Crowd Noise @ Blues Game

[CallawaySabres]

This has really been bothering for years now with this organization. For that small stretch of time where 3 or 4 Sabres delivered hits with about 5 minutes to go, you really felt something electric with the team and the crowd. I am not saying that there has to be 60 minutes of this type of play but how in the world can the organization be so blind as to putting the wrong types of players on the ice. To a man, any player interviewed after that game yesterday said they fed off the energy in the crowd and it really gave them a jump in their game.

I can't remember that last time I saw multiple hits by Sabres players in such a short time period but I do know that it brought a feeling to me that I have not felt in a long, long time. Are these players really that uncomfortable to bring just a LITTLE of that on a nightly basis? Win, lose or draw, fans wants to see that type of effort and there is enough talent on this team where if you brought in some players that could give that most nights, it would go such a long way. 

I hope Botteril and the players took notice of this as I am quite confident Housley will pretty much brush it off to the side....

[Neo]

No doubt it was different and welcome.  My evolution to a post fighting world still allows and loves playing the body.  For me, the vibe started after Skinner was hauled down, or something.  He looked for a call, got none, and went into berserker mode as only a sniper can, launching shots from every angle.  He skated like the Tasmanian Devil, as only he can.  He rotates!  The team seemed to feed off of it.  Passion, as much as crunched bodies, sat me up on my sofa.  Oh, and the roars!  

[CallawaySabres]

20 minutes ago, Neo said:

No doubt it was different and welcome.  My evolution to a post fighting world still allows and loves playing the body.  For me, the vibe started after Skinner was hauled down, or something.  He looked for a call, got none, and went into berserker mode as only a sniper can, launching shots from every angle.  He skated like the Tasmanian Devil, as only he can.  He rotates!  The team seemed to feed off of it.  Passion, as much as crunched bodies, sat me up on my sofa.  Oh, and the roars!  

I agree and so the question is....how can this be instilled into the team so that we can see more of it? It does not seem like it would be that difficult to do as a professional athlete playing the sport you love.

[tom webster]

If you are hitting you don’t have the puck

[#freejame]

26 minutes ago, tom webster said:

If you are hitting you don’t have the puck

Yes, but if you don’t have the puck you might as well finish your check. IMO, that was the biggest difference in the last ten or so minutes of the period. 

[Weave]

29 minutes ago, tom webster said:

If you are hitting you don’t have the puck

 

2 minutes ago, #freejame said:

Yes, but if you don’t have the puck you might as well finish your check. IMO, that was the biggest difference in the last ten or so minutes of the period. 

Buffalo’s possessions stats suggest that they don’t have the puck enough for that to be an excuse.

[Derrico]

Obviously it was much louder with me in attendance ;)

[SDS]

1 hour ago, CallawaySabres said:

This has really been bothering for years now with this organization. For that small stretch of time where 3 or 4 Sabres delivered hits with about 5 minutes to go, you really felt something electric with the team and the crowd. I am not saying that there has to be 60 minutes of this type of play but how in the world can the organization be so blind as to putting the wrong types of players on the ice. To a man, any player interviewed after that game yesterday said they fed off the energy in the crowd and it really gave them a jump in their game.

I can't remember that last time I saw multiple hits by Sabres players in such a short time period but I do know that it brought a feeling to me that I have not felt in a long, long time. Are these players really that uncomfortable to bring just a LITTLE of that on a nightly basis? Win, lose or draw, fans wants to see that type of effort and there is enough talent on this team where if you brought in some players that could give that most nights, it would go such a long way. 

I hope Botteril and the players took notice of this as I am quite confident Housley will pretty much brush it off to the side....

Glad you had a good time!

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Grit and hit creates electricity.

[tom webster]

Scoring and winning creates more. I like some grit as well but you don’t have to be an analytics geek to check it out. Teams that lead the league in hitting generally do not do well.

The Blackhawks are the perfect example. One of the smaller teams in the league, they won three Cups and were always near the bottom of the “hits” category.

[CallawaySabres]

Just now, tom webster said:

Scoring and winning creates more. I like some grit as well but you don’t have to be an analytics geek to check it out. Teams that lead the league in hitting generally do not do well.

The Blackhawks are the perfect example. One of the smaller teams in the league, they won three Cups and were always near the bottom of the “hits” category.

Yes but when you have sucked for so many years, don't you think they would figure out something else to get the crowd involved since they clearly don't know HOW to score and win. This is my entire point...

[#freejame]

9 minutes ago, tom webster said:

Scoring and winning creates more. I like some grit as well but you don’t have to be an analytics geek to check it out. Teams that lead the league in hitting generally do not do well.

The Blackhawks are the perfect example. One of the smaller teams in the league, they won three Cups and were always near the bottom of the “hits” category.

But did the Hawks finish the hits they did lay? That’s the biggest difference. I would rather the Sabres get ten hits where they finish them all than get 30 hits that are more like shoves and don’t do much of anything. That’s where this team has been. There wasn’t a ton of hits at the end of the game, but they hit hard when they had the chance. I don’t care if the team leads the league in hits, but finishing your check is something every team should preach and something most fans get enthusiastic about. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by #freejame

[tom webster]

So you are saying that you would rather have them stop figuring out to score and win and just bring in a couple of guys who finish their checks? Got it.

[French Collection]

They don't need to be highlight reel hits, just separate the man from the puck and gain possession. 

I also like the Peter Forsberg reverse hit, but it may get called as interference nowadays. 

[CallawaySabres]

9 minutes ago, tom webster said:

So you are saying that you would rather have them stop figuring out to score and win and just bring in a couple of guys who finish their checks? Got it.

Yeah, that's what I am saying. Ugh, they can't do both, really???

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

1 hour ago, Derrico said:

Obviously it was much louder with me in attendance ;)

I don't think your fart noises count.

[woods-racer]

10 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

I don't think your fart noises count.

Are you sure?

Did you ever him fart?

Why do you think it's called Buffalo rumblings?

?

[SwampD]

48 minutes ago, tom webster said:

So you are saying that you would rather have them stop figuring out to score and win and just bring in a couple of guys who finish their checks? Got it.

How about just one guy?

[#freejame]

48 minutes ago, tom webster said:

So you are saying that you would rather have them stop figuring out to score and win and just bring in a couple of guys who finish their checks? Got it.

That’s not at all what I’m saying, nor do I know where you got that from. We have players on this team now that are capable of finishing their checks but seldom do. It’s a question of effort. We need more players who will put in the effort. Finishing checks goes along with a strong forecheck and aggressive backchecking. Are you saying we don’t need that? It also seems like you’re implying a player can’t produce and also finish their checks, which is just flat out wrong. 

[SwampD]

2 minutes ago, #freejame said:

That’s not at all what I’m saying, nor do I know where you got that from. We have players on this team now that are capable of finishing their checks but seldom do. It’s a question of effort. We need more players who will put in the effort. Finishing checks goes along with a strong forecheck and aggressive backchecking. Are you saying we don’t need that? It also seems like you’re implying a player can’t produce and also finish their checks, which is just flat out wrong. 

I think we're talking past each other here.

Someone will say, "we need players who finish their checks." and someone else will take that as needing players to go out of their way in order to hit someone at the expense of their play.

When hear someone will say, "we need players who finish their checks.", I think, "yes, we need players who finish there checks, when the opportunity presents itself." Often we see our guys have the opportunity to hit someone or finish their check, and they pull up. It comes across as a lack of effort.

 

[#freejame]

7 minutes ago, SwampD said:

I think we're talking past each other here.

Someone will say, "we need players who finish their checks." and someone else will take that as needing players to go out of their way in order to hit someone at the expense of their play.

When hear someone will say, "we need players who finish their checks.", I think, "yes, we need players who finish there checks, when the opportunity presents itself." Often we see our guys have the opportunity to hit someone or finish their check, and they pull up. It comes across as a lack of effort.

 

I think you are right about the talking past and I think we agree on our expectations. 

[tom webster]

I believe lack of effort is a refrain for lack of talent. If the Sabre’s has a true number two line and better goaltending they would be in the playoffs and all these guys that supposedly aren’t trying would look better. 

I think back to the Ranger game earlier as an example. They had a ton of chances but end up losing 6-2 or something like that. Bury a couple of those chances, they win 6-4 and no one questions the effort.

[Kruppstahl]

4 hours ago, CallawaySabres said:

This has really been bothering for years now with this organization. For that small stretch of time where 3 or 4 Sabres delivered hits with about 5 minutes to go, you really felt something electric with the team and the crowd. I am not saying that there has to be 60 minutes of this type of play but how in the world can the organization be so blind as to putting the wrong types of players on the ice. To a man, any player interviewed after that game yesterday said they fed off the energy in the crowd and it really gave them a jump in their game.

I can't remember that last time I saw multiple hits by Sabres players in such a short time period but I do know that it brought a feeling to me that I have not felt in a long, long time. Are these players really that uncomfortable to bring just a LITTLE of that on a nightly basis? Win, lose or draw, fans wants to see that type of effort and there is enough talent on this team where if you brought in some players that could give that most nights, it would go such a long way. 

I hope Botteril and the players took notice of this as I am quite confident Housley will pretty much brush it off to the side....

This is part of why I find regular season NHL hockey so boring now.  It's a totally different game to what it was in the '70s, '80s, and even '90s.

Hitting feeds off of hitting.  Once people start it, it continues.  When no hits anyone ever, the game tends to take on a boring flavor with little hitting.

There was a shift last night where a St. Louis player (can't remember now) really smacked Zemgus good.  Girgs quickly got up, was very obviously pissed, and chased after said player and tried to throw not one but TWO gigantic hits on the same shift.

Hitting is contagious.  When no one does it on either side, you end up with the game of "Hot potato" that the modern NHL has become.  Sure, the play is very, very fast, but it is often too fast for its own good.

Players make bad plays with the puck consistently b/c that clock is running in their head the moment the puck hits their stick and they think "I have to move the puck immediately" even if often, they do not.

The best players do not play like that and take their time.

I'm getting off topic here so I'll stop rambling.

LOL

 

 

 

[inkman]

I won't argue about hitting and winning but I will discuss how awful management has been since forever at reading their fan base. Winning and scoring are great. You know what else is great, hitting. The fan base has always been a blood thirsty bunch. When we knew we weren't gonna win, don't you think bringing in a few thumpers would have at least quelled the fans to a large extent. If you know scoring and winning are going to be difficult due to your intentional roster makeup, wouldn't exciting the fans with something else been ideal. How we've gotten to 2019 and are still having this discussion is beyond me. 

Of course when I go to look at NHL hits leaders, 4 of the top 25 are former Sabres.  Argh. 

Edited March 18, 2019 by inkman

[Tondas]

2 hours ago, tom webster said:

So you are saying that you would rather have them stop figuring out to score and win and just bring in a couple of guys who finish their checks? Got it.

Finishing checks from the START of the game matters a great deal.  I have played the game at a high level (D-Man) and I can attest that the cumulative hits take their toll later on in the game.  It fatigues you, it hurts you, and you do unintentionally take less time to make a play.  That's one split second from a clean breakout or a giveaway.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Tondas