GDT: Sabres at Wild, Nov. 1, 2016, 8:00 pm

[beerme1]

Not ready to go there.  Eventually yeah, but he brings a lot of intangibles to the team- good locker room guy, can play creditable defense in a pinch, is the team's designated fighter (should that become necessary).

If it turns out his injury is serious and he's out for an extended period, though, I may rethink that position.

 

 

And so goes my question of Grant. D Lo does bring a lot of intagibles to the team. Obviously thoughh he should have limited minutes but tell me he's not teh ideal energy guy. Grant while big, and capable of winning faceoffs, has done absolutely nothing in my mind to justify being here. AHL superstar maybe but this a'int the AHL. He's not physical and doesn't score. Sit down. Look down the bench at a rested D Lo and tell him go get it done. CRASH, BANG, BOOM, POW EVEN! And he has scored in the NHL although it looks like he also may never again but there's those damn intangibles again! I have a spot on my team for him.

[Doohicksie]

I could see where Baptiste could fill the DLo role for a while, although it would just be until he moved up in the depth chart.

[Randall Flagg]

 

 

 

I didn't check the 2 tank years, but they didn't win 4 in a row last year or the year before the 2 tank years.  So if they beat Toronto, it will be the first 4-game win streak in at least 5 years.

 

Next stop:  DeLuca .500.

 

Go Sabres. 

It was a 5 game win streak in March of 2012, which had us talking playoffs with the Leino-Ehrhoff team, before losing 4 of the last 5. 

The Sabres have allowed 1 even-strength goal and 2 total goals against in the last three games, against the 4th, 13th, and 17th-highest scoring teams in the NHL.

[beerme1]

I could see where Baptiste could fill the DLo role for a while, although it would just be until he moved up in the depth chart.

 

Now that is truth!

[JJFIVEOH]

I missed the last 30 minutes, can somebody give me a summary?

[North Buffalo]

I missed the last 15min, had to go to work... where I am at least it is slow in the ER so far. See NFreeman above... for summary

[Doohicksie]

I missed the last 30 minutes, can somebody give me a summary?

 

It wasn't Alamo mode.  Until they pulled their goalie, we took it to them.  It was hard for Minnesota to mount much pressure on the Sabres because the Sabres were carrying the play right back at them.  Franson was pivotal actually.  At one point he took a slapshot from the point and his stick blew up.  He skated with the Minnesota Wild player all the way back, hassling him enough to screw up his shot, then crushed him into the boards.

 

After the Wild pulled Dubnyk, Franson Gorges was double teamed behind the Buffalo net.  He got knocked down, but managed to keep the puck pinned to the boards for about 20 seconds. (EDIT:  Got my ponderously slow Dmen confused!)

 

He was typical of the effort the Sabres put out at the end of the game.  I'm not saying the Wild didn't get their chances, but there was just the sense that the Sabres were not going to let this one get away.

Risto destroyed one of the WIld with a late check too.  Risto got cut and and to go off for repairs, but it was a vicious, but clean, hit.

Edited November 2, 2016 by High Ankle Sprain

[North Buffalo]

Jeez it would be nice if Franson could find some speed.  Every once in a while you see he might have some but seems to be pacing himself.  He is a big guy and can play with some nasty... he has a heckuv a shot.  Just wish he would hustle a little more.  Get him some power skating lessons.

[Doohicksie]

When his stick blew up, he actually closed the gap on the Wild forward.  I was shocked.

But if you want to talk pure speed, there was a dump-in that looked like it might turn into icing and Bailey chased it down, right past the Wild D, and got to the puck first (and before it crossed the goal line).  He looked like he'd been shot out of a cannon.

[beerme1]

When his stick blew up, he actually closed the gap on the Wild forward.  I was shocked.

 

 

Adrenaline? Oh moment maybe but he did well on the recovery for sure. Without a stick lol

[Doohicksie]

Quite possibly. 

 

It wasn't just him though.  Just like the previous two games, there was no quit in this team.  I like it.

[JJFIVEOH]

It wasn't Alamo mode.  Until they pulled their goalie, we took it to them.  It was hard for Minnesota to mount much pressure on the Sabres because the Sabres were carrying the play right back at them.  Franson was pivotal actually.  At one point he took a slapshot from the point and his stick blew up.  He skated with the Minnesota Wild player all the way back, hassling him enough to screw up his shot, then crushed him into the boards.

 

After the Wild pulled Dubnyk, Franson was double teamed behind the Buffalo net.  He got knocked down, but managed to keep the puck pinned to the boards for about 20 seconds.

 

He was typical of the effort the Sabres put out at the end of the game.  I'm not saying the Wild didn't get their chances, but there was just the sense that the Sabres were not going to let this one get away.

Risto destroyed one of the WIld with a late check too.  Risto got cut and and to go off for repairs, but it was a vicious, but clean, hit.

 

Thank you for the summary, you always look out for me. 

 

I'm not surprised Franson got double teamed, I really think he's tough than people think.

 

Good points on Risto, I think he's turning into a top two D-man after my earlier criticisms....... 

[Doohicksie]

Risto, Kuli, McCabe..... they're all looking good.  Bogo was injured; hopefully not a long term thing but no news yet.  DD had to coach around having only 5 D.

Oh shoot.... when I talked about holding the play behind the net, that wasn't Franson, that was Gorges.  (Duh.)

[pi2000]

Just finished watching the game (had an evening flight into SJC), a few thoughts....

 

I thought Ennis and Risto had their best games of the season.    Was hoping Ennis would get rewarded with a goal, but didn't have any puck luck tonight.  

 

Risto was decisive with the puck on his stick and engaged physically.    I liked the pairing with Kulikov... and he was a +1... stop the presses!   

 

Lehner still scares me with his rebound control.    He flops around too much, has trouble locating the puck at times, hope he cleans that up eventually.  

 

Moulson continues to impress me in all areas of the ice.   He's creating turnovers and physically engaged on the forecheck.

[beerme1]

 

Lehner still scares me with his rebound control.    He flops around too much, has trouble locating the puck at times, hope he cleans that up eventually.  

 

 

 

 

Yep, back to back one goal games will do that to ya.

[Doohicksie]

Just finished watching the game (had an evening flight into SJC), a few thoughts....

 

I thought Ennis and Risto had their best games of the season.    Was hoping Ennis would get rewarded with a goal, but didn't have any puck luck tonight.  

 

Risto was decisive with the puck on his stick and engaged physically.    I liked the pairing with Kulikov... and he was a +1... stop the presses!   

 

Lehner still scares me with his rebound control.    He flops around too much, has trouble locating the puck at times, hope he cleans that up eventually.  

 

Moulson continues to impress me in all areas of the ice.   He's creating turnovers and physically engaged on the forecheck.

 

That language sounds like what people say on performance reviews at work.

[Rasmus_]

The time difference since moving to Arizona really with one's ability to actually watch the game.  I missed half of the first, but another tightly fought game.  I like what I've seen out of Okposo.  Such a decent signing!

[GrassValleyGreg]

Just watched the game replay here on the west coast. Some observations:

 

-On Ennis: so nice to have him back after having tempered expectations followed by a slow start. Almost forgot how heady of a player he can be. Him and Reino are starting to understand each other's game and the resulting possession is impressive. What a bonus Enzo will be when we are at full go. Ennis-Reino-Eich could be a force in the o zone.

 

-On Mouls: Obvious by now but another pleasant surprise is Mouls returning to form. After completely writing him off, he has shown what made him an NHL player in the past: hand/eye, positioning, and a decent shot with ability to finish around the net.

 

These two players returning to form is really the early season story in my opinion, followed by Risto’s continued development and Oks smart and physical play and it's fit in our offense. Lehnney’s play could soon be included in this early season story line. 

 

-On Bailey and Baptiste: Very evident infusion of youth and speed. Bailey especially seems motivated by pro minutes. Didn’t watch his defensive work closely, but he could be a tough decision when Fasch and Des are back.

 

-On where we stand: Obviously not good to lose our top playmaker and Kane, but the absence of these two (our most dynamic but also most anti-system players) might have been a boon to DD and the development of his system. The anti-DD crowd is clear in their critique, but I agree with what one poster said: his system is glaring in its deficiencies when not executed but effective when bought into by all. The system is especially effective on the road. If we can bag more points at home, we are in good shape.

 

Huge eastern conference stretch ahead. Nice to be heading into it with some confidence. 

[That Aud Smell]

Not ready to go there. Eventually yeah, but he brings a lot of intangibles to the team- good locker room guy, can play creditable defense in a pinch, is the team's designated fighter (should that become necessary).

 

If it turns out his injury is serious and he's out for an extended period, though, I may rethink that position.

I had the largest offseason man crush on D-Lo of anyone around here.

 

And I would rather not see him return to the lineup.

 

I think he is a beloved teammate, and we know he will drop the gloves every now and then.

 

But he's just not very good at playing hockey -- not at the NHL level anyway.

[jsb]

I had the largest offseason man crush on D-Lo of anyone around here.

 

And I would rather not see him return to the lineup.

 

I think he is a beloved teammate, and we know he will drop the gloves every now and then.

 

But he's just not very good at playing hockey -- not at the NHL level anyway.

I agree with you but they could have used him yesterday. Some possible spot minutes as the 6th Dman would have given Gorges a needed breather here and there. Franson didn't appear to get too many extra minutes but Gorges was sucking wind big time a couple of times in that game. Kuli-Risto and Jake appeared ok with their extra time.

In fact on the Wild's only goal I thought ROR was on the ice a few seconds too much as he was late getting back and didn't cover his man more so than any deficiency the D had.

 

Ennis has been the best man on his line for a few games in a row now. I think Samson is still playing center on that line but DD has allowed Girgs to be taking some faceoffs for him. Grant is not coming off as the 4th center until anyone besides ROR can win a faceoff. That is the biggest deficiency this team has and why DD plays ROR so much besides his great 2 way play.

 

I really hope Bogosian is back soon, the D has been pretty freaking good this season and someone will be insufferable if he's out an extended period of time. Still 2 goals total against in the past 3 games combined is no fluke as the forwards are also vastly improved on their defensive positioning  from this time last year. Very nice 3 game package and hopefully Deluca here we come.

[SabresBaltimore]

Does anybody have the NHL Center Ice Package?

 

Question: Do the Sabres provide a broadcast feed this year?

 

I have Center Ice through Verizon FIOS. They offer 9 HD channels, and 14 SD channels. I've gotten the Sabres MSG coverage for several games now, one of which was only in SD. In my experience despite Center Ice being available on multiple (all?) providers what's available seems to vary quite a bit. DirectTV has the best service, since they have MSG-B on their package and anyone with Center Ice is able to watch that channel during Sabres games.

 

What's been available on FIOS has changed a lot over the years. For a long time it was typically the other team's coverage only. They also went from 1 HD channel to 3 to 5, and now 9. I'm still waiting for them to get to 14, but at this point I'm not holding my breath.

 

I've found that I almost always gets the MSG feed for Sabres homes games, but it's a crap shoot what's available during away games. Last night I only got the Minnesota coverage. There wasn't even a SD option for the MSG coverage this time. Sunday I got both Winnepeg and Buffalo coverage. Both in HD.

 

I think some of it comes down to how many other games are playing and what channel it's on. If it's on 1-9, it's also in HD. If it's on 10-14 it'll be SD only. Saturday nights tend to be the worst since the most concurrent games seem to occur then.

[Doohicksie]

On DirecTV the Sabres MSG coverage is in HD every game (except for that one that was on NBC Sports).

[bob_sauve28]

What are we going to do for a 6th d-man?? Nelson is just the worst! Unless he is suddenly "getting it" I'm really worried about that. Do they just use 5 d-men? 

[SabresBaltimore]

On DirecTV the Sabres MSG coverage is in HD every game (except for that one that was on NBC Sports).

 

Yeah, that applies to all National games (NBCN, NBC, NHL Network) regardless of provider. Also local market games. So when the Sabres play the Capitals, I'm blacked out of the package and I have to watch CSN regardless of what's available on the package.

 

I'd love to have all the Sabres coverage in HD, but I'm not willing to switch to DirectTV for the privilege. I've considered switching to the streaming package instead, because even if they don't have the MSG coverage, you can switch the audio to the Sabres radio feed instead.

 

I had it years ago and it was only SD, and only in a browser. Now it has a bunch of platforms supported and built in DVR like capabilities. I still find the FIOS one the most convenient for me personally despite not getting exactly the coverage I'd like.

[Doohicksie]

on the Wild's only goal I thought ROR was on the ice a few seconds too much as he was late getting back and didn't cover his man more so than any deficiency the D had.

 

My impression was that the goal was a direct result of Sabres applying forward pressure up ice instead of dropping back into coverage, resulting in a goal on the rush by Minnesota.  Both forwards were pushing the play on the Minnesota side of center just prior to the goal.  I thought it was odd, almost arrogant.  Then the Wild broke that containment and scored before the forwards got back into D-zone coverage.

 

Ennis has been the best man on his line for a few games in a row now. I think Samson is still playing center on that line but DD has allowed Girgs to be taking some faceoffs for him. Grant is not coming off as the 4th center until anyone besides ROR can win a faceoff. That is the biggest deficiency this team has and why DD plays ROR so much besides his great 2 way play.

 

I guess I'm not sure what you mean by that.

 

Ryan O'Reilly 60.99%

Brian Gionta 60%

Derek Grant 58.59%

Zemgus Girgensons 53.25%

Johan Larsson 46.77%

Sam Reinhart 40%

 

It isn't that Grant is a sorry substitute for a center; his FO% is excellent really.  He's clearly in the top echelon of Sabres faceoff men.  I agree that Reinhart isn't the best faceoff man and having Girgs supplement him is a good idea.

What are we going to do for a 6th d-man?? Nelson is just the worst! Unless he is suddenly "getting it" I'm really worried about that. Do they just use 5 d-men? 

 

I expect Nelson will play (no, he's not the worst; I'd rather seem him than Franson, myself) and someone will be called up from Rochester.