GDT: Sabres at LA Kings 10/20/18 3:30PM MSG, WGR

[calti]

  On 10/21/2018 at 1:58 AM, Doohickie said:

A very talented Little Ball of Hate.

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we need eichel to develope more hatred in his life. if he wants to be just a very good player scoring 60-80/season then so be it. But he needs to take it personally that he is being outplayed by 20 guys in this league . That would raise the level of play on the whole team.

[...]

  On 10/21/2018 at 2:33 AM, Taro T said:

We've been watching different games apparently.  He was not good either of the last 2 games.  He hasn't gotten to many pucks & when he's had it, he has had problems controlling it & passing it.  IMHO.

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I agree with this assessment of Samson.  Not paying much attention last year, I missed what a "good" Samson looks like over a longer period, but he looked good the first 5 games of this season.  

On Skinner and all of the other good things:  I would caution all to neither get too high off the win, or, of course, too low.  Today looked like their other wins - I can perceive a specific style of play when they're playing well.  I think that's a good thing because it indicates consistency and discipline when they're on their game.  This is also a plus 1 for HCPH.  If they play his system right, it looks good.  What can I say?

We need to be sure the Skinner/Eichel combo works longer term.  I like the suggestion above that Pommer or a player like him is more ideal to this combo than an additional skill guy.  Let's see if this holds true.

Ullmark is good, and they play different in front of him.  What does that mean?  What if Ullmark becomes the "starter" - do they get used to him back there and regress to playing some other way?

We need more games to figure out what we have here.  And that, to me, says we have turned a corner somewhat, where we go from them being confused and not knowing WTF to do, to legitimately being in the process of "figuring it out".

 

 

 

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I would also caution against getting used to the Bogo from this game.  I liked this game's Bogo.  But we all know this Bogo that we like too frequently disappears from us and the team.

Edited October 21, 2018 by ...

[Huckleberry]

  On 10/21/2018 at 2:40 AM, calti said:

we need eichel to develope more hatred in his life. if he wants to be just a very good player scoring 60-80/season then so be it. But he needs to take it personally that he is being outplayed by 20 guys in this league . That would raise the level of play on the whole team.

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to be honest I can't get mad at Eichel, I was the same way as him when I played football or darts even now.

I ofter have/had to remind myself to get angry just to play well.   When I had a chip on my shoulder I played my best games.   Maybe weird for some but not for me, get me angry and i play lights out.

[Doohicksie]

  On 10/21/2018 at 2:35 AM, ... said:

Hmmmmmmmmmm...

I'm going to reject this one and ask you to try again.

Might I suggest the "Finally standing up for a team-mate no matter how wussy you looked doing it shut-out"?  If memory serves, that point came on KO's penalty after Sheary got shoved into the boards head first.

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I was talking about Ullmark.  You're talking about Okposo.  I'm confused here.  (And also, it was Mitts, not Sheary.)

[Andrew Amerk]

  On 10/21/2018 at 2:35 AM, ... said:

Hmmmmmmmmmm...

I'm going to reject this one and ask you to try again.

Might I suggest the "Finally standing up for a team-mate no matter how wussy you looked doing it shut-out"?  If memory serves, that point came on KO's penalty after Sheary got shoved into the boards head first.

 

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Mitts was shoved into the boards, not Sheary. 

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  On 10/21/2018 at 2:52 AM, Huckleberry said:

to be honest I can't get mad at Eichel, I was the same way as him when I played football or darts even now.

I ofter have/had to remind myself to get angry just to play well.   When I had a chip on my shoulder I played my best games.   Maybe weird for some but not for me, get me angry and i play lights out.

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[TheAud]

  On 10/21/2018 at 12:59 AM, Randall Flagg said:

Thanks. 

For two seasons of doing this with Lehner, he never allowed less than 3 goals the second night, never won once (they might have done this with him 8 times or so), and he was pulled at least 3 or 4 of them. 

I'd still go with Hutton too.

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I'm not going to use Lehner from the past two seasons as my example of anything ongoing, knowing what we know now of his state of mind. 

[Andrew Amerk]

  On 10/21/2018 at 2:49 AM, ... said:

I would also caution against getting used to the Bogo from this game.  I liked this game's Bogo.  But we all know this Bogo that we like too frequently disappears from us and the team.

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Never underestimate the impact winning games (or losing a bunch year after year) can have on someone. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Andrew Amerk

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  On 10/21/2018 at 2:54 AM, Doohickie said:

I was talking about Ullmark.  You're talking about Okposo.  I'm confused here.  (And also, it was Mitts, not Sheary.)

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  On 10/21/2018 at 2:55 AM, Andrew Amerk said:

Mitts was shoved into the boards, not Sheary. 

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Thanks for the correction, but Miller would just let in a goal when he was on his way to a shut-out...that's a Ryan Miller Shut Out and he owned it.  This wasn't like that, this goal wasn't because because, it happened while a penalty was being served for something the Sabres rarely would do in the past and were constantly criticized for.  It is in no way a, or equivalent to a, Ryan Miller Shut Out.

  On 10/21/2018 at 3:00 AM, Andrew Amerk said:

Never underestimate the impact winning games (or losing a bunch year after year) can impact someone. 

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I would suggest Bogo's injuries aren't something he can control for the most part.  His play, sure, not his injuries.

[Doohicksie]

  On 10/21/2018 at 3:01 AM, ... said:

Thanks for the correction, but Miller would just let in a goal when he was on his way to a shut-out...that's a Ryan Miller Shut Out and he owned it.  This wasn't like that, this goal wasn't because because, it happened while a penalty was being served for something the Sabres rarely would do in the past and were constantly criticized for.  It is in no way a, or equivalent to a, Ryan Miller Shut Out.

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You're talking subtlety here.  The way I remember a Ryan Miller shutout, it was just any goal scored late against him.  A lot of the time it was when the team left him out to dry which was often followed by one of his famous WTF waves.

The exact definition of a Ryan Miller Shutout might be good fodder for its own thread.

[nfreeman]

  On 10/21/2018 at 12:59 AM, Randall Flagg said:

Thanks. 

For two seasons of doing this with Lehner, he never allowed less than 3 goals the second night, never won once (they might have done this with him 8 times or so), and he was pulled at least 3 or 4 of them. 

I'd still go with Hutton too. 

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I don't think Lehner's record should drive any decisions about Ullmark, or about anything else for that matter.  He was a basket case as a starter here.

Separately:

- The Sabres appear to be competitive with middle- and lower-tier teams, which is a huge improvement over the past couple of years.  The better teams -- Boston, Vegas, SJ and Colorado -- have been appreciably better than them.

- The Sabres are continuing to get very good goaltending, which is also a huge improvement over last year.

- No one seems to be able to score when not playing with Eichel.

- 10% of the season is gone, and Reino, KO, Mitts, ERod and TT all have zero goals.

- Bogo probably won't stay healthy, but you can see why coaches are tantalized by him.  He's fast, very large, powerful, has pretty good hands and makes quite a few good decisions (along with some bad ones, to be sure). 

 

 

 

[Doohicksie]

  On 10/21/2018 at 3:07 AM, nfreeman said:

- Bogo probably won't stay healthy, but you can see why coaches are tantalized by him.  He's fast, very large, powerful, has pretty good hands and makes quite a few good decisions (along with some bad ones, to be sure). 

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I think Rob Ray said Bogo got even larger while he was out injured, that he worked out a lot and put on more muscle.

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  On 10/21/2018 at 3:06 AM, Doohickie said:

You're talking subtlety here.  The way I remember a Ryan Miller shutout, it was just any goal scored late against him.  A lot of the time it was when the team left him out to dry which was often followed by one of his famous WTF waves.

The exact definition of a Ryan Miller Shutout might be good fodder for its own thread.

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Even with that definition, this one still doesn't apply.

[Andrew Amerk]

  On 10/21/2018 at 3:10 AM, Doohickie said:

I think Rob Ray said Bogo got even larger while he was out injured, that he worked out a lot and put on more muscle.

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Heard that. 

I’ve liked his play so far, but saying he’s fast? He looked slow to me, which is fine if you’re playing a defensively sound game. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

The Sabres have yet to play a close game. Weird.

4 wins collective score 15-4

4 loses, collective score 19-3

[Indabuff]

  On 10/21/2018 at 3:26 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Sabres have yet to play a close game. Weird.

4 wins collective score 15-4

4 loses, collective score 19-3

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It'll be interesting to see how this pans out at the end of the season.  

[Doohicksie]

  On 10/21/2018 at 3:26 AM, GASabresIUFAN said:

The Sabres have yet to play a close game. Weird.

4 wins collective score 15-4

4 loses, collective score 19-3

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And I heard this a couple games ago and think it's still true:  0 lead changes in all of their games.  Whoever scores first, wins.

[PerreaultForever]

  On 10/21/2018 at 3:10 AM, Doohickie said:

I think Rob Ray said Bogo got even larger while he was out injured, that he worked out a lot and put on more muscle.

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I wondered. I thought he looks beefed up but I wasn't sure. It shows. 

[JJFIVEOH]

Nice show by the Sabres. I'm still sold on Hutton, but Housley should play the hot goaltender. Ullmark is now 25, at some point you gotta say he's ready. 

[SABRES 0311]

  On 10/21/2018 at 6:32 AM, JJFIVEOH said:

Nice show by the Sabres. I'm still sold on Hutton, but Housley should play the hot goaltender. Ullmark is now 25, at some point you gotta say he's ready. 

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It’s a nice problem to have. Which good goalie do I put in net? 

I have to eat crow on my pregame post about Pommers playing with Jack. He scored a dirty goal and I believe got an apple too.

Skinner goes to the dirty areas and I’m back on board with him and Jack playing together. Maybe throw a big guy like TT on that line to see what happens.

[Sabre1974]

Enjoyed the game. Pommer done well with jack and Skinner I felt. Looking forward to the Rochester guys coming up when ready and where they fit in. 

[LTS]

The team is progressing the way it should.  Games like this are the ones they need to win and hopefully they come along to be more competitive against the stronger teams.  The Ducks will be a great test.

The Kings are a mess right now.

It was a good game overall but even reading the GDT you can see where the forums sees the need for improvement.  On to the next game.

 

[inkman]

  On 10/21/2018 at 10:55 AM, Sabre1974 said:

Enjoyed the game. Pommer done well with jack and Skinner I felt. Looking forward to the Rochester guys coming up when ready and where they fit in. 

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I'm looking forward to next season as well

[Eleven]

  On 10/20/2018 at 11:40 PM, JJFIVEOH said:

Hutton is in his 30's and never been a starter. 

Ullmark has allowed one goal in two games. Play the hot hand. 

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It seems obvious to me that Ullmark should go tonight, but I don't know everything the coach and staff know. (Like if he strained something or bruised something yesterday.)