GDT: Ottawa @ Buffalo, 7pm edt, 10/08/2015

[Stoner]

As for the new replay rule, I think the split between posters here who hate it and those who support it it, is at its core (core!), a philosophical one, and an instinctive one to boot.

 

That whole process just struck me as wrong - contrary to the spirit and flow of the game. More than the prospect of losing the tying goal, I found myself dreading these stoppages generally.

 

This isn't football. This isn't baseball.

 

Sds's suggestion on real time review is well taken.

Ya know what it is? It's a return to the nightmare of crease reviews during the bad old days. Except now we're looking at heels of skates on the blue line instead of toes of skates on the crease line. That iconic image of the bug-eyed election supervisor in Florida inspecting the hanging chad comes to mind.

[Doohicksie]

Absolutely digging the goal song -- really gets the crowd going.

 

Maybe it'll grow on me but that song does nothing for me.  And.... I think it was the goal that "really gets the crowd going."  Any upbeat dittie should be able to extend it out another 20 or 30 seconds.

[inkman]

Maybe it'll grow on me but that song does nothing for me. And.... I think it was the goal that "really gets the crowd going." Any upbeat dittie should be able to extend it out another 20 or 30 seconds.

So you hate rap music?

[Stoner]

- I agree that the replay rule is stupid. Every other league tweaks the rules every year to increase offense. Not the NHL.

The only argument the league can make, and it's a slim one, is that a coach who loses a timeout on a failed challenge will not have one at his disposal when his team is gassed after icing the puck, and a few more goals might result. Slim, like I said.

Oh yeah, the Let's Go Buffalo chant during the review was pretty awesome.

Edited October 9, 2015 by pASabreFan

[Taro T]

A few quick takes from last night.

 

The arena was loud to start, but the goal 30 seconds in killed that. In the 3rd the energy was back. Even after the review. Good to see the new SabreJack get his 1st.

 

Not sure if it was nerves or never having played w/ each other, but there was a definite tentativeness for the Sabres. Several times a long up ice pass to O'Reilly or Kane was there and the D waited too long to go for it. Once they start to get used to each other that should be remedied. 3rd period was fun to watch.

 

Moulson was off. Fell a lot away from the play and was having difficulty connecting on passes.

 

Tough break for Lehner. He was settling in well after a shaky start. Johnson looked better than expected.

 

Play that stood out for me was Kane winning faceoff to Eichel along the boards; 2 strides forward and then just missed Reinhart heading to the net. Didn't even get a shot off, but that was drawn up perfectly.

 

Seemed to me that Reinhart got moved to 3rd line for long stretches to allow him to avoid Cowan - that guy is big & nasty and giving Sam a welcome to the league.

 

Kane will be fun to watch.

 

O'Reilly always motoring. And is very good on faceoffs. (Didn't see his stats, but he seemed to win the important ones.)

[Doohicksie]

So you hate rap music?

 

Well yeah, there is that....

I went years under the paradigm that rap and hip-hop aren't "real music."  I've relented some, and don't necessarily condemn it all out of hand anymore.  Interestingly, that wasn't part of the thought process. 

Edited October 9, 2015 by Robins Egg

[Jsixspd]

Maybe it'll grow on me but that song does nothing for me.  And.... I think it was the goal that "really gets the crowd going."  Any upbeat dittie should be able to extend it out another 20 or 30 seconds.

Since Kim Pegula appeared to be the person behind the song contest,  can we infer that this is an example of the  'music' that Kim Pegula listens to on a regular basis?   If so, and were  I Terry, I'd build her an audio room in the most far away part of the mansion.  And maybe buy some ear plugs too.  

Edited October 9, 2015 by Jsixspd

[bunomatic]

Something tells me there would be dead silence if it was disco dans challenge that called back a goal on an offside. I suspected at the time of the play that it was offside. Linesmen blew the call. Get used to it folks. If there's one thing this league hates its admitting its wrong.

[That Aud Smell]

Ya know what it is? It's a return to the nightmare of crease reviews during the bad old days. Except now we're looking at heels of skates on the blue line instead of toes of skates on the crease line. That iconic image of the bug-eyed election supervisor in Florida inspecting the hanging chad comes to mind.

 

Yeah - just the worst.

 

Seemed to me that Reinhart got moved to 3rd line for long stretches to allow him to avoid Cowan - that guy is big & nasty and giving Sam a welcome to the league.

 

Good observations. I had not considered this one as the reason that Reinhart moved off of Eichel's line. I saw Samson get trucked at one point in the 1st (probably by Cowan). Not sure why he didn't see the ice for just about all of the 3rd period, though.

[nfreeman]

Cowan is a respectable defenseman, but if Reinhart needs to be moved around to be protected from him, there is a problem.

[Stoner]

Something tells me there would be dead silence if it was disco dans challenge that called back a goal on an offside. I suspected at the time of the play that it was offside. Linesmen blew the call. Get used to it folks. If there's one thing this league hates its admitting its wrong.

I'd still hate it. I am far from a homer.

[Rasmus_]

The noise in the arena when Jack scored was the loudest I've ever heard it.  It was so impressive.  It sounded like Seattle in a Seahawks game, or someplace else.  Simply electric!

[X. Benedict]

Curious to know what Reinhart was doing wrong that warranted getting glued to the bench and no PP time. I know if Gionta played he never sees the second line but he wasn't paying bad. Hell, if your going to start stapling guys to the bench start with Moulson.

 

With this D and goaltending we are not going to the playoffs. So as time goes by and that becomes a little more clear I hope they let Reinhart develop here. Not sure Rochester is the answer.

I don't think he was getting penalized for doing something wrong. (on an icing,  Disco even threw Eichel and Samson out on the same line)...it was just a matter of shortening the bench. 

[TrueBlueGED]

I don't think just losing a TO is enough of a disincentive to discourage "reversing the momentum" challenges that a team knows stand little chance of being over turned. TOs in hockey aren't as valuable as NFL TOs for example.

I agree. Last night I suggested a lost challenge should result in a bench minor. So of you lose, not only does the goal still count, but you have to kill off a penalty. I think that would be sufficient disincentive to limit its use to the egregious missed calls.

[darksabre]

Cowan is a respectable defenseman, but if Reinhart needs to be moved around to be protected from him, there is a problem.

Reinhart reminded me of early Ennis last night. His talent is not enough to overcome the physical load of the NHL yet. He'll need to play sheltered minutes if he's going to stay here and avoid injuries.

[Jsixspd]

I'd still hate it. I am far from a homer.

I would feel it was a totally cheap and tainted victory, if we won by such a stupid new rule.   

[Taro T]

Cowan is a respectable defenseman, but if Reinhart needs to be moved around to be protected from him, there is a problem.

Possibly. But it seemed also a case of getting a bigger body that would put pressure on Cowan (namely Foligno). That line was not holding the puck in the zone consistently as originally constructed.

 

Reinhart is only 19. Picking spots to shelter him on the 3rd line doesn't conceptually pose any more problem than having Eichel play 2nd line rather that top line.

 

We'll see how it plays out. He did seem overmatched along the boards and seemed better at C. He's added to his frame, but still needs to be stronger.

[LGR4GM]

Reinhart reminded me of early Ennis last night. His talent is not enough to overcome the physical load of the NHL yet. He'll need to play sheltered minutes if he's going to stay here and avoid injuries.

I thought more of Zemgus. Remember Zemgus first season where he would fall all the time in all the board play, now he doesn't.  Also I like him playing sheltered minutes here.  ROR and Eichel and some others I think are really helping Reinhart.  ROR in particular is helping Reinhart learn to be a pro.

I loved Jack's game last night and this is not a bash.  Reinhart was in position better last night and Eichel tended to float and chase a little more. In another year, I think both players will have rounded out their minor deficiencies.

[Taro T]

Reinhart reminded me of early Ennis last night. His talent is not enough to overcome the physical load of the NHL yet. He'll need to play sheltered minutes if he's going to stay here and avoid injuries.

Fair read.

 

He also needs to get a better center of gravity when coming towards contact. Seemed to be very upright when contact was made. Part of the reason Cowan blew him up.

[3putt]

I thought more of Zemgus. Remember Zemgus first season where he would fall all the time in all the board play, now he doesn't.  Also I like him playing sheltered minutes here.  ROR and Eichel and some others I think are really helping Reinhart.  ROR in particular is helping Reinhart learn to be a pro.

I loved Jack's game last night and this is not a bash.  Reinhart was in position better last night and Eichel tended to float and chase a little more. In another year, I think both players will have rounded out their minor deficiencies.

I thought the same thing.  I also believe it has less to do with ability than commitment to the moment.  Take care of the little things at hand and worry about the next thing next.  Z is much more in the moment and as a result looks so much more confident. 

[dudacek]

They gave up the first goal and Robin Lehner was out of position.  The game started out sloppy and the passing was choppy.  It got better as the game went along.  This seems to be a pattern from the preseason until now.  Though a lot of that will have to do with getting used to each other.  The standouts from the game to me were Eichel, Kane and Ristolainen.  Though several others did good things. 

 

This makes me think Lehner has the deck stacked against him by some people before he even starts.

Not sure how a wide open player in the slot picking the corner amounts to him being out of position.

 

Three things went wrong on that goal:

1) Ennis came all the way across the ice in the neutral zone in an attempt to check Hoffman, leaving all three Buffalo forwards tight to the near boards and giving Turris acres of open ice to skate through on the other side. Had he stayed at home, he could/should have been covering Turris.

2) Ennis crashed into O'Reilly knocking both of them off-stride. This not only gave Hoffman space along the wing, it slowed O'Reilly down so he couldn't get back in time to get to Turris, despite the  fact he hustled.

3) Instead of stepping up on Hoffman, Franson (who had good support from Weber on the other Ottawa forward) backed off, made an aircraft-carrier turn and basically gave Hoffman all the time and space to do what he wanted until Turris caught up to the rush.

 

Lehner read the play properly and came out square to the shooter. He just got beat by a nice shot from a player who was unchallenged in a prime scoring area.

Shoddy execution on  D, not bad goaltending put the Sabres down 1-0.

Edited October 9, 2015 by dudacek

[That Aud Smell]

Had wanted to say, and it bears emphasis: Zemgus had himself a terrific game. Guy's a possession monster.

[LGR4GM]

Had wanted to say, and it bears emphasis: Zemgus had himself a terrific game. Guy's a possession monster.

The stats validate your observation, his corsi was 79.2% and he started in the d zone 57% of the time.  That's inhuman. Relative corsi was 33.9%

Edited October 9, 2015 by LGR4GM

[Stoner]

The stats validate your observation, his corsi was 79.2% and he started in the d zone 57% of the time.  That's inhuman.

[qwksndmonster]

As for the new replay rule, I think the split between posters here who hate it and those who support it it, is at its core (core!), a philosophical one, and an instinctive one to boot.

 

That whole process just struck me as wrong - contrary to the spirit and flow of the game. More than the prospect of losing the tying goal, I found myself dreading these stoppages generally.

 

This isn't football. This isn't baseball.

 

Sds's suggestion on real time review is well taken.

When it comes to playing hockey, I feel that there is a certain respect that players need to have for the random nature of the game.  You can make a great play in perfect position that ends up bouncing directly to the other team.  You can fight through an obvious hold and get called for a it yourself.  The best way to approach the game is to keep your feet moving no matter what random BS happens. The coach's challenge flies in the face of that particular spirit. It feels wrong.

 

But the NHL is a pro league, maybe the challenge isn't a bad thing to have. More data needed.