PromoTheRobot Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 23 minutes ago, Doc Brown said: I was joking about the Stanley Cup. I wanted Housley gone before last season. My criticism of Botts this offseason was not trimming the fat from last year's roster. Scandella and Sobotka should be gone. But both have been pretty good in two games. Curious. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 As with the first game all four lines were rolling. The Devils are a fast team and a skilled team but the Sabres played them tight in their zone. Throughout the game the Sabres were the faster, tougher and tighter playing team. Because of their relentless play they broke the spirit of the Devils. I liked how Krueger has put together all the lines and defensive pairings. They all fit well. In this game Risto and McCabe were the rugged pairing, and I thought that Joki played very efficiently and smartly in this game. He and Scandella work well together. Needless to say that Dahlin is a gem and Miller fits in well with him. When Montour comes back I'm not sure if he will be in the first pairing? The defense is a deep unit. Our first line with Jack-Olof-Rhino was the best line in the game, and played as if they were one of the best lines in the league. Our PP is potent. It's not surprising that our offense will get a lot of attention in this game but for me the most impressive thing about this game was how tightly the team played in the defensive zone and how aggressively they forechecked throughout the game. The Sabres had no lull periods in this game. The high level of play started when the puck was first dropped and continued up to the final buzzer. That is what was most impressive about this team in this game. It's very early in the season but I'm excited about this team and the HC. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said: But both have been pretty good in two games. Curious. Everybody looks better, only 2 games but loving the passing, speed and rotating back. Kruger just said the PP is rotating and moving not standing around (AKA last year) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 26 minutes ago, Doc Brown said: I was joking about the Stanley Cup. I wanted Housley gone before last season. My criticism of Botts this offseason was not trimming the fat from last year's roster. Scandella and Sobotka should be gone. In the first two games Scandella has played very solidly and works well with Joki. Eventually Sobotka will be replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Brown Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 6 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said: But both have been pretty good in two games. Curious. If they're good after 40 then I'll write an apology letter to Botts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 (edited) Its two games, but I love the aggressive style on both ends. No one stands in front of Hutton unchecked...that is new. All this without Montour who I think will be a beast in the system. His speed, puck handling and aggressive poke check style (Not a brute but not a whimp either) will make the Sabres even more formidable and deep. Can't help but see the a few rays of light starting to poke through the darkness. Edited October 6, 2019 by JoeF 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Mike Harrington @ByMHarrington · 4m McCabe on Hall hit: "He was coming to hit me so I was bracing for that and trying to do a little 'Risto' like he did right before that. Playing with a lot of energy and a lot of passion, we were having a blast out there. Line after line, play after play." #Sabres50 ( @MQMulville ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 (edited) 13 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said: Everybody looks better, only 2 games but loving the passing, speed and rotating back. Kruger just said the PP is rotating and moving not standing around (AKA last year) What is dramatically different this year is that the team quickly gets the puck out of the defensive zone. They are playing a north/south game instead of dithering with the puck in their zone. There have been more successful stretch passes up the middle in the first two games of the season than there were all season last year. The addition of talent allows you to have the capability to execute plays. Edited October 6, 2019 by JohnC grammar 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Horseheads Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 John Vogl @BuffaloVogl · 1m "He’s a great motivator. The way that he gets his message across in a clear, concise, demanding yet nonconfrontational way is unlike anybody that I’ve really ever seen." - Sabres' Kyle Okposo on Ralph Krueger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 3 minutes ago, JohnC said: What is dramatically different this year is that the team quickly gets the puck out of the defensive zone. They are playing a north/south game instead of dithering with the puck in their zone. There have been more successful stretch passes up the middle in the first two games of the season than there was all season last year. The addition of talent allows you to have the capability to execute plays. Great observation @JohnC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Mike in Horseheads said: John Vogl @BuffaloVogl · 1m "He’s a great motivator. The way that he gets his message across in a clear, concise, demanding yet nonconfrontational way is unlike anybody that I’ve really ever seen." - Sabres' Kyle Okposo on Ralph Krueger I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. It’s only 2 games and Krueger has shown an ability to get teams to perform well in many hockey tournaments over the years. But I am getting hopeful and really think we could have something special with Ralph. That’s why I was so hyped up posting all those articles when he was hired (and getting mad at people calling him a “soccer coach”). He’s just a different person, so unique. For those interested who didn’t read the articles or don’t remember - He played professional hockey in Germany and then eventually started coaching in a German professional league. He coached the team to 5 straight championships, including the only time a German B team has ever won the Euro Cup (its a league made up of all of the championship teams in Europe from that season. No German B team has ever done it before or since, so it’s a big deal and apparently he’s a living legend in Germany (and Switzerland for that matter)). After that he ran the Swiss hockey program for over a decade. When he took over they were a B team that hadn’t played in the Olympics in years (8 or 12 iirc). He turned them into a A team that went to 3 straight Olympics (he never missed the Olympics in his time there) and was part of the reason why the Swiss hockey program is so well respected world wide for their hockey program now. Then had a and a short stint as a scout for the Carolina Hurricanes. He went to edmonton as an associate coach, was promoted to head coach the following year and only last 1 lockout shortened 1/2 season where the Oilers miraculously were in playoff contention with a horrid team (and a few 1st or 2nd year high picks) until the last stretch of the season. He was fired over Skype in the offseason by a totally inept general manager who was hired by a totally inept team president. Krueger has requested to hire an associate coach after his 1st season. Having coached on the bigger Olympic ice for so many years, he wanted a strategist type coach to help him out. He wanted Dallas Eakins. He was an up-and-coming AHL coach. So the GM interviews him and decides to make him the head coach, then fires Krueger via Skype even though he looked to have the Oilers turning around. After being fired, he was hired by team Canada for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Mike Babcock and Ken Hitchcock (2 of the smartest coaches in the NHL) specifically requested that team canada hire Krueger. He advanced scouted every opponent and helped Babcock/Hitchcock/Ruff/Claude Julien design the game plans. (Canada won the gold medal) Then the guy stepped in and ran an English premier league soccer team with no experience ever in the soccer world, and was actually pretty damn successful. I don’t really follow soccer, but I guess they were a low budget team that wasn’t in the premier (top) league and he helped them stay in the top league for most of his tenure. Then he takes a short break to coach a cobbled together “team Europe” at the World Cup of hockey (in 2016). No one expects them to really do anything (but get eliminated...) and he coaches them to a brilliant surprise 2nd place finish, falling a goal short of winning and taking the tournament by storm with their style of play. Everyone was buzzing about team Europe. That’s the first time I really started looking into Krueger. I had heard about him when he was in Edmonton, but didn’t really pay much attention. Ever since that 2016 tournament I was intrigued. But his leadership qualities are what really make him so unique. He’s given a lecture on leadership at the world economic forum. He wrote a book on overcoming problems+adversity in life. How many NHL coaches can say that, you know? And he’s just known as someone with a very unique ability to connect with everyone and motivate/inspire. It was a really intriguing hire. It would be awesome if it works out. We are so due for a good Sabres coach+team. We deserve it. Anyway, sorry about writing a book on Krueger’s life story... lol Edited October 6, 2019 by BillsFan4 2 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfanmiami(oh) Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 3 hours ago, Mike in Horseheads said: John Vogl @BuffaloVogl · 1m "He’s a great motivator. The way that he gets his message across in a clear, concise, demanding yet nonconfrontational way is unlike anybody that I’ve really ever seen." - Sabres' Kyle Okposo on Ralph Krueger that’s yet another comment I’ve seen that’s taking a shot at housley. Guy was a joke of a head coach and was in way over his head. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly the Dog Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 54 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said: that’s yet another comment I’ve seen that’s taking a shot at housley. Guy was a joke of a head coach and was in way over his head. While I agree with your last sentence on both accounts, I’m not sure Okposo was saying anything about the deficiencies of Housley but rather the strengths of Krueger. I read endless quotes about RK saying that exact thing that had nothing to do with Housley. Granted, Housley made it tougher on players who were thinking too much to their detriment. But I don’t think Okposo was referencing last year at all. Just my opinion. Everyone says that about Ralph. He could be great for us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo716 Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 1 minute ago, Kelly the Dog said: While I agree with your last sentence on both accounts, I’m not sure Okposo was saying anything about the deficiencies of Housley but rather the strengths of Krueger. I read endless quotes about RK saying that exact thing that had nothing to do with Housley. Granted, Housley made it tougher on players who were thinking too much to their detriment. But I don’t think Okposo was referencing last year at all. Just my opinion. Everyone says that about Ralph. He could be great for us. I'll drink too that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 6 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: ? How exactly is Kiner behind Furley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 The below link is a WGR post game comments by Krueger. It is a little more than five minutes of the coach at the podium. He's very complimentary of Hutton's leadership on and off the ice. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/10-5-ralph-krueger-post-game 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 3 hours ago, JohnC said: The below link is a WGR post game comments by Krueger. It is a little more than five minutes of the coach at the podium. He's very complimentary of Hutton's leadership on and off the ice. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/10-5-ralph-krueger-post-game And he ended with Go Bills!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-krueger-says-he-does-not-number-lines Sabres' Krueger says he does not number lines ‘The head coach wants all players to feel equal and not be ranked’ Quote “I generally think there’s the Larsson line, there’s the Eichel line, there’s the Johansson line and there's the Mittelstadt line and really there’s different roles at different times. If you look at when we were closing the game out in Pittsburgh, that line (Larsson’s line) was playing as one of two lines left in the last five minutes, so we won’t be a numerical kind of team and 5-on-5 we were able to even up the ice-time yesterday through the four units.” “There is no first line. It’s quite clear that Jack is our captain on the ice and our captain in regards to creating offense or running the power play, but my brain doesn’t really work that way trying to make sure that everybody understands that they’re important. “I just find the respect for the depth that teams need to be successful and the role players that we need and I’ve always been one as a coach to avoid any type of ranking within the group because I think we’re all very, very important and it doesn’t matter the minutes we play to the overall team success, so that’s just been a core philosophy I’ve had as a coach.” But then how would we be able to complain about Sobotka being in the top 6? lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 13 hours ago, 4merper4mer said: How exactly is Kiner behind Furley? Furley could rock a leisure suit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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