Lines October 1st

[Brawndo]

 

[WildCard]

[Zamboni]

Keep Mitts stapled to the 3rd line. It will be best for his development on this NHL team.

i can see Vesey, Sheary and Sobotka flipping around lines by the time the 2nd period starts ?

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

[That Aud Smell]

Sobotka skates over Rodrigues.

K.

[Zamboni]

Just now, That Aud Smell said:

Sobotka skates over Rodrigues.

K.

Then again, it’s practice lines. Perhaps 7:00pm on Thursday it will look a little different. ?‍♂️

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Sobotka skates over Rodrigues.

K.

I can't even... 

 

[That Aud Smell]

The only benign explanation is that RaKru is trying to showcase Sobotka. It's an absurd idea, but it would be benign, if true.

[darksabre]

That whole right side is such a mess. Sobotka might actually be the second best RW on this team at the moment.

Fans aren't going to like it, but we're going to have to sit here and watch this for a least 3 games.

 

[Doctor of Philhousley]

I'm just numb. Wake me next year.

[CallawaySabres]

Man, this team is going to be brutal this year unless one of our goaltenders turns into a superstar. I am about as excited about this year as I was during the tank years. Oh wait, we are still in those years, I forgot.

Edited October 1, 2019 by CallawaySabres

[dudacek]

We like lines 4 and 1, right, and expect them to hold their own in their matchups, right?

The defence pairings seem to make sense: one physical pairing, one skating pairing, third pairing properly slotted.

The third line has players properly slotted, and is relatively skilled for a 3rd line. They are very risky defensively, so can they be utilized in a way that they won’t get caved?

So the big question is that second line, and how that matches up. Can MoJo and Skinner create offence without a right winger? Will Vlad prop up their defence and win draws the way Krueger seems to think he will?

And how long will it take for ERod to force Kyle or Sobotka to the sideline?

Edited October 1, 2019 by dudacek

[Wyldnwoody44]

[LGR4GM]

12 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

The only benign explanation is that RaKru is trying to showcase Sobotka. It's an absurd idea, but it would be benign, if true.

This isn't a thing. 

[darksabre]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

We like lines 4 and 1, right, and expect them to hold their own in their matchups, right?

The defence pairings seem to make sense: one physical pairing, one skating pairing, third pairing properly slotted.

The third line has players properly slotted, and is relatively skilled for a 3rd line. They are very risky defensively, so can they be utilized in a way that they won’t get caved?

So the big question is that second line, and how that matches up. Can MoJo and Skinner create offence without a right winger? Will Vlad prop up their defence and win draws the way Krueger seems to think he will?

And how long will it take for ERod to force Kyle or Sobotka to the sideline?

I don't think Erod slots on the second line, so it's basically Okposo who is at risk for that.

Sobotka's future depends on what we can  get to fit in that spot. You pretty much need to trade Risto to get enough salary freed up to waive Okposo, Sobotka, and add a RW.

It should go down that way if Botterill knows what he's doing.

I will be ready to complain with gusto in a few weeks if we're sitting here watching them suck because the right side is still a mess.

[Drunkard]

5 minutes ago, dudacek said:

We like lines 4 and 1, right, and expect them to hold their own in their matchups, right?

The defence pairings seem to make sense: one physical pairing, one skating pairing, third pairing properly slotted.

The third line has players properly slotted, and is relatively skilled for a 3rd line. They are very risky defensively, so can they be utilized in a way that they won’t get caved?

So the big question is that second line, and how that matches up. Can MoJo and Skinner create offence without a right winger? Will Vlad prop up their defence and win draws the way Krueger seems to think he will?

And how long will it take for ERod to force Kyle or Sobotka to the sideline?

You should work PR for the Sabres. Assistant Director of finding silver linings for each dark cloud or something along those lines.

[LGR4GM]

8 minutes ago, dudacek said:

We like lines 4 and 1, right, and expect them to hold their own in their matchups, right?

The defence pairings seem to make sense: one physical pairing, one skating pairing, third pairing properly slotted.

The third line has players properly slotted, and is relatively skilled for a 3rd line. They are very risky defensively, so can they be utilized in a way that they won’t get caved?

So the big question is that second line, and how that matches up. Can MoJo and Skinner create offence without a right winger? Will Vlad prop up their defence and win draws the way Krueger seems to think he will?

And how long will it take for ERod to force Kyle or Sobotka to the sideline?

I pretty sure winning draws matters almost not at all in the grand scheme of winning games. Certainly not if one player is at 55% and you are at 50%. You are talking an extra what? 20 wins? What a waste and if Krueger believes it he isn't going to be HC long. 

[erickompositör72]

I'm not panicking yet. Just hoping JBotts does have a Risto trade in the chamber, or Krueger is a genius...

[Taro T]

27 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

The only benign explanation is that RaKru is trying to showcase Sobotka. It's an absurd idea, but it would be benign, if true.

The benign explanation is (hopefully) BF-LTIR moves don't get made until Wednesday when league games actually start and a guy down in Ra-cha-cha (Thompson?) will get Sobotka's spot after that.

That's not great, but better.

As for "showcasing" Sobotka.  You can only showcase him if he is good.  Having him do diddly squat won't even make Waddell want him now that he has an analytics guy saving him from himself.

Edited October 1, 2019 by Taro T

[Randall Flagg]

25 minutes ago, darksabre said:

That whole right side is such a mess. Sobotka might actually be the second best RW on this team at the moment.

Fans aren't going to like it, but we're going to have to sit here and watch this for a least 3 games.

 

We have to stop pretending Sobotka isn't a historically bad offensive hockey player that's also below average defensively. 

There are 16 better forwards in the organization. He's not our second best anything.

[dudacek]

17 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

I pretty sure winning draws matters almost not at all in the grand scheme of winning games. Certainly not if one player is at 55% and you are at 50%. You are talking an extra what? 20 wins? What a waste and if Krueger believes it he isn't going to be HC long. 

Bit of a tangent here, but have you ever known a hockey coach to be unconcerned about winning face offs?

Is this the single biggest disconnect in the game between the coaches and the analytics guys?

Edited October 1, 2019 by dudacek

[Taro T]

5 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

We have to stop pretending Sobotka isn't a historically bad offensive hockey player that's also below average defensively. 

There are 16 better forwards in the organization. He's not our second best anything.

If he's the 2nd best espresso maker (behind Krueger), that would explain a lot.

[Randall Flagg]

Faceoffs are cool. 

Fewer than one extra faceoff win per game in exchange for the game Vlad brings? That's not cool. That's exactly why Phil used him the way he did last year that everyone was on board with being a bad idea and a big reason why our team was incapable of generating scoring chances on par with even below average teams. Until Ralph not only decided to do it but put him with Skinner while doing so. Now it's completely fine, because reasons

[LGR4GM]

6 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Bit of a tangent here, but have you ever known a hockey coach to be unconcerned about winning face offs?

Is this the single biggest disconnect in the game between the coaches and the analytics guys?

Yes

[Zamboni]

8 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

We have to stop pretending Sobotka isn't a historically bad offensive hockey player that's also below average defensively. 

There are 16 better forwards in the organization. He's not our second best anything.

Is he the second best at getting knocked off the puck?

What about second best at pulling the wool over the eyes of the coaching staff?

What about second best “recent era” whipping boy behind Drew Stafford?

?

Edited October 1, 2019 by Zamboni