row_33 Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Still early but the East has taken 10 points to 1 off the West in interconference games so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfanmiami(oh) Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 The one time they’re playing in Cbus this year and I have to leave town for work tomorrow ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 I didn't see any pictures of LaFontaine from Saturday. Is the rift that bad that he didn't show up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 12 minutes ago, bbb said: I didn't see any pictures of LaFontaine from Saturday. Is the rift that bad that he didn't show up? He was invited but declined. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 8 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said: He was invited but declined. Thanks. That sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 The link is a BN column written by Mike Harrington. Although the title of the column listed Reinhart the body of the column dealt with the philosophy and style of play that Krueger is promoting. It points out that playing responsibly on the defensive end leads to offensive opportunities. Krueger's hockey philosophy is not complicated. It's basic and simple. It's all about giving effort and playing responsibly starting with the defensive side of the game. https://buffalonews.com/2019/10/06/buffalo-sabres-nhl-sam-reinhart/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Krueger reminds me of Belichick a bit. Obviously he's not the same personality-wise but in his approach to success. I am so tired of hearing about talent (lack thereof). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 On 10/5/2019 at 9:37 PM, 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 were all season last year. The addition of talent allows you to have the capability to execute plays. Nailed it. They are putting 10x more pressure on their opponents this year. No more letting the defense get set while they stage a canned breakout. The puck movement in transition, team defense, and sustained pressure in the offensive zone have all stood out. Last year most of our scoring was a result of individual efforts from Eichel/Skinner. We scored almost exclusively on the rush, not even odd man rushes which were few and far between. Also noticeable is we are running 4 lines which all look like they can contribute. Last year Housely ran the first line into the ground I thought. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 58 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Nailed it. They are putting 10x more pressure on their opponents this year. No more letting the defense get set while they stage a canned breakout. The puck movement in transition, team defense, and sustained pressure in the offensive zone have all stood out. Last year most of our scoring was a result of individual efforts from Eichel/Skinner. We scored almost exclusively on the rush, not even odd man rushes which were few and far between. Also noticeable is we are running 4 lines which all look like they can contribute. Last year Housely ran the first line into the ground I thought. Housley had no choice because other than the first line there was no potency to the offense. What do you do when you don't have a credible second line? You play players in a higher position than they should be playing. As an example Okposo was incapable as a top two line player but as a fourth line player he is more than fulfilling his more appropriate role. You can say the same thing about all the lines and defensive pairings. No one is arguing that Housley comes close to matching Krueger as a coach. That would be an absurd position to take. But when a coach is working with a bereft of talent the plays that are now being executed were never going to be consistently executed because the players weren't good enough to execute them. Entering this season there have been at least six players added to the roster. That is the major reason for the good start and better play. In this league success is mostly predicated on talent. That's the way it has always been and will continue to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said: Krueger reminds me of Belichick a bit. Obviously he's not the same personality-wise but in his approach to success. I am so tired of hearing about talent (lack thereof). (I made this same point in a response to Jauronimo.) This year's team is much more talented than last year's team. Vesey, Johansson, Miller, Olofsson, Jorki were additions that bolstered the roster. In addition, young players such as Dahlin and Mitts and others should be improved with the added experience. By adding more talent you are better placing the players in the roles that they should be playing. No one is arguing that Housley is a better coach than Krueger. But to be fair to Housley last year's team lacked adequate talent. What's apparent is that the GM did a good job this offseason in bringing in talent (nearly a half a dozen players) to bolster last year's obviously inadequate roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Who knew that if you try harder, you get better results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 New talent on offense is a rookie and a Rangers washout. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 On 10/5/2019 at 8:14 PM, Kelly the Dog said: Olofsson is going to score 30 goals playing with Jack and Reinhart as well as the PP. That first PP is a killer group. Totally different team under Krueger, plus the new guys make a huge difference. They're really fun to watch right now. If he sticks on that line all year, it will pretty much make him a Calder finalist by default. I can't picture 70+ games with Eichel leading to anything less than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 1 hour ago, shrader said: If he sticks on that line all year, it will pretty much make him a Calder finalist by default. I can't picture 70+ games with Eichel leading to anything less than that. The addition of Olofsson on the first line has a multiplier positive effect. Not only is his addition to the first Jack line maintaining its effectiveness but It also allowed Skinner to be moved to the second line. With the addition of Johansson a credible second line was created also benefiting the first line by taking some of the scoring pressure off of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 18 minutes ago, JohnC said: The addition of Olofsson on the first line has a multiplier positive effect. Not only is his addition to the first Jack line maintaining its effectiveness but It also allowed Skinner to be moved to the second line. With the addition of Johansson a credible second line was created also benefiting the first line by taking some of the scoring pressure off of it. That and they now have 5 incredibly accurate shots on that first PP unit. They should finally get back to the first year or two of Eichel where the PP unit was near the top of the league. They obviously fit that description on saturday. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 3 hours ago, GG said: New talent on offense is a rookie and a Rangers washout. Yup. Coaching means more in the NHL than in any other professional sport. The Sabres have talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greybeard Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 3 hours ago, bbb said: Who knew that if you try harder, you get better results Nolan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 1 hour ago, shrader said: That and they now have 5 incredibly accurate shots on that first PP unit. They should finally get back to the first year or two of Eichel where the PP unit was near the top of the league. They obviously fit that description on saturday. In addition to your adroit comment the second PP unit isn't bad. And when Montour gets back, and with the addition of Miller, strong and accurate shots from the defensemen make our PP one of the better PP units in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 3 hours ago, GG said: New talent on offense is a rookie and a Rangers washout. Johansson was a terrific addition that helped in the rebuilding of a second line. And Miller not only is a good defenseman who meshes well with Dahlin but he also has a tremendous shot. And if you want you can consider Vesey a Ranger washout. However, that doesn't take away the from fact that he upgraded the talent base on the Sabres. Let's be clear here, adding talent doesn't diminish the importance of coaching and make our positions mutually exclusive. Both adding talent and better coaching can occur at the same time and result in better outcomes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 The below link is an article by Paul Hamilton from WGR focusing on Okposo. It indicates that Ullmark will be playing in goal in Columbus. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-look-go-3-0-columbus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T&C Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Just wanted to thank you guys who keep this thread going for those who don't have the time to keep up... it really helps us keep up! I was a kid in WNY when we finally got the Sabres... maybe we're on to something here for a change. Just want a Cup or a SB before I head on out... again, thanks for the reads. Have watched the games so far and will be watching tonight. Go Sabres! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmotionallyUnstable Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 I hope Olafson keeps on firing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 1 hour ago, eball said: Yup. Coaching means more in the NHL than in any other professional sport. The Sabres have talent. Why do you think that? Until this week, I always thought it was the opposite. These guys in the NHL are so quick to be fired, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 6 minutes ago, bbb said: Why do you think that? Until this week, I always thought it was the opposite. These guys in the NHL are so quick to be fired, etc. If you lose the room in the NHL, you never get it back. St Louis the last couple of seasons is a great study in what not to do. Don't have a lame duck head coach (Hitchcock). Don't have his successor named and already on the staff (Yeo). They righted the ship by hiring the Chief, who came in and played to the strengths of the team. He also wasn't afraid to stick with Binnington when he started off hot, even though he wasn't a highly touted prospect or highly paid veteran. He earned the right to be the number 1 because of his play and that accountability stabilized the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big C Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Yikes. Let's see how the Sabres respond to this poor start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 I don't care what the announcers say, I'm not calling little Jimmy "Veee-Seeee". This is a "Vessyyy" household. Always has been, always will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Rayzor is really going after Torts tonight. Its been pretty amusing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eball Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, bbb said: Why do you think that? Until this week, I always thought it was the opposite. These guys in the NHL are so quick to be fired, etc. There are examples again and again of coaching moves that result in significant changes. 58 minutes ago, Big C said: Yikes. Let's see how the Sabres respond to this poor start. Pretty well I’d say Edited October 8, 2019 by eball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted October 8, 2019 Author Share Posted October 8, 2019 Much better 2nd period. I really like their response. Columbus was playing with their hair on fire in the 1st. They haven’t won a game yet this year and were fired up. Buffalo didn’t help the cause though. They were on their heels a lot, made a # of unforced errors and just looked sloppy. But they did s great job settling down and getting back to their game in the 2nd. They battled the adversity and got the game tied up. Anxious us to see how they close this out in the 3rd. I would imagine Columbus is going to try and make a push. Let’s see what team is hungrier for the win! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T&C Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 1 minute ago, BillsFan4 said: Much better 2nd period. I really like their response. Columbus was playing with their hair on fire in the 1st. They haven’t won a game yet this year and were fired up. Buffalo didn’t help the cause though. They were on their heels a lot, made a # of unforced errors and just looked sloppy. But they did s great job settling down and getting back to their game in the 2nd. They battled the adversity and got the game tied up. Anxious us to see how they close this out in the 3rd. I would imagine Columbus is going to try and make a push. Let’s see what team is hungrier for the win! Bills seem to do fine on the road, lets hope its a carryover. Looking forward to the 3rd. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big C Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Good on them for picking up the point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Just now, Big C said: Good on them for picking up the point. But the L is on Capt. Jack, dicking around with the puck. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdutton Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Eichel did not look good... responsible for multiple turnovers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big C Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 1 minute ago, PromoTheRobot said: But the L is on Capt. Jack, dicking around with the puck. Yeah... I was flipping back and forth with MNF so I didn't see the whole thing. Did watch overtime and was not happy with Eichel there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 11 minutes ago, bdutton said: Eichel did not look good... responsible for multiple turnovers. Yep, and not just on the game-loser. Over handling the puck all night... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdutton Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Just now, Lurker said: Yep, and not just on the game-loser. Over handling the puck all night... Reminds me sometimes of Josh Allen and his 'Hero Ball' mentality. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Paul Hamilton of WGR gave his summary of this game. I thought it was a fair representation of what happened. The Jackets outplayed the Sabres who were fortunate to get a point out of this game. Ullmark played a stellar game and salvaged a point for us. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/sabres-lay-egg-columbus-still-get-point 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 5 hours ago, Alaska Darin said: If you lose the room in the NHL, you never get it back. St Louis the last couple of seasons is a great study in what not to do. Don't have a lame duck head coach (Hitchcock). Don't have his successor named and already on the staff (Yeo). They righted the ship by hiring the Chief, who came in and played to the strengths of the team. He also wasn't afraid to stick with Binnington when he started off hot, even though he wasn't a highly touted prospect or highly paid veteran. He earned the right to be the number 1 because of his play and that accountability stabilized the team. Interesting. After tonight, it's time to get rid of Krueger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 In the first three games the one player who has surprised me and caught my attention is Jokiharju. I didn't realize how good he is. He's 20 yrs old yet plays with a veteran's poise. He is a good skater but what sets him apart is his passing and composure. He never seems rushed yet he is quick to move the puck up the ice. The GM did well trading Nylander for him. I hope Nylander does well in Chicago but in the exchange the Sabres come out on the plus side. The addition of Colin Miller also was a good pickup by the GM. When Montour returns this very solid unit will even get better. Will Miller continue to be paired with Dahlin or will Montour be part of the top pairing? I don't know but there is good depth and plenty of options in putting together the pairings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 15 hours ago, JohnC said: In addition to your adroit comment the second PP unit isn't bad. And when Montour gets back, and with the addition of Miller, strong and accurate shots from the defensemen make our PP one of the better PP units in the league. I'll be curious to see what they do with Montour when he is back. They're obviously not touching the blue line of that first PP unit. Maybe they swap out Olofsson for a defender in a late game spot where they want to avoid any shorthanded breaks. After that, you've got a pretty solid combo on unit 2 with Risto-Miller. No obvious choices stand out to me, especially while Olofsson is producing. 12 hours ago, Jauronimo said: Rayzor is really going after Torts tonight. Its been pretty amusing. I'm already looking forward to any comment he makes right after they show that horrible graphic for the Instigators. That thing could not be any more awkward. 11 hours ago, bdutton said: Eichel did not look good... responsible for multiple turnovers. He looked gassed on that last shift on the PP. I'm not sure I would have thrown him back out there after one quick shift off. They've got enough talent for those 3-on-3 situations that I don't think it would hurt to throw a different center out there with Olofsson, whether it's Johansson (who has been fun to watch so far) or MIttelstadt. As for the game itself. This is the first real test for this team. In the past, they seemed to give up pretty quickly if they fell behind early. That didn't happen last night and that's an obvious plus. I hate to say that I need to see more of that, since that involves giving up early goals, but I do want to see a solid bounce back like this more often. And now after the loss (gotta love taking a point in a game where they're badly outplayed), I want to see how they bounce back. That was much like the early deficits in recent years, they were very slow to recover and things snowballed from there. They're going to lose games, but the strong teams avoid those losing streaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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