them to have a realistic shot at making the playoffs. That’s a .625 clip from here on out. Not impossible, especially with the next 14 points available at home. But given what this team has shown the last season and a half, I just don’t see it. Hope I’m wrong.

Edited January 31, 2019 by K-9