Taro T

It is. If you're watching in Anaheim.

And saw somewhere, likely upthread, sorry don't remember the source, that the Ducks backup will go tonight because Anaheim wants to use Gibson tomorrow night.

@Brawndo's post above w/ the morning skate gives the Sabres lineup barring fluke injury/illness and barring the starting goalie of record. No data on what the Ducks will have on the pond.

You really going to die on this hill? NOBODY considers training camp fodder to be actual NHLers. Well, their mommies likely do, but darn near nobody else does.

Preseason, aka exhibition, hockey. 😉

TONIGHT is the FORTIETH matchup and out of the previous 39, both teams sit at 20 wins? 🤔 Don't reporters even have to do algebra anymore prior to getting degrees?

Being honest, for those that did in fact know about the accusations of assault and believed them to be credible, opens them up to lawsuits. It also takes away their ability to stonewall the issue until something else becomes the big uproar at which point this fades back out of public consciousness. Perhaps too cynical a view, but likely not.

Hagg isn't as physical as Ristolainen, but there is still much Phlyer in him. He'll still throw the body around, which is a good thing.

The bolded is one thing Adams can't yet be accused of. He's walked away from Staal, Hall, this year's goaltending plans B & C, which all were guys he brought in &/or professed believing in and also from stopgaps he's brought in such as Reider & Sheehan. Expect UPL lasts through this weekend but not much more if he doesn't get his head out of his bippy. There's worse things for a 22 yo to have happen to them than receiving a demotion w/ a set plan of what to work on and an understanding of what needs to happen to be brought back. At the NHL level, guys haven't been gifted jobs this year. Can't see them sticking to a gifting of a job in Ra-cha-cha.

You've been missing fun ones so far this year. Even the Devils game that went sideways was watchable and fun to start.

When did the Courier Express EVER have the late scores in it? Deadline was almost always too early for them to be included.

What, you trying to bring the guy bad juju? 😉

While the meaning you took is understandable, @Curt gave you the standard definition of the phrase. To be accused of having someone living rent free in your noggin is a disparagement of yourself for your obsessive hatred of that person.

Beach would've been called up after the AHL team was done in the playoffs. If this stuff was happening late in the playoff run, he'd've been practicing with the Hawks.

There are oodles of threads where the effects are discussed. Really hoping that this thread can be about the CAUSES of those effects. And for the most part, that's what this thread has been. And if there is actually a specific cause and a specific effect that you want to cover, cool. But just continually bringing up hyperbolic stuff like "(a)ll offensive players suffered under RK" doesn't really bring any analysis about why/what he tried didn't work. The items the BN article brings up regarding Granato's style have already been brought up here. And LL saying that Krueger coached a "conservative defensive-minded system" doesn't exactly break any new ground either. We've gone FAR more in depth on what both coaches tried to have their players actually do than that article which touched on far more topics w/out going particularly into depth on any of them. And just on that bit alone, yes, it was a conservative, defensively oriented system but it also was when effective and played as planned fast paced and putting pressure on the puck carrier, limiting space which is not the textbook definition of conservative." The conservative part was in items such as he didn't want players cheating out to speed the transition should their pressure get the puck back. He also encouraged them to dump the puck rather than cycle the puck back to the D to regroup for another entry. The things Krueger had them doing his 1st month in town actually worked. But they proved to be unsustainable after Hutton went off the rails. Hoping that what Granato is doing will be more durable. If we actually break down what it is he's doing, maybe we'll get a sense as to how sustainable it is and what are the things that need to continue for it to be sustainable. My 2 cents. YMMV.

Yes, Krueger did not have any answers to the stated triumvirate that doomed the team to 31st place and what you describe are symptoms of that. But, give last year's team a healthy Eichel from day 1, an Ullmark that can play the full season rather than missing a month or so, and have the Devils on the schedule mid-Feruary rather than when Covid was ripping through their roster and even being coached by the last guy, that team was better than NHL 0.500 and cursing the fact they got slotted into the toughest of the 4 divisions by far. Long run, those issues might be blessings in disguise as they significantly changed the team's direction or they were the catalysts to start a 3rd rebuild in 7 or so years when the rebuild was unnecessary.

Top 15 or even top 18 is a small stretch right now as they've only played 1 good team that's actually playing well. But feel comfortable they're top 25 and could easily see them in the top 20 with a decent road trip.

So, are the gray dots behind the averaged data points supposed to be the individual game ratings from that particular season? If so, the '20-'21 season data marker doesn't pass the eye test any more than the '21-'22 data point doesn't pass the actual game watching eye test.

It's counter intuitive that the offense-first LH D that can play either side that historically has had problems in his own end is a better fit to pair with the much better version of that than Jokiharju is, but here we are. On paper, the 2 way Jokiharju who was actually good in his own end when paired w/ the more defensively minded 2 way player Scandella should be an ideal partner for Dahlin, but the pairing simply hasn't worked to date. Am hopeful that Granato will see this & try Henri with Bryson when he's ready to come back. At this point have no issues w/ choosing Miller or Henri to sit depending upon opponent. Would not break up Dahlin- Butcher and would not break up Hagg-Pysyk. Bryson has been very good on the PK even though the 2 goals given up have come through his side on very well executed passes (to the back side against the B's & from the missed net shot pass in Joisey). Which leaves Miller or Henri as odd man out. And, to your point on Hagg, as said previously, he's been way better than expected. When Samuelsson is healthy would consider sending him down to get game action as though the team on paper really needs a true defensive defenseman, not sure that he should go in ahead of Henri (especially with not having played in a month). In all the Botterill era, the D was always a strength on paper but not in practice. Now that it should be a budding tire fire it's actually a strength. Seems to be a true testament to Steve Smith's coaching ability. And, no, did not see this hodge podge of D being a strength. Hopefully they can keep it up. There's no reason to believe they can't.

Fun game to be at. Was there with 1,800 - 2,200 close friends. No idea what the official attendance was, there were fewer in the building than opening night, which had previously set the bar. There were at least 14 sections in the 300's w/ 35 or fewer people in them. Behind both nets there were very few patrons. Sabres played them fairly evenly in the 1st but the quality of their chances were way better than the Sabres. Anderson stood on his head & Killorn helped by hitting him in the leg with an otherwise wide open net and then missing the net on another tap in. Unfortunately, hadn't finished laughing at that 2nd one when Butcher bumped him into Anderson (yeah, right). Killorn knew exactly what he was doing, but it was too likely that the refs would uphold the goal for Granato to risk the challenge. The league really needs to alter the system for challenging goalie interference because it's too risky at times to challenge even though there's a real chance the call should be overturned. The call is subjective. The league should have an off-ice official challenge that when it's close. Let the coach continue to decide if he wants to challenge off-sides - that isn't subjective. Though Barre-Boulet didn't make the game program he did play. And he's a guy that it still is puzzling about why Adams didn't make a claim on. He was OK, but would've been better than Bjork & he can play C. Was fun to watch both Cirelli & Stamkos get roughed up in the 1st a bit. They didn't give the Bolts much space but they will be susceptible to cross ice passes to the back side. There were guys getting space, but it would take a really good passing team to get the puck there. Fortunately the passes were just off or Anderson was ready to play superman, or the puck went to Killorn. 😉 Nice job getting the puck to Olofsson in his office to get the lead early. He's deadly from there but still surprised to see so many Sabres goals coming short side this season. Not sure that will be sustainable. With the long change in the 2nd, the Sabres definitely had a hard time getting guys off the ice and found themselves pinned in fairly well but they ready didn't give up nearly as many grade A chances as would've been expected had you been told the Sabres didn't get a single shot in the 1st 15 minutes or so. Did ANYBODY not related to him expect Cagiula to score on that breakaway? He did a great job fending off Sergachev & then making Elliott look silly again. Still think the Sabres got a 4th shot that period, but 3 was enough. Great job by Granato getting them to build off their strong final 5 minutes of the 2nd period as they marginally outplayed a better & presumably more desperate squad in the 3rd. Did anybody not related to him expect Hinostroza to score? The guy finally for once converted an opportunity. Yea! The refs were bad all game but it was beyond ridiculous in the 3rd. How did Stamkos not get at least 2 & deservedly 4 for the 2nd cross check on Cozens after the delayed call on Cernak's cross check of Dylan? How, just after TB pulled Elliott was there not GT interference for running over Anderson? How in the pseudo-scrum after the whistle (while the puck was loose in the corner) & 5 of the Bolts in the scrum did the faceoff stay in the Sabres zone? (Did that rule change recently?) How did icing get waived off? And the big Q of the night, how did Cooper think planning on going goalie-less for almost 6 minutes would be better than keeping Ellioott in net? (Well, maybe he watched him. But even still Elliott wasn't THAT bad.) That move worked out as bad as not playing Vasilievsky on b-t-b nights. Anderson won that. But the Sabres played hard enough that his heroics mattered. Really liked the D tonight. Though now that it's been mentioned by others, Miller does have a LOT of passes/shots blocked. He also had one puck sent from behind his own net into the slot in the 1st which could've turned the tide, but the C was alert & picked up the loose puck and got it out of harm's way. Still, as the 6th D-man, his gaffes are acceptable as he and Bryson had several strong plays to counteract them. Again, fun game to be at. Off to Anaheim. 96-1-1. 😉

Not going to argue this. It's really getting away from the point of the thread.

Good point. Hard to run the "interminable cycle" when 1 or 2 guys are setting up in front of the net waiting for the puck to get there. Granato's style is way more entertaining.

Eichel suffered under Krueger? Was on pace for over 100 points in a full season prior to injuries & shutdown in Ralph's 1st year. Reinhart suffered under him? Barely off his career pace in Ralph's 1st year. Olofsson suffered under him? Hall suffered under him? Ralph & Jack were the reasons he came to Buffalo. That's 2/3's of the top 2 lines. Before Hutton fell off the map in year 1, the team didn't have offensive issues. Small sample size. After stuff went sideways last year, due in large part to Covid issues, Ullmark breaking, & Eichel finally breaking to the point he couldn't play through then EVERYBODY suffered. Krueger didn't have an answer for how to get out of the tailspin. Until Ullmark came back, neither did Granato. And, until the Covid shutdown things weren't too far off pace from being where they needed to be. And that's w/ Hutton in the fold. IMHO, the reason Adams was comfortable with Granato as the interim coach was he'd spoken with him. Granato understands the game very well. And, after Smith thankfully also went out the door, there were 2 options available to him without going outside: promote Bales to interim or promote Granato. Suppose they could've promoted Appert, but that messes the Amerks up as well. So, going w/ Granato was a no brainer. Adams conducted an actual coaching search in the off-season & Granato won out. So far good on him.

He likely did use him that way. But Granato was not responsible for the D - that fell to Smith who is a bad coach. And, Granato worked X&O's within Krueger's philosophy. Again, both guys wanted fast skating & pressure on the puck carrier at 5v5. But they had significant philosophical differences as to whether to full on attack or to use more of a jiu jitsu counter attack. And, when Hutton was playing well, Krueger's forces countered more effectively and actually DID score, so just how fully they disagreed about philosophy may not be as big as we've assumed it is. That team that went 9-2-2 through October had 43 goals though 13 games not counting the SO victory credited goal. That's 3.31 GPG which is equivalent to 271 through 82 games. Right around the time the Tre White Goalie Academy skit came out, the wheels fell off. It remains to be seen what would happen to Granato's squads should Anderson hit a wall. (And hopefully, it DOESN'T get seen. 😉 ) Take away the 2 freebies Cooper willed the Sabres & this squad is under 3 GPG through 6. It looks good & is fun. But the Q remains whether it's sustainable. Hoping it is.

To your 1st sentence. Absolutely. Will, hopefully tonight, be posting observations from last night's game and a sentiment to that effect will go in there. They are very non-passive in their own end but they tend not to over pursue (which was even noticeable in Joisey when they were gassed). That is a product of coaching (not getting out of position when pressuring hard, Skinner showed what happens in OT when you do let your pursuit take you out of the play). But to the bolded, expect it was that, combined with having the Sabres playing the body which was likely not in the scouting report after the prior 2 games (both Cirelli & Stamkos took good hits in the 1st, fun times), AND a general disrespect of the Sabres. Cooper has a ridiculous record against the Sabres (nearly Belicheat-Brady level vs the Bills) and they're playing a Pens team that's on fire tonight. That probably went a ways towards missing open nets & misfiring on cross ice passes as well. By the time Anderson had survived the 1st, he was ready to face what they had in the 2nd. And though TB dominated the 1st 15 minutes of the 2nd, they didn't get the same quality of chances they had in the 1st. (At least that's how it looked from up above.) Aka, when the Bolts were ready to take things seriously, the Sabres were able to clean up their own end even though their own blue line seemed to be something they dare not cross for fear of dragons being on the other side. (That long distance to get to the bench is even further when the other team is pouring it on.)