GDT: Buffalo @ Florida, 7:30 pm edt, 10/15/2105

[JJFIVEOH]

Here's my observations from the game tonight:

 

-This team is crazy fast. It's really tough to appreciate it watching the game on TV, seeing it in person makes you realize just how much this team has improved from last year.

-Two players stood out to me that really did a lot away from the play and that was Gionta and Foligno. I didn't read this entire thread but I saw some Gionta bashing, he was one of the better players tonight. His backchecking was as good as any, he made two or three important poke checks and helped to set up a few of the rushes that took place in the 2nd. Foligno is turning into a great all around player, his play along the boards tonight was great

-Chad started shaky but looked confident as the game went on. He had no chance on the 1st and 3rd goal, the 2nd goal was kind of weak. He could have stolen a game but he certainly didn't lose it.

-Eichel just never stops moving. All night long he hunted down the puck and tried to steal it. Twice he took the puck the length of the ice to create a good scoring opportunity.

-I'm not sure there isn't anything O'Reilly can't do. A couple times tonight I saw him double shifted.

-This team doesn't waste any time getting out of the zone. They're great at setting up but they need a lot of work finishing. Time will take care of that.

-Jokinen made Girgs look silly, which probably wasn't on camera. After Jokinen knocked his helmet off Girgs was on a mission to lay him out. He came flying across the ice to put him into the boards, Jokinen stopped in his track and Girgs missed him by 5 feet. I was really looking forward to a good hit, probably a good thing it didn't happen because it could have been a suspension worthy hit.

-Jagr is an incredible athlete. If he can stay healthy he should propel the Panthers into the playoffs, he's a great stopgap for the young forwards to take over this team.

-Sabres fans were uncharacteristically quiet. I was rather disappointed that four people came up to me and asked me what jersey I was wearing (a Rob Ray black Buffalo head), three of them had Sabres jerseys on. Half the fans in the building spent the entire game with their heads buried in their phones.

-Hot women in hockey jerseys.............. enough said. (They don't exist outside of the arena down here like they do in big hockey markets. :D)

-Rineheart was impressive, he was getting involved in the play, he crashed the net a couple of times........... he needs to stay up and get used to his teammates. I think getting less ice time with his future teammates will help more than getting more ice time with a team he'll never play for past this year.

-The Sabres are my team, I root for the Panthers otherwise because they are my local team. It's nice to finally be able to watch both teams knowing they are on the rise.

Edited October 16, 2015 by JJFIVEOH

[Randall Flagg]

Thanks for posting that JJ, good stuff.

[...]

Swamp was right when he observed that the Panthers were playing a heavy game. That might be the book against the Sabres for now, to deal with the Sabres' speed.

 

It's such a young team, and everything is still new. Looks to me like Kane is playing a bit frustrated. Indeed, I think the team looks frustrated. They need to loosen up. It'll get there.

[nucci]

Jake McCabe has more goals than Evander Kane and Tyler Ennis!

Brilliant observation.

[X. Benedict]

Here's my observations from the game tonight:

 

-This team is crazy fast. It's really tough to appreciate it watching the game on TV, seeing it in person makes you realize just how much this team has improved from last year.

-Two players stood out to me that really did a lot away from the play and that was Gionta and Foligno. I didn't read this entire thread but I saw some Gionta bashing, he was one of the better players tonight. His backchecking was as good as any, he made two or three important poke checks and helped to set up a few of the rushes that took place in the 2nd. Foligno is turning into a great all around player, his play along the boards tonight was great

-Chad started shaky but looked confident as the game went on. He had no chance on the 1st and 3rd goal, the 2nd goal was kind of weak. He could have stolen a game but he certainly didn't lose it.

-Eichel just never stops moving. All night long he hunted down the puck and tried to steal it. Twice he took the puck the length of the ice to create a good scoring opportunity.

-I'm not sure there isn't anything O'Reilly can't do. A couple times tonight I saw him double shifted.

-This team doesn't waste any time getting out of the zone. They're great at setting up but they need a lot of work finishing. Time will take care of that.

-Jokinen made Girgs look silly, which probably wasn't on camera. After Jokinen knocked his helmet off Girgs was on a mission to lay him out. He came flying across the ice to put him into the boards, Jokinen stopped in his track and Girgs missed him by 5 feet. I was really looking forward to a good hit, probably a good thing it didn't happen because it could have been a suspension worthy hit.

-Jagr is an incredible athlete. If he can stay healthy he should propel the Panthers into the playoffs, he's a great stopgap for the young forwards to take over this team.

-Sabres fans were uncharacteristically quiet. I was rather disappointed that four people came up to me and asked me what jersey I was wearing (a Rob Ray black Buffalo head), three of them had Sabres jerseys on. Half the fans in the building spent the entire game with their heads buried in their phones.

-Hot women in hockey jerseys.............. enough said. (They don't exist outside of the arena down here like they do in big hockey markets. :D)

-Rineheart was impressive, he was getting involved in the play, he crashed the net a couple of times........... he needs to stay up and get used to his teammates. I think getting less ice time with his future teammates will help more than getting more ice time with a team he'll never play for past this year.

-The Sabres are my team, I root for the Panthers otherwise because they are my local team. It's nice to finally be able to watch both teams knowing they are on the rise.

Good stuff. Thanks.

[That Aud Smell]

IMHO, he's as good or better at screening than any player on the Sabres I can remember. Knows exactly where to be to block goalies vision. Heady player.

Good call.

[jsb]

There are so many good things that I'm seeing that the loss isn't stinging so much. 

 

The Sabres protect the puck well. Very few give-aways. Maybe not any. Really so much improved.

 

Teams are taking a ton of penalties against Buffalo. That is speed. One PPG could have tipped this one.

 

Ocho isn't the future. He's a serviceable back-up. But he's not going to steal many. 

I agree with you and a few others, even in a loss they are much more fun to watch this year. 3-1 and I'm still watching the game, the past 2 years it would have been nap time for me.

Not just Speed (of the players) on the ice but speed of play is what is so noticeable to me. I almost forgot what it's like to watch the Sabres attack.

 

 

I was going to mention something about Foligno being kind of invisible out there, then I saw another replay of the McCabe goal and realized he feathered a beautiful pass across the goal mouth to give McCabe the easy goal.

Although I think Foligno is the most improved player on the team, he was almost invisible, he only played 9 minutes. He did all the work on that McCabe goal. I must be missing something with him because I was pretty confused by his lack of playing time. Could it be we have too many quality forwards??

 

Someone mentioned Bylsma's teaching/coaching, kudos to you sir because in 4 games the difference in style of play is almost mind boggling compared to last year.

 

Negatives to that game, 2 stupid penalties to open the game by 2 vets who should know better. What an awful way to start the game and Jagr, he's been playing so long, didn't he cheap shot Maurice Richard one time??? 2 goals to a 43 year old.....UGH.

Lost the game in my opinion on what I'll call Special Teams, we were 1 for 6 16% they were 2 for 5 40% on power plays, we need to get better at both.

[Rasmus_]

Jagr at 43 is still a beast.  I was purely in awe!  It helps when you play with good young talent in Barkov and Huberdeau.  They fell behind and then came back.  It's alright.  

Edited October 16, 2015 by TheCerebral1

[inkman]

Someone mentioned Bylsma's teaching/coaching, kudos to you sir because in 4 games the difference in style of play is almost mind boggling...

I won't discount DBs influence but lets not forget they brought in 5 quality new forwards not to mention the upgrade on the back end with Pysyk and Franson.

[LGR4GM]

I think we see Linus in a few weeks. Ocho didn't cost us this game but like you said he didn't steal one either. The team speed is impressive. They need to learn how to play in control at that speed. Lots to like early on and DB seems to have everyone rowing in the same direction.

It will be interesting to see what Linus does in the AHL over the next couple of weeks. 

[Huckleberry]

Chad johnson played well I thought, the only thing is I don't have much confidence in him.   But I haven't had that in any of our goalies since miller.

Will be nice to see a goalie and expect it not to go in.

 

Franson is so slow, having Weber paired with him scares me a lot every time they dump the puck behind them.   Hope Bogo is back next week, not expecting him against tampa.

Edit: that being said, Franson does postion himself well ,  but the lack of speed just burns him from time to time.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Huckleberry

[Rasmus_]

With regards to Ullmark, I feel that the Sabres are best suited to let him play meaningful minutes and get his game back up to par.  He's been very impressive so far in the AHL, but we have been teased before.  It's the contrary argument that I've been making for Sam Reinhart, but I feel with goalies, they especially off of a drastic surgery should just be given time to consistently get reps.  For the time being Lieuwen and Ocho can handle the load.  

[3putt]

With regards to Ullmark, I feel that the Sabres are best suited to let him play meaningful minutes and get his game back up to par.  He's been very impressive so far in the AHL, but we have been teased before.  It's the contrary argument that I've been making for Sam Reinhart, but I feel with goalies, they especially off of a drastic surgery should just be given time to consistently get reps.  For the time being Lieuwen and Ocho can handle the load.  

I don't necessarily disagree, but I think he gets a look if for no other reason than determine if they want to make a deal sooner rather than later for a goalie.  

[Doohicksie]

I won't discount DBs influence but lets not forget they brought in 5 quality new forwards not to mention the upgrade on the back end with Pysyk and Franson.

 

But it's more than just personnel.  They are playing a more "hopeful" game (i.e., they don't turtle as soon as the opposition gets the puck in their own zone).  They don't give up on a cycle simply because the other team touches the puck.  As they learn a bit more where to expect each other, this team will be much more of a threat offensively.  And yeah, personnel, but at least as much and probably more, system.

[nfreeman]

Jagr at 43 is still a beast.  I was purely in awe!  It helps when you play with good young talent in Barkov and Huberdeau. 

 

That was a very impressive line.  They were dangerous pretty much every shift.

 

My game notes:

 

- While the team certainly is greatly improved over last year, I was a bit disappointed in last night's performance, especially in the first period, which I thought Florida dominated.  They raised their game in the 2nd and 3rd, but Florida still looked like the better team.

 

- Huge bonehead play by Gorges to commit the penalty creating the 5-on-3

 

- I thought Chad Johnson played pretty well.  The 2 PP goals he gave up were in tight, bang-bang plays where he had no chance, and the 3rd was to the NHL's #5 all-time leading goalscorer, who was allowed to stroll below the faceoff dot and pick his spot under the crossbar.

 

- Reinhart wasn't great but he was better than in the previous game and he made a very nice pass on the power play in the 1st period (I think).

 

- I thought Larsson made more mistakes and was less effective than I was expecting.

 

- Soupy might stick in the league for a few more seasons, but his days as a difference-maker appear to be over.

 

- Yet another game in Florida featuring oceans of empty seats.  I can't say that I blame the fans there though -- I think it's fair to see what the attendance looks like if they make the playoffs and win a round for a couple of years in a row.

 

- I wasn't surprised that Legwand was the odd man out.  I also won't be surprised if someone else sits next game. 

[Huckleberry]

I don't necessarily disagree, but I think he gets a look if for no other reason than determine if they want to make a deal sooner rather than later for a goalie.  

 

Murray pretty much already stated that he is not inclined in trading for another goalie and he'll fix from within.

[3putt]

Murray pretty much already stated that he is not inclined in trading for another goalie and he'll fix from within.

Yes he has.  But he will be in a tough spot if the team gels with the exception of goal tending.  Also, I think some of his comments reflect that the market was not favorable in his opinion, and he could seek an internal solution.  If the internal solution is holding back the team, he will be forced to at least consider an external solution.  The market changes quickly after the new year, and I think he will prudently evaluate the situation at that time.  

[LTS]

So Foligno leads the team in assists and is tied at the top in points (3) and his assists have been to 3 different players.  He's fine.  He's right where he needs to be, doing the things he needs to do.

 

The team is still getting used to each other and there are times when you can see what it will be.  There are other times when it really hurts.

 

Florida appeared to be doing quite the interesting play for zone entry on the PP.  I'd love to see a more overhead view to confirm but the RW player appeared to enter the neutral zone from the offensive zone and receive a pass from the rushing attacker. This routinely forced a Sabre to move to cover and then they would pass back to one or another attacker for zone entry.  That attacker was moving at an angle so as to create coverage confusion.  It certainly led to Gorges penalty but they did it a few times quite successfully.

 

As far as I am concerned.. if you are Dan Bylsma and you want the puck in the attacking zone by carrying it over the line you give it to Risto or Eichel.  Both of them do a great job of carrying the puck in.

 

Still lots to improve upon but at no time does it appear they are outmatched... its still just not all on the same page.  Ennis might be trying a bit TOO hard.

[inkman]

But it's more than just personnel. They are playing a more "hopeful" game (i.e., they don't turtle as soon as the opposition gets the puck in their own zone). They don't give up on a cycle simply because the other team touches the puck. As they learn a bit more where to expect each other, this team will be much more of a threat offensively. And yeah, personnel, but at least as much and probably more, system.

Comparing DBs system to Nolan's is like comparing the intellect of Stephen Hawking to Donald Trump. Not even the same species. It's a ridiculous upgrade. Having 5 good to great caliber forwards added is nothing to sneeze at. They kept their 7 best forwards from last year and added 5 better ones.

[LGR4GM]

With regards to Ullmark, I feel that the Sabres are best suited to let him play meaningful minutes and get his game back up to par.  He's been very impressive so far in the AHL, but we have been teased before.  It's the contrary argument that I've been making for Sam Reinhart, but I feel with goalies, they especially off of a drastic surgery should just be given time to consistently get reps.  For the time being Lieuwen and Ocho can handle the load.  

Agreed.

[Rasmus_]

So Foligno leads the team in assists and is tied at the top in points (3) and his assists have been to 3 different players.  He's fine.  He's right where he needs to be, doing the things he needs to do.

 

The team is still getting used to each other and there are times when you can see what it will be.  There are other times when it really hurts.

 

Florida appeared to be doing quite the interesting play for zone entry on the PP.  I'd love to see a more overhead view to confirm but the RW player appeared to enter the neutral zone from the offensive zone and receive a pass from the rushing attacker. This routinely forced a Sabre to move to cover and then they would pass back to one or another attacker for zone entry.  That attacker was moving at an angle so as to create coverage confusion.  It certainly led to Gorges penalty but they did it a few times quite successfully.

 

As far as I am concerned.. if you are Dan Bylsma and you want the puck in the attacking zone by carrying it over the line you give it to Risto or Eichel.  Both of them do a great job of carrying the puck in.

 

Still lots to improve upon but at no time does it appear they are outmatched... its still just not all on the same page.  Ennis might be trying a bit TOO hard.

 

Well written.  To me they were playing East/West as well as they were North/South.  The creativity was evident.   Barkov with the dish right infront of Johnson was spot on!

[Thorner]

IMHO, he's as good or better at screening than any player on the Sabres I can remember. Knows exactly where to be to block goalies vision. Heady player.

 

Great point. Reinhart had a good game I thought, you can really see the times his intelligence shines through.

 

They aren't even off the ice yet. 

 

:lol:

[Rasmus_]

Comparing DBs system to Nolan's is like comparing the intellect of Stephen Hawking to Donald Trump. Not even the same species. It's a ridiculous upgrade. Having 5 good to great caliber forwards added is nothing to sneeze at. They kept their 7 best forwards from last year and added 5 better ones.

 

Lol, oh the chuckles!  The pace is not even close, obviously.  But, the personnel are also unanimously better.  It's like jumping from the AHL to the NHL it's a completely different structure, roster, and coaching staff.  Your analogy is perfect!

[LGR4GM]

I feel like Sam Reinhart will be fine.

[Derrico]

I am coming around to TB thinking.  I cannot stand Kane and Eichel playing together.  Kane is the biggest puck hog I've ever seen.  He's got the skills to pull it off but I'd rather he be doing it on a line sans Eichel.  Something is just not clicking between those guys and it's likely because they play similar styles.  Disco seems to be mixing up everybody and their grandmother on lines but has those two stapled together.  Let's just give it a try there Dan!