Taro T Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Sabres finally put a full game together. You did see the 2nd period, right? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 4 hours ago, Cripple Creek said: Is their current rebuild taking too long? Yes, It sounds like ownership wants to win now. https://theathletic.com/1529673/2020/01/13/who-will-replace-ray-shero-as-devils-gm-a-look-at-some-top-candidates/ (Athletic sub. required) 1Who will replace Ray Shero as Devils GM? A look at some top candidates by Craig Custance Quote The Devils GM opening is a good one. Not just in the “there are only 31 of these jobs” sense but in the groundwork Ray Shero put in before being fired. Key pieces are already in place. “There are two first overalls sitting there and they’re going to pick in the top five again,” said an NHL executive on Sunday evening. “You’re in a hockey market where players are willing to go.” If there’s a red flag, it’s that ownership sounds like it wants to win now. Yes, the Devils have talent but it’s clear that it might be a while before the winning comes consistently. Any candidate should try to temper expectations as part of the job interview process. “Are they going to make the playoffs next year? No. They’re not. It’d take a miracle in net,” said the executive. “But you can build a winner around (Jack) Hughes and (Nico) Hischier.” Seeing some urgency from ownership is nice and all, but IMO the Devils just aren’t ready yet. Their 2 best players are still under the age of 21. They tried to speed up the rebuild this past offseason and so far it was an epic failure. Sometimes the best thing an owner can do is have patience, stay the course and not cave to the fan pressure. I am not saying that was the case in NJ. I don’t follow them closely enough to say what type of job shero was doing. From an outsiders perspective I thought he seemed to be doing ok, but obviously NJD ownership disagrees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 4 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Sabres finally put a full game together. Any word on Botts' petition to have us play the Red Wings in all of our games? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Yes, It sounds like ownership wants to win now. https://theathletic.com/1529673/2020/01/13/who-will-replace-ray-shero-as-devils-gm-a-look-at-some-top-candidates/ (Athletic sub. required) 1Who will replace Ray Shero as Devils GM? A look at some top candidates by Craig Custance Seeing some urgency from ownership is nice and all, but IMO the Devils just aren’t ready yet. Their 2 best players are still under the age of 21. They tried to speed up the rebuild this past offseason and so far it was an epic failure. Sometimes the best thing an owner can do is have patience, stay the course and not cave to the fan pressure. I am not saying that was the case in NJ. I don’t follow them closely enough to say what type of job shero was doing. From an outsiders perspective I thought he seemed to be doing ok, but obviously NJD ownership disagrees. Speaking in general recognizing where your team is at and understanding where it is in a rebuild relates to the more important issue of being wise rather than being expedient because of one's impatience and perceived fan pressure. I believe that Pegula learned from his disastrous experience as a new owner of both of his franchises in wanting to win right away. Without a doubt the high cost player decisions that were made when he took over set this hockey franchise back. Does Pegula understand and support what our GM's strategy is in rebuilding this franchise? I believe so. It takes a lot of fortitude to endure the frustrations of going through this rigorous process. My belief is that he supports the course that has been set. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 3 hours ago, Taro T said: You did see the 2nd period, right? I graded on a curve considering how long it’s been since they won a game by 4 goals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl-getting-own-way-punishing-222338714.html I can't believe the NHL says clean hit when Tkachuk goes head hunting and plasters a guy who is already engaged. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 12 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl-getting-own-way-punishing-222338714.html I can't believe the NHL says clean hit when Tkachuk goes head hunting and plasters a guy who is already engaged. It would probably make more sense if they showed the other hit. The one with a video in that link, Tkachuk clearly leads with his hip. I just don't see head hunting there. What I see is a guy angry from a previous illegal hit now go crazy over a clean one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 19 minutes ago, shrader said: It would probably make more sense if they showed the other hit. The one with a video in that link, Tkachuk clearly leads with his hip. I just don't see head hunting there. What I see is a guy angry from a previous illegal hit now go crazy over a clean one. Thats a filthy play. Tkachuk abandons his defensive position to level a guy who is already engaged with another defender in a battle for the puck. Thats the definition of head hunting. I don't care whether he lead with his shoulder, hip, or his own ass, he has no business making that hit. And that was the second or third time Tkachuk went after Kassian like that when he was already engaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 9 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Thats a filthy play. Tkachuk abandons his defensive position to level a guy who is already engaged with another defender in a battle for the puck. Thats the definition of head hunting. I don't care whether he lead with his shoulder, hip, or his own ass, he has no business making that hit. And that was the second or third time Tkachuk went after Kassian like that when he was already engaged. Judging by the referees and linesmen's reactions, they were ok with Kassian's response Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 21 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Thats a filthy play. Tkachuk abandons his defensive position to level a guy who is already engaged with another defender in a battle for the puck. Thats the definition of head hunting. I don't care whether he lead with his shoulder, hip, or his own ass, he has no business making that hit. And that was the second or third time Tkachuk went after Kassian like that when he was already engaged. Kassian has possession of the puck. It doesn't matter whether or not he's engaged with another player. It is not illegal to hit him in that situation. These aren't cut blocks or whatever the NFL rule is, he can be hit in that situation. As for the head hunting claim, we're stretching the definition of that term to incredible lengths. He wants Kassian to feel that hit, I'll give you that. But that's the intention of just about every hit at this point. It's not supposed to be that way, but that's just the way it is. Tkachuk threw that particular hit completely cleanly and they have no ground whatsoever to punish him in any way. I think the linked article takes the exact opposite stance than I would on this one. If anything, the league needs to move beyond this ridiculous mentality where players have to answer to a clean hit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 13, 2020 Author Share Posted January 13, 2020 https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2020/01/13/nhl-extends-buffalos-agreement-to-host-combine-through-2022/ NHL extends Buffalo’s agreement to host combine through 2022 Good! Every NHL team seems to love having it here. It’s certsinly a much better set up than what they used previously (based in a hotel lobby in Toronto iirc. Teams staying in separate hotels, prospects having to drive between hotels for meetings, etc). Unless another team offers a better solution than Buffalo, it should stay here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 15 minutes ago, shrader said: Kassian has possession of the puck. It doesn't matter whether or not he's engaged with another player. It is not illegal to hit him in that situation. These aren't cut blocks or whatever the NFL rule is, he can be hit in that situation. As for the head hunting claim, we're stretching the definition of that term to incredible lengths. He wants Kassian to feel that hit, I'll give you that. But that's the intention of just about every hit at this point. It's not supposed to be that way, but that's just the way it is. Tkachuk threw that particular hit completely cleanly and they have no ground whatsoever to punish him in any way. I think the linked article takes the exact opposite stance than I would on this one. If anything, the league needs to move beyond this ridiculous mentality where players have to answer to a clean hit. As I already stated, I do not care what article 5 of rule 9 on acceptable body checks says. Thats a bush league hit at any level of the game and if you want to play that way you had better be prepared to answer for it. Its absolutely head hunting in that hes looking for Kassian coming around the net, making no attempt to play the puck on a guy who is already engaged, and running him. In one of those cases literally going after his head. Don't take my word for it. Take anyone who ever played the game's word for it. https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/ex-nhl-players-insiders-defend-zack-kassian-and-blast-matt-tkachuks-dangerous-plays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 The attached link is from a mailbag column by the BN's Lance Lysowski. He gives his opinions on questions issued by fans which are similar to the questions that we debate in this forum. Some of his views are that he doesn't believe that a major in-season trade will be made because of the cap situation. He also believes that Risto should be retained because he has elevated his game and is an important player. His response to a Colin Miller question indicates that the team has not handled him well with the constant changing in pairings and that the player has not fully adapted to Krueger's system. https://buffalonews.com/2020/01/13/buffalo-sabres-ralph-krueger-jack-eichel-jason-botterill-sam-reinhart-jeff-skinner-nhl-analysis-2020/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 16 hours ago, Jauronimo said: As I already stated, I do not care what article 5 of rule 9 on acceptable body checks says. Thats a bush league hit at any level of the game and if you want to play that way you had better be prepared to answer for it. Its absolutely head hunting in that hes looking for Kassian coming around the net, making no attempt to play the puck on a guy who is already engaged, and running him. In one of those cases literally going after his head. Don't take my word for it. Take anyone who ever played the game's word for it. https://edmontonjournal.com/sports/hockey/nhl/cult-of-hockey/ex-nhl-players-insiders-defend-zack-kassian-and-blast-matt-tkachuks-dangerous-plays An Edmonton paper finds comments supporting an oiler. So I guess that means every single player who ever lived supports Kassian. Makes sense. People want to clean up some of the things Tkachuk does, particularly the first hit. That's fine. But that does not excuse the reaction from Kassian. You simply cannot continue to assualt a player once they've made it very clear that they aren't going to respond. There's a point where you need to pull up, but he was too much of a hot headed moron to do so and we went well beyond that line. Some players may want to buy him a beer for doing so, but that doesn't change the fact that the book will be thrown at him each time he does it, as it should be. And by the way, there is no requirement to make a play on the puck. If that was the case, probably 90% of all hits would be penalized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taro T Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 15 minutes ago, shrader said: An Edmonton paper finds comments supporting an oiler. So I guess that means every single player who ever lived supports Kassian. Makes sense. People want to clean up some of the things Tkachuk does, particularly the first hit. That's fine. But that does not excuse the reaction from Kassian. You simply cannot continue to assualt a player once they've made it very clear that they aren't going to respond. There's a point where you need to pull up, but he was too much of a hot headed moron to do so and we went well beyond that line. Some players may want to buy him a beer for doing so, but that doesn't change the fact that the book will be thrown at him each time he does it, as it should be. And by the way, there is no requirement to make a play on the puck. If that was the case, probably 90% of all hits would be penalized. Yup. Hockey 101. 1st forechecker takes the man. 2nd forechecker takes the puck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrb1979 Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 For the ones who are down on the Sabres for not being better, have any of you looked at their home record. On home ice they have one of the better records in the league. If they can figure out how to win more on the road they can be right in the playoff mix again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 1 hour ago, Taro T said: Yup. Hockey 101. 1st forechecker takes the man. 2nd forechecker takes the puck. Or in the case of Tkachuk. First forechecker takes the man, second "forechecker" takes his head off. 2 hours ago, shrader said: An Edmonton paper finds comments supporting an oiler. So I guess that means every single player who ever lived supports Kassian. Makes sense. People want to clean up some of the things Tkachuk does, particularly the first hit. That's fine. But that does not excuse the reaction from Kassian. You simply cannot continue to assualt a player once they've made it very clear that they aren't going to respond. There's a point where you need to pull up, but he was too much of a hot headed moron to do so and we went well beyond that line. Some players may want to buy him a beer for doing so, but that doesn't change the fact that the book will be thrown at him each time he does it, as it should be. And by the way, there is no requirement to make a play on the puck. If that was the case, probably 90% of all hits would be penalized. Again, you keep citing a rule book and failing to acknowledge that NHL hockey is not the overly officious NFL. There are many unwritten rules to the game which it appears you only get familiarized with when you have actually played. Anyone who has played the game knows thats a bush league hit. 90% of all hits look nothing like what Tkachuk did which is why a guy just beat the s@## out of him for it while his own teammates stood and watched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 6 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: 90% of all hits look nothing like what Tkachuk did which is why a guy just beat the s@## out of him for it while his own teammates stood and watched. And the referees and linesmen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jrb1979 Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 @Joe in Winslow what is so funny about what I said? The Sabres have one of the best home records. If they can improve their road record they can get back in the playoff race. If they can go .500 the rest of the season on the road it will help them get back in it Right now they are only 7 points out. Its funny how you will BILLieve in anything the Bills do but look down on the Sabres. They rebuilt the defense last off season. They have a good goalie in their system that will solve that issue. Their biggest issue right now is scoring. Part of that is cause Oloffson and Skinner are out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 50 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Or in the case of Tkachuk. First forechecker takes the man, second "forechecker" takes his head off. Again, you keep citing a rule book and failing to acknowledge that NHL hockey is not the overly officious NFL. There are many unwritten rules to the game which it appears you only get familiarized with when you have actually played. Anyone who has played the game knows thats a bush league hit. 90% of all hits look nothing like what Tkachuk did which is why a guy just beat the s@## out of him for it while his own teammates stood and watched. Ahhh the ever popular "if you ever played the game" defense. Lots of lazy assumptions there. Anyway, you're actually right that not all that many hits look like what Tkachuk did. Hip to hip? So often players tend to attack much higher than that. If Kassian's helmet had stayed on, no one would be questioning that hit one bit. He came about as close to hitting Kassian's head as a Zhitnik slap shot to the net. If Kassian wants to react to a cheap and illegal hit, so be it. He'll accept the consequences of doing so. But when he reacts only the the clean one, he looks bad. And his own teammates stood by because they knew they were about to get a powerplay. They just happened to score the game winning goal on said powerplay. Let's not pretend that we've never seen a mugging where no one intervenes. That's becoming the norm around this league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 5 minutes ago, shrader said: Ahhh the ever popular "if you ever played the game" defense. Lots of lazy assumptions there. Anyway, you're actually right that not all that many hits look like what Tkachuk did. Hip to hip? So often players tend to attack much higher than that. If Kassian's helmet had stayed on, no one would be questioning that hit one bit. He came about as close to hitting Kassian's head as a Zhitnik slap shot to the net. If Kassian wants to react to a cheap and illegal hit, so be it. He'll accept the consequences of doing so. But when he reacts only the the clean one, he looks bad. And his own teammates stood by because they knew they were about to get a powerplay. They just happened to score the game winning goal on said powerplay. Let's not pretend that we've never seen a mugging where no one intervenes. That's becoming the norm around this league. The fighting response by Kassian wasn't due to the hit that preceded the fight. It was an accumulation of hits between the parties that escalated to an eruption. What many reports are suggesting is that Thachuk is known to be an agitator who plays beyond the the border of what is acceptable player's code. So the arse kicking player took it upon himself to unleash his punishment. I don't like fighting in the game. I'm one of the few posters here who believe that it should be outlawed. But in this case player self-policing for questionable physicality might be the best response to maintain fairer and safer play among the players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 38 minutes ago, shrader said: Ahhh the ever popular "if you ever played the game" defense. Lots of lazy assumptions there. Anyway, you're actually right that not all that many hits look like what Tkachuk did. Hip to hip? So often players tend to attack much higher than that. If Kassian's helmet had stayed on, no one would be questioning that hit one bit. He came about as close to hitting Kassian's head as a Zhitnik slap shot to the net. If Kassian wants to react to a cheap and illegal hit, so be it. He'll accept the consequences of doing so. But when he reacts only the the clean one, he looks bad. And his own teammates stood by because they knew they were about to get a powerplay. They just happened to score the game winning goal on said powerplay. Let's not pretend that we've never seen a mugging where no one intervenes. That's becoming the norm around this league. Dude, its not the point of contact that makes this a dirty hit. Forget about the point of contact. WTF is a winger doing below the goal line in his defensive zone? Let me answer that for you: hes running a player that is already engaged and making zero attempt to play the puck. Its NOT a hockey play which is why you will find ZERO people defending Tkachuk that actually know something about hockey. Its a cheap shot. I know you'll just write this off since Neal is his teammate but I have hope that you may see the light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 30 minutes ago, JohnC said: The fighting response by Kassian wasn't due to the hit that preceded the fight. It was an accumulation of hits between the parties that escalated to an eruption. What many reports are suggesting is that Thachuk is known to be an agitator who plays beyond the the border of what is acceptable player's code. So the arse kicking player took it upon himself to unleash his punishment. I don't like fighting in the game. I'm one of the few posters here who believe that it should be outlawed. But in this case player self-policing for questionable physicality might be the best response to maintain fairer and safer play among the players. I've been on board for a while now with making a fight a game misconduct. It isn't removed from the game, but it's saved for the moments where it's truly necessary. Maybe that's too extreme now that we've moved beyond the days of the staged dance fights that were huge in the early 2000s. I could be convinced on increasing it beyond 5 minutes but not getting the full game. As for Tkachuk, he plays on that edge. We've all seen those guys before. But he also knows exactly who he's going after in that Edmonton game. He knows what's coming and Kassian gave him exactly what he wanted. They need to figure out a better response because Calgary is going to take that exchange any day. I'd be curious to look through some of their game tapes to see if he's doing it more often to a guy like Kassian as opposed to an Eichel. 4 minutes ago, Jauronimo said: Dude, its not the point of contact that makes this a dirty hit. Forget about the point of contact. WTF is a winger doing below the goal line in his defensive zone? Let me answer that for you: hes running a player that is already engaged and making zero attempt to play the puck. Its NOT a hockey play which is why you will find ZERO people defending Tkachuk that actually know something about hockey. Its a cheap shot. I know you'll just write this off since Neal is his teammate but I have hope that you may see the light. Go after Kassian because eventually he'll do something stupid. That sounds like a solid strategy that more than a few teams would take. And then to finally set him off with a perfectly clean hit? All the better. As for Neal's comments, I will dismiss them because they're clearly made by someone in the heat of the battle who hasn't had time to cool down from the game. He's talking about things in that interview that did not happen and if he sat down and actually watched the video, he'd realize as much. He talks about Tkachuk going behind the net and hitting Kassian in the head. That very clearly did not happen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 14, 2020 Author Share Posted January 14, 2020 Well, that sucks. I was really hoping to see him in Buffalo this season. He was playing some great hockey in Rochester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 9 minutes ago, BillsFan4 said: Well, that sucks. I was really hoping to see him in Buffalo this season. He was playing some great hockey in Rochester. wonder why now instead of 2 months ago? Sabres need to get with the Bills medical/training dudes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 2 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. I had no idea. Last I heard, Max played in a beer league game here a few years back and totally destroyed the team he was playing against. Something like 18 goals. He showed NO mercy. Heard he was barred from playing afterward. I had to chuckle when I heard about that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 2 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. 6 G, 0 A. Yup, that's Max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 3 hours ago, ChevyVanMiller said: Did you know that Max Afinogenov is 40? Did you know that he’s still playing in the KHL? And did you further know that he can still skate like the wind and score goals like this one? Me neither. ...wow...Mad Max.......certainly was fun to watch.......... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 2 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Well, that sucks. I was really hoping to see him in Buffalo this season. He was playing some great hockey in Rochester. What makes this injury even more frustrating is that having this surgery and adding in his post surgery rehab time it will preclude him from doing a lot of strength work which he still needs to do to become the player he needs to be. It's a shame that this surgery was delayed so long but it is understandable because I'm sure the medical staff was hoping that this surgery could have been avoided. I still have some hope that Tage and Mitts will eventually become contributing players to this roster. This roster is thin to begin with. When you have long term injuries to players such as Skinner and Olofsson it depletes an already less than potent lineup. Skinner might be ready shortly after the all-star break. Olofsson is still far away from getting back on the ice. 2 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: wonder why now instead of 2 months ago? Sabres need to get with the Bills medical/training dudes. This Paul Hamilton WGR link explains why there was a delay before surgery. https://wgr550.radio.com/articles/news/tage-thompson-has-shoulder-surgery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 14, 2020 Share Posted January 14, 2020 The below link is a 17 min segment with Botterill on WGR's Shopp and the Bulldog Show. I thought the radio hosts asked the right questions but there is a limit to the candidness of the GM. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-14-jason-botterill-with-schopp-the-bulldog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 4 hours ago, plenzmd1 said: wonder why now instead of 2 months ago? Sabres need to get with the Bills medical/training dudes. Paul Hamilton talked about it pre-game. At first they were hoping to avoid surgery all-together (since it would be season ending), so they had him trying to rehab it. Then when they found out that he would in fact need surgery, Tage had to continue strengthening the surrounding muscles and get more mobility back first before they could do the surgery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GG Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Is it me, or is Samson playing like he doesn't want the Sabres to extend him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 Nice win tonight! They played some pretty good hockey, especially considering their opponent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suorangefan4 Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 How annoying. Of course they're going to blow their draft positioning now after playing themselves out of the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 1 hour ago, GG said: Is it me, or is Samson playing like he doesn't want the Sabres to extend him? What you are seeing is not what I am seeing. Based on his play he is positioning himself to earn a lucrative contract. So far he has 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points. He is on pace to have the best year of his career. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: Nice win tonight! They played some pretty good hockey, especially considering their opponent. The Sabres home record is 14-6-3. That's impressive. They have to be better on the road. I thought the Sabres played a simple and sound game against a tough and good team. The difference for us is that our PP is starting to click. Risto playing low instead of high has made a difference. With Risto playing near the crease on the PP it has opened up space for Reinhart and his quick shot. The pass from Risto to Reinhart was pretty. When our goalie plays well we usually are in the game. I thought Ullmark kept us in this game although he seemed to scramble a tad too much. Buffalo is privileged to have a player like Eichel playing for us. The Sabres have certainly had their ups and downs this season. The difference is that after their down games this team is able to rebound. It is a much more mentally tough and resilient team. What's obvious is that the HC sets the tone. The link includes a number of post-game comments from the coach and some players. https://wgr550.radio.com/media/audio-channel/1-14-ralph-krueger-post-game Edited January 15, 2020 by JohnC 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 The below link is a BN column by Mike Harrington. The core of the article deals with Krueger being able to get his team to refocus on their own play even after tough losses. It quotes Jack saying something to the effect that even against superior teams if the team plays within itself it can compete with the better teams. https://buffalonews.com/2020/01/14/buffalo-sabres-nhl-jack-eichel-ralph-kreuger-vegas-golden-knights-news-game-score-2020/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 I got a kick out of Eichel's goal. The guy on this team who I least want to see in and odd man rush towards the other team's net is Girgensons. I guess Jack thinks the same exact way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 16 minutes ago, shrader said: I got a kick out of Eichel's goal. The guy on this team who I least want to see in and odd man rush towards the other team's net is Girgensons. I guess Jack thinks the same exact way. Until recently, Jack seemed determined to pass instead of shoot. It didn't matter how incapable the players were on his line were at scoring whether it was Asplund, Vesey or Girgs. Even with Olofsson on his line, who was a finisher, Jack was too fixated on assisting rather than scoring. That has recently seemed to change where he is more determined to take the bull by the horns and shoot more. The same shooting passivity that has plagued Dahlin is now changing where he is also being more aggressive in shooting the puck instead of passing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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