10 Game report card 1/8th of the season in the books.

[GASabresIUFAN]

A - ROR, Okposo, Gionta, Moulson and Larsson. Moulson and Gionta, two of our veteran leaders have stepped up their game since the injuries and are helping to keep us afloat. ROR and Okposo are two excellent players who never take a shift off. Larsson has flourished by cloning his game on ROR's. His excellent two way play has been fun to watch

 

B - Ristolainen, McCabe, Foligno, Lehner and Nilsson. The two goalies have been solid. Lehner looks much better; quicker, but still his game lacks some discipline and still allows some soft goals despite some spectacular saves. Nilsson has done exactly what a competent backup should do and that is give the team a chance to win when he plays. Risto and McCabe have been our best two defensemen on both ends, but that isn't saying much. Neither has been great, but both continue to show progress. Foligno has improved as the season has progress playing with Larsson and Gionta.

 

C - Reinhart, Girgensons, Kulikov, Gorges, Grant and Franson - Not much to say about this group, all have underwhelmed in some way. Reinhart and Girgensons have been better since pairing together. Gorges and Kulikov have been decent defensively, but Gorges lack of speed has been exposed. Kulikov has added no offense. Franson has been better then last year, which is a positive, but like Gorges his lack of foot-speed will be a problem all season. Grant has been great on the PK and in the FO circle, but has added little else.

 

D - Ennis - Ennis still skates around aimlessly and makes i'll advised passes. He has been better of late with Reinhart, but not great. We need him to pick up his O and play smarter.

 

F- Bogosian and Deslauriers. Neither player has added anything positive to this season. I'm not surprised, just disappointed.

 

The Kids - Nelson, Fasching, Bailey and Baptiste - I'm not ready to grade any of them yet because of limited opportunity either in games or playing on a line that best utilizes their talents.

 

Coaching - B Surprised? Well look at it this way. The team is .500 despite losing Eichel and Kane and while getting almost no offense from the blue line and only sporadic offense up front. The special teams have been very good and our improvement in goal and in the faceoff circle is very noticable. The coaches need to find some offense from someone. They also held the team together after the collapse in Philly and the no show against Minn at home.

 

GMTM - hard to grade yet, but getting Okposo has helped and his third choice for backup goalie has been better then expected. However, Kulikov hasn't added the expected two way play and Grant has helped the PK but little else. Also his failure to add D depth is becoming a problem. Grade: C

 

Team overall: B Generous? Maybe, but there is reason for optimism. Our goaltending is solid, our special teams are very good and those factors should keep us in most games. The team is staying afloat without two stars and is playing better of late. I also like that we seemed to have finally settled on 3 offensive lines and they seem to be finding some chemistry. This grade could easily be lower, but it's based on progress over the first month.

Edited November 4, 2016 by GASabresIUFAN

[bunomatic]

I can't imagine where we'd be without Kulikov in the lineup. Good add by GMTM. I like his game.

[darksabre]

Gotta disagree with you on Bogo. Our team defense is better with him on the ice. He's not amazing, but he's better than Casey Nelson. 

[Wyldnwoody44]

I'd say kulikov and Bogo deserve to be graded higher.... Ennis, while frustrating also goes up a grade as his good play often outweighs his bone head stuff.

 

Reino only being a C is accurate and saddening all at the same time, high hopes for him, and while it doesn't mean he sucks by any means, just not at a level where if like to see a #2 overall be at.

[Brawndo]

Kulikov has been good in every pairing, except for Bogo.

 

Bogo and Gorges have been anchors pulling their partners down.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Gotta disagree with you on Bogo. Our team defense is better with him on the ice. He's not amazing, but he's better than Casey Nelson. 

He is supposed to be better then Casey Nelson.  Nelson is a rookie.  Bogosian is a 9 year vet getting paid 5+ mill a season,  He is supposed to be our 2nd best two way D behind Ristolainen.  Also compare his play YTD to the player we watched in the final 3rd of last season.  In the final 31 games last year Bogo was 6g 10a +5  (he was 1g 7a -16 prior to Feb)  This season  0g 0a -2 (-5 without the Edm game).  In a word he has been terrible at worst, lousy at best.

[Stoner]

I spy a sphincter.

[Randall Flagg]

I have to switch McCabe and Moulson. Matt started the year a net neutral at even strength, and with some nice power play goals, but hasn't done anything on the power play since and is now becoming a drag at even strength as he gets worn out. He certainly doesn't deserve the F---- he had last year, but the huge improvement to mediocre should give him a C or so. Maybe B- since potting goals is definitely something.

 

Actually, I'd leave McCabe as a B. Trending upward though, and his development is by far the biggest we've seen of a Sabre since last year.

 

In terms of playing to their abilities, the entire defense gets an A from me as a unit. Any deficiencies are the fault of the GM and not the players. They are either performing as expected or better than expected, IMO.

 

Dan gets an F for the first 6 games and an A for the last 4. Keep it up.

 

ROR is beautiful. Samson needs to, and will, step up.

 

Nice thread. Let's go Buffalo!

Also - i am tempted to be mad at GMTM. But I think the reasons more moves weren't made are valid - costs were astronomical this offseason (Hall - Larsson?) and there's a pesky expansion draft coming up.

 

Sign Kuli at the time that works best, see what we lose, make your defensive move and sign depth this offseason.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Kulikov has been good in every pairing, except for Bogo.

 

Bogo and Gorges have been anchors pulling their partners down.

 

Really interesting chart.  It confirms most of my eye test.  According to your stats, Bogo has been awful defensively, Franson has been better, McCabe is our most consistent D and Kulikov and Risto should be paired together.  I graded on their play relative to my expectations.  Kulikov got a C, partly because he has been mostly good defensively, but has added zero offense,  Not even a single assist.  That simply isn't acceptable 10 games in.  Thus he gets a B for his defense and an F for his offense; thus an overall C grade for the first 10 games.  Bogo is supposed to be more dynamic offensively then Kulikov.  He has added neither D or O, and thus and F.

Randall, I can see downgrading Moulson to a B, but really what were our collective expectations for him entering the season.  10 goals? 15 if we were lucky?  I also think he has looked pretty good playing with Okposo and ROR.  Granted those two guys could make Ville Leino look good. Overall he has truly exceeded my expectations heading into the season for him.

Edited November 4, 2016 by GASabresIUFAN

[North Buffalo]

A - ROR, Okposo, Gionta, Moulson and Larsson. Moulson and Gionta, two of our veteran leaders have stepped up their game since the injuries and are helping to keep us afloat. ROR and Okposo are two excellent players who never take a shift off. Larsson has flourished by cloning his game on ROR's. His excellent two way play has been fun to watch

B - Ristolainen, McCabe, Foligno, Lehner and Nilsson. The two goalies have been solid. Lehner looks much better; quicker, but still his game lacks some discipline and still allows some soft goals despite some spectacular saves. Nilsson has done exactly what a competent backup should do and that is give the team a chance to win when he plays. Risto and McCabe have been our best two defensemen on both ends, but that isn't saying much. Neither has been great, but both continue to show progress. Foligno has improved as the season has progress playing with Larsson and Gionta.

C - Reinhart, Girgensons, Kulikov, Gorges, Grant and Franson - Not much to say about this group, all have underwhelmed in some way. Reinhart and Girgensons have been better since pairing together. Gorges and Kulikov have been decent defensively, but Gorges lack of speed has been exposed. Kulikov has added no offense. Franson has been better then last year, which is a positive, but like Gorges his lack of foot-speed will be a problem all season. Grant has been great on the PK and in the FO circle, but has added little else.

D - Ennis - Ennis still skates around aimlessly and makes i'll advised passes. He has been better of late with Reinhart, but not great. We need him to pick up his O and play smarter.

F- Bogosian and Deslauriers. Neither player has added anything positive to this season. I'm not surprised, just disappointed.

The Kids - Nelson, Fasching, Bailey and Baptiste - I'm not ready to grade any of them yet because of limited opportunity either in games or playing on a line that best utilizes their talents.

Coaching - B Surprised? Well look at it this way. The team is .500 despite losing Eichel and Kane and while getting almost no offense from the blue line and only sporadic offense up front. The special teams have been very good and our improvement in goal and in the faceoff circle is very noticable. The coaches need to find some offense from someone. They also held the team together after the collapse in Philly and the no show against Minn at home.

GMTM - hard to grade yet, but getting Okposo has helped and his third choice for backup goalie has been better then expected. However, Kulikov hasn't added the expected two way play and Grant has helped the PK but little else. Also his failure to add D depth is becoming a problem. Grade: C

Team overall: B Generous? Maybe, but there is reason for optimism. Our goaltending is solid, our special teams are very good and those factors should keep us in most games. The team is staying afloat without two stars and is playing better of late. I also like that we seemed to have finally settled on 3 offensive lines and they seem to be finding some chemistry. This grade could easily be lower, but it's based on progress over the first month.

Overall C- based on expectations. Young ones not stepping up enough and developing fast enough. Edited November 4, 2016 by North Buffalo

[pi2000]

I agree witb pretty much everything, might move Kulikov higher. I'd also give a + to GMTM for trying to land Vesey, he's been very good for the NYR.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Gotta disagree with you on Bogo. Our team defense is better with him on the ice. He's not amazing, but he's better than Casey Nelson. 

 

Have you looked at how Pysyk has played for Florida.  He is skating 19 minutes per night with 1g, 2a and a +6 for a mediocre FLA team ytd.  we wouldn't have "balance" had we kept him, but I don't think we are better off at this point with Kulikov then Pysyk.  

 

I agree that the Vesey move was worth the risky.  I thought so then and I think so now, but I don't give pluses for failing to land the fish. :)

Edited November 4, 2016 by GASabresIUFAN

[inkman]

Kulikov has been good in every pairing, except for Bogo.

 

Bogo and Gorges have been anchors pulling their partners down.

Can Risto & Kulikov play 40 minutes a game?

[Lanny]

Kulikov has been good in every pairing, except for Bogo.

 

Bogo and Gorges have been anchors pulling their partners down.

 

In a previous discussion, maybe about Ristolainen's value, someone had a chart that included zone start and quality of competition. Does anyone know where that was made or have that available for this season?



[Brawndo]

Between Bogo stats and his injury history, True is going to need a much bigger bunker

[Randall Flagg]

Kulikov is much better and fits our needs much better than Pysyk. He doesn't have assists because his game isn't doing what Risto does, but he drives offense and possession as well as anyone. His skating and passing are the difference between the icings and chip-ins we see and sustained pressure. He is exactly what we needed back there. He doesn't get the assists because he makes a key neutral zone play, and then the forwards do their thing. He also doesn't get first PP time, which is where Risto gets his assists.

[WildCard]

That is one sexy graph, Brawndo

Edited November 4, 2016 by WildCard

[qwksndmonster]

Bogo and Kulikov are both playing well so far this season. There's been a lot less boneheaded moves by Bogo in his own zone.

 

Girgensons and Foligno are both playing like 3rd/4th line tweeners. Foligno at least is playing a consistent physical game. Girgensons is just disappointing.

[Wyldnwoody44]

So, how does one have a bunker knocked down, once one is commemorated for said individual?

[GASabresIUFAN]

Kulikov is much better and fits our needs much better than Pysyk. He doesn't have assists because his game isn't doing what Risto does, but he drives offense and possession as well as anyone. His skating and passing are the difference between the icings and chip-ins we see and sustained pressure. He is exactly what we needed back there. He doesn't get the assists because he makes a key neutral zone play, and then the forwards do their thing. He also doesn't get first PP time, which is where Risto gets his assists.

What metrics are you using to say Kulikov drives offense? The stats that i have found say otherwise. He is -2 5 on 5. Through the first 6 games, his GF60 was 1.36, compared to McCabe's 2.66 or Franson's 3.15.

[qwksndmonster]

What metrics are you using to say Kulikov drives offense? The stats that i have found say otherwise. He is -2 5 on 5. Through the first 6 games, his GF60 was 1.36, compared to McCabe's 2.66 or Franson's 3.15.

Speaking for Flagg, here. We've watched the games and seen the way Kulikov plays.

[Taro T]

Would bump Moulson to a B, Kulikov to a B-, & Bogosian to a C. Foligno to a B- & Ennis to a C-.

 

Unfortunately, the whole does not add up to the sum of the grades which lowers DB to a C. (He gets a pass for the 1st game - neither Scotty Bowman nor Al Arbour in their primes were going to get a W that night, and the 4 game win streak & concurrent moving from the ever present dump & chase pull the grade up.)

 

Special teams gets an A-, but 5v5 gets a C-.

[Wyldnwoody44]

The whole Frickin team gets a damn F until we win a cup ;)

 

*adequate buffalo fan answer*

[pi2000]

 

Risto is better offensively but worse defensively.... apparently, if I'm reading this right.

[Randall Flagg]

What metrics are you using to say Kulikov drives offense? The stats that i have found say otherwise. He is -2 5 on 5. Through the first 6 games, his GF60 was 1.36, compared to McCabe's 2.66 or Franson's 3.15.

Yeah, I watch Buffalo Sabres games and notice that when he gets the puck, his passes are accurate and his skating gets us into good position for the forwards to do their thing. I had the puck movement in transition as our biggest offseason need, and I knew it had to come via a defenseman addition. Like Pittsburgh did with Daley, who doesn't wow with stats. The skill set I think we desperately needed and which Kulikov has does not show itself in points. And a -2 is also a product of his usage. He's not some elite defenseman that can stifle elite competition and rack up pluses with the minutes he gets. If he was we'd all be wondering how long it takes to sign him to an 8 year deal, and no one is doing that. 

 

A specific example - in the Winnipeg game, there was a play where, after a fairly successful offensive shift for the Sabres, the Jets got the puck in their zone and were carrying it out. They did a bank off of the boards to change or something, but had players rushing in to get the puck, and they were skating fast. While backtracking, Kulikov made the play to pick the puck off before it got behind him, and while going backwards quickly with guys advancing on him he made this ridiculously accurate pass to our only forward heading towards the offensive zone and not the bench, and we went back in and got zone time with possession again. We have not had a defenseman to dictate the transition game since Ehrhoff. Ehrhoff got a lot of points too, but it's tough to get EVERYTHING you want in a defenseman, especially when you only give away Pysyk. 

 

We desperately needed transition ability for the defense, he has it, and we are still in a position where we need to add more, so not hanging onto the guy we just got who can do that doesn't make any sense for what I think they want to do with the team.

Edited November 4, 2016 by Randall Flagg