GDT GDT: San Jose at Buffalo 7:00 pm ET, 2/7/2017

[SwampD]

I love how much better this team looks when DDB shortens the bench. If only he could play those players for 40 minutes a game.

 

Trying to figure out, though, how that relates to the notions that A) he doesn't adapt, and B) it's the system and not the roster.

[That Aud Smell]

Y'know, as I was watching that interview on the post-game show, I was reminded of a comment Paul Hamilton made a couple of weeks ago.  Hamilton said something to the effect that a number of the younger players are pretty rude to the media members -- i.e. they look at the ceiling when answering questions, they act like answering media questions is beneath them, etc.  I think Eichel -- who does not project as having a low opinion of himself -- must've been one of the guys Hammy was referring to.

 

I take that with a pretty serious grain of salt. The young players are young; young people that age tend to exhibit some of that sort of behaviour, as a group. And Hamilton's old(er) and getting into that sensible shorts with black socks pulled up to his knees mode. Additionally, Eichel has more than a little bit of as.shole in him; in a good way. 

 

I don't know that Hammy has been overly polite to the players either.

 

I don't know that he's rude or unprofessional, but, if I had to be interviewed by him on a regular basis, he would drive me insane. The manner in which he frames questions is just ... bad. The answer he desires is either stated in the question or strongly hinted at.

 

"Looking to the ceiling when answering questions"

 

I see Jack do that all the time. I would too, with 12 people within a 3 foot radius of me. It looks so uncomfortable.

 

I think that's fair. When Eichel is 25 or 26, he'll likely look more comfortable doing that.

[Randall Flagg]

I love how much better this team looks when DDB shortens the bench. If only he could play those players for 40 minutes a game.

 

Trying to figure out, though, how that relates to the notions that A) he doesn't adapt, and B) it's the system and not the roster.

A) He changes lines, but has them do the same things all game. When they work it's fine, but when they don't work it's maddening. His lack of adapting the play is the number one reason penguins fans cite for why they wanted him gone. I highlighted examples in a different thread.

 

B) You're goddamn right that it's a problem that we can't roll 4 lines and have to shorten the bench to stop giving ice time to a few bad players, and that's on Tim. 

[SwampD]

A) He changes lines, but has them do the same things all game. When they work it's fine, but when they don't work it's maddening. His lack of adapting the play is the number one reason penguins fans cite for why they wanted him gone. I highlighted examples in a different thread.

 

B) You're goddamn right that it's a problem that we can't roll 4 lines and have to shorten the bench to stop giving ice time to a few bad players, and that's on Tim. 

Penguins fans wanted him gone because they knew just as little about what is said behind the bench and in practice and as Sabres fans do now, and they happen to run into teams in the playoffs that made them their beotch, knocking their stars off of their games and they had to lay the blame someone.

 

 

Oh, and you really are so easy to troll. :lol:

[bob_sauve28]

I admit it, I fell asleep when it was 4-1. It has been a tough week though 

[Randall Flagg]

Penguins fans wanted him gone because they knew just as little about what is said behind the bench and in practice and as Sabres fans do now, and they happen to run into teams in the playoffs that made them their beotch, knocking their stars off of their games and they had to lay the blame someone.

 

 

Oh, and you really are so easy to troll. :lol:

That's not true, actually. The same analysis that you regularly ignore on this board happens on theirs too, and plenty of it by people who know more hockey x's and o's than most of us do here. You certainly haven't gone to look and see, I'm sure, though.

 

Cool, Swamp.

[Doohicksie]

Y'know, as I was watching that interview on the post-game show, I was reminded of a comment Paul Hamilton made a couple of weeks ago.  Hamilton said something to the effect that a number of the younger players are pretty rude to the media members -- i.e. they look at the ceiling when answering questions, they act like answering media questions is beneath them, etc.  I think Eichel -- who does not project as having a low opinion of himself -- must've been one of the guys Hammy was referring to.

 

"Looking to the ceiling when answering questions"

 

I see Jack do that all the time. I would too, with 12 people within a 3 foot radius of me. It looks so uncomfortable.

 

I remarked on this as well, several months ago.  My take was that maybe he's somewhere on the autistic spectrum.  I caught some guff for that, and rightly so I suppose.  I like Randall's take.  It probably takes some time to get comfortable with the locker room interview thing.

[SwampD]

That's not true, actually. The same analysis that you regularly ignore on this board happens on theirs too, and plenty of it by people who know more hockey x's and o's than most of us do here. You certainly haven't gone to look and see, I'm sure, though.

 

Cool, Swamp.

I don't ignore it. I disagree with some of it. Sorry.

[Ross Rhea]

Penguins fans wanted him gone because they knew just as little about what is said behind the bench and in practice and as Sabres fans do now, and they happen to run into teams in the playoffs that made them their beotch, knocking their stars off of their games and they had to lay the blame someone.

 

 

Oh, and you really are so easy to troll. :lol:

Didn't help that MAF couldn't stop a beachball in the playoffs while DDB was the coach.

[That Aud Smell]

I remarked on this as well, several months ago.  My take was that maybe he's somewhere on the autistic spectrum.  I caught some guff for that, and rightly so I suppose.  I like Randall's take.  It probably takes some time to get comfortable with the locker room interview thing.

 

And I don't discount that there's some youthful, cocky, I-got-better-things-to-do-right-now underlying this. He'll grow out of that, mostly, I think.

 

But Eichel has some as.shole to him (which I think works in his favour); he can be pretty damn prickly.

[dudacek]

I take that with a pretty serious grain of salt. The young players are young; young people that age tend to exhibit some of that sort of behaviour, as a group. And Hamilton's old(er) and getting into that sensible shorts with black socks pulled up to his knees mode. Additionally, Eichel has more than a little bit of as.shole in him; in a good way. 

 

 

 

I don't know that he's rude or unprofessional, but, if I had to be interviewed by him on a regular basis, he would drive me insane. The manner in which he frames questions is just ... bad. The answer he desires is either stated in the question or strongly hinted at.

 

 

 

I think that's fair. When Eichel is 25 or 26, he'll likely look more comfortable doing that.

The middle one is exactly what I'm talking about. PH has an ongoing problem with confusing his opinions and fact. And he is lacking in social grace. It has to be annoying to the players who deal with him on a regular basis.

And I don't discount that there's some youthful, cocky, I-got-better-things-to-do-right-now underlying this. He'll grow out of that, mostly, I think.

 

But Eichel has some as.shole to him (which I think works in his favour); he can be pretty damn prickly.

I Think he's basically a good kid, but he is one cocky SOB.

I can't wait until we are good enough that fans around the league start to feel the hatred flow though them.

[RonHextallsShoulderPads]

Well, Reino and Eichel each contributed a true star-quality play.

 

How could anyone want to trade Kane or not re-sign him?

 

Pretty spotty outing by Nilsson.

 

I'd say a lot of what happened to Nilsson is not his fault. 

 

Goal 1 -tipped while being screened 

 

Goal 2 -lost it in his pads, but banged home because Eichel was admiring the shooter instead of the charging FWD. 

 

Post Hit-Screened

 

Goal 3 -4 sabres caught low, open point-blank shot. 

 

Goal 4 -Powerplay with yet another screen

[That Aud Smell]

The middle one is exactly what I'm talking about. PH has an ongoing problem with confusing his opinions and fact. And he is lacking in social grace. It has to be annoying to the players who deal with him on a regular basis.

 

Ah - gotcha. Yes. Quite so.

 

 

I Think he's basically a good kid, but he is one cocky SOB.

I can't wait until we are good enough that fans around the league start to feel the hatred flow though them.

 

Abso-frickin-lutely. Agreed on wanting that time to come when fans from other teams are like "man, f#cking EICHEL."

[SwampD]

On another note, look at the beak on this guy.

 

[Jsixspd]

Wasn't there a great play to score a game winning goal last season made by the Kane/Eichel pair up?    I remember RJ's call of the goal was rebroadcast/shared quite a bit - it was as good as the goal.

Good to see 'em working together - we need more of that chemistry!

[Doohicksie]

Wasn't there a great play to score a game winning goal last season made by the Kane/Eichel pair up?    I remember RJ's call of the goal was rebroadcast/shared quite a bit - it was as good as the goal.

 

Good to see 'em working together - we need more of that chemistry!

 

Kane is not very imaginative, and I think that's okay.  If he can shoot, he does.  If not, he looks for a pass.  If you pass him the puck anywhere around the net, he's gonna shoot.  He has the wheels to get himself into good spots, he can keep up with Jack, he can finish.  Not imaginative, but he is predictable, and I think that's probably an asset when playing with Jack and Sam.  Their creativity more than makes up for Kane's single-mindedness.

 

Comparing him to Foligno, Kane's faster, has a better shot, not as creative, not as much of a physical force (comparatively speaking, and I'm sure some will take issue with that assessment).  Kane is pretty good defensively, when he realizes he needs to be defensive.  He's decent on the PK, using his speed to disrupt opponents' plays.  A bit slower on the uptake compared to Foligno.  With Kane on the Eichel line, you know what you've got- a fast, high skill winger who is sometimes single minded to a fault.  Not a perfect player, but a very good one.  Foligno is more of a bottom six player but does okay for stretches in the top six. 

 

Looking at the bigger picture you can see the DD tendency to develop forward pairs rather than lines.  Sam & Jack are good together, but for LW it makes sense to rotate the hot hand in until it gets stale.  I don't have a problem with flipping between Kane and Foligno.  They both bring something to the line and if the line begins to slump that something is energy (albeit two different kids). It keeps the line fresh.

Edited February 8, 2017 by Doohickie

[Sabres Fan in NS]

On another note, look at the beak on this guy.

 

Hookbeak.jpg

 

That's awesome.

 

Who is that guy with that awesome beak?

[TrueBlueGED]

I love how much better this team looks when DDB shortens the bench. If only he could play those players for 40 minutes a game.

 

Trying to figure out, though, how that relates to the notions that A) he doesn't adapt, and B) it's the system and not the roster.

Breaking news: hockey team is better with best players on the ice. More at 11.

[SwampD]

That's awesome.

 

Who is that guy with that awesome beak?

I don't know. He was one of the assistants behind the SJ bench.

[spndnchz]

That's awesome.

 

Who is that guy with that awesome beak?

 

isn't that Boughner?

[That Aud Smell]

"it's interesting how that works ..."

 

https://twitter.com/Matt_Bove/status/829174107568750592/video/1

 

I'm fascinated by the various ways in which this statement can be taken.

 

I've heard from a couple of different people who were at the game that the boo's after the second were LOUD.

 

I'm guessing that Jack was, in fact, expressing displeasure with hometown boo-birds, and not making some more subtle point.

[nfreeman]

I've heard from a couple of different people who were at the game that the boo's after the second were LOUD.

 

I'm guessing that Jack was, in fact, expressing displeasure with hometown boo-birds, and not making some more subtle point.

 

That sounds right.

[JJFIVEOH]

I don't know that Hammy has been overly polite to the players either.

 

 

I take that with a pretty serious grain of salt. The young players are young; young people that age tend to exhibit some of that sort of behaviour, as a group. And Hamilton's old(er) and getting into that sensible shorts with black socks pulled up to his knees mode. Additionally, Eichel has more than a little bit of as.shole in him; in a good way. 

 

 

I don't know that he's rude or unprofessional, but, if I had to be interviewed by him on a regular basis, he would drive me insane. The manner in which he frames questions is just ... bad. The answer he desires is either stated in the question or strongly hinted at.

 

 

I think that's fair. When Eichel is 25 or 26, he'll likely look more comfortable doing that.

 

 

The middle one is exactly what I'm talking about. PH has an ongoing problem with confusing his opinions and fact. And he is lacking in social grace. It has to be annoying to the players who deal with him on a regular basis.

 

I Think he's basically a good kid, but he is one cocky SOB.

I can't wait until we are good enough that fans around the league start to feel the hatred flow though them.

 

PHam is extremely condescending and patronizing. And he tends to scold players when they lose and/or that player had a bad game. It's almost as if he's trying to make them feel even less of themselves than they did when the game finished. And rarely do any of the players put him in his place because he'll immediately throw them under the bus. What's even more aggravating is guys like Koziol who treat him like he's a god. Just once last week I heard Koziol actually disagree with something PHam said, and he hesitated to say it because he didn't want to make PHam mad. I thought to myself, man, Koziol is going to get it for that comment. 

 

I've lost a lot of respect for PHam over the years to the point where there isn't any left. 

[SwampD]

I've heard from a couple of different people who were at the game that the boo's after the second were LOUD.

 

I'm guessing that Jack was, in fact, expressing displeasure with hometown boo-birds, and not making some more subtle point.

It's also interesting that right when there was a bad pass in our zone (don't remember who it was but it was a 10ft pass that was 6ft off the mark) and the booing was the loudest, that was the very moment that they picked their game up and took the game over.

[Doohicksie]

I remember that pass, early in the third period.  I think the fourth Shark goal came after that, but yeah, the crowd let them have it.  I would "hope" the players were annoyed with the fans, and themselves, at that point.  When boos come like that, I see them as the crowd saying, "You're paid millions of dollars to play, and win, games.  NOW GET GOING."