Taro T

A very interesting point. Prior to Krueger taking over ALWAYS went to at least 1 training camp practice every year. When Ralph took over, the Sabres said those were not open to the public. Wasn't about to drive 80 minutes to find out they were serious. Obviously practices weren't open last season. Recall hearing that they were open again this year, but was too busy to attend. Between work, home projects from h-e double hockey sticks, & family commitments attending this year was not in the cards. Even Rolston had his practices open to the public. That Ralph's weren't might be telling in it's own right.

They definitely do that & the former HC would've been having kittens. (In the Vancouver game the Sabres even iced it once because the high forward couldn't get back out of the 'Nucks zone.) But the key is, that's causing the opposing D to hang back. Which opens up space to get out of the zone.

Puck luck goes a long way. If Killorn scores on his 2 open nets & the goal that he runs over Anderson doesn't happen, that 2-0 lead is likely insurmountable, even with the shell of Elliott at the other end. If either of Marchand's cross checks get called, does that game go differently? And agreed, there was more than a bit of luck last night to make things jibe. But to a certain degree, you make your own luck. Cooper certainly did.

Had posted most of the following in the Granato thread a few days ago but wanted to give it its own thread because thought of 1 additional difference between the 2 that hadn't been included and realized there was 1 other 1 as well last night. And then have a couple of lesser observations to add, too. Not sure if this is the right spot for this, but wanted to compare Krueger's style vs Granato's now that we've actually got 3 games of Don getting to set & implement his whole scheme. Krueger and Granato both wanted the team to skate fast & put pressure on the other team. But thats where the similarity ends. Krueger always wanted his guys back on their side of the puck when the other team had control. He wanted to make sure a F dropped back pretty much fully should a D join/lead the rush & he would definitely reduce the forecheck with a lead. He didn't stress as much as Granato does having bodies in front of the other team's net even before the puck was there. He actually kind of frowned on it before there's a serious chance to get the puck there because it's tough to get back to your point in your own end from the front of the other guy's net.. He employed a very passive PK which in today's NHL will be bottom 5. The shooters eat that up. It's a kind of joyless game when things aren't clicking & had to be tough to sustain over a full schedule. Granato wants that pressure & and speed, but he also lets the players do the fun stuff: drive to the net, be there creating havoc even if the puck still has a ways to go to get there. Rush up the ice 4 men strong - create the offense & trust that if they chunk it away, the 5th & and the guy that's always back can get there. Let a player hang back provided the other teams D is staying honest hanging back so that stragglers can't create a breakaway. Pressure everywhere on the ice, including on the PK - but don't be out of control; there's a fine line to walk there but this team is doing it so far. And, if you're going to mess up, make sure it's via an act of commission & not omission. And if that's what the screw up was - go right back out there and make up for it. No dog house for that. There's a joy to the game he has them play. It's also extremely high energy. Hopefully they can maintain that energy over the full 82 (dare we say 82+) but that will be tough to carry on the whole way; at least they're young so maybe they can. Fortunately Cozens got a bit of swagger back after getting that 2nd 2ndary assist. Thompson seems to have it too. And Eakin & Ruotsalainen are fitting in well w/ their linemates. The 3 D pairings are all working for the 1st time in what, 14 years? Am ready to buy in on Don, Friday's test will be huge because the Bruins are both relentless and skilled. The Bergeron line might be the league's best as they can do it at both ends of the ice. If a shorthanded squad is ever going to be ready for the B's & the goalie that spurned them, it has to be now. Bring on the Bruins. Thought they did a very good job of hanging with the B's, but they just couldn't solve Ullmark for various reasons. They clearly were out of gas vs the Devils as they started great, just couldn't get that 2nd goal, then started onto their heels in the 2nd, & had nothing in the tank by the 3rd. But they didn't go into the same shell they'd've gone into last season just hoping to not give up a good scoring chance while never planning to leave their own zone. The observation that got overlooked was that this team, unlike teams in the past doesn't go into a defensive shell with the lead. They never fell back into a shell against Moe-ray-all nor the 'Nucks. That is another difference in philosophy. The item noticed last night is that this team rarely dumps the puck in. They either try to skate it in or turn back to regroup if there isn't a lane. Krueger's teams (much like Bylsma's teams) were perfectly willing to dump & then try to get it back. That puck control might help them stay fresher over the course of the season & reduce how many games they will run out of gas like in Joisey. The lesser observation is that Granato doesn't seem to have favorites as Eakin got back into the lineup though he'd definitely been disfavored and neither Dell nor UPL is in Buffalo but the career AHLer is and is playing great (so far). That will be put to the test when Jokiharju is healthy as fully expect him back w/ Dahlin though Ras has blossomed since getting away from him. Any other clear differences in playing style? Any stuff that isn't accurate due to the lens of proximity & recency? They both seem able to motivate their squads over the short term. Granato's style being more fun to play will likely be able to sustain that. Hope he can. And for an appreciably longer period. The 2 biggest questions about Granato's style are: is it sustainable over most of 82? It clearly isn't fully sustainable as the Joisey game highlighted, but in general can it work over 3 in 4 & 4 in 6 scenarios or does it just take too much effort to stay at a playoff pace all the way through? And, what happens if the goaltending goes back to what we've normally seen since Miller's departure. Granato has said the goaltending they've gotten let's them play more aggressively. How much tighter do they have to play if Dell or UPL get called upon or Anderson hits a wall? (Hoping we don't have to answer that one, but odds are we will. It's relatively rare for a team to get through the whole year without ever playing their 3rd best option.)

Within market, you can watch the ESPN+ exclusive game's replay as soon as an hour after the game is done. No data if it could be watched sooner and presumably that works out of market too, but can't test that presumption. Got back home ~10:15PM Friday night and had the B's game on from the opening puck drop shortly after that. Could even fast forward through the commercials, which was nice.

Like stated above, 1st & only game that the stuff Miller's detractors bring up every game seemed noticeable. And am really developing an appreciation of Bryson. He's been waaaay better in his own end than he'd been in the past. And he still can move the puck. Hagg is another pleasant surprise. He was 3rd pairing on a bad Filly D. He's looked extremely comfortable w/ Pysyk. Honestly, all 3 pairings are working right now. Did NOT see that one coming. But D is definitely the spot where chemistry plays it's greatest role. And, if you find pairings that work DON'T BREAK THEM UP. Trading away Scandella cost the Sabres 2 good D-men, not just 1. Not sure where they fit Samuelsson nor Jokiharju back in when they're available. (Yeah, yeah, Henri's going back with Dahlin. That'll be a mistake.)

CI is for cable/satellite. Just like season's past, it will carry all the out of market games that have a local broadcast. Unlike for the past how ever many years when NBC had the primary broadcast rights, there are 75 games that the primary national US rights holder are only streaming w/ no cable/satellite/ota way to legally watch those 75 games. (8 of which are Sabres games.) ESPN+ games & TNT Games will not be on CI. Pretty sure ESPN & ABC games won't end up on CI either, but not positive about that. ESPN+ has replaced NHL.tv for streaming. All out of market games, with the possible exception of the TNT Games (including the Heritage Classic) will end up there. Pretty sure ESPN+ is $6.99/ month and includes EVERYTHING ESPN streams, not just hockey.

Don't recall who's shot in the 1st Daws got a piece of then it hit the crossbar then his back then harmlessly out of the crease, but have that bounce off Daws back & into the net & the Sabres win. Overall, thought Bryson played well, but 2 bad bounces/ breaks for him were instrumental in the loss. The Sabres killed the 2nd PK of the 2nd off, but found themselves on their heals a bit & really seemed to start to wear out then simply have nothing left in the tank in the 3rd. On the PP goal, Bryson had good position for a play originating from in front of the net, but when the shot went wide (likely intentionally) there wasn't much (or really anything) he could do. Tokarski continues his Tim Thomas imitation. Hopefully he can keep that up as even Granato admits that with the team trusting the goalies that they can play a more wide open game & they'd have to adjust their play if they didn't. Interestingly, Granato also said that if one of the 2 goalies gets hot, he'll ride that guy but right now they're playing pretty evenly. Also, interestingly, Tokarski was in net both games that the Sabres pretty much couldn't buy a goal. Hoping for his sake that trend doesn't continue. Cozens continued his strong play. They'll need that to continue to have a chance against TB and to surprise a few people on the 4 game road trip. SJ is on fire, but the Sabres ALWAYS are their kryptonite and IMHO the other 3 are all winnable. Last night, Miller had the game his critics have been claiming he had the 1st few games. His blocked shot that led to Tokarski doing his Hasek imitation needs to not happen. He'll need to be better than that tomorrow. They definitely ran out of gas yesterday, but didn't collapse into a shell. The Krueger led squad would've had long stretches where they'd be unable to get the puck out of their zone under such circumstances, but this team didn't get the myriad of 1+ minute stays in their own zone. So, there is that. Hadn't noticed before just how chippy Joisey is on the opposing team's goalie. Lost track of how many times Tokarski got whacked by a Devil right after making a save. Hischier alone must've done it at least 4 times. They'd better get a good night's sleep tonight. Tired legs would let tomorrow's game get out of hand. 96-1-1 would still be respectable. 😉 PS - how long before Ruotsalainen gets Asplund's role on the PK. There's a reason the 2nd unit is scoring & the 1st isn't. Girgensons can actually screen.

Hopefully they can get to Daws early. Don't give the kid a chance to get comfortable in his 1st NHL game.

Like the swap of Bjork & Caggiula. The Girgensons line seemed better after the swap last night.

Yep. It's always been expected that he'd be good. The biggest reason that people would rather have seen Adams take a C is that at the time there were no high ceiling C prospects in the pipeline other than Mittelstadt & Cozens & only Asplundv& Ruotsalainen as guys that have played there that might be up by about now. There was a greater need for a C and there were several that were rated higher than Quinn. Add on that since the trade deadline of the Covid stopped season they've had the following C related transactions: (not saying all were high end C's, just that they're moves of C's): In: Staal, Eakin, Sheehan. Promoted: Asplund, Ruotsalainen, Cozens Out: Johansson, Larsson, Rodriguez, Staal, Sheehan, Reinhart As good as out: Eichel Remaining: Mittelstadt Swapped from wing: Thompson, Girgensons. There was and is much better W depth. The need was C, there were C's available, & they went wing. They added to the well-stocked shelf while ignoring the 1 that was and still is looking fairly barren. IMHO, there isn't the same angst about grabbing Peterka because there weren't other C's available there that are expected to do what he looks like he's going to do. If there were then there'd likely be some discussion about how that pick was misguided. Hopefully they both end up 1st liners. It'll really help with the trajectory of this rebuild.

Who do you expect is injured to get Murray into the game?

Covid pause & the associated lingering effects. Ullmark's injury. Eichel being unable to further battle through injuries. The unholy trifecta that completely derailed a start that was off-pace, but not by much, last season.

Defenseman? Huh?

Yep. For the most part the Sabres outplayed them &/or played them even. But the B's experience & some puck luck trumped the Sabres effort. Absolutely Marchand crosschecked Dahlin but expect the combination of him being a "star" and the leeway they are afforded (even when being seriously dirty mo-fo's) along with him being cagey enough to do it from a spot he knew the ref couldn't fully see the cross check allowed him to get away with it. Even in the "we're cracking down on crosschecks" environment we're supposedly in. The cheap hit later on Dahlin on the PP was worse IMHO because it was another example of Marchand having zero respect for his opponent & being willing to make a hit when he knows there's a real good chance he'll injure that opponent. Dahlin needs to realize that Marchand is one of 2 or 3 top liners that will make that play and act accordingly. IMHO Dahlin seemed shook by the cross check that led to the goal and was not good the next 3 shifts but he settled down after that. Ullmark had his A-game. That, getting lucky on the Hasek-esque save, and a post or 2 along w/ bad bounces was all he needed. Will Hinistroza EVER take a shot from the slot? We get it, his hands are trash. But there are no rebounds or flukey deflections created by bad passes to players outside the slot. Really liked Cozens game. Small sample size, but he's looked like he did when he 1st came up since getting that 2nd assist. Butcher was on the ice for the 1st 2 goals against, but neither seemed to be on him. (Might need to rebook at the 2nd to verify that.) If Eakin were available that 1st Bruin goal might not have happened as he's used to playing C and covering that 3rd F trying to find space. Girgensons has been out of that role for a long time. Loved the effort. But, especially w/ no Mittelstadt, these guys just don't have enough finish. Still want to see Ruotsalainen on the top PP unit. Having a guy that can deflect pucks & force home rebounds might be the only way to get the PP actually functioning well rather than getting lucky goals or none. Even in games 1 & 2 when they got 4 PP goals total, they were not sharp. Bring on Joisey. 97-1. 😉

Interesting. Would've figured the flight #'s get retired after an event like that. Not simply flipped on the direction of the flight. Any word on what F was called up to take that commuter flight?

Well, considering they only have 12 healthy F's and are traveling today, that was expected. Do they take Peterka on the trip or Murray? Or do they go off the board w/ somebody that's toiled longer on the farm waiting for their shot?

Will put this here, though it could be in the Friday thread. The greatest woman I ever knew (my m-i-l) was buried today. Being around the love that her family had was truly amazing. I'm so grateful to have been a part of that. This has been the worst summer ever.

Wonder if they put Asplund onto that line & then play C by committee. Granato's been doing a good job so far of finding lines that work with a fairly narrow pool of candidates. Hopefully he can slide the pieces around again.

Head says no. Heart says hope he does.

Just sent him a PM. This really shouldn't be this hard.

Wasn't at the game, but on TV it looked like the center ice sections were filled better than the 1st 2 games meaning either more STHers actually used their tix or they found a price point to get their tix sold. 4,000 is a pretty fair guess and an increase over the 1st 2 games. Wouldn't be surprised to see close to 8,000 Friday night as the STHers should actually show up in greater %ages than only 50%. Which is about how many showed the 1st 2 games.

He was specifically referring to Reinhart, but the point should still stand for Eichel.

95 more. 98-0 or nothing. 😉

Others as well.