GDT - The Snarks (hey, Taro) @ The Mighty Sabres of Buffalo - November 27, 2018 - 7:00 PM (EST) - 8:00 PM (NS time)

[Kruppstahl]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

The evidence is that JB and Howie -- the guys who were best situated to evaluate ROR -- got a good, long look at him and decided to get rid of him.

It may be true that ROR was a "locker room cancer" or something like that, and I'm not really disputing that or agreeing with it, one way or the other.

But I do wonder what that is supposed to mean, in reality.  I.E., let's assume ROR was a negative influence on this team.  How?  What was he doing?  Like was he picking sides in the locker room and dividing the room into "his guys" and the guys he doesn't like, and trying to pit players against each other, or what?

ROR seemed like a decent enough small town Canadian boy to me.  What was he doing that was so bad!?

Just curious. 

[nfreeman]

Also this:

 

[North Buffalo]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

The term locker room cancer is what I question with this whole thing.  I don't know if he's a problem in the room, but there's definitely a disturbing trend on the ice at this point.  It's tough to pin it all on him, but for whatever reason, teams with Ryan O'Reilly don't win.  It definitely raises an eyebrow.

ROR was a different kind of cancer than the other two... a behind the scenes cancer... one whose ego wanted to be the guy but didnt have the stones or communications skills or sheer love of life to pull it off. Viewing from the outside he was one of those manic depressives who tried to grind his way to the top... but showed little joy. Throw a little Alchy/Tim Hortons on it and it seems classic.  Not saying full blown cancer but one who has no joy and no one else can if he doesnt.  Makes for a tough locker room.  Boys needed to check their egos at the door.  Trading ROR showed who the real big dog is...Jason Botterill is!

Edited November 28, 2018 by North Buffalo

[That Aud Smell]

 

16 minutes ago, nfreeman said:

This is well overstated IMHO.  Bergy's been healthy-scratched a couple of times, but usually plays when healthy, and is a key part of the checking line, which has become an important line for this team.

Agreed with this. Berglund is obviously somewhat limited, but I recall him being pretty effective a lot of the time in a supporting role.

What's his situation now? Injured? (Or just hurt?) I know I could look it up. But why bother when someone here just knows off the top of their head?

[Doohicksie]

2 hours ago, nfreeman said:

The evidence is that JB and Howie -- the guys who were best situated to evaluate ROR -- got a good, long look at him and decided to get rid of him.

That's evidence that they felt a trade was warranted; it doesn't point to why it was warranted.  It could have been little more than a cap management move to them.

[grinreaper]

1 minute ago, North Buffalo said:

ROR was a different kind of cancer than the other two... a behind the scenes cancer... one whose ego wanted to be the guy but didnt have the stone or communications skills or sheer love of life to pull it off, for him as viewing from the outside he was one of those manic depressives who tried to grind his was to the top... but showed little joy. Throw a little Alchy/Tim Hortons on it an seems classic.  Not saying full blown cancer but one who has no joy and no one else can if he doesnt.  Makes for a tough locker room.  Boys need to check their egos at the door.  Trading ROR showed who the real big dog is...Jason Botterill is!

Rather than the classic locker room cancer my guess is that he was so down on himself that he brought other people down. They needed to clear some salary in order to bring in people that would fit their idea of how they wanted to structure the team. I personally liked ROR's two way play but those interviews after a game were hard to listen to. He could make Pollyanna want to off herself..

[Hoss]

10 minutes ago, TrueBlueGED said:

Uh, Berglund has been pretty awful and is regularly a healthy scratch or playing 8 minutes. He's signed for 3 years after this season. Sobotka has been a nice surprise, but no way do you get a victory dance on this one. 

I’ll go ahead and strongly disagree here. Berglund has been a plus to the bottom six. He’s played 19 of 25 games so “reguarlarly a health scratch” for a guy who has missed the last four games due to injury and missed another earlier in the year due to injury is just flat out made up. He was a healthy scratch once. He MAY not be worth that contract but $3.85M is not a lot in today’s NHL nor will it be in a couple years. I doubt it ever has an impact on us.

Sobotka has been legitimately good in all situations and his contract is a breeze. He earned his way to a shift in OT last night and ended up being on for the winner.

I’m not saying these guys alone make the trade worth it but my argument that they added value from day one is definitely looking true.

12 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

 

Agreed with this. Berglund is obviously somewhat limited, but I recall him being pretty effective a lot of the time in a supporting role.

What's his situation now? Injured? (Or just hurt?) I know I could look it up. But why bother when someone here just knows off the top of their head?

He’s on IR. Haven’t really heard many updates recently.

[That Aud Smell]

35 minutes ago, Hoss said:

Sobotka has been legitimately good in all situations and his contract is a breeze. He earned his way to a shift in OT last night and ended up being on for the winner.

Man. Moments before the winner, I posted (in surprise and astonishment):

He's a low-event, low-risk sort of player, but he's been surprisingly good most of the time.

[dudacek]

Sobotka isn’t very skilled or creative but he is almost always where he should be.

Its no surprise to me that Housley likes him, the same way the coach in St. Louis liked him last year.

[Samson's Flow]

4 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Sobotka isn’t very skilled or creative but he is almost always where he should be.

Its no surprise to me that Housley likes him, the same way the coach in St. Louis liked him last year.

For a team that is predicated on aggressive play and interchangeable roles between forwards and defense, it is very helpful to have a guy that we can rely on to be in the right spot and be a calming presence to cover for the inevitable mistakes that happen with a high risk play style.

Sobotka is that guy. To misuse Rob Ray's quote - "the game slows down when he is on the ice" 

[shrader]

There have been comments throughout the season about how Housley wants guys to play specific roles.  It does look like guys like Berglund and Sobotka, and for that matter Girgensons and Larsson, fit well into the exact roles Phil has in mind.  They may have been expected to be more in previous years, but right now, they're providing exactly what the team needs for a balanced roster.  Berglund isn't paid to play that role, but it's far from a backbreaking salary.

[Taro T]

15 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Sobotka isn’t very skilled or creative but he is almost always where he should be.

Its no surprise to me that Housley likes him, the same way the coach in St. Louis liked him last year.

True.  Plus, he is Housley's favorite face off man.  Pretty sure he wanted his best chance to win that faceoff with Dahlin & Skinner on the ice.

[Samson's Flow]

11 minutes ago, shrader said:

There have been comments throughout the season about how Housley wants guys to play specific roles.  It does look like guys like Berglund and Sobotka, and for that matter Girgensons and Larsson, fit well into the exact roles Phil has in mind.  They may have been expected to be more in previous years, but right now, they're providing exactly what the team needs for a balanced roster.  Berglund isn't paid to play that role, but it's far from a backbreaking salary.

An underrated part of our recent success has been the ability of the bottom of the roster guys to bring a level of consistent play despite being in and out of the lineup. Guys like Girgs, Larsson, ERod and Elie have each brought something a little different that's been effective despite not playing every night.

[Doohicksie]

I saw Elie as a roster rental until Scott Wilson returned.  The more I watch him play, the more I'd like to keep him.

[Mustache of God]

4 hours ago, Doohickie said:

HFBoards.com (HF stand for Hockey's Future) has forums that are general hockey forums, but then there are forums for each team, each with local moderators.  If you sign up to post on the Sabres forum, the signon works on all the forums.  I've posted previously on some of the other forums and it's been mostly good-natured ribbing, but the St Louis fanbase is in a dark place right now.  Remember all the arguments we had internally about whether or not the Sabres were tanking and whether that was the right thing to do?  That's how the Blues forum is feeling right now.

Well, at least they have their football team to distract them.

[shrader]

3 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Well, at least they have their football team to distract them.

Ouch

[Mustache of God]

Also last night was Hockey Fights Locker Room Cancer Night, correct? Did they have a video montage celebrating a cure after cutting out ROR?

[Samson's Flow]

20 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Well, at least they have their football team to distract them.

Savage.

12 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Also last night was Hockey Fights Locker Room Cancer Night, correct? Did they have a video montage celebrating a cure after cutting out ROR?

You're on a roll.

[Doohicksie]

33 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Well, at least they have their football team to distract them.

Which one?  The Arizona Cardinals or the Los Angeles Rams?

[sabills]

30 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Also last night was Hockey Fights Locker Room Cancer Night, correct? Did they have a video montage celebrating a cure after cutting out ROR?

?

[Ho-Chi-Sock]

1 hour ago, Mustache of God said:

Well, at least they have their football team to distract them.

 

1 hour ago, Mustache of God said:

Also last night was Hockey Fights Locker Room Cancer Night, correct? Did they have a video montage celebrating a cure after cutting out ROR?

Tip the steak and try the waitress!

[Ottosmagic13]

7 hours ago, nfreeman said:

My game notes:

- Other than the GTG, Hutton played another excellent game.- Speaking of the GTG, that was exactly the kind of late-game softie that Lehner habitually gave up last year.  This year, of course, the team has the mental toughness to come back from that kind of setback..

I don't know if that was a soft goal. Unfortunate for sure but he saw the play behind the net and picked a post, unfortunately it was the wrong one and he couldn't get back fast enough. Pick the right post or get some help from the d slowing that player down and he makes that save.

The soft goals that lehner let in were almost always soft wristers or snap shots from a guy coming down the wing. Our D guy would play the pass and leave Lehner for the shot and whoops back of the net. 

Now 100% I agree with the mentality, not just with the net minders but with the team. That 2nd Sharks goal would have instantly visibly demoralized the team. This year and especially on this stretch they seem to get...fiesty is the best word I can come up with. They know they can score and they did generate 2-3 chances when the game was 2-2. 

Cardiac kids for sure.

[Mustache of God]

I just re-watched the OT and I'm not sure if it was mentioned up-thread, but the Sabres got a huge break from the refs on the OT winner. The last rush San Jose had prior the the GWG, San Jose passed the puck and the player was off-sides by a mile (at the 3:40 mark, even RJ noticed), total blown call by the refs. Had they whistled that play dead the sequence for Skinner would never had materialized.

The refs were blowing calls all game though, so at least they're consistent. Nice to see one go our way though. 

Go Sabres. I want this streak alive for December 4th.

[Stoner]

6 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

I just re-watched the OT and I'm not sure if it was mentioned up-thread, but the Sabres got a huge break from the refs on the OT winner. The last rush San Jose had prior the the GWG, San Jose passed the puck and the player was off-sides by a mile (at the 3:40 mark, even RJ noticed), total blown call by the refs. Had they whistled that play dead the sequence for Skinner would never had materialized.

The refs were blowing calls all game though, so at least they're consistent. Nice to see one go our way though. 

Go Sabres. I want this streak alive for December 4th.

I went beserk, but it was actually onside.

[SwampD]

3 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

I went beserk, but it was actually onside.

Yep.